Randomness in General

This is my husband. He may look normal on the outside. But he's far, far from normal. He's kinda weird. And now I have proof to back me up on this.

I like to read other people's blogs. I find one and then link to another and then to another until I find myself lost in some kind of maze. A blog maze. Usually they are from the IHOP world so, not only are they entertaining, but usually have substance as well. Here are some blogs I frequent often. I know I should become a little more technologically savvy by signing up to their feeds but they're still on my favorite bookmark list so I just have to check them as often as I am online...

Randy B. - A blogging pro. You never know what you are going to read each day. Could be hilarious. Could be totally serious. His family consists of 3 boys and a newly adopted little girl. Somehow I feel like I can connect on the "boy thing".
Kelsey B. - Wife of said blogging pro. She has awesome things to say. Totally feel like I can relate by being a mom and having a really passionate heart for the Lord. Plus she and Randy put together the Omega course. An amazing run-through of the end times. Seth and I are watching the DVDs right now and are pretty speechless about all the things in Scripture we have never thought or heard about before.
Shelley P. - A photographer from Minnesota. I am dreaming of the day when she can come to our house and take photos of the boys and our family. I love her work and she is super nice (she and I have corresponded about a good date for sessions. Nothing has worked out yet and it looks like I will probably wait until next year to have her come.).
Molly M. - Found this blog on one of my reading binges one day. I really like her writing style plus her blog links to a bunch of interesting ones I like to check.
Tracie L. - An IHOP Mom. She has a ton of motherly wisdom. She and her family recently adopted a little baby girl. Seth and I both feel adoption is in our future, so it has been neat following their story.
(I have to admit, though, it's a bit strange reading these different blogs and then seeing these people in person at church. I recognize them but they have absolutely no idea who I am. I guess I should introduce myself one of these days...)

My 2 year old is waaay too attached to these. I have haunting visions of Josiah as a 15 year old, walking around with one in his mouth. I have been very thankful for their amazing soothing powers but, honestly, they're gross. My hygiene limit gets very tested. 5 second rule? How about the 5 minute-just-wipe-it-on-your-jeans-because-he's-screaming-bloody-murder rule?!

Is there such a thing as slow death by tooth ache? I'm not talking about cavities or anything like that. I'm talking about these. Right now my teeth are so sensitive, if I touch anything the wrong way, I get chills up and down my whole body!

Seth and I have been doing a lot of this lately to train for this later on in the year. I have scaled the goal back to a half marathon this year. Something I know for sure I can do and I think we are going to have a lot of fun doing it. There are some monster hills in the course so we have been going up to a trail close by to help us build up for that.

It's going to be a busy summer for us. I'm pretty excited about that. Seth's brother and his lovely family are coming to visit the first week of July. We can't wait to see them! In July, we are taking a family road trip. And then in August, Seth and I will be driving to Colorado for 6 days to celebrate our 10th anniversary. It's going to be awesome! We will be staying here and will be spending a lot of time here.

My baby is graduating preschool next week and will be entering "real school" this fall. I cannot believe this kid is well on his way to 6 already. I am so proud of Elijah, I could just burst. Look at the mini cap and gown!


Well, friends, I believe this is my last post until the first week of July. Hope you all have a blessed next month. Stay safe and have fun!

Picture Randomness

I'd like to give you all a taste of my world. Living with 2, no wait, 4 boys (I'm including my dog in this one) is insanely fun. This world doesn't even know what the color pink is. Even Josiah, with his artistic bent, is ALL boy. Just yesterday, I watched him pass time by stomping on every ant he saw. No one taught him this. Believe me, I asked!
But they're just so cute. I wouldn't trade them for a million girls!

Umm, yeah. I don't know. Cool guy with bedhead and a pacifier?

He calls himself Lightning Man.

Superhero for the midget world.

They really do like each other. Amazing!

I have always joked that my boys will be taking naps 'til they're 16. Well, at least I have said I was joking. Wonder why he's sleeping with his hat on? Yeah, I'm a little curious too.

So Much to Learn

"Dad, can I go play in Josh's yard? They're playing in the sprinklers. Can I please, please?" Seth and I never see Elijah move so fast as when he has to get ready to play outside. He's like Superman. One minute he is in one outfit. The next minute, he is in another. Bathing suit and sunscreen on, Eli ran out to meet his friends.
An hour or so later, I see my little man running through the yards to come home. Strange because he has his glove, bat, and light saber with him. I automatically assume that his friends had to go inside. One look at his face and something tells me a different story.
Elijah is 5. And when a 5 year old tries to look brave, it melts the hardest of hearts. I ask him what was wrong and he just crumbles. I pull my very huge baby onto my lap and just hold him for a minute and then begin the questions.
"What happened?"
"Josh and Tyler don't want me to be their friend anymore."
"What? Why?"
"Because they wouldn't do what God told them to do." (Insert eye bugging, hold-in-that-laugh face here. Did we name this kid right or what??)
"Well, son, you can't really tell others what God wants them to do like that. It ends up sounding totally bossy." A light of understanding begins to dawn on his face. Ohhhh.
"And son, we really need to forgive even if the other person doesn't say he's sorry." So easy to tell a 5 year old to do!
"Mom, can I go tell them I'm sorry?" I know I am exhausting this point, but he's FIVE! He understood how to make things right.
"Sure, that would be great."

So, off he trotted to go tell his friends that he was sorry for being so bossy. But, alas, they still didn't want to be his friend and said he couldn't play with them. By this time, I was in tears. I had just witnessed my son's heart breaking for the first time. We talked and hugged some more.
And, I tell you, it wasn't even five minutes later, he was bouncing around like old Elijah. Kids are great like that. They don't hold grudges. They just move on. I can learn so much from that!!
This was one of those life experiences I wasn't really prepared to handle. As a parent, I want to protect my children from every hurt. I would choose putting on an actual bandaid over a wound any day over having to hold a crushed little spirit. But it ended up being a good lesson in forgiveness, not only for my little man but also for me.

Week with Nana and Grandad

Last week my parents flew in from South Carolina to visit. We had a really great time. The boys loved every minute of it. Especially Josiah who followed them around calling out "Nanai" and "'Dad". It was actually a nice break from the million-a-day times I hear "Mommy" belted out as only my 2 year old can do!
Friday we all went to the Deanna Rose Farmstead. An awesome petting zoo/learning center for kids and it's actually free. The weather was amazing and because it is still spring, there were lots of baby animals to say "awww" over.






We celebrated all sorts of things while my parents were here. My mom and I share our birthday (May 5th) so we had to celebrate that. We also did Mother's Day and Josiah's birthday (since they weren't here to share the big day with the little man.) In the middle of all that celebrating, we managed to have lots of downtime as well. The boys love being read to!
The week flew by way too quickly. We are all looking forward to next time....

It's Time

For a few months now, Seth and I have made plans to be in Nashville on 7-7-07. An urgency has been growing in us about this day. We both feel like it will be a day marked in history. Maybe not right away, but definitely for all eternity. When I first heard about the Call, I immediately thought "cool" but didn't really feel anything about it. One day it hit me...we need to be there. Not just Seth and me but the boys, too. It is very important that Elijah and Josiah be there. For so many reasons.
We are also going to be participating in this fast. Read the article by Lou Engle and let me know what you think!

It's Raining, It's Pouring...

I wish I was the one snoring! Rainy weather always makes me so sleepy. And it has been raining for days and days. We have a sump pump downstairs. For all of you who don't know what that is- a sump pump takes the extra water from the ground and pumps it away from the house (I had no idea what they were until I moved to Missouri). Ours has been working overtime which I am very thankful for because we are hearing many reports of flooding basements.
My weekend was wonderful. As Seth mentioned in his Week End Weekend Review, he watched the boys while I spent my time with my beautiful friends (and about 90 other women) at a woman's retreat. I'm usually not a big fan of the "extreme girly-ness" that is bound to happen at these events. But when I found out that this retreat was taking place and it was going to be on my birthday, I knew it was what the Lord wanted me to do. And it was pretty darn awesome! I watched the Lord heal my friends' hearts. Which blessed me more than I ever thought possible. And my heart? I just have to say He is so good and so personal and so ready to speak. To all of us if we just slow down enough to listen. One truth I walked away with- He doesn't run away from us, we run away from Him. He is always there, loving and kind and NEVER disappointed in us.
My 29th (gasp!) birthday was so special. I have a feeling that this year, walking into 30, will be quite the adventure!

Quotes from a 5 year old

Since Seth has gotten all creative over at his blog with his fancy "Week end Weekend Review", I thought I would begin a weekly post as well. I feel like your worlds would not be totally complete if I didn't share some of the things that pop out of my 5 year old's mouth. Sometimes weird, sometimes hilarious, always entertaining. Elijah Macchi will always come through for you!

"Mom, why do you look all wilt-y like a dead flower?"

Now, in my defense, I did just survive a pretty wicked 24 hour bug. Thanks son for your keen insight!