I'm wiped...

but, just wanted to share with you an amazing praise we have! Luke saw the ENT and an audiologist today. Can you believe after 4 straight months of fluid in both ears and 3 failed hearing tests, his ears looked great!? As in little to no fluid and responding quite well to a full hearing screen/test!?! Of course you can believe that b/c we serve a mighty God!! My mom went with me and we were just tickled. The audiologist told us that she could tell that Luke was very bright...I told mom that's good news b/c I think he is going to need to plan to outwit, and not outmuscle, the twins. Anyways, unless fluid is detected or another ear infection arrives, we won't see Dr. G or the audiologist for 6 months for another full check. Thank you so much for praying over that sweet boy of ours!!

I'm a girl

The twins just brought a snake in the house to "show me". They were beyond excited.

I screamed.

The End.

What's happenin'

We have some new things going on at the House house. Did I ever tell you we officially have a crawler? He is fast! He loves finding his brothers and when Luke's daddy is around, he pretty much follows at his heels! The only prob? He's already trying to pull himself up!! He can get himself about halfway up. I am NOT ready for that! Ok, scratch that. Luke officially pulled himself completely up to standing position tonight TWICE and stayed there.

About three weeks ago, I started doing some of The Fly Lady's techniques. Ok, seriously, I know this is not rocket science. But, somehow the gene that my mother possesses that allows for her to keep up on housework and laundry without tons of motivation (i.e. company coming, etc) skipped me. And, apparently since the birth of my 3rd child, I have developed some really bad (and lazy!!) habits. I was just trying to survive, but somehow it is now almost 9 months later and those habits are still around!! So, I don't follow The Fly Lady to a T. But, I have 5 things I do every morning without fail, 2 things at lunchtime and 3 things before bed. I also spend 20 minutes straight every day doing some cleaning chore. And, three weeks later, my house is almost always pretty clean, laundry caught up and listen to this...my folks called and wanted to come surprise us for a visit in just a couple hours. Normally, I would've hung up the phone and frantically began cleaning. Jereme, who is well-acquainted with this routine, asked, "ok, tell me what to do!" I looked around and said, "Nothing!" So, supposedly new habits take 21 days...I think it's working!!

Another "new" habit we are working on is what we are calling "Quiet Time". Fantabulous idea from my friend Kelli that she took from Michelle Duggar. (Read her post on Sit-Time) I love it. We are up to 15 minutes. One of the things that really struck me is that I sometimes expect my kids to do something that I've never taught them to do. So, I am sitting with them working on my Sunday School lessons/Bible study.

You know you live in a small-town when...

*You go to the "city" for big shopping/grocery trips.

*Going to above mentioned "city", you use the promise of going to McDonald's as a powerful tool for good behavior when shopping. Anymore, going there is something special (for the children, not me, that is!!).

*You spend Friday night with your family watching a building being taken down with a wrecking ball in your little downtown.

*You finally realize that when people ask "where do you live?", they don't actually mean what is your address, they are really asking "who's house did you buy??"

*You can load up the little boys and head to the store b/c you forgot a VERY important ingredient for nachos-after-the-kids-go-to-bed-while-watching-FNL and still be back from the store in less than 10 minutes. <----Was that a run-on sentence or what???

But, we love it!!!

Daddy is getting good at multi-tasking...












Such a sad boy that he can't be downstairs with the big boys!

WWJD??

I am guessing He probably would not threaten His super hyper children like this as they are getting ready for bed:
"If you guys don't stop fooling around and if you keep disobeying, then I am not reading you any Bible stories!!"

Just seems rather, um, inappropriate. Totally came out of my mouth before I even thought about it. But, again, just going to take a stab in the dark here that this is NOT what Jesus would do...

Can you say ornery???




Momma, I promise I am not doing anything naughty! Really, just look at this face, could I be anything but cute??

Things I never dreamed I'd say

Round 3 (I think)

*We DO NOT pee off the play equipment!!!!!!!!!!!!!

*We DO NOT pee in the park. Find a bush for some privacy, for cryin' out loud!

*No, you may not lick my tongue.

*Boys, if you don't stop spitting on each others bottoms, your shower is DONE!

*No sword fighting with your forks.

*(While trying to remain calm and composed)Boys, we do NOT scale the side of the deck and stairs.
--Mind you, they scaled the OUTER portion of the stairs and deck so that they ended up 12 feet off the ground, above a concrete slab, hanging on with one hand while trying to push each other off with their free hand. God help me, please.

*For the 1,002nd time, if you are going to potty outside FIND SOME PRIVACY. DO NOT pee in the middle of driveway.

****Do you see a pattern emerging??? Someone help me here; I just can't fathom the thought of another move so soon, but we certainly belong OUTSIDE the city limits, don't we??****

Mouth of the South...

I *might* just see a wee little bit of my mouth in sweet boy Isaac. That child, oh, that child is something else. He is, perhaps, exactly who Dr. Dobson was thinking of when he wrote this book. He and I have already begun to have some "meeting of the minds" type situations but that little boy can make me laugh like no one else. Here are a few Isaacisms from the past couple days.

Me: Isaac, please bring momma the wipes.
Isaac: Um, no thanks.

Me (making a mess while fixing supper): Ugh! Dang it!
Isaac (from the other room): All right, what's the problem???

Me: Boys, tonight we are going to Wendy's for supper.
Isaac: Great idea, momma!!!

And, my personal fave of the day:
Me (trying to put clean sheets on the bed): Isaac, get off the bed please.
Isaac (ignoring me)
Me: Isaac, GET OFF THE BED!
Isaac: Don't worry about me, Mooooooo-oooom.

Can you hear it in him? I wish I could give you his inflection. He's got it down pat. Jereme derives GREAT pleasure from me telling him these stories. I think he thinks it's payback to me in some wicked form. I don't think he's quite caught on that, at some point, Isaac might be my ally...

Anyways, here is that Isaac boy:


And, oh, Jorden. Once upon a time, we got comments from some family members and maybe even friends about how Isaac seemed SO aggressive and always beating up on "poor Jorden". Let me assure everyone, Jorden is flat-out an instigator. He loves to tackle, wrestle, push, hit, rough-house his brother. I love how he is my rule-follower, though. He'll tell you when he's about to do anything that there is "no crying, no bawling" allowed. But, don't let the fact that he can recite every rule ever told to him fool you for too long; he's just as much of a toe-just-a-centimeter-over-the-line child as his brother is.

Jorden-boy:


And, my Luke. Are you tired of hearing what a doll he is? Just love that boy. But, the biggest news on Luke is that he needs some prayers right now. He hasn't passed a hearing test since he was a newborn. They've checked him regularly for the past 4-5 months and he shows no activity in his eardrum on either side. Essentially, he has flat-lined all his hearing tests. He has had numerous infections and has been on many long and aggressive courses of antibiotics. For quite some time, we weren't sure he was hearing much at all. We do believe he is hearing some things now. But, he does show various indicators that he is not hearing at or even near full capacity. So long story short, he will see a specialist in 3 weeks. We just ask that you'd pray for him to stay healthy (no infections) and wisdom for the doctor(s). We are concerned but thankful. Thankful that he is healthy overall. Thankful that our doctor is pro-active. Thankful that God is in control and that we can trust Him. Trust that whatever the result is that He will provide.

So, speaking of the sweet thing, here he is!!