New Years Resolution...Lighten Up, Frances

I am always really good at New Years resolutions. I can be a very disciplined person when I set my mind on something. Most people would say that is a great quality to have and it is, but I am just too stinkin' intense. I wear myself out sometimes! Seriously. Over the past two years in this desert, God has shown me that as much as I'd like to think I have everything in control and well-planned out, He in fact is the one who is and always will be in control.

Of course, most of us who have been walking with the Lord for any amount of time know this...He is in control and we are NOT. But we (( I )) don't always behave that way. So for the umpteenth time, I am resolving to relax and enjoy my life...live in the moment like my kids do.

No one has to worry about the possibility of me becoming lazy because of my resolution though, since I don't even know how to do that any more. Things will still get planned and done, but I am lightening up. Really, I am. Just ask my kids. I haven't been super rigid about bedtime since James schedule turned nasty and I am gonna let them stay up as late as they want tonight. I have even run more errands with all 4 in tow. Takin' a walk on the wild side, baby!

I love this crazy pic of Preslie. She totally looks like a mannequin. That's because she is so shocked by my spontaneity!

Here is a man who knows how to live in the moment. I am gonna ask for some lessons and accountability from my man. Happy New Year! 2011 is going to be the best yet!

ABC Psalms...

Because I am a nerd and really get into this kind of stuff...

And because we believe that it is important to help our little ones (and ourselves)hide God's word in our hearts so that we will always know the TRUTH when we are confronted with the counterfeit ideas of our culture, we like to memorize scriptures alphabetically.

Yes, I do agree that it is much better to memorize or at least familiarize ourselves with entire passages in context to get a true sense of what God is teaching us in His word, but there is value in memorizing scriptures in general. Plus, memorizing scriptures alphabetically makes them super easy to recall. We first memorized all of the scriptures in My ABC Bible Verses by Susan Hunt. Then, I had the big idea to write my own ABC Proverbs book and I solicited friends to help. Remember this? Yeah, we never finished the book, but I plan to. And now, it is going to include ABC Psalms because I have chosen 26 verses from Psalms, one for each letter of the alphabet for us to memorize this spring. Here they are:

As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us. Psalm 103:12

Because you are my help, I sing in the shadow of your wings. Psalm 63:7

Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Psalm 51:10

Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart. Psalm 37:4

E The EARTH is filled with your love, LORD; teach me your decrees. Psalm 119:64

For the LORD Most High is awesome, the great King over all the earth. Psalm 47:2

God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Psalm 46:1

How awesome is the Lord Most High the King over all the earth. Psalm 47:2

I will lie down and sleep in peace for you alone O Lord, make me dwell in safety. Psalm 4:8

J Shout for JOY to the Lord, all the earth. Psalm 100:1

Keep me, O Lord, from the hands of the wicked. Psalm 140:4

L The LORD will keep you from all harm- He will watch over your life. Psalm 121:7

May the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer. Psalm 19:14

No one whose hope is in you will ever be put to shame. Psalm 25:3a

O Lord Almighty, blessed is the man who trusts in you. Psalm 84:12

Praise the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits. Psalm 103:2

Q Come QUICKLY to help me, O Lord, my Savior. Psalm 38:22

Righteous are you, O Lord, and your laws are right. Psalm 119:137

Sing to him, sing praise to him; tell of all his wonderful acts. Psalm 105:2

Trust in him at all times, O People; pour out your hearts to him, for God is our refuge. Psalm 141:3-5

Unless the Lord builds the house, the builders labor in vain. Psalm 127:1a

V The VOICE of the Lord is powerful; the voice of the Lord is majestic. Psalm 29:4

Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord. Psalm 27:14

X EXALT the LORD our God and worship at his footstool; he is holy. Psalm 99:5

You are forgiving and good, O Lord, abounding in love to all who call to you. Psalm 86:5

Z From Zion, perfect in beauty, God shines forth. Psalm 50:2


Merry Christmas!

A Few Kid's creations...

I was having one of those-- sleepless, mind racing, too many things to do, not satisfied with all we have gotten done in school, regretting how little time we made for fun during school this month, planning out the whole next semester in my head and mentally purchasing books on Amazon and placing books on hold at the library in advance--kind of nights and so I got out of bed and came downstairs to write down all of my thoughts to hopefully put them to rest. So, I hopped on the computer and ordered those books, then I decided what books to place on hold at the library and just as I was running out of things to "do" but still not feeling satisfied or at peace enough to go to sleep, I found this little gem. Earlier tonight when we were watching Christmas movies with the kids, Shelby asked for a stapler and said she was going to write a book.

I wasn't really paying attention, but I do remember her asking me, "Mom, do you think I should make stick people," and I said, "Probably not." I guess she decided on half and half. I am pretty impressed with the fact that she made this little book for fun and that she seems to have a dry little sense of humor already. One of my main goals for homeschooling is to foster a love for learning in my kiddos. I have felt like a failure this month because it has been a month of basics...not much fun, just the meat and potatoes.

Seeing this little book at just the moment I did was a gift. It was like I was getting a private little message saying, "Don't be too hard on yourself. Your kids are fine and they do love learning. Now, just spend some time enjoying them. Make the rest of the week about fun, art, games and projects! And, most importantly, slow down so that you don't miss the significance of the day you are getting ready to celebrate!"

Lucy made dinner the other night...biscuit pizzas. She was so proud of her accomplishment. The kids raved on and on about what a great chef she was and her little eyes just twinkled as she ate up all of their praise!

So now, at 12:30 a.m. I will finally take my rest...

All Aboard the Polar Express!!

All Aboard the Polar Express!

Holy smokes, were these kiddos excited for the Polar Express! We traveled to Williams, Arizona and the Grand Canyon Railroad to take a trip to the NORTH POLE! The facial expressions illustrate their jubilation! This was an AWESOME experience for all! My mom and dad were planning on taking Shelby, Jesse and Lucy and they bought tickets months ago. Since my mom is still recovering, they gave me and Jeka their tickets. She was really disappointed that she couldn't experience this with them, but buying them special pajamas and having us go in their place was the next best thing.

The train conductor came through the car and punched all of our tickets...very authentic!

We traveled through a time warp to reach the North Pole so fast and they practically climbed out the windows to get to Santa and the elves. This year, they had to melt the snow because they lost one of the elves and they were trying to find him. Fortunately, they found him sneaking some of Mrs. Claus' cookies...naughty little elf! We got to have some of her cookies too and hot chocolate hand delivered by the train chefs.





We saw our neighbor friends Braden and Keegan there and snapped a quick pic together.


This was a mini vacation for me and Jeka too. We had some much needed and longed for bonding on the 2 1/2 hour car ride there and back. I loved our time together. That girl is amazing!! The buffet dinner and breakfast were delicious and the hotel was sweet! Shelby slept with Jeka...the kickers had to sleep together. Lucy slept with me and Jesse, the gentleman, slept on the floor.

Of course, the trip wouldn't have been complete without a Lucy minor emergency, though. She developed petechiae all over her torso and legs and we almost took her to the ER b/c it can mean all sorts of nasty things like internal bleeding and leukemia. But, my bff from high school happens to be a ped. and she said it could be serious so we should take her to the dr first thing in the a.m., but not to waste a night in the ER. So, we did, and my ped. kind of acted like she was worried, so she had labs drawn stat. They came back normal. Good news, but frustrating.

Did I mention that a week ago she had a totally different unexplainable rash for days...and then she fell out of the grocery cart at Sprouts, landing on the van and having the cart crash down on her little head? She had a dent and not a goose egg, so we had another trip to the ER...once again, fine. That little girl!

Christmas Choir Performance

Shelby was MARY in the performance of "The Bethlehem Project." She memorized all of her lines and solos and did an amazing job! We were so proud of her.



Lucy was one of the Bop-Shu-Bop singers. She was very cute and very funny as usual, adding a few extra bops into the microphone. Jesse decided not to try out for any roles, but was a great addition to the chorus and helped keep his little sister in line when she was misbehaving on stage.



Look really closely and you can see Lucy's crazy antics. She kind of stands out with her curly hair and bright clothes. I guess I missed the memo about having them wear neutral clothes under their costumes.



Jeka and Papa brought Lucy and Shelby flowers and Jesse some candy and candy canes. They felt like real stars!

P is for Preslie and Praise the Lord

We taught Preslie to "Praise the Lord" by lifting her hands in the air and it is a favorite party trick around here to get her to do it. My friend Lizz in Kansas made her this "P" onesie. I love it and I love the letter P, such a fun letter. Love these crazy babies too!

The other day, when we were playing "I Didn't Know I Was Pregnant..."

Okay, so I guess I have passed my pregnancy and childbirth fascination on to my kids. I am a doula and I have had 4 babies (3 of them naturally) and all things baby oriented are so interesting to me. I admit that I am slightly addicted to watching "I Didn't Know I Was Pregnant" on TLC, and that on occasion my kids have watched it with me.

So, yeah, the other day when we were at my Mom's house Jesse said this to my Mom and Jeka,


"The other day, when we were playing "I Didn't Know I Was Pregnant..."

{no, I didn't know that is what they were playing}


"...Lucy had her baby on the toilet and she actually dropped the baby into the toilet, so my Mom threw it away."


{yes, I knew the baby fell in the toilet and I did throw it away, but I had no idea they were playing that TV show.}

It's true, an alarming number of women who don't know they are pregnant end up having their babies on the toilet because they just think they are having a MAJOR bowel movement. Having experienced pregnancy and childbirth 4 times, it is very hard for me to believe that someone could be that out of touch with her body, but I guess it happens.


So, back to the story, my Mom and sister were horrified! I don't know what bothered them more, that I let my kids watch the show or that they were playing it. Whatever...childbirth is an amazing miracle, even if the stories are sometimes crazy. Hopefully, after watching the show, my girls will never have that happen to them. : )

And now for some random pics of the girls lately.

Here is the Preslieo trying to wake up from naptime. All of my girls take after their aunt Jeka and have a hard time waking up. I love the arms behind the head with Elmo right beside her. Here is the Lucio how I found her the other day when she was chilled from the morning air coming through our windows...all cozied up in a laundry basket. This is the same basket they use frequently when playing Moses.

I found the Shelbio curled up with my book the other day and when I asked her about it she said that she was reading it to learn how to deal with her anger when she gets frustrated with her siblings. Since then, whenever she gets into an argument with Jesse or gets sent to her room, I will find her reading this book. It is for moms, not kids, but being the first and oldest, I guess she feels like she can relate. She is one smart cookie. Love this darling girl! Oh, and yes, she does have makeup on. That particular morning James and Jesse got to have male bonding time while they changed a neighbor's tire, so we had girl bonding time while I fixed her hair and makeup.

Embrace the Camera December 2, 2010

James is so much better at relaxing and enjoying life with the kids. I am getting better, but I have a long way to go. I am so glad he is their daddy and my honey! God knew what he was doing when he brought us together, that is for sure! Love...

Coda, you have a phone call...

Preslie is going through that "all about the phone" phase. I love watching toddlers walk around with the phone to their ear just jabbering away in baby talk. She decided the call was for Coda this time. Hilarious!