Cars 2 Movie

For our play group this summer the local theater did a special showing of Cars 2 just for us at 10 in the morning. I normally wouldn't try taking all 3 of the kids to a movie, but since it was an exclusive "preschool" showing I knew it would work. Grace & Faith made it through the entire movie and seemed to enjoy it. The plot of the movie is definitely a bit more complicated. (I was even a bit confused towards the end, but I was wrestling a toddler) Titus did okay until the last 30 minutes or so... But, luckily I could walk with him and know the girls were being watched by all my other mom friends.

This was Titus' first movie. Here he is sporting his Cars shirt. I look forward to watching the movie again someday when he is old enough to be excited about it.

Impromptu Zoo Trip

Earlier this summer a huge storm came through our area in the middle of night. It was so strong it woke us up and within minutes we got the text saying that we were under a tornado warning. Quincy, the city Jeremy works in, was hit the hardest. Most of the city was without electricity for several days. Jeremy went to work but was unable to do much due to all the business being closed and so he got off work at 11 am.

We had been wanting to take a family trip to the zoo so on a whim we quickly packed a lunch to eat on the road and headed out for the zoo. It was very cloudy, but the weather was mild so we decided to chance the rain. As we drove the sky cleared off and it was the perfect day for the zoo!

Faith's favorite- the pink "tamingoes"
This was our first zoo trip that Titus was actually interested in. I enjoyed seeing him point as he spotted the animals.
Another pink bird Faith loved.
We had to go into the antelope house to see the giraffes.


A baby born this past spring.

Grace loved posing with the statues. She really enjoyed playing "I Spy" looking for all the tiny snakes in the reptile house. She was a quicker spotter than her parents.


We stayed until the zoo closed at 5 and then hit the road. We stopped for dinner at Chile's on the way home and even that went fairly smoothly. We were VERY hungry by that point. Our kids were asleep before me made it back to Hannibal.

This impromptu zoo trip couldn't have been any more perfect if we had planned it!

I love surprises.

I love the fact that we have been married seven years and my husband still shows up and surprises me with flowers. He also surprised the girls with their very own copy of their favorite movie, "Tangled." My hubbie isn't perfect but when it comes to surprises for no reason I am truly blessed! J, Thanks for spoiling us!!

My Gracie

One of the fun things about having a five year old has been watching Grace's personality develop. Many of you know that Grace is her own little woman (a.k.a. a strong-willed child) and that has led to many challenging days of me standing my ground and praying/hoping for the days when I see the positive sides of her personality come out in leadership (like running the United Nations).

Lately I have been seeing some pretty awesome qualities in my little leader.

-Work Ethic

Grace has an incredible work ethic. She sees that the job gets done and its done right. She is helpful at cleaning her room, making her bed, in our garden, cleaning off the table, sweeping, etc. She really is helpful when she wants to be, and that is a lot of the time.

-Honest

Grace has always been an honest child. When Jeremy would come home when she was little and we had a rough day she would usually "confess her sins" before he barely got in the door. We would laugh (later) as she listed off all the things she had done that day. She continues to be honest and I often see conviction for her wrong actions when she knows she was wrong. (As long as its not a grey area we are good to go. This girl's black and white all over!)

-Thankful

Grace's prayers are often those of thanks. She used to always pray, "Thank you God for the WHOLE WIDE world." Recently she has shown her growing maturity by often praying, "Thank you God for sending your son Jesus down to earth to die for our sins."

-Nurturing

Grace is a little mother hen for sure. If I ever drop the ball she is close at hand to help me out. She is always quick to remind people Titus can't have dairy, grab her sister's blanket "pink", or remind her siblings of the rules.

I like to highlight these strengths because I am really learning how all my children's traits have a positive side and a more negative side and a spectrum in between. It is showing me how to redirect the negative behavior towards the more positive God-quality in them. For example, on the one hand Grace is nurturing but this can easily turn into being bossy. (I guess thats why I love being a mom (a full time nurturer- I was a pretty bossy kid)

The "traits" we are bent towards aren't always strictly good or bad. While I've always known being strong willed wasn't bad I am seeing that any strength carried out to an extreme can become your greatest weakness. I definitely see that in myself. I know that the positive strong work ethic I have can venture over into over commitment & burnout if I'm not careful. Even honesty when carried out to an extreme can cause difficulties. (I'm hearing that quote from Bambi in my brain "If you can't say something nice....)

Grace is definitely my daughter in the fact that she isn't big on change. As we prepare to sell our house she has suggested, "Mama, if we need a new house can't we just paint our yellow one a different color?" And I have flashbacks to myself laying on the pink carpet of our bathroom crying and thinking my parents were totally crazy for replacing it with linoleum. (Yeah....I was a bit crazy. Now you know why I worry so much about how the kids will do with a move...)

But, as an adult I know that God is in change. And I am so thankful for some of the "changes" I see in my daughter. I guess that 45 minute knock down drag out to pick up her crayons was worth it, huh? So, to all you mamas of 2 & 3 year olds take heart there are moments of reprieve somewhere around age 4 & 5. (But, don't tell Faith because we are still working on a couple of her "battles.")

Gracie,

I know you will be a strong leader for the Lord one day. I pray you will continue to be thankful and honest as you grow. I see so much of myself in you. I know you struggle with change and control. You want the world to be fair and just. You have such a strong sense of what is right and what is wrong. I pray that as you grow that will be defined by God's word. I love you baby girl!

Mama

Father's Day

Well, I have to say this was not my most organized Father's Day ever... But, my husband is very gracious none the less. We have started a tradition of making a piece of artwork each year. This year was a bit more planned and less abstract. We made this picture for him. The kids enjoyed doing their footprints and I know this piece will grow more special over time as we look back and can't believe how small they were!

For Jeremy's gift I was on the hunt for a new waffle maker as I dropped ours and the hinge broke. I also wanted to upgrade to a waffle maker that made 4 waffles instead of 2. With Jeremy doing Daddy breakfast every Saturday we use it a lot and I knew this would save him time as our family (and their appetites) continue to grow. I finally snagged one on Ebay within my budget and am looking forward to it arriving this week. Hopefully it will be a hit and I won't have any buyer's remorse on buying a gently used item versus new.

When I asked the kids what they love about their daddy:

"He makes me laugh & I like to help him outside and get dirty." -Titus, 1 1/2 years ;)

"I love him. I like playing games with him. I like staying home with him." -Faith, 3 1/2 years

"I love everyday when Daddy comes home and I say- Boo! I like watching movies with my daddy and snuggling with him. I love my daddy."-Grace 5 years

Jeremy, you keep me sane, make me laugh, treat me like the queen of your castle, and have defined humility and hard work this past year for me. I love you more and more each passing year! I'm so thankful to have you as the daddy in our family. Love you!!