Whatever may pass and whatever lies before me,

....let me be singing when the evening comes.  (10,000 Reasons by Matt Redman)

That song kind of captures how I feel tonight. It's a good place really. It may come from a few spots.... a few run ins that God used in my life this past week and a much deeper understanding of the story of Joseph (yep, that guy, a son of Jacob, WAY back in the book of Genesis). I've been camping out in Genesis this year. I've blazed through this story a million times;  read it to the kids, watched the cartoon "Joseph King of Dreams" repeatedly, but God has never exposed some of the warming, likable traits of Joseph that lingered throughout different portions of his life .....peace, contentment, forgiveness, patience, wisdom, discernment, reconciliation, and an abundance of favor and blessing. He sat in a spot with the Lord that I only hope to taste. However, if you aren't familiar with the jist of Joseph's life, it's important to add that he didn't experience these things without defeat, disappointment, heartbreak, frustration and struggle with the Lord. I guess that's what makes him so easy for me to relate with.

Anyway, I guess the song spurred that spiritual re-cap as #1 for this post :) So moving forward.....


2. I've always liked the car wash. I'm not sure if it's good memories of childhood washing cars together with my dad and brothers or just a woman nesting thing. I took Addie and Eli along with me to wash and vacuum the minivan......I actually remembered to use the big foaming scrub brush to get the gunk off the lower portion of the car. I was rinsing so intently after I put the brush back on the wall that I backed my whole rear end into it! Bubbling butt is what I call that! Then the munchkins locked themselves in the car during the wash and triggered the car alarm for like 1 minute, only slightly embarassing at this point in my life as a mom. Of note, I also found a half decayed banana peel in the back seat cupholder.....how that managed to escape my attention is quite scary! Sorry if you've ridden with us in the last month while that thing has been rotting in the back :)

3. Eli has been completely potty trained for the last month or two (I should have this down to the days and minutes honestly because it's a huge victory around here to have NO diapers). Somehow he managed to sit on the toilet lid and think he was ready to pee....and he did, all over. The "kicker" was when I walked in and saw him wiping it up with 2 squares of tp. GezzO.

4. The pond is gone and our fish have found a new home. We now have our own FORT! It's still in process along with our whole backyard. It's 2 stories, clubhouse downstairs and lookout with slide upstairs as of now. The kids are all super stoked to have something to play in their backyard. I'm sure more pics and stories to follow from the FORT.

5, My boys have been wearing their newly acquired skate/bike helmets for 3 days straight now. We've had to put a stop to helmets at the table and at nap time, but they surely are more safe when wrestling and are pretty cute too!

Bro helmets

Helmets while watching TV

Easter 2013

Oops, forgot to post this like a month ago :)

Easter is always a day of rejoicing and celebration for the resurrection of Jesus, however it was also a  reflection of the sacrifice Jesus endured BEFORE the resurrection for me (and you).

Attempting Easter bird nests with Robin's eggs. Whopper Robin's eggs, pretzels, chocolate/peanut butter, and Peeps to perch on our nests....thanks to my cousin Emelia for the idea.....hers were much prettier!

The finished product wasn't so pretty but certainly yummy!

Dying Easter eggs in little plastic pouches. Weird. 

Seemingly dangerous pouches full of dye but turned out quite convienent.

Dying shirts in our egg dye pouches?????? Daddy's idea but the kids loved it and now we have TIE-DYE shirts!

At church Easter egg hunt with Aunt Mimi. They are sampling candy from the dozens of eggs they found together! Gezzo.....the amount of candy was worse than Halloween this year.

Eli with Tootsie Roll mouth. 

Kai with his tie

Addie girl.....with Tootsie Roll in her mouth as well.

Happy Easter one month after the fact :)

6 pic stories

Pictures are staying on my camera entirely too long.....so here's a few to back track.

1. Field trip to the Fire Station with Kai's preschool class. Siblings fully welcome to make things more interesting! Kai dragged Eli around by the hand and lifted him (all 2 inches higher) to "see better" when the fireman was showing special tools etc on the engine. Addie pranced around with her friend, Vanessa and other girls from the class just so happy to be included and be part of preschool!

Addie anxious to sit in the fire truck.

2. Our pooch Scout is utilizing everything in the backyard for her own comfort! She loves dirt and has now found a pillow!

3. The Spring weather is building the pressure for lots of outdoor work in our yard.  It's a good thing I have my own handy man! Safety first!

I actually have my own backyard crew to help clean out the pond!

4. Top bunk serves as a barrier to siblings and therefore LEGO madness happens there!

Kai is starting his own Lego creations! I'm so glad because Lego's are so specialized these days I didn't know if they'd ever get built again after the instruction booklets are MIA (missing in action)! He actually builds things before he sets foot out of bed on occasion.

5. Eli plays so nicely with his sister and brother. He is flexible and goes with the flow no matter what they play. When he's with his sister, his very sweet, caring side shows and when he's with his brother, he is 100% boy.

Catch the shoes on this beauty.....baby wrapped in blankie in hand as well.

A baby in his belly :)

Building jewelry with Addie.

6. Kai and Addie play "workout trainer" lately. Kai frequently gets on his workout attire (no shirt and sweatband) and heads to the basement for some pushups, like he does with Daddy sometimes.

This is Kai instructing Addie in pushups.

Workout buddies.