A special girls night at JMKs

Friday night we had plans with Brad and Beth. Brad, Hunny and the boys all went to the monster truck show while Beth and I took the girls to JMK Nippons. I have been excited all weekend about going to JMK's. I have been excited to take the girls. I knew Dada would love it! And she did. She was in awe the whole night. I think she was most excited about how to learn to eat with chopsticks. They were both a little nervous when they saw the onion of fire. You could tell they wanted to duck under the table. Once they realized they weren't going to ignite, they really enjoyed themselves.

We told the girls that they had to try everything once. They didn't have to eat it if they didn't like it, but they HAD to try it. Dada loved the onion soup, she thought it tasted like chicken noodle soup.

She wasn't to sure about the shrimp. I don't like it either, but I put on a brave face and ate it so she wouldn't think she didn't like it because I didn't like it. But she came to her own conclusion that she didn't like....smart girl!! She did however love the steak. I overheard the girls talking to each other saying that the steak is called long steak, cuz it takes so long to chew. I had to giggle at that. But when I looked over at Dada's plate, the steak was gone!!

We had a little mishap with a "little" glass of pop. Beth kept warning Kayla to keep her glass in front of her plate, but it always ended up by her elbow, and guess what?!?!?! Yep, it spilled. She was SOAKED!! We had plans to go to the mall afterward and after being asked if she still wanted to go to the mall.....she said....I'll live. I don't think she wanted the fun to end!

Before we left, we all decided to hit the bathroom. As I was waiting for everyone to get done, I hear Beth telling Kayla not to let the back of her dress fall in the toilet. Guess what happened!??!?! Yep, you guessed it, the back of her dress ended up in the toilet. And as Kayla said....I have pop on the front and pee water on the back. ;)


We had so much fun. I am so glad that we were able to take the girls. What a special night is was for all of us.

Help me here....

Matthew 9:20-23 ~ And, behold, a woman, which was diseased with an issue of blood twelve years, came behind him, and touched the hem of his garment: For she said within herself, If I may but touch his garment, I shall be whole. But Jesus turned him about, and when he saw hem he said, Daughter, be of good comfort; thy faith hath made thee whole. And the woman was made whole from that hour.

I have no doubt in my mind that Jesus can heal Dada. I know he just has to speak the words and she would be healed. My problem lies in the fact that I don't think he WILL. Now, I want to know, is that a lack of faith, or is that me being realistic?

Fireproof and sick kids

Brother is home sick today. He has the same croupy cough that everyone else seems to have. Because of the problems he had at birth, everything just goes to his lungs. Last night I woke up to him crying. He was actually part crying and part coughing. It scared me because he also was struggling to breath. He was gasping for breath, so I pulled out the trusty ol nebulizer and gave him a dose of medicine. He was at least able to sleep after that. I still heard him throughout the night just coughing and coughing. It was terrible, I felt so bad for the little guy.

Hunny has jury duty today. He wasn't to happy about it. He said he's was just put in a room for 2 hours just sitting there watching tv. He was able to watch a lovely video about jury duty and what is expected from you. He was able to come home for lunch and then had to be back at 1. Who knows when he will be home now.

Saturdays we try and all work together to get the house clean. The kids are in charge of their rooms. They also take turns unloading the dishwasher and vacuuming the floors. Last Sat while we were cleaning, instead of cleaning her room, Dada was in her room pretending to be a princess. And this is what she thinks a princess looks like. Notice the belt tied as a headband, and the comforter as a gown. I just laughed and laughed. I remember wrapping my blankets around me as a child and pretending I had the most beautiful ball gown on. It just brought back such memories for me that I had to grab my camera.

Fireproof was released on video yesterday. If you haven't seen this movie, you must rent it. It is one of my favorite movies. It's about a firefighter who's marriage is in trouble. http://www.fireproofthemovie.com/

Well I am off to make potato soup. I hope you have a great day!

My moms bday party

What a fun night we had Saturday night. We celebrated my moms 62nd bday. We went to Culver's and then back to my mom's house for cake and ice cream. We all enjoyed getting together.


The boys were rowdy and ready to run around!!

Dada LOVES lemons! She will suck and suck on them!


The kids haven't all been together since Christmas, but you would think it had been longer then that. They were so happy to be together.

Eli was a little crabby that night. He is coming down with a cold. Once he got some yogurt and was in Uncle's arms, he was quite content.









Meet Andrew, Joy's boyfriend. He is very camera shy, I had to force him to take pictures, and even doing that, I only got 2 decent ones!



My hunny! I love his face here. He looks so thrilled!


The other picture of Andrew. It was funny, b/c neither Andrew or Brother wanted their picture taken, they were both fussin about it!

My precious Dada

Dada has been on my mind a lot lately. There are days that I struggle with her so much. With her diabetes, her blood sugar controls so much of her attitude and how she feels throughout the day. If she is high or low, she feels awful and we get the brunt end of that. She can't help it, it's just how it is.She can just be a monster to all those around her. And because of this, there are many days when I struggle with her. The other night at Wal-Mart, I had a glimpse of what my little girl might be like if she didn't have this terrible disease. Her and I just had the best time. She was in such a great mood. She was helpful, and cheerful. I think she loved it as much as I did. When we were walking out of Wal-Mart, there was a man with 4 little girls walking out as well. The 2 younger girls were giving him a run for his money. ( I say younger, but they were older then Dada) The 1 girl was literally trying to run into traffic in the parking lot. She needed a good spanking. And the man was trying to take care of it, but the way he did it, just made my heart sink. He was so full of anger. He grabbed her by the back of the coat, and was shoving her around the parking lot. I was so torn between walking over to him and yelling at him, and thinking that the girl was probably a terrible brat and deserved what she got. ( She WAS being terrible!!) I continued to watch them as they made their way to their van. Where he literally threw her in the back of the van. I just thought man, I wonder what it is like behind closed doors. I just felt awful for those kids. I just stopped and prayed that God would bring SOMEONE into their life to show those kids love and peace. It also made me think.... even though we have bad days, I am so thankful for my kids. I squeezed Dada's little hand in mine, and told her how much I love her. Her little hand squeezed mine back and she said that she loved me the best. And we held hands all the way to the car.

I was in Dada's room this morning and I saw a notebook laying on her floor with what looked like a note on it. So me being the nosy one that I am, went and looked at it. It melted my heart. This is what I found

Here is a better picture of what it says

She is more aware of what is going on around her then I give her credit for. This little boy just started school about a week and a half ago. She has got a tender heart. The prayer of her heart is to be kind to this little boy and make him feel welcome. What a great lesson. I hope to be more like that and be more aware of the needs and feelings of others.

Come Back soon Katie

The last couple times Katie was in town, we have been sick and haven't been able to see her. So when she was here last she was finally able to come over. My kids absolutely LOVE Katie. One good thing about Katie, is that she takes the time with the kids to make them feel special and loved. I appreciate that so much. She played checkers with Brother and was beating him pretty bad, but then "all of a sudden" she started making bad plays, and Brother ended up beating her. It was pretty cute.
After the kids went to bed, we had a bowling tournament, and then Jeff and Katie played a cow racing game. It was quite hilarious to see Jeff win and Katie get so mad that she beat the crap out of him. I will have to say that I think Jeff beat her on purpose. I don't know if I have ever laughed so hard.

Happy Birthday Hunny

Today is Hunny's 34th Birthday. I have been planning a surprise party for him for a while now, and I think he was really surprised today. We had a great day filled with great food and great friends.
The girls sat in the kitchen and talked. I really do enjoy the time I get to spend chatting around the kitchen table.
After watching a football game, the guys decided to break the Wii out. I think there were a couple tears from the little boys, b/c they thought they were going to get to play.
There were 10 kids here today. It was really good to have babies around again. I have realized how much of a baby person I am. I enjoyed seeing them toddle around the house. The kids destroyed the house, but they had a great time doing it, so it all worked out in the end! :)
Dada and Brother were so excited about Hunny's bday. They went with me to pick out their present to their dad. The kids picked out MarioKart for him, and they did a great job keeping it a secret. Although Hunny did connive it out of Brother. Hunny tricked Brother by asking him if we would be able to play his present when we get home and Brother happily said yep.

Dada has been taking piano lessons and she desperatly wanted to give a piano recital today. When push came to shove, it only lasted about 20 seconds.

I am so thankful for my Hunny. He is a great Husband and Father to us.

Hello

I love snow days. I'm just sayin.

I'm off to clean. Hope you have a great day!

A time for friends....

What a great Christmas Vacation we have had. For different reasons, Christmases have been hard for me in the past. But this year everything was just good. I enjoyed almost everything about this season. I REALLY enjoyed watching the kids, and listening to the kids. They were a joy to be with. The season had it's moments of stress, but what fun we had at parties, and gatherings. We are so blessed by our family and friends!

These past 2 days have been filled with reconnecting with old friends. Doug and Sherrie came over on New Years day. Sherrie and I have been friends for....at least 8 years. She has been there with me through many of life's challenges. She has always had a listening ear and arms to hug me when I needed it. Sherrie, I cherish our friendship. I am also glad that our kids and families get along so well also. I don't think I have heard Brother laugh like that in a LONG time! Although with this picture you can't tell how hard they laughed at each other. Especially when 1 of them said poop, fart or butt!! :)
The girls also had a great time playing dolls and the game of LIFE. I never did find out who won!

We had so much fun playing the wii with you guys. Sherrie, you will have to practice at bowling so you can beat me next time.....my little hooker ;) .


I don't know if I want to know what they are showing each other on their phones!






Friday rolled around and 2 of my best friends from high school came over with their families. It was such a good visit. I hope that we can do this more and more often. I was sad that I didn't get more pictures of your families. I will have to make sure I do that when you come back!
We had fun reminiscing about old times. I did have to laugh at us, when we were all standing around the dishwasher talking about the different great features of dishwashers. We are certainly wives and mothers now. It was a little unreal to have our kids running around. It seems like yesterday when we were standing around talking about boys.

I am glad that we are still able to get together. Let's keep this up!

Beth, pretty soon Jeselyn will be up and running and talking with the other kids. Enjoy these days while you still can. Let the housework rest, just spend time with your baby and treasure her! Oh yah, and don't forget to bring along an extra change of clothes, and extra binky's! :) Welcome to the world of mini-vans, diaper bags, and being 1/2 hour late!