must-see tv

stellan's story was on the news tonight. click here to watch the clip of mckmama's interview.

and click here to read the updates on her blog.

oh, and PRAY!

not me! monday ~ stellan style

it's not me! monday with a spin... this week not me! monday has been moved to the cline's blog and is in honor of stellan and the whole mckfamily. 5-month-old stellan has been in the PICU for over a week now and desperately needs a miracle. visit mckmama's blog to read updates about stellan, and please pray!


like so many other fellow bloggers, stellan has NOT been on my mind all week. visit the cline's blog to see who else has NOT been obsessed with stellan this week.

i have NOT been glued to the computer every day waiting for updates and blog posts. the refresh button on my browser does NOT hate me!

i did NOT decide to check mckmama's blog and twitter at 2am after ryan briefly woke up.

i did NOT freak out on wednesday when he went into v-tach. i did NOT slam my laptop shut and say "samantha we have to pray NOW!" after briefly telling her what was happening with stellan she did NOT start praying before i could start. and her prayer was NOT super lengthy for a 5-year-old. she did NOT pray to Jesus to "please let stellan live because he is so special to us." she did NOT make me cry.

i was NOT asked if mckmama was a friend of mine when i lived in minnesota, since i talk about them like i know them. nope... never met her, although she is my sister!

after praying for dinner the other night samantha did not ask her daddy "aren't you gonna pray for stellan?" ben did NOT reply with "who's stellan?" uh oh... you have a lot to learn, ben!

if YOU still don't know who stellan is, go visit mckmama's blog and please please pray our special little boy!

thankful thursday

continual learning. that's what i'm thankful for today. or maybe i should say continual teaching, because there's plenty of days when i don't want to learn anything!

God has been teaching me some things this week and i'm actually learning from them! so many times we think we have it all figured out, and then God steps in and says "hey! let me show you this!"

one example from this week is on the topic of prayer. pastor bob had a great message on prayer this past sunday and at the close of his sermon he had everyone think of one thing weighing on their heart, write it on a piece of paper, and give it to God.

i didn't have any HUGE problems on my heart, but there was this one little thing that has been making me mad, upset, and angry for the past few months. i just figured i didn't have the right attitude about it, but i still hadn't ever prayed about it. well i wrote it down, talked with God about it, and wouldn't you know, monday afternoon it had already started to resolve itself. or, should i say, God had started to resolve it. call me stupid for not praying about it months and months ago, but at least i was smart enough to learn a God lesson this week!

and since we're on the topic of prayer, please keep baby stellan and his family in your prayers. he has been in the hospital with tachycardia since sunday night and definitely needs all the prayer he can get! (read this post from monday morning to start at the beginning.)

wordless wednesday

if you missed the story behind the picture, read this post and comments!

the eyes have it

today samantha had her yearly eye exam. which, when i say yearly, i mean third. she was born with minute cataracts in both eyes (which the opthemologist couldn't see until i showed him), so we had them checked out when she was a couple months old. he said they would most likely never affect her vision, but to have her checked every year. we didn't go back until last year when she was 4 and a half!

at our last visit to the pediatrician they said she was a little farsighted, so today we had that checked out along with her cataracts.

her appointement went well, except for the part where she had to have her eyes dilated. she didn't like the eye drops very well, which you can see from the picture! but she read all the letters great and her vision is just fine! her cataracts have not changed at all and will probably never be a problem for her. and her farsightedness is normal for a child her age. YEA!

samantha had to wear these lovely glasses for a 3-d test so i couldn't resist this great photo opportunity and a totally blog-worthy picture. especially after i took the picture and samantha said, "mom, please don't put that on your blog!"

sorry sweetie, i had to! :-)

not me! monday

thanks to mckmama, it is time for not me! monday again. usually you can go to her blog to see the links to all the other not me posts. but today please visit her blog to read about her infant son, stellan, who is in the pediatric intensive care unit with tachycardia. and please lift them up in your prayers.

for not me starters, i did not wait until after 10pm to post my not me!

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i did not decide to start getting my 20 month old used to sitting on the potty. he did not pee twice and poop on the second day. i was not super excited. then i was not super scared about potty training a boy.

and it was not samantha that thanked Jesus at dinner time that we got to see ryan tinkle on the potty...

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and speaking of ry-ry, he does not now know how to get in the pantry and find the snacks. so when he got out the bag of goldfish the other day and started eating them, i got out the few unsmashed ones that were left in the bottom of the bag, then threw it in the trash and closed the lid. 3 minutes later when i looked at him he had not opened the trash and dug out the bag and he was certainly not sitting on the floor eating the smashed goldfish crumbs out of the bag.

at least he wasn't eating directly out of the trash...

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this week i surely didn't teach myself that i still have a lot to learn in the kitchen, because i certainly did not grab a broccoli spear out of a steaming hot pan to see if it was done, pop it in my mouth, then burn my entire tongue because all the boiling water had congregated in the floret.

and on a totally different occasion, i did not steam some vegetables and end up burning them. charred. toasted. scorched. it certainly wasn't me who did that. i am way too smart to know that you need water in the bottom of the pan to steam your veggies...

and those veggies that got burnt? no, they did not sit on the stove for two whole days before i threw them away. for those two days i did not keep thinking what in the world is that horrible smell and it never even occurred to me that it could be the 2-day old cauliflower. that is, until i emptied it into the trash and almost threw up because of the pungent aroma.

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after doing my nephew's taxes, i totally did not feel like my dad when i made him go through them with me so i could explain them to him.

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while samantha was playing outside the other day, i did not glance out the window to check on her and i was not totally humored when i saw her sporting this fashion statement! it totally did not remind me of the movie the benchwarmers...

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what have you not done lately?!

baby steps, baby!

i love how he claps for himself when he gets over to me in this video.

he sometimes walks sideways or drags his right leg, which you can see him doing. but hey, walking's WALKING, right?!!

17 steps! that's the most he's ever taken!

thankful thursday

today i'm thankful for the amazingly wonderful picnic the kids and i went to earlier this week. because of spring break we didn't have ladies' life groups at the church on tuesday morning. so instead we met at the park for a picnic playdate. it turned out to be more of a potluck, as everyone brought food to share. from subway sandwiches, brownies, chips, grapes, goldfish, and apples, to cookies, PB&Js, juice boxes, crackers, bananas, twinkies, and cheese singles, we had a FANTASTIC lunch! and one super smart mom even brought wet wipes for the whole crew!

it was a gorgeous 82 degree day. all the kids had a blast on the playground, and i'm sure they all had equally as good naps!

being the wonderful mom that i am, i totally forgot to take pictures of my own kids. but for those of you who want to look at pictures of people you may not even know, click here!


what are you thankful for today?

wordless wednesday

tuesday tip - tell your husband to go fly a kite

and here's the real tip: stay inside with the kids!

it was a beautiful, windy day here yesterday. after eating lunch outside, ben decided to go get one of our kites. he got samantha all set up with the kite and came inside to get another one when i heard samantha yelling "DAD!!! DAAAAADDDDD!!!!!!!"

when i went outside she was standing there, helpless, looking up at her kite stuck in the tree. i got it free and then we had an unevenful kite flying day things got dangerous when ben brought out his kite! we were having fun watching the kites, then samantha's broke. so we went on the swings while ben continued to fly his kite.

he was trying to do loop-de-loops (or however you spell that). and at one point, the kite came down at 30 MPH (ok, probably more like 7) an abruptly stopped right above ryan's and my head, thanks to the crossbar on the swingset. i so was shocked that that happened and that ben was laughing, so i wasn't fast enough to get a picture of it. he hurried so fast to get the kite back up in the air and when he succeeded without my getting a picture he said "haha! now you can't put that on your blog!"

ten minutes later he was still doing the same thing. he also managed to get it stuck in a tree a few times while continuing to try loop-de-loops. i told him i was a little nervous about him hitting the kids, who were still on the swings and his arrogent reply was, "hun, if the kite starts to go down i can make it go back up again."

less than 60 seconds later...

...he did it again! i was totally ready this time. and as i was snapping pictures ben was saying, "noooo.....!! oh man. i just totally made your blog."

now that i think about it, he probably did it on purpose! :-) anyway, he "reeled" in the kite shortly thereafter and we went inside with no injuries. but really, for the safety of you and your children, stay inside!

here's some more pictures of the fun!

samantha had a blast flying the kite


and ryan had fun watching!

ryan even got in on the action

and got to fly the kite!

don't be fooled...

he was being goofy and totally posed!

not me! monday

happy not me! monday. this blog carnival was created by mckmama. head on over to her blog to join in on the fun and read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week!

but first, time to own up to the stupid things i did not do this week!

while getting dressed one morning (in the dark as to not wake up ben), i did not grab a new stick of deodorant by accident. i did not then proceed to take off the cap and apply as usual. and because it was brand new, it did not still have the plastic protective cover on it, thus totally scraping my arm pit up and then down again. i did not hold in my "ouch!" scream and instead let out a little whimper.

i do not brush my teeth in the shower just so that i can stay in there longer. so there's no way i would have
a) grabbed my toothpaste and toothbrush,
b) opened the toothpaste
c) been on the verge of squeezing it out onto my toothbrush
d) then realized i actually grabbed my razor and not my toothbrush.
that would not have been a fun one to explain.

it surely wasn't me who skipped a day of school with samantha to go pick up my phantom of the opera tickets. no... i do not cancel a whole day of school when it's convenient for me!

my husband is the most caring, thoughtful, and honest person. so i know it wasn't him who told samantha "mommies who stay at home sleep all day." and he did not say that after taking a nap himself... then 4 hours later when i said something about it he did not say, "well it's true. except for you, hun. but it is true, is it not?!"

i did not take a picture of my toilet to post on my blog. and when i uploaded it to the computer i did not realize how dirty it was, go clean it, then take another picture. nope... i'm such a good housekeeper that my toilets are never dirty.

i do not have a hereditary love for ice cream, so i definitely have not gone without ice cream for the past 2 weeks. (mom... please pick yourself off of the floor now.)

i did not rejoice in others' misfortunes this week. twice. while shopping at target, an obnoxious 12-14 year old girl did not fly past me wearing those tennis shoes that have the little wheel in the back. those shoes do not drive me nuts, so when she got 10 feet in front of me and totally wiped out i did not smile and say "yes!!" (i do not feel like i'm old after complaining about obnoxious teenagers...)
and yesterday morning as i was waiting in the car, a teenaged boy did not happen to skateboard by on the sidewalk in front where i was parked. as he glanced over at me he did not absolutely lose his concentration and trip all over the place. i did not look away to conceal my laughter!! it totally did not make my day!

what have you not done lately?

10/52 photo challenge

oh the things that make my life easier! the challenge for this week was knowing where to stop! the list could go on and on...

i bet y'all thought i was gonna post a picture like this, huh...

well, i've decided to go the more uncommon route. while we all benefit from dishwashers, electricity, washing machines, running water, cars, etc., here are a few things that indeed make my life easier!


indoor toilets. believe me, for the amount of times i go to the bathroom any average day (or night, for that matter) an indoor toilet certainly makes my life easier! and not just any indoor toilet. more specifically, a western style toilet as opposed to a squat toilet i once saw in an indian movie. i can guarantee that would be disastrous with me.

my laptop, sheba. ok, i guess most everyone benefits from computers and email. but i just cringe at the thought of having to write a letter to communicate with my friends and family. oh, and i don't know how i'd blog without her...



wet wipes. kids. need i say more for you to realize how they make my life easier? and i'm not just talking about diaper changes.

keyless entry. have you ever carried a 25 pound wiggling toddler, a purse, diaper bag, 4 heavy grocery sacs, while holding your 5-year-old's hand and all at the same time fumbled with your keys (that you can't see) to get the car door unlocked? well i haven't! because i have this wonderful little button on my keychain that unlocks the doors for me. now if i only had remote start...

showers. raise your hand if you take a bath every day. every other day? once a week? anyone? no one? yep... that's what i thought. the shower is something i take for granted. and i shouldn't because boy, it's a whole lot easier than taking a bath. although it would be nice to soak in the bath once a week... but that's out because remember, i have kids.

my alarm clock. my internal clock is so off that i'd be in big trouble if i didn't have my alarm to wake me!

night lights. 2, 3, 4, sometimes 5 or even 7. that's how many times i get up at night thanks to the children or my bladder. i wonder how many injuries i'd have if i didn't have night lights all over the house. and i'm sure ben wouldn't like it if i turned the big light on at 3am!

one-stop shopping. really, 'nough said.

ben. now i'm not trying to be sappy by saying that ben makes my life easier, because he really does. except for the times when, well, he doesn't!


what makes your life easier?!

thankful thursday

today i'm thankful for:

• a toddler that let me sleep in until 9 this morning and took a good nap this afternoon
• no waiting to get an oil change
• uncovered plants that didn't freeze last night
• an uneventful grocery shopping trip and the now over-abundance of food in my pantry, fridge, and freezer
• conversations with friends
• time that i'll get to spend with my husband during his 3-day weekend
• the early late birthday present from my husband

what are you thankful for today?

iLike

ben drove me into the city today to pick up an envelope. i thought it was rather appropriate that the outside of the envelope said this:



because what was inside the envelope was this!



darn right i LIKE it!!

not me! monday

happy not me! monday. this blog carnival was created by mckmama. head on over to her blog to join in on the fun and read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week!

this is what i did not do!

i did not cancel school on tuesday so that samantha, ben, and i could watch the bachelor online. i did not still count it as school because samantha was pointing out different animal habitats and telling me what sheep are useful for.

i did not let samantha play in the water at the kitchen sink for an hour yesterday. when i went to check on her she did not have half of the dishes done! i was not a little upset with myself that i hadn't thought of letting her do that before sunday!

we did not lose an hour of sleep this weekend, which would of course make anyone more tired, so ryan was not up for 3 hours straight last night, wide awake.

i am not neglecting giving my children breakfast so that i can blog. they are not getting impatient with me!

what have you not done this week?

9/52 photo challenge

believe it or not, i made this week's photo challenge harder for myself. for some reason i read the category as "objects that define you." i actually thought about this all week, as to what really defines me. and it was a very eye-opening thought process because i talked about it with ben. it was interesting to hear what he thought defined me, because it was way different than what i thought!

so i took my picture and got online tonight and looked at the category once again only to read "objects that tell something about you." well let me just say that would've been way easier! but i've already taken the picture of objects that define me, so that's what i'm gonna post!

i am...

a child of God, a wife, a mom.

oh the pictures that i will take for next week's category: things that make your life easier!

nature's frosting

we took advantage of another gorgeous day and went for a walk this afternoon. along the way we stopped to play at a little park consisting of an old, rusty slide and swings.

while ryan, ben, and i were swinging, samantha was having fun on the slide. i saw her touch something on the top of the slide, then put her finger in her mouth. so i asked her what she ate and she said "some white stuff." so i replied, "why in the world would you put 'white stuff' in your mouth?!" (she has been taught that only food goes in her mouth, as she has tendencies to chew on her fingers, hair, and clothes...) she answered and told me the reason that she put the white stuff in her mouth was because she thought it was frosting and wanted to taste it.

so when we looked at the slide we found this:
(notice samantha's fingernail scratches through it)



needless to say samantha was a little embarassed and lot grossed out when we told her she ate bird poop!

thankful thursday

besides our high temp of 81, today i am thankful for signs of spring!

mom, you might have to help me out here, but i think the first picture is a hyacinth and the second one is tulips.

yea! spring is right around the corner!!!

never a wordless wednesday...

...with samantha around. here's some of the cute things she's said recently.

handicap - a convenient cover made out of aluminum foil. "mom, thanks for making this handicap for my yogurt!"

likewisely - i guess it's a much smarter way to say likewise.

deuteromians (doo-ter-rom-eee-anz) - what you say when you don't remember how to say deuteronomy.

ashleigh wednesday - apparently the first day of lent, also known as ash wednesday. (i guess samantha's nana was telling her about this because we're not 'lenters' around here and know nothing about it.) so last week when samantha asked me "mom, it's ashleigh wednesday today, right?" i had to laugh.

"BURRRRRR I HAVE TO GO POTTY!!!" - not your common brr statement or your usual i-have-to -go-to-the-bathroom phrase, but you know how babies shiver when they pee? well apparently samantha got a shiver and realized she had to go to the bathroom. now. she made it, by the way! ;-)

while giving the kids a bath.... "mom, look how i do a cartwheel in the tub." ahhhh! thankfully i stopped her before she attempted that!


and it's not only talking that comes out of her mouth. she also loves to sing and make up songs. i caught her on video the other day, without her knowing. i don't know which song i like the best, so i'm gonna upload them all for your enjoyment! i've also written down the lyrics in case you don't understand them. :-)

Jesus always loves me

I love you Jesus

Ooh ooh oooh....

Ooh ooh ooooooh....

Aah aah aaaahhh....

Aah aah aaaahhh...

He provides us food

So we're so thankful

But He has a reward

For us called Heaven.

Yeah yeah yeah..

Yeah yeah...

God of mercy

I love him

Because his Son died on the cross.

God loves me.

I love him.

Yeah.

Sometimes we get scared

But Jesus is always with us.

But sometimes we get scared

We call Jesus with us oh

Oohhhhhhhh oohhhhhhhhhh yeahhhhhhhhhhh.

Yeahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.

I love you Jesus oh yeah

You don't like it when I sin

But you like it when I obey.

not me! monday

happy not me! monday. this blog carnival was created by mckmama. head on over to her blog to join in on the fun and read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week!

this is what i did not do!

i could probably drive to my favorite restaurant blindfolded, so it was not me who totally missed the turn (and then realized it a couple blocks later) because i was so into the cd i was listening to. nope, not me. i'm always alert when i drive!

i did not digitally tweeze my overgrown, need-to-be-plucked eyebrows before posting a picture of me just in case anyone zoomed in on the picture. nope, i didn't need to take 15 minutes to do that because i am an always well groomed stay at home mom.

remember how my husband LOVES candy? well it certainly wasn't this wife who got rid of 25+ pounds of candy. and it wasn't my candy-crazed husband that said it was okay! hallelujah!

i would never wonder what ryan would look like as a girl, so i certainly was not the one who put his hair in a shampoo ponytail just to see. i did not think he was so cute.

the next morning i did not finally give ryan a haircut. he did not totally hate it, and ben did not have to hold his head down the entire time. but he does not look waaaayyyyyyy better!

what have you not done this week?

i am a lifetime joy...

or at least my mom thinks so. you see, she sent me the same card for my birthday two years in a row. when i opened the card i knew it looked familiar so i looked through my basket of cards and found the same one from the year before. i took a picture of the cards and emailed it to my mom and we had a good laugh about it. apparently when she was shopping for my card and picked that one out she had a feeling that she had gotten it before. but she thought she sent it to my sister instead of me.

then a week after my birthday was ben's birthday. he got his card from my mom and dad in the mail and i jokingly asked, "have you gotten that one before hun?" he said it look a little familiar, so i went back to the basket to see if she sent him a duplicate also. as i was flipping through all the cards i stopped and asked, "ben??? are the two cards from my mom over there on the table?"

to which he replied "yeah. why?"

i started laughing and pulled out another of the same card and grabbed my camera again!

my mom may have gotten me the same card three times, but at least she thinks i'm a lifetime joy!

love you, mom! :-)