Prayer... Check!

I am very bad about accomplishing any personal devotions or quiet time... there... I admit it! I desire it, I want to do it, I just don't make it a priority I suppose. One of my favorite sister-in-laws gave me a book for Christmas that I have actually started reading. When I suggested it I knew it sounded like a book I could make good use of. Prayer Starters for busy Moms: How to pray all day and still put the laundry away. I have not read very much of it yet but I think it is going to be really encouraging.
Going back a couple of years in our Young Women's Discipleship Group one of our "assignments" was to spend one hour in prayer. After I accomplished this I felt so wonderful, it was encouraging and I knew I had spent that hour in God's presence. I so desire to accomplish that daily, even if just for 5 minutes.
I want to spend more time with Jesus! I want to know the closeness and love that comes from spending time in prayer. So I am going to work on my prayer life and pray through my day no matter what I might be "accomplishing". I encourage you to do the same. As I read through my book I will share what I learn so that you may be encouraged too!

Christmas Here I Come!

I am at my favorite part of the holiday season now... the final week before Christmas. I am done with my shopping and now I get to spend the next week baking and wrapping presents and watching my all time favorite movie, White Christmas! I still have plenty to do and my house still needs to be cleaned up but it will happen in time. I look forward to the different dinners and outings and the continual celebration of Christmas!

I did just spent the last hour addressing Christmas card envelopes to which I don't have the Christmas cards for yet. I promise next year I am getting an earlier start on my cards so I am not mailing them the week of Christmas! I am waiting for my cards to arrive so I gathered the envelopes from past extra Christmas cards as well as from extra baby announcements and got a jump on my "addressing"! Nothing like working ahead!

I hope you can enjoy these final days of the Christmas season and I hope that all the lights, wrapping, baking, dinners and presents will also be a reminder of WHY we get to celebrate CHRISTmas! In all the hussle and bussle let's not leave CHRIST out of our CHRISTmas! May they be a wonderful reminder to us all!

The Sister Train

I don't know what the girls were doing but they were really enjoying playing with the baby strollers. We just had to get a picture of them. It is fun to see them all interact together!

Some Things You Can Only Share with Your Sister!

Do you remeber your teenage years? I am sure most of us would like to forget them:) However, when I was in highschool, probably 16 give or take a year, my sister and I were HUGE fans of The New Kids on the Block. That is putting it midly. Well, last month my sister took me to one of their reunion concerts. We never went to one when we were younger but fulfulled this 'teenage dream come true' in our 30's. It was almost silly to think about and somewhat embarrassing....

However, we had the best time in the world. It was one of the best 'sister-bonding' moments I think we have had in quite some time. Probably because our husbands would have no interest in participating in a concert of thousands of screaming women... notice, women... in their 30's. Nor, would we have wanted our husbands to see us screaming like 16 year olds:) Yes, a little crazy! But oh so worth it. I can't remember when I have had that much silliness and in a long time. We got to scream like silly teenagers all over again. Yes we even remembered all the words to all their old songs. They might even sound better now than they did 15 years ago. I know it is silly teenage boy band all grown up and now in their late 30's but what I will remember the most is that I got to share this extra fun night with my sister. There is no one else I would rather of lived that "dream" with than Julie! There also isn't anyone who can appreciate what fun we had either, so we can relish those memories together and get giddy like little school girls all over again. Thanks Julie for so much fun and thanks for being a great sister!

Christmas Time Fun!

A few pics of the girls today, and yes we have Christmas decorations in our lawn!

Christmas Tree Hunting

We went and got our Christmas tree today and we like to go someplace we can "hunt" for the perfect tree and cut it down. Barry and I started this tradition before the girls even came along and it is always a fun way to involve the whole family. This is our picture from our Christmas Tree Hunt today. It will take me several days... I mean nights to get it decorated finally but it is fun!

By the way, can you tell I married a "farm boy" he has on Carharts from head to toe!

Big Sister!

Sydney knew we were looking for a backpack for Gracie for Christmas and tonight Sydney came home from Awanas with a new back pack for her little sister, Gracie.
They got some sort of "money" in reward for attendance, bringing their Bible etc each Wednesday night and then they get to spend it at the "Awana Store". She unselfishly thought of Gracie when she saw this backpack and spent the majority of her "money" on her little sister! She then picked out a little toy for Molly before finding something for herself.
I am so touched by her sensitivity and so proud of her. It is the times like this that make all the other struggles pale in comparison to the love of my girls for each other and thinking of each other first!

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

It is easy at Thanksgiving to think of many things to be thankful for and now that I am done with my dinner responsibilites for tomorrow, I was thinking about Thanksgiving and what I am thankful for so I thought I would list a few.
My Hope in Jesus Christ
My Wonderful Husband who always wants to make sure I am happy
My THREE beautiful, sweet, loving girls who are my constant joy!
My family who I love to spend time with and I am so glad we are close.
My church family, a constant support in many ways.
My FRIENDS. Every girl needs some good friends and I've got them!

Obviously a small list but if I continued on this could be the longest blog ever. The point of this, however, is that the Lord has blessed me and continues to do so and for that I am very Thankful. I hope during this season of Thankfulness you feel truly blessed as well!

Blogging in Bed

I am often in bed before Barry, not asleep just in bed. I enjoy that time. I multitask... I read a magazine or a book while getting caught up on the latest "news" on Fox. I think I became a little addicted to Bill O'Reilly during the election and now he is just amusing to watch. This is my downtime. It is relaxing for me.
I know Oprah says you should not have a tv in your bedroom but I like it! I should probably use this time to sleep but ever since we have been married Barry and I have kind of been night owls. (It must carry over from college) Sometimes we just like to lay in bed and watch a movie. Tonight though he is not here, he is busy finishing up his parents bathroom that he has been remodeling since May! So I decided to get to bed early.... with my book, my computer and Fox News.

Holiday Preparation

It is close to Thanksgiving and we are almost done with school for the week and Barry is off from work this whole week. When these things happen around Thanksgiving and Christmas I start getting excited! I begin to anticipate putting up the Christmas decorations and going to the Christmas parties and there are always more family dinners this time of year too. It is always fun! Sometimes I think I get more excited than the girls or they just feed off my excitement. I just love this time of year, you can constantly see reminders of what Thanksgiving and Christmas are really about... remembering the things you are thankful for and that the Lord has provided those for you and the birth of Jesus Christ! What an amazing story! Just think of what makes the news these days and to think that Mary gave birth in a stable with hay and cows and sheep! She was an amazing woman!
So enjoy these weeks of Thanksgiving and Christmas and lets try to remember what makes this time of year so special and that we can celebrate it everyday! But that doesn't mean you will find Christmas decor up at my house all year:)

The Joy of Grammy

Grammy Sherry came over today, she took us out to lunch and played with the girls. It is such a blessing to have her close enough to come entertain the girls and give me the added encouragement I need some days, especially when I am up to my ears in laundry. Oh yes, and did I mention... adult conversation???!!!! Grammy decided to have Gracie spend the night with her tonight and have some special time with her. It is also nice that I get a short break from potty training, wet pants and one less little one to get to bed tonight. Although, as Gracie was leaving, I was already missing her. She was telling me "Mom, I have to go now, Grammy is ready!" As I write this the house is a little quieter and there is a little less commotion, reminding me that one of my babies is not here. It reminds me of the book "Let me Hold You Longer". I love reading it to the girls but it always makes me cry. Maybe it is a small glimpse of what the future might bring and that my girls are growing up!

Clutter Confusion

I was thinking today about how organized I would like to be. I would love to have a "right" place for every toy, every book, every bag. However, as much as I would like to be organized I don't think my life lends itself to that right now. Is there a certain place for certain things? Yes. Do we have bookshelves? Yes. I consider myself to be a pretty organized person. I like to plan things but eventually don't you have to let good enough be good enough?
I guess if I had started that project of detailed organization before Sydney came along then I could continue on with it. How do you begin when your in the midst of raising 3 kiddos? I want my girls to know that they need to pick up, that their toys need to be put away, that clothes have a certain spot. But do I want them remembering that mom was so anal about keeping thing "in their spot" that they don't bother getting them out? No!
Isn't spending time with my kids while they are here more important than making sure everything is in its place. How worn out I would be if I was constantly worrying about how clean my house is. And before you think my house is filthy and that their are toys scattered everywhere (which sometimes they are), however you could come into my house and tell I have kids. The toys are not hidden away. The clean clothes are not automatically put away. Won't I have time to do that when they aren't with me??
So I think I will keep my house clean. I will organize the clutter, but if you stopped by today I won't be embarrassed by the sticky spots on my floor and the Little People spread across the living room.
Now off to taking my turn to sing a silly song with Gracie and Molly. Why should they have all the fun!

Can I Join the Club?

Well this is my first attempt at 'blogging'. As I was talking to some friends last night about other people's blogs, I guess I thought "I can do that"!

When I was trying to think of a clever title for this new blog I was going to do, I was thinking about what my life is. Well, my life is striving to be more like Jesus everyday, taking care of three beautiful, funny, sweet girls and being a wife to my wonderful husband of 10 years and keeping track of our household.
If you remember ever playing with Silly Putty, you can pull it, push it, shape it, bend it, you can do almost anything with it. I was thinking my life as a mom and wife is a bit like that. I am pulled in a lot of directions. I change and adapt to fit the circumstances and happenings of our family. Do you remember being able to "copy" newspaper print onto Silly Putty? Well, if your me in my house that is me as our "calendar".
So that is where I came up with the title for my new blog, I suppose I could elaborate on how I feel like Silly Putty and you can imagine. We all tend to feel that way more often than not I am sure.

I hope you can enjoy the postings of this site and maybe even funny stories I might share about the girls and what our family is up to these days. Feel free to respond. Just remember I am not good at this, I have never done this before and it could turn out to be rather boring for those reading.

Well off to todays activities!