Liar, Liar...Pants on Fire!

And so it begins...

When Jacob came home for lunch, I had just slipped back into my bathroom to finish getting ready. I had left Owen in the living room where he was happily driving his trucks and tractors on the couch. Jacob walked in, greeted Owen and noticed a graffiti artist had tagged our couch with his crayons. Big no-no...obviously. Owen got in trouble. When Jacob asked why he had drawn on the couch, Owen replied, "Jake came over...drawed on couch." Stifling our laughter (because you aren't supposed to laugh), we made sure he knew that WE knew it was OWEN who had committed the offense. Good grief. The couch is cleaned, the crayons have been put away and a lesson has been learned. The lesson: lying starts too soon.

On a more positive note, I banged my knee on the corner of our coffee table this morning (that's not the positive part). I crumbled to the floor (real dramatic-like) and told Owen I had hurt my knee. He said, "I kiss it, Mommy." Thanks, Owen-all better! :)

My Vision

*This is long. I just wanted to warn you.*

This past Sunday our pastor delivered a particularly stirring sermon. He challenged all of us to really figure out what it is that God has given us a passion for and turn it into a ministry. He said, statistically speaking, 20% of members of a congregation do 80% of the work-and, generally, everyone accepts that and goes about their business. His question was, "What if 100% of the congregation had a vision/passion and actually took steps to turn it into a ministry?" Think of what we could accomplish...Think of all the lives that could be changed...Think of all those people who are hurting who could be provided for and comforted.

Jacob and I are both involved in our church. We DO stuff. We don't just show up haphazardly and merely sit, listen and go home. BUT, am I really bringing something new to the table? Am I using the gifts God has given me to truly make a difference-or at least try to make a difference in the grand scheme of life? I have excused myself from really exploring what it is I have to offer because I'm a mom and, well, it's all-consuming. I don't think that's an acceptable excuse.

Anyway, I decided to ask the members of my life group if any of them had a vision for a ministry. Then, I shared mine. I have a passion for seeing couples eliminate debt and live a life free from all the clutter that is caused by excessive spending and collecting. It's a road Jacob and I have chosen after learning through Crown Financial Ministries and Dave Ramsey and I am convinced that it is extremely relevant in today's economy. Our culture yells, "Buy now, pay later with 36 easy payments!" "You deserve this, you've worked so hard!" "This is the gadget you've been looking for to fill that emptiness you feel inside!" "This will cure you of your insecurity!" Baloney. God loves us and wants us to love others. He wants us to be free to minister in any and all capacities, but when we are tangled in a web of debt and stuff, we aren't free to do that. Sorry, I may have gone a little overboard, but, like I said, it's my passion.

Here's what was really cool about Sunday. When I shared my vision-to provide financial counseling to families who were struggling-my life group members became excited. You see, the two other families in the room have also chosen to live a life free of debt. WHAT?! I had no idea. They had all walked the same road, made the same sacrifices and were sitting there sharing about what a difference it had made in their lives. THEN, they proceeded to suggest ways we could ALL participate in the ministry together. Okay, at this point, I was just planning on sharing my vision with no real plan of putting it into action soon because, well, like I said, I'm a mom (embarrassing, sheepish grin). So, here's what I love about God. Not only has He given me a passion, but He has also provided some real support and accountability. I've said it now. It's out there. Other people know and are willing to help. So, what choice do I have? I think I've got to stop making excuses and just do it. That's what I think.

So, what's your vision?

What's your passion?

What are you doing to put it into action?

Singing...

Owen enjoys singing. He breaks into song at random. I'm always amazed at the songs he can remember...or invent. Here's what he sang today:

"Three blind mice

Jumping on the bed

One fell off and bumped his head

And he couldn't get up in the morning!"

I think it takes talent to fuse 3 different songs/nursery rhymes together, don't you? Can you name the songs (or sing them all)?

Owen also likes to sing "Deep and Wide," but the 'fountain flowing' part is a little tricky for him to sing. Today, in the middle of his song, he stopped to inform us that he "Can't drink it (the water from the fountain). It's icky." :) We're always telling him he can't drink his bathwater because it's icky. Apparently the same holds true for fountain water. Ahh, seeing life through the eyes of a 2-year old is so fun.

Fun Fabrics!

Here are all the fabrics we ordered for Olivia's room! The two on the far right are going to be used for the crib skirts and all of them will be a part of the quilt for the pink twin bed. It's all coming together!

The Pink Bed

Here it is...the pink bed. I love it! I think the "grans" are going to enjoy it, too. We still have a long way to go on Olivia's room, but we've definitely made some progress. Her fabric will be here TOMORROW! Owen has also thoroughly enjoyed jumping on the pink bed. I'm pretty sure he's going to be sleeping in it at some point-he really likes being in Olivia's room. Just wanted to update you on the progress...

Mr. Clean

I decided to hire help.
I'm tired of cleaning and he's fun to watch.

Kick Count

Today I went to my 30-week Dr. appointment. That's right, in a mere 9 weeks, Miss Olivia will be arriving. That makes me a little anxious and pretty excited. Anyway, today my Dr. told me to really start doing my "kick counts" which means I have to make sure I feel at least 10 kicks within 3 hours after eating a meal. That shouldn't be a problem. Let me tell you, this girl has the kicking down! Good grief. I'm pretty sure she's laying sideways and she's been wiggling and moving like a little jitterbug. I sort of forgot what it felt like to have a little jumping bean doing happy dances in my stomach-I now remember: it feels weird and wonderful...and weird.

In other Olivia news, the twin bed (aka the grandma bed) is thisclose to being finished. It is PINK and so, so cute! I'll post pictures as soon as I can. Also, her fabric is on its way to my house and I cannot wait to see it. My mom is making all the bedding, etc. and I'm ready to put her to work!

Also, Owen LOVES to play in Olivia's crib. He drags his stool over to it, hoists himself in, and starts jumping away. One thing I love is how he refers to her bed as "Livia's bed" and her clothes as "Livia's clothes." He's going to be one sweet big brother. I can't wait to introduce him to his baby sister! Won't be long...

Fun with Trash Containers

Jake came to visit us last week and he and Owen found some creative ways to entertain themselves. Here they are with trash cans on their heads. When I told them I was going to take their picture they both said, "Cheese!" from beneath their helmets. So funny-I love these boys!

They decided the trash bins made good drums, too!

Here they are serenading me-I am one lucky girl!

Naptime Shenanigans

One day last week, I put Owen down for a nap and could hear him playing for a long time. I was getting a little exasperated when I heard him start yelling, "Momma!!! Come here!" I went to see what the little stinker was up to and this is what I found:
Apparently I had placed the hamper of blocks a little too close to his bed. He informed me that he needed me to "throw blocks" to him. He was having trouble reaching the blocks at this point and he needed more for his "road." I laughed and wished I had witnessed him smuggling blocks into his bed for his building purposes. Little boys...

Candy!

Owen loved everything about the snow...even the way it tasted!

We still have inches of snow on the ground here. It is SO pretty! We went out and played again today. It is not fluffy anymore, but we still had a good time driving little trucks and tractors over the icy, white blanket. The roads are getting better, but there are still some icy spots. The weathermen are predicting a little dusting tomorrow night and Friday. I'm not sure if I believe them since I don't recall any of them saying we would get all this snow on Monday! We'll see...

Happy Birthday, Grandpa Bruce!

We love you, Grandpa! We hope you enjoy your special snow day birthday!

Here's a big, cheesin' Happy Birthday from a silly crew!

Love you, Dad!

Snow Day!

We were shocked to see so much snow outside this morning!

We are even more shocked to see it still coming down.

They are now predicting 4"-8" here.

The snow is PERFECT for building snowmen. Here's my humble attempt.

I took this picture this morning before the snow started coming down this afternoon.
I'll have to update later when the snow stops falling.

I have to take my boy outside again. We are LOVING the snow! Some of our neighbors are building a monster snowman, so Owen and I are going to check it out. Perhaps we'll be inspired!

For Amanda and Kristin

Tonight Jacob and I hosted a Super Bowl party for our Sunday school class. We had a great turn out, great food and a lot of fun. All of our children are around 2.5 years old-I think that's pretty amazing! We had five kids running around and they played so well together.

Anyway, my house was super clean because I've spent the last week and a major part of the weekend cleaning it in preparation for the party (and my sweet husband helped me). A couple of the girls asked me if my house is always this clean. I wanted to laugh out loud. No, no and no. It's RARELY ever this clean. The above picture is one I snapped of my sort of messy kitchen, but that's actually pretty tame. I'll take a picture when it's really bad and post it sometime.

It's so easy to appear like we've got things all together when we set the time and place to display our lives. The reality is that my life is certainly not perfect, my house is not always clean and sometimes I don't brush my teeth until 4pm. I wish I was kidding.

I hope you all had fun watching the Super Bowl! I honestly didn't care who won, but what a fun victory for the New Orleans Saints. I certainly think this win means a lot for their battered city.

11 weeks and counting....

I had my 28 week appointment today. Everything went really well. My iron levels were a little low, so they told me to eat more iron-rich foods (steak, anyone?). Olivia's heart rate was 153. She's been wiggling and kicking so much this week-it makes me laugh. I think she must be perfecting some sort of acrobatic routine. Anyway, I also found out today that I'll be seeing my doctor every 2 weeks. Yikes! I can't believe it's time for that already! We also officially scheduled my delivery for Monday, April 19th so Miss Olivia will share a birthday with her daddy. Jacob is so excited! He has been so funny. He is such a great dad to Owen and I cannot wait to see him with this little girl. She already has him wrapped around her tiny little finger.

Here's a picture of me and my favorite little boy.
Cha Cha Joe Joe snapped it while he was home for Christmas.
He's a great photographer-I hate that he's half way around the world!

Nesting Goals

Emily at The Pilot's Wife makes a list of goals each month and posts them for all to see. I have never been great at actually putting my goals down on paper (which makes them really easy to ignore). ;) So, I thought I'd adopt Emily's approach and write a few things I would like to accomplish before #2 gets here. It should keep me accountable and help me get a few last minute things finished.

February Goals:

1.) Finish Owen's baby book.

Don't laugh. I actually did pretty well, but I still have a few details and pictures to add.

2.) Sort through file cabinet.

The cabinet lived in Olivia's closet, but it won't get to live there anymore. I really love to shred paper, so I am showing no mercy and destroying all unnecessary documents/papers. (This is sort of cheating because I started working on this last week).

3.) Make a 3-week Menu Plan/Grocery List

I usually make my meal plans on a weekly basis and shop with a list, but I know it will be helpful to have a few ready made lists when I'm juggling a new baby and a toddler.

That's a start anyway. I'll be sure to post my progress. Do you write out goals for yourself? If so, do you write them for the year, month, week, day?