Tree Farm

Today, Michael and I visited the tree farm with my MOPS group! We saw our future Christmas tree there:

We rode this wagon. It was Seriously COLD. 48 and windy. All the kids were dressed appropriately - us moms - we somehow forgot about ourselves!

We were told when Christmas comes, we can pick out our tree and they give us a saw to cut it down. SOLD. Brian's gonna LOVE that!

After the wagon ride, we were introduced to their reindeer:But we were not allowed to get too intimate with him:

And here I thought reindeer only existed in stories! What's the difference between a reindeer and a caribou?

Here's a picture of Michael - just because I can:

And they had this play area called "Mulch Mountain." It was hilarious. Lots of mulch with plastic tunnels built into it and different slides/valleys. Michael loved jumping around on it:
We got to make a pine cone craft where you smear it with crisco and then dip it into birdseed. It's supposed to be a bird feeder! They fed us popcorn and hot chocolate - a serious fun time!

Can't wait to go back and take pictures of us picking out our Christmas tree! YIPPEE!

Love,

P

For people who like to save money

Here is a website that was given to me for saving money:

http://moneysavingmom.com/

It has lots of specials and coupons and things of the sort.

On the main page - I find lots of deals/steals/freebies. Some are very useful. And some are very not. And some of them are things I would never buy so I ignore those. And some require me to give my address to websites I do not know - so I don't. So use this at your discretion.

Also useful is a tab for store deals, which you can click on your local grocery store. It shows you what is on special that when combined with a coupon results in a high reduction in price OR being practically free. That is useful too - and not at times. Because even though I can get that Hungry Man Swanson dinner for free at my local Giant - I'm not going to buy that. However, if you are a fan of the Hungry Man Swanson dinner, then it would have been a good sale for you.

Just a tidbit. Next up, pictures from our visit to the tree farm and its reindeer.

Love,

P

Thank YOU!!!

I just wanted to send a shout out for all the people who said we referred them to smugmug this year! Our total annual fee to use the site this year was only $9.99 thanks to you guys!

For every referral, you get $5 or $10 (I can't remember which) applied to your account balance. So I REALLY appreciate it! Thank you for saving me money!

If you are wondering what I am talking about, Smugmug is a photo sharing website, very similar to picasa/shutterfly/kodak/etc. However, it is not free like the previously mentioned sites. There are no ads, the album screens are very professional and it is a pleasure to navigate. I cannot say enough good things about it. We've been members for at least 4 years.

Here is the website in case you are interested:

http://www.smugmug.com/

Let me know if you are going to join. I will send you my e-mail to use when you sign up (it's not my standard one!). The best part about this is YOU get a discount too for having someone refer you. Here's the quote from smugmug:

"Save a friend $5 on a SmugMug subscription and earn $10 on your renewal.

Simply have your friend enter the email you use at SmugMug."

And if you are wondering if there is a huge difference between smugmug and the free sites - I truly believe there is. Navigating smugmug, as a viewer, is very easy and a real pleasure! I can see the pictures however I want to see them (as thumbnails, enlarged/etc) and I can do it very easily.

Family Devotional

Michael's preschool sends out a family weekly devotional, which I love. Here was the most recent one that I'd like to share because I need it as a reminder too!

Scripture: 1 John 5:3

“This is love for God: to obey his commands. And his commands are not burdensome…”

Why is obedience so difficult? We try to teach our children from a young age the importance of obeying us, obeying other adults, and obeying God…but it’s not always easy!

I recently gained some new insight into the inner struggle of obedience…

My two-year-old has developed a very strong personality and a mind of her own. I know I certainly did not expect her to have such strong personal opinions at such a young age! I find it so fascinating to watch her in moments of decision. Maybe she is running away from me and I ask her to stop. I can almost see the inner turmoil on her face as she decides if she’s going to listen to me or continue doing what she wants. And, in the moments when she chooses to obey, I can often see a begrudging look on her little face, as if to say, “I’ll do it, Mom, but I am NOT happy about it!” Watching this on a daily basis has helped me realize that we all live with that inner struggle every day, even if we don’t show it quite so openly!

We often misinterpret the concept of obeying God. God doesn’t bark orders at us or make us do things just because He can. Rather, God knows what is best for us – always – and He wants us to live our lives believing that. He wants us to trust Him enough to say yes to whatever He is asking us to do. The struggle comes when God’s plan for us does not line up with what we want. In those moments, we have to make a difficult choice. Those moments are crucial. Those moments say a lot about who’s really in charge…

Obedience is really all about a love relationship. We love our kids and ask them to obey us because we know better than they do what is best. When they do choose to obey, it shows their trust in us. God loves us and asks for obedience because He wants to bless us. Our obedience is an amazing way to show God how much we love Him and trust Him.

If you find yourself struggling with the idea of obeying God, that’s okay. Just don’t give up! Start with love…

Do you love God?

Do you believe that He loves you?

If you can say yes to these two questions, then you are well on your way! Just like we keep working with our kids, He’ll keep working with us. Have faith in His love for you and His desire to see you choose what is best for you.

Parenting Challenge

Based on all that we know of God, I seriously doubt He would ever use the phrase, “Because I said so!” If you find yourself using this phrase a little too often these days, make a commitment to parent your children in the same way God cares for you. This might mean giving your kids a second chance, or taking a little extra time to explain to your kids why you have said yes or no to something. When you are faced with a situation that requires obedience on behalf of your children, remember that it’s hard for all of us to obey sometimes, and lovingly guide your child in the right direction. And, if they choose not to obey, keep working with them! After all, God doesn’t give up on us either!

My Michael

At four years old, My Michael has lots of spirit. He loves to make mischief and will do anything that will result in destruction and disorder:
He is extremely playful and when you tell him to throw leaves at you, he WILL do it:
Best of all, Michael is loving. He has a big heart but stands up for himself when he is wronged.
He loves mazes, connect the dots (with numbers/ABCs), workbooks, Wii Super Mario Brothers and Mario Kart, and his family. He hates to eat, which is tough being in THIS family! :)

He loves his preschool - has started singing us lots of songs, pledges, and telling us about Jesus and God.

Michael loves trains. Seriously loves them. And he loves anything with tracks!

He likes the color pink a bit too much for our taste.

He is pretty good at soccer. At least for a 3 year old that is. :)

I'm not being too eloquent about how much we love our little guy. After 4 years, we see a little person who makes us so proud to be his parents. We love his spirit of adventure. We love his willingness to learn. We are thrilled to see how much he loves all his family and tries hard to show us. We love watching who he has become. :) And we can't wait to see what other surprises he'll have in store for us in the years to come.

Fall at our House

We are spending our first fall here, and so I am presenting to you a look into what fall is like at our place:

Walkin' up to our door:
Next to my front door:
Fall mums by my mailbox:

Next up, pictures of Michael with leaves. Yesterday, it RAINED leaves in our yard. So we raked for 30 seconds and got a HUGE pile of leaves. Pictures galore. They are coming next!

I started shooting in Raw so I am learning how to process all these pictures. It is delaying some things - but let's be honest here, I'm not awesome about uploading anyways.

Much love,

P

The Holy Power

Yesterday, Michael told me about:

"God, Jesus and the Holy Power."

He tells me this with a smile on his face and says, "YEA!"

Hmm...

Today, Michael told me about:

"God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit gives you power! YEA!"

And he tries to hold up 3 of his fingers.

I still have no idea what is going on but I'm sure he's learning it in his preschool during worship class! I wonder what this is all about.

Love,
P

Four YearS Old

Sunday, Michael turned 4 years old and so we took this opportunity to celebrate the day God brought him into our lives...by bowling!

That's right...not just any type of bowling - COSMIC bowling.

We are starting to make friends out here! But Michael has told me he doesn't like anyone at school. Fair enough. But he does like the kids of some of our friends. So THAT'S who we invited to the party! Our friends and his friends and we had a great time:

I suspect next year, our party will probably include our home group too as one of the kids in our home group told her mom that she "wanted to have a sleepover with Michael." Yup. A she. Luckily, her mom squashed that idea. And I would have too since Michael's latest antic that I have to discourage is yelling, "BOOBIES BOOBIES BOOBIES!" and running towards my boobs to grab them. Jeez, I wonder where he got that behavior from. Hmmm:

Here's Michael demonstrating his bowling technique of running as quickly as he can to the lane and chucking the ball:
Because when all else fails, if you hug the bowling balls, you might get a strike:

Here is Michael staring lovingly at his carousel cake:
YES...I made that. And NO, the bottom of the cake is not made of playdoh even though it looks like it. I had to seriously research how to make that cake and even still...I was glad it was a bit dark so you couldn't look TOO closely at it!

All in all, a super fantastic time! Michael spent the day doing whatever he wanted and we loved watching him play with all his new toys. I am going to do a four year old photoshoot with him this weekend with the gorgeous weather and his Grammy and Grandpa around too. Can't wait! And then, I will post about what Michael is like at 4 years old.

On the Web

We are on the web in an embarrasing way. Click on the link and just wait for the slideshow on the homepage:

http://www.cfarestaurant.com/elkton/home

YEA!

P

Blog by Rapid Fire

Downloaded the pics from my iphone. 15 pictures. ARE. YOU. READY????

Sept 27, 2010 - Michael had to go under anesthesia to get the caps on his front 2 teeth:
My poor little guy. Had to get 6 (SIX) crowns on his back teeth too. And some kind of tube shoved up his nose and then had a bloody nose:
Poor little guy! Him waking up from anesthesia was THE WORST. He was crying, didn't know where he was, his mouth was all bloody and he was parched. Finally got him to drink some apple juice, which calmed him down a little bit. It was a traumatic day for both son and mother but nothing a whole day of playing Super Mario Brothers did not cure.
Saturday, Sept 25: Soccer pics. Is this not the grumpiest team you have ever seen?
Sept 17: Went to Milburn Farms. Michael wanted a picture of this cow. Don't have to ask ME twice:
Sept 15 - Children's Museum. Michael loved this train and with indirect window light - it was an easy peasey lemon squeezey kind of deal:
Sept 10: You telling me you wouldn't 1) give your kid the strainers when asked or 2) take a picture of it:
Aug 23: Michael does a lot of straddling playground equipment:
Aug 19: After work trip to home depot for lots of manure, topsoil, and mulch:
Aug 14: Ya think he'd be a little happier with a balloon, but he's just NOT:
Aug 13: Every giraffe needs a hug. At one of our favorite toy stores:
Aug 11: Ya definitely need goggles for swim class. Unless you never put them on again after THIS picture:
Aug 5: This is how far I was in front of him while we were walking around:
Aug 4: For those of you teaching upper and lowercase letters, we love this game:
July 23rd: Trip with Grammy to Dutch Wonderland! It was HOT - but AWESOME.

Michael on a horse, CHECK:
Michael on a self-propelled choo-choo, check:
Grammy dominating small children at Whac-a-Mole and rubbing it in their face and winning a stuffed black dog which would one day become Tick-Tacker, CHECK:
Carousel, CHECK:
Dad riding on preschooler rides, CHECK:
Jul 9: Dressing up to get free food. I'm sure if he was older, it would be filed under, "Things my Mom made me do for Free food that resulted in needing therapy when I grew up."
It has been raining. A LOT. Almost a week's worth! I kind of like the excuse to stay in and make soup and watch TV.