Shower is today... already!

I fell down yesterday and it hurt! I was asked to watch our baby neighbor, and she dashed off into the parking lot. Wyatt was on his trike right in front of me, and I tried to jump and clear him (I cleared him, but not the side of his bike) and fell on the pavement. OUCH. I have a scrape on my knee, elbows, and bruises all over, but we got the girl out of the parking lot that she didn't belong in, so... mission accomplished!
Ben and I are going to try and be out of the apartment a couple days early so we can have it all cleaned up and set to go. I am excited at the progress that we made yesterday with the help of Adam. Man I am so thankful. Today is Emily's shower. I am so excited. I can't wait to see her.
Oooohhh I get to go grocery shopping now and prepare. So, have a wonderful rest of your weekend! <3

Packing is going along. Today we are going to take the kids over to Grams and work on packing a bit. (ugh and paying the bills!) Ben got the Jeep fixed. I can't tell you what amazement I have at that man. I am so impressed with the fact that something sounds like it is knocking... he jacks the blue baby up, to find that it is an inner tie rod thingy that is VERY vital to the safety of our vehicle, I get all concerned and worried and he is pretty much like, "No problem, I know how to fix it!" Hallelujah! Makes me sad I didn't pay more attention to my parents when I was younger, I could have walked away with something great like he did (his dad taught him all he knows about cars. Man I could have learned a lot about cooking from my mom. SNAP)
My final paper is due next week Tuesday for Perspectives. I think that it will be OK, but it is causing quite a bit of anxiety that I haven't completed that. Depending on how far we get with moving today, I might have to spend some time during my normal bedtime hours to work this out. It is just a stress that it hasn't been looked at much in the last couple days. Want to do a bang up job on it!
I am coming to the realization that we are in our last week in the place we have lived for the last 6 years as a married couple. It is wierd. Just plain wierd. I am not really sad about it (though I will miss our neighbors quite a bit) but instead I am relieved and excited for what we are onto next. My friend, Rae asked me yesterday if I think we will end up staying in PA. Gosh I don't know. I have had many people ask me that, and right now I feel like the answer is no. I am going to pray that God just shows us the way He wants it. It is kind of difficult in the position I am in now with relationships and friendships to leave that, but I am pretty good at keeping up those things from a distance. I have done it before w/ other friends, and look forward to getting to know the people that I have baby friendships with and watching that grow from afar. So, typically that thought would make me really sad, but I am just more then excited for our future right now!
Anyhow, my babies are waking up now, and I could use another cup of Joe, so have a blessed day!

Dinner at Dads!

Above: L Grams, Miss Adi, and Mary Lu. Below: Stevie Nicks. Dad sang the song that they named me after.

My Dad

Wyatt playing outside. He was afraid of the dogs!

Below is Bula. Their girl puppy.

LOVE this pic of Auntie Kir and Wy-man.

My girls :)

What are you doing for Earth Day?

I am sure you know this already, but moving accumulates a ton and a half of garbage. I am trying hard to set aside burnables to put in fires that we have in our backyard.

I am getting more used to drinking water, and working hard to always drink out of re-useable containers (although I bought a pack each of Fiji, and SmartWater to offer people that help us move)

We are trying always to save energy

We are probably going to leave the CFL's that we have purchsed here for the next people so the energy keeps on getting saved.

In truth we aren't doing (yet) as much as I would love to do on this earth day. I am aware of all of the things that we are NOT doing though so, that is helpful, but bummin me out a bit.

Anyhow, Happy Earth Day!

We got to spend some lovely time with friends the other day, and it was so much fun. This is AdoraNora and her mother. One of my BFF's... ;)

Jesse was here last night and the guys made some major progress w/ moving some pretty big pieces of furnature, so I am really excited about that. It made me sad upon walking in from class last night, actually to see this place emptying, but I am praying about it and setting everything at God's feet. I feel peaceful.

How are you today?

Our messy mess

While Max does this...

And she does this....

I try and try to clean up this....

Look at these cute inflateable beds I got (Dora and Spiderman respectively) at Marshalls to take to PA with us! They are perfect, and the kids sleep really well in them (except here... Wyatt was nappin' today! :)). It is wonderful!

This is a smirk that I have while I am thinking about the mess I live in right now... It really isn't that bad actually.... it is kind of fun for me to get rid of stuff and clean out... it is really fun!

Delicious slushies!

I am seriously sad that I haven't taken any pics of my beautiful kids this last couple days. Yesterday especially. We had a wonderful day. I have had a couple hard days (with the exception of the time that Rachel, Nancy and I spent out. That was an answer to prayer!) so yesterday was much needed. I still got stuff done, just didn't let myself feel such pressure and stress. We packed up about 5 boxes (so that Daddy is happy when he gets home from his brothers), and cleaned up in the kids room. I arranged the living room so it isn't such a catastrophe. I really want to pack in a strategic fashion that doesn't cause even more stress to trip over items that are in the middle of our living room. It is going to drive me nutso (or as little Gram says it "Drive you to drink!") So, my sister rescued me and we went out for the afternoon to shop a bit. The only thing that I actually bought was some food and some Auntie Annies. Made me think of my sweet Kelly. She loves those good ole pretzels!
Today we are going to spend the morning playing and cleaning again. And then at naptime, I am working on homework. I swear I have to get that done so I can finish my final paper. YIKES! 5 pages isn't too bad..... is it???
Oh and the yummies popsicles were made yesterday..... by me...
Here is the delicious recipe:

Package of Kool-aid (w/o sugar added)
Package of Jello
1 C sugar
2 C boiling water
2 C cold water.
Dissolve jello, koolaid, sugar in boiling water, and then add cold water.
Then put in little cups with sticks. Or do what I did and put it all in a cake pan in the freezer and stir it a little bit each like half hour and it make delicious slushie! (I actually prefer this way because we did it as popicles, and the kids faces were dyed red for hours. (and Hannah was all red! She had it dripped all down her shirt and her arm... Sorry Tracy! :))

Ps 5:3

Eventhough I am ever so busy lately, I decided to take a break to do my nails. Right when I was working on that the mood struck me to post a blog about our Bible study on Monday night.
Amanda chose Psalm 5.
"In the morning Oh Lord you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait in expectation" Ps5:3

I told the group that I have been working hard to show gratitude to God in the morning for what I am so very humbled by and thankful for. Today I missed that opportunity, so I am going to take it out.

Lord Jesus,

I am so thankful for this day. I am thankful for the beauty that I see when I look out the patio door that I have looked out for the past 6 years. I feel greatful for the wonderful children and I am so priveleged to have. I thank you for the way that you are making things work out for us. I am in awe. God I pray that you help me to remember my gratitude, when times are hard. I am worried about saying goodbye to my family and friends when we leave for our adventure. I remember, though, that YOU are calling us there, and so with that said, nothing else matters. I am learning to use prayer and thankfulness as a way to get over my fear and anxiety, when I take time to remember that You are there for me. Thank you God for all of the things that are surrounding me today. Thank you for my family and for teaching me Love more and more each day. Thank you father.
In Jesus name.

There are so many things that make me smile today. I read in a magazine article awhile back that it is a good idea to keep a journal next to your bed if you are having trouble sleeping, and write down things that are on your mind. I find that when I do that and I write out positive things, that it helps me focus on the positive instead of the negative. I was really blessed that Amanda chose this psalm. Our friends M&K came and we had a great time studying the word, and getting to know each other a little more (and we talked about you, Em! ;)) and K, the shyest guy I have ever known, has decided to chose the next psalm. I am so thankful how God works w/ people, and through them!
Have a wonderful and smiley day.