Growing up

Yesterday afternoon we took away Paci. The thought has been in my head for awhile now, but wasn't sure when to do it. Izzy loves his paci and it broke my heart to think of taking it away, but it was also wearing me out hearing him whine for it all the time. We have tried really hard from the very beginning to not let him have it unless it was absolutely necessary, or it was bed time. Then he got older and got sick, and then he started asking for it. Not that gave in all the time, but sometimes (I will confess) I got so tired of hearing him whine, that I gave it to him for a few min. Yesterday I let him have it for nap time, but after he got up, I told him it was time to put paci nigh-night, which he did with a very good attitude. He was great all afternoon and only asked for it a couple times. I had talked to my mom about it, and of course Joel, so all afternoon I was praying that the Lord would give me wisdom to know how and when to do this. Yes I pray about how to take pacies away! We played, ate dinner, got ready for bed...all without paci. I read to him, and then decided to see what would happen if I didn't give it to him to sleep. He of course asked for it, and started looking for it in bed. When we couldn't find it, I told him to lay down with diti, and he did. He fussed for a little bit and then was mad when I told him that they were all gone, but calmed down realy quickly and went to sleep. Today he has been so good, and excepting that they are all gone, but nap time was a little rough...for me. I hate hearing him cry. But it wasn't even five minutes and he was out. Hopefully this goes well, and we can be rid of these wonderful but addicting things.

Hide Heart

I know that I have mentioned the Hide'm In Your Heart DVDs and how wonderful they are. My son, 1 1/2, LOVES them! And when I say Loves them, that is probably an understatement. This past week he has figured out how to say it. It surprised me when I heard him ask for Hide Heart. The only thing that keeps me from letting him watch it all day everyday, is because well, he needs to do something other than sit in front of the tv with his diti and paci (diti being his blanket). But other than that, I am THRILLED that he loves these because it is just scripture put to song. I he quotes the scripture and the reference before each song. Joel and I have the songs memorized and the order in which they come. But my prayer is that as he gets older, these songs will penetrate his heart. The scriptures says that God's word will NOT return void. These are great songs/verses and I am so grateful that he is going to have these hidden in his heart. Friday afternoon I realized that he had a low temperature, and Saturday in climbed to 103 degrees. We lost track of how many times he watched Hide Heart Saturday and today. It is the only movie he asks for. We have definitely gotten our moneys worth. Now...if we can just figure out how to get them on our iphones!

Goodnight Moon

I am sure that all of you have heard of the book Goodnight Moon. It is one of my favorites especially since my mom read it to us. So now I get to read it to my son. But...there is a special way to read it. There are certain voice inflections that must be followed while reading the list of things to say goodnight to. The first time Joel read it, it just didn't sound right. It almost ruined the book for me. So now I am teaching him how to read it the right way, and he is being such a good sport. I am so gald that he understand or at least humors me in this area. Tonight he was reading it to Israel, and he looked up and asked "am I doing it right?" I told him he was getting better. I know it sounds silly, but I am sure that all of you have something like this, whether it is a book that needs to be read a certain way or something else. What is one of your peculiar or special request?

Fall

A new season is here, and with it new things. We got a new table!

Kendra and Shawn, my sister and her husband told us awhile back that they wanted our table and if we saw something else that we like that they would buy it from us. So we saw the table pictured above, and it was exactly what I wanted, and it was going to be the same price as what my sister was offering, so we got it!
But....the table will not be in for maybe six weeks, so right now we have a card table in our dinning room as our makeshift dinning table. We can't wait to get it!!!

Grape Thief!

Israel LOVES grapes! He gets a small glimps of them and he goes crazy. Well, today after I got home from grocery shopping, I was putting away the groceries. Of course I had the fridge open and my little helper was "helping" me. At least I thought he was until he peeped around the fridge with his mouth full of grapes! He had figured out how to open the grape container and was helping himself tho them. It was so funny! Anyway, he is evidence of the grape thief!

Izzy tidbits at 15 months

Israel is 15 months old. He is growing up so fast, and I am enjoying every minute of it. Sometimes I stop and am in awe at how big he is getting because it seems like we get going about our lives and then all of a sudden he is bigger! He is saying so many words like "no" , "yes", Thanx", "Bible", "Bubble", "Ball", And various other words that we can't fully understand. His newest word is "Cool Dude!" and he says this when he puts on his cool sunglasses.

He loves to eat with a fork and his newest thing is popcorn! Oh does he love it. And he doesn't just put one piece in his mouth, he takes a handful, throws his head back as he puts it in his mouth like daddy does.

He loves his blanket and calls it "Diti." Every morning we walk in and he immediately holds up diti and wants out. He now finds it along with his paci when he wants to be held and cuddled. I love it! I love that he has something that comforts him. 

We are in the process of transitioning away from the morning nap and that has been okay. It is a lot easier when we have errands to run or something to do to keep us busy. It is hard when we are home all day and I have to come up with things to keep him occupied and not cranky. But we will make it.

He loves to play with the pots and pans. I think that he just might grow up to be a cook of some sort. He loves to color (only for a few seconds though), loves to play ball, and LOVES the park. We go there a lot! His best buddies are Melody, and Levi and it is always a treat to see them.

We have started using cloth diapers and so far it is not that bad. If I think about it too much when I am rinsing out a diaper I think I might throw-up, but if I just do it, then I am okay. I will not be doing this for the rest of my life right?

We are loving this stage. We love to cuddle, listen to music and sing Snuggle Puppy.

Time Mulitplied

You know how you are always wanting time to be mulitplied? Well, I have found a solution. Cut out tv watching in the evenings! Joel and I are taking a tv fast for this week and it has been pretty nice. We have gotten some reading done, we have gone to bed early, we have played games, he has worked on pictures. It has been pretty peaceful. It makes the evening last longer. Try it sometime.

Weddings are exciting things. Especially when you first get ingaged. Romance is in the air. People are congratulating you, and offering to help with the wedding, you and your fiance are communicating well, and you can't imagine EVER having an arguement. The start of planning even goes well, and you enjoy picking out your flowers and finding THE dress. But then the week before the wedding arrives and everything changes. That is where we are right now with my sister-in-laws wedding. Thankfully she came to town last weekend and we found out how frazzled she was and that she could really use the extra help. Amazingly enough I was able to find a place for Izzy so that I could leave with Juls on Monday to help be her brain. We have gotten a lot done, and we just finished moving them into their new house...but it has been the last week of the wedding if you know what I mean. Emotions are hight, things are tense, and if you say "call the minister" one more time, she might bite your head off!!!

We look forward to all the hustle and bustle that starts tomorrow as guest start coming in, and flowers are picked up and the party begins!!

"Whew!"

The past two weeks have been SO busy! I have been helping a dear friend of mine declutter her home for the past 2 weeks, still stay on top of mine, take care of Izzy and Joel, try to get ready for a garage sale (4 families) and take care of piano business as well. Yesterday I had a melt down. Joel was so sweet, and took us out to dinner so that there was one less thing I had to worry about. Today I was so looking forward to Fifth Night at Utica Square and a relaxing dinner with our little family. We got there, found a perfect spot unloaded and I began to feed Izzy. Joel had gone to the bathroom so when he returned I left to go get something at Pottery Barn and left my half of sandwhich on a plate and next to it a couple bites let of Izzy's sandwhich. I said to Joel as I left "those are Izzy's bites." As I walked away the thought entered my mind that I should tell him that the other half was mine, but I didn't and just hoped that he would think about it. Well he didn't, because when I returned it was gone! He had fed almost the entire sandwhich...my dinner...to Israel! I couldn't believe it. Once he found out he went to Wendy's and got me a salad and chicken nuggets. He got back and exclaimed "all better!" I thought it was until I started unloading the food and realized that I was going to have to eat my salad with my fingers because he had forgotten the fork! Oh well, all silly mistakes and none that were worth ruining the evening. Plus a yummy cold Starbucks drink made it all better! Thanks Babe!

"Delightfully Delicious"

Today we had our first family outing to the donut shop! One of Daylight's Donuts slogans is "Delightfully Delicious" and it was! It was fun to see all the old men coming in who come everyday. One gentleman said that he had been coming everyday for 30 years! I don't think that we will be doing that. But it was fun for a Saturday morning, and Izzy loved the blueberry donut!!!

#1

Israel David Kelley turns 1 today! Joel is taking the day off and we are going to spend it doing fun things. I can't believe that it has already been a whole year! We have gone through so many changes, good and difficult but none of it I would change. Israel is the joy of our lives and we love watching him grow and learn new things every day. We look forward to see how God is going to use him as he grows.

Tuesday we had a party with family. So I baked a cake, we bought a present (legos) and got ready to party! It was a blast. He didn't really dive into the cake, but once we gave him his own peice, he had at it! Thursday night we celebrated with Melody who turned one on Wednesday. We gave them another piece of cake and again they devoured! Fun, Fun, Fun!

Highlights

I started writing this in may with the intention of mentioning some wonderful red shoe days of May. But I am a mom and a wife, and I was unable to finish the post and now it is June 5th. But I feel like there has been so much going on that I must document, even if it is just for my sake.

May 9th Izzy started signing "more"! We have been doing it for him for months, and I was overjoyed to see him finally catch on! It has made meal time a lot better (less screaming)

Mother's Day was a special day, and Joel made it very special. He made me a nice breakfast, and gave me some 8x10 pics of Izzy, once of which Izzy had colored the matt for it! Precious


We went to the Renaissance Fair this year with some dear friends, and despite the awkwardness of it all and how it totally freaked Joel out, we were able to make some really good memories.

We had several graduations this year that made life really busy, but it also called for a lot of partying! It was fun to acknowledge Abbie's college degree, and Sam's Highschool degree!

Weddings happened and along with it car trouble. Those were not red shoe days, but they were reality, so I guess I should mention them too. 

Birthdays followed and were very special as well. We had a big family party and everyone got really good gifts! I share a birthday month with Joel and two siblings, so we always have one big joint b-day party. We had the traditional strawberry shortcake for dessert and just had a all around good time.

Utica Square Summer Fifth Night started! We will enjoy every Thursday evening that we can out at our happy place listening to some cool music with a picnic and friend. Israel has started dancing and clapping when he hears music, so it is so fun to watch him.

Even though May caused us to almost pull our hair out with business. It was a good business, so we loved it. I love being busy with parties and such, so it will be kind of a let down in July when we don't have any more of those. What will I do with myself....Swim!!!!!

Have a wonderful Red Shoe day

Birthdays!

This month is full of birthdays for my family. Not only my small family, but my big family. May has always been a very busy, but fun month. Joel's birthday was the 19th, and it was so fun to celebrate with Izzy this year. We made him a banner that said "Happy Birthday Daddy" and Izzy colored each letter (well, he held the crayon, and I moved his hand). Today (the 23rd) is my birthday. Birthdays are important days in our household. The birthday girl or boy gets to have a special breakfast and eat off the "you are special" plate. Mom still takes us out to lunch, and then we get the dinner of our choice. Today, Joel went and got my favorite pastries from Starbucks, and we had a lovely breakfast together. My dear friend brought me a starbucks drink (my favorite) to church which I thought was so sweet! This afternoon was nap time for Izzy and I while Joel fixed our car. Tonight though, was perfect. I decided that I wanted Panera sandwhiches and dinner at the park. The weather was perfect, the atmosphere delightful, and the company sublime. Oh, and to top it off we got a snow cone on the way home! We are now home, Izzy in bed and watching one of my faves...27 dresses!

Thanks Babe for making this day wonderful!

Air Show

Joel loves airplanes. As a kid he wanted to be a pilot, and if he could, he would still get his license. That is the whole reason why we decided to decorate Izzy's room with airplanes. Joel talks about all the air shows that he went to with his dad, he runs outside everytime he hears something that sounds a little different than a normal commercial plane, and he has been wanting to go to an airshow with Izzy for awhile now. A couple months ago he found out that Tulsa was hosting an air show and we put it on the calendar. Saturday it came. We sat in traffic for over an hour until we finaly got to where we could park. We went ahead and parked, not know how far we would have to walk. I am not sure,  but I believe that it was probably a 2 mile walk! At least 1.5 miles. We finally made it and it was such a joy to see Joel smiling from ear to ear all day. It was fun to see all the cool planes and Izzy was wonderful. He even took a 30 min nap in the middle of all the noise. After a long afternoon we started the long trek back to the car, praying that it wouldn't rain. Well we were hoofin it, passing everyone! But we didn't make it time. It started raining, and we started running! I don't know how far we ran, not far, but we did it, Joel pushing a big stroller and me in my chaco's! We got to the car, Izzy having no idea what we just put ourselves through just for him, exhausted and ready to go home. But a good time was had by all, and we look forward next year!

Wonderful

I have to say something about my mothers. Mothers are amazing, and I hope that I can be as amazing a mother as they have been. My mom is always there for me, ready to talk, encourage, give solutions, provide meals, babysit, be my transportation and much much more. I treasure the times we have together, and am amazed at all the talents she has and how they have blessed me! Sometimes I am at lost for words to express my thanks for her.

My mother-in-law, is practically perfect in every way. She is so laid pack that I think she could be friends with anyone. She babysits for me every Wednesday so I can go teach and almost every time I come back, my trash is emptied, Israel's room is picked up, sometimes my pots and pans are spotless, my clothes have been washed and folded, and my bottles washed! Oh and Joel says the coffee pot is always cleaned out! Sometimes I try to clean up before she gets here just so she won't feel obligated to do anything, but I always arrive home with some little surprise.

Of course that is not ALL they do for us, but it is what I see a lot and I am thankful! I hope they know I am thankful, and indebted to them for all that they do. My only hope is that I will be able to be this wonderful to my children, and to everyone around me!

Go hug your mother (or call them and say you love them)

Thanks mom

This weekend we went out of town to Little Rock Arkansas for a wedding shower for a cousin. All of us girls minus Molly went and of course our babies. So Izzy and I packed up our whole house (or at least it felt like it) and loaded up in the car and drove 4 hours to Bama's house.  Bama's house means warmth, yummy smells, delicious coffee and lots of food! She always has mixed nuts out to tempt you and to cause you to give into temptation. Creaky doors always announce another beloved family member as they come in and we squeal, hug and begin to catch up. Upstairs is full of beds to accomodate all of us, and we usually fight over who gets the single bed all by themselves. Now, portacribs (2 this time) share the room and we stress out over whether or not the babies will sleep well together or if they will cry and wake everyone up. This time we had not just our family but some of our extended family staying at Bama's. That made things interresting and a little awkward since one of them was my Aunts boyfriend staying in the room across from ours. Things got a little worse when he spent the whole night throwing up. Needless to say, I didn't sleep at all that night between that and my baby waking up because of the noise, the heat, and no fan to subdue the inbetween silence. I was supposed to stay till Tuesday with my mom while all my other sisters were going home the very next day. I almost threw in the towel and decided to call it quits and go home as well. but I didn't. I had to prove to myself that I could do this, I didn't have Joel there to help me and that always makes it hard. But once my mom got there Sunday all was good again. She was so helpful. She noticed when things were getting hard, asked if I needed help, took him so I could have a break. Played, talked and laughed with him along with the rest of us. WONDERFUL! The next night was a lot better since I moved down to the office where it was cooler, quieter and gave us more privacy. We slept great! Eating was always an adventure since everything around him was new and he didn't really want to concentrate on his food, that he really didn't like all that much anyway. But he acted like a champ when we ate at the country club that I grew up going to. Everyone was impressed as he played on the floor. Although they did ask me over and over again if he was okay and wasn't going to get trampled. He ate mac and cheese, some veggies and some blueberry puffs! My favorite part though was when he fell asleep in my arms, exhausted from the days activities. He took wonderful naps and I really didn't have to compromise naps with our schedule, it all worked out beautifully. A rough start ended well. We are home now, and we all slept in. We didn't know it because the clock in our bedroom hadn't been set forward yet, but it is all good, and now I have the rest of the week to do some spring cleaning and enjoy some time off. Thanks mom for helping so much and for making it a good time.

Wedding bliss

My sister-in-law is getting married in August! So last Saturday we went dress shopping! I decided to make her a wedding planner book to help her get organized (we need all the help we can get)! I even passed onto her the special pick diamond pen that I used when I went dress shopping! I almost cried (sniff, sniff). We had a blast. It reminded me of the fun times I had during my planning time. What an exciting time! Congrats Juls!

Valentine's Day!

I really wanted to do valentine goody bags for my nieces and nephews this year and for my sisters, and mom (okay, everyone) so I was just going to go pick up some conversation hearts and tie them up all cute in a plastic bag. But then I had a better idea. I would use the sugar cookie dough that was taking up space in my fridge to make cute little heart cookies that I could ice and put sprinkles on and it would be more fun, and a lot cuter. (I know...that is not a word). Sunday morning (valentine's day) Israel had a cold, it was snowing, so we thought it was a perfect day to stay home from church, so I decided to make my cookies. I had so much fun but wished all the while that Izzy was helping me, tasting the dough, and licking the spoons full of icing! I look forward to next year when he will be able to help me cut out the cookies and put the sprinkles on and add his little touch to the whole project. They turned out great and here is a picture to prove it!

Misc. Items

Don't you hate putting stuff in the misc. item category? I like it when everything has its place and is in its own special category, but the misc. items are just the odd ones out. Well, I couldn't figure out a title for this blog because it is going to about all sorts of misc. things. Things I want to remember, and things I want to share with you. First things first...Israel is eating solids now!!! I am so happy, because this little big boy was consuming lots of formula. I thank the Lord though that he doesn't need some expensive like of formula, so it could be worse. But none the less I am excited. I was driving in my care today thinking about this, and just so happy with the way the last couple of days have gone, with Israel eating, and playing, and growing so well, that I was just about to burst! But I also felt guilty for being so happy when things are going so well, like I shouldn't get my hopes up or something. I said a quick prayer asking the Lord to help me have a good attitude even when things are NOT going so well, and resolved that it was perfectly fine to be rejoicing in the present and rejoice in THIS day because the Lord had given it to me. I can take one day at a time and be thankful for the easy ones!
         Second misc item...I got a new phone! It is a hand-me-down, (I almost spelled it like "hammydown" because that is how I pronounce it) but nonetheless it is new to me, and it is a much better phone than I had before. Joel let Israel slobber on his one too many times, and so he was needing one, found a guy on Craigs list that was selling 2 for one price, so we both got one! I was completely frustrated with my other one because it kept dropping calls. It was especially embarrassing when I was on a professional call and I had to call the person back and apologize for my stupid phone, in the meanwhile they are thinking I hung up on them!
          Third....Today I was teaching my sister piano lessons and Joe my brother has taken it upon himself to watch Izzy while I do this. I look over today and see him going over his missionary story with Israel that he was going to be sharing today in Good News club! Izzy was just sitting there looking at books while Joe was sharing the gospel! Oh Lord may your truth never return void, and may your word sink into this little 7 month old head! Then I look later and Izzy is completely relaxed leaning on Joe, while they read books together! Priceless!
         Fourth...It was time for Izzy's nap. I sang to him, prayed that he would take a good nap, and put him to bed. A few min. later he decided that he didn't want to go to bed so he started crying. After a few min. I went in a gave him his paci, but the crying didn't stop. I was teaching at the time, so after I was finished I went back in and told him it was time for bed and he still didn't quiet down! This went on for 30 min.! He was screaming! Finally I went in there got him up and gave him some Ibuprofen thinking maybe his teeth were bothering him, and then I decided to pray. I prayed that the Lord would bind the evil one from causing this little one to be at unrest. I prayed that He would calm his spirit and help him to calm down, and be obedient and take his nap. By this time Israel was trying to make some cute sounds after he had screamed my head off, but I didn't let him win! I stood up and walked over to the bed calmly telling him that it was time for a nap and that he needed to calm down and go to sleep. He started crying again like he understood me perfectly! I laid him down, gave him is paci, and left the room. I didn't hear another sound! I praised the Lord for intervening and causing my little one to be at peace. It is scary to think that the evil one is out to get even our little babies, but the power of prayer and the truth that God is bigger and has the victory is such a comfort! Thank you God for revealing yourself to me today!

 
     

A Snowy Tradition

If you know me and my family, you know that we have a lot of traditions. Mainly at Christmas time, but we also have little things all year round that are fun to do. Megan started this one way back when, and we have tried to keep the tradition going (or at least I have) even when she left and got married. Every time it snowed she would go out and get Mac and Cheese and Hot dogs! Every snowy day I remember in my childhood had mac and cheese. So today on this cold snowy day, we are fixing mac and cheese! I am so hungry so I hope this water boils quickly!

What do you do to make your snowed in days fun!