Ants Poop Too....who knew!

This is Landon's ant farm that he got from my sister (Aunt DeDe). It has actually been pretty fun to watch them work and Landon gets the biggest kick out of checking in on them first thing in the morning to see if they are awake. But we are getting a little grossed out now by their poop mound, which is the entire yellow spot!! We thought for a while that they were dying and we were looking forward to throughing them out, but then Kevin and I put them in our room while we were doing some painting in Landon's room and realized that they are most active at night! We have had them since the beginning of November, they came in the mail...how cool is that?

Anyway, I hope I didn't ruin anyone's appetite..I just had to let you all know that ants poop too. Just think half of our soil is probably insect droppings........ha just kidding!

Real Resolutions for Moms.

This post is to all my friends with children, expecting children, or hoping to have them some day, but especially to those with children around 2 and older:) I recieved this in an email and it touched me so much I had to share it.

Devotion:
It’s that time when many of us are making New Year’s resolutions, so how about some resolutions for mothers? Here are mine:

I will put my Bible before the television, the radio, the telephone, and even before good Christian books, for my children will know my priorities by the way they see me spend my free time.

I will make my prayer requests known before God and my children, enlisting their help in the process and informing them of the outcome, for by letting them help when I petition our Lord will they learn of a living God who still answers prayer.

When times of crisis, conflict or confusion arise, I will hit my knees before I hit the phone knowing that by my example my children will discover that although friends are important, God alone is the one who holds the solution to life’s every problem.

I will erase the words “luck” and “lucky” from my vocabulary and will instead by my speech point my children toward the One who orchestrates every detail of our lives and brings all good things to pass, for by this my children will learn of an omniscient God.

When bad things happen, I’ll neither grumble nor complain, but will instead help my children see that in the scope of our lives even the bad times are allowed for a reason, for by this my children will learn quiet trust in their Maker.

When normal childhood mishaps occur, I will remember that although difficult, it is still easier to remove grape juice from off-white carpet than to erase harsh and unloving words hurled at a child whose chubby little fingers have failed her, for by this my children will see a God who understands when our best efforts fall short.

When my children have witnessed something ugly in me - unkind words, an angry temper, “harmless” gossip, biting sarcasm or even my infamous “mommy pout” when things don’t go my way - I will confess it as sin before them seeking their forgiveness, for by this my children will develop the much needed habit of wiping their spiritual slate clean before God and man.

I will teach my children the importance of cleanliness and order while at the same time remain sensitive to the fact that a skinned knee or hurt feeling is more crucial than a spotless floor or uncluttered counter, for by this my children will learn to value people above things.

I will make time for the lonely, the sick, the elderly, the difficult to love, and will bring my children along, for with each afternoon visit, each ride to the doctor, each raked lawn or washed window they will have opportunity to serve Jesus by serving the “least of these.”

I will make our home a haven of rest and retreat from the outside world and a welcomed place for my children’s friends, for with each impromptu backyard soccer game, each video viewed on a rainy day, each cup of hot cocoa or chocolate chip cookie, my children will have opportunity to practice the art of Christian hospitality thereby learning to share all God has given them.

I will by my actions and my speech let my children see a mom love their dad, for by this will my children sense family stability at a time when marriages all around them are crumbling.

I will not require of my children obedience, honesty, patience or kindness without first being willing to submit to the same rules whether in speed limit, in miscounted change from the grocery store or when answering a toddler for the fourteenth time, for by this my children will see a mother who is also learning and not a perfect parent to whom they’ll never measure up.

In all things will I remember that more is caught than is taught.

There are little eyes upon you, mom. You are the first Bible your children will ever read.

By: Karen Ehman

Wow! Best advise ever, period, the end!

Which Blankie?

Liam has become very attached to his blankie in the last couple months and we think it is just the cutest thing! He has three and he doesn't (at this point) care which one we give him, it just has to be on the fleece side!! If you give it to him silky side up he will turn it over. Picky, picky, right?!? And he immediately pops his thumb in and calms down when he has one, it is wonderful. The other day I gave him two and got so tickled watching him try to figure out how he was going to snuggle with both of them AND suck his thumb. He is a REAL snuggler, he needs lots of affection from me and he gets a little jealous when he sees Landon or Kevin giving me affection. He is at such a fun age right now(he will be 18 months this week) and we are having just as much fun watching him develop as we did Landon. He is talking up a storm lately, he says so many words now I can't remember them all and he says a new one every day so this list will be changing fast! But I will try to remember them all.....he says (thanks Shelly for this idea:)

mama
dada
nandin (Landon)
nana (my mom)
papa (my dad)
dede (my sister Lyndi)
yeah
ya
wee
uh-oh
so-we (sorry)
no no
wherew at (where at)
wan it (want it)
wach-you (want you)
baw (ball)
coooo-kee (cookie)
nana (banana)
day-ee (Daisy)
hi
hey
nigh nigh (night night)
quwuk (quack)
de en (the end)
ba-ba (bottle-he doesn't say this anymore, cause he doesn't get one anymore!:)
all done
a (letter A)
wa, tu (one, two)

He loves to say "hi dada" on the phone to Kevin, it is precious and then he usually covers the phone in drool and pushes as many buttons as possible before I can get it back. He repeats a lot of words when we say, "Say ____", and he makes lots of boy noises! Landon has taught him the noises to make when driving trucks, tractors, helicopters, trains, race cars.....you name it and it gets driven at our house. The boys are playing together more and more which is really a blessing to watch, but it is a little scarey how Liam tries to do everything Landon does. Yikes that can be good and bad! He is precious, I think we'll keep him:)

Our 5th Anniversary

Kevin and I celebrated our fifth wedding anniversary on December 15th. Where has the time gone? We dated for a year and then we were engaged for four months, so we've been together for nearly 6 and half years. Looking back on our time together I am filled with so many wonderful memories. It all started the beginning of my sophomore year (his junior year) at Harding when 3 single guys made a deal that they were going to have a date in less than a week. I was waiting for a friend of mine at the university book store when Kevin came strolling by. He saw my friend (whom he was friends with) and started talking to her and then introduced himself to me. I thought, "Wow, I've never seen that guy before and he is a super hottie!" And meanwhile, Kevin went straight back to his dorm and told his two buddies that he had just met the girl he was going to ask out! And despite the fact that he nearly passed-out when he asked me to go on the 'big date night' and it was to Chucky Cheese, we really hit it off:) We both knew fairly quickly that we had found the one. We never broke up, only had one small fight while we were dating/engaged, and just couldn't stand the thought of having to wait til I graduated to get hitched. So half-way through my junior year, when I was the ripe ol' age of twenty is when we tied the knot.
Life hit us fast and hard after we got married, but we both believe that it just made us stronger in our faith and our love for each other. Nobody told me, or maybe I just wasn't listening (my friend Lauren says I have selective hearing!) about how much deeper and richer your love grows for your spouse over time. Gosh I thought I had it bad for Kevin when we were newly-weds, but my love for him then doesn't even hold a candle to my love for him today. I can't wait to see what it is like at our ten-year, twenty-year, fifty-year and etc.! I think watching him surpass all my expectations for him as a father has been a major driving force for my constantly growing love for him. He is amazing and words truly cannot express how much I love him:)

Colorado Christmas

We drove up to my grandparents house for Christmas this year. They live in between Carbondale and Redstone facing Sopris Mountian, it is just a breath taking valley. We spent most of our time laughing and making memories with my extended family and playing in the snow. Landon and Liam just adored being outside in the snow! Liam wasn't so sure about his snow clothes at first, but he decided they were okay after we started sledding. One time Landon asked us how God made the mountains and we said, "He is just so powerful, he can anything," and Landon asked, "Do you think God can teach me how to make mountains," and we said, "Probably not" and Landon sighes and says, "Ohhhh pickles!"

Anyway, I have uploaded many pictures of our trip to our picasa site. If you just click on the link to the right of this post that says Our picasa albums, you can view our pictures from Christmas plus many more from the past. Enjoy and Happy New Year!