A life in Review: 4 years in review: snap shots only!

Ava is so excited about her princess party. I have possibly 8 girls coming over in their princess attire to act like royalty. I will be playing the role of mother servant and I have a lot of high expectations that Ava has made quite clear to me on many occassions.
Wish me luck and I will blog the video and photos as soon as the princess lets me rest!

Romans 8:38

"(38) For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons,[a] neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, (39) neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord."

I'm not sure if it is my old age (crawling up on 31 folks, send presents after June 1st please. They will be accepted until late Sept.)or the pregnancy hormones (these will pass in June as well)but ever since my trip to Cambodia my life verse of Proverbs 3:5-6 "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, be not of your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge HIM and He will make your path straight" has been upgraded to Romans 8:38-39.
Why you ask? Well, because life has changed a bit for me. That's all, no real big revelations, no real life or death situation (beside the grease fire) but simply life's consistancy has allowed me to focus on God's consistancy. I pity those who do not have what I have, and i am not talking about my kids, hubby, home, car or job. I'm talking about my security. Plain and simple hope, peace, and unconditional salvation and grace.
With the increasing of my offspring comes added pressure to not fear, Obama doesn't help the situation.
After having Gabe 8 years ago, my fear meter went up. Than working in a very dangerous inner city environment increased that fear ten fold. But Proverbs 3:5 brought me peace. Jesus always reassured me, why fear? What's the point? I brought you here, do you think I'd allow you to be hurt?
The answer was no. No HE did not bring me to ATL to get hurt, shot, beat up or act dumb. I learned my surroundings, adapted a bit too much, but grew in my understanding that HE is still in control as long as I let HIM be.
After having Ava and moving to MO, I realized that I didn't want danger anymore or the stress of pouring more into someone else's kids in a classroom only to return home to my hubby and kids totally spent! I wanted home time. Hence, Proverbs 3:5 gave me my current job. EASY LIKE BUTTER, or better yet, "Sunday morning". I was able to come home earlier, not as tired, my job was a bit more fulfilling and life seemed to settle down and I regained a focus I felt I lost.
Now I find myself looking for more challenges. I'm not in danger persay, but here comes the added danger of growing luke-warm, Sunday-Christianesque, and I say "No thank you complacency", "I'll pass apathy".
Cambodia reignited that fire to be bold in the everyday monotony of life. And not because anything dangerous or miraculous occurred, but rather the opposite. I'm content in planting seeds, teaching and seeing no immediate result, just making a plan to do something I was designed to do and follow through with it.
Is that not the meaing of life, just live "it".
American Culture has slapped us with an identity problem that I don't identify with at all. If we are not doing something deemed Wonderful or attention grabbing than we have no value. But that is simply "LIES from the DEVIL". I have purpose and meaning regardless of others given attention and/or kudos. I'm good enough, I'm smart enough and somehow the joke has lost humor now that Richard Smally has possible become a Senator. I digress.

Easter reminded me that when you have the Peace that Passes all Understanding the only limit there is to the HAND of God is what I put on HIM. Ask for the impossible, demand the best, Wait for the Hope longed for (not Obama's version). There is nothing lofty in expecting God to be God. What's the worst that could happen?
Nothing can steal or rob me of Peace and assurance of Jesus? What can steal heaven from me? I know you Karma people are knocking on all the wood that you can find right now, but I don't fear that. Karma doesn't exsist when there's true peace. I'm not under a knife of the world's scale and scrutiny, or other people's meter of goodness and justice.

I read good news today about my grandfather. My heart rejoiced, I was in the middle of testing my students, so there was no dance of joy, but I know the angels did that for me. It also reminded me that I will be over critical, my weakness will resonate, I will lose arguments and friendships, I will be disappointed and grieve, but all this pales when put into an eternal perspective that it all passes and in the end, HE who has won, will greet me in the end.

Let's hear it for the BOYS!

April 6th: an all day event
<

December 4th: an all day event, he gets less presents due to Christmas mind you.



June 26th: all day event, but not an all month celebration, he shares the same birthday month as me!

< Did you all know that it was Joel's birthday on MOnday?

We are terrible, and I shame all of you, I am exempt because I am blogging the shame.
Every year comes and goes and the men who were daring enough to marry us, and into our family have gone unsung during their birthdays. Well I say no MORE!
We need to be better at remembering them, and celebrating their courage, their patience, their resolve, more importantly their longsuffering!

Look at what Naarah did to my HOUSE!

 

 

 

 

People, be warned. Talking to Nara is not only hazardous to your ears, but it is also quite dangerous for your house. She is capable of distracting you to the point where grease will combust into flames 3 feet high. No lie. She's a mess.
So here's how she destroyed my kitchen...
I was minding my business, creating a few scrap book pages with Gabe for his teacher's birthday, when I get a call. NAARAH! I pick up, she begins to talk about herself. I tried to focus on family meal time by starting the last part of our meal, french fries. I normally bake these, healthier ya know, but Naarah distracted me with her fast talking ways and next thing I know I'm pouring oil in my new Ikea wok, which is totally a bargain, $7. I turn on the stove and go back to scrap booking only 20 feet away from the stove.
Naaarah continues to yap and yap. The attentive listener that I am, I'm listening and then I hear the oil snap and I say to myself, oils ready! I turn to the kitchen and it's already filling the kitchen with thick black smoke.
I yell to naarah that I have to go, I hang up. I turn off the stove and move the wok, from the heat, but it's smoking even worse now. I try to open the windows, but it's stuck just enough that I begin to panic, and I see a small flame out of the corner of my eye. I panic even more now. I cant remember what you're suppose to do. I remember what not to do, but that's it. I know I'm not suppose to move it, but the more I think, I can't think.
Within 2 seconds the small flame is now a huge flame and climbing my microwave. I grab the wok handle with a paper towel; the flames are so hot the towels burst into flames. I stomp out the fire on the floor while I see that the flames are now higher, up my cabinets. I know I am not suppose to touch the pan, but the more I hesitate the higher the fire is getting.
I'm now yelling for Jesus asking him, what do I do. Gabe is yelling for me, just yelling my name, not really saying much. (mom disclaimer: The most I can figure of Ava is, Ava is now changing outfits and switching her princess shoes upstairs) I can't think of anything to do, but I do see my kicthen on fire and as much as I don't like the kitchen it's still mine, and I don't like it (afte-thoughts, not actual-time-thoughts). I don't know how I got from the stove to the door, but I got there. I don't remember how the door got opened but it is opened. I walk backwards, because I want my back to the wind, while the flames are shooting up. The grease is spilling all over the floor and it starts little fires where it is spilling. Luckily, the tile is cold enough to cool the flaming grease, the door on the other hand and my garage rug are not so lucky. I drop the grease in the middle of the garage floor and go back inside to see if the flames are still climbing the cupboards. They aren't, but I have to stomp out the flame on the stairs. Apparently the wok was the heat source and the fire didn't totally take hold on the cabinets.

I than crossed the lake of grease in my kitchen that spilled on the floor and got Gabe and pushed him out the front door. I yelled for Ava who was coming down the stairs, new outfit on, and I turned to see if Gabe was out of the house, he was. Now Ava disappears. I yell for her,... silence. I run back into the house into the kitchen. The flames are out, but I see her crying in the grease on the floor. The girl decided to go out the garage door and slips in the grease. I panic and am yelling at her, are you burned, she's covered in the grease from the floor. She's yelling yes. I ask her if the grease has burned her as I'm dragging her out of the house. She finally understands that I'm worried not mad. I tear off her pants and ask her if her legs hurt. They do, but only because she fell so hard on the floor, not because she's got burned. She sits in her underwear on the front step next to her crying brother. They are really scared.
I tell the kids to stay on the front stoop. I don't know why I told them to stay. I don't know a lot at this point.
It has only been 1-2 minutes since I hung up on Naarah, the fire starter.
My poor neighbors are freaked out because a 7 month pregnant lady holding her belly, from running over to their house, is crying at their door asking them to watch her kids because there is a fire at the house. Don comes running back to the house with me and sees the damage. All fires are out, he hugs me and settles me down. We check the flames in the wok and it has burned out. Reality sets in and I'm freaked out. I did everything I shouldn't have done within this situation.
But Praise Jesus all is fine. All is more than fine, All is safe and sound. "He will send HIS angels charge over me" and HE did.
Moral of this story: Don't talk to Naarah at any point of cooking, scrap booking, driving in traffic, giving birth, washing floors, roller blading, and mowing the lawn.
The kitchen will be back to normal in 1-2 months!

You asked for it!

I feel like I've been run over by a train on most days, but in all honsety this is the healthiest pregnancy to date. I've got nothing to prove it's me, atleast nothing from the neck up... But I find it awkward that my child would be loving on a stranger's belly.
2 more long months to go...

Pics of tender moments

Gabe now hates hair cuts, he said he wants to grow the hair out to look like a Pokemon character. He is so funny. We're trying real hard to let him be as funky as he wants to be, but that dang hair now has to be tucked or slicked to his head. We are compromising and just cutting the sides.
Ava on the other hand is now interested in high school and make up. Not a day too soon I think.
She goes in and out of her crazy streaks. She got this Raccoon mask from a restaurant and decided to try and scare daddy with it. Boy was he scared. She is snarling in this photo.

Last photo is Ava eating dinner with Spinach plastered to her face. She could have cared less. She also threw her spinach up in her cup. Apparently drinking water real fast to make it go down faster also makes it come up faster.

Queen of my House

If I could bottle an ounce of Ava and sell her for $4.95 I'd be a millionaire in under 1 month. Her sweet sassiness is my daily challenge and laughter, although most of the time I feel burned by a familiar tone and echo, my own. Somehow when my own spit and venom is duplicated and aimed back at me, it's seems less bitter from a 3.5 year old, but just as jaw-droppingly sincere and stunning.
I'm often times left speechless and calling for back up. Joe is not quick to come to my aid because he finds it so dog gone funny!
I can't sum her up in little quips because her charm is not just in her words, but her tone, her body language, and her really really short pants.
I would buy her new pants but she has a drawfull, she just refuses to wear them without a fight. 7 months prego helps me prioritize my fights. HER Pants are not a good one to pick. I lose usually, unless dad picks them out, then they are always extra beautiful or "GORGEOUS".

King's new home

Reasons why King loves me more:
-1-I boiled 4 soup bones and reserved all the extra beefy goodness for King's food marinate! He now whines when the bowl is taken away (ha).
-2-All beef bones now cause good dog fights between the dominant Chab, Percy, and the Passive aggressive German, King.
-3-We've changed his name from King to Carmen.
-4-We vasaline his nose and paws at night to prevent chapping
-5- We vacuum once a week and save all his hair colected for his pillow in our bedroom
-6- We spoon at night
-7- I gave him his own library card and is an avid reader
-8- I let him watch CNN news and Chick flix with me in the kitchen while cooking with Rachel Ray
-9- The mail man and Fed Ex guys walk him during the day
-10- Little dogs are now his allies against local terrorism and anarchist
-11- We chase leaves rather than squirrles now

Baby Broccoli

Please help me welcome baby broccoli into this world. We won't talk about when she first arrived, but I can tell you when we get to see her in person for the first time, May 24 or sooner let's pray.
They say she's a girl, Ava won the bet, Gabe was disappointed for a short moment but then recovered with big brother happiness.
I was sick for 12 weeks straight all day, every day. The memory of it all wears me out. That slowed my blogging and socializing. Now that my energy is back, so is my larger butt (ah yeah) and a protruding belly. Most white folks won't quite ask if I'm pregnant yet, and I'm thinking why wouldn't ya? I wasn't looking like this 2 months ago! Although, I will say I have seen some heavy drinking ladies looking more pot bellied than me right now.
I'll officially declare it, Yes folks, I'm pregnant and 5 months and some odd weeks along. I'm feeling pretty good right now and we are wrestling over some names. In the mean time Ava has named her Baby Broccoli Kook Poop. We call her Broccoli for short and also had a nice long talk about how it's not nice calling her sister Poop.

Missouri Winter wonderland

 

 

 

 

Missouri Snow comes but a few times a year and did we participate in the coldness. Like all quality siblings they went out happy and giddy and AVa came in crying and cold from the snow Gabe tossed in her face, down her jacket and in her gloves. I giggles along with the memories of it all, and warmed Ava up, scolded Gabe out of necessity and sent em back out to play. They later made Percy the victim of their snow bal throwing and she came in full of snow dandruff.
A QUALITY MISSOURI SNOW if I've ever seen one!

Gabe's 8th year of bliss

The food should explain the atmosphere of the house. Joe was working a late night again, so I had to do another birthday party full of farting, burping, yelling, gun-slinging 8-year-olds. Last year for a party! I can VOW to this. All in all it was a good night, fun was had by all, all went home sugared up and ready to drive the rents nuts.
Gabe is now 8 and has turned over a new leaf. He is now Mr. Independent and no longer needs the coddling of his parents. To our delight we are letting him experience a bit of independence which is now costing him money. We fine him or charge him $ when things don't go as he planned. His 8 year old logic is money in my pockets. He takes pride in his new decision making however. Although he doesn't need our coddling he does prefer it on days. He still needs to be cuddled and hugged for a good long hour every now and then. It's good to be wanted rather than needed!

Christmas dancer

Ava is my little Princess dancer. She's got good ol ATL rhythem in her booty. Would you expect anything else though, now really?
She was getting everyone into the Christmas spirit when GRandpa Norm came to visit us around Gabe's birthday. Ava loves showing off her new moves, but more importantly urging the fam to get into the Christmas festivities.
It worked, we were excited for Christmas.