10 Things about Keith that I Love

Keith's Birthday was actually Oct. 4 but since we were going to be away he got to pick another day to be his birthday. So not only do I have Mommy guilt because we were cruisin on his birthday but he picked Oct.10 to be his birthday and we didn't celebrate until yesterday. Man , I am so forgetful these days. We had a reception to go to on Sat. and I totally forgot until Sat. Are there any calendars that are big enough?? I think he had a blast on his birthday weekend. Because we were away ,he got to celebrate many times as he went from one grandparents to the other and then on his birthday he went to the Cuomo's. He and Ken share the same B-day so he got to celebrate w/ them.The first thing he said about about it was " Mom, we had 2 meats,steak and chicken!!!!!!" And then he proceeded to blow the crow call in my ear that they gave him. LOL We celebrated yesterday by having Pizza and wings and playing cards. I love his birthday dinner because I don't have to cook.Woo Hooo!!!! Then of course we had Chocolate cake w/ peanut butter icing,his favorite!!! Here are some things I love about this kid...tearing up.....I love my kids and they are all so different.

1. I love his competitive spirit!!! At times it gets the best of him but when he can tame it , it makes everything more fun!!!

2. His love for baseball! Yesterday I asked him to share some of his favorite memories about when he was 9 and the top one was when he got a triple. Guy Davids was a moment on the field when Keith did not give up...all about character. Mine was when we had a family soccer game and I kicked his butt. LOLOL More mommy guilt....not really! He wants next years favorite memory to be when he gets his home run!!

3.This kid is so quiet. it is so hard to know what he is thinking or feeling ( Unless he is dealing w/ his siblings....you know) but boy when I can get him to open up we have the best conversations and he has such a tender heart and a great care for others.

4. I love to listen in when he prays w/ Daddy at night. Beautiful!!!! For some reason when I am praying w/ him it is not the same but that's ok!! :)

5.He loves his Bible. I will never forget when he got his Bible in church. He was so excited. Pastor Hearn wrote a note to him in front and he would read that over and over. I will never forget when his little brother ripped the cover off of his Bible. He was so sad ! We were able to get him a new one and Pastor Hearn wrote him another note.

6.He loves to be silly!!! Once he gets going it is hard to get him to stop. This can be a struggle at times especially during school hours because I like to be silly too. So, I have to be so careful because it is hard to reign him in. Though frustrating at times, I really really love this about him.

7. I love his hair. LOL Look at it in this shot. I have pics of him from the time he was little looking the same way. They melt my heart. This kid has wild hair. Some cowlicks in weird places and a swirly thing on top. Aww he is so cute!! We finally started using the clippers.

8. Boy does he like sweets. I will never forget the time I found wrappers behind his dresser. Now I do not like the sneaky part and we've worked on that . But crack me up.....he is skin and bones and would live on junk food if we let him.

9. He loves to read!!!! I remember when I was teaching him to read and I worried a little. I will never forget our excitement when he read his first little reader. And now I catch him still reading at 11:00 pm. His favorite is the Hardy Boys series. :)

10. I love that when he is excited about something he is relentless!! LOL It sure helps me to remember things. 11.I love to see him in action being the big brother! He can be so gentle and helpful and Jonah just adores him!! But remember they are also normal brothers who share a room.LOL

I love you Keith !!! I am glad you had such a great birthday. Thanks for being so understanding. I missed you on the real day and thought of you all day. You are a blessing to me and to your whole family!!!! Looking forward to that home run!!! Will you look out and say I love you Mom like you did in t-ball???????

Where Did the Time Go???? /10 Things I Love About Olivia

Today my little girl is 12!! Olivia ( Bringer of Peace) Kathleen ( Dear to my heart)!! I can't help but get emotional when my kids have a birthday!! I remember the day she was born like it was yesterday! And it feels like it was just yesterday!! I was so nervous and afraid. Top it off with a broken hand. I would not be able to squeeze Guy Davids hand!!! Sometimes God allows things to happen in our life that are so very painful and hard that leave us questioning and we have to decide if we are going to trust Him and believe that Romans 8:28 is true." And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him,who have been called according to His purpose." I love how it is written in the Message Bible "That's why we can be so sure that every detail in our lives of love for God is worked into something good. " I had no choice but decide to trust God and believe because I could not get through it on my own!! And I can attest of how the Lord uses those painful things in our lives and creates wonderful and beautiful things out of them. I will be honest and say that I find myself at times and not so much anymore,saying things like " God, couldn't you have done something else to bring those good things about...etc. etc. It comes back to trust and that is honestly the only way I can feel peace. So I said that sometimes God allows these painful things in our lives and then there are other times when He just blesses your socks off. And what is hard to understand is that both times He is up to something good and that His love for us NEVER changes. Olivia's birth was a time when God just blessed my socks off!!!! There I was with a broken hand ( which I believe God used to distract me ).. How was I going to give birth w/ out holding Guy Davids hand?.... How was I going to hold her?.......along w/ all the other thoughts. Well, we got to the hospital at 11:30 pm and I had her at 12:04 pm. It happened so quick that I did not need to hold his hand and Dr. Henning made it just in time. God knew that I needed him there. Olivia was one of the last babies he delivered before he moved away. :) I remember the first thing I asked him was ....." Is her palette ok? " Another Dr. might have found that strange. lol As soon as she was in my arms, I felt peace that she was ok. When Guy Davids Mom got there she pointed out that her initials were O.K. I had never thought about that before. :) Well, we still had tests ran and kept her away from people until the results were in. I have pictures of Abbey and Danny and Kyle standing outside my door looking in at her. Now I am tearing up!! What would I have done w/out all my kids through that time??? ( My daycare & preschool kids) They got me out of bed every day. :) Not to mention made me laugh etc. Their little selves not even realizing how God was using them in my life. This is why I don't have their albums done yet. ( my daycare kids)LOL Too much emotion. :)

So the Lord is still blessing my socks off w/ my baby girl!!! What a huge blessing she is to me!!! She is so dear to my heart and brings me such peace!!!


1. I love that she loves to read and cries at sad parts and sometimes happy parts. :)

2. I love that she can easily put herself into someone elses shoes and have compassion.

3. I love the appreciation she has for the little things of life and her excitement about them. She has a thankful heart!

4. I love that the very first quilt she made went to an orphanage in Liberia and that not once did she voice or show any hesitancy or sadness. Some of her friends did the same thing. Sometimes you learn more from your children than they learn from you. I think I may have struggled just a bit.

5.Sometimes it creates conflict because we are so different in this way but I love her sense of order and organization. Now you won't be able to tell by looking at her room but she has got the schedule thing down and keeps up w/ what is on the calendar. She hates to be late.So, sometimes she is not very happy w/ me. LOL

6. I love to hear her play the piano and to watch her dance!!!!! She loves music!!

7. I love her servants heart!! She is always wanting to please and help.

8. I love her love for cooking and baking. She would cook every meal if I would let her. She is like her mother though and very messy in the kitchen. I kind of love that too!!!

9. I love the friend she is to me!!!

10. I love the love she has for Jesus most of all!! I have seen it since she was little. So often she is the example I need. * sigh*

Happy Birthday, Livy!!! We are celebrating today by having peaches and french toast for breakfast. Later we are off to Lancaster. We will be spending the night at some of our Amish friends and then on Saturday we will be going to Sight & Sound to see " In the Beginning." We both cannot wait!!!! But can you believe that she does not want to sit w/ me on the bus? She wants to sit w/ her friends. Where has the time gone?????? I wish I was holding her on that bus wrapped up in a little bundle and could do this all over again. It is going to fast!!!!

Ten things I Love About Jonah

One of my favorite ladies did this the other day and I just loved this idea!! I was actually going to do 10 of the funniest things Jonah has ever said but today I feel the need to do this. LOL

1. I love how excited he was about turning 5 in July. He reminds everyone often that he is 5.

And oh the things he can do now. I hope when I turn 40 I can find that number as magical as he finds the number 5.

2. I love it when he asks me if we can snuggle and of course the snuggling part. I definetely know what his Love Language is now. Since school started, he asks if we can snuggle so often. I miss Summer!!!

3. I LOVE his imagination!! Boy, can he make up a good story and I love it when he wants me to act it out w/ him. Lately ,he has been making up songs. I Love it when he sings his new " God Songs" to me!!

4. I love his love for people and his friendly personality. We will go places and people will say " Hi Jonah!" ( It is usually older kids) And I will have no idea who they are. lol

5. I love his kung foo moves. Watch out if you see him he may karate chop you. We have to have a talk about that often. Not everyone likes to be chopped.

6. I love it when he break dances. I will never forget the show he put on at my cousin Jessicas wedding. Picture Jonah busting a move w/ a circle of ladies around him saying.. " Go Jonah, Go Jonah!" I have no idea where he learned his moves BTW.

7. I love that he has so much fun with his stuffed animals. He has them all named and likes to take a backpack full of them wherever we go.

8. I love his zest for life and how he makes me laugh!!

9. I love his tender heart.

10. I love how he uses big words and wish I could take credit for teaching them to him. I have figured out that it is probably from Adventures in Odysee. he likes to listen to that before bed. He was reciting one of the stories to me the other day. He sometimes will use part of what he hears there in the conversations he has w/ us.We laugh so hard!!!

Well, there are much more than 10 but I will stop here. Lunch break is over!!

School Days

We are in our third week of school. Boy am I tired and missing summer days!! My summer was wonderful and so relaxing. I miss getting up and wondering ..." What am I going to do today?" I miss the time I had to focus on my photography class. I had so much fun!! BUT...... I have to say " A new school year brings a whole lott of new beginnings and excitement."

This is Jonah on his very first day of Kindergarten. This is the beautiful artwork I saw as I walked by the school room that day at a time of feeling overwhelmed and tired. I got tears in my eyes,a warming of the heart and a change in my outlook. It made it all worth it! He loves school and can't wait to start each day. He tells everyone that he is doing " Sing Spell Read and Write."More on Schools Days coming soon. I felt the need to post this today..... Jonah was hanging on the cupboard door in the bathroom ( He is told over and over again not to do this) and the door and part of the cupboard came right off. " We can't have anything nice!!" Come on, I know you have said this before or your mother has. :) Well, I have a nice little boy that's for sure!!!!