Wishing...

I was bigger so I could go outside and play too.

Pretty please Mama? I promise not to eat any bugs, dirt or rocks!

How can you resist this face?

A Knight's Tale

His name is...

Sir Noah Play-a-lot and he lives in the land of Jordania. His quest was a simple one, to rescue a beautiful princess from the dungeon and a ferocious dragon.

He fought with the knights code of honor that has been passed down from father to son for generations.  He will proudly recite it if asked, "Rough with dragons and gentle with the ladies!"

He searched far and wide until one day as he entered the living room he was confronted by the enemy of his quest.

With one swipe from his sword he delivered the lethal blow.

And now his quest has come to an end as he releases the beautiful princess from the dungeon.

Sir Noah Play-a-lot and Princess Sydney lived happily ever after.

And just in case someone decided to use Noah's shield for actual protection it has a warning on the back that reads, "This shield is a toy and is not to be used as a safety protection device."

"June Bug" in November

 

 

 

Riding in Style

Lizzy Grace is as sweet as she looks and continues to amaze us with her happy, joyful little personality.

Wurstfest

Joshua's parents came in for a visit a few weeks ago and took us to Wurstfest in New Braunfels. There was a lot of sausage, beer, fried food and fun music. We stuck with the German/American special: lemonade and hot dogs.

Authentic steins from Germany

There were around 30+ venders selling yummy German food. From fried mushrooms to sausage and potato pancakes with apple sauce, you name it they had it.

Momma Jordan had the 5 flavor sausage on a stick.

She is very brave.

Beautiful hand painted Christmas ornaments.

Nothing like a German on stilts!

Let's play "Where's the German?"

Thanks for the fun adventure Grams and Grandad!

San Antonio Zoo

We purchased a Zoo membership so that we can go as many times as we want on family days. Our sprouts love to walk around and talk about the animals and at times impersonate them. Noah makes a good monkey and Sydney a mother hen!

This was Noah's curious face pretty much the whole time. 

The hippos kissing in the water was everyone's favorite.

Pumpkin Patch

Here are a few of our favorite pictures from our time at the pumpkin patch in Seguin.

Mutiny Declared

 

It's finally happened after years of babysitters with little to no trouble with obedience and respect from our sprouts they have finally decided to rebel. The first incident happened a couple of weeks ago when Joshua and I came home from a meeting at 10 p.m. to find two little faces peering through the blinds as we pulled into the drive way. That was not a good sign considering our little ones are due in bed by 8 p.m. We opened the door to find our sprouts running around with a very frazzled babysitter.  The evening account from the sitter went like this, when the time came to put the sprouts to bed mutiny was declared.  It involved throwing toys, screaming, running around like heathens and defiance in it's purest form with the proverbial "No!"

The next time we went out we chose an adult friend to watch the sprouts and to call us as soon as there were signs of mutiny. An hour and a half later the phone rang with, "You need to come home." Nice. The nerve some kids have! O wait, their my kids and they are the ones screaming so loud in the background that I can't hear my friend clearly enough to understand what's going on. We left immediately to go home and train our sprouts that Daddy and Mommy are only a phone call away and will come home to put things in order. And so begins a new season of training our sprouts to respect and obey the authority on duty.

A note of clarification: Lizzy Grace was an innocent bystander to the mutiny and therefore has no part in this story or the consequences that followed.

Pumpkin Owls

The sprouts decorated their pumpkins today. We decided to use an idea we saw on a friends blog and join in with them by making pumpkin owls.

Ours turned out a little different because we couldn't pass up the googly eyes at the store.

Thanks for the idea Shari!

 

 

New Place Setting

I never thought I would be feeding hungry people at our table.

Yes, everyone comes to the table hungry but what I mean is people who have been going without food.

Our pastor noticed a person in our church who had been missing for a couple of weeks and so he gave them a call. Come to find out this person didn't have any work, which meant no gas for their car, no electricity for their house and no food for their table.

So, tonight begins another place setting at our table.

What a joy it is to care for God's people!

Noah's Recycling

Our little man has started inventing things out of our recycling.

Just in case you can't tell, he made this hat from a cereal box.

Another one of Noah's little inventions this week was unrolling the toilet paper roll in the bath room in order to make a telescope. I told him next time he needed to wait until the roll was empty. His response was, "Mommy, I'm a pirate and I needed it to find buried treasure."

"Fancy Music"

 Sydney loves to check out "Fancy Nancy" books from the Library.

The books are about a little girl named Nancy who is Sydney's age that loves to dress-up, dance, and use "fancy" words like posh, elegant,

stylish, luxurious, etc. So it's not hard to understand why Sydney likes the books and goes on a hunt for them as soon as we enter the Library.

Today, after breakfast Sydney wanted to dress-up and practice her ballet like Fancy Nancy for her daddy. So out she came with her elegant princess dress, followed by a stylish necklace and a luxurious pair of jelly shoes. She asked, "Mommy, can you play some fancy music for me to dance to?" Yes, of course. So off I went to grab some music that could be deemed "fancy" by my little girlie. I put in Andrea Bocelli's CD entitled "Sentimento" and pushed play. Sydney began to do her warm up's with foot work and twirls. She smiled at me and said, "Thank you Mommy, I like this fancy music."

Belated Birthday

For my 26th birthday my sweet husband sent me back home to Frisco to spend time with some of my dearest friends. From the left, Michelle, Holly, Laura and sweet Erin on the floor.

We hung up our mommy and business women hats for the night and had an uninterrupted dessert at the Cheesecake Factory followed by several hands of cards and coffee at Holly's house. There may have been a little dancing competition but the blackmail video will remain under wraps until there is a good reason for it to surface. ;)

Thank you for celebrating with me. Miss you already!

 I have know idea what happened to this picture.

Regional Pastor's Retreat

We had a wonderful time this past weekend in Frisco, TX at our regional Pastor's retreat.
The Pastor's and their wives came from Kansas City, Midland, Houston, Frisco, and Seguin to meet together to encourage each other in ministry through biblical fellowship and teaching.
One of our many surprises was a star watch sailing trip on Thursday night. The following pictures were taken on the boat.

Bob and Cindy Odom from Lifegate Church in Seguin, TX.
Joshua and I have the privilege of serving at Lifegate with them.
Pastor Bob was thoroughly enjoying himself while he sailed the boat.

My dear friend Michelle Tombrella is in the middle and went to the PC the year before us and now serves with her husband at Grace Church in Frisco.
Hosanna Hanson is also another dear friend who is the administrator extraordinaire for the Pastoral team in Frisco.

Our PC buddies last year, Darrel and Shari Schiel.
They now serve at the Houston Church.

Pastor Pete and Betsy Payne.
They serve together at Grace Church in Frisco.

Enjoying my hubby.

Noah Turns Three

Happy Birthday little man.
We love you and can't imagine our life without our favorite funny man.

Cinderella? I Don't Think So!

All is quiet in the Jordan house and that means trouble. I'm sitting on the couch contemplating whether I really want to get up and find out what the sprouts are up to or just sit and wait for the tidal wave to hit. I opt to sit and wait. :) Not 3 seconds later my 2 year old son walks in dressed from head to toe like Cinderella. Yes, the blue dress, 15+ bracelets up his arms, high heels and purple nail polish slopped on his finger nails. Breathe. OK, so the tidal wave could have been much worse but I would have rather my son come in covered in dirt and chewing on worms then to see him dressed up like a Disney princess. So now comes the talk of manhood and womanhood for a 2 year old boy and a 4 year old girl. I would have liked to have said that my talk was calm and collected and that they both walked away being well informed students of Piper's "What's the Difference?: Manhood and Womanhood Defined According to the Bible", but all they got was a mom tossing the dress off, grabbing the polish remover, putting the monster truck shirt back on, and explaining that boys don't wear dresses, girls do, boys don't wear polish, girls do, boys don't wear purple and pink bracelets, girls do conversation. After I enlightened the sprouts about the appropriate attire for boys and girls I tossed my son outside and told him to go play in the dirt. Where are the Tombrella boys when you need them??? My son knows more about setting up a tea party then a battle scene! I'm going to Wal-mart and if you happen to pass a lady with a basket full of plastic guns, army men and gummy worms that would be me.

Puddles

What do you do after an early morning rain? You take a walk and splash in a couple of puddles! The sprouts were not content to let mommy be a bystander, as you will see by the video being abruptly cut off. :)

*Pause music at bottom of page.

5K for the Newbie

I will officially enter the world of runners this Thanksgiving. I used to run for fun before I met my Love and then the sprouts came along soon after, which inevitably filled all the nooks and crannies of my time. But the season has come when we are not expecting any new sprouts at present, so I can pick back up where I left off 5 years ago. Ya right!
So the training begins. Whoopee! Actually, I started hitting the gym back in February of this year and have run off 40 lbs.

So, for all the years I would make fun of the "Trotters" as we passed them on the way to Joshua's parents house for a 2000 calorie meal, this year I will join them.
Maybe next year the Cherry Blossom in DC?
Tiff, Kim, Hannah, you game?

A Scary Moment Turned Wonderful

Lunch preparations started out like any other day. 4 colorful plates laid out with a somewhat balanced meal. Everything cut into small pieces for little mouths that can be too eager to swallow without chewing properly. Everyone was sitting in place with bibs on to catch any misguided or unwanted food. And then it happened. Sydney took a bite of food and began to cough. And then her cough stopped along with her ability to take in air. Panic gripped me in that moment as I flew across the table and started doing the children's Heimlich maneuver on her. Thrust...What if I'm not doing this right? Thrust...What if I can't dislodge it? Thrust...Do I call 911 or do I keep trying so that no time is lost? Thrust...What if I lose her? Thrust...God help me. Thrust...and then she coughed out the piece of food and began to breathe.

I picked her up and held her in my arms as the tears started to stream down my face. Sydney asked me, "Mommy, why are you crying?" I tried to explain to her how serious it is to choke on food and that I could have lost her. Her response to me was astonishing and was something that I was not prepared to hear. She said, "Mommy, it would be ok if I died because I would be with God in heaven forever." Those words took the air right out of me. If I wasn't humbled by what could have just happened, I was definitely humbled now. She was comprehending all the things that Joshua and I had been teaching her and now she was using it to comfort me. What started out as the most tragic experience I have had with one of my sprouts so far, ended with being amazed at God working in the heart of my child.

Falcon Scrimmage

Lifegate has a 6 man football team that we had the pleasure of watching today during their first scrimmage. They looked great on the field and made us pretty confident that we will be winning a little more then just a few games this year. Joshua and I are very passionate about football and we are glad to add the Falcons to the list of teams we cheer for. High school team - Falcons, College - Texas Longhorns (Sorry Dad, go A&M) and of course Americas team the Dallas Cowboys.

Eight Months

Lizzy Grace is eight months old now and is the sweetest baby we have had thus far. No knock against Sydney and Noah they were great but this little one surpasses them on the "easy" list. She loves to laugh, play, eat and sleep and that's about it. Not much else to say about this adorable little face, it speaks for itself.

Day at the Beach

For Joshua's thirty second birthday the sprouts and I took him with our friends Philip and Danielle to the Gulf of Mexico. Great seafood, fellowship with our sweet friends and a relaxing time on the beach was just what he needed to have a wonderful birthday.

Thanksgiving Journal

Flexible Flyer Big Adventure Metal Swing Set

One of our family traditions we started this year is keeping a journal with all the ways that God has provided for us. It is so easy to forget what He has done so in order to help us recount our many blessings Joshua came up with this idea of us having a family journal. Our plan is to read it out loud together every year on Thanksgiving day.

Our list has become quite long since our little family was established five years ago. Our goal is to write down as many details from the past that we can remember and then keep up with the future.

Here are just a few blessings from the past and one from today.

• God provided financially through a car accident that in turn paid off our wedding, school debt and the birth of Sydney.
• God provided a job for Joshua so that I could stay home with my sprouts and through that job insurance that paid for the birth of Noah.
• God provided a minivan through a couple in our church who we did not know. They walked up to us at our church picnic and asked us if they could give us their 2001 Honda Odyssey.
  
• God provided for us when Joshua was laid off from his job in the spring of 2008. Within a weeks time rent, a Walmart gift card that was enough to pay for 2 months of groceries and all bills were covered through our Care Group, Church and family until Joshua found another job.
• God provided for all our needs for us to move to MD for 10 months in order to attend the Pastors College and the birth of Lizzy Grace.
  
• And now a new one that will be added to our list today is the swing set that is pictured above. Our dear friends who will remain nameless because they wish it to be, surprised us by ordering a swing set for our backyard. There was no talk between us about this with them until Joshua and I got an email from Walmart telling us when to come and pick it up.
  

God has been faithful to provide for our every need and to surprise us by blessing us with what we thought was a want and even at times dreams that would never be fulfilled. What is "impossible" through our limited perspective is achievable through God's gracious eternal perspective. Our Thanksgiving journal is a daily reminder to us of the gospel. What we deserve is God's wrath for our sins and what we got is saving grace through Jesus Christ.

"If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!" Matthew 7:11

It's time...

for a cup of coffee.

I have been resisting the need for a daily cup of coffee for a little over 3 years now. That's how long its been since I have had an uninterrupted night of sleep and that is no joke. So today I caved in and bought a Mr. Coffee 4 cup programmable coffeemaker. After the last 3 days of walking around with my eyes half open I decided that it was time to develop a taste for the legally addictive caffeinated drink of choice. You may be asking why has it taken me so long to do this? Well, because the only way I have liked coffee in the past is if it had sugar, cream, more sugar, milk and a natural sweetener I like to call sugar. You get the point. So, by the time I'm done "fixing" my cup of coffee I might as well be drinking sweetened milk. A very unhealthy high calorie drink that usually makes me sick by the time I'm done with it. But with times of desperation come times of sacrifice, so today I am embarking on the difficult and painful process of retraining my taste buds. One teaspoon of sugar and a splash of skim milk will be the only added ingredient. And then maybe one day I will graduate to drinking it black. Small steps lead to great climbs.

Wish me luck! :)

Tractors & Potties

What does a tractor...

and a potty have in common?

A potty trained Noey boy who got a prize for filling up his potty chart.
Good job little buddy!

Grams and Grandad's Visit

Joshua's parents came to town this weekend for a look at our Seguin life. We gave them the grand tour of Pape's pecan house, a few historical markers and a trip to Gruene. Lots of food and fun is always to be had when Grandad and Grams a.k.a."Gramsies the Great" come to town! :) Thanks for stopping by and joining us for a weekend tour. Miss you already!

Here it is...

Tooth on bottom left.

First Visitor

My friend Erin Westbrook and her daughter McKaylyn came to town for a visit this past weekend. We had a blast being tourists together in our new town and the surrounding area. Thank you so much for coming!

Comal River at Landa Park

Our new favorite family outing is going to Landa Park in New Braunfels. They have a perfect little wadding pool for small children. The water is about 65 degrees and feels a little chilly when you first step in but with the temperature being 105 outside it start to feel good real fast.

My cute husband

Joshua swinging Noah up and down as he squeals with delight.

Junebug with her lovely smile.

Lizzy Grace posing for the camera.

Her shirt says it all.

Backyard Baseball

Our cute little sportsman.

Swing batter batter, swing!

Sydney enjoyed her big sister duties of retrieving the ball and setting it back in place on the stand for her little brother.