Happy Birthday Mom Jo!

Happy 7* Birthday to my mom last week. She doesn't like to be paraded on here...but too bad...and all the girls were sick this day so we did thingys little girls like to do that don't have to expend alot of energy...like eat...eat..eat....and feed the ducks. Boring to some...but yet very, very fun for princesses young and old. Mom Jo helps out very much with this group of little monkeys and for that we're most grateful. And...on a side note...the ducks we visited may need medication after being harrassed by these 3:)

Where In The World Did Julie Go??

Most happy to be going....

Most sad that Julie's going...

Mad because we wouldn't buy her a snack at the airport....and Leni was off looking at the giant stuffed alligator I didn't take a picture of.:)

So...where did she go?Here. Check it out. Her mommy misses her greatly:)

A Feeble Attempt...

This is a feeble attempt at a post because now my sweet Katie is sick, sick, sick...and crying miserably and constantly. Here's a cute pic I took of the girlies on Mom Jo's recent birthday. The other 2 were sick this day. Kristin looks a little...well how would I describe it...bug eyed in this pic?? Must be the meds:( More soon....

Nothing But High Class Stuff Around Here....

We've had a week and a half of sick bronchitisy like junk going on around here. Everyone has succumbed to the germs EXCEPT Katie. Amazing. Even the parents have been hobbling a bit. Kristin bounced back very quickly but poor Leni...she suffered. So much so that it got really, really sad. She's on the mend now...so I feel like I can relate this story and hopefully make it humorous without making fun of her:) You see...when Leni gets sick...she falls fast and hard and doesn't recover easily. It involves quite a bit of work both day and night. Anyway...with her asthma issues it compounds until we're all pretty loopy from lack of sleep and borderline hysteria. This time....fluid settled in her ears and the poor child became almost completely deaf. About 95% without any hearing. Yep...the only way she could understand you was to turn her facing you....get really close to her and SHOUTATTHETOPPFYOURLUNGS! So...after a couple days off school and seeing the others were fine... I felt like we had to continue. Picture me SHOUTING "Little House on the Prairie" at extreme decibels and doing the same with place value, telling time and the life cycle of raccoons. Yelling scripture is fun too...especially when you're not sure if they are getting it.(Pause for a moment and try it...now try it for 5 days:)) We even attemped a trip to the library which was a mistake because when you can't call your children quietly and a leash isn't an option...it doesn't really work. She couldn't ride her bike or play outside like the others (we live in a kid infested neighborhood:)) because she couldn't hear cars. By the end of the week I was shouting at everyone because I couldn't remember which girl I was talking to...so instead of lowering the volume for the 'hearers'...everyone just got the same vocal treatment from me. Loud,LOUouder, LOUDEST from the mom...no matter who you were. Then all 3 girls started yelling at each other as normal communication. Public apology to Julie who had to be the recepient of all this. Yea...scary..... THEN the tank to our well (we live in unincorporated county on a lake...so all the houses have wells) well.. (ha..ha..) the tank sprang a series of pinhole leaks and we had a geyser in our backyard. All the water had to be shut down until we could make repairs which I'm sure you know don't come quickly. So ....there we were. No water...sick everyone...and having to SHOUT for DAYS at poor 7 year old. The TV had to be at the highest volume as well if we wanted her distracted and doing anything else. So, whats all this have to do with the picture? Well...Kristin snuck off and did what every child who has a sleep-deprived mama, a sick-can't-hear sister and no water in her house. She made mud soup out of the bird bath... JUST so she could get her clothes filthy muddy knowing her mom couldn't do the wash until we had water again. Heh. Messy, but cute. (Sorry about the poor quality phone pic!)

AND....to top it off...my 3 year old Kitchen-Aid refrigerator overheated (!!!!) and we had ice cream soup. The girls loved that!

The good news is......Leni can now hear. It took over a week...but we've had success.Whoo-hoo! This is a huge answer to prayer!! The well is repaired and laundry has resumed. Katie is still well...and others are on the mend. The mommy is sleeping once again...and another chapter in the tale of little princesses comes to a close. Kristin will be sending her recipe for mud-bark-grass-with-petite-garden-tomatos to the Food Network. Look for her new show soon:)...and if you dare come for a visit...I'll yell at you too!!:)

A Highlight and Some Reflection....

Are there situations and circumstances in your life where you are questioning your ability to endure? I think we've all been asked by God to persevere in some form or another....some more than others in this earthly life. I have a new favorite article by Randy Alcorn entitled "A Life of Endurance", in which he encourages us to persevere with ever increasing patience. You can read it in it's entirety here. If you can, read the article first before continuing on. Two things that stood out to me as I have studied this newsletter are 1. We should embrace hardship with gratefulness and thanksgiving...and endure it the same way.You may be saying...duh!! but what has hit me is this next statement. The increase of spiritual growth will not be an 'a-ha' moment...but more than likely a gradual increasing of fruit seen over what can be an extended period of time. Your period of time called to endure a situation will vary greatly as the time is ordained by God and God alone. Sadly, many of us fail when the burdens seem to much to bear and we quit with a whimper. In our McDonalds-give-it-to-me-quick society...even Christians expect quick results to their prayers for help, and fail to see the big picture that Paul paints of a true saint called to endure. 2. Our daily choices set us up for success or failure during the dry, desert times of crying out to God as He's asking us to patiently wait..wait..and wait. R. Alcorn says this ,"Who you become will be the cumulative result of the daily choices you make. You become like what you choose to behold. Behold Christ, you become Christlike. Gaze upon superficiality and immorality and it's equally predictable what you'll become. In other words, you WILL become the product of what you choose to delight in and meditate upon......We all meditate and we're all shaped by the object of our meditation. We take our attitudinal and behavioral cues from it. This week, will I be shaped by situation comedies, soap operas, and newspapers, or will I be shaped by Isaiah, Luke, A.W. Tozer, and Charles Haddon Spurgeon? It depends on how I choose to spend my time....." You can count on trials. In fact, some of them will seem overwhelming and will seemingly rip you to your core. The word even says "do not be surprised at the fiery trials that come upon you"...so then why are we suprised? Why are we unprepared? Well...what have you been cultivating in your heart over months, even years of time? It will be exposed during times of difficulty. The good news is ...is that as a Christian we have grace for today...and for the days of trial He asks us to endure NO MATTER how difficult the circumstances become. They are a revelation of the current climate of our hearts and reveal our true selves...even to us.

Convicting heh? Well, a current highlight for me is that I've joined with many ladies in our church who are reading through the Bible this year. I do not want the news, our culture, the Internet...or any other distraction to keep me from truth. The truth is that in this uncertain world, the ONLY truth is found in God and his word, and on this we should meditate both day and night....Then...when God calls you to a situation or circumstance where you are asked to dig into the depths of your heart to find strength...you will find it's there. Heartlight has several Bible reading plans...and the one I chose was the chronological version. Well, we started in January...and I'm still on track believe it or not! Thank you God for the grace! Several plans are available and it's completely free. For me....as a wife and mom, I don't want to waste a day or a minute of the life God's given me. I want to steward every opportunity in this life to reflect the glorious gospel and life in Christ I've been given. Although everything I've written here I've known for years, the relevence of these truths has become more and more real and sustaining with each and every trial. So, in many ways, these truths though familiar, are so very new. I hope that this speaks to where God has currently has you ...and I'm hoping that you will also join me on this journey through the word!

This One's For You Dad!

Nine months ago this horsey was lying on his side in ICU after being hit by a car while riding his bike. Now...all these months...and many, many therapy sessions later...he makes a mighty fine pre-bedtime piece of play equipment for this group of rowdy cowgirls! Thank you God for healing our Daddy!

Anyone Seen Katie??!!

She got a new bike yesterday and hasn't been seen or heard from since! We just see this faster-than-the-speed-of-light-blur going round-n-round our cul-de-sac.:) AND since she's the only one of the P.C. not ailing....she has the energy to burn!! This mama and her Uggs have been running behind her all day!

The Many Faces of Our New Hair Cut....

Do you like it?????

**Something's In The Air***

...hmmmmm! Someone had flowers delivered to her today.....and lets just say...they weren't from her dad!!!! Something's definitely in the air this year:) Happy Valentines Day!!

Happy Birthday Kristin...continued!

This year Kristin decided that a party was in order for her 6th birthday. Actually, the family 'tradition' is that the even year, we do a friends party, and the odd year we do family only. So this was party year!! And this 6 year old decided that Chuck E Cheese was the place to go, and then back home for cupcakes and more fun. So, along with some adults to chaperone, Kristin and many cute buddies decided to party! We had so much fun! Kristin had a wonderful time, thank you so much everybody for coming! We love you all! Here are some pictures from our fun evening :) We love you Kristy Lue!

Happy Birthday Kristin!

Happy 6th Birthday to our Eloise herself! (so named after the children's book FYI)! Kristi, you are the light of our lives and we can hardly believe 6 years have come and gone so fast! Thank you God for the gift of this little girl! We are so very blessed and are still amazed at what God has done in our lives!! Now.....let the party day begin!!

....and NO Uncle Vic. We DO NOT want a kitty for a present. :) Actually she does...but the parent overseers cannot handle anything else that.... uh...um...dispenses 'stuff' freely and frequently:)

When the Going Gets Tough...

...just eat a little ice cream straight from the carton!!You know you want to!! Bowls-schmols. Who needs em? Sticky icky hands?? They'll wash. Cold outside? No matter!!
It's even better if your mama lets you stay up and eat it right before bed!!!!:)(Leni had a better night BTW.:) )and...the Dad was in a meeting or he would've had a spoon in there too!!

Click on the pic for a close-up of Katie's priceless face. Ice cream was the only thing we could get her to eat while in China. We found $6 Haagen Daz bars in Guangzhou and she attacked them:) Best $6 we ever spent!!

Wonders Never Cease.....and ...One's Out For the Count:(

Not that this is blog worthy in your house but it sure is here!! Last week during our very, very cold snap the girlies and M.Jo decided to head out to our fav deli for an early dinner. Low and behold....the back seat fell silent. This is way, way beyond NOT normal for this group of females!! We turned around to see....this child in the photo with her eyes very much closed. Now....Katie at 3 1/2 has been a tough nut to crack. She has a very interesting personality and sometimes it's hard to determine what's residual from orphanage life and what's just her. Lately she absolutely will not talk more than a one word answer to those outside the family....even at school...but at home and in the car she talks INCESSANTLY and LOUD! Most of the time it's adorable and we're so happy that she's happy (unless she and a certain little nameless blond are ....having issues:)) and at restaurants she talks so much that she rarely eats....talk, talk, talk. Yep. Ask anyone in the family. AND if you don't pay enough attention to what she has to say...she repeats it many, many times over at louder intervals each and every time, expecting you to respond to her many-minute-long-stories and dissertations.You can usually know the story telling is upon you when she says..."MOOOOOOMMMMMMM!!!!!!! Know whaaaaddddttt??" One volume...and one volume only. So...back to our little story. We took sleeping child in deli and she didn't wake up. We laid sleeping child on booth...and she did not wake up. Our food arrived and still she did not wake up. We were very, very tempted to continue our meal in realtive silence (the other girls are champion eaters and are talkative but not like our little China muffin)...and not feed this one until we returned home....but the guilt set in. After a few interrupted bites....I woke her up. And....the talking began. :) We would not trade her for anything!! But it's so hysterical how she won't talk to others. I've not had a child like this before!! and geez Louise...this kid can talk!

And the "out for the count' child is our fragile one...Leni....who has 2 ear infections ...a sore throat and a fever. We were up most of the night with her sobbing in pain....and for a child with a HUGE pain tolerance...we jump when she says she hurts. So very sad...but we will press on!! We've got to get her better because we have a BIG, BIG birthday celebration this week. Check the birthday tickers at the lower right to see whose it is!!

Cousin Alice Gave Birth...and At Home!!

Made you look heh??!! Yep, the girlies have been talking about nothing the last 3 days except for this big event!! Alice is Uncle Vic and Aunt Tanya's pet kitty and she decided to have her wee ones late Saturday night. So these little ladies were invited over (actually we invited ourselves cuz we could stand it no longer) to see the new arrivals. Now....for some reason the girls think we're keeping them....uh...no. I don't need anything else that has....issues. :) Arent' they cute though? ...and the kittens are too:) Anyone want a widdle kitty in about 6 weeks?? (BTW...Cousin Alice said...."Ouch!")

Don't Hate Us Because.....

This is our glorious Florida wintertime!! We took a trip to a state park where 26,000 gallons of fresh spring water is pumped out of limestone in an underground cave into the river you see here. You are seeing the sand at the bottom. The river is that clear!! Wild indians of girls were free to run, pretend, explore and get dirty to their hearts content! In the bottom pic on the far right you will see our resident Pocahontas teaching sisters to catch minnows in their hands in one quick scoop of 68 degree water. It was actually warmer in the water than it was outside. In these woods?? Bear, deer, diamond-back rattlers (they just caught a HUGE one a few weeks back),alligators, racoons, otter, eagles, and a host of other critters including our own Princess Collection. It was a blast! On the way out the ranger found us and took us to see a stuffed bear (the real thing) they had recently found that had died of natural causes. Thanks to Uncle Vic for giving us the heads up about this place. This to us is homeschooling at it's finest.:) The girls learned so much and did it all through hands on experience....learning the glories of God's magnificent creation!! We will be back!!