I shoulda, coulda, woulda...

Boy do I wish I had watched where I was stepping! It would have saved me a whole lotta pain.

This is the board with 3 staples sticking out of it. I had placed this in an unsafe spot on the floor as I was cleaning the kids room...I was trying to keep it safe and out of Jaron's hands!

This is my foot, about 5 hours after I stepped directly on it with just socks on! I had forgotten where I had placed it and in my hurry to move something, I stepped directly on the staples, leaving 6 smaller puncture wounds in my foot!
I adjusted the contrast so you can see exactly how swollen and bruised my foot is!

A Good day

Yesterday I turned 32...not tramatic at all...It was a good day!

Here's what the weather was like before I left for work! 51 and rising! Love the warm weather!

Here's my handsome little man wishing me a happy birthday!

Janea made me a beautiful picture for my birthday!~ Now I just need to get it framed!

The kids got me a new volleyball for me to use this summer!

An ocean scented candle and goodies from my co-teacher!

Plus, Dan is treating me to some new clothes and a shopping trip today~! We had a yummy dinner of Mexican food and just a relaxing evening at home! One Happy Birthday!

Relishing the Silence

It's not often quiet here in the Jonathan household. We are often running around shooting each other with dart guns(future post), jumping off the furniture, talking a mile a minute, soaking Momma's bathroom, watching TV, singing, dancing, playing, and enjoying. Some evenings I think I will go crazy from the loudness of it all! I do contribute to the noise so I am not shifting the blame just some days it's amazing how loud we are.

Weekday mornings are a pleasure....I get up before the kids and I get a silent house. I have time to think, to plan, to meditate, to pray, to just say awww...and on the mornings when I am up and the house is quiet those are good days. I am filled with peace and don't have the rush of a busy morning and gettting everyone out the door.

I relish this time to feel like I am gathering my thoughts, to spend time with God on a deep level, to not answer a million questions...it's so wonderful!

A Bowl of Beef Stew

Thanks to my handy dandy crockpot I get to enjoy homemade beef stew tonight for dinner. I made it last night all night and get to eat it today...so good, so warm, so fabulous! Crock pots are phenomonal...I am so thankful someone invented them!

Craziness in Practice

I walked in the living room to find that Jaron had put his coat on his legs. One of the joys of motherhood.

Changing from Bitterness to Thankfulness

I am struggling with my attitude in many ways. I have discovered that when I am feeling grouchy or discouraged it is a good idea to list a positive thought or a blessing from God to help me balance my negativity...so hear goes.

1. I am upset because Dan is sleeping even though he slept all day...however, I am thankful for the long hours he puts in at work and the way he gets up to be with the kids on Friday afternoons so I can stay longer at work, instead of sleeping in like I do on Saturday mornings.

2. I am frustrated by my children and their constant demands....however I am thankful that I get to have them in my life, many families struggle with the permanent loss of a child or the inability to have children and don't experience all the little joys like hugs and smiles. I love the hugs and happiness that a simple word or phrase can accomplish...makes mothering slightly easier.

3. I am tired and achy...yet I am thankful for a decent paying job, fun kids to work with and the garden tub in my bathroom! I am so taking a bath tonight. A long hot soak will do a world of good!

On top of it all I am so thankful that my loving God never gets tired, irritable or upset with me and is eternally loving, kind and longsuffering towards me with all of my negatives. Philippians shows us Paul rejoicing in suffering and I can do the same thing even though when it comes down to it my list of grievances are nothing like being thrown in prison. My suffering really isn't suffering its just being tired and a little bit whiny!

It's crazy...it's full of school spirit...it's Over!

Today is last day of Penny Wars and Spirit Week at school.

I'm so glad that things will get back to normal next week. It's been a lot of fun but it's been rather crazy too!

So in honor of the week I am doing my Happy It's Friday Happy Dance!

On a side note...I have a week left of being 31...32 approaches next Friday...makes me feel kinda old!

AWANA craziness

I am the Sparks Director and I have some great Calvary students helping me with AWANA this year. It's all good. We have a good time. The new favorite pasttime is hide my Dr. Pepper can!

I will admit, I am a Dr. Pepper junkie...love the stuff, it's my favorite drink! I usually have a can on Wednesday nights...and I often set it down to do stuff with the kids. Well the new game for the leaders is to try and hide my can of Dr. Pepper. Tonight, it was easily found but I will give props to the leader who was able to swipe it without my knowing while I was discussing my hair from crazy hair day at school. That took finesse and skill, lousy hiding place, made for easy finding but I didn't notice it was gone right away and I was sitting within 12 inches of the can!

My hair...crazy day edition

It was green, red, blue and orange. Seven ponytails...and I giant headache later...but I was top dog on Crazy hair day!

One of my lifesavers

Meet my crockpot...my new best friend. I use it at least once a week maybe twice. For me I make dinner overnight for the next day. Since Dan and I work opposite schedules he needs a meal at 2:30 so I cook a meal overnight and then divide it into smaller containers before I leave for work. Then at night I have a good dinner and Dan gets a meal for the afternoon! It's only taken 3 years of working odd schedules for me to learn this handy dandy tip!

Superhero Day

Today is Superhero Day for school...

I'm not going to wear a costume or anything, just dress up like myself...simply because my son told me that I am his Supermom!

So I am going as me, the super hero that I am!

Spirit Week

This week is Spirit Week at my school and at the kiddos school. Today at my school it was Pajama day...so I wore my fuzzy fleece penguin jammies....makes for a good day!

Tomorrow is Super Hero Day...I'm still not sure what I am going to wear tomorrow for this...I'm having trouble coming up with an appropriate costume.

So much Better

We went from Jaron looking like this...crazy hair boy...

to this.....

To this....


Doesn't he look so much better...so much less work!


He got the new bear for sitting still and letting us shave his little head!

Hamster Wheel kind of Day...

busy, busy, busy.... the kind where you just run and run and run!

Between the meetings at work, Kindergarten Roundup, sick kids at school so extra kids in a classroom and all kind of stuff, I feel like I have been running non-stop for 3 days...one to go and then the weekend.

Good news:) Dan and I have a date night this Saturday....dinner and maybe a movie. Mom and Dad will have the kids over night too so we can have a nice time without worry!

Wordless Wednesday...almost

Me thinks someone needs a hair cut!

It's what day?

I love holidays from school and getting days off they are wonderful times of recharging ones batteries and in my case getting my house more undercontrol! The hard part about holidays is going back to school the next day.

Today is TUESDAY!!! All day long I was confused off and on thinking it was MONDAY!!!

I walked in thinking we would have different specials and that my Monday Wednesday Friday kids would be at school...instead I was a little off all day! Makes for some fun times at work!

Me thinks he likes me...

This is what Dan brought home for me from the store...oh yeah! I think he likes me!

Happy Birthday Mr. President

Thank you for celebrating the Presidents. I'm extra grateful for the opportunity to have the day off.

Today"s President day accomplishments...

dinner cooked and shipped with Dan to work, I am also working on making dinner for tomorrow so he has extra food for the rest of the week!

Laundry completed

kitchen cleaned

Bedroom cleaned

Bathroom cleaned.

All in all I am feeling good about what was accomplished on this President's day!

My Valentine Progression

I have had mixed feelings about Valentines Day over the last 3 decades( yes I am old).

In my first 10 years, Valentines Day was all about fun. I loved exchanging Valentines in school, I love the parties, the treats and everything. It was great! Lots of fun!

In my second 10 years I began to resent Valentines day. I hated that everyone thought that if you didn't have a boyfriend or a significant other on Valentines day that you were basically a "loser". More often then not I was single on Valentines Day and I went into hate mode. If there had been conversation hearts with mean things instead of happy ones I definitely would buy them and my friends and I often exchanged sarcastic cards full of making one feel worse about our singleness. My parents and grandparents made sure to send lots of love to me on the holidays and that certainly was much appreciated but not the same thing as having a "date" on Valentines Day.

Now in my most recent 10 years (plus a couple) Valentines day has taken on a new meaning. Dan and I wish each other a Happy Valentines day and celebrate sometimes but it really doesn't matter. Valentines Day is just that a day. I don't need a day to tell my husband that I love and appreciate him. Little things I do for him during the week mean more to him than a gift in the middle of February. We show love to the kids but this year instead of candy and stuffed animals, they will be getting gifts that they can use for the longer term and get quality time from their parents. Being a happy and content family is the greatest gift that we can give to each other.

Don't get me wrong, I enjoy the parties again. I like helping my kids with their Valentines exchanges and in my opinion there is no greater Valentine card than the ones with FUN DIP! I have eaten my weight in conversation hearts through the years! I enjoy the parties at school and seeing the excitement for Valentines Day on the faces of the students in my class. I can truthfully say that I have come full circle. Valentines Day is a silly holiday that make you think of love and that's okay by me! So to anyone reading this...HAPPY VALENTINES DAY!

Good News!

I found my phone...it was where I left it in the bathroom.

3 day weekend ahead of me!

Jaron's teacher emailed me and told me that he had a better week and seemed to be more focused! So thankful for that!

Cellphone Madness

I think my phone is afraid of me...maybe because I drop it alot!

It's been hiding from me all day...

This morning, I left it on the kitchen table and didn't have it all day...I don't have a clock in my classroom and I don't wear a watch so I was clueless as to the time all day...I'm a very time oriented person and I was feeling helpless all day!

Dan charged it for me and I had it on my bed and some other places after work and I put it somewhere and I can't find it...that's twice in one day...that's pretty sad! I'll need to use Dan's in the morning to help me find it...we don't have a home phone so I can't call myself to find it!

Kids say the darndest things...lunch edition

We have several students who have dietary restrictions. Two of our students are vegetarian, and two are no beef, no pork. Well today one of the girls asked me what we were having for lunch, and I told her"...Hamburgers...well, I am not sure what you are having because you don't eat beef and pork."

She looked at me and said" my dad say's we eat with Forks..."

I just had to laugh

You never know who's watching...

Where I work there are windows in some of the classrooms that are two way...When the lights are on in our classroom then you can't see out, but people can look in. However, when the lights are out at naptime, the windows become mirrors in the hallway and we can see out.

Today during naptime we watched these 2 teenage girls walk by the windows checking their apperance. At the end of nap they both came up and stop in front of the window and proceeded to preen and do their hair and all that silly stuff teenage girls do in front of a mirror. My co-teacher and I sat and laughed at the fact that they didn't know we were watching them..if I had been able to I would have flipped on the lights just to see their faces when they saw us, but if the lights are on you can't see out the window so we would have missed it.

Made me really think about how God is always watching us...

Psalm 11:4The LORD is in his holy temple; the LORD is on his heavenly throne. He observes the sons of men; his eyes examine them.

What have you done today when you thought no one was watching?

A Good Day

Work was a challenge today since I was not feeling good. Fortunately, with specials and extras and the kids being extra helpful it made for a decent day! I was lucky to get to go home early since we had many children leave early, were down in numbers and able to combine. It was a blessing!

I rested for a few hours then started the laundry which I didn't have enough energy to do this weekend. I've gotten 2 loads washed and dried, and one ready to dry in the morning. I also ran the dishwasher, which was good.

My dirty floor was driving me crazy! I vacummed and then used my new handy dandy rug stick by Woolite! I love it....makes carpet cleaning very easy! It's great for getting the grime out and it's cost effective too. Smells good too!

Tomorrow looks to be rather busy but I am hopeful that I am feeling better. My achiness seems to be lessening.

Thanks to every one who prayed for me today! I made it through and while I am not 100% better things are looking up!

Hi ho Hi Ho...it's off to work I go

I am still not one hundred percent. My throat is feeling better but I feel yucky.

I am going to work today...please pray that it goes okay

Sick...ick...ick

Dan was sick earlier in the week.

He gave it to me.

My head hurts.

My throat hurts.

I'm spending some quality time with the couch!

Mission Completed

Today I really struggled with my attitude. I get frustrated with juggling my role as a wife, mother, teacher, and friend. School was good, I was tired today and that makes me less patient than I need to be. However, on Tuesday and Thursday there is more planning time and that makes the day go by faster!



However, my big issues came after school. I get home and load up the kids in the car to go run errands. I planned to go to the bank to make a deposit, then go to the mailbox to get our mail, then go and get my car washed since it was disgusting and the weather was nice for a car wash. As I am driving to the bank Dan calls me and wants to know if I am going to get his glasses. I had received a call this morning letting me know that his new glasses are in and ready. I had texted him during the day to ask if he was going to pick them up or if he wanted me too and he had texted me " when convenient, don't stress" so the day that is most convenient for me is next Tuesday when the kids are at Good News Club. My answer wasn't exactly what he wanted to here. So he called to ask how the kids were and then if I was going to get his glasses. I said that I had to go to the bank and get my car wash but I would try to get them. He got rather short with me on the phone and made an issue of me getting them before next Tuesday! I have to admit that I didn't answer with a spirit of love and kindness but one of bitterness and anger. After I hung up I felt convicted by Ephesians 4, about being kind so even though it wasn't super convenient we went and got the new glasses and they look good.!



The whole ride in the car my children are being obnoxious and demanding. Normally they are fine with errand running but today Jaron wanted to go to Quik Trip and that is all he wanted and so he was whining and crying in the back seat. Quik Trip was not on my agenda and so I would not give in but it makes for a long car ride! Janea was antogonizing her brother and making me frustrated! On a plus side, they both giggled and laughed all through the car wash and the surprise of pizza for dinner made for a much more relaxing drive home, even though Jaron still wanted to take a trip to Quik Trip.



We are home, fed and able to enjoy the gorgeous weather that we are having this February. I love having warm days! We made it to the bank, the mailbox, the carwash, the glasses place and to Little Ceasers for a pizza and crazy bread for dinner. My meeting at school was cancelled so we can have a more relaxing night. So we are going to work on showers, baths, and then it's the plan to get everyone to bed earlier and start off on a better foot tomorrow morning.

Wiggly boys

My life is full of wiggly boys. I teach them at school and I have one at home.

Jaron is frustrating his teacher right now. He is extra wiggly and having trouble keeping still. She is seeking ideas on how to keep him more under control. I'm racking my brain for ideas that might work.

If you have any ideas on what might work please let me know! I could use some help with this!

Kids say the Darndest---Snack Edition

We had pudding earlier this week for snack. Usually we have butterscotch or vanilla pudding but on Monday we had Tapioca pudding with a little bit of whipped cream on top! One of the girls in my class is eating the pudding and stops and asks me this question.

"Why are there noodles in my pudding?

Happy Birthday Mom

I had my parents over for dinner tonight! We had a yummy chicken dinner and then cake. I went the easy way and bought a cake at HyVee. I ran out of time to make one on my own! Happy Birthday Mom, the kids and I love you very much!

Where did January Go?

I can't believe it already is February. Now I definitely shouldn't be surprised since I do calendar activities every day at school but really...didn't we just have New Years.

My goals for February:

*Get in the WORD more....daily!

* Maintain the house better!

* Be an encouragement to my husband not a discouragement.

* Enjoy Valentines Day parties with the kids and my class!

* Find some new and yummy recipes that I can make for our budgeting purposes! We did well in January but I want to be more adventurous this month!

Praises for the Month of January:

*No sickness for the family! Thank you God for keeping us all healthy!

* We are sticking to our food budget and eating more at home! I found some good recipes and I am being more adventurous in my cooking!

* Great kids who are learning and growing and enjoying school, Good News club and AWANA!

Whew...we survived!

It was a crazy week at school! A fun week but so busy! We had a lot of "extras" this week which means your routine goes out the window and you do other stuff.

Monday we had our Chinese New Year party. Lots of fun but my coteacher got stuck with a lot of the work for it. Makes for a really long day!

Tuesday was the 100th day of school. In our class we made 100 Day glasses. Then we worked on counting to one hundred using a number chart to help us. Then that number chart was used to put one piece of cereal on each number so that we could have a 100 piece snack! We colored a large 100 to make a 100 day crown. We also got to go without uniforms for the day. A good place for teachers to look for ideas is the Mailbox magazine and several teaching websites. Jaron is celebrating on Monday and each child had to bring in 100 things. He took a bag of cocoa puffs!

Wednesday was a normal school day but my back was hurting. It made for a really long day for me.

Thursday was Kansas Day. We celebrated by coloring a Kansas coloring book and tasting sunflower seeds! Then instead of nap we watched the Wizards of Oz! It was a fun day...long but fun.

Today was back to normal but we were playing catch up on all our missed work! All in all I am so glad that I am home and can relax this weekend!

Pain in the....back

I woke up this morning with my back so tight I can't move. It hurts. I couldn't move my neck very far today so I looked like a dog chasing its tail when ever I needed to look at the kids. Picking up cots after nap about did me in, AWANA was rough and I need to get the kids to bed so I can stretch out. I hope it pops soon!

100th Day of School

Here's my co-teacher and I today! We celebrated the 100th day of school by making 100 day glasses, eating a 100 piece snack, and making 100 day crowns. A lot of fun!

Chinese New Year

We celebrated Chinese New Year today. It was a lot of fun. We enjoyed celebrating with our Asian families! The parents supplied most of the treats and helped us to enjoy celebrating their holiday! It was a wonderful multicultural experience.

Chinese Wall Art
We made paper dragon kites...to bring good luck and ward off bad luck...

The Chinese flag

Yummy treats from the Asian market!

This is the hair piece on of my Korean students wore. The Asian kids came in traditional Chinese and Korean outfits. They were so cute!

Full Calendar Week

This week at school is crazy! Today we celebrated the Chinese and Korean New Year! Lots of fun with the kids! Yet super crazy! Tomorrow is the 100th day of school..fun yet crazy... and then Thursday is Kansas Day and we will be watching the Wizard of Oz and celebrating Kansas and it's birthday! I am always amazed at how all the special days fall within the same week on the Calendar

Struggling with Motivaton

I don't know about you but I struggle sometimes to get things done. My house is really bad right now, I have not been good at using my time this week. I got the cooking done but then didn't follow through with cleanup so now that it is Saturday...my job is huge!

Why do I do this to myself? I know better but I don't enjoy cleaning so I justify it in my mind until it becomes a huge job.

Today its cold and I will be better and get the house more in order!

Friday...

and I am doing my Hooray it's Friday dance...

Laughing..it does a body good.

I laughed a lot at work today!

I laughed because one child was convinced she made a "Happy Plate" when in reality it was only kinda happy since she just tried the green beans and applesauce but ate all the spaghetti!

I laughed as a little boy tried to use the zipper of his pants as a pocket and then realized that his pants were simply unzipped...his look made my day!

I laughed during naptime as one of the girls attempted to do an interpretive dance on her cot to the classical music playing at naptime!

I laughed at all the crazy ways that kids can make each other mad...the most devastating being..."You can't come to my birthday" and their birthdays are 6-11 months away!

I laughed so much my sides hurt and I thought I was going to pull a muscle...I also laughed until I nearly cried!

I love laughing!

Parenting...it's not an easy job!

There are times I love being a mom! I love to help the kids learn stuff, to have fun and play, to enjoy the good times! Then there are days when I want to send them back~! Doesn't happen very often but on occasion I would gladly throw in the towel and go back to the life of coupledom(not that I really know what that is like, we have been parents for all but one year of our marriage).

My kids got off the bus today and ran to meet me at the door. Before they are even on the front steps Janea bursts into tears and informs me that she was sent to the Focus Room. This is the place at school where my children have been told to never go. They need to behave, obey and focus on being the best students they can be. I ask why she was sent, she tells me it's for kicking another child and lying to the teacher! Kicking, that is part of being a kid and not controlling yourself, lying is not okay period. Dan and I have worked really hard at making sure that our children are obedient and not lying. We are not perfect parents and our kids do make mistakes and so she was very upset because she knew she had done wrong. I was livid...and rushed to call Dan. Dan as usual sees it simply from Janea's point of view but as I talked to Janea I realized I may have jumped to the worst case scenario, Dan calls me back and we decided that Janea has lost TV for a few days and will have to accept the natural consequenses that come with misbehaving at school. It will take some time for the teacher to trust Janea completely and I hope that she has learned to control herself more.

The Bible instructs parents to be training their children to follow Him. It is my prayer that Dan and I help Janea and Jaron to be the best kids they can be and that they grow to Love Him. Training a child is hard work...certainly not for wimps!

Whew...is it Friday yet?

Wow! We had a busy weekend!

I can't believe that I have to go back to work tomorrow and that it will only be Tuesday.

We got a lot accomplished! Yeah us!

A rundown of our accomplishments:

• oil changes for both vehicles
• new wipers on my car
• grocery shopping
• church in the morning and evening Sunday
• one meal fully cooked and put up
• family fun time
• haircut for me!(so much better!)
• laundry
• some housecleaning...we could have done better but we were a little busy:)

So now Dan is at work and I am getting ready for the kids to be back to school and me back to school. We're off and running for another week.

Overheard...

the kids were in the living room and here is what I heard...

Jaron: "I have more sence than you!"

I went in to find out and Janea was counting the money in her piggy bank! Jaron has more coins(cents) then she does!

So not Martha

Well, as much as I like to think that I getting better at cooking and making yummy dishes. Things like tonight happen. I couldn't open the spaghetti jar for ravoili, I dropped the pasta dish as I was trying to drain the pasta. I forgot to warn Dan that the burner may be hot and he nearly burned himself. So I will stick to teaching preschool and forgo my lofty thoughts of being a chef! We eat but it isn't always the easiest endeavor!

It's Friday and it's a 3 day weekend..

and I am so glad!

It was a good week...we had our frustrating moments but I would say the week ended well.

I have not done as well at my cooking as I could have but since this is a three day weekend I am planning on getting more on track!

Some of our plans for the weekend include:

• oil changes for my car and the van
• new wipers for my car!
• grocery shopping
• haircut! (It's getting bad)
• clean house
• laundry

Plus our usual Sunday activities of going to Church and choir practice! I always enjoy going and worshipping at our church!

All in all it should be a good weekend!

Brrr...Brrrr....Brrrrr

It's in the single digits and the temperature just keeps on dropping. I'm dreading the bus stop in the morning...it's so cold! It's nights like this I am thankful for a warm bed, comfy jammies and thick blankets. It's nights like these that I am glad that Dan and I have so many comforters on our bed...since he isn't here until the wee hours of the morning I can keep as many as I want all to my self and be warm in my nice cocoon.

One of those days

You know the one's where things are just enough off that you are sighing alot.!

Today was that day. My alarm went off when it was supposed to, however, I didn't get up, I turned it off! I have set my alarm to go off an hour before I have to get the kids up so I can get in some quiet time with God and I can charge my batteries. I have found it's really helped me with my attitude. Well, this morning, I woke up 7 minutes after I have to wake up the kids. So we were scrambling this morning!

Both kids were moving in slow motion. We made it out the door just as the bus is coming up the street so I didn't get to tell them bye and remind them to be on their best behavior.

Jaron went to the buddy room today. He was not listening or sitting still. Janea also had to pull a card in her classroom. Not the greatest day for the Jonathan kids, they WILL do better tomorrow!

I'm Cold!

I have been cold all day! My feet are freezing! How many layers are too many? Right now I am wearing at least 3 and I am still cold!

Early PJ night

Today I get to work and head to the classroom and am told that I am needed to sub over in 1/2 grade. I enjoy getting to go over to the elementary side and spending the day with the older kids. As the day goes on all I can think about is my pajamas. I want to be comfy and cozy and warm...I think I was cold off and on and the thought of being warm was very appealing! I honestly had my PJ's on by 5:00 tonight. Dan got me new fleece pants with penguins on them that are oh so comfortable for Christmas and boy once the kiddos get to bed I am hitting the hay! I'm tired and ready for sleep!

A $19 fix

For the last month my tires have been losing pressure. Dan goes and fills them up and within 10 days they need air again. Well today we took them in to be looked at, halfway expecting them to tell us we need new tires. Turns out they had minor issues that were causing them to lose air but they could be repair! Praise God turned out to cost $19.

A lot on my mind

Have you ever been confused or perplexed? Do you ever question what your initial plans were and think about what needs to be done? I am so there right now.

Here's my predicament:

Dan and I are approaching our 10th wedding anniversary. When we got married we had planned to go to the Outer Banks of North Carolina for our honeymoon. About 4 months before our wedding Dan got a better paying job working at a manufacturing plant. Due to being a new hire he did not have accumulated vacation time and so we changed our plans. Instead of a week long trip to NC we went to a Geneva Illinois for a longer weekend. We had a nice time and enjoyed ourselves. We decided we would go to the Outer Banks for our first anniversary. Fast forward to October of 1999. I'm feeling strange, not normal, and so we decide to take a pregnancy test...it's positive! So we're due 4 days before our anniversary! Janea was actually born 18 days before our first anniversary but there was no way we could travel and leave a newborn! So we decided to wait until our 5th or 10th anniversary. At 5 years, we couldn't afford to go and we had two kids 4 and under. Now we are approaching 10 years and I don't know if the kids could handle us being gone for a week.

We are looking at places to stay, attractions we want to see, and starting the beginning of the planning process for the trip. Janea is wanting to go...since we will be going to the beach. At the same time we have never taken a family vacation to anywhere. So my question is should we just take a family vacation this June and then in a few years when they are much older plan an extended second honeymoon trip or should we just try and take one this year. Parenting is such a challenge. Dan is worried if we take the kids that I will feel jipped out of getting to see all the stuff I want to see. I am worried about how the kids will take us going for at least a week once you count in travel times.

Marriage is important and getting that time to reconnect with your spouse is so important. Parenting is important and so is building family memories.

Thanks for Helping

Today it dawned on me...I may not have leaders tonight!

I have great Sparks leaders who are Calvary students and they won't be back till next week! I was kinda starting to panic.

I am thankful for Mrs. Beck for coming tonight and to Jeff for helping kids with sections. A big thank you goes to Megan and Aaron tonight too since they helped listen to verses.

I am excited to see what the next semester brings for the Sparks program at my church!

Ouch

I hurt my thumb tonight...I was slicing potatoes to make Crock pot Beef stew and I not only sliced the potato, I sliced my finger. It was bleeding and it hurts alot.

This is how I know I am not the greatest chef...I make really careless mistakes!

Explain to me how I can cook all day on Saturday and only have made enough meals to last through Tuesday night???

I broke down and ordered pizza tonight. The kids were begging, and I was tired. I have to do better, these new resolutions are hard!

Kids Say the Darndest--Chapel edition

We have chapel every Monday morning, it's a lot of fun, we sing and the listen to a short lesson given by Pastor Ryan (one of the pastors at FFC). Well, today we were sitting in chapel and my co-teacher and I were quietly saying how one of our students seemed to be on another planet and she said"it's like he's not even here". Well, one of our other students was sitting on her lap and points right at Pastor Ryan (he thought we were talking about the Pastor) and says"He's right there".

I must admit I lost it...Poor Pastor Ryan must have thought I was nuts!~

Back to Reality

Today was the last day of my 2 weeks off.

Tomorrrow we go back to school, back to work and back to a school year schedule.

It's been nice to see Dan every day (even with all our ups and downs the last few weeks).

I'll miss sleeping in past 7 every morning...6:30 comes early round these parts.

I'm glad the kiddos are going back to school, they so need to get back to a routine.

We will be back to all the fun things that go along with a busy schedule.

Just call me Martha...

Today I cooked all day. I made lots of yummy food for next week. I had the idea to make food on Saturdays and portion it out for the week. I often don't want to cook when I get home from work and Dan is looking to take food for his lunch to work to help save money. So I cooked lots of yummy stuff.

Chicken and Noodles..yummy

Cheesy chicken and broccoli casserole

I completey boiled and deboned the chicken for dishes.

Homemade meatballs

I am quite tired but feeling really good about what I accomplished today. I still have more chicken for another dish but I ran out of steam today. Will be cooking more tomorrow.

The thinking of a child

So Dan got me an MP3 player for Christmas and we have a subscription to Rhapsody right now so I am trying to download lots of my favorite music onto my device before we cancel our subscription. Well he and I have been talking about different songs and making different playlists for both his device and mine. Well, today Jaron made up his own playlist. Of things he wants to play and do...and Janea got into the act too!

Jaron's Playlist:

1. Carpet Roll Race

2. Play computer

3. Somersault Race

4. Break time or a Hop Race

5. Watch TV--Spongebob Squarepants

6. Lunch break(or dinner, snack)

7. Jump over the pillows

8. Catch

9. Roll the Ball Race

10. Pillow Fight

Janea's Playlist

1. Fuse Beads

2. Draw

3. Play Tag

4. Pillow Fight

5. Lunch

6. catch

7. Play Snap

8. Play Go Fish

9. Play UNO

10. Play Trouble

This is what happens...

when you turn your back for a few minutes. The kids decided they needed to decorate themselves with ink...they so need to go back to school...too much time on their hands!

If I wasn't laughing already I would be laughing even harder!

Goodbye 2008...Hello 2009

Wow...it's the last day of 2008.

It's the end of a year...but it's really not the end. It's the end of writing 2008 yes, but it doesn't mean that life stops and that we don't continue. Last night I went back and reread a bunch of my posts from this year...its was mighty eventful for my family. We had a crazy year..and yet would easy be any better. So here is some of my thoughts looking forward to 2009

1. I want a deeper relationship with God. I have grown this year but I need to grow more. I so often fall into the poor me's and whine and complain. I want to look at my life the way God sees me and strive to be more holy.

2. I want to be a better wife to my husband. I honestly don't know how I am going to do this but it is a goal for next year. If you have any ideas on how to do this or a book that you found helpful(outside of the Bible, I'm doing a study on what Scripture says currently) I would love to know!

3. I want to be a better mom and train my children to love God, to be neater, to be accountable. I want to give lots of hugs and yell less. I want to make home a place that they love to be. I want to be less frustrated and more loving.

4. I want to be a better cook. I want to be able to make more foods that are yummy, nutricious and cost effective. I'm not gifted in this area and feel I have lots of room for improvement.

5. I want to be a better housekeeper. I want to not get lazy and be messy...very hard for me!

So those are my thoughts as we begin a new calendar year. I am thankful for all that God has done for me this year. I am thankful for all the lessons I have learned this year. I am thankful that I have a loving God who takes good care of me.

Thank you God

Last night I was very frustrated and discouraged. I had trouble sleeping and so instead of reading fiction like I sometimes do I turned to Scripture. I was wrestling with feeling low and unaffirmed and the following was so obvious.

I was looking in the wrong place for affirmation. I don't need the affirmation of the world. So last night I looked over the Psalm that our pastor is preaching over and I don't need to find my happiness in my family or my home. My happiness needs to be resting in God. He needs to be my focus. I need to remember that God loves me more than I can ever imagine and He will supply the things that I need. I don't need to be affirmed by my family, I don't need to affirm myself. I need to be content whether on a Mountaintop place or down in a valley. I need to be relying on the strength of God not my own Strength. I need to wait on the Lord and not think that things need to be the way I want them.

I need to seek the Lord and His plan for me. I need to trust in Him and acknowledge His ways. I need to make Him my focus first and then my family. I need to love my Husband and submit and let him lead our family(something I am not good at) because that is God's design for the family. Please pray for me as I work on being a good wife and mom that I would make Jesus and pleasing the Lord a bigger focus and let my family benefit from me being the person God wants me to be.

Dealing with Discouragement

Recently I have been struggling with my feelings regarding my family. On the one hand I am incredibly blessed to be the wife and mom of this great family. My children are thriving, my husband has a good job and provides for us well but at the same time I am frustrated and overwhelmed. Some days I feel like nothing more than a glorified maid and chef (and not a very good one at that) who lives in the house. I feel like I can't do anything right and when I get stuff done it's no big deal or just mom taking care of things. It's hard. I don't feel like I am being supported in what I am doing and it's draining.

My husband is a good guy but there are days when I feel like he is demanding so much more than I can deliver...he wants things fixed immediately and he wants things done his way. I understand his point of view but at the same time when you only see someone 3 days a week and they are discouraging and grumpy its hard. I haven't been responding the way that I need to either, I get very catty and frustrated easily. He thinks that his way is best but instead of working with me to get stuff done it's his way only that he thinks should be done. I simply do not think like him, things that work for him do not make sense to me. Plus, he thinks from the perspective of a singular individual and I think how would this work for 4 people. He cares nothing for the way things look--he is very male--but I need things to be more asethically pleasing. I am working on my attitude but it is so hard when I do the majority of everything in our lives. Since my schedule is different I end up bearing the weight of making phone calls, and getting stuff done.

I don't know why I am writing this...I am feeling discouraged and needing to get my thoughts down where I can read them at a later point. If you have any ideas on things that work when dealing with a stressful situation and making things work when you feel very low please leave me a note...

Christmas Snapshots

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

You be the Judge

Would you say that this is Fun or Noise...please leave your vote in the comments section.

A big Thank you to Dear Aunt Debbie for making our Christmas more full of joy and music.

Merry Christmas

From our little house in Missouri to wherever you may be...the Jonathan's wish you a very Merry Christmas...may we remember the true meaning of the Season and the Love that was shown on our behalf.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

Cookie Baking...so yummy

Sunday night we made a batch of roll out sugar cookies. The kids did all the rolling out themselves. We had a fun night of playing together and being a family.

Janea is very careful!
Jaron makes a Christmas Tree

Frosting and Sugar make them extra yummy

Teamwork!

Janea had frosting on her face!

Christmas Break!!!

YEAH!!!!

Christmas Break is hear with it's much needed battery recharging time.

I am so thankful to be able to spend time with my family and enjoy Christmas with them!

The presents are almost all bought, we are making goodies to share, and just enjoying being a cozy family in our home.

To everyone who may read this...let me say....

Merry Christmas!!!!

Will we have school or not???

That is the question right now...there is icing possiblities here in the Kansas City area and I don't know if we will have school tomorrow or not. It's a little nerve wracking...

Feeling a little Guilty

This morning Dan walks in our room at 6:11 and wakes me up by asking what the number for the kids school is. I thought he meant the phone number and he meant the district number. I told him and he tells me the kids have a snow day today!

So I am home today with my kids, I lose a day of pay and I feel slightly guilty since I am leaving my coteacher on her own today. I am hoping that many kids stay home because it is still snowing today. However, I do feel it is important for me to be with my kids as they stay home today.

Oh Christmas Tree...how lovely are your branches

Here are a few pictures of our Christmas Tree this year!

Lots and Lots of Tape

Just a warning to anyone getting a present from us this year....the kids are doing a lot of the wrapping....all by themselves!~They are covered with tape! It's actually kinda cute...or it's a mom thing...I'm not sure!

Christmas Concert 2008

Tonight was the schools Christmas Concert...at my school. It went well, the students did a good job and showed off their hard work and boy am I tired from helping to corral them. It was a good night but I don't want another recital for some time!

Janea and Jaron got to hang with Grandma and Grandpa for the evening. Mom and Dad picked them up and they went out for pizza and then back to grandma's house to make cookie dough for us to bake on Saturday! They are getting to be good little bakers!

Busy weekend ahead and hopefully I can get together with a friend from my Bible College days and get my house just a little bit cleaner!

On a side note, I got more Christmas shopping done today....my sister now has a gift from us and I will get the other half of my dads gift this weekend! Almost done! HOORAY!

A Cold and Wintry Day!

So as if today wasn't busy to begin with it certainly was made more exciting by the 2+ inches of snow that fell here today!

My parents and I went to see Janea in her Christmas program at school today. She did a good job and so did the kids. It was definitely a 3rd grade performance but they did a good job! Well, when we got to the school it wasn't snowing or raining. When we left almost an hour later it was snowing and it was starting to stick! I then left to go to work and it took me longer as the roads were getting slicker and slicker. I had an uneventful afternoon and work and then the adventure began!

The kids school district cancelled all after school activities so they didn't have Good News Club and so they rode the bus home. Well, traffic was nuts, I couldn't go past 40 on any road and my 22 minute drive took about an hour. Just as I am getting close to home my phone rings and it's the bus driver. Praise God she kept my kids on the bus longer and then called me and was understanding that I got stuck in the nasty weather! I am so grateful for the people who help me take good care of my kids!

Janea's program was cancelled for this evening...so it's a good thing I went this morning since it looks like it will be resceduled for Monday night and I have my Christmas party for work. So we have to look at things to see if Janea can participate or not. I am glad to be home safe and sound and not needing to go anywhere else this evening.

2 pills for a buck

Both kids have bad colds and are not feeling 100% so I made them take Tylenol before they left for school this morning. Jaron did not want to take it...so I told him if he took the Tylenol I would pay him a dollar...so he took it...and I paid him a dollar...if this keeps up I'll be broke!

Busy Busy Busy

That's what our week looks like...and wouldn't you know it the kiddos aren't feeling too good!

*Tuesday we have Janea's school Christmas program...she is the understudy for a speaking part and so she will get to perform in the 10:00 performance at school. Grandma, Grandpa and I are all going to support her. Then in the evening she will perform with the chorus in the final performance! I'm excited to see the performance since she has been singing the songs for like a month! Between the school play and the upcoming kids program at church we are practicing like crazy!

*Wednesday night we have AWANA! I'll be a few leaders short but hopefully we will have enough leaders to cover the kids as they say sections. I'm not worried about Gametime too much.

*Thursday night the kiddos are going to Grandma's since my school is having their Christmas program and it's a piano and violin recital and I don't think that my children will be up for it so they get to visit the grandparents and I will go and support the kiddos in my class!

On the upside there are only 13 more days of school until Christmas break and then I will have some time off! YEAH! Plus we are going to grandmas to bake cookies and make other goodies this weekend!

On the homefront, I am trying to stay diligent and be a better steward of my time and finish jobs. I am making progress on the living room and kitchen but need to apply myself better in the dining room/office and our bedrooms. At least in the bedrooms I can shut the doors! All in all God is showing His Faithfulness to us by providing for our needs and helping us to get through everything that needs to be gotten through!