time to breathe

soccer is finally over and can i just say....wow. this week has been wonderful. is this what is like to have a husband that can come home 5 days a week for dinner? we even went to the gym as a family on monday night, and we get to go away for the weekend for something other than soccer. wow. i'll enjoy it while i can.

What color green are you?

Found this on a fellow blogger's site...thought it was interesting...so here it goes....

***You Are Grass Green***
Down to earth and a bit of a hippie, you are very into nature and the outdoors.You accept the world and people as they are. You don't try to change things.You are also very comfortable with yourself, flaws and all.Optimistic about the future, you feel like life is always getting better.
What Color Green Are You?http://www.blogthings.com/whatcolorgreenareyouquiz/ite.

God' incredible seasons

I had a "seasons" talk with my 3 1/2 year old today. It came about because he didn't understand why he could not go swimming in the pool anymore. I explained that the pool was "closed." He said we just needed to "open" it. Therefore, we began to talk about this wonderful thing that God created called, seasons. We talked about fall, and the fact that the leaves turn different colors and "fall" from the trees. And winter, when we occasionally (key word) see snow, and make snowmen, and spring, when the leaves come back on the trees, and of course summer, when we can "open" up the pool again! God is so good to us to give us these wonderful seasons!

mini bikes/mopeds

I am going to get on my soap box just for a moment and complain about mini bikes or mopeds. What in the world is the state of South Carolina thinking to be allowing these things to be on our roads and be legal like a real form of transportation. Last week, in a matter of 24 hours I nearly got in two accidents because of these things! They cannot keep up with the flow of traffic and therefore people nearly hit them when driving on the road. Why are these things even allowed on the road? Maybe they are not, the owners just act as if they are. I don't know...but if I had my choice they would be outlawed!

Mexican skillet

This is an easy recipe that I have been doing a lot of lately. I got the idea from an ole el paso meal I picked up from the frozen food section at the grocery store. I realized that I could easily make it on my own for much cheaper!

1. Brown 2-3 chicken breasts diced up in olive oil, and sprinkle a little taco seasoning on it too give it a little flavor.
2. Add one can of diced tomatoes. (16 oz)
3. Add one can of black beans (rinsed).
4. Add a cup of frozen corn.
5. While I am cooking this I usually make some instant rice, and add it at the end.
6. Mix it all together and serve with tortillas, or crumbled tortilla chips, salsa and sour cream.

I love this recipe because I usually have all the ingredients on hand. Enjoy

speeding up... or slowing down?

With school starting this week, I don't know if our life will speed up, or slow down. It will be kind of nice to go back to routine again, since the vacation days of summer are over and have been for weeks. With soccer season already underway, and substitute jobs already lined up, I think I am ready to get back to the routine again.
I am DEFINITELY ready for fall weather again. There is nothing like sweatshirts, hot apple cider, jeans and the change of the leaves! I look forward to it every year.
I am really looking forward to my husband's college soccer season this year. Jordan and Josiah are just getting to the age of enjoying their daddy's "soccer boys", as they call them. We follow them EVERYWHERE, and love every minute of it! My kids are such great travelers!
I'm also looking forward to the Wednesday morning Bible study I attend during school. It starts two weeks from this Wednesday and Josiah is already talking about the puppets at the "brown church." (Our church is white). Funny how he associates it, huh?
And of course with soccer season, also comes family. We begin a new season of visits from the family. Starting already this weekend. We can't wait!
I guess life isn't speeding up, or slowing down, it's just changing.

Long time

I am such a slacker for not blogging in such a long time. But of course, as it goes with everyone...we have been very busy.
Things are only going to get busier, since my husband is a college soccer coach and his players already come back next week. So officially, soccer season starts next Sunday, and does not slow down until Thanksgiving. It is crazy, but fun!
The kids love it! I love it! But it is constant go, go, go.
We have our 15 year old nephew staying with us for the next two weeks. He came in from California last Thursday and the kids are having a blast. It is very nice to have him around for a couple extra hands. He is very helpful.
Looking forward to getting back in the blogging thing. You know how it is...once you let something go for a while it is really hard to get back into it. It is much easier to let it go. But I am challenging myself to do at least 3 posts this week. We'll see how it goes!

tagged.....kind of...

Although I was not "officially" tagged to give 8 unknowns about me, I still liked the idea. So I thought I would share:

1. I first visited Disney World when I was 3 1/2 years old. I was deathly afraid of Donald Duck as we had breakfast in the castle. This is relevant because I returned to Disney World for the second time this past weekend. Wow! What an amazing thing for my kids to experience. They were in complete awe. And the best thing...we got in free because of connections my brother had.

2. I have extremely BAD hearing. Horrible! In fact, it has gotten to the point of embarassing and has made me sad, and very frustrated.

3. I first learned to drive a manual instead of an automatic car. For some people (mainly those who have lived on a farm), this is nothing, but I really only learned manual because that was all we had when I turned 16.

4. I was 200 pounds right before I had both of my children. What is amazing, I lost all of that weight. I ran a half marathon last fall and dropped ALL of it.

5. Which brings me to my next one: I love to run, especially outside in an area I have never run before. I love to go on vacation and drive up and see a walking trail that I will be able to explore first chance I have.

6. My husband is not only the love of my life, but he is the closest friend I have EVER had. I know that say that about married people, but...he knows me inside and out, and I know him the same. I cannot imagine a day without him, and if I want to do something fun I can't imagine doing it or sharing it with him. (Thus the reason we ran the half marathon together).

7. I am nearly 100 % Dutch. If you look at me you could probably tell...blond hair, fair skin, blue eyes. My father was born in the Netherlands, and came over on a boat with his family at age 7. My grandparents spoke, and (what I loved most of all) prayed in Dutch.

8. Along the lines of my grandparents...they both had a green thumb when it came to flowers or vegetables. And I believe I got it from them. I LOVE to garden. I love flowers, and we just started our first vegetable garden this year. We already have banana peppers galore. Any recipes, anyone?

Schools out for summer!

YEAH! I am done! No longer will I be going in to substitute teach this school year. I was waiting to receive the phone call summoning me to work today....but I DIDN'T, yeah! It is officially starting to feel like the summer. Jonathan's been out for a couple weeks now, but I worked like a dog for the last 3, so it finally feels like vacation to me. AND... Josiah, my son, is finally potty trained. We still need to wear diapers at night, but I imagine that will be no longer soon too! YEAH! He has totally turned the corner since I was able to be home with him these last 4 days! NOW....vacation, vacation, vacation! Hope to go to Orlando this weekend to see my brother, can't wait! Am going to Ohio to see my sister in 2 weekends, can't wait! And then on to see my parents in Michigan, my brother-in-law and sister IL and new baby in Chicago, and then on to see the ILs in California! What a wonderful vacation!

craziness....yaaaaaah!

I swear, our lives have been so busy I have hardly had a chance to check my email and voice messages, let alone post on my blog. But...here it goes. This is my first day off in 3, and I go back to work tomorrow and then again M-Th.
Because childcare can get kinda limited, I traded with a friend this week, so therefore, I babysat her kids today(on my only day off). But hey, her kids are gone now, and mine are still napping. whew! That gives me somewhat of a break!
Well, the college year here at SWU is finally over, and so that means summer is here. I always look forward to this time because Jonathan has fewer distractions from us! The sad part is...some of our closest friends that are students are graduating and moving away. Exciting, but sad! This also leaves our basement apartment empty. For the added income, having someone in there is pretty much a necessity. Anyone know someone that needs a 1 bedroom apartment in Central, SC? Please keep this in your prayers. One more prayer request...I have a friend who has an 8 month old who is going through MAJOR depression right now, and she needs prayer!

Once again...

Yes, it has been a long time AGAIN! Believe it or not, I was having a hard time logging in to my blog. So when I had difficulty, and had little time to post, I just gave up. Well...here I am, I finally figured it out.
Things have been a little crazy here. I have still been trying to work 2 times a week, especially with the school year ending. This makes finding childcare a little difficult, but someone always come through for us. And, my kids are pretty flexible.
On the potty training note: We are doing WELL. I don't want to get excited, because it will probably just backfire on me, but Josiah has had only 2 accidents since Thursday (not including sleeping time). I have been real consistent with putting him on the potty and making it a priority, and I think that he likes all the attention.
And lastly, it just hit me today how blessed I am. How good God is to me. I love my life, I love my family, and I LOVE my husband. He is so good to me and my kids. He treats me SO good, and nothing warms my heart more than when I see him love on our children. God is so awesome to bless me with a husband that provides for me, respects and loves me and our kids, and loves God above all else. Thank you Lord!

Long time....

Yeah, it has been a long time since I have had a post. I have been so busy! We had family here that just left on Monday, and I was working full time while they were here. I haven't had time to do the laundry, let alone post on my blog. Well I finished working on Wednesday, and it took me until now to even really get online.
Things are good...it is my daughter's 2nd birthday. Once again, the time has flown by. It's hard to even imagine her as a baby anymore.
Now that I am home I am working hard at the potty training thing with my 3 year old. Yesterday was a good day until after dinner when he went potty in his underwear. And then he went poop in his diaper. I guess I had not paid attention and forgot to ask him regularly to go to the bathroom. Today we started good again, we have gone potty every time in the potty, and we went poop before we went down for our nap.
We plan to go to a friend's house for the weekend and their 3 year old is potty trained. Maybe that will be what puts him over the edge. Let's hope!

3 Years....wow!

Well, tomorrow is my son's 3rd birthday and I cannot believe that it was 3 years ago that I was preparing to have him. He's a real little person! Wow...and he was in my belly? What a testimony to God and his creation that he could create a baby and how he grows into a little boy, and I know....eventually , a big boy. I can't imagine!
We have the family in now....and my kids are in their prime! They LOVE all the attention! Both grandparents here at our house, they are LOVING it! The only bad thing is...my son is SO excited, he refuses to sleep. NO naps, and it takes forever to wind down at night. But that is ok, because the grandparents are only here 2 times a year. We'll let them have fun for now. We are truly blessed! Thank you, God!

Visitors

We love having visitors! Living across the country from most of our family, my husband and I love to have visitors. And this week is a GREAT week because we are going to have visitors! Jonathan's parents come on Wednesday and my parents come on Thursday!
First off, most people probably think....whoa! You are going to have both sets of parents at your house at the same time? Yes! That is the beauty about both of our parents...they like spending time together. Isn't that great? It makes our time with them that much better. God is so awesome for blessing us with such great parents!
The second thing about our visitors coming is....it is Josiah's birthday this week, and Jordan's in 2 weeks. So, we will be celebrating both birthdays this weekend.
And what is even better? We get to celebrate our Saviour's resurrection this weekend too! What could be better? All of that in one week! Wow!

whew!

Well, we found our dog! I prayed and prayed that she would be safe and we would get her home, and once again God exceeded my expectations. Why I should be surprised, I don't know. Sure enough...she was taken up maybe an hour after she got out, and was with a family that love dogs all weekend long. They put out the flyers for a found dog 2 days before I put out the flyers for a lost dog. So we were linked by our flyers, and we have our Dazy girl back! whew!

Feelin' a little blue...

Been a little sad lately, that is why I haven't posted anything. Our dog Dazy has been missing since Friday afternoon. No word from anyone, and we have driven around endlessly looking for her. I went and put flyers up around our neighborhood today. Hopefully that will bring her home. Please pray that we find our dog!

Staying Home

One thing I love about staying home is the time that I get to spend with other moms, and then the time my kids get to spend with other kids. Other moms are inspirational to me. I observe and watch how they interact with their kids and notice how I also want to interact with mine. When you stay home after being in the career field like I was for 5 years, it can be really hard in the beginning to feel fufilled. Like what you are doing is actually making a difference. Well...I had my aha! moment just other day. On Sunday at Newspring, one of the moms up on stage spoke about how our children pick up on what we do and then they do it as well, whether it is positive or negative. Well, thankfully, Josiah picked up on a positive thing I do and imitated it a few days ago. He and Jordan were coloring and I was making dinner. I overheard him say to her, "Good job Jordan, I am so proud of you, give me a high five." You see, I say that to him all the time. Now I know that my words of encouragement really do sink in and mean something. It truly was an "aha! I am doing the right thing as a mom" moment and what I am doing is making a difference.

I love Spring!

I love Spring! I can't say it enough. The only thing I don't enjoy about South Carolina springs are that they are NOT long enough. It seems that we jump right into summer here. I love the mid 60 to mid 70 degree weather. I love the new flowers, (my tulips are coming up) the pear trees, the grass turning green, playing outside with my kids, working in the yard with my husband, washing my new (not brand new, but new to me) car, feeling the sun on my skin. I love spring! God is awesome for showing me how things can be new and refreshing every year once spring comes around. Thank you Lord, your blessings are new every day!

My first post

Yes, I have finally figured out this blog thing and joined the world of bloggers. I am VERY excited about this and hope it goes well. I started this blog because I enjoyed reading other people's blogs and realized...it may be nice to have my own one, so I can share a little about me. So her it goes....I'll be telling a little about my days and how it is to be a mom and and wife and so many other things.
Today...I woke up with great intentions of going to the gym. Packed the kids up and headed out. We decided to stop at the church where they were holding a consignment sale over the weekend. (I went on Saturday and bought a shirt that I realized I did not pay for because the tage was still on it, and they take the tag off when you pay). I wanted to be sure to pay for the shirt I purchased. So I stopped by. I happened to see a friend there volunteering, and so I offered to stay and help organize as long as my kids weren't going to be in the way. Well, my kids were great! And I was able to help for a couple hours. It felt great to volunteer my time, but to top it off, the lady who ran it decided to pay me a little something for helping out.
Talk about awesome! The kids and I and my friend and her son went to McDonald's for helping someone else out for a couple hours.
What a great day that started out without much planned. God is good!