Pleasant Places

"Tangled"

2010-12-09T21:16:00.000-05:00

This past Saturday, Sydney and I had some "girl time" together. And of course top on our list of girlie things to do was to go and see the new Disney movie entitled "Tangled." Sydney wanted to get all dressed up for our outing by having her hair fixed, some pixie dust on her cheeks, and a pretty dress. She started out in her own seat but about 5 minutes into the movie she was sitting with me, eating a hot dog and a few treats I had stashed in my purse. We laughed, I cried, we laughed some more, answered a few pertinent questions from Sydney about events taking place and then I cried and we laughed until the end. We both loved the movie and Sydney has started saving money in an envelope entitled "Rapunzel" in order to purchase the movie as soon as it hits the store shelf.

Our new favorite character: Pascal

"Rapunzel's one true friend is her silent, color-changing sidekick, Pascal. Pascal may be just a small chameleon, but he plays a big role in Rapunzel's decision to leave her lonely tower. This supportive and encouraging companion's true colors just might hold a key to unlocking a royal mystery."

Lizzy Turns two!

2010-12-03T12:35:00.000-05:00

Daddy's first hold.

This is one of our precious pictures we have of Lizzy-Grace in NICU. She developed pneumonia in her left lung 12 hours after birth. If she had been born only a century earlier she would have died from it. But God in his mercy and grace had her born at the right time, in the right place, in order for the pneumonia to be diagnosed and treated.

Lizzy-Sunshine at 4mo.

Sunbathing at 6 months

Pumpkins at 10mo.

Traditional Jordan family birthday breakfast at 1 yr.

The "balloon monster," as Sydney and Noah have affectionately named the mysterious creature that fills their rooms with balloons on the eve of their birthday's, made another appearance last night to surprise Lizzy-Grace. And as you can see by her response...she was surprised!

Cute as a button while enjoying a pink sprinkle donut.

Taking care of "Piper" her birthday penguin.

Happy Birthday Lizzy-Sunshine! You have been a joy to all of us these past 2 years.

Love- Daddy, Mommy, Sydney, and Noah!

Our New Home

2010-12-02T15:03:00.000-05:00

The 2 month blog break was because of what this picture holds. My amazing husband bought the sprouts and I our first home. The past few weeks have held house hunting trips, paperwork, inspections, appraisals, phone calls, money, and last but not least, signing our life away! That was followed by packing, cleaning, address changing, moving, unpacking, etc. Then a week and a half after we moved, we opened the doors for our family to come celebrate with us. The Sensel's, Grams & Grandad, Crowdad & Lambie, Punkin & Granny, and a Pastors' conference in Maryland fit somewhere in there. This house has been a gift from God and we are having a wonderful time putting it to good use.

This is the welcome you can expect after the front door is open.

So come visit!

Beautiful & Handsome

Liz is acting prim and proper while Sydney is enjoying watching Noah's sideshow.

Silly.

Goofy.

All done!

"Annabel Lee"

2010-12-02T12:22:00.000-05:00

Discovered this poem today while reading to Sydney. I think it is one of my new favorites. Be warned...you might cry.

It was many and many a year ago,
In a kingdom by the sea,
That a maiden there lived whom you may know
By the name of ANNABEL LEE;
And this maiden she lived with no other thought
Than to love and be loved by me.

I was a child and she was a child,
In this kingdom by the sea;
But we loved with a love that was more than love-
I and my Annabel Lee;
With a love that the winged seraphs of heaven
Coveted her and me.

And this was the reason that, long ago,
In this kingdom by the sea,
A wind blew out of a cloud, chilling
My beautiful Annabel Lee;
So that her highborn kinsman came
And bore her away from me,
To shut her up in a sepulchre
In this kingdom by the sea.

The angels, not half so happy in heaven,
Went envying her and me-
Yes!- that was the reason (as all men know,
In this kingdom by the sea)
That the wind came out of the cloud by night,
Chilling and killing my Annabel Lee.

But our love it was stronger by far than the love
Of those who were older than we-
Of many far wiser than we-
And neither the angels in heaven above,
Nor the demons down under the sea,
Can ever dissever my soul from the soul
Of the beautiful Annabel Lee.

For the moon never beams without bringing me dreams
Of the beautiful Annabel Lee;
And the stars never rise but I feel the bright eyes
Of the beautiful Annabel Lee;
And so, all the night-tide, I lie down by the side
Of my darling- my darling- my life and my bride,
In the sepulchre there by the sea,
In her tomb by the sounding sea.

-Edgar Allan Poe

G.B. League

2010-09-19T23:31:00.000-04:00

Our first Lunar bowling with the G.B. league

From left - Lauren, Amanda, Anna, Rose, and Danielle.

Just to give you a little hint as to how good we are, our collective team score was around 400.

And this is not to brag, but I did win the G.B. score of the night!

"Womanly Dominion"

2010-09-19T23:17:00.000-04:00

A friend sent this quote from the book "Womanly Dominion" to me as an encouragement in the tasks of what my calling entails. I wanted to pass it along in hopes that it will spur you on to higher ground.

pg. 154-

"It's my understanding that every biblically committed wife and mother must pass through a personal Gethsemane of sorts, needing to come to grips with the cup her Father has poured for her.

Think, dear sister, how the Lord Jesus selflessly served you. He laid down His life to make you look good. He laid it down on crucifixion day, so that you'd look good on judgement day. He was spat upon, beaten, scourged, mocked, stripped, spiked, hung, and forsaken. Then He breathed His last so that you wouldn't forever weep, wail, and gnash your teeth in hell. He was born, lived, and died with the sole object that you would look good forever. Could it be that this wifehood and motherhood thing is calling you to higher ground, conforming you more to His glorious image?" -Amen

Presents!

2010-09-19T21:44:00.000-04:00

Thanks Grams & Grandad!

Thanks Lambie & Crowdad!

And the grand finale...

Hermie the hermit crab!

Our Little Man Turns Four!

2010-09-18T09:25:00.001-04:00

Newbie to the world

6 months - Also known as the no neck stage.

1 year!

2 years!

3 years!

4 years!

Happy Birthday Noah! We love having you as a part of our family!

Sydney Ballerina

2010-09-13T20:22:00.001-04:00

As requested by her grand-parents-a picture of Sydney dressed for her first day of ballet. The hairdo was a bit challenging, but with a lot of gel and a little bit of pixie dust, it stayed up.

Sydney had a fantastic time in ballet class! Almost as soon as she walked in the front door, she began to show me everything she had learned in class. Precious!

Noah, Sydney, and Lizzie sharing the limelight together.

Time For Ballet!

2010-09-12T18:57:00.003-04:00

June-bug starts ballet class tomorrow!
She has been talking about wanting to take ballet for months now. She is bursting at the seems with joy that the day has finally arrived. Yesterday, we had a blast picking out her ballet shoes, white tights, black leotard, and pink tutu together. It was definitely memory making girlie time with my little ballerina! Now, all that is left is for me to master the ballerina hairdo!

What's a Dishwasher?

2010-08-30T20:33:00.000-04:00

Sydney loves to sing and talk with me while we clean the dishes together. One of our many conversations this week consisted of what our new house would have; one of those things being a new dishwasher. I was trying to explain to her that we wouldn't be hand washing the dishes in our new house when she interrupted me with, "Mommy, we can't eat on dirty dishes!" I then explained to her further that no, we wouldn't be eating on dirty dishes because we would be using a dishwasher. She then looked at me with a perplexed expression on her face and asked, "Mommy, what's a dishwasher?" Hopefully she'll learn soon enough!

Makeup Truck

2010-08-30T19:36:00.000-04:00

Lipstick (ascending) on Caterpillar truck 1969

What does lipstick and a truck have in common? I don't know, nor do I understand why there was actually a picture that came up when I did a Google search. But what I do know is that for some reason my son has gotten the word makeup confused with the word pickup, and has now switched them out. So, if you happen to be standing near us to hear Noah yell, "Look Mommy, there goes a makeup truck!" you will understand.

Mr. Tumnas?

2010-08-29T17:00:00.002-04:00

One morning as Joshua was helping Noah get dressed, Sydney came in to play. She walked over to give Joshua his morning hug when she noticed something under his arm. She asked, "Daddy, what is that under your arm?" Noah then added his comment about the underarm hair discovery with, "Eww, gross!" Both sprouts then lifted up their arms to check to see if they had any underarm hair and then they checked each others. Once Sydney realized that neither her or Noah had underarm hair she said, "Daddy, your weird. Your like Mr. Tumnas!"

Offering Anyone?

2010-08-28T22:14:00.003-04:00

Noah will be turning four next month, which means he will be graduating out of the nursery and into "big church" with us. So in order to prepare him for the transition, we have started having him come for the singing portion of the service. On his first Sunday to come in with us, we prepped him of what he should expect and what we expected of him. Just one little problem, we forgot to tell him about the offering. Joshua passed the offering plate around Sydney and Noah to me. As soon as it made it into my hands, Noah's head dipped down and his face went into full pout mode. I leaned over and asked him, " Noah, what's the matter?" Noah raised his face just enough to look at me with his sad puppy dog eyes and a protruding lip to say, "I thought I could have some money!" Joshua then leaned over and tried to explain to him that the money was for Jesus and the church. Noah did not like that answer and gave Joshua the look that said, "Why isn't Jesus sharing?" And then it was off to the nursery so that we could hopefully avoid a scene. I don't think we succeeded though, considering we were sitting on the second row from the front, and Noah maintained his "it could go either way face" (cry or throw a fit, maybe both) all the way down the aisle. Ah, the first joys of being a PW with a little PK.

Funny Man

2010-08-28T17:20:00.000-04:00

This is a glimpse into Noah's funny personality. He will go to great lengths to make us laugh, even going a little overboard with the alphabet stickers.

Summer Vacation

2010-08-28T17:03:00.004-04:00

This year for our vacation, Joshua and I enjoyed some alone time on the beach at Rockport. A breathtaking view of the ocean, accompanied with the smell of the sea breeze, and nothing but the sound of the waves and the seagulls to break in on the oasis of our serenity. Blissful.

A window view from the beach condo our friends let us borrow during our vacation.

Magnificent storm cloud formations covered the sky, and brought with it light showers that kept the temperatures cool and the breeze refreshing. Perfect beach weather for a couple wanting to sit and relax while enjoying a few good books.

Our shelter from the sun.

Our last night there the moon rose over the ocean and the sea turned a brilliant blue.
The seagulls came alive and started circling around were the tide was coming in.

One of our little friends who took some interest in our presence on his beach.

So pretty. If only vacations could be more than once a year. :)

New Roommates

2010-08-28T01:03:00.000-04:00

Sydney and Lizzy are now roommates and loving it. The girls new room looks like one of "Fancy Nancy's" books exploded in there with all the pink, lavender, and accessories that cover every surface.

Noah is also enjoying his pink free room and the classic car prints and signs that now hang on his walls.

Growing Up

2010-08-28T00:25:00.001-04:00

Here is an after summer picture to show how big my sprouts are getting.

Sydney has started Kindergarten, Noah preschool, and Lizzy is the cute tag along.

Showing off their new school clothes.

Grasshopper Tears

2010-08-28T00:09:00.002-04:00

This story starts out with a very excited boy as he discovered and captured a very large and active grasshopper that was playing in the backyard. For a little over an hour, this boy took great delight in playing catch and release with his jumping friend. But this all ended in tragedy, when his new friend was spotted by a black bird. As the little boy was chasing after his friend to catch him again, the black bird swooped down and stole his little grasshopper. The black bird then perched himself on the fence in front of the little boy and maliciously crunched down his little friend. In turn the boy was screaming at the black bird with tears running down his face, and shouting, "Bad bird, bad bird!!!"

True story.

Happy Birthday June bug!

2010-06-27T08:07:00.001-04:00

Hello Baby

Year one

Year two

Year three

Year four

Year five

Birthdays in our house start with that special someones room being filled with balloons after their asleep. Joshua put the balloons in Sydney's room around midnight in order to be sure that she would be sound asleep. But to our surprise, she rolled over to see him and said, "Don't worry Dad, I'm not peaking!" We think she was a little too excited to sleep well last night. :o) The early morning was filled with screams of delight and laughter as the sprouts started to play. Joshua and I headed down the hall to enjoy the celebration with our camera in hand. Then it was off to the bakery with Dad to pick out favorite donuts and bring some home to share with the rest of the family.

Happy Birthday Sweet Girlie!
Daddy and Mommy love you and are blessed to have you in our lives.

Sydney Bon Bair

2010-06-17T10:36:00.002-04:00

This week at the Library we found a new favorite book entitled "Ruthie Bon Bair."

It's about a little girl who does not obey her mommy and the consequences end up not being very fun for Ruthie.

"So begins this delightfully irreverent tale in the tradition of Dr. Seuss. When a spirited little girl named Ruthie Bon Bair refuses to dry her wet hair before bedtime, she is plagued by an unusual host of difficulties-plants and flowers begin to sprout from her scalp, leading to hilarious consequences. Escalating to a dizzying climax, Ruthie and friends attempt to control the growing vegetation in her hair, but not without some surprising results..."

After breakfast yesterday, Joshua gave Sydney this dress-up idea.

Introducing Sydney Bon Bair.

And of course Noah wanted to participate as a dragon, but I think he ended up looking like an angry leprechaun (a small, mischievous sprite). :)

Witte Museum

2010-06-16T18:05:00.002-04:00

This past week, we headed to the Witte Museum for our family day. For the soul purpose of seeing the animatronic dinosaur exhibit for our little man. It is such a joy to take part in your children's interests, and to help them go from a plastic toy model to a life size moving replica. Needless to say we had a blast!

Noah was in awe of the size, movement, and sounds of the dinosaurs. So much so, that he was too afraid to turn his back to them for a picture.

Noah loved being able to press buttons on a control panel to make the dinosaurs move.

Lots of fun!

Joshua and Noah were surprised by a T-Rex popping its head out of a mountain.

My precious paleontologists.

Noah's first big discovery!

Raising Hobbits?

2010-06-11T16:25:00.002-04:00

My sprouts want to eat on a Hobbit's meal schedule, so I was thinking I should officially put it into effect. If I meal/snack plan for this ahead of time my pantry won't be running dry of options. They can only eat goldfish so many times in one day. :)
The only problem is they'll never be down from the table...like today.

So far today...

- Breakfast - Homemade blueberry muffins w/milk
- Second breakfast - Yogurt and granola bars w/water
- Elevensies - Peanut butter and honey sandwiches w/milk
- Luncheon - Leftovers from Elevensies
- Afternoon tea - Banana w/milk
- Dinner
- Supper

* Kudos to Tolkien for coming up with this helpful meal plan. Thanks!

Library Detectives

2010-06-10T17:26:00.000-04:00

Sydney and Noah enjoyed the carnival today at the Seguin Library. The carnival was the kickoff to their summer reading program. The sprouts had already finished all their reading in order to receive their prizes, so they each came home with a detective hat, t-shirt, glasses, snake sword (to fight off bad guys), flash light, library bag, and their certification for library detectives.

Noah looking Depp-like in his hat while he eats a sucker he won fishing.

Showing off their t-shirts.

6th Anniversary

2010-06-05T09:27:00.004-04:00

My Love and I have been married for 6 years today! I guess that means we've graduated to first grade. :)

Lizard Army

2010-05-25T16:42:00.000-04:00

Noah's new "it" toy is his collection of lizards. He has been carrying the lizards around the house for the last couple of days, and yesterday he came up with a new way to play with them. So I just couldn't pass up taking a picture of my cute little man with his lizard army.

Brushing Cuties

2010-05-24T22:17:00.000-04:00

Big sister's apprentice.

Lizzy on her pink tiptoes.

Hee-hee!

Banana Buddies

2010-05-24T21:52:00.000-04:00

I took this photo the other night to demonstrate how Lizzy loves her big brother and wants to do everything just like him, right down to holder her banana with the peel.

Chocolate Pie A' la Floor

2010-05-21T10:08:00.001-04:00

You know you serve a great group of people when upon arriving for Care Group, you drop the dessert face down on the floor and after everyone gets over their shock and disappointment, they vow to still eat it because of the 5 second rule. Good thing it was still frozen when it kissed the floor. Thanks guys!

Investigator of the Year

2010-05-21T09:44:00.000-04:00

Congratulations!!!

I am proud to announce that my dad won the "Investigator of the Year" award for the Denton County Sheriff's Office. Wish we could be there with you tonight to celebrate and see you get your award.
Love you Dad!

The Accused

2010-05-20T14:23:00.000-04:00

Mugshot #1

Charged with embarrassing his mother.

The incident happened earlier today inside the Albertsons grocery store off of I-35 in New Braunfels, Texas. While in the check out line, the accused overheard a conversation taking place between his older sister and mother. It was a discussion on modesty, because his sister noticed some women dressed in bikinis on the cover of magazines. His sister said, "Mommy, those women are naked!" His mother then explained that "No, they were not naked, just dressed immodestly." The accused then proceeded to laugh and say, "Naked women? Oh, I see them." His mother then turned the magazine around and said, "Don't talk about it anymore." The accused, catching on to the fact that what he had just said was not an appropriate thing to be saying, and that he had been asked to stop (opportunity to disobey), got a gleam in his eye and a giggle in his voice, and at the top of his lungs screamed, "NAKED WOMEN, NAKED WOMEN, NAKED WOMEN!!!" After his mother returned to her natural color, and "the looks" from around the packed check out lines stopped, he and his family retreated to the car. A complaint was filed with the Judge (Daddy) upon arrival at home.

* The sentencing should be light since the Judge couldn't stop laughing.

Pantry Discovery

2010-05-19T12:50:00.001-04:00

Why is it that my baby is the inquisitive one?

She is the first to play with the toilet, the first to empty out an entire container of wipes, the first to discover the pantry and explore all its potential messes.

You would think that since she already dumped out a box of chocolate Nesquik on the pantry floor this morning I would have barricaded the door somehow. But no, I did not learn from that disaster earlier today, so this is what I found 2 hours later.

My Husband

2010-05-17T16:04:00.000-04:00

I love the fact that my husband knows I've had a long night/day and while I'm asking him what would bless him to eat for dinner he says, "How about peanut butter and honey sandwiches?"

Cops & Kids

2010-05-17T11:53:00.001-04:00

Cops & Kids is a free, annual, play day/picnic for the town of Seguin. We had a great time as a family enjoying all the festivities.

Sydney and Noah played the Sponge Bob bean bag game and won a piece of cake and an apron from Home Depot.

Joshua, Sydney, and Noah had a fun ride around Starke Park.

Noah was amped-up that he and Daddy got sprayed with mud on the tractor ride.

Sydney was so excited as she waited in line for her face to be painted for the first time.

So Pretty!

Church Bells

2010-05-13T14:44:00.005-04:00

I love the sound of the church bells that ring in our old town every day. I wonder if they're ringing to call the faithful to worship or if they're ringing to announce the death of a church member (the "passing bell" --one stroke for each year of life.) Maybe it's in celebration of a couple that has just united in the marriage covenant or the start of a new day of school. Whatever it may be, the bells cadence makes me stop and meditate that time is passing. It breaks into the mundane tasks of my life and reminds me of an earlier century, that I have only read about and wished I had gotten to experience. It reminds me that what I am doing right now will end all too soon, as the seasons come and go. So, as I pause at the sound, a smile spreads across my face and I continue on in the tasks that God has called me to, in this time and place.

What Did You Expect??

2010-05-12T10:05:00.012-04:00

Joshua and I are going through this book together on date nights and already we are seeing fruit in our marriage. The heart is the target in marriage, just like in Tripp's brother's book on children ("Shepherding A Child's Heart"). It is one of the best books we have read on marriage so far, and we hope that it will be an instrument for change in your marriage as well. Please check it out...you won't be disappointed.

Milestone

2010-05-12T09:35:00.000-04:00

Sydney has learned to swing by herself this week.

Good job Juneberry!

Springtime Photo Shoot

2010-04-25T19:42:00.000-04:00

Seguin is in bloom with Texas wild flowers!

My little man

Bringing Mommy a flower

Lizzy is doing her spring jig.

Giggling about the flowers

But still more interested in picking up rocks than flowers.

Close-up

Juneberry looking all grown up.

Beautiful!

New Prized Possession

2010-04-23T11:44:00.000-04:00

Crossway publishing has put out a new ESV version of the classic Spurgeon devotional with the same TruTone cover as their bibles. "Morning by Morning" and "Evening by Evening" were one of my gifts Joshua brought back for me from T4G. Thank you Babe!

Springtime Pictures

2010-04-21T11:21:00.001-04:00

My cute Juneberry

This is a picture Sydney took of Lizzy playing in the grass.

Noah enjoying his snails race.

Pinkalicious Musical

2010-04-17T16:24:00.005-04:00

The Pinkalicious fascination first started when we borrowed the book from the library. Sydney loved the story and has since wanted to read it over and over. So a few months ago, when Joshua was checking out the plays at the Magik Theatre in San Antonio, and discovered that Pinkalicious was going to be showing there, he planned to send his two oldest girls out for a day filled with Pinkalious fun!

Here is the plug from the children's Theater -

"What if our skin turned the color of the foods we ate? In this musical based on the popular book, Pinkalicious, find out the answer to that very question when she can't stop eating pink cupcakes despite her parents warnings. Her love for pink cupcakes lands her at the doctor's office with a case of pinkititis, an affliction that turns her pink from head to toe - certainly a dream come true for Pinkalicious, right? The doctor prescribes a dose of green foods, everything from brussel sprouts to grapes, but Pinkalicious can't refuse one more pink cupcake and turns a shade of bright red! She even watches in disbelief as her own little brother turns pink when he too can't refuse the yummy treats! How will little Pinkalicious find her way out of this predicament? Find out in the regional premier of the musical that's been playing to sold out audiences in New York City for two years!"

When Sydney saw the stage with the giant cupcakes she turned to me and asked, "Mom, can I eat one?"

The cast was kind enough to pose with the kids after their performance, so here is a picture of Sydney with Pinkalicious (Ms. Becky King). I am so glad that this was a wonderful experience in introducing her to theater arts. She loved the musical and was already asking when we could go back again. I still have wonderful memories as a little girl going with my mom to Casa Manana in Fort Worth.
I hope she catches a love for the stage as well.

Now I'm off to make Pinkalicious cupcakes with my girlie! Have a pinkerific day!

While You Were Out: Finale

2010-04-16T17:00:00.002-04:00

Joshua's office was ready and waiting for his grand entrance this morning. I had put a sign on the door that read, "While You Were Out...," and then wrote a note on his dry erase board that said, "To get the full story go check out our blog!"

It ended up that the sprouts and I had to take Joshua to work this morning (flat tire w/rain), so after I dropped him off, I circled the parking lot and waited as he went inside the Church. I knew it would take him no longer than 5 minutes to call me on the phone, and sure enough it only took him 3! "Amanda! This is incredable! I can't believe you pulled this off while I was away (laughing). This is the most meaningful gift anyone has ever given me. I can't believe so many people were in on this and helped out with the project. This is just the way I would have wanted my office to look. This truly is the best surprise ever!"

Thank you Dodson's, Estrada's, Walsh's, Lee's, and Dad & Mom Crow, for helping make this go down in Joshua's memory book for "best surprise ever!"

While You Were Out: Part 3

2010-04-14T23:30:00.002-04:00

Here are the after pictures as promised! Wall to wall shelves put together this morning by our good friend Jeff Dodson. Restocking the shelves was done this afternoon with the help of Josh Lee and Bryanna Walsh. Thank you all for your help in completing this project. Joshua is going to have so much fun organizing and filling in those shelves! Notice how they're framed with the newly painted wall. Love it! The wall on the left has his diploma, license to preach, and PC pictures.

This is the wall on the right with some of his other favorite pictures on it. Powlison, family, wedding, The Church at Auvers, by Van Gogh, and Notre Dame Cathedral in the late 1800's.

Here is the wall opposite the bookshelves that had the maps on it. Now it holds a dry erase board and pin board for Joshua's notes.

Stay tuned for his reaction on Friday!

While You Were Out: Part 2

2010-04-13T13:42:00.009-04:00

Yesterday's phase of the project was successful with the help of Laura Dodson and her son Josh.

15 boxes of books labeled in order to put them back in their general location on the new shelves.

I am sad to say that this is indeed one of the four bookcases I was referring to in Joshua's office. I'm pretty sure Noah is taller than it is.

Here is a picture that shows how this wall in Joshua's office was covered in maps. When we took them down, we discovered that they had been painted around.

And this is a picture of half of our best friends here in Seguin, Philip Estrada. His wife Danielle, (the other half of the bf's) was my consultant on paint and schedule coordinator for her husband.
Thank you both for being the paint experts behind the project!

BEHR "Tea Time" was the name of the color we chose. Better keep that from Joshua, it's not a very manly name for the color of his office. :)

While You Were Out: Part 1

2010-04-12T09:54:00.007-04:00

Today Joshua left for the "Together for the Gospel" conference in Louisville, Kentucky. While he is gone some friends and I are going to give him an office make-over. This has been a project in the works for a few months now. Phone calls, work schedules, Home Depot, Ikea, and computer research, have all been going on secretly. And now the day has arrived for the project to begin. Today's agenda consists of boxing up books, removing the 4 different colors and styles of bookcases that now take up wall space in his office, and getting ready for painting tomorrow.

Stay tuned for the "before pictures" and the stages of the project as it develops in the days ahead.

A Memorable Life Update

2010-04-11T17:51:00.002-04:00

We have now lived in Seguin as long as we lived in Maryland. It's hard to believe that 2 years ago we were in Frisco at Grace Church, last year in Maryland at Covenant Life Church, and now in Seguin at Lifegate Church. God has richly blessed us with wonderful church families during our life together, and we are looking forward to the future with anticipation as to what God has planned for us here at Lifegate.

Noah has been experimenting with Newton's law of gravity over the past few weeks. His main point of study is "what goes up must come down." Balls, sand, sticks, rocks, dead birds, fall at different rates of speed, and he is gladly up to the task of testing each one over and over. The only one that makes him cry is rocks (poor guy!) and the only one that makes me cry (in disgust), is the dead birds. I now make a sweep of the backyard before he is let out to play.

I have officially received my first black eye. Lizzy Grace woke-up early one morning last week and Joshua brought her into bed in hopes that she would go back to sleep. But instead she began to play and roll around on the bed which led to her slamming her noggin into the bone over my left eye. A knot proceeded to come up, making me look like a two year old that had just run into the corner of a wall. The days that followed brought many color changes to try and cover up with make-up, but overall I think I was pretty successful. ;)

We are sad to announce that Lizzy Grace is a kleptomaniac when it comes to recycling. Remotes, books, toys, coasters, etc, disappear on a regular basis and can always be found in the recycling bin. She goes a little overboard when it comes to saving the planet and we can only hope that she will grow out of her extremism.

Hiccup's Dragons

2010-04-10T07:37:00.006-04:00

Last night we took Noah to his first movie, Sydney to her second, and everyone to their first, in 3-D on the big screen. We were not disappointed! The tale of Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III, a boy who was born into a world of vikings, whose survival depends on protecting their village by killing dragons, and he is the first that will not kill one. The story takes many exciting turns that left my sprouts on the edge of their seats and sometimes in our laps. But nothing was too scary and there was not any language or phrases that we cringed at as parents. During the movie when Hiccup feeds Toothless the dragon a fish, Noah exclaimed for all to hear, "He's SO cute!" The audience agreed with laughter and affirmation, "Yes, he is!" We would recommend this movie for the fun and adventure told through a great story for families. EXCELLENT!!!

Hiccup and Toothless

Noah's Look-alike

2010-04-09T15:34:00.000-04:00

We discovered while reading one of our books from the library called "Too Many Toys", that Noah had been used as a model for an illustration. As you can see by the picture they only changed the color of his eyes so that they wouldn't have to pay him any royalties.

Librarian/Weather Woman?

2010-04-09T14:43:00.000-04:00

We go to the Library at least twice a week to check out new books and videos. And because we go so often, the librarians have gotten to know our sprouts. They will talk with them and give them stickers which is as good as gold to my sprouts. So it was no surprise when Sydney wanted to start pretending to be like her favorite librarians. She places a chair in front of the bookshelf in her closet and checks out books to Noah and Lizzy. This picture was taken yesterday as she cleared the shelf of all the books to organize them and get them ready to be checked out again.

Sydney has started trying her hand at broadcasting descriptions and forecasts of worldwide weather conditions. She stands on her stool with her pink microphone and begins her "Jennifer Broom Storm Tracker 4" impersonation. She favors Madagascar as her island country of choice, and she has the uncanny ability to predict where crocodiles will be swimming. A real plus for any weather woman!

Here she is talking about ocean currents and the definite direction in which the air will be moving in the coming days.

Snail Man

2010-04-09T13:03:00.003-04:00

Noah is the resident snail keeper at our house. For the past 2 weeks he is in the backyard with snails crawling around on his shirt, and one in his hand that is always named, "Little Fella." Sensing that this was going to be a long term fascination with the "little fellas", we decided to make a snail garden. Their favorite plants to take refuge in grow on the side of our back porch, so with a few logs and relocating 25 snails from around the yard, they are now enjoying their new habitat.

Noah is a very good snail keeper and takes great delight in talking to them and carrying them around, everywhere. There have been a few accidents as a result of his undying affection for his "Little Fellas" that have been mourned by all. Last night, on our walk, Noah brought up such an incident that had happened earlier in the day and said, "It was my fault." Joshua and I both encouraged him that accidents happen and that maybe his snail would find a new home. I never would have thought I would be trying to comfort over the loss of a snail, so funny! It has been so sweet to see Noah's compassionate heart towards his snails, now if we could just channel that toward his sisters... :)

Snail in the front and one on the back.

Sweet snail keeper

Easter Festivities

2010-04-09T12:07:00.002-04:00

"The Hiders"

Easter Sunday was a wonderful day celebrating Christ's resurrection, and fellowship with 17 of our dear friends here in Seguin.

We had a table full of delicious food and cool spring weather that was perfect for a fantastic picnic. After lunch the "Hiders" hid over 250 eggs in the backyard for the 7 "Seekers" to find.

And they're off!

The Hiders enjoyed watching the delight of the Seekers.

Miss Anna helping point out eggs missed.

After Noah filled up his basket to the brim with eggs, he disappeared. Only to be found behind a tree devouring as much chocolate as he could unwrap before being discovered.

"The Seekers"

From the left: Noah, Elizabeth, Sydney, Gabe, Maddy, Michael, and Noah

Sensel Family Visit

2010-03-19T06:00:00.002-04:00

Joshua's sister and brother-in-law came to town for a visit this past week. We had many adventures and all of them ended with everyone being exhausted, including the kids. From our after dinner walk to the town square to the trip to the zoo, it was a fun filled time and one we would gladly repeat.

It was raining the first part of the morning at the Zoo which ended up being a good thing because all the Zoo keepers came out and did animal presentations with the kids indoors. Our first talk was about how hippos and allagators kill more people than any other 2 animals in the world. The hippos flip the canoes and the alligators eat the people, it's a group effort.

I love the way the Zoo keeper is opening the jaw of the alligator like its biting Noah in the head and he is doing a scary face. And believe it or not it wasn't planned, just perfect timing!

Our next presentation was a cute little Temrec from Madagascar.

And lastly we had a baby python demonstration, and it was one I could have done without.

Not a big fan of slimy, slithering, reptiles.

I love this picture because Lizzie is glued to the fish tank and the boys are all going in a different direction.

Cousin silliness in the fossil cave. From left: Noah, Sydney, Caleb, and Isaac.

We love you Sensel family and miss you already. Come again!

For the "Janeite"

2010-03-18T11:42:00.002-04:00

My husband knows how much I love everything Austen, so as soon as this book hit the press he ordered me a copy. Peter Leithart (Christian Encounters Series) has done an excellent job of giving details from Austen's life with her heart and soul in view. She was a Christian first and foremost and must be written with God having a prominent place in her life. A must read for all my "Janeite" friends out there!

Eulogy

2010-03-11T16:59:00.001-05:00

Our friends dear wife gave the eulogy at the funeral. She shared about the man behind the pulpit and how God saved him and used him during his 31 years of life. She spoke about how from Wednesday to Friday she was praying over him and reading scripture to him. There was one passage in particular that God kept bringing her back to, Psalm 116:15 that says, "Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints." She said, "Sometimes I could read it over him and sometimes I couldn't." Friday night as she came home and went into her husbands study with a flood of questions in her soul she picked up Charles Spurgeons commentary "The Treasury of David" and turned to verse 15 of Psalm 116 and read...

Verse 15. "Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints, and therefore he did not suffer the Psalmist to die, but delivered his soul from death. This seems to indicate that the song was meant to remind Jewish families of the mercies received by any one of the household, supposing him to have been sore sick and to have been restored to health, for the Lord values the lives of his saints, and often spares them where others perish. They shall not die prematurely; they shall be immortal till their work is done; and when their time shall come to die, then their deaths shall be precious. The Lord watches over their dying beds, smooths their pillows, sustains their hearts, and receives their souls. Those who are redeemed with precious blood are so dear to God that even their deaths are precious to him. The deathbeds of saints are very precious to the church, she often learns much from them; they are very precious to all believers, who delight to treasure up the last words of the departed; but they are most of all precious to the Lord Jehovah himself, who views the triumphant deaths of his gracious ones with sacred delight. If we have walked before him in the land of the living, we need not fear to die before him when the hour of our departure is at hand."

She closed the eulogy by saying, "My husband didn't die prematurely, his work was done here on earth, and when he passed away Friday morning, God smoothed his pillow and his death was precious in His sight."

She reminded me of a young Elisabeth Elliot as she spoke with clarity and grace about the loss of her husband. And for the time that we sang, cried, and remembered him, it was done all in the understanding that we serve a good and faithful God who is infinite in his understanding, and it is in him that we place our trust. How unexpected it was to have the one who lost the most, be the one to bring the most comfort and peace through speaking.

Grief

2010-03-08T09:33:00.007-05:00

Today we head home to go to a funeral for a friend that passed away on Friday. It has been an eerie feeling to hear information over the phone of what has taken place and then to try and process it as truth. My mind and heart keep arguing with reality as I rehearse the details in my head with a resounding no, no, No! I keep remembering being in Care Group with him and his wife 7 years ago, how the two of them met and fell in love, how they had an extremely long engagement, their prized red couch, first baby, etc. And now the time has come when theology meets my everyday life, and it is a struggle to converge the two, when all I want to do is undo what has taken place. Grief takes time and maybe when I'm standing there seeing his casket, seeing his family and friends gathered together to remember him as a godly man that loved the Lord, his wife, and children, then maybe I will finally allow reality to sink in, and for there to be some kind of closure for a life cut short in my human understanding.

A friend who is grieving along with me posted this verse on her blog that brought encouragement to me.

"So teach us to number our days, that we may get a heart of wisdom." Psalm 90:12

"Grieving but not without hope." Amen.

Dandelion Honor

2010-03-04T14:30:00.001-05:00

I am now the proud recipient of 15 dandelions that my sweet sprouts have found for me today. I always know what they are bringing me because they start yelling from the other side of the yard, "Mommy, look what I found for you!" They hand it to me with so much enthusiasm and like it is the most fragile and exquisite flower that they have ever seen. I feel honored as their mommy that instead of keeping them for themselves they always bring them to me, as if I must be the most important person in their little world that would deserve such a precious gift. This is another priceless moment of motherhood for me.

Interesting Dandelion Facts

Dandelion is a widely distributed weed of the daisy family, with a rosette of leaves, bright yellow flowers followed by globular heads of seeds with downy tufts, and stems containing a milky latex. • Genus Taraxacum, family Compositae: several species, in particular the common T. officinale, which has edible leaves.

ORIGIN late Middle English : from French dent-de-lion, translation of medieval Latin dens leonis ‘lion's tooth’ (because of the jagged shape of the leaves

Sydney Sayings

2010-03-03T12:31:00.004-05:00

Tuesday night is pizza night in our house. Sydney is always sure to remind us what kind of pizza to get because of a former mistake I made, and one that will never be forgotten by her. I ordered a multiple topping pizza thinking that it would be sufficient to remove toppings for the sprouts in order to serve them cheese only. But it did not work out quite like that and the sprouts ended up not enjoying their pizza that night. Hence the reminder from Sydney to get cheese pizza every Tuesday night. On the way out the door to work yesterday, Sydney called out to Joshua, " Don't forget the cheese pizza because we don't like the Roni kind!" She will forever be scarred by "Roni" pizza and in the meantime we will enjoy her cute made up words.

After dinner we went on a walk and while we were admiring our favorite homes, Sydney pointed out a beautiful house that she liked and said, "Mommy, you need to blog about that!" Joshua and I started laughing because I thought my time on the computer was going unnoticed because it is of short duration, but nothing escapes my little girlie.

"Gospel Song"

2010-03-02T09:37:00.007-05:00

Lizziebeth started singing notes to a song a few weeks ago. We couldn't figure out what song it was as she continued to sing the same 3 notes over and over. Well, last week the notes to the song went to 5 with a few syllables thrown in. "Ho wee Ga een wav Bee am" (Holy God in love became) was what came out of her little mouth. It was a tearful moment to finally discover what our little baby has been singing. Ever since our sprouts have been born we have sung the "Gospel Song" to them before they go to bed. It has become part of the bedtime routine for the last 4 plus years. Sydney and Noah love to hear Lizziebeth sing, so they have been starting the song out and then she joins in soon after. It is such a joy to hear them singing together about the Cross. Precious!

" Holy God in love became,
Perfect man to bear my blame,
On the cross He took my sin,
By His death I live again."

Baby Gibbon

2010-03-01T16:12:00.001-05:00

We enjoyed another lovely day at the Zoo on Saturday. Our highlight of the outing was seeing the new baby Gibbon that was born October 19th. He was a cute little guy and was having a ton of fun showing off for the crowd by swinging around on the fence. The daddy Gibbon was not too fond of the crowd that had gathered to admire his son, so he proceeded to perch himself in such a way as to pee on everyone standing below. Of course my son was standing front and center as the stream began to flow. Luckily, I noticed what was happening just in time to yank him back before he got doused. Noah of course thought that it was hilarious and it became his highlight when he got "peed on by the Monkey." He keeps a running list of animals that he has seen go potty at the zoo. I'm sure this experience will be added to the top of his favorites list. Such a boy! :)

Valentine Secretary

2010-02-24T10:21:00.001-05:00

For those that know me well have heard me talk about "the desk." It has been on my to-do list for 7 years now. Yes, you read that right, 7 years. Marriage, 3 children, moving, and life have taken its place every time when it has come to checking this of the list.

The story behind the desk is that when I was young and naive, I painted my heirloom desk from my Great-Grandmother purple. Yes purple, stupid I know and I would learn to regret how big a mistake that was during the 7 years it has traveled around with us. My sweet husband has endured this mistake along with me as he has had to live with it being hidden in our bedroom. Well, a few months ago I thought I would finally have the time to tackle this massive project and after purchasing the goggles, the chemical protective gloves, face mask, and some type of goo that can melt your skin off, I set out to undo the damage I had done. After several hours of removing layer after layer of paint (I had painted several layers), I took a brake. Then life happened again with my kidney stones taking precedence, and the almost stripped desk fell to the back burner.

Which brings me to the end of this 7 year journey. For Valentine's day my sweet husband seeing that I would not be able to finish my desk anytime soon, surprised me by having a friend who does this type of work for a living complete the project. Our friend did a beautiful job on the desk and I am so grateful to now have my desk come out in the open.

Thank you JJ for helping me check this off my 7 year to-do list. I love you!

Dino Mess

2010-02-24T06:00:00.005-05:00

Today while I was washing the dishes, Noah came in with his little dinosaur in his hand. With a serious face he told me that his dinosaur had just made a big mess in his room and that I needed to come and see it immediately. My response went something like this, "I will not be happy if your dinosaur made a big mess in your room. You need to go and clean it up." He then responded with, "No, I didn't do it, my dinosaur did." Hmm..."OK, then I guess I'm going to have to take away your dinosaur until he learns not to make big messes in your room." Noah then looked at me and then back at his dinosaur and said, "Well, Dinosaur I guess we better go and clean up the mess!"

Chocolate Treats

2010-02-23T15:15:00.001-05:00

Today is another crazy weather day here in Central Texas. The last 2 days were beautiful with the temperature near 70 degrees, but today it is a wintry mix. Rain, sleet, and snow, followed by more rain. So the sprouts and I decided since it was going to be an in house day we needed to make some yummy treats. Chocolate is everyone's favorite, so we made fudge with honey, coconut oil, coco, and a few white chocolate chips. Followed by some chocolate chip cookies made with freshly ground pastry flour.

This is a picture that Sydney took of Noah enjoying his hot out of the oven chocolate chip cookie. The sprouts tried to team up with pleading to convince me that they needed to have one cookie out of every batch baked (the recipe made 5 dozen). In the end they had to settle for 3 out of 5.

Snapshots of Lizziebeth

2010-02-23T06:00:00.002-05:00

Here are a few pictures of Lizziebeth this week.

Mainly for the purpose of showing our distant family her cute hair.

Curls in back

Sprig on top

And this is a picture of princess moody pants. She is unhappy with Daddy because he is trying to work on something before church and can't hold her at the moment. So she is frowning and giving him the silent treatment.

Playing Football

2010-02-22T15:11:00.002-05:00

The weather was great on Saturday to go outside and play. So Joshua thought it was a great time to load the sprouts up and take them to the football field to run off some energy.

I love this picture of Noah with a huge smile on his face while jumping.

Sydney is in hot pursuit to tackle Daddy before he makes a touchdown with Noah.

One day he wont seem so small and the goal so big.

Sydney enjoying her Daddy's undivided attention on the walk back from the field.

My cute little man.

A Fundamental of Motherhood

2010-02-21T02:36:00.003-05:00

Mommy's can't get sick! Why doesn't my body know this and why does it not give me fair warning when it decides not to obey the first and most foundational law of motherhood? I am grateful that my insides didn't start becoming my outsides until after the sprouts were in bed. There is some consolation in that I guess, but the lack of sleep will be hard to ignore tomorrow. I am already prepping my heart for the grumbling that is sure to ensue with, "God's grace will be sufficient, his power is made perfect in my weakness." Please pray that this malfunction with my body will be of short duration. Thank you in advance for your prayers.

Austen's Emma

2010-02-19T06:00:00.013-05:00

I am now the proud owner of the new version of "Emma" by Masterpiece Theatre. My sweet husband has made it a tradition to buy me one of the classics from BBC on special occasions, but knowing

I would have a hard time waiting till our anniversary he decided to give it to me today. It was so kind of him to give me the gift knowing full well that he would eventually have to endure the 229 minutes of Austen bliss. I love that man!

Java Sign

2010-02-18T16:28:00.002-05:00

I just had a lovely hour and a half at a coffee shop with some friends while the sprouts were taking a nap under the supervision of their Daddy (thank you Babe!). While sipping an iced coffee I noticed a sign on the wall that made me laugh and stirred gratitude in my heart that it did not apply to me at this very moment.

"All unattended children will be given 2 shots of expresso and a free puppy."

Jersey Milk

2010-02-18T10:13:00.000-05:00

News from the Jordan B&B.

We are now serving not only homemade bread but also the best milk in town.

We have been looking for a locally based farmer who produced raw jersey milk that had a special permit from the Texas Health Department and voila we found it! Read below to learn more.

Strykly Jersey Farm
Are you ready to try some of the best milk in the world? Our milk is fresh from our pasture-raised, grass-fed Jersey cows, without any homogenization or pasteurization. This allows you to enjoy the true flavor and health benefits of real milk. Our milk is bottled by order to ensure the freshest product. We also offer fresh raw heavy cream and homemade raw butter.
Our milk is inspected every other day by the Texas Health Department. We are one of a handful of dairies in the state of Texas that has obtained a "Grade A Raw for Retail Milk Permit" issued by the Texas Department of State Health Services. This special permit is stricter than compared to a regular state health permit for producer dairies.

Homemade Bread

2010-02-17T14:43:00.002-05:00

Today begins a new day into the domestic arts for me. This morning I spent about 4 hours learning about soaking wheat, grinding wheat, different types of grain, and rising dough, in order to start making our own bread. I must say it's not as hard as I thought, if you have the right tools and a good lesson from a faithful friend. So now I am enjoying the smell and the taste of fresh baked bread with raw organic honey. Life just got a lot better!

Lizzy Warrior Princess

2010-02-16T06:00:00.001-05:00

Ooo...she looks scary!

After spending hours watching her Daddy and big brother fight with Nerf swords, Lizziebeth decided it was time to show them her moves.

OK, maybe not that scary.

Here she is doing her complicated kung fu side kick.

There is no one this baby princess is not willing to fight, including her Daddy.

Lunchtime Preparation

2010-02-15T06:00:00.002-05:00

Lunchtime preparations were taking too long so Lizziebeth decided to take a nap.

Poor thing. It's a hard life to have to wait on people who wait on you hand and foot.

Must be nice. :)

A few minutes later she woke up in a happy mood to enjoy her lunch. I know I enjoyed the same service as a baby and now I understand the sacrifice that was involved. Thanks Mom!

Sprout's Movie Quotes

2010-02-14T06:00:00.001-05:00

Sydney and Noah are big fans of the Pixar movie "Up." If you ask them what their favorite line in the movie is they will both quote the little boy Russel when he says, "Phew, I thought you were dead!"

Their second favorite movie is the "Swiss Family Robinson's." They love the pirates, the animals, and of course the damsel in distress. Which brings me to their second favorite quote. The scene in the movie where the 2 boys discover that the boy they rescued from the pirates is really a girl named Roberta. Frits and Ernest ask her why she was pretending to be a boy and why she cut her hair. She starts sobbing and in this weepy, funny voice she says, "It was because of the pirates!" When the sprouts hear her say that they start rolling in laughter and mimicking her voice and her sobbing. It is the funniest thing to see your children develop their sense of humor and wonder where they got it from. ;)

Tunnel Fun

2010-02-13T20:18:00.000-05:00

Lizziebeth finally braved the scary tunnel and crawled through it with a little motivation from her big sister and Daddy.

Hello June-bug! Great job playing with your baby sister.

It's Official...

2010-02-13T13:06:00.002-05:00

Lizziebeth has taken her first steps today! I've called the grandparents, now if I could only catch it with pics. I guess it's time to start stalking! Snap, snap.

Crawling Monkey's

2010-02-13T06:00:00.002-05:00

One of the daily exercises the sprouts do is chase each other around the house crawling. Lizzy is always the leader of the pack while her siblings race to keep up with her. She is still our resident super crawler, and therefore is much faster on all fours than her older brother and sister who are accustom to walking on two feet.

The race is on!

The winner is...Lizzy Grace!

My precious three.

A Week of Spring in January

2010-02-12T06:00:00.002-05:00

We all enjoyed a week with temperatures in the mid 60's a couple of weeks ago. The sun was shining bright and spring cleaning was calling, so out went the sprouts to play. I began to tackle a closet where the majority of its contents were destined for the shelves at Goodwill, but not before I got a few snaps of the sprouts enjoying a sunny day.

Sydney with her plant she found on our treasure walk.

Yes, we are finally growing her bangs out.

Cheesy grin

Popeye the Sailor Man

"He's strong to the finish 'cause he still eats his spinach, he's Popeye the Sailor man."

Simply cute

The "Pig Pig" Roundup

2010-02-11T06:00:00.003-05:00

This post is for the benefit of Uncle Stephen and Aunt Carrie, who on Christmas day gave Lizzy "Pig Pig." For those that know us well I'm sure remember Sydney with "Bun Bun", and the months of searching the web and stores around the country to find back ups in case her beloved bunny (since she was 10 months old) went missing. So now thanks to our wonderful family, the search begins for the "Pig Pig" roundup.

And the blue ribbon for finding our child's favorite stuffy goes to... (drum roll please) the Sensel family!

Lizzy loving on "Pig Pig."

Sleeping Handsome

2010-02-10T06:00:00.002-05:00

A sweet moment with Daddy and No'ie as they read the "Dangerous Journey" together before nap time.

I couldn't resist taking a picture of this precious moment of my little man sleeping. He often falls asleep with his hands behind his head like this. Priceless.

Austen Tea Party

2010-02-09T17:28:00.004-05:00

One of the privileges of my husband leading the youth at our church is that I get to help plan fun events for the girls. My friend Danielle, Lauren, and I held an Austen Tea Party for the Lifegate girls youth. We had a delicious menu of white chocolate scones with blackberry jam, chocolate chip cherry cheesecake bites, shortbread cookies, cucumber sandwiches, and a variety of specialty tea. It makes my mouth water just thinking about it. Yummy! We then watched the new version of "Pride and Prejudice" followed by a few games.

Here is my beautiful princess posing for her very first tea party.

The first game that we played was the safety pin game, adapted from a baby shower I had been to. Every lady present had to address everyone by "Miss" followed by that persons last name. If they slipped up and used their first name they had to relinquish their safety pin. Whoever had the most safety pins by the end of the night won a prize. The second game we played was a Q&A game from "Pride and Prejudice." 10 questions from the movie and 2 bonus questions from the book on a wide range of things, such as having to finish quotes to Mr. Darcy's first name. Lindsay and Breanna were our winners of the night. And I must say Breanna surprised us all by answering all 12 questions correctly. Great job girlie!

It was so much fun being with all of you sweet ladies and getting to know you better over tea. I am already looking forward to next year!

Pathology Results

2010-01-07T00:26:00.003-05:00

My new cookbook and new way of life.

The pathology results have come back on my kidney stones. Well, the good news is that my stones can be controlled by my dietary intake. The bad news is no more chocolate or salting my food.

My stones are made up of two parts. The first is a substance called Oxalates (a type of salt) and it is a naturally-occurring substance found in plants, animals, and humans. My body produces too much and does not process it well. So that means I must stop eating the foods that have a high content of it and eat those with a low content in moderation. And the funny thing is that oxalates are a good thing for most people, just not for me. They are in a variety of healthy foods like whole wheat bread, green leafy vegetables, nuts, berries, etc. Cocoa is on the no list under any circumstances.
Does anyone know of the side affects that will occur from chocolate withdraws? I guess I will know soon enough.

The second substance is called Uric acid and it is a breakdown product of purines that are part of many foods. Not much can be done to limit this, except flushing your system with fluids so that you don't allow it to build up in your kidneys.

Both of these substances stick to each other and that may be the cause of why my stones are so big. I go back in to see my Urologist in 6 weeks to discuss what the plan is to remove the last 10+ mm stone that is left. We would like to get it removed that way we can have a clean slate and just maintain an empty kidney.

I am grateful for the web as it has provided an ample supply of resources to help me during this dietary change and for those who have gone before me and have tried, tested, and written books to help others who are struggling with kidney stones like me. My hope is through changing my intake of these unknown harmful foods it will help me maintain a stone free life.

Thank you all for your prayers and encouragement over the last few weeks. I am grateful for your support.

You Know When...

2009-12-30T10:50:00.001-05:00

You have let your daughters bangs get too long when she says after you cut them,"Mom, I can see you!"

Pain is Inevitable

2009-12-29T13:18:00.007-05:00

Hi Everyone,

I know it's been a few weeks since my last post. I have a lot to catch up on and will do so shortly but before I begin to post this past month I wanted to catch everyone up on my 'blog brake' and why it has taken place. I have been struggling with kidney stones for a little over 3 years now but with no major problems. Well, that all changed December 4th. My first hospital stay of the month started in the ER, with a stone that was obstructing my left kidney. A few days later for my 2nd stay in the hospital, I went in for a procedure that was not successful. 2 weeks were needed to heal before they could try the procedure again. With much prayer from family and friends the 3rd procedure was successful. 3 out of the 4 stones were removed and the fourth should not cause me trouble anytime soon. It has been a painful but thought provoking month, that pain is inevitable in this life. I have been reminded several times this month that my hope should not be that my pain will be removed in a few weeks, but that because of Christ there will come a day when all pain and suffering will cease for those who know Him as their Savior. I am grateful for all of your prayers and will keep everyone updated on the blog over the next few weeks as the test results start coming back. Please, if you have the time, listen to this message by Piper. My big brother sent it to me as an encouragement during this trial.

"You Will Suffer" by John Piper

Christmas Morning 2009

2009-12-25T14:16:00.001-05:00

The faces of Christmas morning as they wait for the green light to go into the living room.

I don't think their very excited. :)

Present distribution

Noah loved his stick horse that his Daddy found for him.

Lizzy enjoyed the little bit of chocolate milk she got more than she enjoyed her presents.

After we opened presents at home we jumped in the car and headed to Grams and Grandad's house to celebrate there. It had snowed the day before so we got to enjoy a white Christmas with them.

Uncle Stephen and Joshua playing dress-up with the kids.

Sydney loved her bicycle!

The cousins sang Christmas songs while they waited for their presents.

Lizzy caught on real quickly what was going on and started smiling/giggling while she opened her gifts.

It was such a blessing to be able to go home for Christmas this year!

Still and Quiet

2009-12-05T13:33:00.002-05:00

As I have said in the past, when the house is still and quiet something catastrophic is going on. Well, today I was wrong on that theory and these pictures prove it.

Both Noah and Lizzy were sitting as you see in the picture, quietly coloring on their Magnadoodles.

What in the world is going on here and what has happened to my sprouts that they would engineer this moment?

Apparently Noah was coloring and Lizzy decided to join him. :0)

Lizzy Turns One

2009-12-03T13:08:00.002-05:00

It is hard to believe our Lizzy-bears is one today.

It would be impossible to imagine our life without her because she has been our family highlight of 2009. Her birthday started out with the Jordan traditional breakfast on birthday mornings,

chocolate doughnuts with milk. Yummy!

Lizzy loved her birthday gift (swing) from Grams and Grandad. Now she can participate in all the fun that goes on in the backyard. This is her first big push from Sydney.

Laughing with Daddy as he tries to get her toes.

Lizzy Grace you are a joy to your family!

We love you and we want to wish you a Happy Birthday!

Crow Family Thanksgiving

2009-11-28T12:21:00.002-05:00

Who are these goofy kids???

For the Crow family Thanksgiving we went out to eat at the China Town Cafe. It has been a family tradition to eat there for the past 15+ years and then we headed to the park for freeze tag and suckers.

The dad's are the bookends to this picture of the cousins.

From the left: Uncle Josh, Lizzy, Sydney, Brianna, Dylan, Braden, Noah, and Joshua.

Sydney and Brianna with their beautiful smiles.

Lambie and Lizzy enjoying the sunshine together.

Uncle Josh became Lizzy's new best friend!

Jordan Family Thanksgiving

2009-11-26T12:16:00.000-05:00

It was sunny and warm Thanksgiving day here in the metroplex so the cousins got to enjoy their festivities outside.

Noah enjoying a Jordan family tradition.

A Greenburg turkey from Tyler, TX.

A new tradition we started this year is having a cookie decorating craft.

What's more fun than getting to eat what you make?

Nothing!

More sprinkles please!

A group shot of eight, five and under.

From the left: Isaac, Noah, Lizzy, Sydney, Sadie, Aaron, Caleb & Seth

Fell into food coma while playing.

Wishing...

2009-11-21T06:00:00.001-05:00

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?

Nickel's are family

2009-11-20T15:03:00.001-05:00

The Nickel family has been dear to us since the day they moved to Texas. And even though we have moved around a bit we have still kept up our relationship with them.

From the left,Terrance, Louisa, Sydney, Jennifer, Lizzy and Noah.

I love this picture that Melissa took of Berry's and I with a strange man that came and sat down for the picture. Hmmm... photo shop would be nice right about now.

We ended our fun family day at a Mexican restaurant on the river with a delicious meal and a serenade until Jeff reminded us that we had just been sung to about roaches. Nice.

Miss you already my adopted Nieces and Nephew.

A Knight's Tale

2009-11-20T06:00:00.006-05:00

His name is...

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

2009-11-19T14:41:00.000-05:00

Riding in Style

2009-11-18T22:50:00.000-05:00

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

Wurstfest

2009-11-18T16:40:00.003-05:00

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

2009-11-06T15:39:00.001-05:00

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

2009-11-06T15:16:00.000-05:00

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

Mutiny Declared

2009-10-13T23:57:00.002-04:00

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

2009-10-03T16:58:00.004-04:00

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

2009-09-29T17:54:00.003-04:00

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

2009-09-25T16:39:00.003-04:00

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"

2009-09-23T11:52:00.004-04:00

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."