end of March

Kids are making mud pies, volanoes, cookies- they come in caked with mud but have been creative so that's great. Caleb is pointing his finger back at you when you say "no, no"--and laughing. He is cutting all 4 front top teeth...with the 2 incisors ifurther out..looks like a vampire but oh the diapers. He still likes to throw his sippy cup off the his tray and starts throwing his food when he is done. Likes our food vs. toddler food. Walker...well so much to say...went to see our favorite pediatrician-Dr. Cabrera-who kept saying he's a character., I'm loving him, don't cut his hair=it's great. Constantly, asking Dr. Cabrera questions...what are you doing doctor?, are you going to hurt me?, no it's not my turn. We had to go back today b/c Walker woke up crying from his nap saying his ear was hurting....kept saying cut off my ear I want a new one...so we are on steroids for croup and antibiotics for ear infection. Always hold our hands in the parking lot....and reminds us if we don't. Coleman got the special plate tonight and we all said what we liked about Coleman....he's been so helpful, making good decisions, helping his sister, makes us laugh...he was excited to to have the plate. Olivia had it 2 nights ago...we appreciated she is a good listener at school and church, good friend, good at arts and crafts.. They feel so special when they get to use the plate. We are working on flashcards for both of them....I've been lax in doing them so we are behind. Tulips are out....very beautiful..i'll try to post some pics.

Walker's 3rd birthday party was today. He loved his construction truck cake. He looked at it all last night, first thing this morning, and showed everyone who came to the house. He was excited about every aspect of his birthday experience--his joy was great even though I didn't do as much as I did for the older kids. He loved his garbage truck, boat, and airplane and played with them all afternoon. We had a nice afternoon visiting on the deck until Coleman's baseball game. It was his first game and he had a good game..an out, some good throws, double, run...and he had a good time although it is getting more competitive so that of course makes me nervous. Nice that Nana, Poppa, April, Uncy, Zoey could make it. I worked at my old clinic Friday and liked it...of course it wasn't a stressful day so I may not have like it as much if had been one of those days....thinking about working there part-time if I can figure out child care of the kiddos. Enjoying the great weather...cool but been sitting on the deck doing homework with the kids. Paul took Olivia out on a date tonight...they went to the Artrageous Potter and painted a teddy bear and then went to her favorite Chinese restaurant and she ended up the night with me. Didn't do much for St. Patrick's Day...green pancakes (questionable ? but turned out OK) and St. Patrick's tattoos before school and of course green on....

March stuff

My mom took Walker for 2 days and I hate to admit that although I did sorta miss him....it was a glorious break! No one to say...you make my coffee now mommy and the general Napoleon-dictator tendencies that most 2/3 yrs. old have combined with Caleb's sense of mischief criminal behaviour lately...have made for some interesting moments. Although I complain, I am thankful to be able to stay at home with them. As I speak Caleb is throwing a fit ....he's smart now, he previously would throw himself backwards hitting his head on the floor but now he throws his head back half way and then leans forward until forehead hits the ground. If I "get on" to Walker he'll yell "Walker's in twouble" and throws himself on the timeout chair. Walker noticed my dad painted their front door "where's your white door Nana...it's black" He wants to live with Nana/Poppa...eats whatever he request even if he changes his mind she doesn't make him eat his 1st requesst, took an hour bath in the middle of the day just b/c he wanted to...I'm happy he has people who make him feel loved and special although did feel bad for him when i picked him up..he cried most of the way home.."me no want you...mommmy. Me want nana" over and over.....glad my self esteem doesn't rest with him :)

I'm glad Coleman and Olivia have each other..of course they fight but in general remind me of my brother and I growing up and playing together. Olivia just asked when is Coleman coming home from a sleepover?...not for an hr...what can i do without him for annnn hhrrr. Walker has been walking up to them and wacking them..Coleman does hit back...but said the other day "don't return evil for evil..." They each picked out a laundry basket...and i've started putting their clothes in it and they put them up...not quite like i would but it's a help...hopefully i'll be consistent with it. Caleb loves them both and they are able to make him happy while i'm cooking most days.

April is a baking wonder...it's a great trade...she uses the mixer I haven't used in 6-7 yrs. and she sends me baked goods...I think I got the better deal. Ok, Zoey is cracking me up....pic of pink/Dr. Seuss hair, and pregnant octomom picture...........priceless

Everything is starting to bloom. The cherry tree outside my kitchen window...is starting to have buds...looks like snow, my jane magnolia, I love it. Still enjoying Andy's sermon on hope....and the discussions that follow. Still praying for patience and wisdom

Fun run fundraiser was this week at the kids school. It's so cute to see them get so excited to run...they take their job very seriously.

Caleb has finally started to drink out of a sippy cup everyday...April sent a BAG of sippy cups so we have tried several.

Liv's Quiz-Age 6

Ask your child(ren) to answer the questions and type their answers in.
1. What is something mom always says to you? clean your room and i love you
2. What makes mom happy? when i kiss her and make her laugh
3. What makes mom sad? when I do something bad
4 How does your mom make you laugh? she dances a crazy dance
5. What did your mom like to do when she was a child? she played games with her brother and disturbed him
6. How old is your mom? 30-something...36, 33 ?
7. How tall is your mom? shrugged shoulders-don't know
8. What is her favorite thing to watch on TV? Dave Ramsey show
9. What does your mom do when you're not around? clean
10. If your mom becomes famous, what will it be for? only one who cleaned up
11. What is your mom really good at? feeding and taking care of me
12. What is your mom not very good at? not losing her temperature
13. What does your mom do for her job? takes care of us
14. What is your mom's favorite food? Mexican
15. What makes you proud of your mom? takes care of me
16. If your mom were a cartoon character, sister on lilo/stitch
17. What do you and your mom do together? crafts
18. How are you and your mom the same? curly hair
19. How are you and your mom different? taller/smaller
20. How do you know your mom loves you? b/c I love her
21. What does your mom like most about your dad? he's goes shopping alot for stuff so she can stay home
22. . Where is your mom's favorite place to go?stores

March-Walker's week

Walker started Creative Play this week which he/we called school and he was disappointed he didn't get to ride the bus. He walked right in and said hi to Ms. Marilyn and told her he was going to be 3 on his birthday in March. He said "dis is my school, mommy?" yes, "bye, mommy"..ok, so I teared up a tad on the way out. Of course , he had a fantastic time and Ms. Marilyn said he did great. We saw a fire truck on the way out and they were testing the firemen. Walker looked at the tires, ladders , hoses and loved it...the tire was a tad taller than him. We went to a party last Fri. and on the way home he said " Walker had a fun time mommy...i play w/toys" So briefly, he is doing God's work and testing my patience...throwing his shoe into the pond, coming into my bed this week numerous times b/c he is scared, peeing on the bean bag, getting a wet diaper all over the house, not coming when called and then asking "you happy, mommy?" which i told him no, he wasn't making good choices and he starts to sing "if you're happy and you know it" His teachers at sunday school are very sweet and W talks about them during the week.. One of his favorites is Mr. Alex..Mr. Alex always got him to stop crying when it was the 1st couple of wks and he was scared. They tell us he is a great addtion to the class, participate, sings and cracks them up in general. Mr. Alex sent an email last yr. about how much they enjoy Walker in the class and he just sent another...

I wanted to drop you a note to say hi. We've talked several times at church, and I just wanted to reiterate how much we all have enjoyed Walker in our class. He's a special little man, that always makes us smile.

Hope all is well with you and your family!

Warm Regards,Alex Knight

Just some notes I wanted to remember from this week:

Along with Andy's sermon....when things are bad we lean more on God...so don't focus on the bad but focus on God's grace, mercy, and love for us --so that we can say "rejoice in the lord always..again i say rejoice "....spoke about Paul's trials...awaiting execution...Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by (I)prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7And (J)the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will (K)guard your hearts and your (L)minds in (M)Christ Jesus. So when the trials come, pray for peace.

-from a friend...Romans 8:28 Andy's Lesson---And we know - This in general; though we do not always know particularly what to pray for. That all things - Ease or pain, poverty or riches, and the ten thousand changes of life. Work together for good - Strongly and sweetly for spiritual and eternal good. To them that are called according to his purpose-I am not sure why you have to go through what you going through or why .I guess no where did he say it was always going to be easy or that we wouldn't have problems....Goodness look what Paul went through but he did say it would work out for the best... Really Good Stuff...

-sent by a friend.....Rick Warren (REMEMBER HE WROTE 'PURPOSE DRIVEN LIFE') You will enjoy the new insights that Rick Warren has, with his wife now having cancer and him having 'wealth' from the book sales. with Rick Warren, Rick said:People ask me, What is the purpose of life? And I respond: In a nutshell, life is preparation for eternity. This is the warm-up act - the dress rehearsal. God wants us to practice on earth what we will do forever in eternity.We were made by God and for God, and until you figure that out, life isn't going to make sense.Life is a series of p roblems: Either you are in one now, you're just coming out of one, or you're getting ready to go into an other one.The reason for this is that God is more interested in your character than your comfort.God is more interested in making your life holy than He is in making your life happy.We can be reasonably happy here on earth, but that's not the goal of life. The goal is to grow in character, in Christ likeness.This past year has been the greatest year of my life but also the toughest, with my wife, Kay, getting cancer.I used to think that life was hills and valleys - you go through a dark time, then you go to the mountaintop, back and forth. I don't believe that anymore.Rather than life being hills and valleys, I believe that it's kind of like two rails on a railroad track, and at all times you have something good and something bad in your life.No matter how good things are in your life, there is always something bad that needs to be worked on.And no matter how bad things are in your life, there is always something good you can thank God for.You can focus on your purposes, or you can focus on your problems.If you focus on your problems, you're going into self-centeredness,'which is my problem, my issues, my pain.' But one of the easiest ways to get rid of pain is to get your focus off yourself and onto God and others.We discovered quickly that in spite of the pra yers of hundreds of thousands of people, God was not going to heal Kay or make it easy for her.It has been very difficult for her, and yet God has strengthened her character, given her a ministry of helping other people, given her a testimony, drawn her closer to Him and to people.You have to learn to deal with both the good and the bad of life.Actually, sometimes learning to deal with the good is harder. For instance, this past year, all of a sudden, when the book sold 15 million copies, it made me instantly very wealthy.. I don't think God gives you money or notoriety for your own ego or for you to live a life of ease .So I began to ask God what He wanted me to do with this money, notoriety and influence. He gave me two different passages that helped me decide what to do, II Corinthians 9 and Psalm 72First, we would not change our lifestyle one bit. We made no major purchases.Second, about midway through last year, I stopped taking a salary from the church.Third, we set up foundations to fund an initiative we call The Peace Plan to plant churches, equip leaders, assist the poor, care for the sick, and educate the next generation.Fourth, I added up all that the church had paid me in the 24 years since I started the church, and I gave it all back. It was liberating to be able to serve God for free.We need to ask ourselves: Am I going to live for possessions? Popularity?Am I going to be driven by pressures? Guilt? Bitterness? Materialism? Or am I going to be driven by God's purposes (for my life)?When I get up in the morning, I sit on the side of my bed and say, God, if I don't get anything else done today, I want to know You more and love You better. God didn't put me on earth just to fulfill a to-do list. He's more interested in what I am than what I do.That's why we're called human beings, not human doings.Happy moments, PRAISE GOD.Difficult moments, SEEK GOD.Quiet moments, WORSHIP GOD.Painful moments, TRUST GOD.Every moment, THANK GOD. God's Blessings on you today.