Praise Report!

Baby Sedona is on her way home!

She was released from the hospital this morning, and will be traveling with mommy and daddy back home. Thank you Lord for your hand in all of this.

Thanks to all of my amazing friends who prayed for Sedona both with me and at your homes. You guys are awesome!

Please continue to pray for her to have healing, and for her parents to have energy and restful sleep (when they can manage the sleeping part!).

Where Did I Go Wrong?

Oh... on so many levels too!

• Was it when I decided to stop at our local grocery store to pick up jalapenos and peppers to spice up the tomato salsa I made last week? (and ended up buying my second Starbucks coffee for this week?)
  




• Was it this morning, when I decided to empty my refrigerator to check for ripe veggies? (and figure they need to be eaten today or canned? oh great, like I have time for that!)
  




• Was it when I sent my 3 YO out to the chicken coup to dump the rotten veggies? (he wouldn't go in the pen so he dumped the veggies on the ground outside the chicken fence because he was too short to reach over the fence...nice mess to clean up.)
  




• Was it when I looked at my chore chart and realized I needed to change sheets today? (I HATE changing crib sheets! It is a pain!)




• Was it when I decided to use up the last of the oatmeal cookie dough I had saved in the fridge and forgot to set the timer so they burned! (my step dad will love them - gross)

Nope, folks... I want to know where I went wrong with my blackberry preserves/jam/jelly whatever. It hasn't "set" yet. The book/Internet site says I can redo it after a week if it hasn't set. Does it normally take this long? Chime in ladies...I need a little advice.

Staci...about that jar I promised you...

Blackberry Jam!

This is the start of "Hell Week" for us. (aka: Fair Week)

Just to start off the week with craziness, I thought I would make some blackberry preserves with the blackberries I bought at our co-op last weekend. It was fun. It was easy. I hope it all turns out good! I can't wait to try it.

Off to finish loading, cooking, cleaning, preparing to leave for the week. We will be living out of our horse trailing, and doing a little commuting... I love this week....NOT!

I'll post picts of the craziness tonight ~ if I'm awake...

Lots of soccer action this past weekend...Ashley's team took first place at the soccer tournament. Saturday's games were fairly easy ~ 2 wins, 0 losses. Sunday was a little more aggressive on the field. They lost the first game, but came back to win that same team in the championship game in the afternoon. Ashley struggled with shin splints. She had a track meet on Friday evening, and with all of the running from Friday, and the games on Saturday, her body was trying to recover. For Friday's track events, she ran the 300m hurdles, the 800m race, high jump, and...hmmm...can't remember the 4th event. I think she was suppose to run the 800m relay, but I don't remember watching that race. (ooppss...)

More later!

Happy Birthday, Tyler!

Our Little ~ Big boy is growing up! Tyler turned 3 today!

First, we celebrated by going out to breakfast! Yummm! Tyler had macaroni and cheese with galaxy grapes. (The dude in the background is one of Tim's employees. He was with Tim when we called and said, "Breakfast Time!")

Then, we gave Tyler his birthday present from us. Does he look surprised?

He has been asking for a bike for 2 months!

After that, I had some errands to run, and Tyler got to pick up his glasses. Doesn't he look so handsome?

He had his friend birthday party at school. (Mom's, let me tell you ~ it was the easiest, cheapest birthday party ever! I bought ice cream sandwiches and party hats. All of his friends were there to sing to him and give him a special day. I didn't have to clean my house twice ~ once before the party and once after, I didn't have to wonder where I was going to put all of the toys ~ he doesn't need any, and I didn't advertise that it was his birthday for that reason, and I didn't spend a fortune on goody bags, food, planning activities for adults and kids, etc... Think about it ... Just kids ~ just fun ~ no mess at my house. Priceless...)

Tomorrow (Saturday), we will have his family birthday party at a pizza place in a neighboring town. Ashley is playing in a soccer tournament so we will have lunch or dinner at a local pizza joint and celebrate with grandparents and cousins. Fun, Fun, Fun... (My rant: She (Ashley) plays at 9:45 am and then not until 8:15pm. What the heck? We live too far away to just drive home! OK - enough whining.)

Praises and Prayer for Baby Sedona

Sedona has finished with her surgery. It was a success! The hole in her heart ended up being twice the size they originally thought so it was good that they did the surgery. Amy and Corey have seen her and gave her a kiss. Now the waiting... pray for healing...

Thank you Lord Jesus for being with all the professionals involved in Sedona's surgery. Thank you for guiding them through this traumatic procedure. Lord Jesus, continue to be with Sedona as she heals ~ keep her spirit strong. Lord, grant Corey and Amy with a peaceful waiting time. Thank you Lord for your compassion.

Please Pray for Baby Sedona

Please, my friends, pray for my dear friend, Baby Sedona. She is 4 months old, and undergoing open heart surgery today. Please pray that God gives wisdom, steady hands, and confidence to the doctors, pray that He grants Sedona healing, and a fighting spirit, and also for Amy and Corey (the parents), pray that they can have a peace of mind during the long wait. Sedona has been a fighter since birth. You can track her at JacPea Journal.

My Review of Baby Trend Double Jogging Stroller with Swivel Wheel

Toys R Us

Double Jogging Stroller includes lockable front swivel wheel, 5-point harnesses, and multi-position reclining seats. The ratcheting canopy contains speakers for an MP3 player hook-up and protects the children from the sun and wind. There are 3 quick-release, pneumatic wheels/tires, a parent tray wi...

Baby Trend Double Jogging Stroller with Swivel Wheel

I'm on my second one!

momx4 arizona 4/22/2009

4 5

Pros: Easy To Maneuver, Comfortable, Smooth Ride, Easy to Set Up, Durable

Cons: Bulky

Best Uses: Toddlers, Infants

Describe Yourself: Parent of Multiples (Twins etc), Parent of Two or More Children

I bought this stroller when we got our twins. I love it. The front wheel did wobble a bit, but my hubbie tightened it and it is great. I walk and jog on dirt and street. It is a bit wide, but we make do. I love that I can put my kids' ipod with kids songs on for them and listen to my own while walking. It manuevers very easily. I can take it anywhere on the ranches we visit, the dirt roads we live on, the arenas, and soccer fields... and not worry about getting stuck. We are buying a second one because my first is so beat up. (I'm hard on my strollers - they get tossed in and out of truck beds frequently.) It cleans up nicely when you take the time to do so! :)

()

Wordless Wednesday

~ Daddy's Little Girl ~

TGIF!!

Whew! I'm glad this week is almost over. It has been crazy and busy!

Sunday, found us at church watching an amazing Resurection play that a few of our members participated in, then we headed home to celebrate the Resurrection with family. My mom, stepdad, and 2 of my nephews came to visit. It was such a relaxing day. No major cooking went on, there was no crazy egg hunt, nothing but a sweet, relaxing afternoon with family. The kids had a blast. I have photos, and will post those soon on another day.

Monday, the boys and I headed up the hill to another city to have Tyler's ears checked out. He has tubes, and this would be the one year check up. Yep. They are still there (ears and tubes). We can only pray that they will continue working. We haven't had a single ear infection since October. (no jinxing!) Then he was ushered into the hearing box. Well, a little different story there. He quit responding at 50 ~ (Not sure what the 50 means, but...) so... they are sending us to the School for Deaf and Blind to have more tests run. We aren't worried about anything major ~ we just want to be sure. I told the doctor that if worse comes to worse we will all become bilingual and learn sign language! No biggie. Then, for the fun part! I hit the Target store on the way home ~ hey, we don't have big commercial chain stores where I live...I do what a girl must do...shop when she can! The boys needed summer jammies, and I needed...well, nothing. Bummer for me. Anyway! On the way home, since the boys were such great troopers all during the hearing stuff and the shopping stuff, I suggested a picnic in the woods. (You need to realize that when I said up the hill, that meant a drive through a forest on the way to the next major city.) I sat all three boys on a bench, gave them their lunch, and proceeded to get my camera from the truck. They were cute. They were adorable. They were behaving! I had to capture the moment...only to realize...the camera battery was still in its charger at home! Oh I cried tears of frustration and yelled. I will never have that moment digitally enhanced. What a bummer! (Yes, I used my cell phone, but it isn't the same!)

Tuesday found us in yet another town for an eye exam for Tyler. I have to say, the doctor and his staff were absolutely incredible. I will probably switch from my eye doctor the that office just for the compassion and understanding that they showed Tyler. They didn't even complain when they saw the entire wagon train come rolling in. (Remember I have 15 month old twins! Boys! Most doctor's offices freak, and wonder why I don't hire a babysitter...) It turns out that Tyler is slightly farsighted (which the doctor said is OK for now, but he wants to watch), and he has an astigmatism. That means, he gets glasses. The doctor said the astigmatism in kids his age can go either way. As he matures, his eyes might improve. For now, glasses when watching tv, reading, coloring, etc. Whew. I'm exhausted already!

Wednesday I usually work. This week, however, they didn't need me. That left the twins and I home alone all day! We played, napped, did lots of laundry, and relaxed. I even got to watch disc 2 of Bones Season 3! Yippee! It is so funny to watch the littles interact with each other when it is just the 2 of them. They crack themselves and each other up! They chased each other, teased each other, wrestled, and just enjoyed being with each other. I needed that day!

Along came Thursday...Tim took off for his yearly fishing trip with my stepdad and Tim's best friend. They didn't catch anything by the way! I have heard about a very funny video that was filmed while they were there. Three men in a fishing boat with a camcorder. I can only imagine what is on that video. I will let you know if it goes to uTube. I haven't seen it either, but Tim told me about it!

Isaiah had his turn with the specialists today. He doesn't walk well, and he doesn't talk. I called our state Early Intervention hotline a month ago, and they did the assessing. Yesterday, they showed up with a team of three for the evaluation portion. (They assess first to determine if there is a need for evaluating. Next is the actual therapy.) Isaiah, normally my shy, quiet, introvert child was in heaven. He had three ladies working with him on his speech, physical development, and cognitive development. He was so good! I feel so blessed to have these ladies help us out. They have pointed out some developmental delays that Isaiah is having that I didn't realize. We will get him walking and talking by the end of the year. Hurray...I think. :)

TGIF!!!! Friday is Ashley's day to eat breakfast out. Since she catches the bus on the other side of the freeway at 6:55am, that means we have to leave early. Today she chose McDonald's. Not nutritional, not healthy, not even very good, but it is quick, and it is near the freeway! The boys were thrilled! They ate at McDonald's, and they didn't have to wait until 7:30am when breakfast is normally served to them! I have absolutely NO appointments that need to be kept today. I have absolutely no responsibility to anyone (other than the care of my kiddos) to do anything. Guess what? I'm in my jammies!!!! I even turned the tv on! (Huge, big deal. I don't often allow the kids to watch tv.) Isaiah is standing at my bedroom door screaming, but other than that...the world is good.

Tim and I are heading to Ms. Morgan's house tonight. (and Mr. Nic's house...) Tim's going to fix a leaking faucet, and I get to see the newlywed's home! I'm so excited. They have only lived there for 1 week! Yeah! Congrats on the new home, Nic and Morgan!

Now for my problem...

I uploaded all of my photos from my computer to a portable hard drive. I was hoping to free up some space, save my photos in case of a computer crash, and most importantly make my computer work quicker. It hasn't worked. What am I doing wrong?

Wordless Wednesday!

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter !

Love,

Tim, Robyn, Ashley, Tyler, Aiden, & Isaiah

Good Friday...

It is a good Friday! We have so many things to be thankful for, but the most important reason for today is the fact that Jesus died to save us from our sins. Thank you Lord for the promise of eternal life.

I'm also thankful that Ashley didn't have to go to school ~ so...the babies didn't have to wake up which meant we all (except Tim) got to sleep in. YEAH! I didn't get out of bed until 6:30am. Whoo hoo! OK ~ I was awake before then, but still in bed...with all three boys.








Ms. Morgan is getting getting married tomorrow (Sat.) so the boys, Ashley, and I headed up to the church to help decorate. It was so much fun! Thanks Morgan for letting me be a part of your special moment. (I don't remember decorating the church, or the reception hall for my wedding...)





During nap time, Ashley sat down to watch the Season 3 episodes of Bones, and I joined her, but with a pillow under my head. Yep, I actually got a nap in! I didn't get to see Bones, but hey, it is a NetFlix ~ who cares! I'll watch it Sunday night.

Then for the scarey moment...Morgan called and asked if I would be her backup photographer. I'm honored, thrilled, and scared to death. I'm not a photographer, but I love to take photos. Thanks Morgan for giving me this opportunity. Thank you for your confidence in my ability!

AND FINALLY ~ Tim's mom has said she wanted to be the first person down the slide. Isaiah, was actually the first person, but... tonight, Jo got the call from Tim. "Mom. The slide is safe, come try it out." Through the yard, and over the pasture she came. She had a smile a mile wide on her face. She was so brave. She immediatley went to the ladder and climbed up into the first tower then, without hesitation, headed across the bridge (she didn't realize that it was not solid ~ it is flexible) and she had a moment of excitement. She reached the second tower and ducked into the slide. Wheeeee......

Great day!

He's on the loose!

Oh, guess I should clarify which "he". Ashley's steer, Tex, has busted through the barrier between the backyard and the pasture. Normally, this wouldn't freak me out, but I have three kids under the age of three in the backyard! Fortunately, God was walking outside with me, because I randomly walked around the corner of the house and there he was (the steer, not God, well, God was with me, but not doing the destroying part)... munching on my flowering plum trees. After closer inspection of the yard, I realized he had been invading the toy space for quite some time. He trampled through my purple winter garden, ate the lemons out of the trashcan (I was juicing them), pooped a few times, tossed over a few containers with plants, and then went back to happily munching my trees. The rogue bovine was unhappily ushered out of the yard, and placed back into the pasture ~ only to snort at me and paw the ground. Silly steer ~ you didn't dump me in the mud when I tried to haul you last month ~ what makes you think I will let you endanger my kiddos and trample my pretty flowers?

Sorry no picts... I only took time to put the kiddos in the house before herding the little darling.

Here is a photo of the beautiful creature. He goes to the fair in a few weeks...

Wordless Wednesday

Wednesdays are my one day a week that I go into the office to work. SO.... in honor of my working day, I'm instituting Wordless Wednesday posts from now on... Here are this week's Wordless Picts.

Tyler and Ashley aka: Fish Heads!

Raise your hand if you remember Dr. Demento and his song, Fish Heads! I do! Yep, I'm a product of the 80's!

So much for me being "wordless."

Two Peas in a Pod

Nope, not talking about the twins in this post...

I'm talking about Isaiah and Ashley.

If you know Ashley, you've met her attitude at least once.

Isaiah, sadly/tragically/unfortunately/ironically has become her protege.

Isaiah can kick a ball better than I can.

He can roll his eyes, glare with vengence/rage/disinterest...

And...he has ATTITUDE.

Do Not Mess With Isaiah. (especially when big sister is around)

Look at these two. They are so much alike it is scarey. (Even scarier when you remember Isaiah was adopted. God works in mysterious ways. He has blessed us many times over!)

Mom At Work

This is what it looks like when I try to work/play/blog during the day when the kids are awake. All four of them looking in trying to see what I'm up to. These lovely kiddos are the reason I work/play/blog at night.

To Disinfect or simply Wash?

Oh the laundry that is piling up!

I'm a freak when it comes to sick germs. I can handle the cow poop germs, the dog germs, the playground germs (sometimes), the dirt germs, but I totally freak out when someone in our house gets sick. It doesn't matter if it is Tim or I, or Ashley, or the boys, I go through Lysol disinfecting spray and bleach like crazy!

This week, I went through an entire 2 gallons of bleach with all of my freaky washing and cleaning. So today, I'm wondering, do I need to disinfect or would simply washing be OK? Chime in ladies and let me know what you do.

Normally, I put the toys in a mesh laundry bag and toss them into the washer with a load of clothes. No extra bleach or the Lysol concentrate ~ just detergent and fabric softener. This gets done once a week or so. The toys are rotated around so they all get washed a couple of times a month.

This week, I pulled every toy from the bedroom, hallway, front room, kitchen, my room, and bathroom (wonder what I missed - probably the one with the sick germ on it) to disinfect them. First they went into a bleach solution to soak for 10 minutes (usually longer because I'm easily distracted), then they went into a water rinse (because sometimes toys go into the mouth and I figured if there was bleach residue it needed to be rinsed), then I let the toys air dry.

The toy containers were either Lysoled or wiped with bleach solution.

Stuffed animals were subjected to the washer machine with Lysol concentrate (smells disgusting!), and the dryer.

Electronic toys...OK, I confess, I contemplated tossing them since they are a pain to wash, but I wiped with a bleach solution. It is time consuming. Grandparents take note ~ no more electronic toys that can't be tossed into the washer! Just gift the kids with money for their bank accounts ~ they have too many toys anyway!

Then, when I thought I had it all covered...I walked outside. Oh my goodness! The toys! Do I need to disinfect them too? I haven't yet. I'm still debating...I'm still getting caught up on the non vomit clothes.

My house smells bleachy clean!

Soccer Girl!

For those of you who know Ashley, you know that soccer is a passion of hers. She has been playing since the age of 6, and playing competitively since the age of 9. She has been playing "goalie" the last few years, with limited time outside of the box. This year, she had a new coach, and he brought her out of the box (literally and figuratively) to play a new position. I couldn't tell you exactly what that position is called...She was able to score a lot of goals this year though. It was a lot of fun watching her score (normally she keeps them out of the goal). She scored with her head, her left foot, and her right foot. Pretty good! So good in fact, she was the highest goal scorer for her team. Yeah Ashley! Check out her soccer pictures...she has definitely grown up. By the way, she doesn't like any of them!

The coach hired a professional photographer to come in and take picts of the girls. I like these so much better than the goofy sports picts I normally get to choose from!

Momma's Play Pen...I loved when we had home games because I could just back the Excursion up to the fence and watch the game without chasing the boys. Although Aiden would continually drop his cars out of the back and try to get them...

This was a very funny moment, all of the soccer girls had just come off the field from warming up and starting stripping down to get their uniform on...both boys simply watched the girls. I had to laugh!