Wednesday, February 25, 2009

What does this look like in 10 Years????








Kloee came home from school the other day to an unexpected surprise, a new friend. We'll call him Sam. They hit it off. Kloee drove him crazy, literally and he loved it. They jumped until they could jump no more. They were so kind to each other. They blew bubbles and laughed and watched T.V. They could even agree on what to do together for the most part. Kloee said later that Sam helped her to have a really happy day. If I gaze into the future it is amazing to think that in 9 or 10 years, Kloee may really be driving someone crazy! Wow, how time flies it feels like so long at first and then before you know it you have a 7 year old and time begins to go even faster. It is so vital that we savor the moments right now. They will be gone so quickly and we will miss them. Yes, we will even miss the lack of sleep and the white noise of the monitor, kind of sad to think that one day it will just be an old man snoring really loud in our house instead of laughing children. Oh, the seasons how they come and go. We are thankful for Sam and his family. What joy to see Kloee laugh:)
A

Saturday, February 21, 2009

A case of the Blues and Ding Dong Ditch


Kloee has been feeling a little down lately and so we are trying to be very creative in the "cheer up and laugh" area of life. Growing up our family was blessed during the holidays by a secret family that would leave gifts at our door, ring the bell and then ditch out. We have begun this tradition during the holidays with my whole family and would take turns with the family we have adopted. It is always so fun to drop something off, ring the door bell and run as fast as you can to get into the getaway car while, the crazy driver speeds off! The trick is to then circle around and see if you got them. We did this to a few people in our neighborhood and Kloee got the biggest kick out of it. Soooo....we thought why wait until the holidays, it is fun, can be cheap and who doesn't like an unexpected gift? We are lucky enough to have several friends and family within a few mile radius of our house. We picked up some chocolate, made cards and proceeded to make Kloee laugh. Well, it worked! She sprained her ankle, lost a tooth and had to get stitches but it was really worth it! Ok, just kidding none of that happened but I had you going didn't I? We had so much fun and were able to bless people in the process. It is amazing when you do things for others or serve them, how in turn God blesses you more than you can imagine.
We are really trying to embrace the verse
The Joy of the Lord is our strength
Not just in a cliche manner, but in real life when things are difficult and you can't imagine having hope or joy, yet it is possible. There are moments when the clouds part and the storm stops that you realize that God will bring you through it. It doesn't make it easy, or enjoyable but it allows us to focus on true deep rooted joy. There are always things that come out of hard times even if you don't see it at first. Kloee went to school the other day after a long absence. She was very anxious of what the other children might say and do. She arrived at school to her teacher's huge smile and a cubby overflowing with cards, candy and small gifts. She told me that even the mean girl hugged her. God is good. We told her that is one good thing out of this, maybe the mean girl is learning compassion.
A

Hot Cheetos, Crafts, New Friends


Now that Kloee is getting older, she is galavanting around more on her bike and meeting more kids in our neighborhood. Asia is her newest companion and it has been so much fun getting to know her. She has only lived in the United States for 6 months because her dad is in a branch of the military and she has lived oversees her whole life. She lived in England last and has told us all about it. It is so interesting to hear about our beloved country through the eyes of a child who is here for the first time. Kloee and Asia have had a blast together and look forward to more excitement to come.

Asia is a joy in Kloee's life right now. They both love crafts, Hot Cheetos and most of all jumping forever on the trampoline. Life is good and so is God, we are thankful for Asia and her family. Kloee loves having another girl in the neighborhood to hang out with.

A

Wednesday, February 18, 2009

3 boys and 1 girl....

Today, I took care of 3 boys that are very dear to our hearts. It was a rather odd day around our house. We had throw up, ear aches and cuddling on the couch. Sweet Ty woke up with spaghetti throw up, and bright red cheeks. I put him in the bath and he cried when I touched his ear???? Uh...ohh. Then Noe woke up crying but in the middle of a bad dream...I think. Brody is sick and only wants his Mama. So as the story goes. I had 2 boys on my lap cuddled in blankets and 1 little boy wrapped in a towel and a pull up snuggled in. I had the pleasure of being needed by 3 adorable boys and living in the relaxing world of the couch, a soft blanket, 3 boys who needed me and CARS. What a sweet gig:)
A

Sunday, February 8, 2009

The Joy of K












The Joy of the Lord is Her Strength.


Kloee has become quite the advocate for more stylish gowns in hospitals and Dr.'s offices. Maybe Hannah Montana or High School Musical she says. Most gowns really have no personal style and they are so babyish.
Wow, the concerns of a girl who has more to worry about than gowns. I have not been on our blog for a couple weeks, I am glad to be updating here and not in a more urgent matter. We are trying to get back to "normal life" after being gone for almost a week in California to figure out Kloee's skin.
It feels good to be home with our sweet boy who we missed so much. I think he especially missed Kloee, but there are signs that he missed his Mama too. It was a sweet homecoming. We have already started planning for our next trip for treatment, it won't be as long though just a day or two.
We are thankful for you all and look forward to more exciting posts in the near future:) Kloee and Brody are celebrating B-days very soon. March will be a fun month.
A

Tuesday, February 3, 2009

Miss T.

Miss T.
Kloee just started a new school and we prayed so hard for a great teacher. She loves school and her teacher Miss T. She went late today because her skin was really bad in the middle of the night and she said I had so much fun I wish I was on time:)
Anyways, tonight Kloee was in the kitchen talking to me and she said do you know that Miss T. is 85? Now, I have met Miss T. and she is a very young, cute teacher. Kloee said, yes she told me at recess and guess what she is not even married yet!!! I said wow! Do you really think she is that old? Kloee said no I think she is a teenager or maybe in her twenties. It was so cute and we are so thankful for Miss T.
A

Kirby + Brody =Peace










Have you ever had the Kirby vacuum man at your house for 6 hours trying to sell you one of the most expensive vacuums on the market? Do you wonder why? Why do they target young couples with kids and bills and cars and mortgages, would it really makes sense to spend so much on a vacuum cleaner at this point in our lives? The answer to all of this is YES, YES, YES. You may be asking if I got sucked in (no pun intended) by the Kirby man but no it was not me. It was my friend, who will remain nameless, but now it all makes so much sense. I thought she was a little crazy at first. Then..................it happened. Our vacuum broke and I asked if I could borrow "Kirby" I fell in love, I never knew vacuuming could be so amazing, the lines the suction, no I am really serious. I now am a par ital owner of Kirby (by default) and I have another vacuum but it just is not the same. At this point I am sure you are wondering why Brody is in the equation. Well, Brody loves Kirby too. As you can see in the picture, Kirby is a soothing sound that in spite of his delicious lunch he fell asleep to. This is not the first time and I hope not the last that he will be soothed by Kirby's gentle yet powerful noise. Brody has not fallen asleep to any other vacuum yet!!!!!!! That is worth more money than anything. I am in love with Kirby and so is my love Brody:)









A

Monday, February 2, 2009

Single Moms Spa Day 2009

First, I want to say it is so fun to see who is following our blog:) It is nice to see your smiling faces!

Ok, so many of you know that for many years now I have had the priveledge of being involved in something at our church called Single Moms Spa Day. It is an amazing event that the women in our church do every year to serve single moms. It is an event that is free and offers spa like services (haircuts, manicures, pedicures, massages, makeup, brow waxing and so on) with childcare and brunch, at no charge to ANY single mother. It is the most incredible way I have ever served! It is amazing that God uses us to further his plan and yet we get to have fun while doing it. We reach out to our community as well to show God's love in a practical yet "non-churchy" way that really speaks to their heart. There are so many stories that I could tell, but it would still not do justice to what God does every year. Sooo....if you would like more info or have interest in our church you can visit the website www.vcfnp.com. If you are a single mom or know of a single mom we would love to serve them. They do not have to be a member of the church to come and they can call to make an appointment. It does fill up quite quickly as we serve over 200 moms, yet we try not to turn anyone away. Registration for this does not being until April so appointments are not available yet. If none of this makes sense, my reason is that we just had our first meeting and I am on a high:) Excuse my run-on sentences and lack of grammar.
A

Sunday, February 1, 2009

Goals for 2009

So I was telling Kloee that this year instead of writing my goals out in my journal I made a poster with stickers and cut out things from magazines and words and such. I asked her if she wanted to make one and she said YES! So I began to ask her what she wanted to accomplish this year and her answers were so adorable, I thought I would share them.
Kloee's goals verbatim for 2009
*I think we should have more family dates
*I think we should exchange gifts with one another more, David asked her like what kind of gifts and she held up a little dog figurine and said well, something like this. :)
*I think we should serve people more without roofs and food like you know Uncle Skip, (she lovingly refers to him as Uncle but it is really not her uncle)
That was about it for the moment, she said she needed to think about it a little more. I will post a picture of her poster when she is done with it.
A