family tree...how clairely ellie see's it

At school this past week, Ellie made a family tree-
Ryan is on it
Eli is on it
I am on it
Matt is on it
Ellie's cousin Claire is also on it :)
Both Matt and I were surprised when we were sorting through her weeks worth of school drawings and came across Claire's name on our family tree-  Claire Bear, who Ellie has prayed for most every night for as long as she can remember (along with Kate Elisabeth, Jaylee, Jayme, Linnea', and Grayson)....Claire, who was born just 3 weeks after Elle's to my cousin Luke and his wife Becca...

Matt and I smiled and marveled at Ellie's perspective- yes, Claire is part of our extended family but the tree was for immediate family- the family that lives in our house. 

It was a blessing and a gift to get a glimpse of how CLAIRE'LY Ellie see's our family...
The picture is now hanging in our kitchen- proudly on display

We love you Claire and thank Jesus that you are a part of our family!

enjoying the view

I'm pretty sure Oklie is enjoying the view off of our deck this morning....

When I saw her sitting, watching whatever it is that dog's watch....I couldn't help but capture the moment....
then I thought to myself
'It's been awhile since I have taken any pictures of her'

She's never been one to hide her emotions so our family has seen them all over the years (look out for the mouth twitch- she bites after that!!). First she wouldn't look at me....

Then, like a child when they don't want to do something but their mom is making them, she turned and looked with as much annoyance as I've ever seen in her Shih Tzu's eyes...maybe it was the doggie scarf I was making her wear...or maybe it was that I called her away from her content gazing over the lake.....her determination to enjoy her view

As soon as this picture was snapped, I came back in the house and watched her from the window.....walking right back over to the same place she was before I interrupted her....

Taking time and being determined to enjoy the view.
Thanks for the life lesson Oklie....

Take a minute to stop and enjoy the view around you- whether you are in an office, a hospital, a firehouse, a classroom, or in a house full of children that are needing your attention- when you have a break, find the nearest window (or door) and take the outside in- let your shoulders relax and take a big breath- open your eye's wide and let the sight settle in....God's beautiful creation that He shows so much glory and love through.  He created everything you are looking at just for you and me...He is lavishing us with His love and showing off his amazing handiwork.......Then thank Him for it- Praise Him for it- and if possible, sit back and relax in it!!

Romans 1:20

'For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities--his eternal power and divine nature--have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.'

skid marks and burn outs

What's the first thing you think of when you hear the 2 words....SKID MARKS?
Yeah, I think that too
It comes down to determining if the skivvy's are salvageable or not- is it from falsely thinking one needed to toot only to realize that toot was packing more than just air (this is an automatic no keeper) or just a toddler left to their own wiping techniques (this is worthy of a washing machine cycle)
Totally not talking about those types of skid marks though....smile....

Late last week Eli's seatbelt, on his drivers side, took a dump (I wonder if it left skid marks.....ahahahahahahaha!!)- When he went to order his new belt, he found out that it was going to be almost a week until it arrived.

'You're not driving your truck without a seatbelt on Kid'
'Mom, I'm 18 years old, I think that's my decision'

I totally pulled the
'You're still under our roof so on certain decisions you will just have to do what we say....you're not driving your truck without a seatbelt'

'Fine- Maybe dad will let me drive his truck'
Matt's truck is one of those big 4 door 4 wheel drive Fords that has fancy wheels and such

DREAM ON :)

We also have a small red 2 wheel drive older Toyota truck...
Red Rocket is her name
She carries with her a smell of man sweat and dirt....

Today, Eli sent us the following picture.....
he's making the most of his time with Red Rocket....

I say he left skid marks.....the boys say they are called burn outs....

Go easy on Red Rocket Eli Ben....she's all you have to drive until this coming Thursday when your seatbelt comes in (unless you want mommy to drive to back and forth to college and work )

hypochondriac sweatpant wearing diabetic :)

I knew by the time I was 8 years old that I would never ever ever become a nurse- I was sitting in the ER waiting room waiting for my mom to get off of work (she works in short stay and those 2 departments shared a waiting room) and heard someone gagging and then halk up a lugie.....I also got a whiff of an awful smell off of some poor soul being wheeled into the ER...between the two it was weeks before I could eat without wanting to gag.
My mom has been a nurse for over 40 years and is amazing and wonderful at her job....
she has an iron stomach that is not swayed by smells, sounds, or sights
this gene missed me (and my sister) (so did my  mom's never ending compassion...that was passed down to my sis and I inherited my dad's short patience instead)

Growing up with a nurse as a mom also ensured that medical worst case scenarios were never ruled out in our home....
a jammed finger was broken until proven otherwise
a neck ache was meningitis until the test came back negative (which it always did)
a migraine was a brain tumor until that MRI came back as only a sinus infection.....

hee hee hee hee hee hee hee!!!

Some may call it a touch of hypochondriac but I say it was all legit-
for pete's sake, if your treating worst case scenarios all day long....day after day....year after year....you loose your medical innocence- you're no longer ignorant to the silent signs and symptoms that most un-nurses would ignore........

On that little bit of history, my story begins....

Matt and I went away for 4 blissful nights at the beginning of this month-
This old gray mare just ain't what she used to be and I wanted to look cute in all of my attire on our little get away- I already have super cute dress up clothes but I didn't have any cute 'lounge' clothes...I headed to a certain boutique that sells adorable sweats and bought myself a pair- They are the type that bunch up with tighter elastic around your calves (so they don't just hang at your ankles).  I also grabbed a matching sweatshirt that has a wider neck so that it would hang off of my shoulder-

Around the same time, I started waking up in the middle of the night with both of my feet tingling- I really didn't think anything of it the first night but by the second night my suspicions were ramping up....

let the 'googling' of 'tingling feet' begin....

The internet can be such an ugly friend- It has the ability to confirm any and every fear you could imagine

after the first week of middle of the night wakings to my feet tingling I also developed cramps in my calves......

Remember my upbringing

I was starting to imagine life without my limbs from the knees down....
When should I make a doctors appointment
Blood Clots in both of my calves
shingles
I was quoting scripture to feign off the panic attacks
AAAAHHHH!!!!

By the beginning of the second week of the tingling and cramping I had settled on the fact that I had late stage diabetes- It was punishment for the 400 calories of chocolate I have eaten almost everyday of my adult life............In the depth of my heart this was a bit of a comfort because I know several people with diabetes and they lead productive lives and they still have their legs...........The grief of giving up sugar was almost more than I could bear but it was better than living without limbs.

I have worn my cute sweats with the tight elastic around my calves every night to bed since the get-a-way with my Matt...........

In the middle of last night when I got up to 'walk off' the tingling and to massage my calves from the Charlie horses that were gripping them, I happened to move my sweats down so that the elastic was not touching any part of my skin but instead just dangling by my ankle- I noticed that when I did this the tingling in my calves started going away..........................

I celebrated this afternoon that it is simply the elastic in my sweats causing all the drama by making chocolate chip cookies....to which, between the 2 of us, Ellie and I ate 6

:) :)

p.s. to my niece Em and friend Lynnae you both are so brave in your plight with diabetes- I admire that you both do not let it slow you down....Hugs to you!!

Matt and I on our get-a-way

Please forgive me (household babble and an ugly kid)

Trying this again :)
I posted this blog post last night, went upstairs to go to bed, and had a check in my heart- I was mulling the check in my heart over and realized it was something to do with this blog post.  I came back downstairs and grabbed the computer.  After re-reading the post I realized what the check was from.....the line 2 paragraphs down that say's 'not as yuck as the dude that is married to 5 women...' and another paragraph down where I wrote ''but not as yuck as the guy with 5 wives'-
I was calling someone 'yucky'
yucky is for situations like dog poop and vomit....not people.

'For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb.  I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made' your works are wonderful, I know that full well.' Psalm 139:13-14

 

The gentleman that has 5 wives is not yucky...The Lord created him (and every human being) wonderfully....Gen 1:27 say's that we are created in God's image.....the lifestyle he (and his wives) have chosen is complicated- like 5 times more complicated than any of our lives who just have 1 spouse.  Watching the commercials of their show makes me personally really uncomfortable....I think of my husband going to another woman's bedroom at night and it would break my heart- That's just not how God designed us to be....sharing our husbands in that way.

Towards the bottom of the blog post I wrote this:

'but not as yuck as the guy with 5 wives- if you watch that show and feel like I am being judgmental....then you are absolutely right- save the reprimand comments cause like drinking close to expired milk and brown eggs, I am non negotiable on this subject'

 

Even as I copied and pasted the above paragraph I am shaking my head at myself at the pride being oozed...

'Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall' Proverbs 16:18 say's......

Luke 6:37 say's 'Judge not least you be judged.'

The Lord called me on the carpet last night using His word and I am so thankful- In the past, I have been the prideful person throwing judgmental and very mean comments around carelessly.  I have experienced what falling off my high horse feels like and it is not an experience I want to repeat.

I have asked the Lord to forgive me and I would ask you to please forgive me for posting such a prideful and mean post-  My heart before the Lord and before you guys wants to present only that which is Godly.  The Lord has allowed a very unique platform in my life when it comes to blogging and I treasure it.  I Love being able to share what He has done in my life and will continue to do in my life...
From my heart to yours...I am sorry.

p.s. I am going to leave the original post below- It serves as such a good reminder to me of they type of person I do not want to be- The type of person the Lord has delivered me from being....judgmental and mean.




This is a blog post about absolutely nothing of substance....just household babble
I'm sitting on the couch watching the show 'Gold Rush' with my boys- on one of the commercial breaks the show 'My five wives' was advertised.........seriously........yuck :(- 
Gold Rush is not interesting at all- hard work out in natures wild in the weather elements without shopping malls.....yuck! (not as yuck as the dude that is married to 5 women....isn't that illegal?)
I'm sitting down here, among my boys, watching an uninteresting show so that I can be part of their story- I have learned to pick and choose the stories I am a part of....if I am part of their 'tv' story tonight I will not be asked to be part of their 'hunting' story on Saturday....hunting is so yuck!  (but not as yuck as the guy with 5 wives- if you watch that show and feel like I am being judgmental....then you are absolutely right- save the reprimand comments cause like drinking close to expired milk and brown eggs, I am non negotiable on this subject)
Back to Gold Rush- The young kid named Parker is wearing a sweatshirt that say's 'Ugly Kid'-  My Eli thought it was so cool he decided to order one- $45 + $7 shipping was his total- The sweatshirts are sold by Ugly Kid Clothing company- Their claim is that 'It ain't easy being ugly'....
Speaking of ugly- my dog Oklie, who is not ugly, had an ugly eye infection.  She loves being outside- because of this love we are constantly battling burs in her fur.  She got a bur in her eye and it scratched it from the top of her lens to the bottom (the vet had a special light to see the scratch).  The scratch became infected- Her eye swelled almost shut and was very red....It also had a greenish discharge.............so super yuck! (but still not as yuck as you know what)

Anywhoo- Gold Rush is over plus it's after 9 (bedtime) so this chic is signing off for tonight-

Hope you all had a great Thursday!
Steph

13 nephews, a niece, and gavin

On my dad's side of the family, Matt and I have 13 nephews and 1 niece.
My dad has 15 grandsons and 2 granddaughters
My sister Anne has 3 boys
My sister Jodi has 4 boys and 1 girl
My brother Chris has 3 boys
My brother Levi has 3 boys

wowzer :)

This past weekend we were able to spend time with 6 of our nephews-
My brother Levi's boys, Eli-Wyatt- and Ben stayed with us overnight on Friday so that Levi and Liz could celebrate their 13th wedding anniversary.  Saturday saw us all eating waffles for breakfast and then heading off to the pumpkin patch- at the patch we were able to see some family friends (who help run it) Barry, Kathy, Arlisa, Laci, Tay, and Jax.  After a pizza lunch we then headed out to my brother Chris's house for his son David's 7th birthday party.....After David's birthday party we made our way to my parent's house to celebrate my step dad Phil's Birthday....My mom's sister and her family were in town and able to make the birthday party...this made it possible for Ellie to spend some time with her cousin Gavin (my cousin Megan's son).  Gavin and Ellie are always such a cute pair- playing together adorably for as long as they can...

A wonderful weekend indeed!

nephews Eli, Ben, and Wyatt

Ellie giving money to Barry for our hay ride....so cute :)

my favorite picture from the whole day

Wyatt



Ellie's first pony ride



Happy 7th Birthday Davo!! We love you lots and lots

my sister in law Erika with David

April, this picture is for you- missed seeing you yesterday

My brother Chris (with really sweaty arm pits).....kidding- It's just his shirt fabric- but seriously, doesn't it look like sweat :) :)

precious Gavin!!

Happy Birthday Pops

9 minute blog post

It's 8:51 and I am going to give myself 9 minutes to blog-
no edit
forget the capitals and most of the punctuation
I have no clue what I am even going to blog about....

ummmm
I was walking around wal mart last night killing time while Ellie was at AWANA and Ry was at youth group and came across Cascade's 'Dish Washer Cleaner'- We have well water that leaves a grime on everything it touches (including my hair....grrrr) and has done a number on the inside of our dishwasher- The cleaner was a small pod that you place in your soap dispenser and hit the 'heavy duty' cycle.....I did it this afternoon and was shocked how well it worked......would definitely recommend it to my friends that live on a well with hard water.....on a side note- wonder if it would work on my hair :)
My friend Janelle gave me a chocolate brownie yesterday made by one of local chocolate companies.... O MY WORD!!! YYYYYYYYYYYUUUUUUMMMMMM!! It's a dark chocolate that is not super sweet and does not leave any sort of a bitter after taste- It is light and delicious.  Thank you Janelle!
4 minutes- 8:56
ummmmm
ummmm
ummm
My friend Holly called tonight- Eli and her son Riley went to first grade together which is when she and I met- a little over 12 years ago........Holly and I have shared some laughs during the course of our friendship- Tonight on the phone was no exception....she was telling me about a recent trip to the Bahamas where she was able to face one of her biggest fears- Heights.....she was staying at a resort that had a large waterslide- The waterslide was meant to be more of a thrill ride with a scary edge- You would climb a large set of stairs that would bring you high up into the air- Once at the top you would lay on your back and put your arms over your chest- crossing them....you would then propel yourself off of the edge into complete darkness.....Holly's husband Lloyd was in line behind her (to ensure that she would actually go down the slide) and watched as she laid on her back and braced herself for the long drop.....
Holly closed her eyes and began to scream as she thought she propelled herself off the edge.....
it's 9 but I'm gonna keep going with the story....
Where was I....
Oh Ya
Holly closed her eyes and began to scream as she thought she had propelled herself off the edge....
In reality she had just propelled herself far enough to make it into the black tunnel but not off the waterslides drop off.....As her scream ramped up she heard her husband Lloyd say
'your not even off the edge!'
After which he reached his foot in and gave her a shove to get her off the edge and onto the slide...she screamed all the way down and then broke out into a laughing fit as she realized what had happened at the top of the slide :)
I love you Holly and thanks for the great laugh!
9:04-
I'm done!!