The ConnConn's

01.02.10 Happy 3rd B-day Ruby Ava

2010-01-03T20:10:00.000-08:00

Happy B-day my precious girl! I have not known you long, but it feels like I've never been without you. Since I first learned of you I have wanted nothing more than to be your mommy, and to love you like I love your brothers and sister. After two long years my prayers were finally answered. You my girl were worth every minute we had to wait for you. You truly complete our family.
I love being your, "Fat Mommy." I love your silliness, and how affectionate you are. When you crawl in bed with me you truly melt my heart. I just want to eat your chubby arms up! I "luff" you even when you pick your boogers and eat them. I would protect you from nice and mean "monsers" any day of the week. I promise to always share my "lip chappick" with you forever, or at least until your old enough to have your own. Oh yeah....and when ever you are hungry don't forget Mommy always has a "nack" for you. If it's your b-day I might even have a "cutcake" for you. My life is sweeter because you are a part of it!
Happy B-day my precious gem!

Where's the Cassi?

2009-10-23T17:32:00.000-07:00

The other day Cassi, Ruby, and I were having a Girls Day at the mall and Target. As we were walking by the jewelry store I looked down at my filthy ring and watch and decided it was time for a good cleaning. So, the three of us headed into the jewelry store, which in Cassi's opinion is so boring compared to Claire's. Claire's has so much more selection!
I was trying to keep the girls occupied while the lady worked her magic on my jewelry. I quickly looked over at the jewelry case and saw a ruby. I quickly pointed it out to Ruby hoping she might be interested. She got right up to the case glanced at it and asked, "Where's the Cassi?" I could of died laughing!
It was quite an adventure keeping them both happy and entertained! The Target nachos and chocolate ice cream did help to keep them content for a while!

Two months

2009-10-21T20:19:00.000-07:00

Well it's been about 2 months, so I guess it's time to blog again. These past two months have absolutely thrown me for a loop....but in a good way. Two months ago I only had three kiddos, now I have four, yeah FOUR! At times I still can't believe it either! I am now one of those moms with more kids than arms. I am now one of those moms that can no longer drive just any vehicle...we are officially a BIG family.

This morning I was laying in a hospital bed with my littlest gem trying to get her to rest, and once again I became completely overwhelmed. God has been so good to myself and our family. We have honestly experienced another miracle in our lives. It's been a process, but it is still a miracle.

The loop I have been on...well let's just say it's a 2.5 year old....need I say more?! My days are now full of sippy cups, giving "cany" every time she potties in the potty (she is already pooping in the potty), chasing, bargaining with her for just about everything, taking a baby jogger or stroller EVERYWHERE, getting about a 1,000 hugs and kisses each day, never being able to go to the bathroom or take a shower by myself, cuddling on the couch, being able to read to someone that doesn't notice when I make up my own stories instead of reading them verbatim, and the list goes on! God has shown me these past two months that I definitely had room in my heart for one more precious gem! He has blessed me beyond measure with four amazing children.

I guess by the next time I blog I better come up w/ a new name. Poor Ruby Duby is so left out...maybe the Sweet Six?

Life

2009-08-05T22:30:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks ago Doug and I, and our good friends were talking about how our lives had turned out so far. We were discussing what we might have thought if we would of been allowed to see little snapshots of what our future looked like.
To be totally honest I never in a million years would of thought that my life would of turned out like this. I never in a million years thought being the wife of a full time pastor, and a mother of four would be what God had planned for my life. Now don't think for a minute that I am disappointed or would have it any other way. It's just a little different than I expected. The part that is radically different is the joy and contentment that I experience daily. I truly believe that God has poured out his blessings upon my family and I in a miraculous way. Trust me we have had our share of heartaches and pain just like everyone else, but God continues to work in our lives.
In my younger years I never would of imagined that my life could possibly be so blessed, and yet so simple. I honestly thought that money and a successful career would bring me happiness rather than my faith in Christ and my precious family.
God has done amazing things in my life this summer. It has been a summer that I will never forget as long as I live. As a family we have become SO much closer. I am finally getting the principle of God, Doug, kids and the results are amazing. I am not saying that I have it mastered, I'm just trying to live it out. Not everyone gets to be married to their best friend and is blessed with the joy of parenting amazing children.
So, basically I am a little emotional/sentimental tonight. I am sitting in a hospital room listening to my son breath in and breath out. I find myself begging God for healing and nourishment for my little mans body. This hospital stay has given me time to reflect upon the blessings of being first a child of God, second an incredibly blessed wife, and of course the luckiest momma in the world. Thank you Lord for blessing my life far more than I could of ever hoped or imagined! Oh yeah, and could you make sure my little man is feeling like a million bucks in a few days so we can go get our precious little girl?

Summer lovin' and lovin' summer!

2009-07-26T14:49:00.001-07:00

Long time no blog! It's not that I am lacking things to blog about,but it seems like every time I sit down to update some other fun opportunity/activity drags me away from the computer. Much more fun/important to live life than blog about it!

So far the Conn Conn's have had a fantastic summer! We started our summer with a FANTASTIC trip to the Oregon Coast. It was just the 5 of us, and we had SO much fun together! We were able to celebrate Trev's b-day on our way there at Benihana (kids loved it). We spent most of our time on the beach, we also visited an aquarium, shopped, spent a lot of time in the hot tub, of course ate at Mo's, ate LOTS of saltwater taffy, stayed up late every night, and slept in every a.m. Big Daddy did a great job of finding us a great condo to stay in!

Upon arriving back home we hit the ground running! We celebrated Trev's b-day w/ friends at the pool. All 3 kids have had the opportunity to spend a few days in Baker w/ my family one at a time. They have had so much fun and gotten incredibly spoiled. It is really different to only have 2 kids at home! I missed them like crazy, but am so glad they each got a little alone time w/ G-ma Kiki and Papa.

I have to say that I love every minute of summer....bbq's w/ friends, daily adventures to our pool, free movies @ Edwards, family dinners on our new patio, watching Chris play baseball, attending God and Country and listening to Big Daddy sing, Bible Study w/ the girls, impromptu trips to Baker and McCall, boating w/ Papa and G-Ma Kiki, Pedi/Mani w/ my girl, floating the Boise River, our yearly camping trip w/ the Harrington's, and the list goes on. Mostly I just love our summer lack of schedule. I love that my kids can stay up late so we can hang out longer, and then they sleep in each a.m. I love that we get to be together ALL DAY!

We are making the most of everyday! We are anticipating our life is in for a BIG change HOPEFULLY in the very near future! As most of you know we are STILL in a holding pattern. Please continue to pray for us! I am signing off to hit the pool!

Happy B-day Cassi and Chris!!

2009-05-01T12:55:00.001-07:00

I love/hate this day! I love celebrating you two, I just don't want you to get any older!
Cassi,
My life would be so boring with out you! You are definitely the life of the party! There is never a dull moment when you are around. I am so thankful that you always keep me on my toes! I love that you are such a girlie girl, but at the same time love animals and the outdoors. Your pink fingernails w/ dirt constantly under them shed a lot of light about you. I love to cook w/ you, and am so thankful I never have to cook dinner alone. You are my little, "Cooker." I also enjoy your artwork all around our house and my classroom. You are quite a talented artist! I am thankful that you are sensitive to the needs of those around you. I have seen you mature in this area a lot recently. Your smile makes my heart happy! I am so glad that you come to see me everyday at recess. I know the main reason you come is to get a snack, but I am happy to see you just the same.

Chris,
Oh how I love my tenderhearted boy. Your kindness and compassion toward others is very evident. Your smile still melts my heart every time. I love to watch you play sports or any athletic activity. Your skill amazes me, but more than that your effort is amazing! You are one determined young man! One of my favorite parts of the day is when you read to me. I love that time with you, and am so impressed at how incredible you are doing. I am so glad you still want me to come see you at lunch each day at school. I love to watch you interact w/ your friends and hear a little about your day! You are an excellent helper to me!

Easter

2009-04-10T22:22:00.000-07:00

I have to say that I LOVE Easter! It is such humbling time to remember what my Savior did upon the cross. I love the newness and freshness of spring however, it kind of crept up on me this year. I wish that I had some better items to put in my kiddos baskets, but at least I do have a few things. I have Easter dress(es) for my girl, new shirts for the boys, and Doug will be stylin' in green.
We had so much fun coloring eggs tonight together! The kids have been begging to do it all week. Tonight was the night! Our eggs.....well they are colorful to say the least!
More important than eggs, new clothes, and Easter baskets we have had some great discussion this week. I think my kids are really starting to understand the importance of Easter, and what it means to them personally. Chris wanted to know if Jesus would of died for just his sins? He was so happy and relieved to know that Jesus loves him that much. Trev soaked up every bit of our communion service at church. He really took it so seriously! He has been full of questions since Wednesday night. It was priceless to hear my kids belt out, "Nothing but the blood of Jesus." Let's just say I bawled like a baby through the whole song. I think they really began to understand what that blood did for them. Cass attempted to hand out cards to all of her friends inviting them to church. She told me she wanted all of her friends to learn about Jesus and come to the Easter Egg Hunt.
The five of us will be doing a card board testimony together this weekend at church. My kids are really excited to be able to share the story of how God brought us together. I am so thankful to serve a risen Savior that is still performing miracles even in the lives of my own family!
I hope that you have a blessed Easter!

Mr. Motivation

2009-03-02T18:30:00.000-08:00

Okay....I have been feeling SOOOO lazy lately! Could it be because I am married to Mr. Motivation?! My man has a serious case of MOTIVATION! He is working like crazy at church and amazing things are happening, working on his Masters, and recently decided to run a half marathon with a good pal. It is crazy to see someone that used to not enjoy running, run 4 miles and read half a book in a day. Running and reading have never been a part of his vocabulary in the 14 years that I have known him. I am so thankful for the healthy example that Douglas is setting for our children!

I have recently had to remind myself that God's plans for those around me are not his plans for me. So, all that to say I am not running a half marathon. I am pretty content with my new exercise regimen at the gym. I am also not going to pursue my Masters at this point (even though I have more than half of my hours). God has really been working on me and helping me to be more disciplined in my own spiritual life. My motivation is my family. I want to be a God fearing woman that serves my family with joy. I have realized that my problem has been that I have no goals. There is no finish line or degree earned at the end. So, my goal this week is to set some goals. I think I might ask Doug for a little help as he seems to set some pretty high ones lately!

Fab 5 fightin'

2009-02-18T12:52:00.000-08:00

okay i have to admit i am a lover not a fighter! i have never much been into wrestling, boxing, karate, or really any of the martial arts. i just don't like to watch people hit or kick each other. however, for the rest of my fam it is a different story. my kids are all excited for basketball to end so they can start karate (much to my dismay). they have been recording and watching all of the karate kid movies lately.
the twins have always enjoyed trying to take each other down. especially when encouraged by their father and older brother. the smack downs usually occur right before bedtime, so that everyone is wound up like no other! smack downs at our house consist of the twins grabbing each others arms and trying to push/pull each other down. there is only a half pound difference in weight, so it is actually a pretty fair fight. doug and trev cheer and guard all of the sharp objects and corners so that the contestants are not hurt. the score of the last fight was 2 to 1 with Cassi the champion. however, she was injured in the smack down. she got a bruise on her shoulder, but it was the kind of bruise that you can not see (at least that is what she said). her shoulder was also "swollened" on the inside. while tucking her in after her victory she told me not to tell anyone, but that she was a tom boy. she decided that she no longer wanted to do gymnastics or ballet just be a fighter.
i have been a soccer mom, a baseball mom, a swim lesson mom, a tumbling mom, a basketball mom.....but i can't do this martial arts mom thing. if i hear one more, "I'm gonna take you down." i might scream! i have to admit i love to watch the twins do their little smack downs in their p.j.'s, but i just don't want them learning real moves so they can really hurt each other!
please don't tell cassi that i blogged she was a tom boy, or for that matter chris that i told you a girl beat him in smack down. i would be in so much trouble!

life and 30 days to live

2009-02-13T13:43:00.000-08:00

well....i guess it was about Christmas time that i last blogged. i am thankful that we did have our "Christmas slow down" because we have literally been running since then. our year has been off to a great start. we have made lots of "healthful" changes around our house. doug and i joined the gym and we are all eating more healthfully! i am SO proud of douglas, and love going to work out with him. i am so thankful for the example that he is setting for our children.

a lot of our time recently has been consumed with the boys playing upward b-ball and cassi cheering. they are all enjoying it and doug and i are having a great time spectating. they are all about ready to start an after school program as well. trev is going to be in a boise children's theater production, chris in more b-ball, and cassi in an art class. never a dull moment around here!

okay....so that was the life part! in a nutshell we are all doing great just trying to make the most of everyday, and that is where the 30 days to live part comes into play. i am really enjoying the new series that we started at church. even before we started the series this was really what i pondered upon during the "Christmas slow down." this year i am really trying to make the most of every minute. i am trying to be more positive. most importantly i am trying to rely on Him more. as the book that i am currently reading states i am "connecting to the vine" instead of trying to be the vine. okay, so it is already the middle of february and i wish i had this all down by now, but i don't. i am just so thankful that God has not given up on me, and continues to work in, and bless my life on a daily basis. i am thankful for the new perspective that he has given me, and how i have been able to enjoy some precious moments with my fam that i might of previously missed out on. the work out discipline has definitely helped my spiritual discipline to be better this year. well i am off to play w/ my kiddos instead of doing the much needed laundry...priorities right?! if i only had 30 days to live clean clothes would be the bottom of my list!

Christmas Slowdown

2008-12-30T09:13:00.000-08:00

Well....Christmas is all and said and done. It's hard to believe all of the shopping, all of the eating, all of the hype is already over for the year. It seems like we hopped off the plane from Cali, hit the ground running, and the next thing I knew it was Christmas. During the month of December we tried to fit in as many Christmas activities as our schedule permitted. We baked a little, watched quite a few Christmas flicks while sipping our new fam favorite hot cocoa w/ vanilla ice cream, decorated our house and tree, looked at lights, hung out w/ friends and fam, shopped a little, celebrated a few b-days, decorated a gingerbread house w/ friends, attempted to read the Christmas story every night before bed, and attended Christmas parties. Amongst the craziness we all got sick, Chris had oral surgery, Doug took his final and wrote a paper for his Masters program, and everyone but myself practiced and performed in, "Simply Christmas" at church. Trev also had his first orchestra concert, which surprisingly was very kind to the ears. I am so proud of my little man! We were also able to spend a little time w/ my Dad who was in the hospital in Boise for a shoulder replacement. The kids had so much fun playing with his hospital bed. We all absolutely adore that man, and hope he doesn't have any more surgeries for a LONG time.
We are currently spending time w/ Doug's family for the holidays. We are enjoying relaxing and spending time just the 5 of us. I already took a peak at the January calendar and am trying to savor every moment w/ the fab 5. I love these peeps so much! It is nice to just slow down and be able to cuddle with them and actually carry on a conversation w/ them with out having to say, "Hurry Up!" Amongst the hustle and bustle of life I find myself saying it quite a bit. We are making the most of the Christmas slowdown. The slowness has given me a chance to reflect upon just how incredible this past year has been. God has truly poured out his blessings upon our family in so many ways. I am humbled to sit, think, and thank Him for the love, grace, faithfulness, and mercy He has bestowed upon us during these past 12 months. I am looking forward to many great Fab 5 adventure to come in the next year. For now I am going to go snuggle with the kids.

2008-12-04T19:48:00.000-08:00

We were so blessed to spend Thanksgiving in California with my family. There were 12 of us in all that made the trip including my parents, brother Will, brother Drew and his wife Christa, sister kati and her adorable almost 6 month old Rhyse, and of course the Fab 5.

We stayed right on the beach in a great house. The kids had so much fun playing in the sand, boogy boarding, playing volleyball, looking at dolphins, seals, crabs, starfish, and finding shells. They also spent a lot of time in the pool and hot tub.

We spent two days at Disney and had an absolute BLAST! We would send G-ma Kiki and Baby Rhyse to get us fast passes for the rides that we wanted to go on. We hardly waited in line at all. We found out that Cassi and Trev are roller coaster maniacs along with their Dad. Chris and I, well lets just say we did a few, but we don't like as Chris says, "That throw up feeling." We were able to see some great parades and lots of characters.

We also spent one day at Sea World. It was a fun day and so much more relaxing than Disney. The kids loved seeing the sharks, and Chris is still doing the Shamu wave. The guys and kids all sat at the bottom of the splash zone on purpose and stayed dry. They were a little disappointed.

The other days of our trip were spent on the beach, exploring Huntington Beach Pier area, shopping, and going to Bolt.

It was a great vacation and we were SO blessed by my parents to take us all. We made so many fun memories together! I am not sure if the sour dough turkey is going to be a yearly tradition for us, but we did not miss real turkey this year. We were having way too much fun to worry about a traditional meal. In fact, we spent Thanksgiving in Disney and stopped at one of the few open restaurants on our way home, Del Taco. Yes, we had Del Taco and various other snacks at about 10 p.m. for our Thanksgiving dinner.

Thank you so much Mom and Dad for a wonderful trip! We so appreciate your generosity! Thank you so much for making this a very special time for our family. We love every minute that we get to spend with you. You are the BEST!

Teeth

2008-12-04T19:32:00.001-08:00

My little man was so brave today! He had to go to the oral surgeon this morning and have a tooth pulled that was fused to his bone. He did not even flinch when they stuck in the I.V.(maybe the nitrous oxide helped out a little)! They ended up having to cut the tooth into 4 pieces, and that included the double root that the tooth had. It was HUGE! They said it was a bigger extraction than most adults.

I kept him nice and doped up most of the day so he did not feel any pain. I am a little concerned with how tomorrow will go! There is a huge hole in his mouth that is VERY deep! We are just praying for no pain!

You may notice from the above picture the huge gap in the front....yeah Chris is missing his 3 front teeth. Too bad there is not a song about that! Poor guy he is in for it when it comes to TEETH! Only seven years old and we are already starting with the orthodontist. The list of to be pulled is long....one down many to go!

Fab 5 for 4 years

2008-11-14T15:40:00.000-08:00

it still overwhelmes me to think that God poured out his blessing upon doug and i to become parents to our 3 beautiful children. it was a long and hard process, but in the end so worth it! (refer to last years post for all the details)
it's hard to believe that it has been that long, but at the same time it seems like we have been together forever. i have completely forgotten what life was like with out them a part of it. was there ever life without mcdonald's, a trampoline, a dirty house, unfinished homework, or sleepless nights?becoming a mommy is the one thing that has totally rocked my whole world. you see this is the one title that i have not been able to fulfill with out God's strength in my life on a daily basis. i must admit (unfortunately) i have done a lot of things in my flesh and some how God let me slide, but not this job. this job doesn't work out so well when heather connelly tries it on her own! in my own strength i am totally unworthy of these three amazing kids.
i can remember praying so hard even before i met them that they would bond with doug and i quickly. oh man, did He answer my prayer. i can remember hugging and kissing them for the first time and it just feeling so right. i don't know how to describe it any other way than, "we became family!" my baby girl was a little shy around others the first several months (hard to believe now), and i was just so happy to hold her in my arms for hours. i absolutely loved to just hold all of them, and still do. i absolutely LOVE the fact that they still hug and kiss me good bye every day at school in front of their friends, and even when we meet in the hall. i am so glad that God is still answering my prayers and has allowed us all to be at the same school again. because i missed out on the first few years of their lives i now want to make up for every minute. i rarely leave them with a sitter because i know in a couple of blinks they're going to be off to college.
honestly, from the minute i met my kids something inside of me changed forever. oh yeah, i still have a pretty big selfish streak, but this momma's babies come first! shortly after bringing our kids home our friends all came to meet them. a few of my friends commented that i looked different. i would just answer with, "of course i look different now i am a MOM!"
sometimes i look at other moms with kids at similar ages as mine and i think, "man that woman has it together! what the heck is wrong with me?" that's when i like to fall back on the, "i've only been a mom for 4 years now excuse, and i got three at once." oh yeah, this mom thing is better than i could of ever imagined, but boy is it hard work. i just wish i could put life on slow motion and savor every minute just a little bit more. last night i was doing homework with the twins and was saddened with how well they are reading. it's just not right they are growing up so fast!i never could of imagined that what i thought to be my biggest curse (infertility) could turn out to be my biggest blessing. God truly knew what he was doing when he put the five of us together! so, today I am celebrating the Fab5 for 4 years, and looking forward to the Fab5 for 5! God is so GOOD!

round dos

2008-11-07T00:03:00.000-08:00

yes, we have started off november just like october SICK! sore throats, runny noses, fifth's disease, a trip to the e.r., vomiting, and the other stuff i won't mention. thankfully i think everyone is pretty much back to normal!

so, besides our illnesses october turned out to be a great month. despite our crazy schedule we made some great memories as a family. we started out the month w/ a trip to baker. we had a great time hanging out on the ranch, and of course a fun 4-wheeler ride up in the mountains.

the following weekend we were able to go to the pumpkin patch w/ some great friends. the kids had a great time at the petting zoo and pony rides (they were at the pumpkin patch). we brought home some pretty cute pumpkins too! the next day we went to the zoo w/ our home team to see the new africa exhibit. the kids LOVED it!

the next weekend doug was off again so he got up and made everybody breakfast, and then we spent the afternoon hiking at camel's back. of course after all of that exercise we had to make a stop at goody's.

of course october ended w/ halloween week. actually, this was probably the most memorable week of all. the kids had to dress up for AWANA in what they wanted to be when they grow up. it was a given that trev was a cowboy, and chris announced that he was going to be doug. so, that left cassi to be heather. of course trev was the cutest cowboy EVER! and the twins, well that was just priceless! chris wore khakis and a shirt w/ one of doug's ties. (doug wears a tie about 2 times a year, but whatever!) he did his hair just like his dad's, sprayed some of his dad's cologne on, and even carried his messenger bag. he had to finish the doug look off w/ a cup of dutch bros. coffee, because that is what dad always drinks. cassi had to dress like me w/ matching jeans, sweater, boots, and of course makeup, a cell phone, and one of my purses. they were very cute! when we got home from church that night chris said, "hey heather, i'll give you a smooch if you let me stay up later." let me tell you that had me rolling.

halloween was a fun day filled w/ school parties and of course lots of candy. doug and i were both able to attend the kiddos parties. then of course there is the good old trunk or treat. peter pan, wonder woman, and flash collected an obscene amount of candy. it has only been a week and we have already polished off a good portion of it.....hmmm do you think that is why we have been sick? (pictures coming soon-blogger would not let me upload them!)

germs

2008-10-15T12:13:00.000-07:00

it is only the middle of october and everyone in our house is on steroids and antibiotics! yes, you are reading this correctly- all five of us have been to the E.N.T. in the past week! he is GREAT, so if you need a good doc. i would be happy to share his name.
this is not a good way to start off the cold/flu season. i am praying that we are getting all of our sickness out of the way! i absolutely hate it when my kids are under the weather! i don't like to see them so miserable. everybody did look better this a.m. and fortunately made it to school!
Happy Healthy Wednesday!

a slice of our life

2008-10-13T12:37:00.000-07:00

Trevar has been in violin lessons for 3 weeks now, and already has learned 7 songs. He has also learned those same songs on the piano all by himself. He is working so hard in school!

The other night we were all curled up together reading a stack of new fun books. In the middle of the story Trev reaches over and gives me a huge kiss on the cheek. He then said, "Mom, thanks for reading me books still. I know that I am 10 and can read them on my own, but I am glad you still read to me."

Conversation the other a.m.

Chris: Mom I am so glad you could not have a baby. Sometimes I still can't believe that you picked me! How did you know that you wanted me?

Me: I saw a picture of you and your sister and brother in a rocking chair and I just fell in love with you. From the minute I saw that picture I did everything I could to make sure that you were my baby. God really answered my prayers. (I couldn't really say much as I was so choked up.)

Chris: I think I might adopt or have a baby someday.

A few weeks ago at school everyone was given a T-shirt for Spirit Friday. The teacher did not have enough, and the last little girl that did not get one started throwing a fit. Chris just nonchalantly got up and gave her his T-shirt. He told his teacher he could just get one a different day. My boy has such a tender heart!

Do you de-gree?

Last night we were driving home from Home Team and were cutting it close for bedtime so we said our "Goodnights" in the car. As Chris was praying Cassi kept on saying Amen, Amen, Amen. When he finished praying he asked her why she was saying Amen? She said she was de-greeing with him. I thought Doug and I were going to die laughing! So, our family has yet another new word. I am thinking the Connelly definition would be to agree with just a little disagreement in there as well. Maybe like you agree about 95%.

A few days ago Cassi was singing, "Mary had a Little Lamb" constantly. My mom and her friend stopped by and she literally sang it 15 times. I was telling Doug about it later that night, and he started laughing. Cassi was singing that a.m. and Doug had told her that she had a beautiful voice and sang that song wonderfully. She totally lit up when he told her that. I guess positive reinforcement really does work!
I LOVE these people! They are the reason my life is so rich!

the desert

2008-10-09T04:26:00.000-07:00

this is not my first trip through this dry and desolate land. i have been here before, just not for for this same exact reason. i have learned a few lessons in the desert, lessons i will never forget as long as i live. i am thankful for these lessons.
this trip seems to be different than the past. in fact, i have never felt such intimacy with God. until last night i actually had a time line of how long this trip was going to last. boy was that thought buried in the sand!

let's just say that God truly spoke to me in Bible Study last night. (i am completing, "Discerning the Voices of God," by Priscilla Shirer). as i watched the video last night there was nothing new or earth shattering that i heard, and i definitely did not catch a camel and high tail it out of here. however, God truly spoke to me and showed me the reasons why i am here, and what i need to do to learn the lessons/life applications He has for me. i am taking my eyes off of this season, and focusing on what God is doing in my life. you see, just like moses i am looking for my burning bush on a daily basis. i am looking for "supernatural makers." when i see them i am not going to rationalize them, instead give the glory to God.

when priscilla stated that, "Bushes don't burn in the palace they burn in the desert, i actually thanked the Lord for this trip. i asked Him again to reveal to me His truth so I could get out of here glorifying Him. i have to admit that at times just like in Luke 24 i have been so overwhelmed with my circumstance that i have failed to recognize that Jesus is right here with me!

just like moses i am so thankful for the intimacy that i am experiencing with my Savior this trip through the desert. i pray for the humility to make it out of here praising him!

thank you Lord for the desert and a few good reasons to get out of here closer to you:

Philipians 3:13,14

"Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind me and straining toward what is ahead. I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus."

life in the fast lane

2008-09-14T14:14:00.000-07:00

i can't believe summer is over, and we are already back in school. it happened so quickly! in fact, it happened so suddenly i didn't have time to be saddened. i just had to jump right into a new school year. to say it has been a hectic month would be an understatement.
this past month has really been an awakening for me in may ways. i have realized just how precious my family is. this whole summer was spent doing things as a family, and it ended with my entire family here for my dad's surgery. it sounds crazy, but it was a sweet time. it was a time i will never in my life forget. i am so thankful for the second chance that my dad was given.
now, i just have to face reality and get into a routine. i have to keep telling myself school is in session, and summer is over. i absolutely love my job, i just miss the carefree days of summer. actually, what i miss the most is being with my kids all day. it almost kills me to leave w/ out the twins each afternoon. the other day i made my daily trip to the caf. to say goodbye to the them, and cassi told me she was going home with me. she told me she had learned everything she needed to for the day. she did not need to be a full day kid anymore. oh how i just wanted to snatch her up and bring her home and cuddle with her on the couch all afternoon.
life has just changed so much in the past month. my twins are gone all day. trev is becoming more and more independent. doug has started his masters and is even more busy than he used to be. and me....well i just have to adjust to a new school, new principal, new kinder. team, new class, and their parents. for the most part it is all positive stuff, now i just have to decide to go with it. maybe the first step is a little reality check...i think it's time to put away the pool toys. step number 2-start volunteering in the kiddos class this week, and enjoy every minute that i do have with them. step number 3- realize that bedtimes and homework are here to stay and deal with it!

answered prayer

2008-08-27T20:44:00.000-07:00

my dad made it through his triple by-pass great today. i appreciate all of the prayers and support that have been shown to my family and i. please continue to pray for him tomorrow as this is when the pain really kicks in. God is so amazing and truly has had his hand upon this whole situation. we are so thankful for his protection upon dad! now we are just praying for a speedy recovery and to get out of i.c.u. quickly!

my dad

2008-08-22T16:24:00.000-07:00

this week my world has been shaken. last week my family and i had a great time biking, boating, eating, and sitting by the pool in mccall. last week my dad was a wild man trying out the new wakeboard and chasing his 4 grandchildren around, this week we found out he has to have triple by-pass open heart surgery. yes, i am typing that! he went from having episodes of chestpain/breathing difficulty to surgery in a 24 hour period.

God truly has had his hand on this whole situation. he sent my parents to the right doctors at the right times. if the blockage would of gone undetected much longer things would not look so promising.

so, as you can imagine my dad is on my heart. he such an amazing man. he has always been my superhero and my knight and shining armor. as a child i won everytime when i played the "my dad is better than your dad one up game." it's pretty hard to one up someone that has brains, good looks, and is an exceptional athlete. throw in the fact that he is hardworking, kind, spontaneous, and funny- you have an unbeatable combination.

he has made so many sacrifces for myself and the rest of our family. he is the most unselfish person that i know. my dad is the rock in our family. i have never seen him get worked up about much, even as as rebellous teenager he never once lost his cool with me.

he stands firm in the word of God. he has truly shown himself faithful, and has reaped the benefits of standing firm in what he knew was truth.

my children absolutely adore their papa. i absolutely love to watch and listen to them interact with him. he always takes time for the teachable moments. he is never too busy to meet their demands, and those range from making papa's pancakes for breakfast to spending hours on the 4-wheeler. papa has even managed to be the one stuck doing cassi's hair (by the way it turned out great).

on aug. 27th my family would covet your prayers as my dad goes in for surgery. we are asking and seeking that God would be with our "Rock."

Soul searching and Goal Setting

2008-07-21T09:52:00.000-07:00

So, far this summer has been a real soul searching time for me. I think it is a combination of many things...my sister having a beautiful baby boy and being extremely happy for her, but at the same time kind of wishing I could of had that precious bonding time between mother and infant. I am not having a pity party just wishing for more time with my kiddos. Could all of this emotion be a result of my twins heading to first grade this year and being away from me all day? I LOVED my afternoons with them!
I also have been doing a great Bible Study that has really caused me to dig deep and find w/ in myself some issues I don't really want to deal with. Another huge factor of is just recently celebrating my 10th anniversary. This is a huge landmark but, I don't think anything has quite made me feel so old! I pulled out the pictures and wanted to cry! My husband looks better today than the day we were married, but not me! What has happened to me? I wonder how he could still love me, as I don't even look like the same person? Can we say INSECURE? It didn't even make me feel better that I tried on my wedding dress and it still fit! Maybe it was the comment that a so called friend made to me, "Well of course it still fits you never had to go through pregnancy and childbirth. You have no excuses." All in all anniversary was great-a trip to Hawaii and a fun night out here in Boise. Just a major realization through the whole thing that I have some major things to work on in my own life!
The other day I was reading one of my favorite blogs and P.W. posed a question that really got me thinking....Looking back 10 years ago did your life turn out the way you had planned?
For me personally I thought all of the changes in my life occurred about 13 years ago when I changed colleges, majors, career choice, surrendered to full time ministry service, and decided that maybe I would think about interrupting my career before the age of 30 to get married and have children. Soon after all of these changes I met and fell in love with my husband. At that point I knew my full time christian service would be walking through life as the wife of a pastor. I wasn't sure what all the journeywould entail, but I was willing to give it my best shot. Oh, ignorance is bliss!
So, looking back 10 years my life is definitely different than I expected, but GREAT different! I have a wonderful husband and 3 incredible children. I had no idea that we would have to go through so much to finally have our family, but it was all so worth it! With God on our side we have overcome things in these past 10 years I never could of thought possible. I am so GLAD that I did not know some of the things we would have to face! All I can say is God is good all the time, and He has continued to be with us through the mountains and the valleys.
Whew! This is pretty deep for me, but all of this soul searching finally came to a head for me yesterday at church. Dr. Jerry Thorpe brought an incredible message and challenge to me personally. He talked a lot about setting goals and the importance of doing so. I would say that for the first 25 years of my life I was incredibly goal oriented and driven. Not to make excuses but motherhood has kind of put anything about me in the backseat. I have no career goals or even real ministry goals at the present time. My goals for most days are just making sure that everyone is dressed, fed, gets to where they need to go, and most importantly happy.
I was definitely challenged on Sunday to once again sit down and write out my goals. It has been a long time since I have done this. He explained how we need to separate our goal categories, and that they need to be measurable and attainable.
Not that the last 10 years of my life have been disappointing, but I think the next 10 will be more fulfilling with the practice of setting and attaining goals on a regular basis. I guess what it comes down to is I don't want to settle for mediocrity any longer. So, hopefully today as my kids are splashing around in our pool I will be able to get my goals in writing. I am so thankful that all of my soul searching this summer has led me to this exercise. Thank you Lord for speaking to me through this message!

10 Years

2008-07-17T21:23:00.000-07:00

Ten years ago today I married my best friend. Many things have changed during this decade (jobs, kids, our goals, etc.), but the one thing that has remained the same is you still remain my best friend.

My life has been made complete because you are a part of it. I am so grateful to have such a Godly husband and father to our children. So, in honor of our tenth anniversary I am going to give my top ten reasons I am so glad that we are married:

1. You are the spiritual leader of our house. I am so thankful that you are spiritually mature and have a close relationship with the Lord. I do not doubt your decisions or leadership because I know and witness your complete dependence upon Him.

2. The priority that you place upon making our marriage work. Thank you for always making time for me. It is so obvious to me that you are constantly trying to keep our marriage alive.

3. Making me laugh. I can honestly say that I have laughed more in these past 13 years than any other time in my life. I absolutely love your sense of humor! I sure hope when I get old that I don't lose bladder control, because sometimes I laugh so hard at you that I think it could happen!

4. You bring out the best in me. I appreciate the way that you encourage me and try to help me overcome my weaknesses (which are many). You always do it in a loving way. Thank you for always believing in me even when I don't believe in myself.

5. Being the best Dad ever! You are such a Godly example to our kids.

6. Always providing for our family. Thank you for being such a hard worker and meeting all of our needs. I truly appreciate your work ethic.

7. Your call and faithfulness to ministry. It has been awesome to see you grow and mature in your ministry. Thank you for your faithfulness to God's calling for your life. God has truly blessed you with amazing talent, and I am so thankful that you are using it to glorify Him.

8. Your enthusiasm for life and positive outlook. You are definitely the glass is half full instead of half empty type of guy.

9. The way that you love and have accepted my family. I am so grateful that you have such a great relationship with each of them.

10. Your smokin' hot body! Age has been good to you Babe!

Happy ten years! I can't wait to celebrate many more anniversaries w/ you! Thanks for making our tenth so special. Hawaii was such a WONDERFUL trip, mainly because I had time to focus just on you and us. I had time to see the real you again with out any interruptions, and was reminded of all the reasons why I fell in love with you and married you to begin with.

June

2008-06-30T16:34:00.000-07:00

I can't believe a whole month has passed! June has been a very fun and incredibly busy month. We started off by finishing school, packing up all of my stuff to move to our new school, and most importantly celebrate Trev's 10th b-day.
The following week Trev headed to Junior camp, and had a GREAT time. While he has away the twins and I headed to Yakima to meet their new cousin. I am the very proud auntie of Rhyse Robert. He is extremely adorable and healthy. It was so fun to be able to spend a little time with him and my sis!
Upon returning from Yakima we actually spent a few days in town. Of course we were running every minute with daily visits to the pool, a visit to the Berry Ranch to pick some delicious strawberries, Meridian Dairy Days, baseball, and even visits to the library.
Doug headed to L.A. for a conference, so the kids decided to head to Baker to be with my family. We had an absolute GREAT time last week! At this point my kiddos think Baker is better than Disney! The kids had a great time kneeboading and tubing behind Papa's boat, fishing daily at the pond, swimming daily at the pond, biking into town, a beautiful 4-wheeler ride in the mountains, our own rodeo when we helped Papa move is pesky cows, gathering eggs, and of course daily visits to the coffee shop to feed their coffee addiction. The visit was great until about 9 p.m. the night before we were leaving. We were making s'mores and Cassi stepped on a red hot roasting stick and burnt the bottom of her foot. So, our trip was made complete with a quick visit to the E.R. For the record she is healing quite nicely- just no walking or swimming until Friday. There is a new shoes at all times rule at our house!
So, far we have had an absolutely wonderful summer! Amongst all of the craziness mentioned above Chris played a great baseball season. His last game was on Saturday and he recieved the Golden Glove Award for the season. It was so much fun to watch him play!
I don't think the kids have been to bed before 10 once since school was out! We are all enjoying a more relaxed schedule! We are also looking forward to a fun 4th of July outing w/ some great friends!

a school year ends, a b-day celebration, and bring on summer!

2008-06-09T07:28:00.000-07:00

List format of the highlights from the past week:
Tues.-b-day dinner for T. @ P.F. Chang's.
Wed.- last day of school- Apache helicopter landing on playground and freezing cold picnic. attempting to pack up classroom-still have A LOT to do!
Thurs.-attempted to pack up some more, attended teacher shindig to say goodbye to everyone. pool party/sleepover- whew we made it through! i think everyone had fun?! little man a little grumpy the next day w/ no sleep! i actually made ice cream cake and they ate it! i do have a little martha in me! (i wanted to buy it but, little man wanted home made!)
Fri.- clean destroyed house, costco run, movie. actually felt like summer break!
Sat. -baseball game for chris- it was a cold one, but my little boy was smoking hot! i love to watch him play! b-day party @ boondock's. sat. night service and pizza and strawberry shortcakes w/ friends. doug spent the day @ paint the town. microwave stopped working today-how am i going to make it w/ out that thing?
Sun.- lunch w/ friends. hit the pool just long enough to totally freeze my kids out. went father's day shopping by myself. family bike ride. boys got haircuts. went and got frozen yogurt together.
Plan for the week:
Mon.- Trev heads to camp @ 1 p.m. yard work, go to school and work for a bit. home team @ our house, little man has a baseball game at the same time. i guess i am facilitating?
Tues.-Try to finish up at school. Possible date night w/ hubby?!
Wed.- a few dr. appointments. hopefully i don't have to go back to school today!
Thurs.- go watch doug play in an event w/ his band. we are his biggest fans! hoping to hit graples since i will be out in nampa. love that place!
Fri.-T. returns from camp-YEAH! i guess this means i have to give his electric scooter back. i must say that was a pretty good b-day gift! mama likey!
****this whole week is subject to cancellation. the minute my sis goes into labor we are headed to yakima!

10 years old

2008-06-03T15:40:00.000-07:00

just saying those words tears my heart in two. i knew this b-day was going to be tough...but not like this. in fact, it hit me last fall as i was driving to church that trev's next b-day would be a double digit and i started crying like a baby.

where do i begin? i guess that is getting over my own emotions and celebrating trev. yes, this day is special! what can i say no other little man has quite changed my world quite like my trev. he is simply amazing. he has to be the most inquisitive person i have ever met, hence the pet name "turbo." sometimes his questions come so fast my brain is still processing question #1 and he is on to #3! his inquisitive nature will surely take him great places. i am just glad i get to be part of the journey.

not only is trev a great conversationalist, but also has a very tender heart for others. he is always befriending those around him that need a little encouragement. his prayer requests often break my heart as he truly shows compassion and empathy for others. he has intuition beyond his years!

there have only been a couple of times that trev was not beaming as i tucked him in at night. everyday seems to be the best day ever! his positive attitude and love for life are contagious. i am so thankful he keeps my heart and attitude in check-everyone loves an optimist (especially this sometimes pessimist!)

i am truly the luckiest mommy in the world to be your mommy! you make my days brighter, my load lighter, and my life fuller. God has truly blessed you with some amazing talents and gifts, and it is my prayer that you use them to honor and glorify Him. happy 10th B-day my handsome, kind, intelligent, compassionate, generous, hardworking, responsible TREVAR! i can't wait to celebrate you all weekend long! P.F. Jame's was a great way to start the festivities!

the week in review

2008-05-23T20:04:00.000-07:00

Monday- a.c. fixed only $217 (builder paid for half), 46 loads of laundry (a little exaggeration), Doug painted the kid's bathroom poolside blue. Found out I will be teaching a.m. Kinder at our new neighborhood school-Yeah! I get to be w/ my kids again next year!

Tuesday- Chris arose at 6:30 wondering how many hours until his first baseball practice of the season- the child lives for baseball! Practice was canceled due to weather- boo hoo! Stayed at school FOREVER to get ready for the end of the year. Another 46 loads of laundry.

Wednesday- Kindergarten Field Trip to the Zoo and Discovery Center. What an adventure w/ 100 Kindergartners! Luckily no one got lost or hurt! I even got to spend a little time w/ the twins as I had fantastic chaperones. Made 48 cupcakes for the twins b-day bash at school.

Thursday- Meetings all afternoon at school. Kindergarten program- man they are so stinkin' cute. I didn't get to watch the twins much as my class demanded my attention. One of my joy boys really got into the actions on, "We're Going on a Bear Hunt." He fell off the back of the risers. He was screaming so loud you could not hear the other 99 kiddos singing. However, he got right back up there and sang his lungs out. I must say Cassi was the cutest Ole dancer I have ever seen.

Friday- Long a.m. at school! Came home and watched a friend's kiddo for a few hours. The twins thought it was so cool to babysit until I had to change the nasty diaper. Then off to the mall to get the man some new duds. I then begged the fam to stop at Costco as we are out of everything! Home by 8- kind of nice to all be under one roof!

The weekend- Weather permitting we hope to visit the pool as it opened today. My preacher boy is preaching so we will be supporting him in at least one service. BBQing w/ friends, twins have a b-day party to attend, hopefully continuing all these painting projects we need to finish, plant flowers, and whatever else we can cram into a 3 day weekend!

it's gettin' HOT in here

2008-05-18T13:03:00.000-07:00

thursday night we decided to fire up the a.c., and when doug and i headed upstairs to bed we noticed it wasn't so cool up there. after a little examining (by doug) we turned it off and opened the windows. on friday a.m. doug ran to lowe's to get new filters to see if that might be the problem....no luck! when i got home from school around 1 p.m. it was still HOT!
so i decided to call my friend mr. a.c. man. we are close friends as he has been here at least 5 times. you see this is not the first time we have had trouble w/ our a.c. the company that put it in has gone out of business, and another company took over our warranty work after that.
mr. a.c. was nice enough to stop by on his way home on friday night. he said it wasn't a quick fix, and he would be back on monday. he also said he was going to check into our warranty, and that our unit was a piece of crap! he thought it would be @ least $500!
so, all that to say that we are a little HOT and bothered around here! our house is not even 2 years old.

my mom

2008-05-16T14:08:00.000-07:00

my mom is truly an amazing woman. i am truly blessed by God to be able to call her mother. when i read proverbs 31 she truly displays all of those attributes. if there is anyone that i could be like it would be her. i am not the only that feels this way... the other night while doing devotions we asked our kids who they would like to be like when they grow up? cassi said, g-ma kiki, and for the record chris said papa (you're not so bad yourself dad).
my mom has made so many sacrifices for me. she is an incredibly hard worker. in fact, there are times that i have trouble keeping up with her. she is definitely not a person to sit around.
she is the most generous person that i have EVER met. she is constantly doing things for her family and others around her. there is not a selfish bone in her body.
she is incredibly hospitable. she always has people in her home for meals, or to stay the night. people rave about her food. she amazes me how she can whip up a gourmet meal in no time flat. she definitely gives martha stewart a run for her money.
there has never been a doubt in my mind that my mom does not love her family fiercely. she truly displays this in word and deed. she has been our prayer warrior, our cheer leader, the shoulder we needed to cry on, our encourager, and in my younger years she gave me the discipline i needed. even now she gives me her opinions (when consulted) in a loving way. she has always made being a mom look like the easiest job ever! sometimes i wonder what i am doing wrong? it doesn't come so easy for me (not that i don't love it!) she loves my husband and children in a way that i never could of thought possible. i am so thankful for influence on our family's life.
the part that i love about my mom the most is that she loves and fears the Lord. her life has not always been a cake walk, but she has always remained faithful to the Lord. many have come to Christ because of His evidence in her life. one of those people is me, and for that i am eternally thankful.
i am so looking forward to this weekend to have a little time w/ her. we are going to beth moore together. she has never been, and i am so excited to be able to be able to take her.

a shocking day

2008-05-15T11:59:00.000-07:00

let me just tell you there is never a dull moment in kindergarten. i thought i had seen it all the day one of my boys urinated in the field at recess. well, let's just say i was speechless today. i had a parent volunteer helping out, and she had brought in her younger son. he did wonderful the first 1.5 hours, but after the class went to recess and computers he got a little bored. his mother thought he was coloring on one of my easels. all of a sudden sparks started flying everywhere! then came the cry!
long story short he is fine. my scissors-now that is another story. about a half inch of them was melted into nothing. i also have a huge black mark on the outlet and wall around it.
i can't wait to see what happens tomorrow. i am sure it will be exciting as my class is practicing eating lunch in the cafeteria for next year when they will be big first graders.

Mother's Day Weekend

2008-05-14T13:02:00.000-07:00

We had such a fun weekend in baker w/ my family, of course it would of been much better if Douglas could of made the trek w/ us! The main reason for our trip was for my sister's baby shower. She is expecting a boy on June 23rd. The whole family is absolutely crazy about this baby coming. This is our first baby-so we are all a little anxious.
Friday- We packed up the car, picked up Trev early from school, and began our 2 hour journey. We met my family at the baseball field and were able to see my younger brother play. After the game we all headed to eat dinner at my parent's house. My sis and brother in law finally arrived around 8 p.m. I was so excited to see her, as i have not seen her since January. She is the cutest pregnant woman I have ever seen. She looks like she has a basketball popping out under her shirt.
Saturday- We all made breakfast together, and then the girls headed out for a walk (mom, sis, sis-in-law, and me). Upon returning we all prepared for my sis' shower. We had a wonderful time at the shower. It was so fun to be w/ all the women that I love and admire so much. I am so excited for my sis- she is going to be an AWESOME mom! After the shower we went to my parent's house for a bit, and then went back to the ball field for another game. After the game we all enjoyed dinner together.
Sunday-The kids and I headed back home when they all went to church. I came home to a clean house, and a basket full of goodies and gift certificates. I also got a new potholder-Trev, and various other handmade treasures. I was definitely spoiled. I took a walk by myself, and then we took a bike ride as a family. Doug made homemade pizza for us and some extra special friends. It was a great Mother's Day!
I am so blessed to have such a wonderful family! My kids have the absolute best time in Baker. They really should be farm kids. They had a great time 4-wheeling, biking, collecting eggs, helping Papa move sprinklers, and of course Christopher's all time favorite throwing rocks in the pond. There is not a dull moment on a farm! I would post photos, but I left my camera in Baker!

Happy B-day My Dear Sweet Cassi and Chris!

2008-05-01T14:02:00.001-07:00

I can't believe you two are seven today! You are growing up so fast I can't even keep up with you! I thank God everyday that he picked me to be your Mommy! You both add so much love and excitement to my life. I have loved every minute of being in Kindergarten with you both this year! I am so proud of how well you are both doing. You make me so proud!

Cassi
You are definitely my firecracker! Thanks for always keeping me on my toes. I love the fact that you are such a girly-girl! You are right, toenails should have polish on them at all times, and no outfit is complete w/ out some accessory. I also love that you can get dirtier than the boys in no time flat. It is so rare that some bug or creepy creature escapes you. You definitely have a tomboy streak in all of that pink!
I love that you don't know a stranger. Thank you for always making everyone around you feel special and loved. You definitely know how to melt my heart, and pretty much everyone that you come in contact with.
Thank you for being Mommy's awesome helper! I can't wait to help you out when you start your own cooking show, "Cooking with Cassi." I promise I will be your biggest fan!
I love you more than you could ever imagine my precious little princess! Happy B-day!

Chris
What is not to love about you my little man? All the way from your extremely soft and freckled cheeks to your little hop in your step. I don't think anything quite melts my heart faster than that killer smile of yours. Yeah- it works little man just show me your pearly whites, and your wish is my command (just don't tell your dad).
I love that you are so determined to accomplish whatever you set your mind to. I love the fact that you never give up. You have such a tender heart for others, and are so sensitive to their needs. I appreciate that you are always so kind to your brother and sister. Thank you for putting others wants and needs before your own.
I love to watch you run and play. You are an amazing athlete, and I can't wait to watch you for many years to come! Baseball season is right around the corner- Yeah!
Thank you for always helping me even when I don't ask you to. I love you with all of my heart and then some. I hope that you have the best b-day ever!

Decorating Dilemma

2008-04-26T12:54:00.000-07:00

In the past few weeks I have finally found new bedding for our bedroom and both of the twins bedrooms. I have also picked up about 500 paint swatches and there is still no paint on the walls. Doug is running out of patience w/ me so I need to make some decisions here. The man is in the mood to paint, and once he gets going he could have all of these boring khaki rooms done in no time! I just can't make up my mind! So, I need some help? Where do you go for inspiration/ideas? I need to get my creative juices flowing w/ your help! We have so many rooms to paint, but I just can't decide on even ONE color yet! Help w/ our decorating dilemma!

Warning Gel Nails Highly Flammable!!!

2008-04-16T19:55:00.000-07:00

So, it has been a pretty crazy day to say the least! I know 2 posts in one day and still no Hawaii- please forgive me! I came home ASAP from school because we are changing dish companies so we can finally have DVR-Yeah! The guy finally showed up around 1:15. I asked him how long it would take, and he said 3 to 5 hours, and we had to be here the whole time. So, I canceled our 4:30 doctor appointments, and figured we would still be able to go to church tonight. WRONG! The technician was here until 8:30 tonight!
The worst part is he stunk really bad! So, I am finally back to my title..... I lit candles all over the house to help w/ the smell. As I was lighting one Chris was talking to me and I was focusing on him instead of the lit match in my hand, and BOOM the end of my nail caught on fire. I quickly blew it out and no real damage other than it being black at the end and my finger a little sore! The stupid part is I just got my nails filled yesterday. The last thing I want to do is drag the twins back to the nail place to have this sucker fixed. Who would of thunk gel was that flammable?!
Crazy to be home on a Wednesday night. We took a walk/bike ride as we had eaten dinner early thinking we were headed to church. Cassi had a bad wipe out so we had to come home and have 2 bowls of ice cream each- that creamy stuff can heal a lot of wounds! All in all we made the best of our day-kind of nice to be home for a change! Especially if you don't torch your nails!

"You're Going to Miss This"

2008-04-16T12:25:00.002-07:00

This is Doug's and my new motto around the home front. We got a little addicted to Celebrity Apprentice and this song really struck a chord with us. Our little people are growing up so fast. I think they all grew at least an inch while we were in Hawaii. But, back to the song whenever we get a little annoyed or overwhelmed w/ the demands of our kiddos we just say "You're Going to miss this!"
Last night was one of those "You're Going to Miss This" nights. We are still recovering from our trip and trying to catch up on everything (i will post pictures soon- check out doug's). Cassi and I had the opportunity to go see Broadway in Boise "Annie" and the boys went to see Spiderwick w/ their dad. Doug and I both wanted to just be home as we have not been home an evening since returning. We both had great nights w/ our kids. Cassi LOVED the play! She was totally into it! She loved all the singing and dancing. Mrs. Hannigan was absolutely hilarious- Cassi got such a kick out of her! She wanted to sit on my lap which I enjoyed every minute of! Thanks Nicole and Evan for the tickets!
Doug had a great night w/ the boys as well. He had the same privilege of holding Chris on his lap through the scary parts. It's kind of funny as that was one of the first things that we asked each other about the night-"How long was your lap empty?"
I absolutely love the ages of kids right now (i have loved every age though!) I can't imagine going to a play or a movie w/ out somebody on my lap! I really am going to Miss this!

Spring Break '08

2008-03-28T08:22:00.000-07:00

***EDITED
So far it has been a great Spring Break, and just like everything else we do it has been busy! Let me just rewind and tell you about the Thursday before Spring Break. Since moving to Boise I have never been able to attend a Communion Service due to sick children. I thought this might be my year! The day had gone pretty smoothly meaning no chicken pox or vomiting. About two hours before service we took a walk/scooter ride/bike ride with our neighbors. We had a great time and walked them back to their house. As we were leaving their dog urinated all over Cassi. We immediately left, and came home and popped her in the bath. Jumped out of the bath, quickly dressed, and quickly began to give them all dinner. A few minutes after beginning to eat dinner another incident happened, and I am not going to mention names or circumstances-let's just say another bath was necessary. BUT-we made it to the Broadway parking lot by 6:29 YEAH! All the way there we were reviewing the service and what to expect (this was the twins first communion as they both just recently were saved).
One of the first things was a video with scenes from the Passion and it kept saying "It's Friday Sunday's a comin'!" It was very serious but, my kids totally missed the point. They were laughing their heads off. The man's inflection was a little more than they could handle- especially after about 40 times. Then came the bread! As it was being passed Cassi wondered loudly, "What is that stuff?" Of course all eyes were on us! Then Chris took a bite, and almost hurled. He has a terrible gag reflux and the taste was more than he could handle, but he swallowed it after much prompting. Then came the juice! This time Cassi wondered loudly, "Is this real blood?" Can I just say these were the fullest communion cups I have ever seen in my life! Somehow we made it through the prayer and everything without a spill. I was even stupid enough to wear brand new khakis. The whole service was worth while to stand with all three of my children belting out "Mighty to Save." Let's just say the whole crucifixion story was made real when I heard my children sing, "Jesus conquered the grave, Jesus conquered the grave!" It's moments like these that I savor as a mom!
So, on to Spring Break! Our family attended the Saturday night service at church as well as the Easter Egg Hunt. My kiddos had a great time and scored A LOT of candy! Trev even found a lucky ticket and got even more candy! It was an AWESOME service! I was totally impressed by the music and message, and was very happy that our neighbors came with us.
Sunday a.m. we got up and did Easter baskets (of course w/o Doug- I think he misses all of the fun stuff!) We then frantically packed up pretty much everything we own (or at least that is what it feels like)! As soon as Doug got home we headed to Baker to be with my family for Easter Dinner. We were very excited to have the Harrington family go with us for a couple of nights. We ate a great dinner of prime rib, ham, potatoes, asparagus, mom's homemade rolls, salads, and too many desserts! I am not sure if the kids ate as they were too busy 4-wheeling, jumping on the trampoline, playing hide and go seek, and terrorizing my mom's chickens. I think 34 people were at my parent's house!
On Monday the kids rode horses, 4-wheelers, and got to see new baby calves. The guys took the 4-wheelers into the mountains and had a great time (I think!)
Doug and the Harrington's headed back to Boise on Tuesday morning, and the kids and I decided to stay and enjoy a few more days of country life. I think Chris could just throw rocks into the pond for hours! We did drink our share of coffee as well (my mom owns a coffee shop), and my kids drink 2 or 3 drinks per day. It has to be better than pop right?!
My mom brought us back to Boise on Wednesday afternoon and spent the night. We had a great time shopping, eating, and spending a little more time with her! Thank you Mom-you are the BEST!
Now reality has set in- house to clean, laundry to do, report cards to start and finish, lesson plans for the next 3 weeks to start and finish, hair, nail, tanning and other various appointments to squeeze in before Maui next Thursday! Yes, that is right Maui next Thursday! Better go get busy! Where to start?
I failed to mention our Easter catastrophe! We colored eggs early on Saturday morning before Doug left. We threw everything in the trash and all went about our business. Our dog got in the trash and got left over Easter dye all over our carpet. The carpet guy is on his way today to try to remove it. I am keeping my fingers crossed!

Connelly Happenings

2008-03-18T14:30:00.000-07:00

Well life around here has been pretty crazy as usual! During the past few weeks we have been able to:
1. Start our new home team which we are absolutely loving!
2. Trevar received an award for diligence at school! We are soooo proud of him!
3. Hang out with some pretty groovy friends.
4. Attend 2 baby showers.
5. Purchase new bedding for our bedroom, and currently making plans for the big make over! (any help would be appreciated as this is not my strength!)
6. Reading daily with the twins so they can get a free pass to Roaring Springs. They are doing AWESOME!
7. Continuing to shop, plan, and tan for Hawaii!
8. Celebrated a few friends' b-days.
9. A fun unexpected visit from Uncle Drew and Auntie Christa.
10. Look, buy, return, buy.....Easter outfits....maybe we should just go for sweaters this year! Still not satisfied!
11. Celebrate St. Patty's Day w/ some sweet friends. We feasted on corned beef with cabbage and potatoes, Irish Soda Bread, green salad, rainbow fruit cups, and key lime pie. After dinner we went on a scavenger hunt leading to a chocolate pot of gold. What a fun night!
12. Everyday the weather has been permissable we have gone on a bike or scooter ride. We love sunny days!
What we will be up to the next few days:
1. Continue to shop, plan, and tan for Hawaii.
2. Make it through the last few days of school before Spring Break. My class has been off the wall this week! I am so glad when 12:15 rolls around and I am out of there! (I am normally not like this I actually LOVE my job, just not this week!)
3. Start and finish report cards-oh what fun!
4. Communion Service at church.
5. Easter Preparation-baskets, eggs, etc.
6. Head to Baker on Sunday for a few days. Hopefully 5 of our craziest friends will be headed to G-Ma Kiki's to have a wild time in the country.
Whew! Enough for now! I hope you all have a wonderful Easter!

Quirks

2008-03-11T12:43:00.000-07:00

I am not sure if it is that everyone has been under the weather recently or the fact that I have been a bit run down myself, but everyone around here sure has their quirkiness! My 3 kiddos are definitely 3 unique and opiniated individuals! Please don't misunderstand me- I am not complaining, just recognizing their differences!
I wish I had more time in my day to meet everyones quirky demands. For instance, one likes his breakfast the minute he arises, and the other 2 like it about 45 minutes later (most days they sleep until the last minute so its straight from the pillow to the plate). When it comes to food that is a whole new ballgame! One would be happy if he never had to eat again, another would live on chips and chocolate, and yet the other is pretty much happy with anything you throw his way. That is if it is at precisely the temperature that he desires. One quirk they all have is that NO food can touch!
On to clothing, one will wear about anything that I set out, another can't handle tags or seams, and the last one I never know what to expect. One MUST have socks on when he goes to bed, another NEVER wears socks to bed, and the last one it just depends on the day.
Oh yeah-then there are the goodnight quirks, the good bye quirks, the homework quirks, and no way would I even mention the bathroom quirks! How would I keep all of these things straight if I had more children?
All this quirky thinking made me so thankful that my heavenly Father loves me despite my own quirks! I am so thankful that he created us all differently, and yet he loves us so much!

Final thought:
After being sick for a few days Chris woke up and I asked him how he was feeling? I was a little scared to ask, but I knew that is what every good mother should and would do. He quickly replied, "I am feeling better! Yeah, Mom I'M BACK, I'M REALLY BACK!" I was glad I asked!

Is it ever going to slow down?

2008-02-26T13:58:00.000-08:00

I have not blogged in a while, but life has been so hectic I can't even remember what all has been going on. Don't get me wrong I love to stay busy, but it has just been down right crazy around here! Douglas and I were discussing the idea of me teaching full time next year, and I just don't know how I would get everything done. More importantly than that, I feel like I would miss out on so much with my babies! I keep having this nightmare that they are grown up and gone, and I have missed the entire thing.
Crazy Connelly Occurrences:
-A trip to the E.R. with Chris for an ear infection. After a few days on antibiotics he is doing great!
-A very congested Trevar finally on the mend! Mom got smart and started the allergy meds! Who would of thought we needed to start in February?
-A fun night at Married Life Live! (Even thought I was not able to sit with my hubby!)
-We have been enjoying the nicer weather by riding scooters, bikes, playing baseball, and the all time favorite jumping on the trampoline. I love that it is lighter when I am walking in the mornings, and not quite soooo cold!
-Trying to sneak in a little family time between events!
-Shopping for necessities for our quickly approaching Hawaii trip- note to self start tanning soon!
-Enjoying time with friends and family! Thanks for stopping by Papa and Uncle Drew!
So, now it is just time to brace myself for another week of something every night! On the bright side, my hubby caught up the laundry yesterday. You rock babe!!!

So in LOVE!!!!!!!!

2008-02-14T14:00:00.000-08:00

Can I just say that I LOVE Valentine's Day (pronounced Valemtime's Day at our house)? It is such a fun day to show those that I love the most just how much I love them! We had a fun morning before the kids went to school going through their goodies. Cassi wanted to know if there was a V-day fairy or bunny? I didn't really know what to say, so I just told her there was a V-day Mommy that loved her very much.
The kids had a great time at their school parties, and of course got WAY too much candy! Tonight we are going to have shrimp per the kids request. We are also going to finally decorate our V-day cookies. Chris said we have to eat all of them tonight, because tomorrow is not V-day and they will be old and nasty. I am all for celebrating, but that is a lot of sugar!
As for my sweetie, he kind of got a raw deal. All I can think about is going to Hawaii with him in 7 weeks! I can hardly wait to celebrate our 10th!
So, to the ones I love more than anything Happy V-day Doug, and the 3 best kids in the whole wide world. You all make me the happiest Mommy ever! My heart overflows even more so today than usual! I can't wait to have a fun dinner together tonight!

EXCITING NEWS!!!!!!!!!!

2008-02-07T12:47:00.000-08:00

I am happy to report to you that my little man Chris accepted Christ last night at AWANA! Doug and I have both known that it was about to happen, but I sure wasn't expecting it last night. Both of the twins have been asking tons of questions for about the last 9 months, but we have just not pushed the issue. We want this to be a decision that they make totally on their own.
The reason I know that it was completely genuine is because he missed game time to go pray with his leader. If you know my little man at all you would know that he lives for any kind of game or sport. I am so thankful he was willing to listen to the Holy Spirit!
Mrs. Smith came and told me as I was picking them up, and she was almost as elated as I. We then had to go over and interrupt Worship Team Practice to tell his father.
Last nights theme happened to be sports night. I was running around like a crazy woman trying to find everyone jerseys, hats, baseball pants, etc. I did not give them my typical speech about listening and trying to apply what they heard to their lives. I was more worried about what sports attire they were wearing!
Thank you Lord for answering my prayer when I least expected it!

Yee Haw!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2008-01-28T18:33:00.000-08:00

We started off the weekend on Friday night with our annual Worship Team Party. We decided on a western theme and the food, decorations, games, and attendance all came together for one heck of a party! There was some mighty fine lookin' authentic cowboy and cowgirl attire worn at this shindig!
So, amongst all of the games their was a little presentation made to Douglas, but first I must give you a little back ground info. About a year ago Douglas was informed by a media person that he had pit stains. So, needless to say he has become a little self conscious about this issue. I have purchased deodorant that costs over $10. Every time Doug buys a shirt he tries a spit test on the fabric to see if it will be a keeper! In fact, last time we were at Dillard's shirt shopping Cassi asked, "Dad are you going to spit on the shirt arm pits again?"
So, back to the presentation.... A certain sound guy began to tell how one day he saw D. up on stage with his arms straight out, and asked D. what he was doing? D. said he was just airing 'em out! So, this certain sound man designed my husbands life saving contraption--suspenders with built in armpit fans (see picture above). I am sure these will be seen in one of the services at Broadway in the future as pit stains are definitely unacceptable!

What does Marvelous mean?

2008-01-24T20:17:00.000-08:00

As we were driving home from church last night we decided to say our "good nights" en route as we were a bit behind bedtime schedule. This was due to my 3 rock stars being glued to watching their dad practice with the worship team. They love to go give him a hug (as they don't see him at all on Wed.) and listen to him sing/play/etc.
Back to the story....we are driving home and everyone is saying very meaningful and heartfelt prayers. I am thinking this is great as Douglas has really been working with them on saying prayers that they actually mean, and not they same thing day after day. So, one item that was deleted from the prayer list was praying for a "fun day" everyday. All three made it through with out mentioning "fun." However, the minute Chris finished praying he asks, "Mom what does marvelous mean?" Trevar and I proceeded to define the word for Chris. Silence..... "Mom I want every day to be MARVELOUS! I think God wants us to make everyday Marvelous... don't you? Marvelous is way better than fun!"
I can tell you up until today I have never prayed for a MARVELOUS day, but I started today. I have often asked God to help me make it through the day, or just make this day be over, and occasionally please don't let this day ever end. I think my asking has been a little below the mark, as we receive what we ask for. I realized from my 6 year old that I often underestimate God and his power. Of course he wants us to have MARVELOUS days! So, if Doug allows we will now be praying for Marvelous days!

Have you called Jenny Yet?

2008-01-17T14:01:00.000-08:00

so much to blog about so little time... life is good, just a little busy at the moment. we had a wonderful weekend with my sis, mom and sis in law-maternity shopping for sis, eating, and playing games! i LOVE family!
in spite of my lack of time i must share this story! yesterday the twins and i were sitting on the couch watching t.v. as i was supposed to be reading 3 chapters from the class i am taking. a jenny craig commercial came on and cassi asked me if i had called jenny yet? i was a little stunned and replied, "no, i haven't but should i?" She quickly responded, "no, but dad should." This morning i was doing cassi's hair for school in our bathroom and doug had his shirt off. cassi was looking at him, and suddenly blurted out, "dad, have you called jenny yet?" i thought i was going to die! needless to say douglas was a little shocked, but took it very well! what are we going to do with this girl?

On to a New Year

2008-01-02T09:33:00.000-08:00

It's astonishing to think that another year has come and gone. I have to admit that 2007 was probably one of the most painful years for me personally, so I am not all that sad it has come to an end. So, instead of remembering 2007 by the hurts I am going to chalk it up to a year of growth and lessons learned, and today I am going to celebrate the victories. I have faith that 2008 is going to be GREAT!!
2007 Victories/Celebrations:
-Cassi and Chris celebrated their 6th B-day Baseball Style. What a fun party!!!
-Trevar celebrated his 9th B-day splashing away with his buddies in the pool!!!
(Does that mean he is going to turn 10 this year???)
-Doug and I celebrated 9 great years of marriage! I love you Babe!!
-Doug and I were able to take our first Missions trip together to Romania.
-We were able to take several fun trips together including the Oregon Coast, Seattle, Colorado, camping, McCall, Baker (several times), and Salt Lake City.
-Chris lost his first tooth, and one more. Cassi is still trying to loosen hers so she can catch up- TWINS!!!
-We survived our first season of baseball with all 3 playing injury free!!!
-Trevar made his first attempt at both water and snow skiing. (Again, no injuries!)
-No names mentioned, but someone got a really bad haircut by a certain sibling and the damage has finally grown out!
-We are finally able to take a bike ride with out training wheels-both Cassi and Chris can ride with out them now! I don't think Doug will ever get the hang of it!!!
-Cassi, Chris, Trev, and I are all able to go to the same school right around the corner from our house. I am so blessed to have a job I love so much at the same school as my kiddos.
-After 3 years Chris was exited from eating therapy-and Praise God he continues to improve daily!
-Cassi and Chris are excelling in reading!!!
-We survived the Crypto parasite and it only took the twins about 2 months to gain back all of the weight they lost.
-On Christmas my sister Kati announced she is expecting!!! Finally a BABY!!!!
-Douglas continues to amaze me with his talent and passion as a Worship Pastor. God truly continues to bless his ministry!!
So, as you can see from the list it was a pretty great year! I guess I just needed to make a list, and get things into perspective!! God has truly been with our family this year, and blessed us in ways I could of never thought possible. He has done the "impossible" more than a few times over the past 12 months. He continues to bless us with wonderful friends and family that truly enrich our lives.

Happy B-day Douglas!!!!!!!!!

2007-12-23T06:09:00.000-08:00

This post is a few days early, but if I don't do it now I won't get it done before we leave for Christmas. You see, this is usually what happens- Doug's B-day gets lost in the Holiday shuffle! It's not that I do not want to honor him on his big day it's just that after buying all of the Christmas gifts for EVERYONE my brain is totally BLANK of any additional ideas, and it's gotten even worse since we had our kids.
So, today Douglas I honor you for your B-day! I was thinking back today and I think this is the fourteenth year I have been privileged to celebrate with you!
Thank you for being:
1. A man of Godly character. Thank you for modeling this everyday for the kids and I.
2. A man of integrity. I am glad that our kids have an example of someone that sticks to his word no matter what.
2. A man of sacrifice and hard work for your family and those around you. Thank you for working so hard to provide for our family. Also, for using your talents to honor and glorify the Lord.
3. The most incredible Dad in the world that loves and cherishes all of us. You are truly our kiddos "Superhero." I love to watch and listen to them imitate you when you are not here.
So, have a great one Babe! I am truly privileged and honored to journey through this life by your side. Not a day goes by that I am not amazed by your love for the Lord, love for all of us, empathy, support, patience, diligence, talent, wisdom, sense of humor, and zeal for life.

Newborn

2007-12-16T15:25:00.000-08:00

Well, I can finally say after watching my three FANTASTIC kiddos and their AWESOME Dad in their Christmas program three times I am finally in the Christmas spirit. I am truly inspired and excited to celebrate my dear Savior's birth this year. I am not sure if it was the beautiful singing, the kicking band, or the cute kiddos but God really got a hold of my heart! I have just had such a hard time getting into the spirit- I have dreaded shopping, decorating, wrapping, and attending functions up until now. I guess I have a week to really Christmas it up!
So, back to Newborn- it was great! I LOVED all of the music that Douglas selected. He always stresses so much about how everything is going to flow: music, narration, dance, lights, sound, etc. Just like every year all of his planning, hard work, stress, practice, and delegating turn out for the glory of God!
I must say that Chris and Trev knew every single word of every single song that the kids sang, and they belted the words out. Cassi, on the other hand was terrified on stage! She also participated in a little interpretive dance and actually made it through the whole song all three times. Doug and I were not sure if she would be able to do it?!
Yes, I will have pictures posted soon-but not in my children's Christmas attire! We tried their outfits on late Friday night and were not very successful. I thought I was so organized this year as I had shopped early and purchased the boys 2 outfits (neither fit), and Cassi 3 dresses (1fit). So much for planning ahead! The good part is they all looked adorable anyway!
I will end with this- BRING ON CHRISTMAS!!!!!

Thankful for a GREAT Thanksgiving

2007-11-27T15:41:00.000-08:00

We had a great time in Baker celebrating Thanksgiving with my family. It is so nice to be with in driving distance of family so we can be together on important days such as this. Until moving to Boise I had not been home for Thanksgiving since High School. I love my family's Thanksgiving traditions. We always start out the day with a huge and delicious brunch. This is often followed by watching football, playing games, visiting, watching movies, etc. In the afternoon we break out all of our favorite appetizers (7 layer dip, Texas Caviar, brie cheese and crackers). Then it is back to more of whatever we were doing. We finally eat dinner around 7, or whenever everything is cooked to perfection. It is a little crazy getting everything done at the same time even with a double oven and a roaster. My mom makes the best homemade rolls, corn casserole, mashed potatoes with gravy, brussle sprouts, stuffing, salad, and of course prime rib and turkey. Dessert doest not happen until at least 9 or so.
I have always helped my mom prepare the meal, but this year I decided I was going to learn how to do the turkey myself. My family members are not big turkey eaters as they always cook a huge prime rib and a tiny turkey. So, I decided to do an Emeril turkey, and it turned out great. I brined it all night and then totally rubbed and stuffed butter and herbs everywhere possible. I had to flip it and baste it- what fun! I think I could even cook a turkey with out my mom, now I just have to master the prime rib next year!
My kids enjoyed time with their cousins, aunts, uncles, grandparents, and great grandfather. They also LOVED going up into the mountains and 4-wheeling. We even squeezed in a couple of games of Uno Attack and baked a ton of Christmas cookies. It was so nice to have a few days off and be able to enjoy some time together before the holiday rush begins!

Grandparent's Day

2007-11-20T20:38:00.000-08:00

Tomorrow we will be celebrating Grandparent's Day at school. My kiddos are so excited as my parents are driving over from Baker to be here for this 30 minute event. I tried to talk them out of coming, but they totally insisted on making the trip even on such a busy travel day.
So, this post is dedicated to my parents known as "Grandma Kiki" and "Papa". I am so thankful for them and all that they do for our family. The are the best grandparents to my children that I could ask for. They truly love my children unconditionally, and for that I am thankful. More than anything that I appreciate about them is the way they both love the Lord and exhibit that love to my children. It is obvious in everything that they both do that they are true servants of Christ. If ever I or someone in the family have a problem or struggle the first person I call is my mom. I know that she and my dad will be down on their knees in prayer.
I appreciate the fact that my parents have their priorities straight. They both have very full plates with a teenage son they are doing a fabulous job of raising, full time jobs, and my Grandfather to care for. Thank you for always making our family a priority! Thank you for the sacrifices that you make for us!
My kids are also very blessed to have another set of wonderful grandparents. The miles keep us apart, but I am also very thankful they care for my kids as well.

And We Became Family

2007-11-05T15:16:00.000-08:00

About this time three years ago we became a family! It is so crazy that it has only been three years-it seems like we have been together forever! It is so awesome how God brought us together!
So here is our adoptions story:
After a long road of unsuccessful infertility Doug and I decided to go the adoption route. We were both pretty ignorant in the area of adoption so it was pretty scary at first. The only adoptions we were really familiar with were international adoptions, so of course that is what we were going for at first. So, Doug started getting info. from a million agencies online. One night we just spread them out on our living room floor and prayed that God would show us what agency to use. We chose a little agency in Akron, Ohio called A Child's Waiting, because they did all types of adoptions and we still weren't sure what we were doing.
So, a few weeks later we had to travel to Akron for two weekends for an adoption seminar. As we drove the two and a half hour drive we were still unsure if we picked the right agency, but our God is so good! Barbara Walters was there doing a special on our little agency. The training was pretty eye opening to say the least. We were now pretty sure we were going to do the type of adoption where the birth mother (usually a teenager) picks the family. On the last day of our training they showed a video of siblings and how they are often separated. Needless to say our hearts were broken. As we walked to the parking garage that afternoon we didn't say much, but we both knew exactly what kind of adoption we were going to do-SIBLING!
So, the process started a Home study-Whew that was fun! A 25 page document about Doug and I! After a couple of months all of our paper work was done and they started sending our Home study out on different sib. groups we were interested in. They would call us and say you have two hours to make a decision on this group and we wouldn't hear anything for weeks! It was really hard! We said no many times to sib. groups, and got our hearts broken a few times in the process. It was definitely an emotional roller coaster!
During one of those really down and broken hearted times I remember our agency contacting us and having us look at a picture of three little ones in Oregon. (It was so crazy that they were in OR as I was born and raised there!) They were 3 year old twin boy, girl, and their 6 year old brother. The minute I saw the picture of all three of them sitting in an old rocking chair I fell in love with them. We talked to the foster mom that they they had been with since the twins were born and she had nothing but great things to say about them. They were much older then what we were interested in, but I just couldn't get them off my mind. Doug was still very cautious, but I was totally into them! We were one of a thousand people that put our Home study in on this group. After what seemed like an eternity we were selected to be part of the final group of three families. During this whole process our agency was still sending our info. out so we had to keep deciding if we wanted to be in the process for other kids-it was crazy!
So, the big day Oct. 5th came, and of course Doug had a meeting so I sat at home waiting for the phone to ring. It finally did AND we found out we were going to be parents!!!!!! I can not tell you the excitement and thankfulness that Doug and I felt!
The next 20 days were filled with a lot of planning and shopping! Imagine going from 0 to 3! I can remember going to Target the first time and our total was over $800! That was just one of our trips! The kids received our scrapbook and video and were told we were their forever family. (Their Foster Mom told us they watched the video about 20 times a day. We also were able to talk to them on the phone everyday. We were "Mom" and "Dad" from the beginning.
On Oct. 25th we flew from our home in Ohio to Oregon to meet our babies! I can remember driving up to Sandy's house (foster mom) and seeing two little noses stuck to the window. I guess they had been standing their forever waiting for us. This may sound crazy but the minute I held them in my arms it just felt right, natural, and like we'd always been together. About an hour later Trev's bus arrived, and he jumped right off the bus into my arms yelling, "Mom!" It was amazing!
We spent the next week in Portland getting to know each other and having a BLAST! We were able to experience so many "firsts" together. We were then able to take the kids to Baker, OR where my family lives and spend 4 days with them. The kids again experienced so many firsts like 4-wheeling, horseback riding, sporting activities, etc. My whole family absolutely fell head over heals in love with them. When we left Baker my mom, "Grandma Kiki" asked Trev what was the best part of the week? He answered, "Best part of the week this is the best week of my life!"
Well, the rest is history! God truly put us together to be a Forever Family! It is so obvious everyday that we were meant to be together. I honestly feel like the most blessed woman ever to have three such amazing kids! They are truly my precious gifts from God, and I honestly thank Him everyday for allowing me to be their mother. Every painful minute of infertility and adoption was erased the minute we were together!
Oh yeah- their Dad is not too bad himself! I am not sure if we would recommend the 0 to 3 thing to anyone, but we would definitely do it all over again! Even though Doug almost died in the adjustment process. We became a family in November and in January Doug got mono REALLY bad. He was extremely ill for nearly 6 months. I guess this is when God showed me what being a single mother was all about. Parenting is much easier and enjoyable as a team!
Whew! That was a long and emotional post!!!

Fall!!!

2007-10-14T15:51:00.000-07:00

Well a lot has happened since our last post over a month ago! We have all healed from the crypto parasite that hit our house, and now we have moved on to much more fun things like sinus and ear infections. Three of us our currently on meds and hopefully on the mend.

We are all having a great school year! The twins absolutely love Kindergarten and are doing really well. Trev is doing well in Third Grade as well!

We were able to get away to Baker the last weekend in September. We had a great time 4-wheeling at the cabin. The following weekend we were able to get away for a few days to SLC. We had a great time as our friends the Harrington's were able to go with us. We went to Park City and hit the oulets (girls) and some went to Olympic park (boys and 6 kids), a really cool restaurant called Mayan Adventure (a must w/ kiddos), IKEA 3 times, and The Children's Museum. Our kids had a great time swimming at the hotel as well. Did I mention IKEA three times? We bought everything to redecorate and furnish Christopher's room and fit it into the Harrington's vehicle and ours! It was a tight squeeze- thanks for riding home squished Harrington Kiddos! You guys are the best!

This weekend we made our way to Linder Farms in the rain. We had a great time with the staff picking out pumpkins, riding on the cow train, feasting on chili and cornbread, and painting pumpkins. Now we just have to find the time to carve the others!

Funnies Kid Quotes in the past month:

Trevar- "Why do I need to memorize math facts you don't need to know them to be a rancher?" (Just so you know Trevar is going to be a rancher in Baker City, OR when he grows up.)

Chris- "When I grow up I don't want to be a Worship Pastor like my dad, I'll let him sing and I will just dance." (I am not sure if there is room up on the platform for 2 Connelly's at once?)

Cassi- "Mom, you can't tell kids in my class what to do! (I was out on recess duty and some of the kids in the twins Kinder. class were misbehaving so I had to go break up the fight.)

Summer is Over

2007-09-09T18:22:00.000-07:00

Summer is over, and I thought I would just add some extra pictures that we had from the summer. I hope you all have a great fall.

Changing Our Perspective

2007-09-09T17:48:00.001-07:00

It is my turn (Doug) to write something. Since this is our family’s blog, and I don’t have my own, I am going to try and write an entry myself. This is a little scary for me, because if you have ever received an email from me, you will know that my grammar skills are not the most prolific.

I have really been trying to read more lately. There are many reasons why I am doing that, but I will have to talk about that later.

I have recently read a book by a man named Mark Batterson. He is the Pastor of National Community Church in Washington D.C. The book is called “In a pit with a lion on a snowy day.” This is a book I would highly recommend. He also has a blog. Here is the link.
http://www.evotional.com/

There are so many great points in his book, but there is one that really stuck out to me.
Mark Batterson quotes C.S Lewis in his book. The quote says this. “If God had granted all the silly prayers I’ve made in my life, where would I be now?

Mark says that we blame our circumstances when things are not going the way we want them to. We always look for something to blame. But I love this quote by Mark. (We are best buddies by the way. That is why I call him Mark.) He says, “Maybe our problem isn’t our circumstances. Maybe our problem is our perspective.”

Do you ever feel like God just thumps you on the head when he wants you to get something? I had one of those moments when I read this. So many times I pray for things in my life, and I feel like they should just happen the way I want them to happen. This probably stems from my sinful nature as a human being.

So many times I pray safe prayers. I pray for things that I know God could easily handle. I pray for things that are not really risky. I pray for things that will go exactly the way I want them to go. But I really should pray for God to change my perspective on life, His will, and my desires.

I love this quote by my friend Mark. (I'm just kidding about him being my best friend, although he seems like a really cool guy.) “If we could see what God sees, we would pray very different prayers.”

I know this is a great point, but it is very scary for me because I know that God has to break us down to build us up. Praying for His will means that in some cases we will pray for God to take us through some rough times. But as true as that may be, we can still hold on to the truth that God is always with us and will never leave us. And in the end we will be much stronger than we could have ever thought possible.

I will end with one more quote. "Maybe we should stop asking God to get us out of difficult circumstances and start asking Him what He wants us to get out of those difficult circumstances."

Is it ever going to go away????

2007-09-03T20:55:00.002-07:00

After a week and a half of sick kiddos and a sick husband I can honestly say my greatest desire is for one vomit free day! So far, today we have made it, but the night is still young and seems to be the worst. They are all three sleeping peacefully at the moment, but that is what we have thought for several nights now!
I have taken them to their pediatrician twice, and to the E.R. once. Tomorrow I have to take stool samples to St. Lukes just to make sure it isn't something more than a stomach bug. Now that rates up there on my list of grossest tasks. I have to admit that Douglas had to help me, as I thought I was going to throw up. Oh please let this just go away! My twins have both lost about 2 pounds each, and they can't afford to lose anymore! Hopefully everyone else had a better Labor Day Weekend than us! All of our plans were cancelled!

The First Day of School

2007-08-27T18:45:00.002-07:00

Well, we all made it through the first day of school! I can hardly believe my babies are in Kindergarten, and my Trev is a big THIRD GRADER! I had to head to school early to prepare for my 22 Kindergartners, and Doug brought the 3 kiddos. He had to sit through Kindergarten Orientation with the twins. Before leaving this morning I reminded Trev that his lunch money, and all of his signed forms were in his backpack. Needless to say everything is still in his backpack, and lunch was payed for with left over money from last year. I guess it runs in the family because I told Doug that all of Cassi and Christopher's signed forms were in there backpacks, but he forgot and filled out a whole new set for both of them. So much for listening to MOM! My fellow staff must think I am really on the ball!
WE hit the pool for the 4th day in a row! It was a great way to end the first day of school!

Romania Mission Trip

2007-08-26T19:51:00.000-07:00

Well, we have been back from Romania for 2 weeks now, and I finally have time to write about it! It has been a little chaotic around here since our return. Doug's family left last Sunday, I have spent many hours setting up my Kindergarten classroom, and we made a trip to McCall.

Back to the trip- Doug and I had a great time in Romania. It was really neat to see and be a part of the work that is going on in there. We were able to help out with a spiritual growth camp for teenagers ages 14-20. There were over 400 campers in attendance the week that we were there. They traveled from all over the country, some even had a 24 hour train ride!

Doug was able to help out with the music, and I spent a lot of time in the kitchen helping prepare food for all of those hungry campers. I do not think American kids would of gone for the food that was served. Liver pate for breakfast anyone? Almost every meal other than breakfast was soup and bread. I don't think I want a piece of bread for a long time!

Trip Hi lights:

Most exciting moment: Seeing many teenagers make decisions for Christ

Scariest moment: riding on slick, curvey Romanian roads at high speeds (this is where a lot of prayer came in as the camp was four hours from the airport)

Most distgusting moment: The Romanian BBQ- They brought a live pig to the camp in a horse drawn cart. The pig was then stabbed to death and cut up in about 1 hour. We walked down to the kitchen during the process and there was blood and parts everywhere. The pigs head was sitting in the sink where all of the dishes were washed. About an hour later we were told that the BBQed pork was ready. After what I saw in the kitchen I had absolutely zero appetite. Even Doug with the cast iron stomach had trouble choking it down, although he did and enjoyed it.

Most relaxing moment: Taking my first hot shower in a week! On our way back we had to spend the night in Bucharest at a very nice Crowne Plaza. The first thing I did was take a steaming hot 45 minute shower!

Most eye opening moment: Traveling through the towns and villages of Romania and seeing how the people live. Most of them live in communist appartments, or very tiny rustic houses. We are so blessed to live in America!

Most tiring moment:

TRAVELING!!! Our trip itenerary- 5 hour flight, 6 hour lay over, 8 hour flight, 6 hour lay over, 5 hour flight, 4 hour lay over, 1 hour flight, and then the scariest 4 hour drive of our lives!

Thank you so much for remembering us in your prayers while we were away. We are so thankful that God allowed us to take this trip. We learned a lot and our hearts were truly burdened for missions in a new and exciting way.

River Trip # 2 and off to Romania

2007-07-29T20:22:00.000-07:00

I am happy to report to you that our family floated the river today injury free! I have to admit that I was a little nervous after the last time when Doug and I both came home with black eyes. Trevar said this was the most fun we have had floating the river, and I would have to agree.
Doug had a BBQ for all of the people involved in his ministry, and then several of us floated together. The river was pretty crowded, but it turned out to be a great float!
Now we are off to our next adventure! We will be taking the kiddos to Baker, OR on Wednesday to my parent's home. They will be staying with them while Doug and I head to Romania on our missions trip. We are very excited, nervous, and me sad to leave my babies. We will be gone from Aug. 2-12. We are going to be helping one of our missionaries with a camp for teenagers. Doug will be speaking and leading music. Please pray that we can be a blessing to the missionaries, and also that many decisions would be made at camp.

Tag

2007-07-24T22:03:00.000-07:00

I've been tagged by Kimberly

4 Jobs I've Had:

Family Farm Employee

Hotel Reservationist

Insurance

Teacher

4 Places I've Lived:

Baker City, OR

Springfield, MO

Houston, TX

Galion, OH

4 TV Shows I Like:

Designed to Sell

The Real Deal

30 Minute Meals

The Apprentice

4 Favorite Foods:

Watermelon

Grapes

Popcorn

Tootsie Rolls

4 Websites I Frequent:

ebay

LPM

The Learning Page

Proverbs 31

4 Places I'd rather be right now:

Hawaii

Lake Powell

Mexico

Hell's Canyon

4 Movies I Love:

Deja Vu

The Ultimate Gift

Cars (It's one of my kiddos favorites)

Surfs Up (It's the only other movie I can remember seeing recently besides Transformers-not a favorite, but okay!)

People I Tag:

Chrisanna

Stephanie Smith

Lori

Beth

Summer Fun!!!

2007-07-16T15:55:00.000-07:00

The past two weeks have been packed full of fun! We finally had a free afternoon to float the Boise River, and had an absolute blast! I can say that now that my black eye is almost gone! The first half of the river was great, and then came the fun part! We went over one of those little dips in the river and I went flying from the front of the boat to the back and landed on Doug and the twins. Somehow our noggins collided and we both ended up with black eyes. My eye instantly turned black, blue, and swollen. Doug's was just a nice bruise. I spent the rest of the trip rowing and holding a frozen Capri Sun on my eye-Good times! Even with our injuries we had a wonderful time and are looking forward to floating again at the end of the month.

The good part about Doug and I having matching black eyes was that we were headed to Colorado to a ministry conference. I wonder why everyone thought we should go to the marriage session?! We traveled to the conference with the Harrington family in one of the church vans. The trickiest part of the trip was buckling six kids into boosters every time we reloaded. It was seriously a five to ten minute process each time! The kiddos did AWESOME on the trip, however it did help that we had two DVD players, Leapsters, coloring utensils, many snacks, and numerous other toys. We had a wonderful time seeing the sights in Colorado, hanging out with our friends, and being spiritually recharged. The not so fun part of the trip was cleaning out the van when we got back to Boise!

TWINS DITCH TRAINING WHEELS!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2007-07-03T08:00:00.000-07:00

I am happy to report that we went on our first family bike ride with out training wheels last night! The boy twin has been riding with out them since his first attempt about two weeks ago. He is now riding like a pro. The girl twin is another story! We have been practicing sending her back and forth between Doug and I on the street in front of our house. Our neighbors must think we are absolutely crazy!
Up until yesterday she was not very determined. I wonder if that was because earlier in the day we took a ride on the Green belt (the boys rode their bikes) and Cassi rode in the "baby trailer!?" I told Doug it was more like the princess in her carriage! She was sure ready to try again when we got home, and after a few laps between Doug and I on the street she was ready for a "real bike ride." Now we just have to get the starting and stopping down as she still needs help each time!
She must have had fun because the first thing she asked to do this morning was take a bike ride! Pictures will be posted soon, or as soon as the photographer has time to post them! In the mean time, "Happy Bike Trails To You and Yours!"

Our Happy Camper Returns Home!!!

2007-06-29T21:08:00.000-07:00

Trevar returned this afternoon from Kids Kamp at Warm Lake with our church. He had a wonderful time making friends, swimming, catching bugs and other interesting creatures, building dams, playing games, touching a real sword, getting little sleep, taking few showers, not brushing his teeth, and losing half of what he took up to camp.

I must admit it has been very lonely this week without him! Not that the twins and I sat around and cried about missing Trev. Not us, we had adventures of our own! We actually went to Baker City on Sunday and met up with my parents. We jumped in their Suburban and headed to Yakima to spend the night with my sis. The twins had a great time with their Auntie Kati! We woke up early the next morning to head to Seattle. We literally did it all in one day. We started off at Pike's Market and gorged ourselves on everything imaginable, headed up the big hills to do a little shopping at Westlake, rode the Monorail to Seattle Center, went to the top of the Space needle, more shopping at Pike's, strolled down to the Wharf to eat yet some more famous Seattle grub, walked around Pioneer Square, and then headed to the Mariner's Game. Chris and my brother Will stood in line to get their Mariner's balls autographed and were successful. What a fun filled day! The twins were quite the little troopers, my mom and I estimated they walked at least 5 miles. After the game we headed back to Yakima to stay with my sis again. We did not arrive until about 1:30 a.m. We were up again the next morning to head back to Baker first, and then the twins and I hopped in the car to head back to Boise just in time for Home Team.

On Wednesday we headed up to Kamp ourselves to check on big brother. We had a great day with him, and yes we learned he was doing fine with out us! Chris and Cassi had a great time playing the big kid games. It was hard for Chrisanna and I to convince all of our little ones to get in the car to come home at the end of the day! We did contemplate leaving them with Keith though!

We are so thankful for the great week that it turned out to be! We celebrated being reunited tonight by going to a movie. I think the cutest part of the whole day was watching my children exchange the gifts/treasures they had brought back for one another. God has truly blessed us with wonderful children! What am I going to do when they all go to camp? Go as a counselor...No I think I'll just...well who knows!

Eight was GREAT, but Nine is DIVINE!

2007-06-13T07:38:00.000-07:00

Trevar turned 9 on June 4th and we were able to celebrate his birthday for a whole week. It all started on our camping trip, and the celebration continued for a whole week until his pool party. He was able to invite his closest friends to swim in our subdivision pool. They had a great time jumping on the trampoline, swimming, shooting hoops, diving for rings, eating tie dyed cupcakes, and sipping on root beer floats. We all had a great time celebrating Trev's b-day!

Check out my Slide Show!

2007-06-11T20:42:00.001-07:00

Oh A Camping We Will Go!!!!

2007-06-11T16:30:00.000-07:00

After almost nine years of marriage Doug finally talked me into going camping. It wasn't too hard as the kids were totally into the idea of sleeping in a tent and eating S'mores. I was pleasantly surprised at how much fun it actually turned out to be.
We we were able to talk the Harrington Family into going with us, and had an absolute great time with them. Thank goodness Chrisanna brought her camera so we could remember this monumental event. Doug stole these pics from her!
Our trip included throwing rocks, eating s'mores, throwing rocks, going to the hot springs, throwing rocks, finding glow sticks in the dark forest, roasting hot dogs, sitting by the camp fire until early in the morning hoping the six kiddos would finally stay asleep for the night, an extraordinary breakfast by Chef Keith, and of course more throwing rocks! As you can tell it doesn't take much to entertain our kids just dirt, rocks, bugs, and some type of water and they are good to go.
Another cool bonus to a fabulous trip was that Trevar turned nine. We were able to celebrate his b-day while on our trip, and he even got to try out his new fishing pole. I wish I could tell you that he caught dinner, but we had to eat hot dogs. Poor us!
After all that fun I soon discovered the downside of camping, and that is unpacking. I had to either clean or pitch everything that went with us to Pine Flats!
Needless to say I think we might try to sneak another camping trip or two in this summer, especially since we now own all of the stuff! Thanks Harrington's for a great time!

We Can Eat Butt We Just Can't Say It!

2007-06-01T14:33:00.000-07:00

The other day I was doing household chores, so I flipped on Paula Dean. Since I don't cook it is entertaining to watch someone who can. I left the T.V. on and moved to my next job on the agenda. The twins came in from outside and plopped down and began watching. Pretty soon I heard them talking about eating butt. Cassi said, "I can't believe people actually eat butt. Mom won't even let us say that word." Christopher continued with, "I bet butt is so gross!" My ears perked right up as we have been telling them the word is inappropriate. Of course like any mother would do, I went roaring in and told them not to say the "word". After watching for a few minutes myself I realized that Paula Dean was making pork butt.

We then proceeded to have a conversation about how the butt, or rump of the animal is where all of the good meat that we eat is from. Cassi piped up, "So, we can eat butt, but we just can't say it!"

Baseball is over!

2007-06-01T07:09:00.001-07:00

It is done! It has been a crazy spring. We have been at the field almost every night since spring break. It is crazy how much they play! Having 3 kids playing on 2 teams, now that's a lot of baseball.

I was able to help coach the twins t-ball. I forgot how funny it is to watch those little guys play, but we had a good time. Christopher was so serious and into playing his best. Cassi on the other hand was more into picking grass in the outfield or playing in the dirt. Chris was constantly coaching his sis to do better! It didn't seem to make much of a difference though! They both did a great job hitting the ball off the tee.

Trevar improved a lot through out the season. He started the year not sure what he was doing, but got better as the season progressed. I think they all had fun.

We are just glad it is over so we can start eating dinner as a family once in a while! Also, the pool in our sub. has opened so we have bigger and better things to do other than baseball!

Just the 5 of us!

2007-06-01T00:14:00.000-07:00

New at this

2007-05-31T23:54:00.000-07:00

Heather and I have decided to start blogging. Yes, we have. The problem is Heather doesn't know how to use the computer very well, and I am horrible at grammar. So, maybe we can join forces and become the world's best bloggers.

Summer is arriving soon, and Heather and the kids are going to be home. Maybe I should refrase that, they will be at the pool. That is the nice thing about Heather being a teacher. Summers off!

We are really excited about some of the things we are doing this summer. We are going to Romania on a mission's trip. We will also be going to Colorado for a Pastor's conference. The entire family will get to go to that. It should be lots of fun! We are also going to attempt to camp this summer!? Is this a skill you can aquire?

So, how was that for a first timer?