Kyla Joy

I am so proud to announce the birth of my new little niece... Kyla Joy Schippers. She was born at 1:22am this morning, tipping the scales at 5 pounds 14oz and 19.5 inches long. She is perfect in every sense of the word. God NEVER ceases to amaze me with his glory and splendor.

I mean seriously... the face of an angel!

Abby is SOOO excited about her new cousin!

Eric being Eric....

Abby being Abby! Oh, Kyla, the things you will learn from your cousin!

Passage Psalm 139:13-16
Oh yes, you shaped me first inside, then out;
you formed me in my mother's womb.
I thank you, High God—you're breathtaking!
Body and soul, I am marvelously made!
I worship in adoration—what a creation!
You know me inside and out,
you know every bone in my body;
You know exactly how I was made, bit by bit,
how I was sculpted from nothing into something.
Like an open book, you watched me grow from conception to birth;
all the stages of my life were spread out before you,
The days of my life all prepared
before I'd even lived one day.





Thank you Lord for this healthy child! She will be well taken care of here on earth!

Praying for my kids!

Over the past few months, I have felt the Lord giving me "God winks", well, in all honesty, more like "God knocks upside the head"... I do pray with my kids at night and before meals, but I feel like I should take much more time to pray for friends, family, Ryan, our country and integrate more meaning full prayers with the girls on a daily basis. And the Lord in his infinite wisdom, lead me to a blog that is on a crusade to do the same thing.... Please join me in praying with your kids 7 times a day for the next 7 days. Here are the events and verses http://audreycaroline.blogspot.com/ suggested!

Here are the events and verses I chose:
1. When they wake up: "Let the morning bring (child's name) word of your unfailing love, for she has put her trust in You. Show (her/him) the way (she/he) should go, for to you (he/she) lifts up her soul." (Adapted from Psalm 143:8)

2. When they are getting dressed: "Therefore, as God's chosen child, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourself with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Lord, help (him/her) bear with others and forgive whatever grievances (he/she) has against others. Help (him/her) forgive as the Lord forgave (him/her). And over all these virtues, help (him/her) put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity." (Adapted from Colossians 3:12-14)

3. While they are eating: "Teach (child's name) the secret of being content in any and every situation whether well-fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. Teach (him/her) that (he/she) can do everything through him who gives (him/her) strength." (Adapted from Philippians 4:12-13)

4. When they go out of the house: "(Name of child), do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is-His good, pleasing and perfect will." (Adapted from Romans 12:2)

5. While they are taking a bath: Lord, give (name of child) clean hands and a pure heart, and let (him/her) not lift (his/her) soul to an idol or swear by what is false. Let (him/her) receive blessing from the Lord and vindication from God (his/her) Savior. Let (him/her) be part of the generation of those who seek him, who seek your face, O God of Jacob. (Adapted from Psalm 24:4-6)

6. When they are going to bed: "The Lord Your God is with you; he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, be will rejoice over you with singing." (Zephaniah 3:17)

7. While they are sleeping: "I pray that (name of child) will do everything without complaining or arguing, so that he/she may become blameless and pure, a child of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which he/she shines like a star in the universe as he/she holds out the word of life-in order that he/she may boast on the day of Christ that he/she did not run or labor for nothing." (Adapted from Philippians 2:14-16)

I printed mine off and posted them on card stock so I can keep them with me all week... hopefully longer.

Family Pictures

A sinus infection and double ear infection last week has kept me from the computer, laundry, house work, and life in general. But I am just about caught up with the laundry so I thought I would take a few minutes to post some family pictures. We were so blessed to be out in the beautiful weather on Sunday so that my dear (and super talented) photographer friend Becky could take some pictures for us. It has been since Abby was a wee babe since we had a family picture done. Hope you enjoy!

Nothing Fancy!

I know it has been a while since I have checked in... but seriously, how can you top locking your kid in the car on an 85 degree day? Anyway, with that said we have been busy doing what we do. School, BSF, playing puzzles, folding laundry, riding Barbie cars, coloring in our coloring book... the daily activities are endless. Sometimes when I collapse on the couch at the end of the day I feel a sense of defeat! What did I actually do today? Well, below, you will see a video of my dear Abby and I think it answers my question!

Lily loving her cereal and squash!

This is how you will find Lily most days! Smiles Smiles!

Our new dog Dyson is setteling in well with our family!

Abby so excited to go to school!

Abby doing what she loves the most... swinging!

Abby in the Pumpkinfest Parade!

Lily sitting up... kinda!

Abby at the petting zoo... this guy really liked her!

What Abby does when I turn my back for 2 seconds! Yep a whole tube of toothpaste down the drain!

The makings of a LIFETIME network movie...

You know exactly what I am talking about... Let me cast the characters for you....

• Innocent frazzled mother unjustly arrested for Child Endangerment (Me)
• Young toddler sweating profusely from being locked in the car and her 5 point harness on an 83 degree day with all the windows up (Abby)
• Frantic father using every item in his work shop to ALMOST reach the unlock button (Ryan)
• Snoozing infant chilling in her car seat OUTSIDE the car, oblivious to what is going on. (Lily)
• Calm, cool, collected, yet somewhat irritated 911 operator fielding the frazzled mother's call (nameless because it is not important to the plot)
• Several other "stand in" characters trying to offer suggestions and advice

The story begins as if it was a normal Friday morning.... Hustle bustle of breakfast, dressing, hair combing, nursing, diaper changes, dog feedings, school drop off, errand running etc. Fridays are somewhat scripted week after week. I take Abby to school, run errands, pick her up from school, go visit Ryan at work so Abby can tell him all about her day (and because it's payday). Well this Friday was no different until this part of the story... Abby had brought her back pack in and was showing daddy and the other employees all the fun things she brought home from school... (a myriad of scribbled papers). So cute!

Then she decided that she wanted to run back out to the car to grab her "show and tell" item so she could show and tell Ryan and the other guys about her wedding bear from Aunt Tami. So cute. Anyway, the car was parked immediately in front of the entrance and she was in plain site at all times... and no more than 20 feet from me. Come on moms you know you have all done it! So I allowed for her independence because I was SO certain she was SO excited about her bear that she would rush right back in... well, because Abby is ADD (not dr. diagnosed... just mom diagnosed) she got distracted and got a piece of gum from the cup holder and proceeded to put herself in her car seat and buckle up (most of the way).

Well, I decided since she was not as eager to come back, I grabbed Lily and headed for the car... yep doors locked.... keys in the ignition... Abby strapped into her car seat enough that she cannot get out....windows closed. Panic sets in... she is already sweating. She is crying and now I am afraid that she is going to choke on her gum. Ryan and some employees worked on getting the lock open while I talked to Abby and tried to calm her down. When I shut my door it did not close all the way so the guys had some room to work. But after about 10 minutes I decided enough was enough... so I called 911. Just as the operator obtained all the info (my name, address, phone number, where I was parked, the description of my van, shoe size, bra size, height and weight) Ryan reached the lock and got the doors open. YEAH!

I had a dream last night that the police came to arrest me and charge me with child endangerment. So I am on edge.

Moral of the story. Get Abby a booster seat. ;)

Toilet Fishing

A few weeks ago while at a home show I lost a crown while bitting into a yummy rice crispy treat. I promptly secured it back into place and went on my way. Until Sunday the thing stayed firmly in place prompting me to even forget it was a problem. While I was eating lunch on Sunday apparently the thing fell out again and YEP... I swallowed it. I called the dentist to see how much it was going to be to get it fixed and it sounds like $800 is the magic number. Which prompted Ryan to say.... "Sounds like you are going toilet fishing to retrieve that thing! That should save us a few hundred dollars!" But for the past few days I have not heard any porcelain crown ping off a porcelain toilet so I think we are safe to say the tooth has taken up permanent residency in my gut or it safely made it's way out already.... either way Abby is for sale for $800 if anyone is interested. Just kidding!

PS. On a lighter note, the doctor called with Ryan's test results and it appears there was nothing on the upper GI test. He is going to be taking some acid reducer to see if that helps any. Thank you for your prayers!

Hon... duh!

On Friday Abby had her first dentist appt! While we were waiting in the waiting room I had to fill out some pertinent information.... Abby was getting a bit restless and trying to escape the office so I asked her to help me fill out the info. I told her that the paper work was asking for information about her parents. I said, "Abby, the doctor is asking for your daddy's name... do you know what your daddy's name is?" She pondered the thought for a moment and said, "Umm, yes I know... daddy's name is HON!" Priceless.