Zoo Trip

We had a blast this weekend with Katelyn and Emmitt! It was certainly different than our old trips full of eating, shopping, and painting our nails. This visit had a lot more refereeing, strollers, chicken nuggets, and golf balls. The first day they were here we went to the zoo. It was fun and exhausting! : ) It was Kailey's first trip. The male lion was roaring at the top of his lungs, upset about something. I had never heard that before in all my trips to the FW zoo! Here are some of the pictures we managed to catch of the kiddos!A wagon for two silly boys

Kailey liked the flamingos

This elephant was playing with balls in the water!

Emmitt & Katelyn feeding the birds

The train ride was a big hit

Visitors

Little John and I have company this weekend. We have been so excited waiting for this! One of my best friends is here from California with her son who will be three on Wednesday. They arrived last night and yesterday was a super busy day getting ready, stocking the house with groceries, cleaning, etc. Here is my question for you. Why do we wait to do things until they have to be done and then run out of time? I thought of twenty things I would like to have done around the house over the last few days that I could have done any other time and not been in a crunch. Things like hanging pictures in the guest room, organizing a few things in John's closet, and cleaning off the patio. At the same time John has worked fifty hours in three days finishing the launch of their updated website that they have been trying to get done for a few weeks. They are leaving for a conference today and wanted the site finished before they went since it will be advertised there. Again, why have to pull all-nighters right before they leave instead of doing that last week or the week before? Human nature is so funny that way. It seems like we have to have a serious deadline in order to get things finished.

Well, we are trying to head to the zoo. You can imagine how quickly we are going to get anywhere this weekend with two three-year-olds and a baby. : ) I'll post some pictures soon of our big fun!!!

Playing Around

Most of the time my kids play separately. Obviously, the things that a two year old boy and three month old girl can do together are fairly limited. However, the other day they found a toy that they both liked. John was telling Kailey what the colors and animals were and making the balls spin around for her to look at. It was precious. It made me think of my brothers and the countless hours we spent playing together. They have so much fun in store.Later that day Kailey was playing in her crib. When I went to check on her, this picture is what I found. She was ready to go shopping! It made me laugh because you could almost hear her saying, "'Gymboree' or 'Janie & Jack' anyone?" I think she may be one of those kids who's up for socializing of any kind, any time. Hmm, I wonder where she would have gotten that? : )

Blogging Lessons

I've learned a few things from blogging almost every day for quite a while now.

1. When you really want to do something every day, you can find the time to do it. I tend to be a procrastinator at times so this is a good reminder to me to stop making excuses and make time for what it is I want or need to do. It's also a convicting reminder that I absolutely can find those minutes for a quiet time each day if it's one of my top priorities.
2. Sometimes being a stay at home mom can feel like days filled with the same activities which seem to revolve around meals and nap times. When coming up with something to journal or share each day, I realize anew how full this life is of the sweet, funny, unexpected, and treasured moments that come with raising kids.
   
3. People who have really funny stories about their kids often have them, not because their children are funnier, but because they know how to tell a really good story. Sometimes we get used to things our kids do all the time which are hilarious to other people.
4. It really helps me to get some thoughts out where I do not feel that I constantly have all these things going around in my mind with nowhere to go! Writing is extremely therapeutic for me.
5. I love it when people comment on my blogs. Then it feels like a conversation instead of me talking into thin air. Thanks for our little "talks," girls!
   

Housework

I have suspected something for some time and today I think I have confirmed that it is true. I like to do housework. I like cleaning, laundry, ironing, and even cooking! Now before you decide I am totally insane, I'm not saying that I don't have other things I would rather do or that I sit around longing to break out the Windex. I do, however, love the feeling of accomplishment that comes with most of the jobs around the house. I know they have to be done over and over again, but for a few minutes you have visible results for your hard work. I like to put on a good movie and get some ironing done where I can have fun and accomplish something at the same time. I like it when our drawers and hangers are full of clean clothes, the windows are sparkling, and my husband sits down to my dinner at the table. And I want to do it myself. It just isn't the same for me when someone else does it. It certainly has nothing to do with me being some kind of domestic goddess (far from it), I am just admitting that it isn't that hard for me to do because I enjoy the process. So, that's my admission for the day. I think I will probably also enjoy watching my children do housework. : ) Get ready, kiddos!

New Pictures

Kailey's pictures are up on Kristin's site for anyone interested in seeing them. On the page that comes up you click "Client" at the bottom of the screen and the password is "kailey." Kristin and I have some pretty funny stories after trying to get the two of them in the same picture. As you'll see, we did much better when they were separate, but there are a few good ones with everyone. She got some wonderful pictures of each of them, and now I have the difficulty of choosing!!! I have to pace myself. We are doing this every three months this year. Let me know if there is one that has your vote as the best.

The Saturday Marathon

I completely forgot to post yesterday. I just got busy doing several things and never thought about it! Tonight I feel a little brain frozen. Saturday is quite a long day for us. We are at the church from 2:45 until after service, and that's a long time with two small children! We are continuing to experiment with the best way to do things with Little John. We are enjoying doing Star Time, though, even though weekly preparation is a lot of work! We have had a difficult time with some technical issues with the sound, etc. and are continuing to pray that God will smooth the bugs out where nothing will distract from the message of worship and His character that we want to share with these families. It's amazing how God gives you the strength and stamina to do something like this when it's His timing for you to be involved in a ministry. I can always tell when I'm working on things where He wants me because I feel like I have extra time and energy in other areas to make up for the time spent for Him. Lately I have felt as if I had an abundance of time to get the daily things done which is nothing short of miraculous with a newborn and a toddler!
After the activity-filled day we have each Saturday, we always look forward to Sundays and having our small group in our home. Meeting with our group is one of the stress-free joys we look forward to each week. My biggest question for tomorrow is if I make chocolate chip cookies or snickerdoodles. Hmmm. Here is a cute picture of a few of our small group's young people socializing. This has all the kids in our small group except either of mine! I love Eva, Scout and Kyndall!

Closet Fanatic

I have a confession to make. I am a closet video game fanatic. I know. . . that's not normal for a girl. I seriously love playing them! We were at Best Buy last night and there were about five new games I really wanted to get. I definitely don't have time to sit and play by myself anymore, but it's something our family likes to do together.
I guess this came from growing up with brothers. It was never quite as much about the game for me as about playing it with other people. We would play, compete, laugh, and get frustrated together. We still play Mario Kart on family night sometimes, but we have to take turns because there are far more of us who want to play than there are controllers! Carli will make our ninth Scroggins sibling with in-laws and Little John plays too so that's ten. Pretty funny.
When I got married I played them with John. Before kids we would sometimes stay up until the wee hours on a weekend playing "Empire Earth" or our latest find. Now I play with my son. He has one of those educational games where he learns while he plays as well as really enjoying the active play of the Wii. I'm glad I know how to play those games because instead of Little John playing by himself, we can do it together. Maybe this will make me a cool mom. Either that or my son's friends will go home crying that I beat them at the games and wouldn't share! : )
So, I have confessed. I assure you I do not sit around the house doing this while my kids cry and the laundry is piled everywhere. I do however sometimes choose to leave the chores, sit with my son, put Kailey in my lap (she likes to grab at the controller), and play for a while. I may not be his favorite video game partner forever!

Are You Kidding Me?!

My parents and sisters are on a cruise this week. I'm so excited for the girls because they are there with their best friends, dressing up and having a blast! I keep imagining what fun they're having and how cute that gaggle of girls is running around the cruise ship. This is a graduation trip for the two oldest girls who will be graduating in May. I'm sure my parents are also having a great time with the other two couples who are a lot of fun to be with. Yesterday I showed Little John a picture of their ship on the internet and told him that Marmee, Grandpa, Caitlin, and Carissa were on that boat. He stared at it for a second, dropped his jaw, and said, "Are you kidding me?!" in this slightly disgusted, slightly surprised tone. It was hilarious. He sounds just like his dad sometimes.

Our favorite photographer came and took Kailey's three month pictures today. It was "wheels off" to borrow a Walton expression. Little John is NOT good with having his picture made. All of his cooperative abilities go out the window when the camera comes out. Amazingly though, Kristin will end up with these beautiful photographs of him that show absolutely nothing of the difficulty we had in getting them. Kailey did great but was much more serious than she usually is. She is so easy to get to smile or laugh but, once again, bring out the camera and total deadpan face. Hey, they come by it honestly. I am the most unphotogenic person I know. Kailey did very well with all of her wardrobe changes and us putting her in different positions in all different places, though. I can't wait to see them. I love pictures of my kids so much because I know how quickly they change and I love to look back and see how they were! I would rather spend money on pictures than almost anything else we buy for ourselves. My problem is getting them framed and displayed somewhere. I really need to do better with that. I love going to other people's houses who have lots of pictures of their family everywhere. Maybe I really like pictures (just not of me)!

Favorite Toy & Camera Hog

Sadly, I don't remember who bought us this toy when Little John was born. I would like to thank them again. If it happened to be one of you who reads this, I love you dearly. He played with it for countless hours and now Kailey does the same thing. It is part of our daily rotation of "solo" play time. I did that with John and he has always played so well by himself for periods during the day. Kailey is already doing some great playtime by herself as well. I'm very grateful. We love the piano!John decided to get in on the action when I was taking pictures of Kailey. I guess we've gone from camera hater to camera hog! We'll see how pictures with Kristin go tomorrow!

I love baby feet!

6 Weird Things About Me

My friend, Meredith posted six weird things about her on her blog. This was my response with six weird things about me. Looking at this, I realize that I am a strange person. There are probably much odder things that I just can't think of at the moment. What are some weird things about you?

1. (Meredith said she loved to fall asleep watching movies and this was my response.) I totally agree about the falling asleep during movies thing, but even more than that, I love to fall asleep in the car when someone else is driving. Like late at night when you're coming home from somewhere or on a Sunday afternoon. This started when we lived 30 minutes from everything while I was growing up and I loved to sleep while my dad drove us home from church or my grandparents' house.

2. I forget to eat meals sometimes. This has gotten better since I had kids but I just get busy and will completely forget about breakfast or lunch. John thinks this makes me the weirdest person in the world.

3. I was looking at pictures the other day and realized that I was still wearing several shirts I had in high school. I get rid of things all the time but I'm not hard on my clothes and sometimes have a hard time getting rid of them if they're still nice and fit well. When I saw those pictures, I promptly gave the shirts away.

4. I LOVE brussel sprouts.

5. I can ride any roller coaster or thrill ride anywhere but have a very odd fear of standing next to those glass walls on the second floor of the atrium at church. For some reason, the glass and looking down at the first floor freaks me out.

6. (Meredith said she loved to swallow big pieces of Bubble Yum and this was my response.) Your gum thing reminded me of something weird I like to do. I like to chew a piece of gum and then eat a Lifesaver or other hard mint while the gum is in my mouth. The combination makes a strange texture and taste that I like. But that does make me want to swallow the gum sometimes. I completely understand.

So, you had no idea you had such a weird friend, did you?!

Golf Enthusiast at Two?!

Little John has been cracking me up this weekend. He insists that he wants to watch golf on TV. I was turning it on for him to watch something yesterday and he saw the golf tournament on the channel so he asked to watch. He gets very frustrated when the commercials come on or they start showing scores because he only wants to see the guys actually playing. He keeps saying, "They almost hit the pin," or, "It's going to go in the pocket" (which is the hole). It is too funny. It's like he's a little man. John almost never watches sports so it's not something that is on much at our house. Occasionally he watches golf on the weekend which I enjoy because I actually understand golf and I think it's nice to nap during since the announcers are quiet and relaxing when they talk. I guess Little John is going to be quite the golf fan. He told me that he wants a golf, baseball, boxing, tennis birthday so I think we may go for a sports theme. Sounds easy to me! I may have a long road of sports equipment, weekend games, and smelly uniforms ahead of me! : )

New Denim

Something you may not know about me is that I have a very difficult time spending money on myself. It's a little easier for me to spend money on my kids or my house, much easier to spend money on my husband (he made the money in the first place!) and easiest to spend it on other people for gifts, showers, needs, etc. I can hear my credit card screaming, "Put me back in the wallet!" every time I pull it out. I also have a hard time allowing other people to spend money on me. Because of this, I rarely buy myself clothing. Every once in a while, John takes me shopping and makes me buy a new pair of shoes because he's tired of hearing me say that I don't like any of my shoes. He's kind of a clothes person and I love having him shop with me because he thinks I look good in everything. : ) Not a very unbiased opinion, I guess. If I shop by myself, I won't buy anything that's not on sale and I end up not liking anything I buy. I also do the, "I'll come back and get it," which I never do. I have pretty much zero confidence when I shop alone. I'd be much better off to wait and put a little money into something I love every once in a while. Anyway, I have been needing a new pair of jeans and we decided to go on John's lunch break the other day to the brand new "Buckle" at Southlake Town Center (John works in the building over the Gap there). So, we took both kids and tried on jeans. I got two new pairs and I LOVE my new jeans! I feel like a totally different person in them! That was long over due. I wear them all the time so it's really nice to have some I like. So, while I'm sure you didn't need to spend time reading a random blog about how much I like my new jeans, just remember, every once in a while it's good to get something that just makes you feel good whenever you put it on! I think this is especially important for mommies, and our husbands like to look at something new on us occasionally too! Hooray for comfy, feel-good, new jeans!

I Can't Fly

Yesterday morning I was putting on my makeup in the bathroom and Little John was playing in there with me. He had turned Kailey's bouncer seat upside down and was throwing balls through the stand, then he sat in it like a spaceship. He is extremely creative. Anyway, he was doing all of this and suddenly looked at me and said, "Mommy, I can't fly." This is a sad realization. While we are disappointed, we can still hope for other super powers to emerge at some point. We haven't ruled out elasticity or super speed yet. : )

I was thinking about this and realizing that it probably is a little disappointing as you discover our many human limitations and begin to see our weakness both physically and spiritually. I am extremely grateful that I have something to offer my child besides "the power inside of him." If that was all there was, this would be a sorry life. I can't wait to help him understand that he is more than a conqueror through Jesus Christ, that he can do all things through Christ who gives him strength, that in his weakness, Jesus is strong. These are the very real and miraculous super powers that I can promise my son he has beyond the shadow of a doubt! I can also already begin preparing him for the life we look forward to after this one where even his physical body won't have these limitations. He can put that creative imagination to work and never come close to the wondrous things awaiting us in eternity with God! Thank you, Lord, for what you give us. Thank you for your power at work in our lives!

Wake Up and See the Glory

I am a huge Steven Curtis Chapman fan and have been since the "old" days.  I love
his lyrics and the thoughts he gives about God and our walk with Him. I was
listening to this song yesterday and was struck again by the picture he provides
of the way we miss what God is doing because we're paying attention to such trivial
things.  Why would we play Gameboy standing in the Grand Canyon?!  I want to
wake up and see the glory.

I never did like the word mediocre
I never wanted it to be said of me, oh, no
Just point me to the top and I'd go over, over
Looking for the very best that could be
So.. what is this thing I see

Going on inside of me?

When it comes to the grace of God
Sometimes it's like

I'm playing Gameboy standing in the middle of the Grand Canyon
I'm eating candy sittin' at a gourmet feast
I'm wading in a puddle when I could be swimming in the ocean
Tell me what's the deal with me
Wake up and see the glory

Every star in the sky tells his story, oh
And every breeze is singing his song
All of creation is imploring
Hey, come see this grand phenomenon
The wonder of His grace
Should take my breath away
I miss so many things when I'm consumed with

Playing Gameboy standing in the middle of the Grand Canyon
I'm eating candy sittin' at a gourmet feast
I'm wading in a puddle when I could be swimming in the ocean
Tell me what's the deal with me
(I know the time has come for me to)
Wake up and see the glory

We Have a Talker!

It took a long time for my son to be interested in talking. He would more often just lie there and think about what was going on around him. He'd furrow his brows and take it all in. Now he talks up a storm but usually only when talking is needed. He talks to tell you he's hungry but less often just talks for the sake of telling you something. When he does, I love it. His thoughts are precious and his pretending is the cutest thing ever! Kailey is already showing signs of being the exact opposite. I think she just likes to talk. When she wakes up in the morning she starts and this morning talked solid for more than half an hour! I think she was talking to me and I didn't even have my eyes open! Right now she's lying in her crib talking to her stuffed animals. She'll talk to blankets, the wall, her brother, you name it. It's adorable! It will be nice to have someone who likes to talk. You might want to remind me of this when she's two or three and I can't make her stop talking for even a few seconds of peace. : ) I love watching her personality form already. These precious babies are like little treasure chests and it's so much fun to dig deeper and continue to find all the wonderful things inside as they grow. It is so special to me to be the one who so often gets to be the first to find out these things about them!

I'm Back!

Well, I think this household is finally over our junk. After Little John and I returned to somewhat human, Kailey came down with it. I've never had a baby this young with a fever. It was very sad. She kicked it quickly, though, and we're all fairly close to normal. I have missed my daily, therapeutic blogging so I will attempt to get rolling again. Thank you to all the sweet friends who have actually missed me! I will try to have some very interesting things to say. Right now all I can think about is being hungry. :) How's that for interesting?

Happy Valentine's Day!

After three weeks of posting every day I haven't written this week. I'm sure the two or three people sweet enough to read my blog on a regular basis are very disappointed! : ) Little John and I have actually been sick since Saturday and are still not feeling very good. I would appreciate your prayers for our continued return to health. Being a sick mom is a very difficult job, especially with a nursing infant and a sick toddler! I'm sure John would also appreciate your prayers that I'm well enough to do Star Time on Saturday or he's on his own with the girls!

We have postponed Valentine's festivities at our house until we're all well. To the rest of you who actually celebrated today, Happy Valentine's Day. Any time you think about love may you be overwhelmed with the love of our Father for you! Bask in the fact that He chooses you and says, "BE MINE!" What an invitation. I love you, sweet friends!

For Kailey & Hermie

Yesterday Little John picked out a toy at Target for Kailey. He apparently was very particular and didn't want all the girly things, he had something more fun in mind. He chose this cute little thing and wanted to give it to her as soon as he got home but she was asleep. He ran in her room and chunked the toy into her crib but, fortunately, she wasn't there. She was in my room in her bassinet. Anyway, he couldn't wait to give it to her and as soon as I opened it (and removed all the incredibly annoying little ties that kept it in the box!!!) he ran and gave her the toy. It was a sweet moment to watch. The final piece he decided to play with himself because it was a caterpillar and reminded him of Hermie. Hermie is very special at our house. If any of you haven't tried the Hermie videos, you'll have to check them out. I get a huge kick out of John saying, "Look, it's Max!" whenever Max Lucado does the introduction. Hermie teaches us lots of wonderful things about honesty, courage, God's design for us, obedience, and friendship. That's my kind of video.

Comparison

Here is a picture of Little John at a little older than Kailey is now. I just felt like comparing to see how much they looked alike. There are certainly big similarities!

Clearing the Air

Last night I had a conversation with people I dearly love just for the purpose of clearing the air. I felt like some healing needed to happen and I know that healing starts with humbling ourselves, so the Lord convicted me that I needed to start by humbling myself and then He could bring the healing in the lives of all of us. Have you ever had one of those conversations? The kind where it's sort of like a rain shower and everything feels so clean and smells so good afterwards? I love that feeling. I also love these times when the Lord prompts me to do something and I actually listen and act quickly. Why I don't do this more often, I'll never know. Satan throws so many lies my way about why I shouldn't mess with it or why it will just make things worse, etc. when all along he knows how good it will be! I claim to be doubting myself when I am really doubting God by my disobedience to His call. I am not a fan of hiding things, ignoring things, or even lying to avoid hurting someone else. That always ends up feeling worse in the end. It always hurts me deeply when I find out someone has been less than honest because he or she didn't want to tell me the truth. Bring the truth on. It's much easier to take.

My family tells stories about how hard it was to get me to say I was sorry when I was little. In my defense, I thought it would be lying when I didn't really feel sorry! I know, it's lame. This is one area where my precious husband has greatly influenced my life. He was always so quick to apologize and finally my competitive nature kicked in and I wanted to manage to say it first just once! Then I realized how good it felt and now the race is on. We usually manage to just stop before we ever get started, apologize, and move on. Now I love saying I'm sorry and getting my big "it's okay" hug (although I'm certainly not saying I don't ever revert back to my childish behaviors).

May we all accept the grace God offers us to keep the air cleared constantly so we are clean channels for the Lord to use in the lives of anybody around us!

"A Cup of Flour"

Continuing his quest to become the next Emeril, Little John pulled out my mixing bowls the other day and informed me that he was "making cookies." He kept using the little bowls to "pour" into the big ones while saying, "a cup of flour." It was so cute!

My Boy

I have to tell you that I love this boy (in spite of a particularly difficult week in the discipline department) ! He has been climbing into the crib lately when Kailey is not in it and playing with her toys. I was looking for him the other day and found him happily lying in the crib with her blanket on top of him and all of her stuffed animals around him. He was kissing Baby Pooh in this picture and has quite the model pose going in the bottom one.

Movie Time

Here are my sweet kiddos enjoying a Baby Faith video. If you haven't seen these before they are wonderful for babies and toddlers and teach them about the Bible using the music from hymns and some "Baby Einstein" type visuals. This was Kailey's first movie-watching experience and she loved it! The top picture shows her cooing at the screen. I know she's young but when Dad's gone at the men's retreat, you've got to do what you've got to do!

Commenting 1O1

Alright, this will be a boring post for those of you who blog often but I have decided it's necessary for all the friends and family reading this who have never used a blog before. To comment on a blog (to say how cute your grandbaby is, defend yourself, disagree with me, tell me how much you love me, etc.), you scroll down to the bottom of the post you are reading and it will say "Posted by Courtney" and a time. Next to that it says how many comments have been made about the post. Click those words and it will give you a box in which to type your comments. Since you don't have a blog, choose the anonymous option and make sure you put your name at the bottom of what you write so I'll know you left it. Then click "publish your comment" and voila, there it is. You'll also be able to read the comments other people have written. Welcome to the blog world.

Love Languages Lived Out

Okay. . . Part II. Why is is that things look so much cooler when written in roman numerals instead of normal, boring numbers? It's true. Anyway, continuing my thoughts from yesterday, here are some examples of people in my life who live out all of the five love languages. They might not consider these their primary ones but they certainly express love well in these areas!

• Words of Affirmation - My dad has always done this for me by telling me every day that he loved me, praising me, telling me he's glad I'm his girl, writing me letters that express his love for me, etc. I have been incredibly blessed to always have this kind of love expressed to me by the man in my life (and now my husband does a fantastic job of it too).
• Physical Touch - When my sister, Carissa, was a baby she would cry in the carseat (this was when we lived at the ranch and had to drive at least 30 minutes anywhere we went). The thing that would always calm her down was if we held her hand. I would start out in the front seat twisted around with my arm falling asleep and end up just moving to the back so it was a little easier! It was precious. Now Little John loves to cuddle with his aunt! My mother-in-law is also this way, always rubbing people's shoulders, hugging all of us, and showering her grandbabies with kisses and snuggles.
  
• Quality Time - My sister, Caitlin, does this so well. She is about to be 13 and at an age when most girls are thinking mostly of themselves, but she is always thinking of others. She is ready at any moment to completely drop what she is doing and spend time with me, my children, or anyone that she loves. She never thinks she has spent too much time with her family and always has more to give. When she is with you she is also very focused and pays attention and remembers details of what you are doing or thinking about.
  
• Gifts - My sister-in-law, Brittany, has this one nailed down. She pays close attention to what people like or need and can always find the perfect gift. This does not necessarily require a gift-giving occasion but can be just because "it looked like you." This also translates into thoughtful things like taking really good pictures of my kids and giving me copies or spotting something that I was looking for while she was out. Definitely the person you want to draw your name in a gift exchange!
• Acts of Service - This one is my mom. Growing up I don't think I ever fully appreciated the extent of this, but now that I am a mom I realize how MUCH she did without acting like it was anything out of the ordinary. Now I think about all those hours I sat on the dryer in the laundry room and talked to her while she ironed, and I realize that she was ironing all those hours! Even though I wouldn't consider this one of my primary love languages, it is something that I appreciate with all of my heart and it does make me feel very loved. The fact that she has driven to my house to help me clean up my carpet when Little John threw up all over the place is only one example of the things she is always willing to do! Moms are amazing!!! John's dad is also this way and is constantly giving his time and hard work to do things for others - even people he doesn't really know!

Yes, I know I didn't use my husband as an example on these. I honestly have a hard time putting him anywhere because he constantly shows me love in every one of these five areas. Unbelievable, I know. His primary love language is acts of service and he is completely happy if I cook him dinner or bring him a glass of water. This mostly expresses itself in the way he is always ready to use his many skills to bless others. I don't know how many friends and family members he has helped to fix their computers, set up their sound systems, or move into their house. And he is always doing something around here that needs to be done. The other day he was randomly over at our neighbor's house carrying something upstairs!

Looking at this list I realize what a blessing families are and how God uses them to show us love in all of these areas. Maybe as we grow we are supposed to be able to express His love in every area! The differences we all have make our lives together so interesting!

Love Languages

In our class on Sunday mornings for the last few weeks, Chris and Stacie Hatchett have been teaching on marriage. They've done a great job! They spent one Sunday on the five love languages from the book by Gary Chapman. John and I read this book together before we got married and it has been very helpful to us in our relationship. It was interesting talking about it again because we both felt we had changed a little in our strongest ones. We had a great talk about what makes us that way and how we feel about the ways we express love to each other. I know that this is also important with our kids and our conversation made me think - I would love to know my friends better and how they like to give and receive love. What is it that makes you feel loved and how do you tend to express it?

If you're not familiar with the love languages, they are:

• Words of Affirmation - Hearing those three little words and have loving things said or written to you, compliments, praise
  

• Physical Touch - Snuggling, sitting close, holding hands, being near those you love

• Quality Time - Focused time and attention, doing things together
  

• Gifts - Thoughtful gifts that show the person knows you and was thinking of you
  

• Acts of Service - Doing something where you don't have to do it, taking care of jobs, housework, chores, kids, whatever is on your plate

Apparently most people have one or two that are the strongest but usually appreciate any of them. I must be needy or something because I want them all! : ) If I stop and think about the ones I really can't do without, though, it would probably be words of affirmation and quality time with physical touch right up there. I've always been a note writer and wanted to say things to people I loved. I'm not afraid of being mushy. It has also taken maturing to teach me that someone can love me without wanting to spend a lot of focused time with me. I used to think that if we were friends, we would be together all the time. I also struggle with wanting all of John's attention. Even an evening doing two different things is hard for me even though he is usually great at paying attention to me when he's around. I'm also a MAJOR snuggle person and only keep that at bay because of the risk of embarrassment to myself or others. I'm sure John feels like he married a puppy dog sometimes because I kind of sound like I'm describing our labrador - she wants to be cuddled and petted, and she wants you to talk to her and play with her all the time! Maybe tomorrow I'll blog about the people I know who show these five languages the best because I know people who do all of these really well!

Meanwhile, while you are breathlessly anticipating my next blog, what is your love language?

Mommy's Day Off!

Today Kailey and I went shopping in Dallas, just the girls, with Marmee, Caitlin, Brittany and Kyndall. My sweet sister who had schoolwork to do at home was nice enough to watch Little John until Big John got off work. It was so much fun to have a day to look and try on and have so much fun with the girls! We found dresses for the girls to wear to my brother's wedding in April that were originally $225 and had been marked down to $50! They only had three sizes and two of them were what we needed for the girls. I think we were meant to have those, don't you?! I think sometimes I forget when I haven't done something like this in a long time how nice it is to relax and have a big break. Thank you, Carissa and John, for giving me a special day with just Kailey to take care of!

Goliath

Little John loves the story of David and Goliath. We have a great picture book that with some voices and sound effects added throughout makes an exciting bedtime story that is one of his favorites. Once he made the connection that Goliath was a giant, everything huge became "Goliath" said in a big, deep voice. This might be anything from a large animal to a large bubble.

One day we were shopping at Nordstrom's when he came running to my sisters and said that he had seen "Goliath" (again in a big, scary voice). Upon investigating we found "Goliath" to be a very tall man working one of the counters in the men's department. He had no idea that he was making the Bible come alive for a toddler that day. Oh, the way their little minds work! It's amazing to me how they can learn vague and abstract concepts and make connections all on their own! It is one more reminder to me of how it is never too early to begin making those little brain connections to God, His love, and the ways He works in our lives!

"That's Amazing!"

Little John has been making me laugh so hard lately with his newest phrases. Whenever I tell him something new or he sees something he likes he says, "That's amazing!" It is hysterical. Today he was telling me the colors of some things he was holding and when I told him that one of them was gold he said, "Gold. That's amazing!"

His other phrase is, "What am I doing?!" Whenever he gets frustrated or can't figure something out, he looks at me and says in a very irritated voice, "What am I doing?!" I certainly feel like that sometimes! I'm not sure I know what I'm doing about half the time. : )

This morning we were lying in bed when the kids first woke up and Little John was trying to get me and laughing. Kailey started laughing at him and it was so much fun seeing them enjoying each other. They have so much to look forward to being friends with each other! I love all these precious little moments with my babies.

"The" Small Group

We have been meeting with our small group for a while now but just recently began meeting on a weekly basis. We have loved looking forward each week to this time with these wonderful couples, growing and sharing together. We eat, study, play, talk, and have a great time. I thank God for the wonderful people He has put in our lives to challenge us to grow in our walk with Him. And hey, anyone who can understand the connection between Darth Vader and Judas Iscariot is great to have in your discussion group!

Our group is studying the Book of Acts. We are praying for God's perspective on church (including our small group) as He intended it to be.

Ryan and John hanging out

Scout provided us with some priceless entertainment by chewing on Dwight's knee! I'll have my camera ready next week, Scout. You almost had that crawl down!

A fun bunch of girls! I love my sweet friends!

Kyndall decided to hang out under Kyle's chair

Old Friends

We hung out with some old friends tonight and had a blast! It's amazing how a few years can bring about so many changes. The last few years have brought this group of friends 5 babies! Here are some pictures of our little ones hanging out together. It is fun to watch your kids with your friends' and siblings' kids!

I love this picture of Kailey and cousin Kyndall!
Kailey and Jude (aww!)All three munchkins
John & Julian watching some Hermie

Rough & Tumble

Well, I have officially blogged every day for a week now! We'll see how long I can keep it up! Here are my boys having some jumping, piles-of-pillows, flying-in-the-air fun!

Star Time

John and I have decided to return to Star Time, our church's family worship, as praise leaders. We are excited about being involved with children's ministry again after a short break. We made a commitment when we first got married to really look for ministry opportunities where we could serve together and the Lord has been faithful to provide those over and over again. We love this because our kids will also be there with us and my sisters will be helping which will be lots of fun! We helped with Star Time when it first began but this will be a much different thing because we are now on a weekly format meeting before our church's new instrumental service on Saturday nights. The reason I am posting about all of this is because I would love to have your prayers for us that this would be a very special time for families to come together and worship and that the Lord would direct us in each song choice or other decision so that this would be pleasing to Him. We feel very strongly about the importance of families having the opportunity to worship the Lord together and are so grateful for our church meeting this need. I would say that you should be sure to bring your kids and come but the very thought of any of you being there makes me incredibly nervous. Maybe you should stay home and pray. : ) Just kidding! We'd love to see you there!

Vitamin C & Echinacea

I absolute love vitamin C and the herb echinacea, especially during the winter sick season. I have those two things in a gummy vitamin form that I give to John whenever he seems like he might come down with something. I've worked very hard to help build up his immune system where he can fight sickness on his own, and this is that little added boost when something is attacking that really helps. He might have a runny nose and after a day or two of that it is totally gone without moving to his ears or chest. I also use it combined with garlic when coming down with any kind of infection and can easily fight things off without a trip to the doctor or an antibiotic. Love the stuff! If you've never tried it, I highly recommend giving it a whirl.

Wii

For those of you who have not yet been introduced to the Nintendo Wii, it is the best thing to hit the gaming world in a long time. You hold the controller and move around with it. It is fun and hilarious to watch! Little John absolutely loves it. He gets very into it and is actually quite good. He loves playing the different sports games with his daddy. He has tried to teach Kailey and his cousin, Kyndall, how to play as well. Too cute. I wish I had pictures of that but couldn't get to my camera in time. If you ever get an opportunity to play one, give it a try, even if you don't like playing other video games. Tara was quite the tennis pro at small group last week and it's the only time besides in my dreams that I have or ever will beat my husband at bowling. I know I've already posted Nemo pictures but here is John with Nemo and his Wii controller.

Doll Baby

Today's post is simple. I feel like most of my pictures are of John since he is usually the one doing more interesting things so it's time for some Kailey pictures. Who could possibly not fall in love with THIS?!!!

Rodeo

Last night we went to the rodeo with my aunt and uncle. We had a great time and Little John was very excited about seeing the horses and cows! John and I grew up going almost every year so this was something we had looked forward to sharing with our kids. Some of John's favorite parts were riding the tractors at the exhibit hall, slapping hands with everyone during the grand entry, and getting cotton candy. I was EXTREMELY disappointed to learn that they no longer make those tiny sugar donuts. That was one reason I went to the rodeo. Funnel cakes are NOT the same thing. Anyway, John had a blast watching the rodeo and the rest of us had the majority of our fun just watching him see it all for the first time. Oh, and since you can't see Kailey's outfit very well in the picture, it has fringe on the jeans, horses on the sweater, and pink cowgirl boots on the shirt and says, "These boots were made for walking." SO cute.

I messed with my coloring options on my computer for these. Any votes on the coloring you like the best?

Boxing

John is big into boxing right now. Daddy got out his boxing gloves and they have provided lots of entertainment for the last week. It's been good to watch John learn to enjoy this pastime within the boundaries we gave him. The rules are that he can only punch someone wearing gloves and can only punch the gloves, not anywhere else on the body. It's rewarding to see that he is old enough to have privileges that come with responsibility and rules. His favorite part is falling down after the first or second punch and having us count to ten while he decides whether to get up or stay down and "lose" that round. This has provided great counting practice. He's a pretty cute little boxer, I think!

Finding Nemo

I have decided to blog every day. No, you do not have to take the time to read all of them, but this is my way of journaling for my family, so that's my goal. Then I can print these off, keep them in books for my kids, and they will know what I was thinking and doing as I raised them. Plus, I love to write and it gives me daily contact with the outside world. This will not be the place to find theological arguments or anything mind-blowing but simply what is going on in my world. I usually save the other thoughts for grown up discussions with my husband when he gets home from work. : )

Today Little John decided that he loved his stuffed Nemo that my family brought from their last trip to Disney World. He has started doing a lot of pretending over the last few months which I think is adorable. So today he has been carrying Nemo around and asking him if he wants to sit down or go downstairs or play a game. He even agreed to pose with him for a picture, which is pretty amazing for my anti-picture son. These stages of make believe and little stuffed friends are fun to watch!

Siblings

We love having two kids! Our children are slowly getting used to the idea of each other. Kailey is interested in anything that John does or says and is completely calm even when he gets rowdy and loud. John has become more and more interested in Kailey as she becomes more interactive. Every night when John goes to bed we ask him how much he loves us or we love him and he says, "SO much!" with his arms wide. Then we smother him in hugs and kisses. He goes through our little list that he loves Mommy, Daddy, Jesus and now Kailey. The other night while Kailey was being held over him to "give him kisses" she chose that precise moment to spit up (just a little) right in his face! We immediately started wiping him off while laughing and he got perfectly still and didn't move or make a sound. He stared at her until we moved her away and then still not moving an inch said really quietly, "Daddy take Kailey?" He didn't move until Daddy picked Kailey up and completely removed her from the bed! It was hilarious! Apparently he is terrified of spit up.

A few minutes ago he took a little green bag and informed me he was leaving for work. Maybe I should go see where he is. . .

Baking with My Boy

We've been doing quite a bit of cooking around our house. John loves to help, especially by breaking the eggs and stirring. He's a pretty cute little helper, don't you agree? Chocolate Chip Banana Muffins definitely taste better when he's had his hands in the baking process.

Christmas Pictures

Even though I've already posted my New Year's thoughts, I thought I would go back and share a few of my favorite Christmas pictures. Little John was a blast this Christmas as he began to understand more of what was going on. He is still telling me who gave him each of his Christmas gifts and it is important to him. So precious.
He loved spending so much time with our families. I love this picture of my grandparents with their three great-grandbabies! And of course my favorite early Christmas presents were my sweetheart's first smiles. You don't get better than these two bundles of fun (and a hunky husband to boot)!

2007

The years are absolutely flying by. Sometimes I really can't believe that we are already closer to 2010 than 2000! Obviously I've been thinking back over the last year. There have been many sweet milestones. My precious son turned two and is now more of a boy than a baby. I love him more every day! I turned 26, John turned 27 and we celebrated our 5th anniversary. New Year's Eve marked our 9 year anniversary of being together. That seems so long! I was 17 and although I knew I wanted to marry him I certainly had no idea where we would be 9 years later. My nephew and niece were born this year and that's a whole new kind of love I've been able to experience seeing our siblings with their children. I love those two kids and will continue to miss my other nephew until we are all reunited in Heaven! My grandfather went to be with Jesus and I sure missed him through the holidays! I spent a precious few days with one of my best friends after 5 years apart and realized that a close friendship based on Christ is always there and some people are just "kindred spirits" for life. After struggling through the would-be birth day of our miscarried child we conceived again, went through the entire pregnancy and had Kailey this year! It's funny that this time last year I had no idea she would be born and she's already here. It just goes to show that you never know what the Lord has in store. There are new friendships, deepened ones, and some friends that I'm rarely able to see anymore. All in all, a beautiful year. The Lord has become even more real in my life than ever before and I rely on Him daily to carry me through this journey of being a wife and mother. This year I think He has meant the most to me as Patient Father, Healer, Giver of Life, Renewer of Strength, Friend, and Source of Wisdom. I pray that your lives are full of daily relationship with Him. Thank you, Lord for all of the rich blessings in our lives!

I know that 2007 will hold wonderful and unexpected things. A few I am already anticipating are my brother's wedding in April to our new sister, Carli and some changes in our church life as our leadership follows God to a new place. I pray for the grace and strength to handle each challenge, the love and patience to try to model Christ in my relationships with others, and the faith and peace to live each day fully expecting God to show up in the smallest and biggest ways. Open our eyes, Lord. We want to see and follow You this year!

Thoughts on Christmas

Well, the Critz household is ready for Christmas! This is the first year that Little John has really had some comprehension of what is going on and he has added so much to the joy of the season with his excitement. We decorated our house, made Christmas tree rice krispy treats, drove to Dallas to look at Christmas lights, watched Christmas shows, went to a birthday party for Jesus, picked out presents for people we love, and we're just getting started! He has absolutely no idea that he is "supposed" to ask for things for Christmas so he is just enjoying the whole thing. I'm hoping that the seeds are also being sown for him to begin understanding the true miracle behind this celebration. I have thought a lot this December about baby Jesus. Having a newborn in our house makes it extra special as I snuggle with her, smell her little baby smell, and think about the Son of God actually becoming a tiny infant. What did Mary understand about her baby? I just had a natural childbirth and I would NOT have wanted to do that in a stable after a long road trip! I think we've heard it so many times that we become numb. That scared girl endured so much physically and emotionally and then He arrived and I'm sure she had the thought that all of us have that it was all worth it. Worth every minute of discomfort for just a few precious moments with that child. I know this sounds too simple but I keep finding myself telling Jesus this year, "I'm just so glad You came." So glad I can talk to the Almighty God through Jesus, so glad I can tell my babies this story day after day until they also choose eternal life through Him, just so glad He came. Merry Christmas to each of you as you enjoy all the blessings that come from our loving Father!