Beware.....

I Cor 10:12 says "Be careful where you think ye stand, lest ye fall." The Message version says "Don't be so naive and self-confident. You're not exempt. You could fall flat on your face as easily as anyone else. Forget about self-confidence; it's useless. Cultivate God-confidence."

This was my lesson of the day, taught to be my sweet son Eli. He is really becoming quite the teacher the last couple of days. Today, I met my sister at the bookstore to play with trains, which, means just that for the boys and Alli but to Mindy and I it means we get to visit the surrounding stores, by ourselves, while the other one watches the kids play. Today began like most do we arrived and headed in the store. A kind lady held the door for us and my two little angels said "thank you" and one of them went the extra mile and added "thank you SO much". I beamed a bit and thanked the woman. She and her husband smiled and I imagined complimented my children and in turn my parenting. Birds were chirping, music playing, life is good.

We went and got coffee while they stood obediently by my side and then we headed to the trains. The workers greeted my children and they politely said "hello" making them all smile. I returned a good morning to each of them. Yep, I am feeling pretty good about their behavior lately. It has been a nice little spell. We are clipping right along. AND THEN something possessed my son and the next 45 minutes were AWFUL. I won't go into details but there were lots of "NO!" and "MINE's " thrown around. The manager began "looking for books" VERY nearby. It was loud. It was ugly! The kind patrons were studying and enjoying their lattes along with a little free birth control thrown their way b/c I am sure none of them left there today thinking "Gee, I REALLY want kids and even BETTER, how about twins". Oh well let's just say I was reminded of the above verse and I will not be overly proud anytime soon. :) "Pride cometh before a fall" and I had mine. Thank you very much!

Now on a much lighter note I have been meaning to post what I did with all of my "acorns" or as others like to call them pinecones. I made a wreath based upon the one I saw here. Please enjoy mine before you click the link because I am a novice and well she "the queen" of all things decorative. Anyways I had a good time making it and only burnt my fingers with hot glue a couple of times. Jared helped me hang it so that it looked good as I was about ready to give up on it. We worked together and I think it came out fine. Next year I plan to buy the correct form and give it another go.

If you make this I highly suggest that you start out with a form that is broken into 5 pieces. Eli helped out with this one and I found it to be an "exciting" challenge. I could have returned it to the store but it was my 2nd, wrong, wreath form that I had bought and I was o-v-e-r it!

I also did this craft with Celia and had a lot of fun. We found the idea here. We made it for her friends at school and all the cousins.

I have one more halloween craft up my sleeve if I get a chance to make it while the boys nap and I will add that picture later. I have been in such a craft mood lately which is CRAZY for me. I blame Briana because ever since our craft day I am OUT OF CONTROL. She brought it out in me.

Just for the Joy of it

I had a comment from Sharon this morning and popped over to her blog to check it out. I LOVE THIS feature that she does called "Just for the Joy of it". You simply share things that warm your heart.

Today I am thanful for another simple day of play with my kids. Sometimes it is hard to take the time out to do just that, play. I have a nice little morning routine that allows me to get things done and for that I am grateful but some days I chuck it out the window and just focus on these fleeting years that I have at home with these sweet little boys who still think I am the most beautiful, wonderful, funny woman in. the. world. You gotta love that.

Today we enjoyed each and every one of the 60 degrees that we were given and took a walk. Then we played in the leaves, ate lunch and played some games. God giving me the opportunity to be a Mom and the opportunity for Jared and I to be the center of Alex and Eli's world is what warms my heart today.

Eli didn't want to come in at all. I put Alex in the house and went back out to get him and this is what I found. I am pretty sure he was convinced that he was invisible. :)

They LOVED this game that I found on "No Time For Flashcards". You set them up like this and show them each a block (separately so it also helps with taking turns if you have multiples) and have them identify either the letter, number or picture and then if they get it right they throw it in the basket. If they miss they just get to keep trying, of course. If they didn't know the particular letter I just told them what it was and had them repeat it. This was a huge hit. (Ignore the laundry baskets. I have a date with them at nap time).

What's New?

I have a lot of little posts in my head and thought I would pour it all into one.

We went to one of Jared's students home this past weekend for a class party and it was a lot of fun. The live on a farm and the boys were thrilled to visit. It was like little boys paradise filled with cows, hay, a bonfire, swing set, tractors, did I say hay? Anyways they went on their first hay ride and were completely enamored with the tractor. It was such a blessing to watch Alex and Jared who were seated accross from me. I wish I had a picture but my camera battery died after taking two pics. Yeah, it was torture for me but it also allowed me to soak up each minute instead of being behind a lens. After the hay ride the boys wanted to go on another one. I should mention that it was in the low 40's that night and I was faaareeeezing! Eli went up to Mr. Bruck and pulled on his pant leg once were were back inside the house and said "Hey, what doing?, what doing? I want a hay ride." It was pretty cute. The next day when I asked him if he wanted to get out his farm (meaning Little People farm in his bedroom) his eyes lit up and he got SO excited. That is when I realized he thought we were going back to the farm, oops.

This was the sun setting in front of their house. I could have taken a million pics at this place.

I also had fun being around High School Sophomores. It is always fun to watch the dynamics of this group. They informed me of a whole new type of music that involves a lot of screaming. You know you are old when you are unaware of a whole new genre of music. Anyways all I remember was the name of it sounded like "Elmo" to me. Big surprise being a mom of toddlers and all. ;)

Alex, Eli and the "grills". Eli was shy at the beginning of the night and said "I don't want to see the grills (girls)". However he warmed up fast because it was the "grills" who pushed them on swings, had hay fights with them and snuck them brownies. :)

We had Grandma's going away party also. This is actually Jared's Grandma and she is moving to South Carolina. Smart lady, if you ask me. The day she arrived there it was 80 degrees. I can't even imagine that, now! It was a bit sad to watch her say good bye to many of her loved ones. The hardest part, I think was seeing her say good-bye to her best friend. They have been friends since they were 17. My sister in law, niece and I had a good, little, cry over that one. How rare, a friend of almost 70 years. The boys really love great-grandma and she will be missed although she is coming in for a visit in May. Yay!

It's been fun this week because it has been slightly warmer here. It was 62 on Monday, which, in Michigan means throw open the windows and enjoy some fresh air. The boys and I also took a nature walk and found different types of leaves. Actually I found different types of leaves and they enjoyed hearing them crunch beneath their feet like a two year old should. Who am I kidding I still love crunching the leaves beneath my feet. :)

On yet another random note: I find it amusing that despite their fear of costumes they ask almost nightly to walk down to a house on our street that has ghosts hanging from trees, skeletons, pumpkins and a life size Jason (or is it Michael Myers? whichever one wears the hockey mask) in the yard. They call him a scarecrow. They crack me up.

Tonight is the big night. We head to a harvest festival at church where there will be other kids dressed up but mainly LOTS of games, candy, fun, even horses. I am hoping all the hoopla will deter them from the masks and that we will still salvage trick or treating on Saturday, although that begs the question.....WHAT WILL THEY WEAR?

Well that is my VERY random post that kind of explains what we have been up to.

Ba-Humbug!

Halloween isn't looking too good this year. The boys are scared to death of their costumes so we decided to let Nana return them and our pumpkins were eaten by the neighborhood squirrel. It is the first year that the boys are walking and would be able to trick or treat but Alex is not having it and Eli follows suit. He figures if my brother is that scared something must be up. Oh well I still love fall and am hoping for a miracle before Saturday. In the mean time I leave you with the menace that is our neighborhood squirrel. Seriously, how cocky is this squirrel?

simply saturday: the seasons

Everyone must take time to sit and watch the leaves turn. ~Elizabeth Lawrence

Today, it was raining, cold and windy. When the wind blew it caused the leaves to fall from the trees. It looked like it was snowing leaves and it was fun to watch them dance and twirl to the ground. I wanted to take a picture but I was cuddled under a blanket with the boys watching "Mulan". It was a beautifully simple moment that I'll treasure.

What are the simple pleasures that you are thankful for today?

Thanksgiving Thursday

Today, first and foremost, I am thankful for a day with no "have to's". I try and keep things simple around here for Jared, the boys and me but sometimes life is still busy. We are coming up on a very busy weekend so today above all I am thankful that we didn't have anything we HAD TO do.

We went to the library this morning and it was empty so the boys got lots of extra time to do puzzles, play with puppets and read through a few books. Thank you!

We came home and they were able to play outside for a long time because we are having beautiful weather. Thank you! In Michigan you don't take a single one of these last days before our long winter hits for granted.

They are now napping peacefully! THANK YOU LORD!

We rode bikes and

played with sticks! (They seriously played with sticks for an hour, such BOYS.)

Here are the books that we got at the Library. They were really cute. Fall leaves Fall is a great book to use before a nature walk b/c it describes the different shapes of the leaves and tells you which ones are which. I know I learned a thing or two. We really like this book. We also really enjoyed "Bear Snores On". I love this author we also have "Bear Feels Sick" and "Animal Strike at the Zoo" all by Karma Wilson. I highly recommend her books for little ones. I think reading to Alex and Eli is as much for me as it is them. I love it! My latest project that I found the idea for HERE, is to organize their books by seasons and group them together. I just have to go the office supply store and get the boxes.

I also wanted to thank everyone who came by and commented yesterday. I appreciate all of your encouraging words. I am trying to get back to each of you and look forward to visiting your blogs. I am so overwhelmed by all of the comments. Thanks again! If you want to play along with Thanksgiving Thursday click on the adorable button below! :)

SITS DAY!!!

Wow, it's my SITS day. I found out for sure yesterday and haven't had much time to tidy up the place but come on in grab a cup of coffee and a throw because it's chilly around here. Ignore the toys on the floor my son Alex will pick those up in a bit because he is the organized one in the family, lately. (Seriously, it is a bit scary.) If you need some entertainment my son Eli will gladly sing a song to you unless he is feeling shy in that case he will gladly tell you "I being shy". Let me show you around.

Why do we all blog? Well, my reason was to keep track of what life looks like right now. I came up for air after the whirlwind, that was infancy with twin boys, when they were about 10 months old and this blog was born. I pretty much stick to the topic of my boys and family life as a SAHM. If those type of blogs bore you you're not gonna love me. Sorry. :)

A re-occurring theme in my writing tends to be simplicity. I am not sure if it is because the boys were preemies and very sick or because becoming a parent just does that to you but I am constantly reminded of all the simple things in my life that I am thankful for. God has blessed me, my husband, Jared, and our boys immensely. I don't ever want to lose sight of the grace that he has poured out on our lives.

What the HECK is SITS? Well, I will try to explain but I must admit I have a hard time explaining it to non-Sitstas. Basically it is a place where we support other blogs and find new ones to add to our unhealthy addiction that is: Blog Reading. :) We spread around lots of blog love by commenting on each other's posts. If you are still like "huh?" then click on the cute button on the top of this post and let them explain it.

So now that I have written a novel.....here are my posts that you should click on! If you can relate and enjoy the posts then become a follower and OF COURSE leave a comment and say Hi! I plan to come and visit all of you also.

Mom Guilt~ How I, a mom to preemies, got past the guilt.

Our Chair~ What is that special place in your home?

Thanksgiving Thursday~ I do have the occasional rant but try to find the silver lining in the midst of it! :)

Simply Saturday~ I am just going to link you to all of these. I am actually trying to get a McLinky set up and have more than 1 person join me(although I am thankful for those who did participate). Come on back Saturday and play along. We ALL have simple pleasures in life that we are thankful for. Right now I am thankful for this big cup of coffee sitting next to me and the fact that my sons are watching a little "Mary Poppins".

Simply Saturday

"The ultimate test of a relationship is to disagree, but still hold hands"

Flashback Friday: Pumpkin Pics

My little pumpkins 2007 (6 months old)

I had to add the picture of Jared looking all annoyed. We were definitely having a "marriage moment" as I like to call them. The boys were 6 months old and hadn't been out much not to mention we were approaching cold and flu season and it was incredibly windy out. We were still settling into the parenting thing. He still tells the boys each year how I almost impaled them with pumpkins (his words not mine) while trying to get pictures! :) We laugh about it now.

2008

2009

This year went much better!

Pumpkin Patch

Jared's parents wanted to take the boys to the pumpkin patch and so we set out to do just that. It was an interesting day. It was beautiful although brisk. Apparently everyone else in our area was in agreeement that the day was perfect b/c they ALL showed up. My friends husband, who happened to be there on the same day, said it was like being at Cedar Point and I have to agree with him the lines were just about that long. We didn't wait in line for anything. Instead we just enjoyed the petting farm and the pumpkins and then went to the grocery store and bought pumpkins and donuts. I thought we were the only downers but my friend Ellen confessed that she and her family did the same thing. So funny!

I LOVE Michigan this time of year. This tree had already lost it's pretty leaves but I will find some that haven't and share the beauty. ***As promised I just found a flickr group titled "autumn in Michigan". Here is the link! Enjoy!

Abba, Daddy

Last night as Jared was reading to Eli (and Alex who couldn't stop bouncing around the bed) my picture taking radar went off and I new I had to get some shots of these precious moments.

I love his hand resting on his Daddy's arm

I love Eli leaning in, intent on not missing a moment...

Then it got interesting. Apparently the story of Noah and the Ark didn't completely capture this two year olds attention. Hmmm....Daddy's ear is FUN!

His hair feels different than mine

Jared is such a good Daddy. I feel so proud of who he is.

I read this following excerpt this weekend and thought I would use it in a post on Father's Day but then I captured these pictures and thought it fit nicely.

God, Our Father by Max Lucado

"Recently, my daughter Jenna and I spent several days in the old city of Jerusalem.....One afternoon, as we were exiting the Jaffa gate, we found ourselves behind an orthodox Jewish family-a father and this 3 small girls. One of the daughters, perhaps 4 or 5 yrs. of age, fell a few steps behind and couldn't see her father. "Abba!" she called to him. He spotted her and immediately extended his hand....

When the signal changed he led her and her sisters trhough the intersection. In the middle of the street, he reached down and swung her up into his arms and continued their journey.

Isn't that what we all need? An abba who will hear when we call? Who will take our hand ewhen we are weak? Who will guide us through the hectic intersections of life? Don't we all need an abba who will swing us up into his arms and carry us home? We all need a father. "

I am so thankful that my boys have such an amazing earthly Father. I am even more thankful for our heavenly Father who gives hope to those who don't have protection in an earthly father and even to those who do.

We're Quirky

I know that I have mentioned this before but today I believe Alex has begun to pull ahead in the race toward all things quirky.

on the upside Alex and Eli are afraid of their giraffe costumes from Nani for Halloween so maybe we can pull an Adam Sandler and go as "Crazy Bucket Head" OR, OR....

crazy hanger wearing boy. It could work. I will just have to teach him to say: "Hey, I'm crazy hanger wearing boy. I wear hangers as belts, now gimme some candy!" :)

If you have no idea what I am talking about google "adam sandler's halloween SNL skit" and I am guessing you will find this hysterical brilliance. Very funny!

You see this sweet yet quirky little boy.....he has been QUITE the handful lately. Here is a little story for you: Last night at the grocery store he kept spinning the bag carousel and the check out lady asked him to stop so he began to play with the credit card swiper thing (no idea what to call that) and I told him no as it beeped. He continued to do this and needed a "mommy intervention". This involved me getting in his face with the "eyes" and saying "Alex, Mommy already told you to stop, now don't. do. it. again." His response was to look me straight in the eyes with his version of "the eyes" and say "YOU, don't tell me DON'T." This is the part where I wish that I could keep myself from smiling but I find it nearly impossible so I turned around and gained composure before I told him not to talk to Mommy that way. Uh, this one. He is a pistol!