I love Thanksgiving

• I love getting up early on Thanksgiving and running the Turkey Trot with my family. I love cheering on our kids as they run their little races and receive Turkey trophies.


• I love that the 'O factor' gets to run in a race this year


• I love getting out and running in the cold, crisp air. I love watching all the people run with their families, talking about their plans for the day


• I love that everyone wears toboggans and gloves


• I love that Eric helps everyone sit out their toboggans and mittens in neat little piles the night before


• I love how excited my kids get about running their Turkey shirts and pinning on their race numbers


• I love that Soph and Joshua are old enough to run in the longer races


• I love driving to Indiana on thanksgiving


• I love the fact that we get coffee for the road


• I love butterhorn rolls and homemade noodles. I don't love the fact that I can't make homemade noodles worth a diddly. correction: I love Grandma and Aunt Mary's homemade noodles and butterhorn rolls!


• I love hanging out with my brothers and sister and their families


• I love the deep fried turkey that my brother makes


• I love the fact that my sister in law posts a menu of the food in the kitchen


• I love that the Titans are playing today


• I love that we actually put our Christmas tree up early this year.


• I love how neat Joshua and Wes are and the pride they took in decorating their trees in their rooms and hanging lights on their bed


• I love the fact that you have a hard time seeing Sophie's tree amongst the clutter in her room. (even though I have a panic attack every time I walk in)


• I love watching my kids play with their cousins


• I love pouring over the ads with my sister and planning our strategy for Friday's shopping spree


• I love the fact that Melissa, Chasisty and Reagan are going shopping with us this year


• I love how much we laugh on our shopping spree


• I love having thanksgiving at Jimmy and Melissa's.


• I don't love how this will be the first Thanksgiving without my mom there. She loved this holiday. But I love the fact that she is with Jesus now, completely healthy.


• I love the fact that God is with us today, healing our hearts, making our relationship with Him and with each other stronger. And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. -Romans 8:28

Thanksgiving Eve!

Today is going to be such a great day. Eric is home from work. I am cooking all day in preparation for tomorrow--butterhorn rolls, homemade noodles, brocoli cheese casserole, coconut cake, corn pudding. Today the kitchen will be filled with great smells and absolute yumminess. I will make twice the needed amount of rolls because we like to eat lots of them during the cooking process!

We are getting out the Christmas decorations and decorating today! The kids are SOOOO excited! They will be busy setting up their little trees in their room while I cook up a storm! We are going out on a limb (no pun intended) and putting our Christmas tree in a different spot this year. I know, we are sooo wild and crazy, changing it up like this. We are also one of those few families still living in the stone ages with a tree that is not pre lit...so Eric may need lots of your prayers today :) It is also missing some limbs and beginning to look a bit Charlie Brownish...every year we say it is its last year.

I got a crock pot cookbook not long ago and I am wearing it out! Last night we had chicken and dumplings--they took about ten minutes to put in the crock pot and then four hours later, dinner's ready! They were so, so good and so easy! Today I am throwing some ingredients in and presto! Four hours later we'll have philly cheese steak sandwiches on toasted hoagie buns. This sounded really good to me, for some reason. It's not even 8 am and my mouth is already watering.

So what are you doing for Thanksgiving Eve? Hope it is wonderful and family filled!

Dedicated to the One and Only

My husband turned '39' yesterday! Whooooa, Nelly! I thought we were still in our late 20's!!!????

Here are 39 things I love about my hubby:

1. His love for the Lord


2. That he'll do anything for me, even go get me coffee at 5:30 in the morning if we are out.


3. That he is the person behind the scenes that really makes homeschooling work for us...by pitching in and doing laundry, dirty dishes, you name it!


4. He is the best daddy in the whole world to our children


5. The bond that him and our 'Little O Factor' shares.


6. That he is unimpressed with fashion and labels and outward appearances


7. He has a heart for the poor, widowed and orphaned


8. He is a true servant through and through


9. His work ethic is like no other


10. He does not do things for accolades or recognition


11. that he cares about staying physically fit


12. He prays for me and our children


13. He knows the Truth but isn't all theological about it. It simply is what it is and that's all that matters!


14. He goes to the store for us and is really good at it


15. He does our bills (in my opinion, the yuckiest job in the whole world!)


16. He loves the Office as much as I do


17. He gives me free time or 'girl' time whenever I need it


18. He is organized


19. He looks good in a cowboy hat
    
20. that he likes to coach our kids in sports


21. that he can strike up a conversation with any stranger on the street


22. He can paint a wall faster than anyone I know


23. His discipline


24. He can see something so black and white and simply that I have over-analyzed for hours.


25. He rarely worries about anything


26. He loves the beach


27. He's got that 'cool' factor that I've never had


28. He still dates me


29. He's always game for all the goofy things I ask him to do


30. He can keep a secret better than anyone I know


31. He still plays flag football at 39 and is holding strong


32. that he leaves me notes


33. He likes me without makeup and doesn't care that I am wearing it less and less these days


34. He enjoys cooking


35. the fact that his Starbuck drink is so strong it's hair-raising


36. his quiet dry wit


37. He'll take all of our kids out to eat or to the store by himself like its a walk in the park


38. eating dinner together often is important to him


39. He is a walking sacrifice for me and our children, sacrificing his wants and desires daily

Eric is not perfect nor will he ever be. He does things to annoy me, frustrate me and get under my skin just as all of our husbands do. But these are the things I love about him and want to celebrate and focus on these things as much as possible!

Happy Birthday, sweet hubby! I LOVE YOU!

The Mystery of the Stolen Birthday Cake

So my daughter has been asking daily when I am going to post about her birthday party! This is the same daughter that wants a facebook account--what in the world??!! She's sanguine through and through. So here is a detailed recap of her party:

On Sunday, Nov. 16, we had a surprise birthday party for Soph. It was SO much fun! It was a mystery birthday party. After eating lunch, I informed the 'secret agent' girls that they had been invited over for a top secret mission. I fingerprinted each of them and took their mug shot, telling them they were now part of the 'circle of trust'. I informed them that someone had stolen the birthday cake earlier that morning and they had to figure out who did it. We handed out clipboards with sheets I had made similar to the sheets you use with 'Clue'. There was a list of suspects (with their pics), a list of weapons and a list of rooms the crime could have been committed in. Their job was to narrow it down to who did it, with what weapon and in what room. After they figured out who, with what and where, they had to run outside and find a box. The box contained a walkie talkie with a note to call headquarters with further instructions. They called me telling me that 'Bob Marley' was the culprit. Bob Marley was really Eric wearing a Jamaican wig with dreadlocks. I proceeded to tell them to go in the fort in our backyard and find a basket of balls. They did. Then I yelled, "Look, here comes Bob! Get him!"

Bob (Eric) comes running through the backyard with the stolen birthday cake, shooting them with a nerf gun. They pelted him with balls and finally 'caught' him. Mission Accomplished!


This birthday party was so, so fun (did I say that already?). I wanted to be a detective most of my childhood and even had a 'Snoopy Club'. So, let's just say I really got into this one! I felt nine again.


This day was also my mom's birthday; she would have been 64. She loved birthdays, so celebrating Sophie's birthday on this day seemed the best way to spend it!

These are the 'secret agent' girls:

Perseverance

Perseverance--this is the word I feel that the Lord has given me this year as He has whispered to me over and over:

'Persevere, precious child--you can, if you rely on me.'

This is what I felt He said to me when He led me to run a marathon. This is what I heard whispered to me as I pounded the pavement through my training. This is what I heard Him say to me on that scorching hot, excruciating day in Chicago.

As I ran the last six miles of the marathon, I was not prepared for the agony that my body would experience. I was not prepared for the pain that I could not get away from, no matter if I was running, walking or stopping and stretching. It was 100% torture. The pain was in full force and there was no getting around it--I had to move through it. I had to keep going.

Post marathon, I realize the mistake I made through that last painful hour. I took my eyes off of Jesus and focused completely on the pain. And as I focused more and more on how awful it was it became worse and worse and bigger and bigger. Remember the scripture cards I was determinedly going to carry and pray through as I ran? Did I pray through them once during those last six miles? Nope! In fact, they felt so heavy in my hands I almost through them down.

'Persevere, precious child--you can, if you rely on me.'

He whispered it to me--but I chose to focus instead on the circumstances of the moment.

Perseverance. The Lord has opened my eyes to a deeper appreciation and meaning of this word and what it looks like to actually do it. Running a marathon gave me a real, tangible definition to associate with this word. It has given me a little glimpse of the agony and torture that Jesus endured for us on the cross. It has given me a backdrop against which to lay the difficulties and troubles that arise in everyday life:

I am going through my homeschooling day and coming up against all kinds of obstacles...I am about to throw my hands up in the air. Suddenly, I hear that gentle whisper: 'Persevere, precious child--you can, if you rely on me.' I am reminded of what it took to make it through those last six miles. I see Jesus up on the cross. My obstacles don't seem so difficult anymore.

Eric goes out of town for several days. On day four, loneliness starts to set in and one of the children get sick. I begin to let it defeat me and the whisper is so faint I almost miss it: 'Persevere, precious child--you can, if you rely on me.' I am reminded of the marathon. I see Jesus up on the cross. Once again, I get perspective on this momentary trouble and fight through it.

We came with Eric on a business trip and arrived last night. I geared up for staying in a hotel room with our five children. What I hadn't gearup up for was a stomach bug that hit me and one of our children, keeping us up most of the night. Today, I felt lousy. The last place I wanted to be was in a hotel. The last thing I felt like doing was all of the activities we had planned the night before. But I had no choice. I had five little ones counting on me. I felt the way I felt after the marathon--achey and flu like. It took me back to that day and again, I thought about that race. I heard the words of my Lord: 'Persevere, precious child--you can, if you rely on me.' As I forced myself through each step today I kept picturing those last miles. I kept picturing Jesus and the agony He endured. Everytime I pictured it, my current circumstance seemed a little bit smaller.

During my training, I heard so many people bewilderly say, 'that is so crazy--I just don't understand why you would want to put yourself through that.' They thought running a marathon was looney. But, I wouldn't trade anything for what I've learned through it. I have learned how to buck up and endure through chaotic days with my children. I have learned how to keep going when I am really tired in the middle of our school day. I have learned how to reach inside of me and pull more out when needed. I have learned more about relying on Jesus when there is nothing left in me to keep going. I have learned a little bit more about persevering.

We are told in God's Word that in this world we will have pain and suffering. Suffering is an invitation to know Jesus better. I am glad I took the challenge and ran the race. I am glad that I learned a little more about suffering. Today, I feel closer to Jesus. I leave you with the words of Paul:

Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They doi it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize. 1 cor. 9:24-2

'Persevere, precious child--you can, if you rely on me.'

DADDY, PLEASE GET HOME!

Dear Daddy,

I think Mommy needs you to get home. She has been in the bathtub for over an hour, she has had two starbucks today, her hair is looking even crazier than usual and she is letting us watch lots of movies. Actually, we kind of like the movie watching. Oh, and little 'O' threw up all over his bed. You might need to bring her something extra special from your trip.

Love, Soph

What do You Think?

Well, here are my kids with ratty hair, bathless four+ days and the 'O' factor had thrown up all over the place when I went to get him out of his bed this morning (He did actually get a bath :) ) So, I thought why not try for a Christmas card pic? We're going for the natural, everyday look. What do you think---give me your vote!