If it's Good, Why Change it?

Every day I ask the kids what they want for lunch. And every day it's the same thing- peanut butter and jelly, bananas and crackers. Sometimes we mix things up a little and have peanut butter and honey.






The always funny "silly face".














Gabs has gotten into the habit of letting her tongue slip out when she's concentrating. Evidently Dora was pretty intense today.













Yummy!












Dance!

















Princess Gabs.






















This morning the girls found a ladybug- they love ladybugs, but they're always too scared to touch them. It was pretty exciting though!

Pictures

I really, really do have awesome blog ideas in my head... I just can't find the time to actually sit down and write something! So.... in my effort to keep this blog up to date, here's some pictures of the past couple of weeks.



We recently got digital cable, but the box thing that came with it sat on top of our tv and looked awful. Since Nathan and I both have the mindset "why buy something when you can just make it?", he built a little wooden box for the tv to sit on, conveniently concealing the digital cable box. We also put up floating shelves, which I absolutely love. Right now the only real decoration we have is the plant. I'm trying to find just the right things to put on them!












This was taken a few weeks ago when Zekey and I went to Kansas City. This was in the Detroit airport. There was a big snow storm and we were at the airport for several hours. He had the stomach flu the day before, but he was still a great traveling buddy!
















Every time I take a picture, the kids want to do something "silly". Extremely silly. Aylah always does something with her hands during a silly picture. Doesn't it look good?! :)













Every Saturday morning, we have a "special breakfast". This morning was especially special because Daddy made his famous pancakes. This is Gabs helping. Notice the stunning haircut she gave herself!












They were nice enough to indulge me in a serious, smiley picture. This is Malachi and Aylah having an after school snack and coloring.

Life Is Just So Daily

I have to admit, the cold weather has really gotten to me. I get really bummed out after Christmas every year. January is such a long month, and there aren't any fun holidays to look forward to. So here it is the beginning of February, and I am absolutely dying for warm weather. It's hard to remember what grass looks like!

I've definitely let the mundane winter days get to me. I think the kids and I have being feeling the effects of cabin fever! But in the past week or so, I've decided to stop being pitiful and do something to liven up these boring winter days.

The first thing I've been doing is attempting to organize things. It really is a struggle for me. My idea of organizing is redistributing things. I'll clean out the closet, but everything just gets moved around to different places- organized closet, but a wreck everywhere else. So I've been trying to actually organize. I'm throwing things away and only keeping what we need. Which is against my nature being the pack rat that I am!

The next thing I'm doing is redecorating the kid's rooms. Since we have such a small house and so many kids, everyone has shared the bedrooms at some point. So Ezekiel's room is still girly from when Gabs was in it, and the girl's room isn't really decorated at all, since I wanted to keep it neutral when our house was on the market. I've already found lots of fun ideas to make things to decorate their rooms and the kids and I will be taking a trip to the craft store in the next couple of days!

The last thing I'm doing is seriously getting in shape for the summer. I love, love, love the summer time. I love swimming and doing things outside. But (almost) every summer for the past few years I've been pregnant. And in case you were wondering, pregnant Sandra does not enjoy swimming and doing things outside. But this summer is going to be great. I've been working out every day and I've been drinking an insane amount of water and I've found all kinds of super healthy recipes. I'm going to periodically update my progress- I can already tell a difference after a couple of weeks of hardcore exercise and eating healthy. I can't wait for the summer!

And since no blog is complete without a picture of the kiddos.... here they are at our very own Super Bowl party.

Remember Me?

can't believe I haven't written a blog in so long. I've thought about it, but every time I sat down to actually write something, I just couldn't. I'm blaming Winter. I hate this time of year. It's cold and boring and I think it puts me in a bad mood. I am anxiously awaiting warmer weather.

We had a wonderful holiday season, and despite the boring, cold, snowy weather, we really have done some fun things. Here's a recap of the past several weeks. And I really will be updating this more often. Winter and all!

Cutting Hair

I've always enjoyed cutting hair- just not kid's hair. Today I decided to give all of the kid's (except for Zeke- those blonde curls get to grow!) a much needed haircut. It ended up taking me two hours to get their hair cut, get them bathed and clean up the mess. I just buzzed Malachi's hair, trimmed Aylah's, but Gabs got the biggest change of all. Her hair is very fine and it had gotten so long in the back, it just didn't look good. So I ended up giving her bangs and cutting it into a little bob. I think it definitely fits her silly personality!

The Table

I can still remember making my first "grown up" purchase. It was a bright spring day, and my brother Paul and I had accompanied my mom and grandma on one of their many garage sale trips. I'm always hopeful to find a treasure when I go to garage sales, but it's usually in the form of clothes, books or knick knacks. This day was different. As I walked up to the first house of our garage sale endeavor, I noticed a small table with four chairs placed at the top of the driveway. It was beautiful. Deep cherry, it was modern and still kept a classic feel. It was perfectly smooth, no scratches, and it shined in the early morning sun. Although I didn't need a table at the time, I just had to have it. The woman informed me that she and her husband had recently purchased it, but realized they needed a bigger table. She was selling it for $140. Substantially out of my price range. Besides, I didn't even need a table. I told her no thanks, but she quickly responded by saying she would give it to me for $100. Sold!

My brother Paul and I went to the bank where I withdrew $100 and then we loaded it into the back of his mini van. I was so proud driving home as I looked back at my wonderful table. It sat in my parent's basement until Nathan and I got married. After we were married, we moved into a home in Springfield. I finally had a kitchen to display my table in. It traveled with us across three states to our current home in Ohio. Strategically positioned in our small dining room, it has served it's purpose well.

Today as I was cleaning up the kid's lunch mess, I decided to take some extra time to really clean the table. I was shocked at what I saw. This wasn't the same, amazing table I had purchased just a few years ago. It no longer shined like it once did. The varnish had been rubbed off and sticky fingers had left a permanent film over the table. It was different. But it was better. I noticed pen marks left by little hands creating a masterpiece. Deep gashes in the legs of the table as the result of eager helpers cleaning up after dinner. And the stickiness... oh, the stickiness! I can only imagine how many peanut butter and honey sandwiches have been devoured at this table! No, this wasn't the same beautiful table I was so proud of. It was a different kind of beautiful. It now holds the beauty that my children have so lovingly etched into it's very grain.

October

It amazes me how quickly time goes by. In many ways, it seems like it should still be the summer. The fall has proven to be exceptionally nice. The weather has been beautiful, Uncle Paul came for a visit, we've made friends with our neighbors and always have someone to play with. As we enter the month of November, I want to remember to be thankful for God's blessings. For the every day things that can so easily go unnoticed.
Although the past few months haven't gone as Nathan and I had planned, I'm realizing once again that God is faithful and His plans are so much better than mine!
Here's what we've been doing in the month of October:


Decorating cookies with Mia and Matthew.