Really?!!?!!!

I can not believe that my handsome little man turned eight today! Really? I mean, seriously? Has is actually been eight years? I remember that day like it was yesterday! I've put on a few pics, they've all been on here before, but it's kinda cool to see them all together... The last picture is from today, his official first photo as an eight year old...

He is such a blessing! My handsome little man!

Thank you Lord for giving me a little boy who even at eight, knows and loves You! Thank you for how sensitive and honest you made him. Thank you for letting us have him to love and cherish for as long as you allow. Thank you for his laugh, and his gentle spirit. Thank you for his beautiful eyes, and for his constant willingness to love and love on me. Thank you that he loves so much to learn and to do well! Thank you for his hugs! And his kisses! Thank you for his joy, that he is so willing to share! I love this little man! And I am truly blessed to call him mine, but to know that he is really yours! Thank You!!!

-Kristen

Sunday...

This past Sunday, the kids and I took a little trip after church... first we went and had lunch with some friends by the creek, then I took them up to Easton to play in the fountains... One of our teens, Bailey, works up there and we wanted to see her. So first we went to the fountains that they could play in and get all wet, since she was on break when we got there. They had a ball! Auri was a little leery of getting wet, until one of the little squirts got her, and then it was complete fun after that. Jackson got right in... They both had so much fun, we'll do this again for sure!!!

I love this first picture of Jackson, He stood there waiting for the water to start spraying and then all of a sudden it shot up all around him...

This is Auri, before she actually got wet. She would go between the squirts and around the outside... by the time they were done though, she was soaked!

Jackson was posing for me, you can't really see it, but he had his hand on one of the squirts and was standing as if it were his cane, he cracks me up!

After we left there we went to where Bailey works, at the other fountain, this is a beautiful little body of water and the fountain in the middle would get really small and then shoot really high, it was quite lovely. At this fountain you can sail little boats... They don't have motors, so all you can actually do is turn them and let the wind do the rest...

This was our ship, she was number 23 and had the word Paradise written on her sail...

Jackson steered the ship first, and Auri and I watched, at one point, he steered it right to his sister who had her feet in the water... I love this first picture of Auri, something about it is just very sweet and precious...

In this picture Jackson is trying to figure out how to steer the ship away from the side, we eventually just grabbed it and turned it around... But he did a good job!

After Jackson it was Auri's turn to steer the ship... She didn't really get it that you have to turn the little lever one way to make it go right and another way to make it go left. She is still learning this, she practices all the time with her little Strawberry Shortcake remote control car at her dad's and with my VW bug remote control car at our house... She's learning, but I think the fact that it was in water make it a harder concept to grasp... Here are a few pics of her trying to get the ship to go...

The ship was way across the water on another wall...

She got it to come back from the other wall!!!

I think this part of the day was too calm for them... They would have much rathered stay in the water and play... But it was fun regardless! They eventually gave me the controller for the ship and they just played with their hands and feet in the fountain while I made the ship go all over the place, including around the middle part where the fountain actually shot the water up...

All in all we had a rather fun afternoon, and we'll definitely do this again!!! It costs nothing, and it is nice to be outside!

God Bless, have a wonderful day!!!

Do something special with your kids! Trust me, you won't regret it!

-Kristen

Most Amazing Thing I've Ever Seen...

So, in the midst of the storms of my life, God never ceases to amaze me...

However this time, He laid it all out. I mean, I feel Him talking to me quite often, however this time He needed to show me just how Awesome and Miraculous He truly is...

On Wednesday May 11th, we had had a very emotional night at church. A lot of us joined together to celebrate the life of a teen, from our youth group, who lived fully for Christ, and died, in our human eye, way too young. Her life lived, and life lost has brought many people to Christ. It had been an emotional week since finding out that she died a week before. And it was easy to ask why, and hurt, and be swallowed by grief. However, after the night of celebrating her life and God telling me over and over, that He has a plan. He is in charge. He loves us and won't let us do any of this stuff on our own... Apparently I wasn't listening enough.

Now, what I am going to share with you is something that happens countless times each spring, but even growing up in the country (kinda) I had never seen it. And this time, well, He made sure I did, and I believe that is because I needed to see His awesome power and be reminded of His Amazing Grace!

So, the kids and I drive home from church on the 11th, and we went in the house to get them ready for bed. It was later than a usual Wednesday night, so they were going to brush their teeth and go straight to bed, however Mimi asked them to join her at the table for just a moment. She had a little peanut butter jar that Auri uses as a bug catcher.... About three weeks earlier she had put a cocoon in it and it's been sitting in the kitchen. I at one point asked her what it was and she told me it was a praying mantas cocoon. I was like, "yeah right, how does she know that". I mean really, don't they just appear on the sides of buildings and on my arms and wherever they want? Do they really come from a cocoon? Well, yes, they do... and my amazing mother with all her knowledge knew that this was a praying mantas cocoon... So it has sat in the kitchen, fallen off the counter and been played with by kittens all while living inside this jar. Well... let's just say, it hatched... And what I was expecting was a half size praying mantas, just kinda sitting there, but when I joined her and the kids at the table, I was surprised... very surprised...

You see, there was not just one itsy bitsy teeny weeny little praying mantas, like this one...

And there were not just two itsy bitsy teeny weeny praying manatees like these ones....

Nor were there even just a few like these ones....

But rather there was a flash mob of itsy bitsy teeny weeny little tiny adorable and creepy creatures.... at a glance, they looked like spiders... EUWW!!! And they just kept coming out of the chrysalis by the hundreds... It was incredible!!!

I mean, seriously.... WOOOOWWWWW!!!!!

They were tiny, they were everywhere. Like literally the size around of about a sewing pin and the length of less than a centimeter. It was so cool... I felt like a child at Christmas! And every time I talk about it, I feel like a child at Christmas again because it excites me so.

So really, God made each of those hundreds of tiny little critters. He formed their legs, he knew how long they needed to be in the cocoon. He gave them eyes, and feelers and whatever else there is that they have. And He taught them how to Pray!!! Just like He is teaching me that I may have the free will to make whatever choices I want... but ultimately, He is in control, so I might as well stop asking why, and start asking what. Not why does this or that happen? Why whatever... But What!!?? What is He trying to tell me? What is He wanting me to learn from this situation? What does He want me to do...? What!!! Sometimes I wanna just tell myself, to slow down and shut up, it's not about me, it's about Him!!! Every day... Every moment!!!

Okay, so on with the story... Thursday morning after the miraculous (in my eyes) hatching... Jackson went to check on the babies before school since we had put them on the lilac bush the night before, from the jar, so they could be free and not crush each other, and he needed to get the lid from the top of the jar because Mimi had found another cocoon and put it in another jar, and we were gonna have more babies... YAY!!! So he goes out there, and about five to ten minutes later, mom looks at me and says, "what is taking him so long?" I didn't know, so she opened the door to go check on him, and this is what we found, just outside the door, on the ramp...

That's right, this little guy had decided that he wanted to make friends with Jackson. He had almost doubled in size from the night before, and he was so cute. Auri wouldn't touch him, but wow is he fascinating...

This is my favorite picture of all... If you look closely, you can see that the little guy, stopped and looked at Jackson. We had been talking and I was clearly taking pictures. I even held the little thing for a little bit. But Jackson had said something, and as you can see, this itsy bitsy teeny weeny tiny little critter, stopped and looked straight at Jackson. If it was possible to keep one as a pet, we would have. It was one of the coolest things EVER!!!

So, in saying all of this, I want to encourage you to stop, and listen. God is trying to show you something, or tell you something, or teach you something. HE has a plan, and He is in control! Let Him teach you, let Him move you, let Him love you, just like He loves each and every one of these little guys!

Have and amazingly blessed day!!!

-Kristen

Learning...

You know the saying... "learn something new every day"...?

Well, at our house, that's just exactly how it is. We can never know enough. Learning new things or how to perfect old talents and gifts can be fun, can be challenging, and can be very rewarding. Whether it is Auri who can get a nice solid tone when she runs the bow on the strings of her violin...

She got this two years ago for her third birthday, wow she'd really wanted a violin. She even then could pick out the violin part in a piece of music. It still amazes me when she chimes in in the middle of a song and tells me, "that's a violin". Coming from a musical background, I can't tell you how wonderful this is for me to hear. When she got it, the violin was almost as big as she is, but now she can actually hold it out. She'll learn someday, maybe I'll learn with her. It'll be hard work. But she loves music, and that makes me very happy! And I have my dad to thank for it, he would hold her as a baby and play his keyboard. Sometimes if she was crying that's how we could get her to stop, just give her to papa at the keys and he would calm her. It was amazing! What a blessing it is for me to share music with my kids...

Then there is Jackson, who sings solos in church, and dances like a hip hop king, and loves to use my mom's sewing machines. There are days when he will go upstairs with her and I won't see either of them for hours. He loves to learn. He loves to sew, and he loves to cook... Just look... mom was teaching him how to make a white cheese sauce, let me tell you, she's tried to teach me how to do that, and I still can't remember. But I bet you Jackson could tell ya if you want to know how...

My kids are amazing! My whole family is amazing.... Mom, dad, sister, brother the neices and nephews, brother-in-law... That's right, all of them. I am Truly Blessed!!!

Thank you Lord for giving me such a gifted and incredibly amazing family!!!

Blessed...

-Kristen

Bell Choir...

Watching the Bell Choir yesterday morning in church, took me back a couple years in my memory... When Jackson was four or five and was in bell choir. It dawned on me yet again, just how different my children are... First, we have Jackson, who undoubtedly makes every experience fun, whether it be making himself look like an alien in Bells, or laying upside down on the front row of the choir loft during a children's musical... He isn't old enough to have speaking rolls yet, but he sure learns all the lines and songs. He will be an entertainer, even if for only me.

Now Auri on the other hand, although cute and adorable and all the other adjectives...

When it comes to bell choir for her, it's serious business. She doesn't let anything distract her. Including yesterday when I just wanted her to stop walking for a half second so I could take her picture and she was determined to stay in line and with her class. She concentrates, and makes sure she only plays when her color is on the card...

She is beautiful, like a little angel... And she may entertain just like her brother. However, she doesn't live outside the crazy box like her brother. He is carefree, smart and rambunctious... She is reserved, just as smart, cautious and meticulous.



I love the fact that my children are so different. It makes life that much more fun. It makes me wonder what my poor mom and dad went through when my brother sister and I were kids. I am very different from both of them, and they are different from each other... It must have been a challenge.



I just wanted to share the joy of my babies with you....



Have a wonderful day!!!


-Kristen

Growing...

I find it hard to believe that my babies are growing up so fast. Auri (2 years old in this picture) is now five... A year from now she will be in the second half of her kindergarden year at school. She'll be learning to read and make words out of different letter combinations.

(in her birthday dress that she got from Kiki)

And then there is Jackson (3 in this picture) who is reading like a fourth grader, loves math, and science, and music, and art... and just plain loves learning. He plays soccer every fall and spring, and basketball in the winter months. He has more energy than twelve of me. And is way too smart to be only seven and a half. He is amazing!

Here... He is being held down by two cats at the same time, as he streches out in Mimi's Super comfy chair. And he has declaired that he will never cut his hair again. We shall see, but for now his hair is getting long and it shines....

He's more than Half way up that tree!!!

Wow I have some beautiful and smart kids. Both of them!

I am truly Blessed!!!!

Have an Amazing Day!

-Kristen