Happy Halloween!

Lots of excitement around here today! I have been going since early this morning and am now exhausted. It was a fun, full day. We had bible study at our house this morning, met our good friends for dinner, went to a Fall Festival at the kids school, came home for some trick or treating and then Joseph's grandparents came to see us. We haven't seen them in 3 years!

I have pictures for many of the last couple of days, but will just put up some pictures of the kids in their Halloween costumes for now!

Here are some pictures of my oh-so-cute kiddo' s

Here are my knights and princesses. Caleb and Luke are wearing the Armor of God and my sweet girlfriends are wearing tutu's that were made by their momma.

I am so sad to say that I have no idea which twin this is!! I am so sad! I really think that this is Ella, but I'm not positive...

Here are my adorable princess girls. They loved their tutu's and kept trying to eat them! At the fall festival we went to, we couldn't get 5 feet without someone stopping us to "oooh & gooo" over them. One lady cracked me up. She said, "I hope you have some pictures documenting how cute they are." Lady, seriously, I have more pictures than you could ever imagine!

My little men. They are something else! There was more drama with their costumes than any year yet. When Caleb saw his little friend in her army costume he no longer wanted to be a knight, but instead he wanted his BDU's. I tried to explain to him that he wouldn't be dressing up then since he wears that everyday of the year! We couldn't find Luke's breastplate and he wanted to wear his shield on his back. Oh man....what a day!

What to do with a boy named Luke?

Luke better be glad that he is cute and very funny... Those qualities are his saving grace most days. Here is one of my favorite Luke quotes from the past couple of days:

Nana (my mom): Luke, don't you want to go pee in the potty like a big boy?
Luke completely ignores her.
Nana: I'll get you a big suprise...
Luke excitedly jumps up and says, "You want me go pee or poop?"

What is that?!?!?!? Can perform on demand for gifts?! This child is making me crazy! I repeat, he better be thankful that God created him cute and with tons of personality!

Safety First

Caleb is really getting into climbing trees. His personality is pretty cautious, so he is always concerned with (and I quote) "safety first". What other 5 year old boy has a "safety first" motto? We'll see if this is still his motto into his teens! One, named mom, can hope!

Here is Caleb in his safety gear. Helmet - obvious reasons, goggles - not too sure why, bandanna - the dust was getting in his mouth, 1 glove - because he couldn't find the other and his BDU's - in order to be in camo so that I can't see him.
Oh, and you can't see it well, but he put his Daddy's shoulder boards on his BDU's too. For those of you who aren't military, shoulder boards signify what rank you are. They are supposed to be worn on a completely different uniform, but Caleb likes them barely hanging on his BDU's.
He is hilarious (sometimes) with his uniform. He always wants to wear it, hangs it up and is always asking to iron it. I draw the line at ironing! I barely iron my own clothes!!

Here Caleb is planning his attack of the trees.

I thought this move was pretty cool! Little spider man action.

Almost conquers the tree...barely hanging on. At this point he starts yelling for help in full panic mode.

Speaking is overrated!

I still have no voice! And my family is handling it in their own ways...

Joseph was excited at first but then very quickly realized that he would have to pick up my slack and speak at least 2,000 more words than he normally does, so it quickly became burdensome for the man. Heaven forbid we should burden him with having to speak. A man of few words doesn't like to add more!

Caleb is being sweet and more helpful than usual.

And Luke, well Luke cracks me up. When I am talking to him in a whisper, he responds back with a whisper. And he is finding that it is harder to throw a fit, after all since Mommy can't speak over his fit she just walks away. When he is screaming he has to stop so that he can hear what I'm saying.

Lets recap - Joseph has to do most of the parenting, Caleb is sweet & helpful, and Luke... yep, I may never get my voice back!


On another note, we got back earlier this afternoon from our long weekend with the grandparents and it was super fun! The kids were wonderful, well-behaved and delicious! They all did awesome on the car ride and slept like babies in their new rooms at their Nana Bear's house. Travelling is certainly becoming easier. Or maybe the more kids I have the more relaxed I'm becoming!

F-L-K

Joseph told me something today.

Something that he has never told me in the 6 years that we have been married. I am told we have more conversations than most couples, but apparently there are still things that we haven't discussed. But don't worry (this means you Lovey!) I will make sure that the rest of our weekend is filled with lots of conversation. And now that I just typed that I realize that once again you are off the hook Lovey Mad - I HAVE NO VOICE! Yep, much to the happiness of the men in my life, I have lost my voice. But I digress....

Joseph told me that I was a FLK. You are probably asking yourself, "What's an FLK?" I asked that same question. Lovey's response, "Funny Looking Kid."

Can you believe it?! I have been walking around for at least the past 20 years thinking that I was a super cute kid! I look at old pictures and think to myself, "yep, those were the good 'ole days." But apparently not.

I think I have to let this one sink in before I find out what other things that man has been keeping from me!

Sometimes I wish they could talk!

But I'll settle for a t-shirt that says it all!

To Him be the glory

Yesterday was crazy. The boys had school, the girls had a doctors appt., we were going to leave for a quick trip to visit family...and then were stopped in our tracks with a phone call we received on our way to the doctors visit.

My good friend called to say that a woman, who was in our couples bible study that Lovey and I attended over the summer, had committed suicide on Tuesday. She was this young woman (mid 30's) who attended our church, has 2 little girls (ages 6 & 9), homeschooled, seemed happy and showed no visible signs of anything. Her little girls found her dead.

I was (and still am) shocked and speechless. So many thoughts were going through my mind. She seemed so normal. What? How did this happen? Why? I just saw her in church. Those poor kids. How obnoxiously selfish to kill yourself knowing that your kids would be the ones to find you. Why? Her poor husband. This is unbelievable. Wow. Those poor little girls. Why? How awful to be in such pain and have no one to talk to. Why?

My good friend that was calling me was asking if I would come to the funeral that was going to be held in a couple of hours. She had been keeping this woman's children while the husband was making funeral arrangements. She said the girls seemed to be in denial. I just kept thinking that I would be to. I told her I would be at the funeral, got off the phone and Lovey and I prayed.

Getting ready for the funeral and on the way there, I was nervous and had no idea what to expect. I had only been to 2 funerals and they were both older grandparents for whom death seemed to be lingering close for some time. Funerals like that you are just glad to see them out of pain and no longer suffering. I didn't feel that way about this funeral. We sat in the back because we had to bring the girls with us and I kept thinking I was thankful that I couldn't see this woman's husband or girls sitting in the front row. We sang songs about God's awesomeness and I just cried thinking I'm not sure if I would be able to utter those words about a Father who I love so much if I were in her husbands shoes. I just don't know that I could. Admitting that is hard and makes me feel less of a Believer.

Our Pastor gave an amazing talk. One of the questions I kept asking myself all day was, how in the world our Pastor would make this into a day to give glory to God and have joy in the situation. A situation I could find no joy in. Looking back, I'm not sure that I walked away with joy, but definitely hope.

Our Pastor addressed the 2 big thoughts that I, and I'm sure everyone else, was having. He talked about the "why's?" in this terrible situation. Point one: we aren't supposed to have the answer to every question we have. That wouldn't require faith. He also pointed out that we all have 2 sides. One that everyone see's and one that is deep down and not shared with many, if any, others. We all have places that are deep and dark. Hers got the best of her. She was imperfect here and had darkness. She is now in a place lit with the radiance of our Father and perfected. Glory be to God! Point two: the "what if's?" I just talked to this lady on Sunday. I said, "Hi (name), how are you?" "Good" was her reply. I look back now. How did she say "good"? Did I miss something? How could she be "good" on Sunday and kill herself on Tuesday? My good friend that called me was saying that she noticed this lady pulling away. What if she would have invited her over for lunch? What if, what if, what if...? Our Pastor said that Mary and Martha asked our Savior that very same question (John 11). If Lazarus hadn't died we wouldn't have seen Jesus perform his most amazing miracle of all. God holds the power over life and death. We were created so that God could be glorified. To Him be the glory for this lady's life and to him be the glory in her death.

I just have to keep reminding myself of that. To Him be the glory. My life was created for His glory. My death will also be for His glory.

Our annual trip to the pumpkin patch!!

Each year we go to the pumpkin patch and it is always a grand time! This year was no exception. We went to an orchard near the house (okay, not really that near!) that has a great pumpkin patch set up for the kids! We rode horses, went on a hay ride, ran through mazes, went to a sing-a-long, saw animals, had a picinic and had a wonderful morning as a family!

The boys running in the pumpkin maze

This...

and this, is pretty much what the girls did! Lookin' cute...that's their specialty!

The many faces of the Mads

My little pumpkins!

Boys and their toys!

Music at the pumpkin patch

They had these 2 musicians at the pumpkin patch and they were a hoot! The boys (to include Joseph) didn't think they were near as funny as I thought them to be!

The boys searching out that perfect instrument.

Caleb is SO his father! And Lukie is SO his momma! Caleb's expression was about how enthusiastic that Joseph was for the musical portion of the pumpkin patch!! I made a beeline for the sing-a-long while Joseph tried to steer us in another direction!

I think we have a future spoon player in the family!

Animals at the pumpkin patch

They had quite a few animals at the pumpkin patch. Caleb is always into the animals so that was no suprise, but this time Luke was really into them too. He wanted to pet and touch all of them. That was suprising for him.
Caleb lately has been asking me what kind of animal he is eating. If he is eating pork chops he'll talk about pigs and make pig noises, if it's a hamburger then he'll "mooooo" - SO not necessary for a mom who already has issues with meat!

Mr. Cowboy helping Caleb hold a baby chick.

This kid is seriously cute.

Luke attempting to hold a baby chicken. Another shocker that he even tried.

Luke was trying to make friends with Bessie the cow...dancing for her, talking to her - doesn't seem like she has much interest!

Horses

Caleb has been blessed enough to ride horses many times in his 5 years of life. Doesn't he look like a pro?!

Check out this little cowboy!

Once again, Luke was all about the animals.

Life's hard questions

Here is the question that was posed to me yesterday by my sweet husband...

"Would you rather have the Animal or a Maclaren?"

Now, to some of you that may be a simple question. Right? WRONG! It was evil and almost caused me to stop breathing! Seriously, I felt faint. Light headed. I almost had the same reaction Marie Osmond had after her samba last night on Dancing with the Stars. I just stared at him after he posed his awful question. Then I had to sit down. All the while he was smiling like a Cheshire cat. Evil, evil, man.



***If you are unaware of my feeling for the Animal the saga can be recounted here.***



This:

or this:


The worst part about this question is that NEITHER ONE OF THESE ITEMS ARE IN THE BUDGET!!! He just wanted to see my reaction! Have I said the word evil yet?

BLAST FROM THE PAST - Day 7

I really have enjoyed looking in the past over the last 7 days. So much to be thankful for in my life and I feel quite lucky to have our blog, as a reference point, to look back on.

I put the following poem on our blog a while ago and think it quite fitting to our blog name.

In the midst of moral confusion,
Surrounded by darkness and despair,
God has planted His servants,
Who breathe in Heaven’s air.

With roots reaching deeply into God:
His holiness, mercy, truth and love;
Each moment they are nourished
On nutrients from above.

Having weathered many storms and droughts,
More than once appearing far weaker;
What would have killed lesser souls
Only makes these much stronger.

With their arms ever-stretching upward,
And faces gazing into the light;
They taste the dews each morning,
Drinking in the Spirit’s might.

While many others lie on the ground,
Casualties to the flesh and shame;
These stalwarts have stood the test of time,
Protected through Jesus’ name.

They are the Lord’s own chosen planting,
Displaying His splendor all around;
“Oaks of Righteousness,” He says—
May their number, Lord, abound.

by Ralph I. Tilley
http://www.lsministries.org/

I hope you enjoyed looking back as much as we did!

BLAST FROM THE PAST - Day 6

Whoo-hooo! This has been fun!

Okay, this post cracks me up. A day in the life of a momma.


And these pictures are fun because they remind me of our favorite vacation in the last couple of years. We went to Sesame Place with our best friends the Ziggy's. We love them so much!