On the move....almost!

I could use some good news and distraction, so we're focusing on Jonathan's need for speed.....almost!!

He's so close to crawling!! He so desperately wants to keep up with Jackson and Joshua!! :)

Pray for Stellan

Please pray for Stellan!! He is a 9-month-old little baby with a very fast heartbeat, called SVT. He is being airlifted to Childrens Hospital in Boston. His heart has been beating at over 200 beats per minute for a couple days now. Read his story here through his mom's blog and also pray for MckMama, and their whole family!!

Prayer is an amazing thing and it works!! PLEASE PRAY FOR STELLAN!!!

Swimming with new friends

This has been a very cool summer and there haven't been very many swimming days. We were so excited to be able to go to the swimming pool this morning with some new friends, Andrew and Devin, whose mom, Michelle, and I work together at school. We had five boys between us!! So fun!! Thanks for a great playdate!!

Jackson, Joshua, and Andrew were running to get to the pool!

Me with my three little water babies!

This slide was a favorite of all the boys! They went down dozens of times!!

They were fast asleep within mintues of being in the car! Worn out from the sun and swimming!

Navy Pier

Yesterday we enjoyed a beautiful day at Chicago's Navy Pier!! We all had a great time!!

The ferris wheel was the boys' favorite part of the day! They also enjoyed spending some time at the childrens' museum!

Dessert??

I have been totally inspired to start baking again...in a big way!! I used to love to bake when I was in high school! Now that I am home with the boys all day, we usually have several baking projects a week---it's fun and educational for them and it's a fun memory we'll have of doing things together! Check out my latest inspiration (I got it from an online site, it's not originally mine)!!! (This is Jackson's favorite project so far!!)

You decide....main course or dessert?!?!

Cheeseburger and fries...for DESSERT!!! (cupcake bun, brownie middle, with cheese, ketchup, mustard,and lettuce, and of course, some sugar cookie fries!!) ENJOY!!

Cousins who read together...

We had a wonderful playdate with my sister and my niece and nephew yesterday. Our boys loved playing with their cousins. Before Joshua went down for his nap, Mady read a story to Joshua and everyone listened in! It was very sweet!! Then Mady sat with Jackson and did a look and find book!

Bumper cars and dizzy dragons

We took our boys to a carnival for the first time this weekend! We had fun, despite not being tall to ride most of the rides, just ask Josh, who sadly watched from the sidelines! Next year, we'll try again!!

Jackson and Daddy had a great time on the bumper cars!!!

Mommy and Jonathan looked on as Daddy took the older boys for a spin on the dizzy dragons!

Catherine's 6th Birthday

Catherine, one of our nieces, (we have 5) turned 6 yesterday! The kitty-themed party was so much fun! Pictures are so much better than words, so here you go! Enjoy!! :)

Birthday Girl Catherine with the cake I made for her birthday!

Elizabeth waiting patiently for the cake

Allen Wade with Jonathan


Lots of friends at the party

Me with Jonathan and Jackson (Josh was chasing Daddy)
Krista with her four beautiful girls

There weren't many boys at the party, but that didn't stop Jackson, Josh and Owen from having a great time!

Not Me! Monday

I did not skip several pages while reading The Cat in the Hat to my boys last week. I was not reading it for the third time that day and thought they wouldn't notice! Jackson certainly did not noitce and make me go back and read those pages again! I would never skip words or pages while reading to my kids! I always read every word!!

I did not leave an angry message for a mortgage lender when our re-finance did not get accepted. It may or may not have had the phrase, "despicable customer service." Nope, not me! I take rejection with nothing but grace all the time!

I did not start running again with my triple jogging stroller and did not feel great! All that working out did not make me totally hungry and I certainly did not eat several cupcake pops in one sitting! Nope, that would be crazy and would totally un-do my work out and I totally know better than to eat all those sweets at once!

I did not wear a t-shirt to bed and then go all day the next day wearing the same shirt! Nope! Not me! I have time to shower every morning and put on new clothes!

I did not take a trip down memory lane when my son found the tape from our wedding from eight years ago. I did not get totally emotional and cry when I heard our vows. Nope! I am aalways totally emotionally strong and can hold it together!

I did not find ants in our kitchen! And there certainly were not leftover crumbs on the floor from the night before! Nope, we always sweep up the floor at the end of the day! Those same ants are now not meeting their fate in the ant hotels we have set up!

I did not forget to iron my husband's shirts and I certainly did not find him "steaming" his shirt over the tea kettle in the morning! Nope! Someone should really take better care of her husband!!

That's all I'm admitting to this week! Hop on over to MckMama and see what she and everyone else has been up to this week! Have a great week!!

Not just any cassette

"What's that?" asked Jackson, pointing to a cassette tape in our desk drawer.
"It's a cassette," I told him.
Seeing the puzzled look on his face, I went on to explain that it was an old-fashioned CD, or a very old-fashioned MP3 player.
He wanted to know if there was music on it. Well, there are a few songs on there, I told him. A couple of songs and lots of talking. See, it was the audio cassette from our wedding almost 8 years ago!

Feeling very nostalgic, I played the tape yesterday on my drive back home. It was such a fun trip down memory lane.

Our wedding day was a perfect day!! I loved every minute of it, every emotional, tear-filled minute! We're celebrating our 8th annivesary less than a month from now, so I'll post more about that closer to the day, I'm sure. For now, let me just say that I loved my cousin and aunt singing my favorite Romanian wedding song. I loved hearing my uncle's sermonette. I loved my dad and my dad-in-law as they spoke to us on our wedding day. (Our dads married us!!)

I couldn't believe how listening to that tape, not just any cassette tape, but a recording of our wedding, could instantly transport me back 8 years! Instantly! I remember the tears that flowed as I waited on the stairs with Michelle, waiting to meet my dad, waiting to see my soon-to-be husband. I remember my quivering voice as I recited my vows as friends and family looked on. I remember looking at AW as he said his vows and wondered if he would get through them without crying (he did!) I remember our first kiss and walking down the aisle as Mr and Mrs for the first time!!

I'm so glad Jackson found that tape in the drawer!! I've quite enjoyed my trip down memory lane, thank you!!

PS. If you just can't wait till next month's wedding post, here's a sneak peek (wow, was I young (and much thinner)!!)

Rub a dub dub...

THREE boys in a tub! And who do you think they'd be? The butcher, the baker, the candlestick maker Jackson, Joshua, and Jonathan, of course!!

Rejected!

I don't take rejection well; I don't think anyone does! I'd much rather be accepted, feels better that way! Luckily in my life, I have not faced much rejection. I have been very blessed and I know it!! With the exception of several break-ups with boyfriends, rejection has not been a common thing for me. I know it sounds aloof and snobbish to say, but it's true! I made all the sports team I tried out for in school, got all the jobs I interviewed for, never experienced the heartache at not being able to get pregnant or more horrifically, lose a baby. We have just been really blessed!!

Well, our streak ended yesterday! We were denied for a re-finance loan through our current lender! Rejected! Told we weren't good enough to qualify! I was angry and upset. How could they turn us down?! Well, they can and they did! See, it turns out that me staying home in the fall and being reduced to one salary, has made us undesirable for a loan! How awful is that!?! Of course, they're just an institution and they only see the numbers, and apparently we're a risk at this point! Sad, awful, hurtful!

Well, at this point, we can just keep our current mortgage, but with rates much lower than what we are paying, we'd like to re-finance. We could have saved at least $200 a month! Please pray that we can see the light through the clouds, that we can find another door to open, since this one closed! Please pray for wisdom for us!! We could use some! :)

(Thanks for listening reading! I'm actually not sure who reads my blog, but it was helpful for me just to write everything down and talk write through it!)

Not Me! Monday

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. It's my wonderful, free therapy, admitting to all my imperfections as a mom!

I did not eat cake for breakfast on Sunday morning. Nope! I am always the healthiest eater when I'm nursing. I also did not get caught by my almost 4-year-old and then did not give him a piece as well! Nope! My kids always eat the best breakfasts!!

I did not take some of our trash to the apartment building down the street when our bags got too full because I did not want to use a second sticker! Nope, that wasn't me! I'm definitely not too cheap to use two stickers on trash day!!

I did not close the car door on my finger when I was out shopping with Jonathan. I did not start crying right there in the middle of the Target parking lot! Nope! I am totally brave when it comes to minor injuries!

I did not call my husband on Thursday to tell him none of the boys napped and I was feeling totally overwhelmed! He did not hear the stress in my voice and come home on the next train! (He is not the world's best husband!!! :)

I did not just wipe off toilets and clean the kitchen counters and call the house ready for family to come over for the 4th of July! I always have time for a thorough cleaning before we have guests! Yep, always!!

I did not realize this afternoon that it has been several, several weeks since we've been to church. I totally do not feel overwhelmed taking my three boys to church and realize it's so much easier to have family time at home instead! Nope, not me! As a pastor's kid, I know the importance of being in church every week!

I did not wake my sleeping guys to take them to fireworks this year. That wasn't me, I know how important sleep is for them not to be grouchy the next day. (They did not totally love the fireworks!!)

That's all I'm admitting to this week! What was your week like??

Family, Fun, Fireworks, and Food!!

Happy 4th of July!! We had a wonderful time celebrating the holiday together with family!

Jonathan is now eating baby yogurt--making a huge mess and loving every bite!!


Uncle Sam and Jackson played a few fun rounds of Chutes and Ladders

Mady took really good care of Joshua all afternoon!

Uncle Sam and his sweet girlfriend, Valerie! (Welcome to our blog, Val!!)

Firecracker fruit!! It rained all day and we weren't sure if we would see fireworks that evening, so we made firecracker fruit, just in case!! The kids loved it!!

Five cousins having dinner together! Jackson, Dominic, Jonathan, Joshua, and Madalyn

Flag cake---Jackson did all the decorating on this one!

The second 4th of July cake---that's me having fun playing around with fondant!

The rain stopped earlier in the evening and we were able to take the boys to the fireworks show in Batavia. It was a really fun time!!

Jackson and Joshua LOVED the fireworks, every boom was better than the one before!! Jonathan, the fabulous little guy that he is, slept through the whole thing! Amazing!!

Happy 4th of July!! We are so blessed to be living in a country such as ours! God Bless America!