I WON I WON!!!!!!!!!!!

Seriously, I NEVER win anything!!! I'm so excited! I came home last night to a message on my machine saying that we had WON the Organic Valley Coupons!!!!!!!! My Sweetie teased that HE won, I stole....I reminded him had I not stolen we wouldn't have gone back to try to steal more to see they were in fact a raffle not a give away and he wouldn't have been guilted by my crime to "pay" for the one I stole! HA! All in all, I now have 43 FREE ANY Organic Valley Dairy product. I should be SET on milk for the REST of the year. YIPPIE!!!!!!!!!!

Multi-Purpose Clothes Line

Last summer My Sweetie hung a clothes line for me to use.

Yesterday after a quick stroll on our block with Little Dude I came home and found something hanging on my clothes line.



I couldn't tell what exactly it was from a distance so I went up for a closer look.

It was BuhBuh's artwork hanging on the line to dry.

Not only was I impressed with how good the painting was, I was impressed with his creativity of where to put his painting when he was done so that it could dry.

OOPS!!!

I have really taken a liking to organic foods for my family. However, the prices sometimes just make it a real hard commitment to make when I'm trying to feed five. So, I pick and chose what is most important and try to keep my eyes open for deals and coupons and such.

There were all sorts of freebies being handed out. You can imagine my THRILL today when we were strolling in our "downtown" today during our Earth Day Celebration when I spotted a coupon for "Any Organic Dairy item FREE". So, I grabbed one.

After we got home I couldn't understand WHY I didn't grab more than one. We buy Organic Valley milk and that would save us $6-$8!

So, My Sweetie went back downtown to get some more. I was so excited!!!

Well! It turns out they were a raffle item....it was the whole pile!!! You buy a ticket for a dollar and if they draw your name you win them ALL!!!! OOPS!

Seriously, DON'T leave a stack of AWESOME coupons out on a table full of other freebies!

So, My Sweetie proceeded to buy six of the raffle tickets to sort of "pay" for the one I mistakenly took.

Who knows! Maybe I'll win ALL of the coupons

Date Night

Last year we decided with our playgroup friends that we would start a babysitting co-op. There are three families with 10 kids between us. On the fourth Friday of each month one family takes all 10 kids while the other two couples go out and enjoy a date with their spouse. It is the BEST thing, let me tell ya!!! We don't worry about where our kids are, we don't have to pay a babysitter, we don't have to burn out the grandparents and My Sweetie and I can count on and look forward to 8 guaranteed dates with one another throughout the year. When it is our turn to have the kids, we look forward to playing with, entertaining and feeding our friends kids....part of the reason we can do this is because the kids are all so good and enjoy one anothers company.

Tonight it was our turn for a date. We've done your typical date things like dinner, movie, shopping before. It doesn't really matter what we do, it's just nice to have that time. I asked My Sweetie what he thought we should do tonight and he said he had some ideas. He sent me a couple of text messages today which perked my interest a little. Around 4 he came home with some bags of groceries and put together what was obviously a picnic. Cool!!! But he still didn't tell me exactly what we were doing. He kissed me good bye and told me he needed to go pick something up. This totally baffled me!!!! I did notice that he had emptied the trunk of his car though...hmmmm...

With the weather as nice as it was today, I just assumed maybe we'd go someplace and take a walk and have a picnic. After I returned home from dropping the kids off, I pulled into the driveway and My Sweetie had a bike!!! FOR ME!!!! I was so excited!!! Well, excited and scared....you see, in the 14 years that he and I have been together I think I've MAYBE been on a bike once!!! Prior to that, maybe sometime in high school??!!

I decided it would be best for me to walk my bike down our hill....there is a busy highway at the bottom and I was afraid of losing control....and even if I would have survived the highway, at the very end of our hill is the Mississippi.

On the river at the bottom of our hill there is a bike path. We rode for about 5 miles pulled off and enjoyed our picnic along the river and then rode back home. IT WAS LOVELY!!! My butt hurts and my legs are wobbly, but it was THE perfect night!!! Good for the heart, soul and body!!!

Not only did My Sweetie buy the food, pack the picnic and buy me a bike....but he rode at my pace, didn't laugh at me too much because of how clumsy I looked (but I never crashed!!), he wore the backpack packed with our food....it was a very girlie light purple, and then when we returned to the bottom of our hill he pushed BOTH our bikes all the way up.

It was just a good night and I had several of those moments that reminded me of all the reasons I fell in love with him in the first place.

Little Dude is 2

Dear Little Dude,

(April 2008)

What joy you have continued to bring to our family this past year. You just keep getting more and more fun!!!! I'm sure the fun won't stop anytime soon either!!!

(May 2008)

You were about 14 months old when you started to take those precious first few steps. Now that you are two you are running and dancing and trying really hard to jump!

(June 2008)

You weaned nicely from mommy to a sippy cup....it took awhile though because mommy kept getting sick every time we'd wean out a feeding. Your appetite has grown and you will eat just about ANYTHING!!!! You are a grazer and will often ask for a 'nack. For whatever reason you touch your nose when you do this too. As far as I know, touching your nose is not the sign for snack, but I understand!! :)

(July 2008)

Since you eat just about anything we give you, there aren't really any favorite foods I can think of. You certainly like "treats" though!!! Just like your great-grandpa, grandpa, daddy and brothers!!!

(August 2008)

In addition to inventing your own, you learned to sign several words this year....more, please, eat, milk, cookie. Not many, but all the important ones at least!! You are pretty good at mimicking other signs I show you every now and then too.

(September 2008)

At your 18 month well check up I had some questions about your language skills. But these past six months you have picked up several new words. You are even able to put a few words together when you need to get you point across.

(October 2008)

You have adorable names for each of your brothers. When they are away at school you ask where they are. I think one of your favorite times of the day is when they get home from school! I want you to know how blessed you are to have such wonderful big brothers. They both do an amazing job playing and teaching you. They help mommy out a lot!!

(November 2008)

You also get excited when your daddy comes home at the end of the day too. You also ask about him all day long when he is gone and whenever Max barks, you automatically think it's your daddy coming home and you get excited. You have so much fun wrestling with your daddy.

(December 2008)

Some of your favorite things this past year have been Clifford (any dogs really), baths, playing outside, (especially sliding on slides and playing with bubbles) Sponge Bob and playing with your brothers toys.

(January 2009)

Sleeping, well, we need some work on that one still. You have slept in our bed so much that we may as well consider you a co-sleeper....and NOT by choice either. Although you are still a little guy, and I enjoy that snugly closeness with you...some nights I just would like to have my own pillow to myself for the entire night. You hog the bed and kick mommy and daddy and sleep just fine. Mommy and daddy on the other hand.....hope to be sleeping much better by the time you turn 3. :)

(February 2009)

Some things that have happened this year have been a family vacation to the Wisconsin Dells. You did pretty good!! There was one dinner that was rough, but oh how you loved mini golfing!! You also slowly began to enjoy the pool too. You took swim lessons with mommy last summer and I'm hoping we can do that again this summer too. You became a big cousin in September. We are getting better at running errands with mommy and you are warming up to other people taking care of you. You had what we think was an allergic reaction to some amoxicilian. You also had RSV early Spring. Even though you were a pretty sick little guy, you didn't need to be hospitalized.

(March 2009)

You have a sense of humor and you like to make people laugh. Your laugh brings smile to my face. You are a climber!!! I'm slowly getting use to that. You may have a little bit of an anger issue...but I"m hoping that it just a stubborn "two" thing that will pass. You can be very persistent when you want something also and you aren't afraid to let us know when you aren't happy. Most times though, you are a happy little guy who is just a joy to be around.

(April 2009)

I can't even begin to tell you how loved you are by so many people. Your mommy and daddy and big brothers, your grandparents, your aunties and uncles, and cousins friends and you have been blessed with a loving church family who adores you. You have brought so many smiles and laughs into so many lives. I'm looking forward to all of the adventures and fun that two will bring. What a blessing you are to our family and what joy it brings to my heart to hear you call me "mommy".

Happy Birthday my sweet boy. Mommy loves you so much!
XOXOXOXO

Pity Party First

I took Little Dude to the zoo today....the first trip of the season!! We saw lots of baby animals today. They were SO cute!!!

Do you know what else I saw lots of???

Baby Momma Tummies. Not as cute as baby animals, but cute nonetheless.

However, the sight of Baby Momma Tummies still makes my heart ache. It's not quite as much of a pain as it was when we were TTC BuhBuh and Little Dude. But, it still stings. It's a reminder of what my body CAN'T do. As my friend said today, "It just makes me feel broken"

Now PLEASE don't get me wrong. I feel EXTREMELY blessed to have three, healthy boys. Regardless of the time, energy, patient, courage, and prayers that it took us to get pregnant, they are here and they are healthy!

I've had the opportunity to run into a high school friend and a college friend this week. During our "Hi how are you's" they each asked "So! Are you done?" question. I understand that this is merely a form of small talk, asked with nothing more but the best of intentions. But, again it stings just a little. My general reply is, "I think we are probably done." I usually let them know that Little Dude was a struggle to conceive and that we are happy with our three but if something were to happen on it's own then that would be great too.

On the outside, I'm sure we look like a slightly bigger than average family with our children all very spaced out. It also bothers me when people comment on how spaced out the kids are. Again, they aren't ever trying to be mean, but they are just making an observation. This was never our intention. The Boy was 3 1/2 when I got off of birth control and BuhBuh was 19 months when we started trying for #3.

I have learned through my experience to never assume anything about anyone and their ability or inability to conceive, carry or deliver a baby. Even when you are in a sea of Baby Momma Tummies, you just never know what their story may be or where they've traveled to get to where they are.

It bothers me that the Baby Momma Tummies upset me as much as they did today. Maybe it's because my baby will be turning two tomorrow. Maybe it's because we have done nothing to prevent getting pregnant since he was born in hopes of there being the slightest, slimmest possibility of us being able to conceiving on our own. Maybe it's because on Monday I have to take another (STUPID!!!!) pregnancy test so I can re-start some meds. to hopefully start my period (it didn't WORK the last time I tried so I'm having to do it all again! I will sit there and hope that maybe I will see two lines when in reality I know only one will appear.) Maybe I wouldn't be as upset if my body was capable of doing what it is suppose to do. Maybe I just want to have one day where I can be grouchy about it and have it be an OK way to feel.

It is comforting however to know that I'm not alone; I'm not the only one who feels broken or that their body is/has failed them. Although the stories, journey and outcome all may differ, although we can look back now and feel blessed with the sweeties God has brought into our lives, the feeling of brokenness is something we all have in common.

It is also comforting to know that I can fall back on God and see a little bit of the bigger picture. His plans are so much greater than I can ever imagine. I am fairly confident of where God is leading me. In the end I want to live my life according to His will, not mine. THAT is what makes it a little easier to say, with a sigh, "We are probably done."

ENOUGH of this pity party! I have a 2-year old BIRTHDAY party to get ready for!!! SO much more fun than this silliness!

Holy Week and Easter Blessings

The kids had a nice Easter break from school which was in addition to their Spring Break which they had back in March. It has been lovely! I might have just enough mommy power to get us through till summer now. Oh, how I love these lazy, relaxed days.

On Maundy Thursday we decided instead of going to our Parish service, we'd join my Grandma at her Church for service. She was happy to have us. It was nice being there. The choir was amazing. We usually also go to Church on Good Friday but I had made reservations for the My Sweetie and I to go to the dinner theatre with the tickets we had gotten for Christmas. Grandma's Church covered both the events of Maundy Thursday and Good Friday....so I felt like I had gotten my entire Holy Week's worth of service in one night. While they were reading the Passion story they would turn out a light one by one in between readings until all lights were out. When they turned off the last light and we were sitting there in the dark, Little Dude kept asking for the lights to be turned on. hehehe...

Saturday was a busy day. Every year since The Boy was little we have attended an Easter Egg hunt that a couple of local families put on out at the school.


This year was the first year Little Dude participated.

My Sweetie's sisters were their with our niece and nephew and after the egg hunt all the cousins were able to play on the playground equipment.


After that we headed over to the Lutheran Church. They were trying out something NEW for the season called the Journey to the Cross. They had 14 stations set up that gave the kids a hands on, participating part in the Easter Story. We had our heads anointed, got to meet and pet a donkey and learn that all donkey's have a cross on their back (COOL!)


We got to parade around waving our palm branches then lay them on the road the way they did as Jesus rode into Jerusalem.
We did rubbings of some Egyptian coins, had our hands or feet washed just as Jesus did to his disciples, were able to taste some food they may have eaten during the Last Supper, prayed in a garden, saw what a crown of thorns and whip looked like, pounded some nails into a board, tasted the vinegar wine that was like what they gave Jesus to drink when he was hanging on the cross and saw an empty "tomb" It was really cool and I think BuhBuh got the most out of the experience. When he saw the crown of thorns you could tell in his eyes that he was comprehending some of the terrible things Jesus had to go through. He even drank all of the sour "wine" that they offered the kids.

Because of several different circumstances of the morning, we completely missed lunch with our friends. The boys played with their cousins for awhile after the egg hunt which was important, we really had no idea what to expect of the Stations of the Cross because it was new and we'd never been to one before. By the time we got to the Church they had just sent out two groups and they wanted us to wait for others to show up before they sent us around. Once we started the "Journey" and realized that we were late and realized the boys were almost done, we decided to let the boys finish and we met with our friends after. We got there just as everyone was coming out for the Easter Egg hunt. We felt TERRIBLE that we were as late as we were and that we had dissappointed our friends. Thankfully they were able to cancel our lunch cost. We probably "coulda, shoulda" done a dozen different things differently, but we just did the best we could with the way the morning played out.

After coming back home the day was so beautiful that the kids got to go outside to play.


The we headed down to My Sweetie's parents house for pizza and another Easter Egg hunt.


For dessert we had birthday cake for Little Dude....my sister-in-law and niece won't be coming home again for the birthday so this way they were able to sing and have some cake with him for his birthday.
Easter morning we were up bright and early. The boys found their "bunny trails" which lead them to some outdoor toys and chairs that they can use for watching one another's sporting games. I took video of this, but didn't get any pictures!!!

We attended Sun Rise Service, had breakfast at church after and then also attended regular service.
When we got home we thought it would be a good day to release BuhBuh's butterflies that we had raised since they were wee little caterpillars.
He very gently, very sweetly removed the butterflies and placed them on the daffodils in our garden.
We ended our day by having Easter dinner at my grandmas house. We taught her a few new card games!!

Today we are resting and relaxing. Tomorrow it is back to "normal" and soon it will be time to get ready to celebrate Little Dude's 2nd Birthday.

Hoping you and enjoyed a beautiful Son Rise!!!!

Good Friday

The prophecy from Isiah 53:5 was fulfilled that sad, dark day when Jesus was crucified. I don't think we realize the magnitude of what Christ did for us. We take it for granted daily. But today, let us not forget what he did for each one of us.....



It is sad. It is gruesome. You may even want to close your eyes or cringe. But the truth is, he was sent to save the world from sin. He prayed just prior for God to take this cup from him, but then said he wanted to do God's will. God's will was carried out; humbly and obediently Jesus took the beatings, carried the cross, and hung on the cross to die....for you and for me.


"For God so loved the world, He sent his one and only son so that anyone who believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him." John 3:16-17

As hard as this may be to watch, it had to happen. It was Gods plan all along. You see, without Good Friday there would be no Easter; without the Passion and Crucifixion there would be no Resurrection; without the shedding of Christs blood there would be no forgiveness, grace or mercy; without the forgiveness and grace there would be no eternal life; without eternal life there would be no hope.

I thank God for the hope He has brought into my life through my faith and love in my Lord, Jesus.

Remember today what Christ did for you on the cross then celebrate a beautiful Son Rise on Sunday. God Bless.