Happy Easter!

While having an Easter conversation with Corinne this week we are going over the details of the story. She's telling most of the story herself and I'm just correcting if she gets something wrong. So here's how the end of it went:

Corinne: So he died for my sin.

Me: Yes he did. Wasn't that great of him to do that for us?

Corinne: Yeah, but now he's dead! :(

Me: No...how does the end of the story go? What amazing thing happened?

Corinne: He rose.

Me: So, he's ALIVE!

Corinne: He is???

Me: YES!

Corinne: Can I see him? I want to go visit him now!

Me: Oh no...(realizing that all our previous conversations about dead and alive mean "gone" or "here living right now."

I did a very poor job of trying to explain how he really is alive, but he's in heaven. (Which to her means someone is dead.) Seriously...could it be any harder????

Well...at least in the end we decided on one thing. Jesus provided a way for us to be with God and that's great! Thank you Jesus!!!!! Happy Easter everyone!

Get Me An Application

you've heard of the show 'dirtiest jobs' right? it's on cable somewhere. i've never seen it, but i'd like to apply to be on the show. i do believe motherhood would easily qualify.

i won't go into details, but i'm washing sheets, bathed Corinne, and my entire house (no i am not exaggerating) smells like poop. poor kid...it's not her fault. she had diarrhea before i was able to get her out of bed this morning. :(

we are headed to the store to by some clorox. i just can't decide how i want to use it first; to clean the house or for me to take a bath in. holy crap!

no, the UN-holiest of craps...EVER!

daisy updates...

let's see...what's been going on that's kept me from blogging in so long?!?

Corinne turned 3...i thought i had planned something simple that turned out to be a heck-of-a-lot more work than i ever intended it to be but it was still fun. only problem...party was Aug. 1 and it was a swimming party. what's the problem you ask??? well...for the first time in a century (probably) it wasn't 100 degrees outside. it was 79. WHAT??? the kids swam and their lips turned blue, but they had fun freezing!

Basement Remodeling...what an exciting and trying time for us! we were able through the help of a very generous contractor to hire out the finishing of our basement. they have been at it for almost 7 weeks now and it's looking really good. only problem...children do not like to sleep with hammering, nail guns, saws, jackhammering concrete out, etc. so there has been much wailing and nashing of teeth, but it'll be worth it in the end. :)

"mommy!!!! those mans downstairs are hammering and i can't take my nap. they are bothering me." - corinne, almost daily - 2:30pm

Riley Jo...my baby who won't eat is finally eating!!!! after months of attempts, visits to two specialists, and many calls with Megan Knowles (who is the best!) we finally have a baby who puts some (not lots of things, but some!) food into her mouth, chews, and swallows!!! i know what you're thinking...big friggin' deal, but it is! don't take it for granted mothers of good eaters!

Corinne in ballet class...the day all dance teachers can't wait for has come for me. my own child in ballet. dreams of grandeur and talent were never there since this is the same child who we could hardly get to walk at 19 months and still can hardly jump off the floor, but the antics one could expect with our little comedian never fail to entertain. she does her "shakin' booty dance" during barre exercises, and lets the teacher know when the other girls aren't doing something right. that kid in my class annoys the heck out of me! i know...it's what i get. the hokey pokey has never been better than trying to watch a class of 3 and 4 year olds kick their leg and clap under it. :)

"ballet class is soooo politeful!" - corinne
"do you mean delightful?" - me
"oh yes...DE-lightful. ballet class is sooooo polite-delightful." - corinne

brad and me...still here, still together, still in love, still doing ministry, still teaching dance, still sane...well...mostly. :)

needing a floatation device

so if you noticed i haven't blogged for a long time that would be because i find myself drowning in the pool of life. it doesn't leave much time for blogging to say the least.

all the same just wanted to post that i hope someday soon my children will level off (even just a bit!), i will finally get to sleep through a night, and i will have time to write again.

sorry for the long silence followed by the short explanation and that's all, but i discovered that i am only capable of so much and this is one of the first things off my to-do list.

good-bye again for now.

Heavenly Housing

so in junior high they gave us this project: design an exterior of you dream home and one room inside. it was supposed to be an exercise in color and design, but i think i took it a little too far. it became the house by which i judge all houses. not that my design was great, but it was a large, old, restored victorian house with a wrap around porch. what's not to love?

so long after the project was over, i found myself over the years longing for dilapidated old mansions with visions of restoring them to their former glory, finding out things about the original owners that made me treasure the house even more, then planing tons of honeysuckle vines to surround the wrap around porch. i saw myself leisurely drinking tea and reading a book in my antique porch swing, while being surrounded by the smell of honeysuckles. sounds pretty good huh? apparently my dream home also included a life where i was extremely wealthy, and had no children.

well...reality check. i'm a stay-at-home, sleep deprived mother of two beautiful girls and i married a missionary. we are not wealthy. nor can i even stay awake long enough to read even a chapter of most books, porch swing and honeysuckles or not.

we have owned two houses since we were married 5 years ago. one had the restoration side of my dream home, but it was a 109 year old craftsman style 4-square. (the architechtural opposite of victorian...lol) turns out, i really loved it. it wasn't dilapidated, but it was uncared for for the previous owners. brad and my mom fixed it up really well and restored the original floors. we also did find out some interesting things about the original owners! alas, no wrap around porch, and when brad bought me a honeysuckle vine, (i was thrilled!) we accidentally planted it in a place that didn't allow it to bloom but for 2-3 weeks. so no intoxicating smell all spring and summer.

we moved to a new home right after christmas 2008 for a place with more space (potential) and a basement for the fun kansas weather. unfortunately i traded cute, quaint, and historical for a 1950's brick ranch with complete original interior. yikes. i suppose that's historical too, but not in a good way. the bones of the house and the neighborhood and neighbors are great, and i love the layout so don't get me wrong. i really like it here. i just don't like to look at it. we have big plans for it, but it won't be what we want it to be for probably another 5 years at least. (in case you don't know me well...i'm impatient.)

are you wondering what the point of all this rambling is yet? here you go...

so we moved here in the winter and the fence were covered with bush-like stuff and we were wondering what it all was. turns out it's honeysuckle...and miles of it! it bloomed a few weeks ago and smells heavenly! it's no victorian mansion with a wrap around porch surrounded by honeysuckle, but God was looking out for me still. He gave me a chainlink fence covered in it. not nearly as dreamy, but even on a budget God gave me another house with at least one aspect of my dream home. isn't it great to serve a God that cares about meeting our every need (no matter how insignificant) and One with a sense of humor to boot?!?

"let me shout God's name with a praising song,
let me tell of His greatness in a prayer of thanks."
Psalm 69:30 The Message

our house

a sampling of fabulous 50's style...

the other bathroom. yes, those are ducks on the wallpaper...jealous?

corinne in front of one of the honeysuckle bushes

honeysuckle galore!

A True Mother's Day

May 10, 2009 is a Mother's Day that will live in infamy at our house I believe. It will be hard to top at least.

The day began in the the middle of the night with Riley waking every two hours (instead of every 4 or 5) and she was inconsolable unless I fed her. We woke up on Sunday morning feeling pretty bad after a long night for everyone in the house. On our way to church Corinne peed her pants and soaked her dress, tights, panties and car seat which required a rush clean-up effort at church as we were trying to get Riley ready for baby dedication that morning. Baby dedication went off without a hitch thank goodness!

We tried to go to PF Chang's for lunch (a special request by me) but when they had a hour and a half wait we decided to go to Doc Green's instead. I got a horrific stomach ache that lasted from about 1:30 to 5:30 due to something I ate...no one else got sick.

The evening was good. I got a sweet card from Corinne for Mother's Day, and the Haines came over for a visit.

At 10:30 Riley woke for her last feeding of the day and vomited all over me 4 different times between then and 11:15. As I closed my eyes and got grossed out each time Brad asks the obvious question, "Why don't you turn her around so it doesn't get on you?" In a moment of true motherhood I heard myself say, "it's easier to clean myself up than to have to clean the carpet."

So...after a good shower we fell into bed and laughed it off. I can hear Alanis Morisett singing in my head, "isn't it ironic, don't you think?"

Brad offered to try mother's day again next week hoping for a more relaxing day and I'm up to trying. I'm actually getting excited about it...which is dangerous considering how the last one went! :)

Detox

I admit it. I'm addicted to many things...caffiene, Brad, chocolate, facebook, but I'm not interested in ridding my life of these things. However, I am interested to know if the Betty Ford Clinic has a program for whining. I'd like to self-admit and then enroll my two children.

I hate whining. It's unbecoming, annoying and weak. It annoys me even more when I realize that these are qualities that I find so prevalent in my own character. So anyhow...if step one is admitting you have a problem I'm ready for step two. (Whatever that is.)

I'm going to try and self-detox for now since insurance probably won't cover this as a mental condition in need of professional help. Here's my new mantra...

"Strength for today, and bright hope for tomorrow,
Blessings all mine with ten thousand beside."
- Great Is Thy Faithfulness, Thomas Chisholm