Flarp - Noise Putty

So...Ethan went to a birthday party on Saturday. He was sent home with a bag of candy and a container of "Flarp - Noise Putty." I don't know who invented this stuff, but they seriously need help! My boys spent the day making the Flarp make it's beautiful noise (minus the smell thank goodness). This may come in handy in the future...you can just blame it on the Flarp instead of the shoe (if you know what I mean). Here is a priceless picture of the boys cracking up - at least I got a Kodak moment out of it.

Count your many blessings....

I never write on here and have failed to even share with others the beautiful blessings my children bring through their humor and love for eachother. I see how much my mom gets excited to read everyone's blogs weekly to get updates on their lives and she has often nudged me to keep my blog up to date. I guess today you won't get an update on my kids as much as you will get me doing my best to count the many blessings from above. This is another weekend without the boys and I find I always want to dwell on what I don't have instead of praise my loving Father for what He has given me....here it goes.

1. I have the beautiful gift of eternal life and a loving Savior who loves me despite me (emotional, selfish, wishy-washy me).
2. I have been blessed with two children...not zero, not one, but two!!!
3. I have a mother who gave up so much to raise me on her own and continues to make daily sacrifices for me!!! So often I take this for granted...ugh! Many single moms would die to have the help I have!
4. I have a family that most people envy...grandparents who lived out an example for each of us, cousins that are really my brothers and sisters, aunts and uncles that made sacrifice after sacrifice to give me the love and care I needed as a child (and continue to...) and most importantly we are all united in Christ!
5. God has blessed me with friends that meet me where I am at and love me in my weaknesses! He has blessed me with godly counsel through a woman that I never thought would play the role in my life that she has!
6. I have a job that God gave me and I am able to provide for my children! We are never in want - all our needs are met like He has promised!
7. I have a home that I never dreamed of having - though I don't own it, I know this is exactly where God wants us for now. That alone brings peace.
8. God worked it out so Suzi can be with my children on a daily basis. She loves my children as though they are hers and I couldn't ask for more than that.
9. I have the gifts that the country offers - freedom, wealth, etc. This may not last long, but I want to embrace what I have now :-)
10. I have one more day...each day is a gift from above. I waste so many of my days just plugging through life and not keeping my eyes on Christ. If I only I knew how many times I missed an opportunity to share Christ with others because I was so caught up in myself.
11. The list could go on and on and on...thank you Jesus!

Praise be to God for the many blessings He has given me and my family! He has never failed to keep His promises despite my inablity to keep mine. May I never forget that this life is not about me, but about Him! My life may not be the picket fence life that I hoped for, but I gained the most beautiful Gift in the process of losing "my" dream! Lord Jesus, may you be my hope and my love till the day I die!

God's Providence!

I am so tickled pink right now!!! There is nothing that excites me more than seeing God work!! Ethan has been talking about his friend Eli from school. Eli is the only friend that he talks about. I have been praying for Eli and praying that God would bring children into Ethan's life that know Him and/or come from a Christian family. I have also told the Lord that I know that He knows what is best for Ethan so....His will be done. The Lord worked it out for me to be able to come home early today and surprise Ethan by picking him up from school. Friends from church had mentioned that there are a couple of families from Bethlehem Baptist (our church) that have Kindergartners attending Island Lake. I recognized one of the moms on two ocassions, but never had the chance to talk to her. Well, God had a plan today (as He does every day). Ethan was so excited to see that I was waiting for him when he got done with school (praise God he still loves to be seen with his mom). I was excited to meet Eli (if the Lord willed). Eli walked past us and Ethan said goodbye to him. I watched to see who Eli walked to and guess who his mother is...the woman I recognized from church. Come to find out Eli and his family go to Bethlehem! Ethan didn't even know Eli before school because he is actually a year older than Ethan and attends the Sunday school class that is one year ahead of E. I was able to talk to Eli's mom and we were both so excited that God brought our boys together. Sorry that this story is a big rambling mess, but I am trying to type quickly. Once again, God answers a prayer in a way that only He can. I never doubted that this is where He wanted Ethan to go because of how clear He revealed His will to me, but it still brings me to tears when I get to see Him work in the details of our lives. What an amazing God we serve!

Ethan's First Day of School

It's official...Ethan is a Kindergartner! He did really well today and I only welled up on two occasions - whew! The only downer for Ethan was that they had to sit at their table for 20 minutes at one point during the day (like he has never had to do that before). Mason struggled with the fact that he couldn't go with Ethan to school..."but Mom, I bigger now. I go to school with Ethan." I am sure there will be many stories to come as we go through the school year.

Pictures from this summer....

Where did the summer go? Here are some random shots from this summer. I think I need to get back in the habit of taking pictures. This is pretty pathetic :-) I seem to have a thing for little Kayin - he has stollen my heart (the toothy little man below).

The Lord has given us another wonderful summer and now I am preparing to send Ethan off to Kindergarten. We were able to meet his teacher last week - she seems great! Pray, pray, pray for E as he transitions into the school world and pray for Mason as he adjusts to having big brother gone for hours each day. September 8th here we come!

Family - what a blessing!

These were pictures taken last night. All of the cousins are in town for the first time in years. We are all mourning the loss of our Grandfather, but I know it would bring him great joy to see us all together again. Sometimes I forget how blessed we are to have each other. The most beautiful part is that we share the common bond in our love for Christ. Thank you Grandpa for praying for each of us daily - look at the legacy you have left!

Ethan meets the cashier at Cub

This picture has nothing to do with the following story. I just wanted to use the picture. Imagine this scene in your local Cub store. The cashier was probably in his 70's...

Cashier: Well hello there (talking to Ethan), what did you ask Santa for this year?
Ethan (while laughing) says: Santa is not real.
Cashier: Ohhh?
Ethan: but you've dressed up like Santa before.
Cashier (smiling): No. I don't have a beard like Santa.
Ethan: Yes you have dressed up like Santa.
Cashier (smiling): No. I don't think I have.
Ethan: Yes you have young man.
Cashier laughing says: I haven't been called "young man" in years.

I hope the "young man" got a laugh.