Overload

As much as I love this time of year, this is how I feel about it right now:

This week has been Party overload. I literally want to go crawl in a hole and hide and sleep till next week. I think the older the kids get, the busier life is gonna keep getting...so I gotta kick it into high gear and start preparing myself for the craziness.

We jumpstarted our week with Sean's parents being here...which we love. The kids have such great times with thier grandparents. And this time especially I feel like they really bonded with them. So sweet. Monday night we celebrated Calebs Party out at Hawe's Farm. Sean worked it so that we got the whole place to ourself, all his little friends and my whole family had so much fun! It was a great party. Tuesday was Calebs actual birthday. I can't believe my little man is 4...it really does go by so fast! So Tuesday night we carved pumpkins, made a fire in the backyard and roasted hot dogs and marshmellos..great family night. Wednesday was Skylars school trip to the Pumpkin Patch, Wed night, our Life Group Halloween (dress-up) party, Thurs-Mom Group Halloween Party, Fri-School Dress-Up Parade and halloween party. Fri night my moms Halloween party for all the grandkids, tomorrow Halloween.....I'm sooo done!!!

Laundry Basket

I've had the same laundry basket for 10 years. Its held up pretty good... Ryder was playing in it yesterday and both handles fell off. It was bound to happen. I love that its green, my first apt (which is what I bought it for) in college was all green and blue. Wierd....I hate those colors now. This basket has served more than its existing purpose, its been a shoe holder, a "drawer" for my jeans, and then sweats, and then for my sweatshirts. Now, its back to being a laundry basket. The day is coming soon for me to go out and replace my green basket.

I'm gonna be rich!

I find roughly $.50 a day, cleaning the house. In the most random places. Theres loose change everywhere! In the kids rooms, in the bathroom, family room floor, kitchen floor. Where in the world is it all coming from? We never have change laying around, yet it pops up constantly. I started thinkin it was God tipping my hard work....its posible.....so I have a secret stash in my room that no one knows about, and I put my tips in my tip bucket.... .50 a day, sometimes .75 cents...it adds up......

Ingrid

Yep. I just must blog about the concert. I was kinda amped to see her. Kinda. My mom actually discovered her a couple years ago. Every time I went over there she was blasting Ingrid Michaelson. She grew on me, slowly. Till one day I realized I really liked her music. And the rest from there is history. So my mom calls me back in July super excited about something, but says she is going to wait to surprise me fror my birthday....but then the next second says she can't wait and blurts out that she got us tickets to see Ingrid in October!!! We were both screaming on the phone.

October 10th finally rolled around, we got all dressed up (but not too dressed up, cause you don't want to be too dressed up for just a little concert...so just the appropriate dressed up for an evening out). Went out to dinner and then on to the concert. 2nd row. Great concert. She was a great entertainer, telling funny stories between songs, getting the crowd to participate during songs. I even got in trouble by the ushers for standing up and clapping. Apparently theres no standing in concerts at the Cascade. Very proper there. Ingrid directly talked to me, highlight of the night. I was pretty impressed with 2, no 3 things: 1, the band all played every instrument, very talented band...2, her two vocalists that sang with her had incredible harmonies (inspiring) and 3, Ingrid played the Ukalalee almost the entire time.....

All in all, fun night. Good time with my mom. Thanks mom!

The Demolisher

Ryder is now 16 months. I didn't think it was possible to have so much love for 3 little beings. All of my kids I just love so much. But I'm learning that as much love I have for each of them, they are all different loves. Skylar's my only girl, so the bond I have with her is so different than what I have with Caleb and Ryder. And Caleb's heart is the sweetest heart and he being my first boy, is a whole seperate bond as well. And then there's Ryder. I don't know what it is, but my heart sure does swell when I look at him. Maybe its that he's the baby, but I'm finding myself losing all reserves of any punishment with him.

He destructs evrything in his path. He's encredibly fast. He's encridibly smart. He knows what he's doing. But being a complete demolisher and constantly destroying my house, just makes me love him even more. He's such a sweet boy (outside of demolishing)....he's constantly giving me kisses and love. I love watching him sprout into his own little boy self. I see glimpses of Skylar and glimpses of Caleb...I just can't wait to continue watching him be him. Ryder, my sweet destroyer.

On and on and on and on....

and on, is our luck with cars, and cameras, and computers.....ridiculous!! There is something seriously wrong with the energy I put out to the electronic world. My new 6 mo camera mal-funtioned. The explorer we bought 2 months ago had its transmission and radiator blow up....now driving around my grandmas Ford Taurus...gotta love it.

Stats over a 2 year period:
2 cell phones
3 cameras
4 computers
4 cars

......*sigh*.....sometimes some people need more humility than others I suppose......

God's Covering

A couple weeks ago we started a new series "Under the Chuppah". Learning what it looks like to date, fall in love, and get married all under God's covering. So far its been amazing. Each time we do a series on love and sex, I feel like God is really working through it and getting His words and His heart on how we are to be in relationships accross to us.

Sunday Becky Weber briefly spoke to all the women, especially to the single women: Can we stand in Gods presence and say "I'm beautiful!"? Are we finding our security and beauty in men? Cause every time we put our hope in people, they will let us down.

So I was thinking about this. And it took me back to High School. I went to Liberty Christian and twice a year in the Fall and the Spring Mrs Jones would gather all the girls in the whole school and bring us all into the Chapel. I remember her telling us how to dress, how to be modest. That how we dress affected the boys around us. And I remember always being so aware of that. I was ridiculously modest all through High School. I was really secure and confident in who I was. I never worried about boys, and getting boys to like me. I had boyfriends here and there, but never found WHO I was in them. So fast forward 10 years later to me being married for 7 years and having 3 kids. I struggle with insecurity. I struggle sometimes with finding my worth in God. I struggle a LOT with feeling beautiful. Why is this? Its not like I've degressed in my relationship with God. I feel real close to the Lord and have good intimate times with Him. So what happened to that confident, secure High Schooler?....I was really thinking about this and praying about it. And I found that I have put my hope not only in the Lord, but in my husband as well. I look to Sean to feel beuatiful. I look to Sean to hear that I am beautiful and lovely and loved. I never go to the Lord to hear I'm beautiful from him. This is where my problem lyes. This is where single girls have the upper hand. And here they are looking at us married thinking I can't wait till I'm married to finally feel that security and we are looking at the single girls and telling them find your security and worth in the Lord. So to all women, married or single or divorced, the only thing that will satisfy our every need and the ONLY one who can make us feel truely beautiful down to the core of who we are is the one who created us! Yes, our husbands can make us feel beutiful and loved....but after a while we start feeling insicure and bored and lonely....if we are not finding our True Worth from the Lord. But when we are, when we stand in Gods presence and say "I am beautiful" and allow God to pursue us and love on us, then we will be living under Gods covering in our lives. In our dating relationships. In our marriages. We will be living Under the Chuppah.