Betty & Myrtle

Advent

2011-12-19T11:35:00.000-08:00

I've been reminded over and over these last few weeks just how precious this season is. I really wanted to share this with my kids. It is SO easy for them to be overwhelmed by toys and Santa and what "I want". These things are fun too, Santa has never been introduced by us, but oh how to kids love to talk about Santa!
I have been thinking about doing this advent calendar for the past 2 years and I finally pulled it together.
Baby socks, lined up each holding a special piece of Jesus precious story.
That is what I envisioned 2 Christmases ago, I finally had enough mismatched or too small socks from all the kids.
I sewed them to a piece of ribbon and hung them in our home.
Dan and I talked and thought about what we wanted in our calendar, our time of waiting, anticipation and preparation of Jesus birth.
We included prophesy about Jesus, beautiful words about who would come to save his people. Then the story of his birth. The angel visiting Mary, her amazing encounter and her Yes to Jesus. Then I decided to include some of the things Jesus brought when He came to this earth. The Hope, glory, love, joy,and peace.
It has been so sweet to snuggle up with the kids and read and talk about our Hope our Jesus. I love starting new traditions, this one has given us time to rest together and remember.

Just a little teaser...

2011-11-18T10:45:00.001-08:00

So tomorrow is my first craft show!
If you live in Redding you should come by Simpson University anytime from 9-3.
Meghan, Erica and I are sharing a booth and it is jammed packed with really cute stuff :)
(if I do say so myself)
Just a couple pics to prove it.

My first show

2011-11-01T13:37:00.000-07:00

This flyer is for the craft show I will be selling some of my things in. I'm super excited and SUPER nervous at the same time. My very talented friends Erica and Meghan will be my partners in this adventure!
We are going to have some awesome things, if I do say so myself!
Crocheted Hats, scarves and gloves.
Wreaths and pillows
Re-purposed furniture
Mirrors and shelves and windows, and SO much more!
So if you live in Redding, you should come and say hi maybe buy some Christmas gifts while your there!

She's Crafty

2011-09-30T13:37:00.000-07:00

(The title should be sung to the tune of the Beastie Boys :)

Oh. My. Goodness. That's what my Sofia says about anything and everything that is unbelievable!
And I think it is unbelievable that it has been this many months since I have blogged!!!
There are so many things that I could talk about. Stories about the kids, new schools, stitches and trips to the ER, summer trips etc. And maybe my next blog will be one of my many catch up on life blogs.
But for now I will show you what I've been working on.
Whenever my parents come up I put them to work helping me make something! So since their last visit I am still craftin' it up as much as possible!
This is the first time in years that I have a smidgen of time to put toward this thing I love to do!
Ive been making some headbands that I love to wear myself and Sofia also enjoys rocking them to Pre-school.
The little nightstand my parents and I brought back to life, it was falling apart and we resuscitated it quite nicely I think.
And the old spice rack that I painted coral is going to be a place for Sofia's little jewelry/hair bows/trinkets. I'm still not sold on the knobs, I had these amazing metal ones that someone stole from my driveway where they were drying :/
So there are just a few of my restorations as of late. I am LOVING it and hoping I can keep carving out time to do it!

now and then

2011-05-28T16:38:00.001-07:00

Twelve years ago today I got married!!
Sometimes it feels so long ago and then sometimes I remember the smallest detail of that day. Like waiting to go down the aisle and my dad and I just looking at each other tears starting to emerge because there is so much joy and some saddness at him loosing his baby. I remember being so nervous I said to Chove and cherish instead of love and cherish!
I remember feeling so overwhelmed by the amount of love that surrounded us, I remember being exhausted and just wanting to sleep for days!
Such a great day!
What I find most amazing is that 12 years later I am even more happy than I was on that day. I know it sounds cheesy but it is so true how marriage gets better with each year, I think because we start to be less selfish, we grow so much over each year, we start to figure life out. We start to pay attention to the details.
And am I the only one who thinks Dan has gotten so much hotter than when we got married??! He looks so great in the recent picture!
Anyway Happy Anniversary Dan, you make everyday even better than the last, I am so thankful we get to live this life together.

Just another day at the Lances

2011-05-10T16:24:00.000-07:00

Mondays are Dan's day off. I try really hard not to pile on the projects I want to do, I try to just hang out.
I'd like to make them my day off too, but the kids don't really agree to me ignoring them and doing my own thing.
So the day started with me meeting up with some girls, on my merry way I may have been going a tad bit over the speed limit.
So I got pulled over for speeding, and I couldn't find my up to date insurance card! UGH!!
But the nice police officer only gave me a fix-it ticket, I was SO grateful!
I also need to add that I have not been pulled over since I was 16!
So as I went on my way once again, almost to my friends house when out pops a squirrel right in front of my car! I slowed and tried to miss him, but alas he didn't make it! :/
Finally home from my meeting I walk in to find that our fridge has been smoking and there is a very toxic smell in the house!
I will spare you the details, but after not being sure we could fix it, we bought a another one on Craig's list and then ended up getting ours fixed.
Amazing.
Now we have 2 refrigerators. Bummer.
Maybe a good thing if our garage was not already a mess.
It was such a long crazy day, Dan ended up taking calls all day and running around town.
It was a bummer way to start the week, but sometimes it just feels like life, just another day at the Lance household.

Soakin' Time

2011-04-07T15:19:00.000-07:00

Ive been trying something new with the kids the last few weeks. Sometimes it makes me smile, sometimes it makes me frown. Ive been wanting to spend more time teaching the kids to hear God. What does that even look like for a 7, 4 and 2 year old? We read them the Bible, we talk it, we live it. I think this is the most important.
But I also wanted to be more diligent about it, life is busy and crazy and overwhelming, but in the chaos I really want to teach my kids who God is and what it looks like to live a life with Him.
So in the afternoon when homework is done and dinner is getting started we soak. We sit around the table and listen to worship music, almost always Jesus Culture worship, and we draw. The kids draw what they are thinking about, what Jesus might be telling them, or who they think he is.
The first week was so sweet. Sofia drew Jesus with a beard, she said she wanted him to look like Daddy. Which I think is awesome.
Moses said I can't I don't know how to draw Mama, so we did it together, he wanted to draw hearts.
Zeke drew Jesus and himself with hearts in between, he said it showed how much they loved each other. Wow.
Now don't be too impressed because that sweetness lasted all but 4 minutes, then there was whining and fighting and why isn't dinner ready! And everyday is NOT like this one, but there are little pockets where I see the hearts of my kids, learning and growing and loving God.
What a gift, to get a glimpse of the way they see Jesus.

Haircuts

2011-03-18T16:48:00.000-07:00

This post is late, but that is how I roll.
So about a month or so ago all the kids got haircuts.
Some were planned, some were not...
I wanted to cut the boys hair and then one night something happened that forced me to get all the kids hair cut!
I went out to dinner with some girl friends, in the middle of laughing and throwing peanut shells on the ground I got a text from Dan, it included the picture of Sofia crying and a handful of cut hair.
The day I dreaded and had been waiting for had arrived.
Sofia found the scissors that Zeke left out and gave herself a serious trim, one whole side of her hair, and it was short.
So the next day Amy Endecott came to our rescue and cut Sofia's hair.
I actually really love it, it looks so healthy and cute.
I do get sad when I see the pics of how long it was, all the curl is gone too. :(
So then we decided to give everyone a trim, Zeke wanted to keep his long hair we just got it out of his eyes and Moses got a cute little faux hawk.
Krista Kossol did an amazing job on the boys.
Zeke said he was sorry for leaving the scissors out, plus he said, Mom don't worry I put them away right after she cut her hair. Cool thanks dude...
I've decided its just a right of passage for my kids.

health

2011-03-05T11:59:00.002-08:00

The last few months have been less than healthy in our home. Moses has been struggling with allergies and asthma for the last 2 months straight, rarely seeing a break from a whole mess of things!
We are currently on our third round of antibiotics to try and clear up two ear infections he has had for 6 weeks now. Poor guy is constantly saying "What Mama, Whats u say" He just can't hear at all. He is constantly having a runny nose and cough, which inevitably turns into asthma. So with 2 different medicines for breathing treatments and plenty of antibiotics, Dr. visits, we are racking up quite a tab of medical bills.
I was chatting with my grandparents this week and my grandpa told me a story about how when he was 7 he kept getting ear infections and his parents took him to the Dr. and the Dr. took a copper wire and burst his ear drum!!! WTH! That way his ears could drain... He has never heard the same in that ear! Yikes
We have been refered to an allergy specialist and now an ENT Dr. to decide if tubes in the ears is his best bet. I feel like all I do lately is drive from appointment to appointment, blood work, prescriptions! It's exhausting truthfully.
After an allergy specialist on Friday we hope to find out next week what he is allergic to so we can make some changes!
In spite of it all he is still a little firecracker and it doesn't seem to slow him down too much. :)
He is the life of the party, always wanting to be the funny guy.
What I would love more than anything is for God to heal him!
We just keep praying, every night Mo whispers at bed time "can you pray Mama?"
So we do. I love that the kids just naturally want to pray, want to trust God with their lives.
This week I had a horrible stomach flu, both Sofia and Zeke came in to pray for me.
It was amazing.
So we just keep praying for health and trusting God with Mo's little lungs.

2011-03-05T11:59:00.001-08:00

What's your favorite?

2011-02-23T12:09:00.000-08:00

In the last year I have somewhat gotten my act together and every evening I make dinner and we eat as a family. I grew up this way and I love that we have the same tradition in our home. I love the community it is already building with our kids, they are still so small but I hope to cultivate a safe place that is consistent and "normal".
Now I am not saying we all sit still and eat and have manners like we're the Cleavers or something. It might be the opposite of that... But we are there and together and talking about life. I think that's what matters most.
There is constant complaints about what we are eating, Sofia is ALWAYS out of her seat dancing around, Moses is ALWAYS rubbing rice or ketchup in his hair, and Zeke is ALWAYS burping then cracking up. SO we have some issue to work out, but we have fun.
We started this tradition about 6 months ago where we all go around and say our favorite part of our day. Sofia is the leader, she always remembers and goes from each person asking "What's your favorite"? It is sweet, and they love to share. Moses says the same thing everyday of his life, that his favorite was playing with Ryder, his best buddy. Most days we haven't even seen Ryder but it is always his favorite!
I hope that with each year the kids will just grow into a habit of sharing their day with us at the table, learning to express how they are feeling and learning how to listen to each other.
It is absolutely my favorite part of the day!

taking a sick day

2011-02-09T11:39:00.000-08:00

Don't you wish you could take a sick day when your a mom?
Yesterday morning got up bright and early and went for my 4 mile run with my friend Emily. I had a great run, felt good the whole time, then I got home took a shower and felt terrible! Achey, freezing, sneezing, head feeling like it could explode at any minute! I'm not sure what happened, but I still feel terrible today.
Back in the day I could lay around drinking tea, watching chick flicks and falling in and out of consciousness all day till I felt better.
But for some odd reason my 3 kids don't think this is a good idea.
So I am still serving snacks and meals, pretending to be the hulk as Moses beats up his superheros. I still have to help do homework and change diapers, I still have to find barbies missing shoe, and clean up the juice Moses poured all over the coffee table.
In short I have not laid or even sat on the couch yet today even though that is all I want to do!!
But I am holding out hope for a nap, if all goes well I might have 45 minutes! I love being a mom, its just a bummer there is no sick day card I can pull out!

birthing something new

2011-01-29T09:02:00.000-08:00

I want to know you
let your spirit overwhelm me
let your presence overtake my heart

That has been my mantra lately. This is the new season I am entering, a longing to know God in a deeper, more intimate way. We had a women's worship night last night. It was so awesome, God's presence was so thick in that room, and there was so much anticipation and expectancy for God to come to be there with us, to move.
My friend Julie prayed for me, and spoke so much confirmation to what God has been speaking to my heart this last week. That He in bringing me into a new season and deeper intimacy with Him, that He is birthing something new.
I feel like I have been waiting for so long for this.
I am so excited, so grateful.

Day 3 of the cleanse

2011-01-21T14:51:00.000-08:00

I'm not gonna lie, this cleanse has not been easy!
There have only been a few times that I am really hungry, but what's harder than that is training myself to avoid this desire to snack. I don't snack a lot, but I am home all day with nothing but fruits and vegetables to eat.
Making the kids lunch has proven to be harder than usual. I was so tempted by crusts of old bread and left over snacks. Just because I couldn't have them I really wanted them!! But I am proud of myself for sticking with it. Although today at lunch eating a bowl full of lettuce, spinach, kale and veggies, was no longer enjoyable.
I have tried some new things that have been surprisingly good!
I made Roasted root soup last night, actually quite good!
I was gonna make a huge salad again tonight but I just can't do it. Think I'm gonna make butternut squash soup, with a salad. Then for a evening snack Dan and I have been enjoying various juice combos!
The bummer thing is I don't really feel any different!!
I'm still tired all day, bummer.
Oh well at least I tried it...right?

new things

2011-01-19T11:52:00.000-08:00

I have been wanting to blog for months now, I finally made some time today. Someone has been hacking into my account and leaving weird messages so I keep putting off figuring it out. Anyone have any good advice for keeping my blog more private???

Anywho since it is a new year I am starting it off with trying out a few new things.
Number 1:
I am starting a cleanse today!
It is called Lance style. Because I am making it up!! I did research on the internet and I am combining it all together! I'll let you know how it goes!!
I am doing all organic fruits and vegetables for 4 days. Taking vitamins, drinking tons of water and juicing! I read somewhere that I should be hitting the sauna getting massages and taking cold/hot baths to get all the toxins out. Those all sound amazing but I don't think it will happen, I'll have to improvise!
Maybe the kids can massage my back while I steam up the bathroom...
Number 2:
I am trying and so far hating this next one.
Switching from harsh facial cleansers to all natural.
I read online about mixing extra virgin olive oil and Castor oil together and how amazing it is for your skin. But if you know me I am deathly afraid of putting any type of oily product even near my face. I hate sunscreen etc because I am so afraid of breaking out. But last night I tried it. And I have to admit I had a bit of a panic attack!! I put a quarter size drop in my hands rubbed it on my face and then realized oh crap I have oil all over my face!!!! Then you know you CAN'T just rinse oil off of anything, so it wasn't coming off!! So I ended up cleaning it off with one of my harsh facial cleansers I was trying to avoid. Awesome. But I am not giving up, I will try again tonight. I have a plan, tiny bit of oil, then put on a warm wash cloth to steam it, then hopefully wipe it off. :/
Number 3:
Declutter my whole house!
We are completely out of room in our 3 bedroom house, so that means I have to get rid of some stuff. I am really excited about the outcome of this, not excited about the process/work this is going to take! Garage sale in February, GET EXCITED PEOPLE!
Number 4:
Meditation
I have tried this on and off a few times, love it so much, really really hard to do. Hard in general to quiet my mind, extra hard with 3 kids and a small house. I have a plan and I am excited to give it another go.
So there you have it, 4 new things I am trying for this year, I hope I can follow through on all of them!!

Camping and more camping

2010-08-04T13:04:00.000-07:00

We drove down to Southern Cali for 2 camping trips and a family visit. It was filled with beach trips, dirty kids, no sleep and Fun of course!
First was San Clemente with families we have camped with for 9 years! The kids had a blast together, pretty much no fighting!!!
Fun time catching up, not sleeping and hitting the beach! Left early with a sinus infection, bummer.
Then time with family in Riverside, spent time hanging with people we love dearly. Celebrated Moses turning 2 with our families. Went on the train to the beach where there must have been a million people that day!! Along with a car show on the pier, surf competitions, boat competitions and hula dancers, everyone and their dog was there!
Then off to the Sequoias for camping with the Dunlaps and Quesadas. Kids kinda slept, hit the lake, ate delicious food, had awesome talks and looked at huge beautiful trees.

The trip all in all was great, very tiring. Drove a ridiculous amount and got shingles the day we drove home.
It has to get easier each year the kids get older, right....

Shadows

2010-06-23T08:17:00.000-07:00

I've been noticing lately that I am never alone, I always have at least one little shadow following me. Today when I was doing an exercise video, all 3 got their own work out balls and stood very close to me doing every move I did. Daily when I go to the bathroom, I have at least one little person up in my business, helping me flush, often offering to help me wipe as well. Someone lets me know when I am driving too fast, when I made lunch the wrong way, they also remind me to not take too long at any particular job concerning them. These little shadows like to remind me when I am not working fast enough as well, Zeke asked me a couple of nights ago what was for dinner. I said I don't know I am gonna go cook something up, I sat there talking to Dan for a minute longer, Zeke stopped his playing turned and looked at me and said, it sure doesn't look like your cooking anything up. He also informed me that I had not done a good job cleaning up the playroom that same evening.
Amazing
This morning when I was gonna get up to have some quiet time, my shadow was already laying across me, pulling my hair and whispering very loudly to "git up mama, I hugry!"
Even though I was super tired this morning, having all 3 of my shadows cuddle in bed with me is so sweet, I love getting kneed and kicked every morning before I am ordered to hurry up and serve them!

Rodeo

2010-06-20T19:04:00.000-07:00

You might be wondering why I am talking about the Rodeo when it happened back in May! But I wanted to put pictures up and we had so much fun!
Dan was out of town, but I took Zeke and Sofia and joined our friends for a buckin good time!
I think in a couple of years the kids will love it even more!
Zeke enjoyed watching the guys ride for the 8 seconds,
but then he and Caleb would get side tracked by the lure of the bleachers. You know how much fun it is to climb up and down, to throw things under them, to spit out water down below, much more exciting than the rodeo!
Sofia just devoured kettle corn and cotton candy the whole time, she loves horses so of course she loved watching the girls standing up riding with sparkly shirts!!
Fun was had by all!!
The rodeo is one of the many things I love about Redding. I love the way all of Redding comes out for things like the rodeo, pancake breakfast, cool April nights, 4th of July. It is the whole community, I love it!

projects

2010-05-09T20:25:00.000-07:00

Before

After

The Lances have been busy doing some projects lately!
We have been slowly working on our backyard which up until this last month has been a mess of weeds! But we pulled the weeds, leveled the dirt, moved the dirt, added good dirt, and behold we have landscaping!!
My parents came one weekend and worked like crazy helping us!
Got my garden planted, I have 4 tomato plants, 2 peppers, cucumbers, green beans, corn, and watermelon. Then I did some herbs as well. We already have little sprouts growing after a week!
Also decided to surprise Dan and make him a fire pit with pavers around it. Worked on it while he was out of town. Believe me I won't do that again!
I borrowed a truck, got 300 hundred bricks and then proceded to unload every last one of those by myself. I leveled the dirt, started laying them, pulled them up, leveled again, then laid them again, got half way done realized it was still uneven!!! So I pulled it back up and put down sand, then laid them again! All the while my 3 kids are "helping" me. Like I said I won't do that again!
Also made a little coffee table/ ottoman with my friend Stacey. She is so talented and has such an eye for decorating and coming up with cool ideas. I love it, although I am not sold on the orange paint, gonna keep trying!
So we have been busy bees, spring always makes me want to do projects. I am tired now.

Did that just happen?

2010-04-14T15:29:00.000-07:00

If you want to get really stressed and undo all the relaxtion just accomplished from vacation, then just head on over to Winco with your three kids!
That's what I did this afternoon!
The shopping part went fine, the check out was a different story. First of all using WIC coupons is always more work, worth it of course, but more work. Then as I am trying to pay, the cashier accidentally does something wrong and has to call over a manager. While this is happening I have been scolding and trying to contain my kids and bag the groceries! Zeke is somewhat helping, Sofia is just grabbing stuff on the counter and tossing them into the cart, Moses is taking those things and putting them back onto the conveyer belt. All the while Zeke is pushing the button to move the belt so that bread is crushed and the milk is falling on top of eggs.
Finally the cashier gets it worked out and I go back to pay, when I turn to look back Moses is standing in the cart on top of a box of cherrios and is holding an egg. Sofia is eating my granola through the plastic bag, literally just gnawing on the bag.
Who are you kids I ask!
As we are driving out I say to them that they really need to be big helpers when we are at the store. Zeke informs that he is always helping me with things. For example he says he helps me drive safely by telling me to slow down and stop at red lights. He says he also helps me remember not to say bad words like hate and oh crap.
This is true he keeps me in check!
At least it wasn't hailing when we were putting groceries in the car!, oh wait it was.

Winter turns to Spring

2010-03-26T11:59:00.000-07:00

The last 2 years of my life have been such a dry season. There has been so much change and new starts it is still sometimes overwhelming to think about it!
I'm not sure if it is because spring is beginning but I feel like I am finally slowly emerging out of this dry cocoon I have been in.
God has been speaking to me about humbleness. About being invisible so that He can be seen instead of me. It is good.
I feel Him refining me, I think He has been wanting to do this in me for a long time, but I have been still and quiet. Not ready or willing or even able to obey.
I am grateful he is stirring my heart again, I am grateful for what felt like an eternity of silence, because now my heart is ready to respond, it is ready to be renewed, refined by Him.
I am looking forward to this Spring time in my life.

catch up

2010-03-12T12:05:00.000-08:00

My life is all about catching up lately! It seems like I am always behind on something! Housework, Laundry, bills etc! And so it is with blogs as well, so this one is a catch up on the Lances.
Where to start, life has been so busy the last few months. Dan is booked with things going on, building stuff, staff stuff, life in general is busy and full. He is tired but doing good, ready for a vacation!
I have also been full and busy, we had our women's retreat, family visiting two weekends in a row, then I got picked for a trial and had jury duty. I am also ready for a vacation! I also decided to go blond, just for the heck of it. Here's the picture mom, I know you will love it!! :)
We had my parents visit and bring my grandparents who live in Indiana! So fun to have them see our life here in Redding, we had an awesome time with them!
The kids are doing awesome, so full of energy and life, never a dull moment. Zeke is all about planes and cars right now, he is constantly taking things apart and building new with all the parts he comes up with. Today I was cleaning Sofia and Zeke's room and behind his bed was a whole pile of broken car parts, wood, sofia's hair clips that he took apart and used the clips to hold things together. It was amazing. And this happens every time I clean their room!! He loves to figure out how things work then build his own version. We are constantly amazed by his mind!
Sofia our little sweet girl. She is all about dressing up and dancing around the house in her crowns and heels. She loves to be delighted in and loves to perform for us. She is really progressing with her speech, we are so proud of her and have seen some real improvement lately! She also loves reading to Scarlet when she will pay attention!
Moses, our little love. He is such a sweet boy, loves being held and cuddled! He is all about hats and dressing up as well. Probably because that is all Sofia does, Moses wants to join in as well. It cracks me up he is always wearing something on his head! He is talking so much it is amazing. He will repeat anything and everything we say, so it keeps me on my toes! He is saying 4 and 5 word sentences right now and it is crazy to see our little baby saying so much.
All in all we are doing great, life is full and we are thankful for this season even though it is hard and tiring. We have a trip planned down to Riverside and the beach soon, so we are so excited that some rest is in sight!!

Retreat

2010-02-26T12:16:00.000-08:00

We had our annual Women's retreat last weekend, it was an awesome weekend filled with laughter, tears, hurts and hopes. Dan asked me what I thought was the main thing I took away from the retreat.

I felt like there was a linking of arms.
Throughout the whole weekend I saw and overheard conversations all sharing the same theme. Empowering, encouragement, and hope.
I saw women who have gone through tremendous struggles and pain and have come out the other side with healing and power for whats next. I saw these women coming along side others who are hurt and in pain and they were lifting them up and empowering them to keep going.
I felt like God was showing us how powerful we are together, when we link arms and push each other forward we have so much strength!
I saw how our words are literally life and death to each other.
What it means when we encourage and lift each other up, brings hope and life to one another. And unfortunately when we hurt and are angry with our words it brings destruction and death.
This weekend I saw so many women reaching out and linking arms, giving hope to one another! So amazing, I was so blessed by it!

What can happen in 3 minutes alone

2010-01-07T15:14:00.001-08:00

My sweet Sofia never ceases to amaze me. She is so sneaky and busy it is amazing. I was meeting with my friend Danielle and we were working at the table, the kids were quietly playing. That should have been my first clue. Quiet and Sofia is a bad sign. There was a brown marker that had escaped clean up earlier in the morning. Sofia found it and thought is was a good idea to do some coloring. Now this is not the first time this has happened, but this time my walls escaped damage! And a little bath cured the kids faces so no harm no foul right. Until next time!

Winter

2009-12-09T08:53:00.000-08:00

When I drove Zeke to school today it said it was 24 degrees out!! I wish it was supposed to rain this week instead of next week! We would actually have snow and it might stay on the ground for longer than a day! Zeke keeps asking every morning is there snow yet??? Dan always says I couldn't handle the snowy really cold weather and I think he is right, but when the weather is like this I really love it! I love bundling the kids up and having an excuse to walk around my house in my warm cozy robe all day. I love seeing them play all morning in their footie jammies and building forts with cozy blankets. I think it has to do with the season as well, having Christmas music on and making gingerbread houses, cutting down our tree, the anticipation of the advent calendar! Sofia and Moses have been playing with our manger scene daily, I heard Sofia tell Moses, "mo mo dis Baby Hesus"! I love it! Zeke has enough enthusiasm for the whole family. Two weeks before Thanksgiving he was asking when we could decorate the house, put the lights up! Even after we were done he kept asking what else can we decorate now! So much excitement and joy! It is hard not to get excited as well! I love the traditions I get to start with my family. My mom every year would bake a birthday cake for Jesus, it is a beautiful red cake. She still makes it every year. I can't wait for the kids to recognize our traditions and hold them dear as well.

Radio

2009-11-20T10:34:00.000-08:00

I have had the same 5 c.d.'s in my car for the past year, not exaggerating here. So lately I have been really bored with my music selection, and I always forget to grab new c.d.'s or grab my ipod. So yesterday I thought, well I have lived here for 2 years now maybe I should set some stations on my car radio. I dislike the radio very much, there is never a station that plays good music consistently, so I don't turn it on unless it is am talk radio. So as I was cruising along doing my radio search I came upon 94.7 Power fm (enough said right). But surprisingly that is the one I am listening to. What is happening to me!! But as I searched around all I could find was Christian stations, (not that this is bad, its just not what I want to jam to in the car) or classic rock. Now I must admit it made my preset stations only because they were playing Def Leppard and it took me back to Jr. High when my sister got the cassette tape and we rocked out to Pour some sugar on me after school! But next thing I know they were playing Nickelback or some other band I just can't handle. So I keep switching back and forth between serious hair band guitar solos and Jay Z. And let's face it Jay Z makes a ride in the car much more enjoyable! So until a station gets it together and can play a good mix of U2, Jimmy Eat World, Coldplay, Get up kids etc., well then I guess me and Rihanna are gonna be friends!

Lances lately

2009-11-06T10:06:00.000-08:00

Life lately. I think I have titled one of my other blogs this same title. Probably because I always have to do some catching up, I never have time to stay consistent on what is happening!
Updates:
The Lances have been busy! Mainly Dan, he is living and breathing the Stirring building right now. Literally he is always thinking, praying, talking it. It is life right now, and he is doing such an amazing job! It is such a huge undertaking and so much responsibility. So it is a crazy season for him but he loves it and he is really good at all the details and planning.
I just turned 32 last week. I can't believe I am in my 30's, it is funny how I still think of myself in my 20's, I just saw a picture of myself on a cruise about 3 years ago and I am pretty sure I have aged 10 years in these last 3! But I am ok with it. I think. I did a make over on the kids room, as you can see from the before pictures Zeke had peeled most of the paint off the walls!! It was so much work, I had to sand it all, putty, primer then paint it! Yikes but it is a nice calm yellow now.
The kids are doing awesome! Zeke is reading so well now and he is really working hard at school. There have been some hurdles but he is jumping them and we are growing from all our new experiences! He is all about drawing right, we have about 30 pictures up in our house of our family under a fan standing together, there s always a fire pit as well, it is really sweet.
Sofia is in the midst of speech therapy that has been awesome for her. She loves it each week when the speech therapist comes with all her cool toys and books. Although last week she accidentally forgot to go pee and the speech therapists lap got a surprise. It was a bummer, but it didn't really phase Sofia! She is such a little sweetheart, giving hugs and love to those who love her. She loves to wrestle with her brothers and loves to dress up!
Moses, where to begin, I love this age, it is so fun! He just walks around the house following whoever is closest and repeating literally everything anyone says! Our favorite is NO! and MINE! He learned those very quickly from the kids. He likes to dress up with Sofia and pretend to leave saying buy bye ma, and buy bye dada. He likes to wear backpacks and hats around the house. Last night all the kids were playing together wrestling and chasing each other, such a fun time right now. The kids definitely make me tired, all day we are going and someone needs something, but it is good.
Halloween the kids had a blast we went to our friends the Flecks house and a bunch of us walked around the neighborhood and had dinner together. I was feeling pretty old by the end of the night walking in heels! We were talked into dressing up as well, which was actually pretty fun! Dan was a redneck and I was his "stylish"(not so much) wife. Zeke loved that we dressed up also, he kept wanting us to keep our wigs on the day after!
Well that has been life with the Lances lately!

late vacation pictures

2009-10-11T19:47:00.000-07:00

I always said I was going to put up more pictures and talk about our trip to Indiana and time has passed me by!
I was going to comment on each pic but it is not letting me! The one with Sofia on the ground is her washing herself with the bubbles, it was cute watching her give herself a bath on the side walk during the family reunion!
So I will do a quick summary of our trip:
The kids and I went for 2 weeks with my parents and my sister and bro in law and nephews to Indiana. Dan joined us there after a week.
The main purpose of our trip was to spend time with family. I was born in Indiana and besides my parents and sister/brother-in-law, all of our family lives in Indiana and Michigan. So while there we had 2 family reunions, it was a blast.
Most of the family had never met Sofia or Moses so it was so fun to get everyone together and just be with one another!
My parents rented a lake house that was beautiful and we all stayed there together with my grandparents. We were blessed by family that loaned us a boat and sea dos. Or as my Aunt says Skidoos!
ANyway we spent the time out on the boat and playing cards and eating really good fresh corn and green beans and other yummy foods that make me feel at home.
I miss my family and I was so thankful for the time we got to spend together.
All of my cousins went out to dinner one night while our parents watched all of our kids, it was so fun, I grew up without them close by so when we get together it is a really sweet reminder of the times we spent as kids.
I spent a lot of sweet time with my grandma as well, talking about Jesus, raising kids, and growing gardens. I am so grateful for the legacy my grandparents and parents have left for us, they are amazing people!

the kids

2009-09-22T22:40:00.000-07:00

I really need to put pics up of our vacation but every time I look at them it just overwhelms me! I took a lot of pictures and I like to work on them a little before I post them and so I just keep putting it off!
Anyway here are some of the kids looking cute, in my opinion!

Life Lately

2009-09-13T18:50:00.000-07:00

I have to be in honest in saying that lately I am just trying to survive! My days consist of cleaning up everyone elses booty butts (as Zeke likes to call it)!
We are in the midst of potty training Sofia right now and I am not gonna lie, it has been terrible.
We are at the end of week two of cold turkey potty training her. There has been a lot of pee on the floor, daily.
We tried here and there over the past 6 months and I never felt like she was really ready. But 2 weeks ago I was tired of 2 kids in diapers and the cost of diapers! So we went for it. Lets just say I have been elbow deep in (insert expletive here) for these 2 weeks! With Moses in part time cloth diapers I have had my hands in the toilet cleaning panties and cloth diapers way too much!
These past few weeks have been super busy for Dan and most days I feel like I am in a fog. It is so hard not having family in town and there have been many days lately where I just want to go hang out at my parents house, just chat about nothing with them, or drop in at my in laws and know I can put my feet up for an hour.
So I have felt sorry for myself.
But God is so good and he always blows me away with his provision! Our family up here sees a need and they step in and help. I have had four different friends offer to watch my kids and so many more encourage me and support me in my loneliness. I know it is a season of life that will pass way too quickly but man it is hard being at home all day with the kids, just trying to survive the mayhem!
Anyway all this to say we had a victory today with potty training! For the first time we went all day without one accident! Sofia woke up with a dry pull up and got up from her nap with a dry pull up! Maybe just maybe we are getting it!

bananas!!!!

2009-08-25T16:08:00.000-07:00

I adore my kids but some days they just drive me bananas!!
Ever since we returned from vacation I have had a hard time getting motivated. I miss my family and we just kind of jumped right back into everything here, with school and church, all good things just busy. So all last week I had such a hard time getting things accomplished, well today I finally felt inspired to really clean my house and I did! I worked so hard mopping the floors, cleaning the bathrooms, picking up.
This afternoon a few things have happened to undo my hard work.
First Zeke found a poop nugget on the bathroom floor. No one is fessing up to it and it could be Zeke, Sofia, Moses or the dog!!
Then this afternoon when we were outside Sofia got absolutely covered in mud, Zeke turned the hose on the dirt and Sofia literally laid in it. It was a mess, so I brought her inside where I put her in the tub to scrub all the dirt off. She is mad and yelling, mud all over my floor!! Ugh!
Then I turn around to find Moses playing in the toilet!!
He is helping me with chores by scrubbing the toilet with a hair brush!!!
There is toilet water all over the floor, (luckily it was flushed).
It was unbelievable, all I could do was pound my fist in the air and say you guys are driving me bananas!!!
Life with kids, never a dull moment.

Indiana pics

2009-08-22T13:05:00.000-07:00

Mom, my sister Krista and the kids at my grandparents barn
Moses' first birthday!
Grandpa Olyer with Moses Everett , Mo's middle name is from grandpa!
Grampy and Sofia at the Soda shop
Dan tubing with the kids, there was some crying...
The cousins at the old family farm
Zeke Sofia and Moses in the corn
The family
Brothers

I am still processing the trip. I will write about our adventures soon. It was such an awesome trip, some really sweet times with my family. I miss them already.

more yummy food

2009-07-28T15:46:00.000-07:00

First cucumber!
Our garden is crazy right now, it is on the verge of everything being ready, right in time for the kids and I to go out of town for 2 weeks!
We have had a few cherry tomatoes that we have eaten but all the big tomatoes and cucmbers are almost ready!
I don't even know if this one was ready but it was huge so I picked it and we are gonna eat it tonight!
There is so much that I am learning and so much I will do differently next year! I am loving this process and it has been fun for the kids to see the garden grow and turn into things we can eat!
Yay for gardens!

yummy morning

2009-07-25T09:29:00.000-07:00

I love the Farmers market and I love WIC.
Every summer (well the last 2 since I have gotten WIC) they have vouchers for us to go to the farmers market and spend $20 for fruits and veggies! It is amazing, I am so grateful for this little perk!
Today the kids and I went and used our vouchers! Dan had a meeting so we braved it alone, Sofia in the stroller, Moses in the baby hawk, and Zeke helping me push the stroller over the gravel!
We got peaches, strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, green bell peppers, green beans, corn, and 2 different kinds of squash! All for FREE!
I am so excited!!
I think WIC is such a great program, I never had to look into any extra help until we moved to Redding, and it is so cool to see all the great programs they have for women and children in Shasta county.
It is hard sometimes to use the vouchers in the grocery store, when I happen to go anywhere other than Winco. People seem to stare and huff in impatience, but it is worth it when I see the benefit and money we save for our family!
So yay for WIC and yay for farmers market!

campin it up!

2009-07-19T21:13:00.000-07:00

Moses is getting 4 teeth right now, so he had a runny nose and didn't sleep, but what's new!
Roasting mallows, a nightly tradition
Payton wearing her mallow
The kids would sit around this gopher hole and watch him poke his head out all week, he was not shy at all!
Dump trucks are a tradition with Jonah, Zeke and Davey, it would not be camping without them!
The boys being cute with their pose!
The girls. I was going to post the pic of us in the morning, but they might be mad at me! I think we all look pretty good for camping!
Our family. we look pretty clean in this picture, the kids were pretty much always dirty or sandy, but that is the joy of camping!
Leave it to Adam to bring something fun that entertains the kids all week, last year it was the tree swing, this year bubbles!

Camping 2009
I think we figured out that we have been doing this camping trip together for about 7 or 8 years now! Crazy!
It started with just 2 little babies, now between our five families we have 13 kids and one on the way! (not mine, don't read into that statement)
It was a great trip the weather was amazing, 75 degrees!
We had so much fun just being together, the kids running around playing and singing, riding scooters and dump trucks, the adults telling stories ( really it was just Sam and his crazy stories, they are so hilarious!)
One bummer thing about the trip happened on the morning of day one, I get my camera out to take some shots of the kids and realize my battery is not in it! ARGH!!!
I never have a chance to take pictures, I miss it so much, and the one time I have the perfect opportunity I can't!
Dan had his camera but I barely took any, so sad.
Besides that we had a great time, I love these friends, we went through ministry together and through so many life changes, hard ones and good ones. I love you all and am so thankful for your friendship and for our time together to camp!

One down, a lot more to go!

2009-07-10T14:05:00.000-07:00

We have lived in our house for about 8 months now and with three kids it has been hard to really settle in and "decorate". Whatever that means.
Anyway my parents have come up to visit numerous times and work themselves to death helping us! This last visit Dan and my dad hung two new fans and moved an old one to Zeke and Sofia's room. (It might surprise you to find out Zeke broke his old ceiling fan by climbing on his bookcase and hanging on the blades!)
Then my Dad and mom and Dan worked on our sprinklers all day as well. They are amazing and do so much to help us!
Anyway last week I finally finished one room completely in our house! Moses has been really wanting his room to be done and look put together so I did it! (that is a joke, he is only 10 months old, he doesn't really care!)
I am happy with it and the curtains came out good and it is simple but cute!
Next up is Dan and I's room, I was working on a shelf but the wood got warped after I had been distressing for a week, awesome.
Someday it will get done, for now I have one room down!!

oh what a night

2009-07-01T09:24:00.000-07:00

Last night's events are in real time ( that is a 24 reference!:)
Dan and I decided to be crazy and stay up late to watch a movie last night.
Went to bed at 11:45
12:10, 12:30 Dog barking crazy at cats outside, get up to close our door so she stays in our room
(side note Dan is threatening her life again)
2:13- 2:30 Moses crying, got up to listen, forgot to close the door
3:24 Dog barking again, run out to grab her so she doesn't wake the kids, stub my toe on a chair, almost said a bad word
4:45 Moses crying ready to eat
5:10 put moses back to bed
6:30 Sofia wakes up pounding on her door to come out. Get up put her back to bed
6:40 dan's alarm goes off for early prayer
7:10 Sofia up again
7:15 Start the day, definitely having coffee today!
Needless to say it was not a very restful night!!!

camping

2009-06-25T07:29:00.000-07:00

Last weekend we went camping at Siskyou (sp??) Lake with the Gafners. It was BEAUTIFUL!!!
We were amazed by the constant beauty all around us, trees, water, Mt. Shasta right in our faces! The weather was perfect and we had so much fun!
We went on bike rides, caught butterflies by the water, swam in the really cold water, went on a boat ride, and ate yummy camping food.
It was a great camping trip.
In about 2 years it will be even better because the babies will be older.
We didn't get much sleep but when do you ever camping with a 10 month old!
Sofia was in her element, dirt everywhere, snacks all around, and friends to laugh with, she had a blast!
Zeke was in heaven with bikes and scooters all around, he would have slept on the bikes if he could!
Moses didn't sleep but what is new right, he did ok, next year will be awesome with him!!
Anyway it was a blast, thanks Gafners for making it a great weekend!

graduation!

2009-06-03T14:06:00.000-07:00

So today Zeke graduated from kindergarten!!
What in the world I cannot believe how fast time goes by! He is so big and somewhat grown up! Whenever I get overwhelmed at the calamity that is life and my kids are not listening I think back to when Zeke was 2 and life was literally insane! My sweet six year old gave us a run for our money all the time. We always joked that he was in the terrible two phase from age 1 until age 4!
Those close to us I am sure remember some incidents!
But today watching him cross the stage with his shirt tucked in (he didn't go to school that way), I was so proud of how far he has come and what he has learned and accomplished in his little life.
He has an amazing talent of looking at things from a different perspective, seeing something in a way we never would have if it were not for him. Everything is new and he wants to learn how it works and I am constantly learning from him.
He has so much passion for the things he loves, fans lights, bikes!
I am constantly realizing how huge my role is as his mom, to help shape him and steer him toward Jesus, I long for his passion to be for the heart of God.
All this to say that today was awesome, I have a 1st grader now!
And man are my kids cute or what!

Finally finished the garden!!

2009-05-20T10:45:00.000-07:00

So we finally finished the garden!!!!
Who knew what a huge project this would be!! I thought sure no problem throw a few seeds back there and watch them grow, right? WRONG
The only full sun place in our yard is against the back fence which is a slope, so we had to dig it out and level it off, that in itself took us a few weeks, whenever we actually had time to get out there and dig it up. It ended up being full of granite rocks the size of beach balls. Let's just say Dan got a good work out!
Then we had to dig trenches around the plot to put the wood in. When we finally had time to get the wood, we had to paint it to protect it and getting it set up was not easy!
Then we had to find time to borrow the Gafner's truck(thanks you guys!) and go get the dirt!
We finally finished that Monday morning and the kids all got up early today so we headed out in the cool of the morning and planted!
I am so annoyed I didn't get pics of them planting the seeds!
Anyway You may look at the pictures and say, um why did you only plant 2 things ??
The rest are seeds, we planted green onion, green and red peppers, cucumbers, carrots, a tomato plant (more to plant soon), jalapeno plant and some basil!

I am so excited to see what happens, I can only hope at least one thing will grow and produce!!

things I want to do this summer

2009-05-16T10:16:00.001-07:00

Some old summer photos ( we didn't take many pics last year!)

First of all I can't believe it is so hot already!! It felt like 80 degrees this morning at 7:30!!
There is so much I want to do this summer, so many projects!! I don't know why I think I will have more time than normal in the summer, I think it will be the opposite with 3 kids home all day!!!
Anywhoo here are some things I want to do and get done:
* My garden!! I was hoping to get dirt and plant today but now it is Monday!
*Clothes line in the back yard, don't know where yet but I've got to get it going soon!
*Hanging shelves in my bedroom
* Art piece I have been working on for a month already!
*Finishing my bedroom, we started this project when my parents came in Feb. and I have had no time to devote to it!
*Finishing my quilt (this could take me forever)
*Being more consistent with cloth diapers
*POTTY TRAINING! (yikes I am so tired of 2 kids in diapers)
*Going to the lake
*Going to the Farmers market
*Going camping!
*Going on vacation with my family to Indiana! (lake house, so fun!)

I think I must still view summer as if I were in school and it is vacation, free time, time to do whatever I want. But really I am 31 now and it is just like the rest of the year, but I am going to act like it is fun free time and hope I do all the things on my list!
Happy Summer!

Dan's blog

2009-05-01T17:00:00.000-07:00

Dan's website mysteriously disappeared the other day, we think it expired and then someone stole it. Bummer
Anyway some of you have been asking me where it went. He is using his old blogspot
It is : www.reverendrockstar.blogspot.com

Enjoy!

just some pictures

2009-04-28T14:44:00.001-07:00

Sofia just went out one morning and started dancing around in her boots!

Moses my happy boy!
It just melts my heart when the kids love on each other!
Easter Sunday
Zeke and his cousins, the boys love to wrestle every time they get together! Sofia tries to get in on the wrestling as much as possible!

They say it's your birthday!

2009-04-22T09:16:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I didn't get a chance to post another blog, but I really wanted to in honor of my amazing husband!!
He turned 33!!!!
We started dating when I was 16 and he was almost 18. He was the cool older guy in the youth group and I couldn't believe he asked me out!!!
It is amazing to me that we have been together for almost half of my life.
He is my true partner in every sense of the word. He is the one who makes me laugh harder than anyone, who understands me and all of my crazy quirks, who knows what I am going to say before I do. When I think about all the things we have been through together and how he has been my voice of reason, my positive outlook, the only one who can make me smile in the worst situation, I am so grateful for his partnership.
Dan can make me laugh harder than anyone I know, I love that we have so much fun together, that he is still the one I can't wait to see at the end of the day. That we can still lay in bed and laugh so hard that we can't breathe and might pee our pants!
We will be married 10 years next month and I love that we have this amazing history together.
Dan you complete me... j/k
I love you Dan happy birthday I hope when you turn 43 you will still want the same birthday present!

We made it home!

2009-04-21T10:22:00.000-07:00

Some highlights from my day of travel alone with my three crazy kids!

*Getting to the airport 2 hours early and keeping my 3 kids contained in one area.
*Sofia getting into EVERYTHING, she handed an old lady a chip off the ground and Carol's wallet.
*Boarding the plane and Zeke insisting on carrying an open bowl of rice, because the 2 hours he had to eat it before boarding were not enough time. He refused to carry his backpack, he thought since I had Moses, a diaper bag and Sofia to manage that I should also be fine carrying his backpack.
*Moses falling asleep after take off (that was amazing!)
*The guy next to me across the aisle being bald and covered in tattoos! Moses stared and smiled his big tooth grin at him the ENTIRE time!!
*My kids actually sitting and behaving well on the plane!!!
*Getting off the plane, forgetting Sofia's lovey, trying to keep Sofia from going into each row as the annoyed people behind us wait for me to try to steer her, while carrying Mo and 2 bags.
* Sofia going into the cockpit!
*Nice strangers helping me put Sofia in her stroller, and helping me carrying my luggage.
* Taking 3 kids and bags into a bathroom stall, and holding Moses in my baby hawk while trying to pee. Did I mention Zeke opened the stall door while this was happening?
* Getting my kids contained in the car and finally driving home!

We made it and it really went so smooth compared to what could have happened!
Thanks for praying for us, and thank goodness for the kindness of strangers!

I think my kids are funny

2009-04-10T07:42:00.000-07:00

Some conversations lately...

Setting:
Zeke is mad about something, having to go to bed, or doing homework, I can't remember.
Zeke: I don't want to, I am not doing it mama!
Me: Zeke please be a good listener
Zeke: No! I'm just gonna put Sofia to bed with no dinner!

Setting:
Zeke is mad about something
Me: Zeke you need to do _____ or you are going to loose privileges
Zeke: Well I'm just gonna put Moses back in your tummy!!
Me: I don't think he would fit anymore, he is too big!!

Setting:
Driving in the car after school
Zeke: we watched a video about Jesus dying on the cross today
Me: oh what did you think?
Zeke: when I have to be nailed to the cross I think it is gonna hurt!

Lately when we go and check on the kids before we go to bed we have been finding Sofia in her bed surrounded by Zeke's most precious items. She has been waiting for him to fall asleep then she sneaks in his bed and steals things like his favorite stuffed animals, the cat immojean, the dog snow doggie, his hummer, his lego creations!
She takes apart his lego creations and is surrounded by the pieces!
Zeke is very protective of these things so we find it quite funny to see her with them asleep!
If Zeke only knew!
I can't wait to see what kind of things Moses is going to do!
Last night we were getting in the car to go to winco and it was just chaos, it is raining, everyone is getting wet, someone is crying, someone dropped their apple slices, Sofia has boogers everywhere, her shoes are falling off etc. I have the tendency to get flustered and aggravated, but then I have to laugh and try to embrace the constant chaos, I would miss the craziness that is our life right now!

dirty kids

2009-04-06T17:19:00.000-07:00

This is what my kids are going to look like everyday from now until October when it starts to get cold!
I love living outside!!

Hangin with the ladies

2009-04-05T17:46:00.000-07:00

Went up to Weaverville this weekend for Women's retreat.
First of all never been to Weaverville, thought it was so cute and quaint, antique stores and historic town, i love places like this.
I loved just being with the girls, so many friends and new friends it was awesome to just be together.
We did a Beth Moore video series, and I had never heard her before. She cracks me up and the series we picked, Loving Well was perfect for our ladies, I think anyway!
I had some really great times of prayer with a couple of girls and I was so thankful I could be a part of the process that God is taking them through.
I am so so so proud of Rebecca, she did an awesome job planning and pulling the whole thing off. I know she spent a lot of time in prayer for the weekend and the ladies going, it was so sweet to see what God did through the weekend.
It is cool to think back at last years retreat where there were 40 of us in a cabin, now 72 of us got to come together and just love and encourage each other through in this crazy life. So thankful for friendships that a year ago were non-existent! I remember feeling like I was never going to feel at home here, never going to have deep friendships, I am so thankful for The Stirring!
Anyway love all you girls and can't wait to see what next year will look like!!

Battles

2009-04-02T20:38:00.000-07:00

It has been such a long day. It seems lately everything is a battle with Zeke. He is our strong energentic boy, who loves to have his own opinion and is not afraid to tell you what he thinks and how he feels.
All day today was a fight, getting dressed, what to eat for breakfast, what shoes to wear, doing homework, wanting to play in the water outside (he seems to think 60 degree weather means bathing suits and the hose being on).
We had battle after battle today, and it is like that every single day. I can't just ask him to do something easy, it always turns into a fight.
I just get discouraged and tired sometimes.
I don't like how impatient I get, how frustrated I become.

Just a minute ago Zeke came out of his room, I was laying on the couch he came and kissed my forehead and said he loved me. As he was walking back to his room he turned around and said mama you know God is always with you, and you can talk to him anytime, he hears you.
Moments like those make the rest of the chaotic day melt away and I see a little piece of Jesus coming out in him. What a gift.
I am pretty sure God knew I needed a little something.

Some Lance happenings

2009-03-22T16:38:00.001-07:00

There has not been much time to post anything lately. It seems like I can hardly keep up with the kids, house and bills let alone read anyone's blogs or post on my own!
Some things that have been happening around here:
My parents visited about a month ago and worked all weekend putting in garage door openers, fixing things, and building a pantry. I am always amazed by how much we can accomplish when they are here!
Dan's mom was here this past week and we went out to dinner and a movie it was awesome! I miss having family around, I am still amazed at what I took for granted!

Moses got his first tooth! It is so cute when he smiles his huge grin! He is rolling all over the place and still doesn't think it is a good idea to take regular naps and sleep through the night! Although the last 2 nights, (knock on wood) he has done awesome at night! He is saying dada all the time, and mama ( only 2 times but I heard it!!)
Zeke is reading, and it is like pulling teeth out of an alligator to get his homework done and books read! He loves math and does not even have to think about it, he just knows it. We are in the process of looking for a school for next year, maybe a charter school, maybe public we will see what happens. For now he is playing in the dirt and fighting with Sofia on a daily basis.

Sofia our little pixie is still a firecracker! She is into everything and now likes to throw a fit whenever possible. She is our little dramatic one, she cracks us up. If she wants my attention she will just say Mama 100 times until I stop and see what it is. She does not give up or give in, which is always fun when it comes to dinner time. She is all about taking her clothes off whenever possible, and running around naked. She loves to dress up her babies and do everything I am doing with Moses. She nurses her stuffed animals and tries to put diapers on the dog!
I was looking at a picture the other day of me before I had three kids and I thought oh I remember when I used to do my hair and wear make-up, back when I didn't wear the same clothes 3 or 4 days in a row.( I am not exaggerating, unfortunately)
But I love that I get to be home with the kids, some days are so crazy I think I might fall over with exaustion. But other days I feel the time is fleeting and I wonder if I am doing all I can with them while they are here at home with me. I can't believe Zeke is already going to be 6 next month.
Anyway those are some things around here, just life with the Lances

I can't make this stuff up...

2009-02-27T13:33:00.001-08:00

So in the last 6 months I have been noticing a slight increase in the missing socks. Especially Moses and Sofia's socks. I just figure they take them off somewhere and they don't make it to the laundry. They must be hiding under some furniture or stuffed in some hidden drawer.
Well I finally solved the mystery!
Today as I was doing laundry, a little something pink caught my eye. As I was loading the clothes in the washer a pink sock was just barely sticking out of the rubber ring around the inside of our front loading washer. I pulled it out and felt another sock in there, and another and another.
You get the picture, well 5 socks later, no wait there were 28 socks in there!!!!!!!
What the heck my washer was eating all of the little socks. I guess they were so small they would slip in there and you could not see them. Not until there was no more room, until the 28 socks had taken up all the room, no more could hide!
Now the state these socks are in, is disgusting, I'm not gonna sugar coat it for you.
They are sopping wet and discolored, sticky with an odor that can only be experienced in person.
But man was I excited to find them!
I have been keeping a pile in Moses room because I just knew they had to be somewhere around here!! Now they will finally be reunited. Reunited and it feels so good. j/k
Anyway that is the tale of the missing socks, I love a happy ending!

annoyed

2009-02-19T10:19:00.001-08:00

I am kind of annoyed about the peanut butter recall. First of all annoyed with myself because I never watch the news and so I found out about it when Sean Gafner mentioned it. We gave them some peanut butter and he asked if it was going to poison them.
I kind of freaked out because Zeke eats Peanut butter and jelly everyday of his life! And the kids and I love Clif bars and we eat them all the time!
So I went through all my peanut butter and got rid of the off brand jars I had. ( I have a stock pile from WIC) Luckily I mostly have Jiff which is still good.
But I went through my cliff bars and I have like 12 bars I have to get rid of!!!
That is a lot of money! Those things are expensive!! I have been eating them ever since I got pregnant and then with nursing, because I am always hungry and they are a good snack.
Except when there is salmonella in them...
Anyway I am annoyed that I have to throw away like $10 worth of food.

Relaxing, what is that??

2009-02-11T13:25:00.000-08:00

Getting out of the house with 3 kids, well my 3 kids anyway is not easy!
I decided I would start these yoga classes at my gym, they are at a good time in the afternoon, after naps , after I feed Moses, so I thought perfect.
Well it did not go perfectly... 15 minutes before the class i start getting everyone ready, Zeke can get himself ready, but Sofia is a different story. I put her shoes on, I walk out of the room , she takes them, I put her coat on I turn around it is off! I pick Moses up to put him in the car seat and he has pooped everywhere. We change him get everyone's shoes and coats on and start for the door. Sofia dumps her snacks all over the rug, and we all walk through them grinding them into the rug, awesome. By this time 10 minutes have passed and we are going to be late, so I leave the snacks my dog will clean them up!
We head out the door and of course it is raining, everyone is running around trying to catch rain their mouths and getting soaked. (darn garage door opener that is broken, how I wish the car were in the garage!)
We make it to the gym run in and get everyone situated in the childcare.
I go into the class late of course.
But it is dark and quiet and I have a whole hour of relaxing, ahhh it was amazing.
But as soon as I am out the door I feel myself tense up again. Oh man I have to get home quick and feed everyone dinner and clean the bathroom before life group.
The kids are crabby, it is now snowing outside and Sofia trips and falls in a puddle on the way to the car, baby is crying, shoes are falling off and a sippy cup is lost in the war zone that is our life.
Anyway I think I undid all of relaxing, but I guess that is life right now.
Did I mention that a few days ago Sofia took off her diaper and then pooped in her room... lets just say there was even poop on the wall.
Never a dull moment in the Lance house!!!

I'm old

2009-02-09T14:07:00.001-08:00

I think I might be the last person to get a facebook account, I mean really it seems like everyone has one.
I get on there and Jaime Ries who has been my friend since 6th grade puts a picture up of us in Jr. high and it is clear that I am the only one left because Jeremy Tanner leaves a comment.
How random that Jeremy Tanner is on facebook. (that will only seem funny if you went to VCC like 20 years ago...)
I am pretty sure I don't have time for facebook since I never have time to blog.
But it is cool that I have connected with my childhood friend Megan from Indiana and my college friend Melissa who I have not seen in like 10 years.
I just feel old when I start to do this stuff!

What a diffrence a year makes!

2009-01-25T17:47:00.001-08:00

What a year! I was looking back at the kids from a year ago and it is amazing how much they have changed!!

I have been missing taking pictures. Whenever I am out I always see things I would love to take pictures of, but I never remember to grab my camera, I am lucky to remember all my kids with shoes and coats on!
Anyway I know one day I will have more freedom to take pictures.
I guess for now my pictures will be of the kids.
I think they are pretty fun to snap anyway!
cute too, right!

baby food

2009-01-16T16:19:00.000-08:00

I cant believe it is time to start feeding Moses food already!!! He turned 5 months last week and today was the first chance i had to whip up some food for him!
We made carrots, only because it is what i had in the house. I made all of Sofia's food so I hope i am that diligent with Mo!
Dan's parents came to visit and when we went to costco they got us the magic bullet so I am hoping it will be easy for me to make the food!
The kids are getting over colds and I just had to include this pic of Sofia after playing outside...yummy

lost a friend

2009-01-09T13:37:00.000-08:00

lost a friend last night.
It is so weird to lose someone that I went to school with, had a friendship with, someone that has a wife and young son.
I am so grateful to Casey for keeping us connected.
Casey set up a blog so people could pray and I was so thankful to be able to daily see the process that his wife Angie was going through, and how we could pray.
Angie I know you don't read blogs, but we love you and we are praying.
It makes me so thankful for my family, and it makes me cherish even the little moments with my husband and kids.
Mark will be so missed and I am grateful that I got to be his friend.

goin' veggie

2009-01-07T15:13:00.000-08:00

So I used my gift card from my bro and sis - in law to Barnes and noble and got myself a vegetarian cookbook! ( Thanks mike and beck)
Most of the meals I make at home are veggie but it is just me leaving meat out of recipes and it is not always very filling. So I decided to buy one and see what I could do!
I made a couscous shepherds pie!
Dan and I thought it was good! I was so excited that my first try was a success!!
The kids didn't try it but that was because they were "starving" when I was putting it in the oven and so they could not wait the 25 minutes until it was done. I am sure it would have been a fight, as most meals are so we went with grilled cheese and fruit for them! (still a vegetarian meal!)
We probably won't go completely vegetarian as we still like chicken and steak when we go out to a restaurant, which is all the time (that is a joke)
Anyway just wanted to share my success, since I don't always have it in the kitchen!

Game night

2009-01-02T14:42:00.000-08:00

Got back yesterday from our holiday in Riverside. I am not sure I would call it a true holiday, in my opinion a holiday consists of sleeping in, reading a great book or 4, and eating great food. I only ate too much food!
Moses thought it might be cool to get sick and wake up at least 3 times every night. So we came back tired. But time with family and friends was great and I am thankful for our parents help with the kids!!
We had our annual New years eve party where we played cranium guys vs. girls. I am happy to say that this year, finally the girls beat the guys. And not just beat them, but destroyed them, thanks to some rules and judges we set up for club cranium. No cheating this year boys!!
Anyway it was fun to be back with friends, it wouldn't be a new years eve without the yelling and chaos of the game, Dan making smart a** comments, kids running around and Sam taking his shirt off in excitement!
We did it girls, now we can make a lame t-shirt like Rodrigo and start a tally of wins!!!
jk mike i love the t-shirt, i'm just jealous!!

32

2008-12-18T11:39:00.000-08:00

This morning was so peaceful. Sofia and Mo timed their naps perfectly, it does not happen often!
I got to take a shower,dry my hair, read the bible, enjoy a cup of coffee quietly! And all the while it is softly snowing outside. It made my whole morning that much better.
Zeke is always asking if is is 32 degrees yet, because then it will snow.
Last weekend it snowed and today it just started, I put on White Christmas as I picked up the house and I just love that we get to have fun cold weather!
The heater keeps kicking on and I have it set at 63, so it must be really cold outside!
Yay for big warm coats and scarfs!
Yay that Moses is finally starting to take long naps!
Yay that he slept from 8pm until 6am with only a couple of little cries in between!
It is the little things that keep me going!
Happy snow day!

gifts

2008-12-17T10:53:00.000-08:00

For the last few years we have been trying to do Christmas more simple. We have gradually become more and more simple as the years have gone on. We have never bought our kids Christmas presents, we usually just do stocking stuffers. They have always been young enough to not even notice! And we have family that loves to spoil them!
So this year so far I have spent nothing on them. I made them each hooded towels for after the bath. I did not even buy towels I used some we already had! I know kind of ghetto, but they turned out cute if you ask me!
Dan and I are getting each other one thing, he wanted a cd I want a new calendar. were easy!
We have made it really bare bones and I kind of like it. I have not gone out to the mall searching everywhere for gifts either. Our dear friends the Dunlaps have friends who own a Fair trade store in Oregon, so we had them buy us gifts for family members. I love that we can support other people in countries who have made these gifts themselves and it is their livelihood!
I usually love getting out in the craziness and shopping, but I also like this simple way as well.
Hopefully our kids will learn from example that they don't need lots of gifts!
It may take awhile since Zeke keeps asking why we don't have any gifts under the tree and when can he open up a gift!

pray

2008-12-13T10:18:00.000-08:00

I just found out this morning that one our friends from Riverside was in a serious bike accident.
I went to Jr. High with Mark and then about 5 years ago Dan and I reconnected with him and his wife Angie.
They have a son named Nolan.
Mark is in critical condition and they are saying it is not looking good.
Please pray for a miracle.
Please pray for his family.

ocd

2008-12-10T10:30:00.000-08:00

I am trying really hard to overcome my slight problem with being obsessive. THis time of year is really hard on me for some reason, It is when everyone is getting sick and passing around germs. Right now Dan has some weird stomach thing, Sofia and Moses have green boogers running down their faces and the beginnings of a cough.
Now the common cold does not freak me out, but when it comes to the stomach flu I majorly freak out!!!
I start to have anxiety attacks thinking about the kids getting sick to their stomach and throwing up, I freak out at the thought of me getting sick. I start to ask myself a million questions like
What if Dan and I are both sick at the same time, who will take care of the kids?
How will I feed Moses if I have some crazy flu!
What is Moses gets it and he is throwing up he is so little, what if he won't nurse and he gets dehydrated?
The list goes on until I literally give myself a stomach ache and my chest is tight.
I know crazy right.
I hate that I get this way, and the whole time I am telling myself God is in control you can't change this.
Although I try by washing my hands until they are really dry and I tell Zeke to count to 15 while he washes his hands and he says stop telling me that mama. And I spray lysol all over the bathroom!
I think it feels more heightened right now because I have not slept for 4 nights in a row, mo can't breathe at night so he is crying every hour.
I am reading Matthew 6 in an effort to talk myself down from crazy town.
Thank goodness for Dan who always brings me back to reality. I can pray, and do my best to keep the freak out to a minimum!
Matthew 6 :32
Your heavenly Father already knows all your needs, and he will give you all you need from day to day if you live for him and make the kingdom of God your primary concern.

Burrrrr

2008-12-03T13:26:00.001-08:00

I just love Ann Taintor, these pics crack me up.

Today when I drove Zeke to school around 8:15am it was 38 degrees!!!
It is finally turning into winter weather! The kids are outside playing right now and it is cold, it is probably about 50 degrees and the sun is out, the kids don't care except they say their hands are cold!
I love this weather, I have beans soaking so I can make soup tomorrow for dinner!
Thanksgiving gave me the itch to cook again. I have to admit that ever since Moses was born I have been slacking off when it comes to cooking. Until last week Moses was only taking 20 minute naps like 3 times a day. Needless to say 20 min. doesn't allow me time to prepare a dinner!
Plus I was being lazy.
Anyway ever since cooking the 24 pound turkey I have also made enchiladas, (aunt lindy's yummy recipe), I baked chocolate chip bars, and tonight I am making a bean soup.
I have been using all the leftover turkey and it has been awesome!
It only took me 4 months to get back into the groove of my housewife duties! Thank goodness I have the best husband who never complains and says sure grilled cheese sounds great!
( I seriously have made grilled cheeses 500 times in the last few months!)

givin' thanks

2008-11-29T09:27:00.000-08:00

This thanksgiving was our first one all grown up! We have always gone to our families house for the thanksgiving meal, but this year we stayed here in Redding and started a new tradition.
We had 8 adults and 9 kids, still we were outnumbered!
Melissa, Gafners, Osbornes, and Christian.
We had yummy food, and played scattegories, there was much cheating going on, usually by Dan.
The kids did awesome they ran around outside for 5 hours and rarely got into any fights, it was amazing. We are pretty sure the kids thanksgiving meal only consisted of cupcakes and brownies, but hey it is only once a year right!
The only fiasco was saved by my mom. I forgot to take the bag of giblets out of the butt of the turkey! It was in the oven cooking when I got a text from my dad wishing us a happy thanksgiving, when I texted back, my mom just happened to say you checked both ends of the turkey right?...
Both ends, what!!!
So I had to take the 24 pound turkey back out of the oven, out of the oven bag and reach up there and get the bag, nasty.
Doing the turkey reminded me why I have thought of becoming a vegetarian. The fact that you have to pull the neck out and other insides, sick.
Anyway thanks mom for saving my turkey!
Thanks Sean for cutting the turkey and making yummy gravy!
All in all it was a great day.

2 boys and a girl.

2008-11-25T11:58:00.000-08:00

It totally looks like Z is wearing skinny pants, but they are his jammies that are too small!!
Don't be jealous of how clean our play room is!

Poor Sofia, with 2 brothers she seems destined to be a tom boy. We have never been one to buy toys for our kids, so the toys they have have been gifts. (they have way too many!)
And Sofia has a really cool kitchen and a tea set along with one doll. I personally think this is PLENTY to play with, but for 80% of her day she plays with boy toys.
The picture is of her playing with legos, she has just discovered she can build things and she has been doing it all morning! I am sure it is from the influence of her brother and his amazing ability to build things.
Every once in awhile we see glimpses of Sofia's girliness. She LOVES to try on shoes and clothes, every time someone comes over she finds their shoes and is walking around the house in them, her favorite is Zeke's cowboy boots.
So cute
So I do have hope of her wanting to do tea parties and play house.
she is very sweet with her doll, she rocks her and rubs her back when I do the same with moses. I am still waiting for her to start nursing her doll!
But for now she would rather vroom cars with Zeke and build things with legos.
It is amazing to see how they learn through play, I think I have some pretty amazing kids!
Side note: Moses started rolling over last week, what the heck he is only 3 and 1/2 months!

it is here!!

2008-11-20T10:31:00.000-08:00

Today is the day!!!
Twilight is showing tonight at midnight and a bunch of us crazy girls are going to see it!
I feel like a giddy 16 year old about to go see New kids on the block or something! Even though I never really liked them in jr high and high school, I think this is how I might feel!
I have been thinking about it for a couple of weeks now and I am so excited to go and see it!!!
Rebecca and I joked about getting t-shirts, but i don't think we were really joking...
But I am too cheap to spend money, and probably won't make it to the mall anytime soon today!
Anyway if you have not read the books yet do it, then go see the movie!!!
Tomorrow I will be kicking myself for acting young and crazy when I have to feed Moses at 3am and my kids get up at 6am!
But for now I can't wait!!!

did you see...

2008-11-17T19:46:00.000-08:00

Did anyone see Extreme home make over last night!?
It was amazing, I was crying like a baby throughout the whole show!
It was about this family who had 3 sons biologically then adopted 5 boys from Hati and 3 boys from their inner city. So they had 11 kids!!!!
They seemed so sweet and sincere and it was so exciting to see a family sacrifice in order for these kids to have a home. It made me want to adopt again, but then reality hit as I stood bouncing my crying 3 month old for the 2nd hour in a row. Maybe some day when I can get a grip on three crazy kids!
Anyway it made me think of so many people we know who have walked the road of adoption, and I am thankful that these stories are being told, maybe someone somewhere wants to adopt a child now, how awesome would that be!

been awhile

2008-11-11T20:04:00.000-08:00

So much has happened in the last couple weeks!
We packed up our apartment, very quickly, worked on our new house painting, cleaning etc, then we moved. it all happened so fast there was barely enough time to get everything done! Our new place is still a mess but I am ok with taking our time to unpack and settle in. The kids only let me get so much done anyway!
I turned 31, wow i can't believe i am in my 30's now!!!
Celebrated halloween in our new house,
Dan preached, all of this in one weekend, we are tired!
Moses is doing so great getting so big and he has been giggling lately and I just can't get enough of it!!!!!! He gets a huge smile when zeke and sofia talk to him, it is so sweet.
It took us over a week to get internet, so i will
try to keep up with the crazy blog world now!
For now some pics will have to do!

of course..

2008-10-27T13:47:00.000-07:00

Of course on the day we are getting the keys to our new house our kids would get sick!
We have huge plans for painting and cleaning our house this week, we hope to finish in a week and move in the end of this week. But as soon as I put my gloves on to get down and dirty my phone rings. It is Zeke's school office letting me know he has a fever! Sofia also has one!
So sad when my kids are sick, they have so much energy normally so when they just lay on the ground with sad faces it breaks your heart!
So I guess we will see what we can get done, Dan will defintely be doing all the work.
Thanks Annette for helping me clean this morning, your a great friend!
I guess I will be home more than I planned, then again I have barely packed so I guess I will have plenty to do!!!

3 kids on a plane=crazy

2008-10-23T08:36:00.000-07:00

Well our trip home to Riverside was eventful!
Sometimes I think I was crazy to travel this way
The travel actually went a lot better than it could have. If it had not been for Lorrie someone would not have made it! Sofia would have been left somewhere! She was a pistol in the airport and on the plane, thank you Lorrie for putting up with my crazy kids.
We had such a good time visiting family, the kids got lots of love and attention from the grandparents, which they love!
Went to the park with Jess and the girls, I went out with my girlfriends for dessert, went shopping with my parents and sister, got a manicure. I slept in, thanks to my mom and mother-in -law taking care of my noisy early risers!
It was a great restful weekend, and I was so glad to get back, we missed Dan!!!

So excited!

2008-10-14T16:07:00.000-07:00

The kids & I are going to Riverside for a long weekend! We leave tomorrow in the afternoon, we are driving down to Sac, ugh, then we will fly down south. Sometimes I think I might be crazy to travel with my 3 kids one being a new baby, one being a 20 month old who loves to run away from you, and one being a 5 year old that I am praying wants to be mama's helper tomorrow!
We will see!
Actually I think it might go pretty well, a girl from our old church in Riverside is flying to help me!! She worked for Southwest and so she can fly easily and she offered to help me out! Amazing!!!
I am so thankful for the help! Otherwise I am not sure my sanity would be intact when I arrived!!
Can't wait to see family, friends, go to lunch with my mom and sister, go to coffee with my girlfriends! Maybe a pedicure or manicure!!
So excited!!!
Dan can't wait to have a quiet house and sleep in!!!
I admit I am a bit jealous of the sleeping in, but I know he will miss the chaos!
I get to enjoy the chaos on the plane and in the car!
But it is worth it when i can get my Riverside fix!

Do you have it?!!!

2008-10-08T09:16:00.000-07:00

Does anyone have the 4th book in the Twilight saga!!!!
I'm hooked and everyone I know has loaned it out!
If you have one and i can borrow it let me know!!!
I have to admit that when Erica told me about them I giggled and said I probably wouldn't read them... well you were right Erica they are awesome!!!

math is fun!

2008-10-07T16:01:00.000-07:00

Zeke is learning about number sentences in school right now. Now you would think that when I see him practicing that I would be proud, but not when he is practicing on the closet door!
He and Sofia have been destroying their room at night. We go to check on them and the light will be on and they will be passed out in a pile of toys on their beds!
So this morning I see that the blue crayon has struck again. Last week it was all over the couch and dresser, today it was on the bed and the closet.
The ironic thing is when Zeke was 2 he never did anything like this, now that he is 5 and knows better, he is going for it!!
Keeping me on my toes, that is what my kids are all about!

Pigtails

2008-10-04T22:20:00.000-07:00

Isn't she so cute!
She looks so big with her hair like this!
Just wanted to share!

it is 3:58 am right now!

2008-10-04T03:58:00.000-07:00

This was a week or two ago, he was mad
don't you just love his dan furrowed brow, so cute!

It is almost 4am, moses and i have been up for an hour hanging out. He has been getting so much better with sleeping lately, he is just having some gas issues tonight. he has been ripping them off like he is a burly 15 year old who just ate 4 chili dogs!
It is so sad the way he screams out in pain, his pour little tummy must really hurt. It makes me feel so bad and i try to go over everything i ate to see what caused this. Can't figure it out, was it the blt i had for lunch, the grilled cheese for dinner??? (i have been making some gourmet meals lately) Dan has been working late so i have not made the effort to cook much!
Anyway just hanging out passing the time until Mo decides to drift off to sleep!
hope it is soon since he will want to eat again in less than 2 hours!

Choices

2008-09-30T15:51:00.000-07:00

Lately we have been talking to Zeke about making the right choice. Unfortunately he has been deciding to make the wrong choices lately.

Like when he decides to try on a whole package of Sofia's swim diapers and wear them around. I woke him up Monday and he was wearing a swim diaper again.

Like when he dumps out 6 tubs of toys in order to stack the tubs up and get stuff down from the top of the closet. He fell on his head.

Like when he decides to take a blue crayon and write all over the black couch and wood dresser.

Like when he cuts my shirt up to use the ribbon for one of his "projects"

Like when he gets the tamborine out and bangs on it while Sofia and Moses are napping.

Like when he somehow gets to the top of his closet and opens up presents that are not for him and plays with them during his rest time.

Like when he uses my razor to cut his hair

Like when he gets into Dan's drawer and comes out smelling like a whole bottle of after shave.

This has been in the last week or so that all of these things have happened!
It is just so weird, maybe it is his rebellion and his way of getting used to having a new baby, but it has been crazy, we never know what is going to happen next!

pictures

2008-09-28T11:09:00.000-07:00

These are in no order!
Sofia and I before the baby, even she has changed in 6 weeks!
Zeke hanging out with Papa
Moses and I caught up in the Twilight saga! So addiciting!

My family, Grammy and Grampy with the grandkids

Today I downloaded all the pictures off of Dan's camera and I realized I had not even looked at the pictures from Moses' birth! It has been so crazy these last 6 weeks and life is finally starting to fall into a routine and it was so fun to see pictures I had never knew existed!
So i thought I would share a few with you from the last few weeks!

EZ-E, wouldn't it be cute if we called him that!

2008-09-25T14:44:00.000-07:00

I just found this old pic of Zeke 2 years ago, so cute!!!

Just wanted to share some funny things that Zeke has done in the last couple of days.

First of all a couple of months back Zeke decided he was going to get into Dan's tools and take the training wheels off of his bike. But then he wouldn't let us help him learn to ride. So it has been months of not riding his bike. This past week he hops on Davey's bike and takes off! He is literally jumping his bike off the curb and off the speed bumps. Amazing

This week he goes into the trash can in our bathroom and digs out the blade off of my razor. He cuts his bangs and his forehead! We thought it was from a fall off his bike but then I discovered hair all over the bathroom floor and my razor sitting on the counter. He cut his bangs in the spring as well with his kid scissors.
Why he thinks he is qualified to cut his own hair every few months is beyond me!!!
I guess I need to keep up with haircuts or he is going to take things into his own hands!

Also this week he has been quoting America's Funniest Videos. We have one on tape courtesy of the Osbornes and he loves it, watching people crash into others and little boys hitting a ball at their dad's crotch is always good laughs! Anyway there is one where a hampster gets his behind caught in his spinning wheel.
Well as we are driving home from church on Sunday Zeke asks me in between giggles if I have junk in my trunk!
I start cracking up and then realize later it is from the video, I just hope he is not asking his teacher if she has junk in her trunk!
It seems like all of our kids are about keeping us on our toes lately, no sleeping on the job for us!
As soon as we relax one of them does something crazy!
I guess that is the joy of parenthood, and really it is pretty fun!

yippee for colder weather!

2008-09-20T07:39:00.000-07:00

So I can't call it cold weather yet because I think next week it is supposed to get back into the 90's but for now I am loving this 70 and 80 degree weather! We have been opening our windows at night and then we come downstairs in the morning and it is sooo cold! I love it, today when I came down with the kids I had to go back up and get my sweats!!!
The thing I love the most is making a hot cup of tea or coffee! There is something about holding a hot cup of tea when it is cold outside, I love that!
I love fall weather, wearing a scarf, getting a pumpkin spice latte,wearing a comfy sweater!
I am so looking forward to when it is actually going to stay cold!
For now I am just enjoying my tea and snuggling up in a blanket with the kids on the couch!

The moby wrap

2008-09-16T09:25:00.000-07:00

I have been wearing Moses in my Moby warp lately, it is so much better on my back than my sling. I find myself slouching and leaning forward when I have my sling on, and it kills my neck. The moby puts Moses right in front of me and this morning I was emptying the dishwasher, loading it up again, doing the laundry! It was amazing, and all the while he was snoozing away!
Now if only we could get him to snooze away the night!
Last night he just wanted to be awake! I watched some Jimmy Kimmel from midnight to 1am. Kobe Bryant was on, snooze...
He was up from 3am to 4am. Then Dan was up from 4am to 5am downstairs trying to get him to sleep. Thankfully my body is adjusting to having less sleep and I feel like I can at least function even if I have had little sleep the night before. My house is a constant wreck but I figure as long as the kids are getting fed and are surviving I am doing ok!
I really need to blog about something other than my lack of sleep.
I will work on that!

It's gonna be a long night!

2008-09-14T21:14:00.000-07:00

So I am typing with one hand trying to keep Moses awake. He has been sleeping all day today which means he will be up all night! Every time I get him calmed down, he falls asleep then I have to wake him up again and the crying begins again. It is a vicious cycle!!!
I think i will try a bath to get him really happy with me!!
This is life right now, get the 2 older kids in bed and then the night begins! There is no more sitting on the couch with my husband talking!
Although I shouldn't complain we went on our first date alone in over 5 weeks!!!
Yay!!!
ok gotta go it is getting loud!!!

Master Zeke

2008-09-12T16:26:00.000-07:00

If you don't know my son, (the older one) then you might not know how creative he is. He loves to take things apart and put them back together. Or take things apart and make new things out of the parts. We have gotten used to this and know that many things in our house are in pieces, but for the most part it is Zeke's toys and things that see the wrath of his imagination.
A couple of days ago he informs me that he made something and he wanted me to see it. I was nursing Moses so I said I would in a minute, I said but why don't you tell me about it until I can see it. So he explains that he found some ribbon, cut it up and taped it to his little table fan and when he turns it on the ribbons blow and it looks so cool!
So the day went on and we forgot to go check it out, until it was bed time.
I happen to see his cool invention and think to myself those ribbons look familiar what are they from?
It just so happens he cut up one of my shirts to use the ribbons! The ribbons were literally part of my shirt and tied in the back. He found scissors and just started cutting my shirt up for his creation!
I was so dumbfounded, thinking how could he have thought that it was ok to cut up an actual piece of clothing!!!! His response was oh sorry mama I didn't know!
Anyway I had to throw the shirt away since it was cut up!
I guess that is the price I pay for a little mind that wants to create!

I forgot!

2008-09-04T02:00:00.000-07:00

It is funny the things you can forget.
I forgot how hard this baby stage is, it has been so long since we have gone through it. Zeke is almost 5 now and he was such a hard baby!
Moses is following in his footsteps! Here it is almost 4 weeks since his birth and he still has not mastered the day and night difference. It is 2 am and Moses is wide awake!
The evenings are so hard if he is not sleeping or eating he is crying. Zeke was the same way I literally sat in front of the TV watching Friends episodes because Zeke would only sleep if someone was holding him!!!
I never thought I would get so much use out of seasons of Friends again but here I am about to start season 3 at 2am!
I know I will miss this baby stage but right now I want to skip ahead to where I am feeling somewhat normal and healthy and can sleep for longer than a 2 hour stretch!
Nursing is such a huge task of giving up your self and time for your baby, I love that i get to do it and am grateful for it, I just never realized what a sacrifice it is!
Anyway keep praying for us, I am hopefully on my way to recovering from the mastitis. Wow did that hit me hard!!
Well off to watch the antics of those crazy Friends!
Sleep tight all you lucky people!

shout out

2008-08-30T19:07:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to give a shout out to all the people who have been bringing us food.
Thank you so much it has been so amazing.
By the end of the day I am wiped out (let's get serious I start the day that way!)
anyway it has been so great not having to think about cooking a meal.
Thank you Stirring family for blessing us.
The food has been yummy!!

still alive

2008-08-28T17:44:00.000-07:00

I am still alive, barely it feels like sometimes.
Things are so crazy at our house and with church. Dan and I are only getting a few hours of sleep at night, this has been 2 and a half weeks of lack of sleep. It starts to catch up with you. Dan said he fell asleep at the stop light tonight coming home. That's safe.
There are few moments of quiet in the house, even when Zeke and Sofia go to bed, that is when Moses is up and loud. It is hard not to feel stressed and exhausted.
I feel like all I do is feed the kids, and nurse moses.
I got a clogged milk duct and I hear it is from stress and lack of sleep. My lactation consultant said I need to sleep more. I told her I would love that but it is probably not gonna happen!
Today I feel better, and I am thankful for that. Although I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror and I think I look 5 years older all of the sudden. Bummer.
Anyway just wanted to let everyone know I am still alive and we are surviving.
It has to get easier, right!

My sweet Sofia

2008-08-22T08:52:00.000-07:00

This last week and a half has been so many things. Wonderful, exciting, relief, exhausting, emotional, TIRING!!!
Our family adjusting to a baby has been anything but easy.
Moses does not sleep at night, and with 2 kids that means I don't sleep during the day either!
Zeke started school which was a really hard transition for him.
Sofia , my sweet easy girl has turned into the demolition queen! In this first week I will just highlight a few things Sofia has been up to, all usually while I am nursing and can't get to her in time!
Sofia has been playing in the toilet
eating dog food
emptying my entire recipe box
sitting in the pantry eating a bag of chips
pulling all of Zeke's books off the shelf
feeding the dog her entire p.b sandwich
pushing the buttons on the printer and jamming it.
Throwing multiple fits of rolling around on the ground and screaming
I am sure there is more but this is just a small list of what she likes to fill her time with.
So we are trying to give her love and attention as we teach her to obey. Not easy when you have a week old baby!
One day I will look back and tell her the stories of her with her new baby brother and we will laugh. I look forward to that day!!

Big Brother

2008-08-20T15:37:00.000-07:00

I didn't have my camera handy but I couldn't pass up this photo opportunity! Thank goodness for the Mac and the photo booth! This is Zeke reading a story to Moses on the couch. So sweet.
Zeke informed me that Moses loved the book.
Sofia on the other hand is not making the transition of a baby brother as smoothly as Zeke.
I will save that for another post!

What I have been doing!

2008-08-18T20:11:00.000-07:00

Before baby (thanks emily for the pics!!)

After. Moses coming home!
( I don't know how to flip the picture and I am too tired to figure it out!)

So as most of you know Moses came into this world one week ago today!
What an experience!!!
So so so thankful I got to experience giving birth, but as of now I do not want to do it again!
My water broke last Sunday afternoon, Dan raced home and we took off for the hospital.
It was a long 12 hours, which I hear is not too bad for a first birth.
Had pitocin to help push my labor along, which make the contractions really hard!
The pain was unreal, and just when we were ready to give in and get the epidural I was finally at 8 centimeters! I was really out of it because I got some Demoral which did nothing for the pain but put me into a state of deliriousness (is that a word?)
I would feel like I was in a drugged out dream state for the one minute in between contractions, then the pain would start again and I was completely aware of everything. It was the weirdest thing I have ever been through.
Finally After pushing for about 45 minutes or an hour Moses flew into this crazy world!
I am thankful I got to do a natural birth and everything went well since this will most likely be my one and only time giving birth!
So far we are surviving, on little to no sleep and the energy of the kids.
They are adjusting to having a baby, I would not call it a smooth transition but it will get there! My mom stayed for a week and a half and literally cleaned my house top to bottom and took care of the kids the whole time!
My dad, sister and nephews came up this weekend and helped us cope with a family of 3! Thanks for everything you guys, the house feels quiet (if that is possible) without you!
I remember feeling overwhelmed when Zeke came home from the hospital, and now I think oh how nice it would be to recover with just one! Just the exhaustion of giving birth and recovery is crazy, plus trying to nurse and sleep and take care of 2 kids, and bills and a house to clean. I applaud my friends with 3 or more kids!
So this has been my life for the last week, luckily Dan is good at keeping everyone up to date since I can barely stay awake to type this!
Thanks for all the love and support!

The waiting game

2008-08-07T15:35:00.001-07:00

I always heard the end of the pregnancy is so hard, you get tired and uncomfortable and just want to be done. I feel those things but even more so I am just ready to meet my baby!!!
It has been about 2 days of contractions and they never progress into anything. It gets frustrating, but I know this is part of the process of having a baby!
Went to the Dr. today, she wanted me to have a non-stress test to check on the baby.
Everything was great, Moses is doing terrific, I am so thankful for this!!
Some of the circumstances made her want to possibly induce me today, but we decided against it. I really want to go into labor naturally if possible.
My contractions are 2 to 4 minutes apart but mild, so we are waiting it out and hoping that in the next day or two he will be ready to make his entrance!
So until then we wait...
My mom comes into town tonight, which I am so thankful for, I will feel so much better knowing she is here with the kids, the less trauma for them the better!
Anyway if you think of us pray for us! We will keep you posted!

Aren't my kids cute?

2008-08-02T09:33:00.000-07:00

Dan already posted one of these, but I took some pictures of the kids a few days ago while we were playing at a ball field. It is really hard to capture anything from them, they are constantly on the move! Soon I will have to try to capture 3 kids in a picture!! At least Moses will stay in one place for a little while!
The count down is on, we want to get through Wednesday, then Moses can join us out here in this crazy world! But if he decides to come early I think we can make it work!

Is it nap time yet?????

2008-07-30T12:08:00.001-07:00

So tired today.
We went to take the dog to the groomers and Target and I was dragging myself through Target, both kids crabby and crying. I kind of wanted to just find a chair and sit down for awhile, hoping when I returned the kids would be done whining and crying. Of course I did not do this but man my energy is low today.
We made it home and I am being #1 mom by putting on a little Einstein video so that I can sit on the couch for 20 minutes and not have to think for these few precious minutes! I really have felt so good through this whole pregnancy, which I am SO thankful for. But man if I am going to have 2 weeks of this my kids are going to be very unhappy! Zeke's like let's go to the park, let's go swimming, let's take a walk again, let's go to gymnastics! I 'm like let's take a family nap!!
He is used to getting out and doing something everyday!
That is all really, just tired today.

The picture is for all my Riverside friends who wanted to see how huge I am, there are very few clothes still fitting me, every once in awhile I sport the ghetto belly hanging out of the bottom of my shirts! Good times!

The moby Wrap

2008-07-27T22:08:00.000-07:00

So as I await the arrival of Moses one of the things I am working on is making a Moby Wrap. I am a lover of slings for my babies. Each one I have tried a different sling and I absolutely love carrying my babies around close to me. With Zeke my dear friend Jess told me about over the shoulder baby holders, which at the time was one of the only slings out there. Funny what has changed in 5 years, now there are like 50 different types of slings, which is great! Anyway Zeke did SO well in a sling, he was a preemie so he needed extra time to adjust to this crazy world, and I think being bundled up tight and close to us was so good for him. He was a colicky, crying baby and when he was in the sling life was good!
Sofia got jipped out of time in the sling since we didn't get her until she was 6 months, but that didn't stop me from using the sling all the time as soon as we got her from the orphanage! My friends went in together and got me a sloomb, which is like the sling I had for Zeke but cuter fabric! It is an easy one to wear your kid on your hip too. Which if I was not pregnant I would still do, I did it until my belly got in the way.
So tonight I worked on my Moby wrap, which you can easily buy online, but I opted to buy fabric and cut the dimensions. Jess constantly wore her daughter in it, and when we moved up to Redding Leah Caldwell had made herself one and was loving it, so I thought sure I will do that too!
But let me just say it is annoying laying that much fabric out to cut the dimensions!!
But I finished it and it is cute, I tried it out and it was not looking quite like the picture online, then I realized oh yeah, I still have this huge belly, maybe it will fit better when the baby is here!!
Anyway it made me excited to finally have him here and hold him!!
Hopefully it is soon!!!

What a year

2008-07-22T10:22:00.000-07:00

In the orphanage

At home this week

My friend Kara left me a message the other day saying can you believe it was a year ago that we got our daughters! Her and her husband Wei were in Kyrgyzstan the same time as we were adopting their little girl. They were not with our agency or anything we just saw them at the orphange and we connected, obviously, we were going through craziness together!
I was just thinking about the things Sofia has been through, seen and done in her little life already! She lived in an orphanage for the first 6 months of her life, traveled across the whole world to a new family, moved to a new home after 6 more months, and now she is getting a baby brother! So much in a year and she is so easy going and sweet!
When I think back to a year ago the stress and anxiety of bringing her home is hardly memorable. I remember thinking if we can just make it home I will be able to breathe again! Those 10 days trying to bring her home were absolutely the most stressful days of my life. It felt like everything that could go wrong did, and I was just so worried we would not make it out of there with our daughter! One of the days that papers were missing, out hotel reservation was lost and it was 2am and I was crying in this scary motel room with no a/c and it was 90 degrees outside, Dan said you know we didn't sign up for some easy trip to pick her up, we knew it would be hard. It was so true, I just needed to be reminded that adoption is not an easy road, but God was so faithful in providing everything we needed, often at the very last second!
I just love the way God has put our family together, none of it has been easy, but all of it has been so worth it and I am so grateful to have our little Sofia. To look at then and now and see how much she has changed and grown in amazing to me!

Backfire

2008-07-16T12:55:00.000-07:00

I bribed Zeke today and it has majorly backfired on me.
His fingernails and toenails were ridiculously long, they were like some of my girlfriends who grow their toenails long and paint them, they were freaking me out!
So I said I would put batteries in this hummer of his if he let me cut them!
I have been trying to cut them for the last 2 days and this bribe seemed like a good idea at the time.
So we got the nails cut but there was a very good reason why I had never before replaced these batteries!
It is a fire hummer and when you put new batteries in not only do lights flash (if only that were all!), but also this lady yells out All unites code 469, Avenue 63, then the siren goes off for like 10 seconds. And a guy yells back were on our way!!! Then the siren again!!!
And it is LOUD, and in the last 20 minutes I have heard that over and over again at least 100 times.
What was I thinking, that is what I get for bribing my kids!

my crazy week, so far...

2008-07-11T13:48:00.001-07:00

This week has been anything but uneventful!
I think "oh Zeke is gone, it will be quiet", which it was in the noise sense, but otherwise it has been crazy.
We put our name in on a list for some apartments that usually take 6 months to a year, and not even a week later we get a call that one is available to us. We get all our paper work etc. in, it looks great and we start to freak out about moving. (at least I freaked out)
Then Monday evening I got really sick, I think I did it to myself. I drank some sweet tea from McDonald's that I am sure has 1 gallon of sugar in it! I did water it down, but when you also eat almost a half of a watermelon by yourself it is a bad combo.
So I was up all night cursing the indigestion and stomach ache that was haunting me.
All day Tuesday I felt horrible, thank you McDonalds.
Tuesday evening I had a bit of a break down, anxiety and stress over moving, missing my son, missing my family etc etc. Had a good cry, felt better.
Wednesday Dan and I sit down go over the pros and cons of moving, we come to the conclusion it is totally worth it to move, the money we will save alone is great! We feel good about the decision and start going through things in house doing a clean sweep.
Thursday I pack a few boxes not much, but continue to go through the house down sizing.
Thursday night we get home from our staff BBq and I am walking out the front door to take Scarlet for a potty trip and I bite it hard. I guess I tripped I don't know, I slid across the pavement on my side. I at least had a little bit of time to turn on my side and not fall on my stomach! Luckily Dan was there and he is so great under stress. I was starting to freak out and he is like your fine, you were close to the ground, you didn't fall too hard, everything is totally fine. I have a few scrapes up my arms, legs and booty but all in all I am ok. Moses was moving right after so that made me feel so much better.
Friday today, Dan gets a call that we did not get the apartment. He was so bummed, as was I. It is hard when you start planning and getting ready for something and then things change. So I guess God wants us to stay where we are for now and be content in that.
Needless to say this week has not been low on stress, anxiety or action.
I think I might take a nap today!

strange times

2008-07-06T20:35:00.001-07:00

It is so funny how much easier it is to write a nonsense blog rather than write what I am feeling or struggling with.
I could just write how I am sitting here listening to Coldplay's new album, which is amazing by the way (Nate is crazy to say otherwise!). I could write how I am eating egg salad sandwich again for dinner,(pregnancy craving) how much I accomplished today or what the kids did. It is much easier to write those things.
On July 4th I was sitting outside in the smoky weather reading my Bible, writing in my journal trying to hear something from God. The 4th was such a lonely day for me, Zeke was gone so the house was so still and quiet, we had no family or friends to hang out with and I just felt this sadness.
It feels like forever that I have been going through the motions of dailyness.
6 months of being in a funk, being sad and down, feeling lazy and unmotivated. I know it has maybe a little bit to do with the fact that I got pregnant finally after 7 years, moved our whole family and started a new life in a matter of a month. Now there is no family down the street, there are no friends that know you so deeply and live life with you daily anymore. I have to start that all over again and it does not happen very quickly.
I don't want to whine or be a Debbie Downer, but it has been hard.
I hate that when I go into labor I can't call my mom and tell her to come over to watch the kids, or that my kids can't go down the street anymore to their cousins house to play. So many daily things that seem so little but are actually huge to me.
Or maybe they are magnified because I am 8 months pregnant and an emotional wreck 98% of the time!
Anyway I felt like on the 4th God said ask for people to pray, let people know your struggle. Be vulnerable, it's easy right!
So at church Nate gave us the opportunity to pray with the people around us, and Rebecca and Erica prayed for me and it was so comforting to not pretend, but to have others who understood and prayed for me. Thanks girls it meant a lot.
Anyway I am longing to climb out of this funk and i hope it can begin now.
I am so very thankful for where God has us, but that doesn't mean it has been easy or will be easy, we sacrificed a lot to come here and sometimes that sucks. But I do not want my family to be anywhere that God doesn't want us to be.
So that means we keep moving forward, living out what God has called us to.
I hope a year from now I can look back at this time and see all the amazing things that came from the hard times!

why is it so quiet around here?

2008-07-04T09:57:00.000-07:00

So Zeke left today for over a week! Dan's mom took him down to hang out with friends and family in So cal. He was excited up until this morning when it was time to go. then he said nope I am not going, I am staying here! He calmed down and was excited again 2 minutes later!
He has only been gone a few hours and it is already so weird.
He has more energy than anyone I know so the house is so quiet and still.
Sofia and Scarlet are going to be so bored.
They won't have to watch their backs constantly to make sure Zeke is not going to wrestle them to the ground!
We had a family nap time this morning, it was great. Sofia still takes morning naps and we got up early to get nana and Zeke to the airport so of course Dan and I took advantage and took a little snooze.
This week should be a good opportunity to get things ready for the baby, I have so much to do! One less kid and more nap time should allow me to get things done!
Or maybe the quiet will make me lazy and want to sleep all the time!

Feeling dumb

2008-06-28T12:39:00.000-07:00

Sometimes when I read others blogs I feel dumb. For example my wonderful husband Dan, just put up a video up which received many rather long and detailed comments. As I was reading through some I fell asleep. J/K
I didn't but I have to admit that the time it would take me to watch the video, read the comments and then leave one would be entirely too long. In the time it has taken me to write this much, Sofia and Zeke got into a pushing fight, Sofia was carrying around some white out upside, and honking this annoying horn that almost made me lose my mind. How in the world could I form a complete thought that would be smart and witty to add to someones blog!
As I type this Zeke is asking me the same question 100 times, and telling me I hurt his feelings and he never wants to play with me again.
These are my daily conversations, not unfortunately politics and discussions on grace. I probably need to get out more.

Things I miss

2008-06-24T13:02:00.000-07:00

I absolutely love being pregnant, it has been a desire for really my whole life, I remember being young and thinking pregnant women were so beautiful, and I couldn't wait until it was my turn. So after 7 years of praying for it I am thrilled it has finally happened to me.
But there are a few things I miss and can't wait to do when I have the baby.

Like sleeping on my stomach! Oh how I miss sleeping on my back and stomach, I have always slept on my stomach and it is an adjustment not being able to do that!

Stretching! That morning stretch when you are laying in bed on your back before you get out of bed. For some reason I can't stretch, maybe because you use your stomach muscles and they are all stretched out with a baby pushing on them. And you can't point and stretch your feet because it hurts and then you have those crazy charlie horses!

Being able to see below my belly, and do things like reach your feet! We had a girls night last weekend and I realized I can't paint my toenails anymore! I couldn't breathe, so Erica kindly painted them for me! Thanks Erica

Drink a big fat Cherry coke. I hardly have soda, but every once in awhile I crave a cherry coke with my friend Karen(miss you girl).

Having a glass of wine. Also something I don't do that often but there are those great nights when the kids are in bed and we go sit outside and it would be perfect to sip a glass of wine with my husband!

Sleep longer than 3 hours without having to get up to go pee! Not that this is going to change anytime soon, but I look forward to this day!

Eating hummus and not getting indigestion! I get indigestion when I drink water! I love hummus and Trav & Annette brought us some from Trader joes when they came up and every time I eat it it stays with me all day!! But I still do it because I love it so much!

Those are just a few things lately I have been missing, but to counter those there are a million things I love about being pregnant and I feel so thankful to be able to experience this crazy thing that God designed our bodies for!