New Year, New Blog!

Hey Everyone!
I have a new blog...I decided to switch things up a bit...so here's the new addy.

www.ramblingsofamother.wordpress.com

Goodbye 2007! Welcome 2008!

2007 was another year of great change for our family: some expected, some not. First our awesome vacation (that feels more like it was 4 years ago) and the taxi ride from NYC to Buffalo!! Then just a week later, Milo finally arriving. It's been such an adventure with him. At the close of 2007 I believe we're in a better place with him, he knows us better and we know him better. In May, the whirlwind of taking in Emma. Never in a million years would I have believed (even on May 14th) that on May 15th we'd add another child to the fold. I will admit in the final hours of 2007, I leaned over to Steve and whispered in his ear... "No more additions next year!" We beat our record and have been in this house longer than anywhere else in our entire marriage! It was a year of tremendous blessing and provision.

As I look to 2008 I feel excitement to see where God will take us this year. There is so much new in our lives, and as I watch all the kids grow and develop I marvel at the complexity of their creation. It's humbling to know that we have 4 kids, and yet here were are, learning to parent again. Our experience with Logan and Abby was so different, not better or worse, just different: to parent Justus and Emma will be a whole new ride. They have totally different modes of learning. It's helping in how we communicate and interact with Logan and Abby. It's made us better people.

It is hard to believe that Steve and I will be married 8 years. It's even harder to believe that Steve is going to be 40 this year!! (bring on the midlife crisis). I'm anticipating great things of what God will do for Steve and I. I feel like we're going into a new chapter of our lives, I'm not sure how to articulate it, but I really believe we're going deeper, into uncharted territory. It's exciting. I love Steve so much, and I think it's neat that after 12 years we're still learning things about each other.

I also believe that for myself, I'm going somewhere better. I feel a certain peace about things, peace with who I am, the woman I am becoming. Maybe I'm finally growing up. I never realized how much a person can evolve over such a short period of time. I hope to find more of me this year, to know more of what God has gifted me with. I want to be a better woman, a better wife, a better mother this year.

So I welcome 2008 with open arms.

The Evil Eye

Merry Christmas!

Well, there has been a lull in the blogging for a reason. Christmas has come and gone: we enjoyed a wonderful visit with Steve's mom and my family, ate some great turkey, opened many gifts...oh and wait one more thing....we got the flu :( The whole family, all 6 of us!!!! It started Christmas Eve, and continued on and is still going on today. This was the first time that Steve and I have been sick at the same time, and I hope and pray that never happens again. I'm really ready for this bug to leave the house, and I hope we don't ring in the New Year with it. It has been a very long exhausting week! I hope to enjoy the second half of the kids break from school significantly more than this week.
I hope that your Christmas was filled with lots of great memories! All the best for 2008!!! God bless!

Bible History told by Children!!

In case you're a little foggy on your biblical history, let our junior
church students help you with this complete overview of the Bible, compiled
from their essays:

In the beginning, which occurred near the start, there was nothing but God,
darkness, and some gas. The Bible says, 'The Lord thy God is one,' but I
think He must be a lot older than that. Anyway, God said, 'Give me a light!'
and someone did. Then God made the world.

He split the Adam and made Eve. Adam and Eve were naked, but they weren't
embarrassed because mirrors hadn't been invented yet.

Adam and Eve disobeyed God by eating one bad apple, so they were driven
from the Garden of Eden. Not sure what they were driven in though, because
they didn't have cars.

Adam and Eve had a son, Cain, who hated his brother as long as he was Abel.

Pretty soon all of the early people died off, except for Methuselah, who
lived to be like a million or something.

One of the next important people was Noah, who was a good guy, but one of
his kids was kind of a ham. Noah built a large boat and put his family and
some animals on it. He asked some other people to join him, but they said
they would have to take a rain check.

After Noah came Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Jacob was more famous than his
brother, Esau, because Esau sold Jacob his birthmark in exchange for some
pot roast. Jacob had a son named Joseph who wore a really loud sports coat.

Another important Bible guy is Moses, whose real name was Charlton Heston.

Moses led the Israel Lights out of Egypt and away from the evil Pharaoh
after God sent ten plagues on Pharaoh's people. These plagues included
frogs, mice, lice, bowels, and no cable. God fed the Israel Lights every day
with manicotti. Then He gave them His top ten Commandments. These include
don't lie, cheat, smoke, dance, or covet your neighbor's bottom (the Bible
uses a bad word for bottom that I'm not supposed to say. But my Dad uses it
sometimes when he talks about the President). Oh, yeah, I just thought of
one more: Humor they father and they mother. One of Moses' best helpers was
Joshua who was the first Bible guy to use spies. Joshua fought the battle
of Geritol and the fence fell over on the town.

After Joshua came David. He got to be king by killing a giant with a
slingshot. He had a son named Solomon who had about 300 wives and 500
porcupines. My teacher says he was wise, but that doesn't sound very wise
to me.

After Solomon there were a bunch of major league prophets. One of these was
Jonah, who was swallowed by a big whale and then barfed up on the shore.
There were also some minor league prophets, but I guess we don't have to
worry about them

After the Old Testament came the New Testament. Jesus is the star of the New
Testament. He was born in Bethlehem in a barn. (I wish I had been born in a
barn, too, because my mom is always saying to me, 'Close the door! Were you
born in a barn' It would be nice to say, 'As a matter of fact, I was.').

During His life, Jesus had many arguments with sinners like the Pharisees
and the Republicans. Jesus also had twelve opossums.The worst one was Judas
Asparagus. Judas was so evil that they named a terrible vegetable after him.

Jesus was a great man. He healed many leopards and even preached to some
Germans on the Mount. But the Republicans and all those guys put Jesus on
trial before Pontius the Pilot. Pilot didn't stick up for Jesus. He just
washed his hands instead.

Anyways, Jesus died for our sins, then came back to life again. He went up
to Heaven but will be back at the end of the Aluminum. His return is
foretold in the book of Revolution.

The 12 Days of Christmas!!

What a Week!

This week has been incredibly difficult for me as a mother. Logan was having some trouble on the bus, and this week it has exploded into a huge mess! I won't go into a lot of details, but let's just say I'm pretty disappointed with the bus company and in particular the bus driver. There have been some unacceptable things happening on the bus, and judgement calls made by the driver that have made that momma bear instinct come right to the playing field. Thankfully the school is 100% behind us and are working towards a solution to the problem. Hopefully by the end of this, we'll have some order back to our lives, and Logan can once again be happy on the bus.


It is so difficult to know how to react and advocate for Logan when he is non-verbal. He can't say all that's happened, but his behaviour is speaking volumes, and that is what is stressing me out. For those of you who know Logan well, you'll know that when he cries or is upset, the whole world will cry with him. He's just such a happy guy, so when something hurts him, it hurts everyone. This week has been very difficult not only for me, but for him too, and that is what concerns me the most.


I will admit that I don't handle stress well. I can step up to the plate and do what needs to be done, but it manifests itself in other ways. This week it has shown itself as insomnia which in turn has given me a migraine that's lasted 5 days now with no reprieve. I need relief from all of this. It's just been so hard to see him like this.


Funny how a good week can turn into a mess so quickly. Last week I was praying for an easy week because I was having trouble watching Justus and Emma develop and move on from the stages they were in, and now this week, I am longing to deal with that again. That is all so much easier than this. That was all good stress, this week is very bad stress and I've just had enough!