Christmas Dinner

Our Church had a Christmas Dinner on Friday, December 10th and it was great fun. The food was really good and the music was awesome. It took me a long time but I finally convienced my husband to get his picture taken with me on the sleigh. It also took my coaxing from the pastor's wife and some friends before he did but I am so glad he did.

Proud Moment

Sarah showed me a picture that she drew at school on Wednesday. The picture: a remake of our christmas tree this year and very real looking stick figures that represented the members of our family. Of course she drew me with long hair since I am trying to grow mine out again. She said that her teacher had all the students write letters to Santa, listing what they wanted for Christmas. Sarah then said that she told her teacher that she couldn't write a letter to Santa because she knows he is not real and not what Christmas is about. Her teacher let her choose a different activity table and so she did, all by herself. We were so proud of her for that. She said she didn't say it loud so no other kids heard her. Our only prayer now is that she will be so bold when talking about Christ with her friends.

Christmas Tree

O' Christmas Tree....

Well, we put our christmas tree up early this year which we were all very excited about and after reading Amie's blog about her christmas tree I thought I would write one about our tree. Since, like Amie's tree, ours too does not look like it came out of Martha Stewart Living. At first I was saddened at the fact that we had so few decorations and our tree could not look like a designer tree. Then after a comment was made confirming my initial thoughts of having a dull tree I was deeply saddened. Then I thought; I don't want a designer tree inspired by a Martha Stewart magazine. I want our tree just the way it is; Some lights, a few mixed-matched ornaments, and, my personal favorite, the paper ornaments made by the kids. We had fun watching the kids hang the ornaments on the tree. Some they placed on the same branch while others were placed far away. I realized in that moment that every tree is special to its family. And ours is special to us. It represents our family and I am happy with that.

Superman vs. the rest of us...

Wow! cleaning is such a choir at my house especially trying to clean while Superman aka Adam is flying by weaving in and out around you. This past weekend daddy bought the Superman collection and while I was gone in Grand Rapids they watched the first 3 movies. So now Adam has moved on to playing Superman instead of the usual Spiderman or even Hulk way back when. Right now Sarah is quietly playing Mail Man or lady I should say with some junk mail and old magazines. Anyway, several fights have broken out between the two as you could probably imagine. Superman is of course flying by scattering all of the Mail Man's letters yet to be delivered to various areas of the house. All the while Jack is busy playing with match cars and spitting everywhere while making engine noises and occasionally screaming if Superman comes near for fear that he will steal his cars. Of course while I sit here to blog the events which are taking place the kids turn their attention to me, suddenly they have decided they are hungry and would like a snack before dinner. Is it just mine or does everyone's kids want to constantly snack before meal times? Anyway, things are starting to calm down now since dad just walked in from work and plans are being made for watching Superman 4. I hope Adam can contain himself throughout the duration of the movie. I love my kids!

Sleep Over in Grand Rapids

Friday night 9 women from our student ministries staff left for Grand Rapids. It was really fun we got to swim until midnight and then we had a time of prayer and crying for 4 hours. It was so awesome. The next day we went shopping in the Crossing Mall, but I was way too tired (from staying up until 5am) to enjoy myself not to mention the fact that I had no money to buy anything. I did however find an ornament for our christmas tree this year. It is a little angel bearing: The Clark's (our last name) and *Est. 1997* (the year we were married) This is the first ornament with our name on it so it is special to me. I can't wait to get our christmas tree up this year and start decorating despite the fact that I have few decorations. Oh well, it is still fun. Anyway, we visited the church down there Ressurection Life. We took lots of pictures of their youth center Ground Floor to get ideas for our own. It was pretty cool I have to say. Then we ate dinner at Carraba's an Italian resturant. It was really good. We got home buy 11pm on Saturday. I was able to sneak in the kids bedrooms and give them light kisses without waking them. I missed them so much. My honey, Dan was awesome with the kids, they really enjoyed some daddy time while I was away. I did realize how much I would miss Dan and the kids, but I was glad to get out if only for one night for some girl time.

"Stinky"

That is my nickname for my youngest son, Jack, and rightly so. He usually poops several times a day and will stink up the entire room for hours. I also call him "stinker" because he is one. Now I am not talking about smell but rather attitude, he can be a little brat aka "stinker". For instance, we were at a friends house yesterday because every other Tuesday we get together for play time and lunch with friends. Anyway, shortly before leaving to go home, I discovered that Jack was missing. Knowing the door was locked I knew he couldn't be outside which is where he would normally venture. I began searching the house and finally, Amie found him in Andrea's computer room. This could not be good. Jack loves to mess things up, push buttons, etc.... Well, apparently he discovered a permanent marker nearby and colored all over there keyboard and desk. Andrea wanted to make sure he didn't color all over himself, but that was of no concern to me, knowing he has colored his entire forearm black before. I was so upset. I offered my keyboard to replace the scribbled mess and ran home to get it. I also returned with the famous Magic Eraser by Mr. Clean. It was awesome it took the permanent marker off the keyboard and desk and all was as good as new. Wow! what a way to end a play day. I am thinking I might need a leash for my little "Stinky" next time we have play day. Watch out Amie we're at your house next. :D

A novel completed

Well, last night I finished reading Jane Eyre. I started reading this novel after taking a quiz on Amie's blog which revealed that I belonged in the famous novel. At first it was hard to get into the story and I had to force myself to read at least 3 chapters a day in order to finish it buy its due date back at the library. It didn't take long, however, to get interested for once the romance started to unfold then I took hold. I couldn't put the book down. I had to force myself to stop reading after 5 chapters a day instead of the previous 3. I think I finished this one in record time cause it's not due back to the library until this weekend. The author Charlotte Bronte really knows how to captivate an audience. I loved how she would acknowledge the audience throughout the story. I felt like I was reading Jane's personal journal. I can't wait to start another novel by Charlotte Bronte or her sister Emily. I hope the next one is as intriguing as Jane Eyre.

Update: Jack's eyes

This morning Jack had another eye exam, he gets one about every 6 weeks. Last time they informed me of his need for bifocals which is still the case today, however they noticed that now his other eye is turning, mostly due to the daily patching of the one eye. Now I must alternate patching both eyes for the next two weeks. After that I can stop the patch all together until further notice. He has another appointment scheduled for early March with the new Pediatric Ophthamologist for his bifocal prescription. Jack will be two in January, I wonder how many other two year olds wear bifocals.

Spills

I have decided that it would be best if I just carried around a roll of paper towels all day long. I only wish I had something to strap it to my waist with. Spills are one of the joys of parenting. I am just glad my kids tell me now when they have spilled something, including Jack. It used to be a few days later (because I am not the best housekeeper) that I would find something sticky on the floor. Don't get me wrong, that still happens, but most of the time I am made aware of the mess the same day. One day, all three of them spilled there juice cups all within minutes of each other. Just as I finished cleaning up one, the other spilt and so forth. Needless to say I was irritated for the next few hours and the kids got water to drink for the rest of the day :D

Family Fun

I remember when I was little, after watching something fun, I would ask my sister to play with me and we would pretend that we were the characters in what we had just watched. Well, tonight, while Dan was playing video games, Rocky to be exact, the kids were running around playing "Rocky". It was cute watching all three of them play "Rocky". After game time was over they sat down at the table to enjoy their dessert. Oreo's dipped in milk. I watched as they devoured their tasty treat and then they emerged from the table looking like this. I had to take their picture. It was too cute.


Look at those oreo faces!!

Yesterday

Jack playing hide and seek at the park

Yesterday was a fun day at the park. It was nice get out of the house again after being trapped indoors due to the cooling temperatures. You have to take advantage of the nicer days before the snow comes. The boys and I went to Kids Kove with friends, Sarah was in school so she couldn't be there. We had a great time absorbing the suns rays. Jack loves to have his picture taken as you can see above while he played hide and seek with me. It's amazing how the sun affects your mood, likewise the long winter months that are soon to come.

Amazing, isn't it?

This is from an email my aunt recently sent me:

A man went to a barbershop to have his hair cut and his beard trimmed. As the barber began to work, they began to have a good conversation. They talked about so many things and various subjects. When they eventually touched on the subject of God, the barber said: "I don't believe that God exists." Why do you say that?" asked the customer. "Well, you just have to go out in the street to realize that God doesn't exist. Tell me, if God exists, would there be so many sick people? Would there be abandoned children? If God existed, there would be neither suffering nor pain. I can't imagine a loving God who would allow all of these things." The customer thought for a moment, but didn't respond because he didn't want to start an argument. The barber finished his job and the customer left the shop. Just after he left the barbershop, he saw a man in the street with long, stringy, dirty hair and an untrimmed beard. He looked dirty and unkempt. The customer turned back and entered the barber shop again and he said to the barber: "You know what? Barbers do not exist." "How can you say that?" asked the surprised barber. "I am here, and I am a barber.. And I just worked on you!" No!" the customer exclaimed. "Barbers don't exist because if they did, there would be no people with dirty long hair and untrimmed beards, like that man outside." "Ah, but barbers DO exist!" answered the barber. " What happens, is, people do not come to me. " "Exactly!"- affirmed the customer. "That's the point! God, too, DOES exist! What happens, is, people don't go to Him and do not look for Him. That's why there's so much pain and suffering in the world."

My Results

'Tis a great mystery, but somehow you have come to
belong in Jane Eyre; a random world of love,
kindness, madness, bad luck and lunatic
ex-wives. There really isn't much to say about
the place you belong in. It's your place, and
though it seems far from reality largly due to
how random the events are, you seem to enjoy
it. You belong in a world where not too many
people understand you, and where you can be
somewhat of a recluse.


Which Classic Novel do You Belong In?
brought to you by Quizilla

Poison Control

In the middle of writing my last blog after putting Adam down for a nap Jack decided to sneak into the bathroom and drink some laundry detergent. I heard him gagging and ran to his rescue. I called Poison Control immediately and they told me to give him milk to drink and a snack (graham crackers). They assured me that my laundry detergent (Era) didn't have harsh chemicals to which I was relieved. He seems to be doing okay now and only threw up once just after drinking the soap. They said that will most likely be the worst he will do. My heart is still pounding. What a little stinker! Although now his breath smells good :D

**The number to Poison Control is 1-800-222-1222

The Order of Things

Our middle child, Adam has given himself the authority, or so he thinks, to decide the order of things. For instance, during bath time he will set out the order of who gets their hair washed first, second and third, which of course then leads to an argument. He is our hot tempered one for sure. Today, he is frustrated with his new "jumping" shoes. They don't seem to be going on like he wants. I told him it must be time for a nap and that strenghtened his temper and lead him to ask if it will be a "little nap" or a "big nap". I am careful to answer this question with "little nap" to cap his temper. Usually he wakes up somewhat refreshed so hopefully that will be the case today.

Scary Shower Experience Involving a Spider

Today was a lazy day. I had things to take care of around the house including laudry so my shower was pushed off until later in the day. When I finally got around to my shower I was really looking forward to it. A nice hot peaceful shower, or so I thought. Soon after I stepped in something landed on my eye. I just knew it had to be a spider. I screamed and swatted at my face and when I finally opened my eyes they crossed to find the spider dangling in front of me so I continued with the screaming, swatting and jumping up and down. Now the spider had landed somewhere else, only I didn't know where because I couldn't see without my contacts. I squinted to find it, but was unsuccesful. I had to finish my shower with chills running up and down my spine and occasional screaming with little freak outs. And so today I learned how to take quick showers.

Melt Down (Melting plastic is a most foul smell)

Last night while getting ready for church Dan decided to turn our gas stove on to warm up the house. We always love starting it up, it looks like a real wood burning stove, but is run on gas. Soon it was warm and cozy, but all of the sudden the smell overcame us all. "What is that awful smell? Something is burning" . At first we couldn't figure it out, then after careful examination we noticed a small pile of melted plastic and followed it to the top of the stove and there we saw it, through the cracks, the chared remains of what used to be a toy helicopter. Good thing we were leaving for church so the house could air out while we were gone. We came back home to a normal smelling house.

Note: This is not the first time something like this has happened to us. Last time Adam put one of Dan's walkie-talkies in our camper oven. I didn't know this until after I had preheated the oven to 400 degrees. I quickly learned to always check the oven before preheating. Now we must remember to check the stove.

Say Please!

O' the stubborn mind of a 21 month old. This morning everyone wanted an apple for part of their breakfast and in our household Sarah and Adam must say may I please while Jack is permitted to say only please since the other can be quite a mouth full. Well, Jack's stubborn mind overcame him this morning and we had an all out battle of the wills regarding this simple little apple. Sarah, Adam and I all sat in the kitchen surrounding Jack as he lay there stiff against the floor saying please, please, please to him over and over. Finally, after two hours I kid you not, he said please.

Wrestling match

A daily wrestling match is one way to tell the difference between girls and boys. After dropping my daughter off at school this morning (she missed the bus, but that is a different story) I started laundry as I usually do on Monday's and then I sat to check my email and caught the boys (through the corner of my eye) wrestling in the middle of the living room floor. Something my daughter would not do. I had to yell "stop hurting him" at least 10 times over the course of about 5 minutes. This was to Adam who currently has Jack pinned to a bean bag. Luckly I am sitting on the couch far from the line of fire or I too may have become envolved. These wrestling matches have become a daily occurence in our household. I guess as Jack gets older, Adam feels he is a challenging moving target, afterall Jack is in about the same weight catagory as Adam. They are boys so as long as they don't hurt each other too bad, it's okay. :)