it's all fun and games: March 2010

not so mini-rant

so one day jesus went straight to the temple and threw out everyone who had set up shop, buying and selling. He kicked over the tables of loan sharks and the stalls of dove merchants. He quoted this text:

My house was designated a house of prayer;
You have made it a hangout for thieves.
Now there was room for the blind and crippled to get in. They came to Jesus and he healed them.
When the religious leaders saw the outrageous things he was doing, and heard all the children running and shouting through the Temple, "Hosanna to David's Son!" they were up in arms and took him to task. "Do you hear what these children are saying?"
Jesus said, "Yes, I hear them. And haven't you read in God's Word, 'From the mouths of children and babies I'll furnish a place of praise'?" matt 21

i have read that like a gazillion, thousand times in my life. a few weeks ago, i read it and it literally jumped off the paged and slapped me. i never "saw" this before

orange- the kids were running, playing and well being kids at church. they SAW jesus, then greeted him....KNOWING who he was (those silly adults didn't even know who he was!) but the kids KNEW him. know='s deep intimate knowledge.

those adults and preachers were like what are those kids calling him? (and you know what he meant by saying "those")

then jesus says...yes, i hear them. don't you know that they KNOW who i am....

me got this.

those kids were brought up in an environment where they were taught who jesus was. from birth
they knew him.

so they are playing, chilling with their friends. in walks jesus, the kids being kids casually toss out " hey you, jesus, son of god, we know (but the adults don't) who you are."

their hearts knew
they greeted him
they were open to receive him, even as they played

which lead me to one of my fav's verses

Nursing infants gurgle choruses about you;
toddlers shout the songs
That drown out enemy talk,
and silence atheist babble psalms 8:2

children who are taught from birth (going to church is not teaching)
grow up knowing (intimate knowledge) who jesus is (lifestyle)
prepare themselves to do what god has created for them
have the power to shut up the enemy with their teeny, tiny, mighty mouths

never, ever, ever under estimate the power of a godly child
it is time to stop babysitting at church

rant is over

*i am no where near a bible scholar. ha. i am just a mom who wants more for her child(ren)
** nate was 2 months old in that pic...sniff....sniff 0 comments

Posted by mel at 2:07 PM

steven and chris

as of the late, my tele-ala-dreadmill has changed from the reg programs (repeats, march madness and such foolishness) i discovered a canadian *gasp* show that i adore! normally, i would never watch canadian t.v much less 2 dude designers...normally that would be boring and would cause the time to pass by evah so much slowerrrr as it does when sweat is involved. anyho. here is the linkyloo to my new fav tv show! steven and chris!

enjoy!

http://www.stevenandchris.com 2 comments

Posted by mel at 4:09 PM

fish feeding and spring cleaning

nate decided to feed the fish yesterday. yep. the whole container. poor little fish

rain ='s cleaning time in my world.....and hosting the entire family this wkend....it just kicked my butt into gear. nate helped me clean all morning. i gave him a spray bottle of water and a cloth. and he helped me. haha. actually he did keep himself quite entertained and busy for almost 3 hrs!

then nate asked to "work out" and get this...."do crunches" bawahh. he watched me too much i think. i did put him on the dreadmill, he did 5 mins on level 1. then got bored and requested another snack

after i cleaned the sheets, made the bed, nate jumps on and messes it all up :). i showed him the camera and he said "cheese mommy cheese" i snapped his pic. then he said "cheese mommy and cookies!" yep. cheese and cookies. when he sees me reaching for my bowls he runs into the kitchen and says "help mommy make cookies!" which really means "give me food to eat while i bang some bowls, cups and spoons making quite a mess for you to clean up and reward my hard work with fresh, hot cookies. please"

chris's office aka the hole. is done. chris is sorta moved in. when you enter the room, his book shelf is at the left, then his desk (yep, 2 monitors, bec he NEEDS them to work *roll eyes*)

to the right is the large bookshelf that he made. i don't know, i don't think it's quite high enough....bawahhh. it needs to be finished, painted

the door to the storage room is in between the book shelf and bed. yes, bec chris NEEDS to have a bed in his hole, so he can rest while he's working hard....ok, i fess up. i love the bed. i want chris to build me a shelf on the right to hole my cup. i come down and read while he's working away. it's cosy, warm and i like hanging with chris. there is also a built in light above the bed. perfect for reading!

the basement is now cleaned! i finally did it. it needs to be decored now, but that will come as i find cool pieces to put down there

i once heard " you home is never finished, it's a constant work in process" true, true. that's the fun stuff. finding stuff and shopping. ha

0 comments

Posted by mel at 3:47 PM

nate took my camera

me doing my morning thing. coffee and computer

dirty dishes in sink from last night's late night snack

fresh orange juice yet to go in the fridge

nate when i took my camera back

haha

nate stole my camera this am, those are the shots he got in before i took the camera away, then he went into his ugly cry. then i laughed and took a pic of him

0 comments

Posted by mel at 9:37 AM

sold!

i'll take him for 19 bucks!

we shared a treat at the mall....that's how i bride chris to go...like father like son

so i did the ladies pot luck last night. i have a beef. why can't ppl stick labels on the food that they bring??? i hate guessing, then taking only to get back to my seat and not like it! esp with the desserts! after eating something that did not go well with my digestive system, i spent midnight until 4:30 this morning cleaning my system out. nastiness! at least chris got up with naters and i got to sleep in until 9. that was wonderful! that's my morning in a nut shell. how's your day going?

0 comments

Posted by mel at 1:30 PM

linky for chris

this is for chris. this dude is a math genius, he solved the most redic math problem the reward was 1 MILLION dollars. which he does not want...and lives in deplorable conditions. quite fascinating i thinks...i actually watched the vid for 1 min and 15 seconds before i got bored. this is for you chris....now go solve a math problem and get us a million...i would have fun spending that...who doesn't have a list of how they would spend a million bucks. if you don't, you should. you just never know. i have about 10 lists. for 10 different amounts of money. how fun would it be to spend a million bucks? i would have much fun sending people away to disney :) and paying off debt/bills. fun stuff

oh yeah, here's the linky... (see how quickly i lose focus and just all over the place)

http://www.mizozo.com/tech/03/2010/23/dr-grigory-perelman-recluse-genius-turns-down-1-mi....html

* had to add. those lists are in my head. i never actually sat down and wrote them out. that would be something chris would do.... 3 comments

Posted by mel at 2:18 PM

bakerella queen

i have a fun filled weekend with much food to be made. so i thought i would start last night. i baked for 3 hours. non-stop. i finally got to try some new recipes that chris would not like. ha. boy did that back fire on him!

top left. those are the. most. amazing. evah. easy-peasy cookies to make! and LOW cal!
take some choc chips i used 1/2 cup. melt in micro (watch they don't burn)
toss in some raisins, special k, rice crispies
LIGHTLY coat with choc. put in the fridge. voila.
next time i will try nuts, cranberries and healthier cereal

bottom left. these bad boys shocked chris and i. they are now our most fav cookie! chris doesn't like spice or molasses anything. but these bad boys changed his mind. they are spice ginger snap with lemon icing. and at 40 calories a cookie you can't go wrong!!! AMAZING!

middle plate, lemon delights. they lack the delight part. i tossed them out.

bottom right. 5 dozen choc chip cookies. all for chris. they are his now second fav cookie

top right. 5 dozen spice, oatmeal, choc chip. really yummio.

now my house is filled with cookies and smells Divine.

i am off to brew a cup o java and have another molasses lemon cookie. yum! 0 comments

Posted by mel at 1:38 PM

abbey rose is here

sara and abby this morning

seriously adorable in every way

chris holding and loving abbey

moi holding and loving miss abbey (yes, i did cry)

nate not really into this whole baby thing

abbey rose arrived yesterday morning. mommy and daddy are doing great. there is nothing like the glow of a new daddy, bob is cute, he talked nonstop about his new daughter and how he's going to keep those men away....bob...she's a day old, you got lotsa time..haha... sara is going great as well!

snaps for new babies!

0 comments

Posted by mel at 1:27 PM

nateness

nate insisted on me giving him a knife at breaky yesterday. he wanted to cut his toast with it. that orange paper would be your card ursi, nate decorated it with stickers. ha

so nate i went out this am. i had to use the ladies room bad, so i undid nate's car seat told him to come in the house, shut the car door, take off his shoes and jacket and put them away. that mommy had to use the bathroom. when i came out of the bathroom, i found nate like this...

i laughed and asked him what he was doing

he said

"yaya wait for mommy. mommy take of yaya's shoes. please"

my child is lazy

1 comments

Posted by mel at 3:48 PM

new socks!

nate got a package in the mail yesterday from his crafty, knitting aunty ursi

he tore right on in to it

he saw the socks and was quite thrilled. he took his socks off and put the new ones on right away. then he took off running "very, very, vary fast" and slid on the tiles with them. they are perfect!! they fit his wonderfully and i love that they fit in side his rubber boots. they will keep his feet warm and dry. thanks so much aunty ursi!!!!

showing his socks off in mid slide :) i love home made things, esp knitted stuff. thanks again aunty ursi!!!

i opened the fridge last night for my evening snack and found this....hummmm.....

0 comments

Posted by mel at 9:01 AM

boyz in da shop

nate and his hero, noah (i had to explain to nate that this noah is not the noah who built that big, big boat :)

while i was a way at choir (stop giggling ya'll) chris and noah did manly things in the man house

safety first.,vanity second...

nathaniel adores noah. all morning all i have heard is "noah come to my house...noah, noah, noah!" haha which reminds me of a funny nate story....

last sat night, i was telling nate that the next day is sunday, church day. the convo went like this

m-tomorrow is church. what do you do at church?

n-go to church! see hope and noah!

m-yes, but why do you go to church?

n-see hope and noah!

m-no, you go to church to worship and sing to jesus

n-no! go church see hope and noah!

m-don't you want to worship jesus?

nate stopped and thought for a minute and said...

n-go to church, see hope and noah first, then worship jesus

m- good enough my boy, good enough

which leads to this story. chris told me this is the convo that chris and nate had the other day

n-daddy, go on plane, go to disney, go to animal kingdom see mickey mouse. do that please

c- sure buddy, just because you said please

oh kids are so cute, so innocent

2 comments

Posted by mel at 12:38 PM

friday funny

0 comments

Posted by mel at 8:04 PM

we're back

i was taking the pics off the camera and discovered this one. not sure when it was taken (i am thinking sunday while i was at choir?) how cute

going for a walk to feed the ducks, sporting his new shades. that he keeps on! he gets that shades keep the sun out of his eyes...last year he would toss them

at the park with quinn

nate and poppy sliding. man, it was COLD at the park

quinn taking some kids bucket and shovel. haha

driving home yesterday. it was a LONG drive. i was TIRED and did everything to keep myself awake...note that ns has NO snow!

self shot of moi

nate with his tongue out

nate was pretending to sleep. for real. he would say "yaya sleep. mommy take picture of yaya sleeping" then i snap the pic, he would open his eyes and laugh. we played this game for a good 10 mins

nate put his hat on himself. good job. we played this game for a another 10 mins

we get home. i was emptying the car. i could not find nate anywhere. finally i located him. he was sitting on the couch, playing with his truck. with his shoes ON ( a big no-no) i told him to take his shoes off and i went back upstairs....i came down to find....

nate sitting on the bags, pointing to where he put his shoes. good job bud.

we left early because nate was NOT sleeping, i had 2 nights of little to no sleep, crystal and quinn were sick, so i decided to leave a day earlier. get home and get nate back to sleeping again. so glad we did. nate slept through the night and so did i. i feel so much better already

so nate is doing this whole new "clingy to mommy stage" not sure what to make of it. he won't leave my side...not sure how long this is gonna last

poop story

feel fee to not read. it involves poop. hah

15 mins after we left hali i hear "mommy, yaya has to poop" not sure if he's real or not. i kept driving. 20 mins later i was coming up to an exit with a bathroom. i asked him if he had to go he said "no" so i drove on

15 mins later i hear "mommy, yaya has to poop" so i got to the next exit with a tim's and off we go

we walk into the bathroom at tim's and nate does his biz on the toilet (i should say in the toilet) we wash hand and in the process start chatting to the employee who's cleaning the bathroom. we leave to get in the line to get a coffee

i am about 3 ppl from the front and i hear "mommy, yaya has to poop" humm he just went. but i thought ok maybe he does. so i leave the line, go back to the bathroom, say hi again to the employee and put nate on the toilet. and he poops. yes, that he does. 4 flushes later, we wash hands, talk to the employee in the bathroom. get in the line at tim's

i am almost to the front of the line, then i hear "mommy, yaya has to poop" what?

long story short. repeat the above 5 more times. yes, 5. i was in this tim's for 40 minutes while nate did his biz. i got to know the employee quite well, i did finally get my coffee and we get on the road

as i am pulling onto the highway i hear, "mommy, yaya has to poop" i told his too bad, he has to wait until we get home

and he did.

haha

0 comments

Posted by mel at 8:03 AM

i am alive!

all is well! thanks for those who asked. ha.

i am in hali with the rents for a little visit. chris is keeping the house warm and cozy for me, eagerly waiting my return....bawahhh

i will be back at the end of the week, with megga pics, stories and a trunk full of new purchases (chris i raised the limit on the m/c) i am sure

have a wonderful week everyone! 3 comments

Posted by mel at 7:41 PM

make em smile...

at crystal palace ...ha. i could not resist. get it? we took nate to ride the train. but first he rode the merry go round. it was ok

then it was time for the train! see that teeny, tiny, puff of blondish color to chris's right? that would be nate's head

he loved the train. he rode it twice. then i convinced him to save his tickets to share with quinn when he comes up in a few weeks. nate agreed to "wait and ride with kin...and poppy"

waving at me as he passed. sniff, they grow SO fast! i figured since i got to ride with nate in florida, chris could do it today

then to mcdee's for a snack and free coffee for mommy and daddy...and the play area is quite sweet....and the coffee is free

i asked nate to smile for me. he did

i thought we needed a fun day. we have spent the last week passing this nasty bug back and forth. i am so done with poop! i can't wait until we all get better! this is the worst! i do say that constant diarrhea is a great way to potty train! nate has done so well with it. he told me today "mommy, yaya bum hurts" i can only imagine my child...

2 comments

Posted by mel at 5:09 PM

i stand corrected!

i have often heard these claims and scoffed at them.

"not a day has gone by that i have not thought of my daughter/son......." blah, blah, blah

really? not a day? not one teeny, tiny day?

"i would do anything for my child"

really? like ANYTHING? like die for them? like throw yourself off a cliff? like STOP drinking?

"i think about my son/daughter all the time"

i humbly stand corrected

i will never doubt these people again

there was not been 1 teeny, tiny day that i have not thought of ben. not one. it mostly hits at night, as i lay my head on my pillow. most thoughts are accompanied by silent tears.

i am not over this

please don't tell me to get over it

don't tell me that it's not healthy to still cry

don't dare tell me that i have had enough time and i need to move on

there is a HUGE difference between remembering your lost child but still living life and moving forward than staying in a permanent place of mourning

i am not where i was 2 months ago and i am sure i will be at another place in a few months

i think about my son daily, i will always remember him, i will always ask jesus to hold him for me
my heart is beyond sad when i reflect on all that was taken away from me

i am a proud mom of 2 beautiful sons 4 comments

Posted by mel at 10:47 AM

nate mail

nate got a package to celebrate his potty perfectness and to cheer him up from being sick

his face when he realized that 1- it's a BOOK and 2- it's tommy!

then we read it, and read it again, and once again read it, then i read it one more time, then well, what else was i going to do this afternoon? we read it again (and i made up the story this time)