Kaityn Walks!!!

Kaityn, as I have said before, walks on her knees to get to wherever she wants. Well, Saturday night we had another party for her with some of our friends and family. She decided she would show off a little bit and took off walking. She would walk, sit down, clap and say yeah, and then get up and do it again. Before we knew it she was walking across the living room, through the kitchen, and to her room. She is not walking everywhere yet but she will walk across the room and does more walking on her feet than knees now. My baby is growing up.

Happy Birthday "Popcorn"

Happy Birthday PaPa. We love you. Hope you have a great day.
Love,
Christopher
Kaibryn
Cooper
Kaityn

Thankful Thursday

Today is "thankful Thursday". I missed last week because of the "Bug" at our house so I am going to do this week what I was going to do last week. Last week was Valentine's Day. I used to wear black on this day because I was always "woe is me." I am such a girl. What did I wear this year...black...it is SO slimming, right? I always used to make fun of my mom because everything she wore was brown or black. Well, you know they always say you turn out to be like your Mom. If you look in my closet the main color is, yes you guessed it, black.
The Bible says, "Every good and perfect gift is from above." My gift is my husband Chris. I made a list of things to pray for in a husband when I was in high school. I wish I could find it. EVERY thing I prayed for was answered with Chris. He is slow to anger, has a good name, a man of integrity, knows how to work hard, wise, and many others. One of the "non-spiritual" ones I put (which is VERY funny) was that he did not have to know how to play sports but would need to know a little bit about it so he could carry on a conversation with anyone. Well, anyone who knows Chris knows that if you have questions about ANY sport he is the one to go to. He even knows about the "weird" sports. So, if anyone has questions...give him a call. Well, my list centers around him today and why I am so thankful for him.

1. He makes me laugh (even when I don't want to) - "A joyful heart is good medicine."
2. He makes everything fun.
3. He let me beat him at ping-pong
4. He works hard so I can stay at home.
5. He is my best friend - He makes me "cool." :)
6. He sees the best in me.
7. He makes me feel safe...especially in a crowded room of people.
8. He will help me do anything.
9. He loves playing with the kids and is so patient with them.
10. He is not a "hot-tempered man" - Prov. 22:24-25
11. He is slow to speak - Prov. 21:23 (thank you)
12. He loves being involved with the students at church and is impacting many lives.

He is so great. There is no one God could have created more perfectly for me. He makes me want to be a better servant and wife. He loves the Lord and his family. What else could you ask for in a husband. In Proverbs it says, "A man who finds a wife finds a good thing and obtains favor from the Lord." I pray that I am a wife that he can look at and say, "I have found a good thing."

Birthday Bash

The Birthday Girl

Today is Kaityn Mae's 1st birthday. I cannot believe a year has already gone by. She is such a sweet girl. She loves her brothers and sister and enjoys being around them. Her favorite activities include climbing on anything she can get a hold of, laughing, taking off her socks and shoes, and walking on her knees. Her newest activity includes taking off her shirts. I have no idea how she does that. The past few days when I have gone to pick her up after her nap she is shirtless. When I go to get her she looks at me with pride in her eyes. It is quite funny. We were supposed to have her birthday party last Saturday but with the "bug" hitting our house we had to change it. We are going to have some friends over this Saturday and try it again. Her name means "most wanted child." My prayer for her is that she will grow to have a "gentle and quiet spirit which is precious in the sight of God."(on days I think I need to pray this more :) ).
I will try to add some more pictures of her birthday tonight.

Glad It's Monday...Part 2

Well, once again it is Monday and I am SO glad it is here. We were supposed to have Kaityn's first BD party this weekend but our house was hit with THE bug. It started with Cooper, went to Daddy, then to Christopher and then ended with sweet Kaibryn who is still trying to shake it. I think Kaityn gave it to everone first. She received the "blessing" on Wed.
Like I said we were supposed to have her party Saturday. PaPa and Grana and Aunt Candace and Uncle Michael came in from KC for the big event. It was sad but we were able to spend time with them a little bit on Saturday and a little bit on Sunday. I'm glad Monday is here because I am not longer cleaning up throw up. I am spending the day disinfecting my house and finishing washing EVERY towel in our house...you think I am kidding (I'm not). That's just an update on our weekend. Kaibryn is asking for a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. The last time she asked for one she ended up eating four. I don't think that will happen this time. Hope everyone has a great week.

Valentine's Lunch

Thank you PaPa and Grana for the pizza.

Glad It's Monday...I think...

Well DNow weekend is over. Believe it or not it was fun and crazy at the same time. Chris had the 9th grade boys here at our house and I had 9th and 10th grade girls at my parent's house with me and the kids. The kids thought it was a big slumber party. There was alot of coming and going but they handled everything amazingly well. At times it was crazy - spilled chocolate milk on white carpet, a "sharpie" incident, the TV quit working, had Kaityn Mae's pictures made, and stuff everywhere. I can look back on it now and laugh.
My Chris had to remind me on several occasions this weekend to be flexible. I am such a planner and I like to know exactly how things are going to happen and several times this weekend I had to go with the flow which goes against everything in me. Hopefully I learned this a little bit.
I was able to attend the evening sessions which was nice. Grana watched the kids Fri. PM and then some good friends watched them Sat. PM. The Sat. evening session was amazing. God showed up in a way that I don't think I have ever experienced before. There are no words to describe what happened except for God showed up. The students and adults were on their faces broken before the Father. It was life changing for me and for many of our students. God is so good and loving.
Well, here it is Monday. It's 12:40 and it has been crazy. I've changed sheets, given haircuts, given baths, done some laundry, mopped the kitchen floor, straightened up rooms, fed children, changed a couple smelly diapers, have played a little and have made a quick trip to my favorite drink spot. I'm ready for bed but still have naps to give, school to teach, more laundry, vaccuuming, mopping wood floors, dinner to fix, children to love on, a husband to encourage, more laundry, diapers to change, books to read, lists to make, more laundry (notice a theme going on), make a couple phone calls, and watch a funny show "Jon and Kate plus 8" (it helps me realize that my life really isn't that chaotic). It may seem like I'm complaining. I'm not. I love this place in my life right now. My dad jokes sometimes that he sent me to OBU and spent all that money and now I'm just staying at home (he admits that it is worth it). He also know this is the only thing I have ever wanted to do. So, even though days are crazy and busy I love it. I might not get everything finished on my list but that's OK. I know I will get done what God wants me. All I have to do is seek Him first. So, if your Monday is busy and hectic I understand. I would encourage you to seek the Lord first and find out what He wants you to do. He might make us get away from our "to do list". So to put into words what my Chris says, "Just be flexible." God might have other plans. Wow!!! I'm preaching to myself right now...yikes!!!!

Thankful Thursday...

Thankful Thursday is here. What are you thankful for?

1. Obviously, I'm typing this at 12:27 A.M. That can only mean one thing - my
mother-in-law is here.

2. Late night trips to Wal-Mart with Grana.

3. Warm weather earlier this week and spending all afternoon outside with the kids.

4. Disciple Now is this weekend at our church and we are hosting 9th grade girls AND
9th grade boys (at different houses) - CRAZY ARE WE!!!!!!!

5. I'm thankful that I can run around the house chasing the kids and they don't look
at me like I've lost all my marbles.

6. Guitar Hero

7. Vanilla Diet Coke...easy ice...I love you Honey!!!!!!

8. Chris's aunt coming all the way from Taiwan to see us :).

9. Kaityn got a clean bill of health & she took 8 steps today actually on her feet
and not on her knees. For those of you who have not seen it...Kaityn walks on
her knees everywhere & if we try to put her on her feet she falls straight to
the ground. It is very funny.

God is good and I am so blessed.

Weekend Outing

Chris and I often joke about how we like for all six of us to go out places because of the funny looks, comments, and questions. "Are all these yours?" "How old are they?" And when we tell them their response is "Wow, you are busy." It's just fun. We are blessed.
Well, this weekend we ventured out and did something that I love and at the same time STRESSES me out...pictures. I got a coupon in the mail for a great deal on some pictures so I made us an appointment. I decided everyone should wear white shirts...what was I thinking? Kids and white shirts. I caught myself barking orders at them as we are leaving the house. "Don't touch the doors", "don't lean against anything", "keep your hands off of everything." Obviously a different color could have been chosen..but they looked so cute. As we got to the mall we gave our usual speech..."stay with Mom and Dad", "Don't run", "OBEY", "OBEY", "OBEY", "If you do what the photographer says it will go by so much faster". Well, the kids listened. They did great. They did exactly what the photographer said to and even Kaityn Mae threw in a "cheese" every once and a while. They were rewarded with ice-cream afterward (or maybe that was a bribe) and Dad being the wisest one chose vanilla. While the kids were eating ice-cream I was looking around (I like to people watch) and some of the faces of people around us were so funny...like we were a circus act or something. I guess in today's world a family with 4 kids ages 6, 5, 3, and almost 1 is rare. This is our blessed life and we love it - the good, the bad, and some days chaotic.