Theme Park Kids

I have come to realize after being to several theme parks this summer (all of which were awesome hook-ups & super fun!) that we offically have Theme Park Kids.

For some reason, which I am very thankful for, when we go to theme parks with our boys they become different kids. They are happy, they don't cry, they are patient in line, they have never ending energy and appetites! They wake up early and stay up late and don't have to take naps. When does THAT ever happen? Who ARE these kids?

I really understand why they say Disney is a magical place.... I think that's true of all theme parks (so far, I hope I'm not jinks-ing us!). I even said to a friend the other day that I wish I could go every day with the boys, because I guess I'm just not as entertaining and fun at home. :)

If you wanna see Aiden's Disney perspective click here.

Perspective

Ever been praying for something and it feels like your prayers are just hitting the ceiling and God doesn't hear them? Yeah, i've been in one of those seasons. It's hard to stay consistently in faith when that happens.

Today God gave me a picture of what He's doing in times like those. I was listening to that old school Life House song that says "How can I be with you and not be moved by you" and it goes on to say "You're all I need, You're all I want, You're everything..."

I saw this really dark stage and there was a spotlight on a man in white (representing God) and me wearing a dark dress. It was like one of those dances where the man is behind me and without touching me leads my movements (for anyone who was at Campus Harvest back in 2003 you remember that Jim Monroe dance that made everyone cry? kind of like that). Each movement the man behind me made would cause my arms, feet and body to gracefully move with him, even though I couldn't see him.

I was dancing and the man (God) was leading me, He kept taking a step and I felt like he was far away and the spotlight would go with him, leaving me in the dark, I couldnt reach Him (as if I couldn't hear/feel God), but all along He was just leading me. Each time I would follow, and get back in the spotlight with Him.

It's like Prov. 16:9 & 3:5-6. God has ordered my steps. I just need to, by faith, step along with Him, let him LEAD me. It turns out to be a BEAUTIFUL dance. I have no idea where it's leading, in this dance (song, season of life) but I will follow because God makes those steps BEAUTIFUL and GRACEFUL and in WORSHIP to Him.

Just keep dancing (going) and God WILL LEAD. His steps are beautiful and full of Grace. Praise God!

DUI???

It's not what you think. I do drive under the influence; not of any substance, but of a 3 year old!!!

My 3 year old is waaaaaaaaay too into cars and racing... it's starting to effect ME! When we drive now it is like he is narrating my passing, speeding, and driving skills, like an announcer at the Daytona 500! It's quite funny, and at first I would just laugh at him. But I am starting to be influenced by it!

For instance, yesterday we drove 4 hrs south to go stay with my parents. He continually would look ahead and see a car and say "Mom, look at that jeep! I know you can pass it, You can do it! Go fast fast fast!" and what do you know? I would set that goal and meet it too. LOL.

It's getting out of hand. When we are at stop lights he says "when the light turns green I want you to GO GO GO and beat that motorcycle!"..... I would ignore it our just laugh it off in the beginning, but I am catching myself actually doing what he says! AHHHH! I must stop. On the good side, he is very encouraging as I drive! :)

Pack-N-Play Time!!!

Pack-N-Play Time has become a household favorite recently! I discovered this trick when Aiden was under 2, but didn't do it consistently enough, but it is a life saver if you do schedule it in! Eli is now a champ at pack-n-play time and even asking for it!

What is pack-n-play time? Like I said, a life saver (or sanity saver, i'd say!). It's a great way to get your kid to learn how to entertain themselves and play all by themselves without needing someone to constantly play with them. I love my boys, I love playing with them, but this is a critical skill I think they (and I) need to have for all of our sanity!

I started as early as 10 months with Aiden because that is when he got mobile. Start out about 5-10 min, put them in another room (out of sight) with their favorite toys (add a different one to the mix every day so they don't get bored), and I like to turn music on so they don't hear me and want out. Then I set the timer and see how long they can last! My goal is to work it to 20-30 min where they get undistracted playpin time, and sometimes 2x's a day.

Doing it w/ 2 boys now is so great because I can get good focus time with Aiden to work on school works, and do stuff that Eli isn't big enough to do yet. It's also a great way to keep him happy while I'm cooking instead of just plopping him infront of the tv.

For Eli the first couple of days were rough. Meaning, he cried and screamed the WHOLE time he was in there (10 min.) for 3 straight days. But I kept being consistent and when I was about to give up I decided to try one more day. That 4th day he cried for 2 min. and ended up deciding it was more fun to actually be quite and play... he lasted 20 min! We do it about every day now and when I say "Eli it's time for playpin time!" he yells "YAY! Playpin Time!" and runs to find his favorite toys, throws them in and waits next to the pack-n-play! lol. He's up to 30 minutes right now 1x a day. I only do it 2x's if Ross isn't home while I have to get dinner going.

Just wanted to share a tip with you if it's needed. Let me know if you try it and if it works for you! Remember, it takes a few days of being consistent to get them to realize it's not punishment and it's FUN TIME! Just keep trying! Once they outgrow the pack-n-play you can move it to "room time".

That's What Friends Are For....

Typing out this story reminded me of this one:

When I was in college living with my bff, Kelly, I was always the one killing bugs and stuff. I don't know how or why I ended up being the one that did it, but it seemed inevitable that I was the one called on to kill a spider or roach or something.

Well, one night I was sleeping soundly. Kelly lived in the room across the hall from me. She had to wake up real early, like dark out early, that semester for an internship she had. She woke up and stepped out her room to go to the bathroom and stopped dead in her tracks because a huge roach was crawling on the floor infront of her room into the bathroom (where she was headed). So she decides not to jump over it, or kill it or trap it or anything, no.... she decides to go back in her room, shut the door and CALL ME ON HER CELL PHONE. lol.

Meanwhile, I was sleeping peacefully in the dark in my room and I hear my phone ring. I see it's Kelly calling and I was so confused and immediately worried because she was supposed to be in her room, so I thought. She whispers on the phone "Amy, don't be mad at me, but I am stuck in my room. There is a huge roach infront of my door, and I can't get out."

WOW..... I hang up the phone, and the good friend I am, instead of just turning over and pulling the covers over my head, I open my door and kill the roach for her.

It wasn't so funny at the time for me (I was rather annoyed, haha)... but looking back, it's one hilarious memory, one that we still laugh about to this day.... I miss those days sometimes.... then I realize, she was just training ground for my hubby. LOL (you can see if you clicked on that link above, why).

The Things I Never Thought I'd Do....

Today was one of them...

you can read Aiden's rendition here: www.smallkidbigstories.wordpress.com or hear my version:

My friend Jessica was over for lunch, we were enjoying our conversation when we were so rudely interrupted by Aiden screaming from the bathroom. He went all my himself (which I'm really enjoying these days), and did both. I was unaware he brought his favorite car, Lightning McQueen with him. He dropped the car in the dirty toilet! Thank God he didn't flush, can't imagine what would have happened. But I had to somehow get him out. Now I'm the hero. WOW.

I think i'll continue this blog topic with future stories, I got a handful of Things I Never Thought I'd Do.... :) Stay tuned...

My Son... the blogger!?!

That's right, you heard it here.... my 3 year old son has a BLOG! too young you say? bah humbug!

Check it out here Small Kid, Big Stories (www.smallkidbigstories.wordpress.com)

We're using the blog to record our upcoming adventures as we move to a big city and experience a new chapter/book in our lives. We're also hoping to use it as a good way to keep our friends and family in touch with what the boys are doing on a regular basis since most of them won't get to see them much this year (we invite ANYONE AND EVERYONE to come visit!!) .

Who knows what this could turn into... you know, that movie Juile and Julia that just came out STARTED as a BLOG! Maybe Aiden and Eli could be famous one day through their silly stories. :)

Desperation

When I find myself in moments of desperation, it's always interesting to see what God pulls out of me. Here's my thought for today, as we are in a desperate time to see our house sell or rent out. We need to be moving up to Washington DC in about 2 weeks and it's hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel with our house & finances being taken care of.

Here's my thought today: God brings us to moments of desperation so that we can begin to praise Him and be thankful for what He is doing. Without moments of desperation we become so self sufficient and it's easy to leave God out of the equation. Being in this moment of desperation, I am thankful because it only leaves room for God to do something miraculous and supernatural, where only He can be glorified, and we can trust Him more. Praise God, shouldn't we be asking for more of that? Now we GET to see God move and work a miracle!

It's a New Season...

Well, a lot of you know already, words been spreading....we're moving from Tallahassee to Washington DC for a year long internship at a church there! We're very excited.... yet sad to leave our "home" of 10 years! You can read all the details here, at my hubby's blog.

If you wouldn't mind praying with us we have a list of prayer requests lately:

- Our house needs to sell within 6 weeks. We'd rather not rent it out, but we might be forced to do that. We need guidance and a miracle because we can't afford a mortgage and a rent payment and we have to be there Sept. 1!

- A smooth transition for our family, esp. the boys, to be able to settle in quickly and adjust well to moving.

- To get everything out of the internship and our time in DC for that year.

- For God to open doors and give us a location to plant a church when the internship is done, along with a team of people and the finances!

Thanks so much!! I'll be reporting soon on here what miracles God is going to do to get us there! :)

Life is a Highway....

besides it being my 3 yr olds favorite song (thanks, CARS) that has been my theme song for this past month! We have put a lot of miles on the car!

We just drove up and back from Washington, DC for the Every Nation North American Conference (the ministry we work for, NAC09 was AMAZING by the way) and back down to pick up our boys from my parents (can't thank them enough for watching them for a week!) and now over to Panama City for a few weeks to meet with our ministry partners.... and in a few more weeks back down to Tampa to meet with more! It's a whirl-wind Summer to put it lightly!

So much time on the road has got me thinking. Highway driving is SOOOOOOOOO much better than back roads, and more gas efficient. Our 14-16 hour drive up and back from DC to Tampa felt WAY faster than our 6 hr drive from Tampa to Panama City. Why? because we were on the interstate the whole way to and from DC, and were on back roads the whole way from Tampa to PC. (plus we had 2 kids w/ us on that leg)

So my contemplation is: How do you stay on the Highways of life? In other words, staying the course, and not getting detoured by small towns and stop lights. We listened to some sermons in the car on these trips and I heard a great one by Pastor Andy Stanley where he talks about our Direction determining our Destiny rather than our Intentions determining our destiny. Your intentions DO NOT determine your destination. You may have the best of intentions, but it is your direction that will determine your destination. For example: If you intend on having a great marriage, but are spending more hours at work with your secretary than on dates/at home with your wife what direction are you heading in?

We must be intentional on the direction we are going in if we want to arrive at that particular destination. If I want to go to Harvard Law school one day, I shouldn't just have really high hopes I make it, and be taking a scuba class and watching Legally Blonde.... I need to be actually taking the classes, studying, immersing myself in law, applying to the program to get there.

Where do your dreams want to take you? What has God spoken to you in your heart? What is a destination you look forward to? What are you doing to get there? Are you just having good intentions or are you heading in that direction?

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!

Happy Father's Day Ross!
This is an older picture of my amazing Hubby and the boys, but it's one of my favorites. I am so honored and proud to be married to this awesome man. He loves God. He loves Me. He loves our boys. He loves our family & friends. I LOVE HIM!

There is not enough I could say to do justice to this man for what he does for our family, they way he loves us, and cares for us. We don't deserve him, but I am so thankful and grateful God has placed us together.

I just had to give a shout out to the most incredible man on earth! :) I love you, Happy Father's Day!



I must also give major props and love to MY DAD! HAPPY FATHER'S DAY! You set the bar, thank you! I love you!

The BEST Free Magazine!

If you haven't yet, you must...

Sign up for this FREE magazine! My bff, Kelly, introduced me to it's glory. It's the Kraft Food & Family Magazine. You can sign up for free at www.kraftfoods.com

It is full of recipes and tips for cooking that are all, I mean ALL yummy! Stephanie (my housemate) and I get giddy when we get one in the mail every season! I use recipes in it atleast 2 times a week, minimum... they are just so easy and always taste good!

My disclaimer.... it takes awhile for the initial magazine to arrive after you sign up. So prepare to wait 6-12 months to receive it. But it is WORTH the wait, I promise! :)

p.s. those cupcakes pictured there are to die for.... i ate 4 large ones in one sitting they were so good. no kidding. (regretted it a few hours later though, haha)

KONG is King!

I have found it; the best dog toy yet! It is called the KONG. Our beloved Bichon, Porter, is a great dog, But he has a whining problem (ever since we had kids). I think it's cause he gets bored & doesn't get the attention from Ross and I like he used to, although the boys play with him SO much.

I read an article about these dog toys called KONGs and figured I'd try it out. It has worked! You stuff some treats inside the rubber toy and it takes him over an hour to try to get it out. It not only keeps him busy but it bounces & rolls all around so he's moving too (not just laying around like he usually does).

Porter never ceases to amaze me. Every toy we have gotten him from simple plastic/ rubber balls to knots, and stuff he chews through and eats the entire thing. (I have a nasty story I'll share another time if the mood strikes me, having to do with a dog toy he ate.) So the Kong is great, it's the most durable dog toy yet.

So if you have a dog, you gotta try this toy- it will totally make them happy!

Proud Sistah :)

I just have to brag on my brother, now Dr. J. Matt Hoch!!! He completed his Doctorate yesterday after many long, hard years in school up in NY! Even though I am his sister he is making me call him Dr. Matt now. :)

I'm so proud of him on many levels... one being that I know I will never pursue any more degrees so I can live vicariously though him in that, and say at least there was one smart one in our family. haha. On the other levels seeing his hard work, persistence, and endurance in a hard program was inspiring!

Way to go bro! Anyone looking for a mad scientist to hire out there, my bro is the best in his field in studying Ecology & Evolution in Marine Biology... his disertation was on Barnacle penis' and reproduction (made for some hilarious conversation starters!). :) Here's a pic of THE Dr. Matt & of the celebration cake Olivia, his girlfriend, made for him... very creative & well done!

Confessions of a Shoplifter

Oh Goodness, I really did it today. In my whole life I have never shoplifted.... today was a first.

OOPS!

So here's the story. My 3 yr old and I made a quick run to Wal-Mart to pick up some goods and hand soap. He was really into the hand soap smell so he was holding it while I went to the self-check out line. I got all done paying and bagging and was headed out the door.

I walked through the sliding doors and headed to the parking lot and looked down. There was the hand soap. Immediately I thought "aww man, I'm gonna have to turn around and wait in the mile long customer service line to pay for that"....then it went straight to "nah, it's only $1, Wal-Mart won't miss $1."

WHAT?! What in the world made that my first thought? So I continued on to the car. (with the thought floating in the back of my mind that there was a security guard headed behind me about to club me over the head because I just "casually shoplifted" $1 hand soap.)

I loaded the car up and buckled Aiden in and was backing out of my parking spot. No sooner did I start backing out that I started feeling what you call CONVICTION. My heart started beating so bad, a mental war started raging in my head. You can say it was your classic angel/devil on your shoulder thing.

I pulled down the aisle and I seriously felt like I could have a heart attack by the conviction of not turning around to pay for that. All the while I was reasoning in my head "it's only $1, not worth the 10 min. to go stand in line and pay". But then I clearly heard God say “Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much." Which is from Luke 16:10.

WOW! I immediately turned around.

It was funny when I walked back in, 2 Wal-Mart ladies were at the door to help people with returns get the little stickers, and they were like "excuse me mam, are you returning that?" I had to explain that we walked out with it in the cart and I forgot to pay for it.... needless to say they and my cashier all looked at me like I was crazy to not just walk away with.

It not only turned into a valuable lesson for Aiden, but for me most of all! What was going on in me to try to cut corners like that, laziness!? Wow, it humbled me. It brought to reality how easy it really is to cut corners and hide sin, and try to get away from it. I also realize if I give that a little foothold it will become a snowball effect and my heart would get hardened to the voice of God and conviction. Which, least to say, puts the fear of God in me!

Have you ever found yourself trying to cut corners?

"Haha, I Am Funny!"

Today was a very Bittersweet day for me.... Sweet in that it was the Awards day for the last day of school for Aiden at Mom's Morning Out at our church (it's a 2 day a week preschool). Bitter in the fact that it was the last day of school, this year... and for Aiden in MMO. boo!

So I am just so proud of my boy- he won the award "The Best Comedian". It just made my day! Sometimes you wonder, do other people see what I see in my kid... and I'm so thankful for the amazing teachers at that school, they do see his humor! :) He asked me what comedian meant and I told him it meant he was funny, and he said "Yeah, haha, I AM funny!".

Seriously, that school has blessed me beyond measure... it has been amazing watching Aiden learn, develop and grow there. I am so sad it's time for him to move on..... it makes me really look forward to the future and more school days.

Have you ever won any awards in school? The only one that comes to my memory was my senior year of high school I won one... it's shallow so I won't even mention it here. lol but I did get ONE! hahaha

Rebel

I feel like "I'm In Rebellion" lately! (note that is the title track on this CD). So we like to be culturally diverse in our family, especially when it comes to music. The hottest CD in our family right now (besides the new Israel CD!) is the latest LaCrae Rebel CD.

Here's the reason I'm rebelling. It all started one day a few weeks ago when the boys were both in bad moods. We were on our way to the park, and the weather was beautiful outside. I usually turn the music up when they start getting fussy to hopefully distract them enough and get them listening to music. Well, this CD happen to be in and so I cranked it up and the car was thumping....

All of a sudden I realized there was a big buzzing bug in the car so I rolled down the windows to get it to fly out, all the wind made the boys start laughing hysterically so I kept them down... therefore I had to turn the music up louder.

I wasn't even thinking of how this looked.... we pulled up to a stop light with THUMPING music and the windows down and 2 little white boys and 1 white mama in the car... looked over at the car next to me and saw a rather small car full of rather large brothas next to me- all I can say is they got quite a laugh from us. :) Eli was in the back waving his arms in the air and Aiden was trying to copy what he was hearing. (I must get this on video soon!) When LaCrae starts rapping really fast (on track #2) Aiden thinks it sounds like he's screaming and rubbing his arm across his mouth. And I was just entertaining it all.

... so it's become a tradition now with me and my 2 boys to blast this CD and drive around town with the windows down. This has now become one of the highlights of a car drive through Tally.... if you see us on the road, make sure you watch for a show!

So Simply

It amazes me how when reading our kids Bible with them every night, I end up getting revelation! We read a story every night in their kiddie Bible and pretty much every night I get something out of it. I have even found myself referring to it when I'm talking with people and in Discipleship moments! haha.

I love this version, it has great pictures to keep the kids interested and it makes the Word so simple that it allows for God to speak the deep truths. When the new year began we started reading the Bible from cover to cover, and it's also pretty amazing to me that we just happen to be on the stories that coordinate with THIS very weekend- Good Friday & Easter! We started when Aiden was about 18 months old, and I'm excited for both boys to get into the stories together. It's also been fun watching Ross get into the story telling part (acting it out and all!) Who said I was the dramatic one of the family?!

So, if you find it hard to read your own Bible (you know, the ones without pictures) maybe you should pick up a kids one! lol (note: I do read my own bible every day too, this isn't considered my quality time with Jesus alone, haha).

Pup Pup

This post is for all the dog lovers out there....

Our beloved Bichon Frise Porter (Porterhouse Tank Middleton) is turning 5* years old this April 28th and it boggles my mind that after 5 years of being groomed he has "issues" when he gets home. We have been to several different groomers and he has about the same reaction everytime.... but thankfully since we've been to our new Vet, South Monroe Animal Hospital, he has been WAY better.

His typical routine after a grooming/ vet visit is sleeping in his cage for about a week, no eating, hardly going outside to pee or anything, and when he does emerge from his cage (bed) he runs and sits immediately as if he has been violated. It's so sad to watch.... yet amusing at the same time (since it's consistent after every visit). I feel bad for him, but after 5 yrs I wonder, is this normal?

Fortunately since he's been to this new vet, it's only lasted about 2 days instead of 7. :) Does your dog act weird after a vet/grooming visit?

* Thanks to Kelly catching it, Porter is turning 5, not 4- oops! :)

Baby Boys

This blog entry is 2 fold....

1. My Baby Boy, Eli, Has OFFICIALLY started walking!!! It was friday night at 7:38pm and my mom and I were in the boy's bedroom reading to them. We weren't even paying attention and as we sat across the room, Eli crawled over to his crib and stood up. He pulled out his puppy stuffed animal and started saying "puppy! puppy!" and walked like 6 steps over to us holding his puppy. My mom and I were so focused on the book we only saw it out of the corner of our eye, but then I realized what was happening and I yelled "HE's WALKING!" and my mom says "OH MY GOSH! I thought I saw that, but it didn't click... " haha. He was so proud! He did it over and over again... and has now kept it up for days! YAY! Only took 16 months! lol

2. For all you wives out there: Ever notice how when your husband gets a cold, or sick in any way, they immediately revert to acting like they are 3 years old? It just amazes me. I know I have heard this same thing from many of my friends. It's so funny to me, and can tend to grate on my nerves, depending on the severity (or lack there of) the sickness. My hubby gets a cough and all of a sudden it's like Zoolander "{cough, cough} I've got the black lung..."

I love my hubby (baby boy #2 in this blog), in sickness and in health... note to self though, when I get sick, I will milk it for all it's worth now too. :)