cute, cute, cute!

Gracie has taken to playing with her dolls most of the day, feeding them, rocking them putting them down for a nap. It is so cute to watch. I've said it before and I'll say it again....I love having a little girl!!
For Christmas the boys and I got an aquarium. So far we've had a few casualties and one very bad big fish who decided to eat a little fish. We finally settled on some little tetras, a bottom feeder and 2 frogs. I have enjoyed the whole process and taking care of the little guys with the boys. Sometimes the boys and I just sit and watch the crazy frogs jump around. I could see myself getting hooked on a larger aquarium in the future! It's a blurry pic of the frog but a pic none the less

The reno's are starting up around here again, finally!! I'm so excited!!!!! Time to finish the place and just enjoy living in it.

There you have it my post about nothing.

the many adventures of jenn.....

Ah, yes......only me. Over the many years that we have had children in our lives (10 or so, years that is, not children) I have been spoiled and had a weekend away pretty much every year. Gary however has not. I had signed him up plenty of times to get away but he always backed out as he just prefers to be at home with the family. So this weekend he finally got away! And this is my first time doing this mom thing solo for a couple of days.

Six hours ago as I was hanging out with the kids, feeding the new frogs we just got in the aquarium and feeling pretty darn good about how well I have handled this whole "I'm on my own with 3 kids for the whole weekend thing" everything changed. My dear son who shall remain nameless used the bathroom. I heard the toilet flush followed by "OH NO!" and my child running as fast as he could out of the bathroom. Not good. As I ran to look I saw water pouring out of every possible part of the toilet. I ran for towels and waited for it to stop....in the end 2" of water all over the bathroom floor. After spending a good half hour cleaning up the water (and whatever else may have been in there) I realized that indeed we do not own a plunger. So I thought to myself it all looks pretty good now I'll just flush and see.......nope.....another inch of water on the floor. I called my bud Lee and told her of the story to which she said "Jenn, the tap to turn off the water is just behind the toilet, didn't you know that?" No I did not..... but now I do.

So I packed up the kids and we went to Canadian Tire and bought a plunger.

So here I sit. I figured I'd bog first and then tackle the house. Gracie is still coughing but the fever has gone down. She seems to be more like herself again. I have NO plans for today at all (yay) I love days like these, not too many though 'cause then I go stir crazy. My plans are to clean, clean and clean some more. Exciting I know.

Gary had given me a Casting Crowns CD for Christmas that I'm loving right now. Actually he gave me 2 CDs, Casting Crowns and Todd Agnew and both are excellent. Anyhow there is a point I'm getting to here. A few weeks back a received a call from a lady who had heard about the situation me and my hubby found ourselves in a few years back and she now finds herself in the exact same situation. Most of you know my story but for those readers who don't I'm not going to go into the details here online. My heart broke for this lady as she shared what had happened to her and the choices she had made and is making now but beyond that was how her family, friends and church have chosen to treat her. I could not believe it! Tough love they call it. I'm not so sure I believe in tough love. My own personal experience was full of grace, love and forgiveness and it has brought unbelievable healing. Granted there are many hurt people in this situation and everyone deals with pain differently but I'm seeing how anger and bitterness only causes more pain. This lady only wants to be heard and she is struggling to stand under the weight of judgement from those around her. She feels abandoned. I have spent many hours in prayer and shed many tears for her and her family. I have also spent hours thanking God for the measure of grace he poured over me. So undeserved. If you think of it please say a prayer for her too. She is in a time of confusion and there is so much healing that needs to happen.
As for the song I was wanting to mention, it is called Does Anybody Hear Her (Casting Crowns.) It has spoken to me. If I can figure out how to play it on here I'll do that. If not I'll post the words later (I know words aren't very exciting)

Alright back at it......

my poor baby...

....is sick again! The day after she came home from the hospital she developed a bad cough and and it has moved into her lungs. I just started her on an antibiotic yesterday. She just isn't herself at all, mostly laying on the couch and napping alot. It's been hard to get her to eat and drink enough as well. I'm wondering if she picked up something from her stay in the hospital. I'm keeping a close eye on it and hopefully we won't have to make a return trip.

In other news I opened the new tub a margarine this morning to discover the name Caleb carved in it with a knife. What a funny guy, I guess he felt the need to sign the butter.

I got a good 6 inches cut off my hair last week and I'm so happy with it. It's so much faster and easier to take care of. I'm trying out the curly look today, usually I blow dry and straighten it. It was done in like 5 minutes.....so wonderful.

Well I'm off to put some stew in the crock pot and make buns to go with. Yummy! I'll keep you all updated on Gracie.

Quick Update

We are back from the hospital and Grace seems to be doing better now. For those of you who don't know, last week Grace got the stomach flu and 24 hours later we had to take her to the hospital because she was so badly dehydrated. She spent 2 days on an IV and came home Saturday night. Quite the experience I must say! Life was kind of on hold for a couple days while I stayed by her side the whole time. While I was at the hospital I was so thankful that I knew she was going to be ok, there were many kids there that had a long haul ahead of them and my heart ached for them and their parents. I was so thankful to be able to rock my baby for hours on end without having to get up for anything, that time with her was precious. She was a trooper and the nurses thought she was the sweetest thing (me too!) Now the challenge is to get her to drink enough liquids so we don't have to return.

The day before she got sick our furnace quit working and the pipes to our washing machine froze. Yep, when it rains it pours. Thankfully the pipes have thawed and late last night the washer was running again but the furnace is another story.

Thank you everyone for your prayers.

New colors, a new haircut & a renewed effort

Wow, she sure is starting to look like a little girl! It's so exciting watching her grow but so sad to see the end of her being my little babe. We spent some time this afternoon coloring in her new Strawberry Shortcake coloring book. It reminded me of being a little girl. I took her in for her very first haircut just before Christmas, she now has bangs and is pretty darn cute if you ask me.

I have never made a new years resolution before but this year I asked myself if there was one thing that I felt needed to be top priority for me. Something that I would really make an honest effort doing daily, something that I will make whatever changes are needed. I could only think of one thing. More time with God, more worship and more effort on my part (ok, I guess that was three things.) So here's to making it happen and doing whatever it takes. Living, laughing, loving and learning. Enjoying life.

Happy new year everyone!!

Christmas!!

The boys just before opening their Christmas Eve jammies!
Nothing like new PJ's
Gracie's Christmas "princess" dress.