Advent

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...

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

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

(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

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

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

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

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

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.

What's your favorite?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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?

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

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

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

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

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

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.