New Sport

In the fall, the older boys decided to pursue Taekwondo. (We typically allow the kids to choose one sport and they have previously played soccer and flag football.) We were happy to find a great program that uses our local Y for their lessons. C & P have been participating twice a week since September. We really love that it focuses on self-discipline and self-control. Their instructor is a great remodel and someone the boys respect and appreciate.

In December, they tested for their yellow belt:

Yellow Belt Test

 They were super nervous at their first test, but they survived and we were so proud of them!

And this month they tested for their yellow and green stripe belt:

Green Stripe Belt Test

They were confident, knew what to expect, and demonstrated excellent skills as they proceeded through their forms, kicks, punches, and sparring. We were so impressed and bursting with pride! They were AWESOME!

Learning to Love

Lately I've been considering what it means to truly love my children. And how I can express that in a way that communicates to them. In many ways, it's easy to love them - they are my children, plain and simple. They are a part of me, they became a part of this family because of our marriage. And they are precious gifts from God. Even with all of that, I've been pondering how I can love them better and how I can more effectively give them confidence in my love.

I was challenged at our monthly mom's night out last week to think again about the five love languages (words of affirmation, quality time, receiving gifts, acts of service, and physical touch - books and concept by Gary Chapman). It is something that I actually think about frequently but more in my relationship to my husband. As I started thinking about how my children communicate love and what that tells me about them, I realized this was the key to learning to love my children better and more fully.

Little did I know just how much this would effect my children. At this point in their lives - Calvin's love language is physical touch, Patrick's is a toss up between quality time & words of affirmation, and Titus is a bit young yet to tell. :) This past week, as I have focused on loving my children the way they love (not necessarily my personal love language), it's been a blessing. I'm seeing them with different eyes and learning to love them in a new way. Their response has been one of increased affection and communication. It's a beautiful thing to see.

Being a mom is a privilege - one I try never, never to take for granted. God has entrusted these children to my (our) care. It is a blessing - they are a blessing. I love them with everything in me and learning to love them better makes me want to burst with happiness. I pray God continually teaches me how to be the wife and mom He wants me to be and that I will always have a teachable heart.

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. I Corinthians 13:4-7

Too Scattered for a Title

You all are making me laugh - nice work! I'll leave it open until Saturday (I'm not sure I made that clear) so if you haven't entered, you have plenty of time - but seriously, what are you waiting for?! :) I'm re-thinking how to choose winners - perhaps Andrew and I will narrow it down to three for each picture and then let you all vote on the final winner. We'll see! It's going to be a tough choice!

Andrew will be working late tonight so perhaps I will get some more giveaways entered. :) I think there are over 1200 at the moment!

We have a couple of exciting things happening in the next few weeks so stay tuned! I can't stop smiling when I think about one of them! How's that for a teaser...

I never did get to blog about our weekend before last. What a GREAT and full weekend! We met up with my inlaws to go to a fantastic pumpkin patch (lots of fun things for the kids) on Saturday. Saturday evening we enjoyed a delicious dinner with Andrew's firm - we always have a wonderful time with everyone. Sunday, we had a chance to meet up with two families we met at Kazapalooza this summer. Thanks Muriel for inviting us to your inlaws (we loved meeting sweet & adorable Jack) and thanks Ann for arranging lunch! We had a great time with both of their families! We have been so blessed by all the new friends we have met through that excellent event this past summer. We can't wait for next year!

Despite my lack of blogging and creativity, I will be hosting Keeping Creative Kitchens tomorrow. Thank you so much to those of you that have been participating. I'm definitely still viewing it as a trial feature and will give it a few more weeks to see if it's something I want to continue long term. I've been so enjoying the participating posts, though! Being creative in the kitchen is something near to my heart. I don't want to get caught in a rut especially since that's one of my main creative outlets. :)

Finally, here are a few pumpkin patch pictures!

A Few Wedding Pictures

Some of these aren't the best but oh well. It was a wonderful celebration and a gorgeous day! I often don't have a chance to take any photos so I'm glad to have a few!

Okay, definitely not the best but we are all dressed up. :)

Nana & Papa reading to the boys while waiting for pictures.

Titus' main activity throughout the event. :)

A rare picture of all seven siblings...we were looking at the actual photographer.

Us - married 6 1/2 years

Liz & Luke - married 1 1/2 years

Stephanie & Jeremy - married 1 month

The handsome groom & beautiful bride, Elliot & Ashley - married 1 day

Our Family

More Wedding Pics

I'm quite disappointed that I didn't get very many photos taken - especially that I missed getting a picture of the adorable ring bearers (my sons :)) and a good picture of the bride and groom. I'm looking forward to seeing all the professional ones!

The Bride getting beautified. :) Not that she needed it!

Rebecca, bridesmaid and seamstress extraordinaire, altering a couple of dresses.

Liz getting ready for the big day. Lots of laughs created wonderful memories and a fairly relaxed morning.

Cool & calm - she looked gorgeous!

Her cute shoes and the bottom of the stunning gown (designed and made by Rebecca).

Her hair minus the veil that she wore for the ceremony.

Goofing off and making sure we didn't faint from hunger! :)

My sister and me - I was so honored to stand up with her!

All the girls.

Mother of the Bride - my mom - doesn't she look so elegant and pretty?!

Sienna, the sweet flower girl! She is now Steph's neice. Her mom carried her down the aisle - it was beautiful!

My boys (when they tried their suits on at home a week ago :)) so excited about their role! They did awesome!

This is the only picture I have of the happy couple (stolen from Michelle :)). Cutting the cake!

Stunning flowers!

The superhero favors with their faces on the tag!

That's about it. I wish I had more! My favorite memory of the day was the prayer circle we had with the bridesmaids, bride, and flower girl's mom - there wasn't a dry eye. It was meaningful and special. It was just such a fun day filled with memory making, commitment, and celebration. I'm so happy for Jeremy & Stephanie! Four more weeks until my brother's wedding!

Another Sister Wed

My sisters, my friends...
My beautiful sister has found her Prince for her Happily-Ever-After.

Here is the toast I was honored to give:

Stephanie and I dreamed about our weddings from the time we were little girls. We poured over the big J.C. Penney catalogs taking turns picking out our favorites on each page. I wanted a different pastel color for each bridesmaid and she was much more sensible – limiting her choice to just one or two colors. I think we can all be happy that weddings are not planned at the ripe old ages of 8 and 10. But we truly couldn’t wait for it to be our turn and I am so honored to stand here with her today – she has met her Prince Charming.

Stephanie is not only my sister but one of my very best friends. We’ve enjoyed playing piano duets, acting in plays, sharing Chinese food, watching Friends, staying up half the night talking or scrapbooking, road-tripping, and countless other memories. We’ve seen each other at our best and at our worst and I count myself blessed to be her sister.

I’ll never forget her casual, “I’ve been out with this guy a couple of times…” The girl who swore she wouldn’t meet anyone at work was being wooed by none other than a co-worker. I couldn’t wait to meet Jeremy! In the months that followed, it became clear that these two brought out the best in each other. They had many similar interests like books but also introduced each other to new things. When Jeremy proposed via comic book – it couldn’t have been more perfect. And like a good man, he told Stephanie that she better call me first!

My only complaint, Jeremy, is that you are taking her away! But really, I wish you both much joy and happiness. May your love grow deeper as you serve the Lord better together than you ever could have apart. I love you both and I couldn’t be happier for two such wonderful people – welcome to the family, Jeremy! So, please raise your glasses to Mr. & Mrs. E.

Look for more pictures and account to follow tomorrow or the next day... :)

Dinner Time

We had a very full week! We had a wonderful weekend participating in and witnessing the marriage of my sister and now brother-in-law. It was a beautiful wedding!

Thursday I ended up making chili, fruit & nut brie, cornbread, homemade applesauce, and peach cobbler for my family. Most of the later part of the week was consumed with making and packaging wedding favors. I made (with some help from my mom and youngest sister) molasses crinkle cookies. They are a family favorite and a huge favorite of Steph, the bride. :) It was a suprise for her. Our other sister (I have three :)) designed the tags with a comic book theme - a favorite of the groom and integral in his proposal to my sister. They turned out great but were extremely time consuming! I think we made about 220 favors and there were maybe 30 left.

This week will hopefully be a little more laid back. I'm hoping to try a new recipe or two and get back to some cooking! I'm also hoping to make a trip out to the raspberry patch to pick some for the freezer - I'll probably get some apples at the same time. So here's the plan for this week in no particular order.

- Chicken Fajitas, Applesauce
- Meatball subs, Corn on the Cob, Fruit Salad
- Amy's Asian Lettuce Wraps (I'll probably use chicken since that's what I have), Fruit
- Black Beans & Rice, Vanilla or Plain Yogurt w/Fruit
- Vegetarian Pizza, Veggies & Dip, Fruit
- Lentil Soup with a Curry Crema and Lentil Crackers , Salad

The lettuce wraps and lentil soup are new recipes this week! I'm starting to get into the mood for soups so I'll probably try to make at least one every week...we'll see. Lentils are one of our favorite legumes so this seemed like a good soup to start with. :) Well, that's about it from here! I'm feeling inspired this week so let's hope it lasts. Check out orgjunkie.com for many more menu plans!

Life

We made it to church this morning...on time...just barely. :) Everything takes a little more time. I cooked a little yesterday and today but a few friends are providing some meals this week which will be a huge blessing. Andrew has used up all the time he can take at the moment so he will be headed back to work on Tuesday. I will miss him!

The boys are absolutely LOVING preschool and we will probably be transitioning them to go from 9-2 instead of 9-12 (two mornings a week) - they don't like leaving when other kids stay. :) I'm just so glad it's going well! We had decided at the beginning of the school year that we would give it a trial run of 2 months and if it wasn't working out, we would not continue. Little did we know that it would be so wonderful for them. They are two weeks in and we can already see improvement in Calvin's speech which was our main motivator for choosing to put them in preschool this year. I'm looking forward to getting more involved in the coming weeks and hopefully meeting some of the other moms. They have their first field trip next week to an orchard which will be so fun! I've been so impressed with how much they encourage parents to take part in all the activities - even in the classroom. We are so thankful that God directed this for our family this year and we hope it continues to be a good experience.

We are getting excited for my sister's wedding coming up in less than two weeks! The boys (except Ty) will be ring bearers, I will stand up with my sister, and Andrew will be an usher. It will be so much fun and we are so happy for her and Jeremy. Now I need to write my toast... It makes me a little nervous - but for Steph, I will be brave because I wouldn't miss it! It's just that I'm not crazy about public speaking - in fact, I opted out of it in college. I took a communications class at 7:30 in the morning to fulfill the speech requirement. Yeah, I really didn't want to take speech. :)

So that's what's going on here. We have our fantasy football draft tomorrow. Here. I'm taking the easy way out. We already bought the drinks, we will order pizza or wings or sandwiches, and everyone else will pitch-in. It's the one party Andrew plans every year and I just didn't have the heart to not host it this year... :) Life will eventually return to some semblance of normal - a new normal but normal none the less. I'm going to give myself permission to rest this week - alot - well, after tomorrow.

Entertaining This Week :)

We are trying desperately to fit everything in before we get "the call."

Last night, we hosted our youth Bible Study group for a cookout (turned to pizza party due to the a.m. weather). We said goodbye to a couple of them that will be moving away this fall. But it was a great evening - so relaxing! We even enjoyed a new game - Flapdoodle. It's a hilarious game that gets you to do some pretty embarrassing things. :) It was so much fun! These kids have blessed our lives tremendously and we love them!

This weekend, my sisters and I will be hosting a family shower on Saturday morning for Ashley (Elliot's fiancee). It's a brunch at my house but each of my sisters is pitching in something. I can't wait to have everyone! Saturday night, we will have Stephanie's personal/bachelorette party - also at my house. We came up with what I hope will be a fun theme - wine, cheese, and chocolate. We invited her closest friends and we will shower her with those fun little items. :) I hope it will be a great evening that she always remembers!

In preparation for all the festivities, we will be:
-steam cleaning the carpets - they are horrible!
-putting together favors
-planning games/activities
-making food
-cleaning bathrooms
-decorating
-shopping for last minute things

I really do love entertaining and planning events! I can't wait for it all to be here even though I still have much to do! I'm off to get busy... :)

Update on Life

Our laptop is having serious problems so writing and posting pictures is proving challenging. The home computer is just not convenient and does not lend itself to multi-tasking...

I'm not even doing a menu plan for this week... Whatever we eat will be simple, focused on fresh ingredients (peppers and tomatoes are prolific right now), and quick to make.

Today I ran around to get medical papers filled out and signed by the doctor and to turn in paperwork and write checks to our adoption agency. I also bought a carseat and stroller - Graco Metrolite. I hope we like it! I came home to find out that I won a brand-new baby-wearing sling/carrier from all the giveaways last week! I am so thankful and it looks similar to one of the ones I was considering - I will try wearing it and make sure it will work but it looks great. I love seeing how God provides!

Patrick had a wonderful party yesterday (grandparents, aunts, & uncles). He was so delighted to have everyone and felt very self-important. :) Pictures to follow - there were some really great ones! I made a cake for him - I didn't have much time but he was pleased with the result. :) He chose a strawberry cake and he even helped to make one of the layers - it was a highlight for him and for me. His favorite gifts were from Uncle Luke & Aunt Liz - a semi with a car that drives into the back and from Uncle Elliot- Mack truck with three cars. He literally screamed and jumped up and down when he opened the latter which is a ton of emotion for my shy boy. :)

Tonight we will focus on getting the house tidied up, clothes folded, and bags ready to go for the "in-labor" call. I'm tired today, but it was a great weekend! Oh and we do have a name...we are 95% sure but you'll have to stay tune for the blog birth announcement. :) Hope your week is off to a good start!

The No Good Day

The first day home from vacation is going...not well. :) Schedules, rules, and routines have been forgotten. Give us a few days and I'm sure we'll get back into the routine. This was the longest time we've been away as a family (other than Kaz which doesn't count). Right now, I'm looking forward to naps all around. :) But we had a wonderful week and weekend so it's totally worth the challenging start to the week.

I've spent this morning sorting clothes, gettting rid of some, and getting ready for massive amounts of laundry. I have a lot of 12 month and above clothes and have been debating how much to keep - the problem is that it seems like a lot but there are actually clothes for summer and winter combined which makes it not so much. So I've put some in donate bags but I'm keeping the rest at least until I see what we need - I really don't want to re-buy everything.

Tomorrow is Patrick's 3rd birthday! We aren't having his family party until Sunday but I'm going to try to make tomorrow special. We will probably go to the Children's Museum and maybe the park. And I'm going to make cupcakes for the boys to decorate. Homemade french fries will be on the menu sometime this week since they are Patrick's favorite (I forgot to put that on my menu plan).

Finally, I'm opting out of hosting a Bloggy Giveaway at the carnival this week but there are a ton of people participating so feel free to have some fun! You might even win something!

Favorite Quick Meal & Traditions

One of my absolute favorite meals is homemade pizza! I grew up enjoying made-by-mom pizza and while I loved it, it seemed like a huge deal to make it. I'm sure it wasn't - just my perception. :) Anyway, after I realized how easy it could be, I've never looked back. We pretty much never order out pizza these days. It takes me less than 30 minutes to have a homemade pizza on the table and it's one of our favorite menu items for family nights!

Here are some keys to great pizza:
1) Let your dough rest for a few minutes after kneading (I let my mixer knead it).
2) Oven Temperature! This is probably the biggest thing - turn that baby up! I bake my pizzas at 450 degrees F.
3) Bake it on a stone.
4) Be creative with toppings.

Some of our favorite topping combos are:
bacon, onion & green pepper
chicken, smoked cheddar, sharp cheddar & BBQ sauce (instead of marinara)
plain cheese (mozzarella & cheddar)
Greek - olive oil (instead of marinara), mozzarella, feta, & gyros meat (this is excellent on pita!)
broccoli, onion, pepper, tomato

Most of the time we top pizza with marinara, cheese and then other toppings. I make my own pizza sauce with tomato sauce, fresh herbs (or dried, depending on season), garlic, a pinch of sugar and a little salt. Sometimes I add a can of tomato paste and sometimes not - I prefer it with. The dough recipe I use is the one I frequently post on my menu plans. :) It's easy and delicious - for an extra great finish, I occasionally brush the edge of the finished crust with olive oil.

Our kiddos associate pizza with movie night (not that it always means that :)) and they LOVE it! It makes a great family tradition - we put a tablecloth on the floor upstairs and enjoy our finger food while watching a kid movie. I think Andrew and I look forward to it just as much as the boys. Pizza makes us all happy and family times makes us even happier. Establishing family traditions is important to us - we both have great memories from childhood and we long for our children to have fantastic memories, too. This is an easy way (and inexpensive!) to create a fun family evening. And for other days, it's a go-to recipe for a quick meal. What does your family enjoy for fun nights?

Celebrating Independence Day!

We had an absolutely wonderful weekend! I realize the older I get just how much I appreciate our country - the freedom, the history, and most of all the amazing men and women who protect us. It makes me swell with pride and it makes my eyes a little teary.

Anyway, back to the weekend. Friday morning we headed to the parade despite the chilly, overcast day. It was worth it. The boys had a wonderful time and it only rained a little. :) They thought that picking up candy was the best and they also really, really enjoyed all the different vehicles. We met up with our friends and neighbors and several of their friends, too! The kids were all pretty close in age which was fun for them and cute to see them sharing their candy.

We decided to enjoy a late brunch/early lunch at one of our favorite local breakfast places. Then we headed home for naps. :) Andrew and I worked hard to get the picnic together for the evening while the boys slept. We met up with Andrew's parents (Grandpa & Grandma F.) and went to a local living history museum and toured it for a little while. Afterwards we took them to an outdoor patriotic symphony performance and picnic. The evening finished with awesome fireworks and then a jazz ensemble. Here are a few pictures from the evening:

Patrick took the picture of Andrew and me. :) Saturday and Sunday where filled with lots of family time. We thoroughly enjoyed it! It was hard to have the weekend be over but we started the week with visiting friends from out of town. It was great! How was your 4th/weekend?

Memorial Day & Things

Today I am thankful for the many men and women who have protected our country and sacrificed their lives over the years. I'm thankful for those currently serving in the military all over the world. I am thankful for their courage and bravery.

We've had a delightful day at our annual C. family picnic. We enjoyed wonderful food (ate too much!), great fellowship, and lots of play time at the park. The boys had a very good time but were exhausted and we had a melt-down when we got home. :) After a quick supper and bath, they are tucked in for the night. Let's hope all the excitement means they will sleep in! (I'm not holding my breath. :)) Here are a few pictures from the day:

Oh and I'm excited that today launched the first day of recipe collection for a C. family cookbook - I can't wait to see all the submissions! We have absolutely amazing cooks in our family and every gathering features delicious food! I will be working on the book with a couple of other family members.

Finally, I blogged on the boys' blog today - I've been neglecting it of late...