It's been a while....

Hey world! It's been a while since I've posted anything. We've been pretty busy, and honestly in the evenings I really don't feel like blogging. But here we are with a little catch up. Mother's day weekend was so wonderful! We didn't do anything fancy, and I didn't want any gifts. Rather I just wanted to spend some great time as a family. First Friday Ethan's class had a Mom and Me tea party. They escorted us to their seats, ate cookies with us, and had a video of each kid saying why they love their mom. It was precious and more than I could ask for! Here's buddy and I at his tea party:

Then Saturday of that weekend we went to the Rooster Day parade in downtown Broken Arrow. It is a big thing here. We got there a little early and lined up along the street and watched the parade. The kids have a great time b/c all the floats hand out either candy or fliers (and Blue bell passes out popsicles!).After the parade we loaded up, ate lunch on the way, and went to the zoo. The kids were so excited! It was a blast with them at this age! They loved the animals and asked questions and didn't get worn out until we were all done. I love the zoo and seeing all the beautiful and unique animals our Creator made. Here's Sean being a chimp:




Then Sunday after church we came home, and I got an awesome nap. Jarod grilled me some bruschetta chicken for dinner. It was so nice to just be with our family and feel loved!

Now the kids are out of school, and summer break is here. Ethan is really getting into the whole notion of sleeping in. He has slept in every morning till about 9:30 or so. Awesome! My family is coming here this weekend to spend Memorial Day together. We are very excited to see our niece and nephews!! It's was so much fun at Christmas and at least this time there won't be a blizzard!! :-)

My Mom

I wanted to write about my Mom because she is a very special person to me. I am thankful for her for giving me life and giving me some of her qualities. I am a lot like her, and I thought I'd share some reasons why I love her:

* She is a very compassionate person. God gave her a heart to care for those who are overlooked. She has been a nurse for a long time now and has had great compassion and love for the elderly and with Alzheimer's patients. She does with great love the things that most people simply don't want to do. I admire this in her. It's not surprising she became a nurse b/c of the nature of the profession.

* My mom loved her parents. I saw this characteristic played out before my eyes when her mom passed away. For months she and my Aunt took care of her, day and night, loving and comforting their mom. My Grandma passed away almost 2 years ago, and I was blessed to be there in the final hours of her life. I got to see my mom stroke her hair and tell her it's okay to go, and I saw her tell her mom goodbye at the graveside. That image of love will stick with me for the rest of my life. I want to be there for my parents like she was for her mom.

* My mom is passionate. Whether it was yelling at our sporting events when we were little or standing behind a cause she believes in, my mom will fight for it. She can be stubborn (which all of her kids got from her :-)) but stubbornness can be a good thing sometimes.

* My mom is beautiful. She teases that I will end up looking just like her because I take after her so much. :-) I know she was fearfully and wonderfully made by our Creator, and that reason alone makes her a beautiful creation. But I also think she is pretty though she often doesn't see this about herself. I think she's been told too many times in her life that she wasn't beautiful. So mom- you are a beautiful woman!

* My mom is very smart. She loves history, and I think she has seen almost every war movie out there. She was the top of her class at nursing school, and she is someone I call for advice and with any medical questions.

* My mom is very brave. When she and my dad split, she had to make the choice to go back to school. Through some really tough times, she managed to get her LPN license and start a career. I remember her studying night after night, and I also remember how she was glowing the night she graduated. To make such a change in her life while struggling to take care of us, took a lot of bravery.

I love my mom for many more reasons. We've been through a lot together, and through all of it, I still and always will love my mom! She knows I continue to pray for her everyday, and that I pray she comes to know her Creator and experience the love and hope in Him. I do this b/c I love her. So-Happy Mother's Day mom!!

The buzz....

* A few weeks ago I said I was praying for some things and waiting for God's timing. Well I can share one thing that He has answered. Starting in the fall I am going to be working at the preschool up at church (Lord's Little Army or LLA). I'm really excited about this! I will be working in the infant nursery and the one year old room. It's 3 days a week for 4 hours a day, and Kaitlyn gets to attend for free. So she is super excited to get to go to school and be in the 4 yr-old class. I still get all day Monday and Friday with Kaitlyn while the boys are at school. The plan is for me to keep on watching Ellie on Mondays and during school breaks. I'm excited- it will be a change in routine; get me out of the house more; and be around a lot of wonderful, Christian women.

* I can't believe school is almost out. Only 3 more weeks! Then we will have a 2nd grader and a 1st grader!!

* A boy from Ethan's class at school lives just down the road from us. I've met his parents before on field trips and at class parties. Ethan and Sean are down at his house playing right now. This is the first time we've had a friend live down the road from us that they can go play at their house and they can come play at ours. We are hoping to really get to know his parents and have opportunities to witness to them. They are really nice people.

* So Jarod broke his hand. Most people know this b/c of facebook. He has 3 more weeks in a cast then he can get it off. B/c of his cast he hasn't been able to play the piano or guitar which he does a lot when leading worship. I think it's been teaching him to rely on others to help out b/c he can't do some of the normal things that he usually does. His cast is black and we got a silver marker for people to sign it. I put a big heart with J + L in it. Heee hee.

* We went to Jarod's parents last weekend to help them work cattle. We like to go do that b/c it helps them get it done, and we get to be with them for the weekend. It was soo muddy this time. Jarod got his cast dirty from the mud and other brown substance. This is how he covered his hand the second day we worked:
The kids had a great time! The got to come down and "help" the second day when the cows were in the pins. Ethan and Sean got in there with the flags and helped to keep the babies back. When I took this picture I told them to give me their work faces:



* I love my family! I am so thankful for my amazing husband and my incredible kids!!