A Chocolate Feast

with more pictures than you probably care to see

ChocolateFest. A festival of CHOCOLATE. Oh yes, the name alone makes me drool. This year I was SO blessed to be given tickets to this amazing event. (Thanks Jen!) So, the sinners in us skipped church to go indulge in some chocolate splendor. We live semi-close to Hershey. You know, the place where kisses are made. The town that smells like chocolate. The town that hosts this chocolatefest. So off we went to Hershey.

I was blown away. To say that they had some chocolate would be an understatement. To say that the blood running through your veins might very well turn to a lovely chocolate sauce when you leave would be more like it. The tickets are for a 1 and a half hour time slot. I don't know about you, but my love for chocolate has never brought me to a place where it was OK to eat chocolate for 1 and 1/2 hours! Until yesterday. Eat we did. and did and did and did.

Joseph was going to explode form the amount of chocolate he consumed. Nehemiah isn't much of a dessert lover, so he did very well. Hannah, oh my Hannah. If her hand was empty she put it out in front of her and in her cutest voice possible said "I onna nack?" (I want a snack?) :)

Oh, it was a glorious day! To top it all off... when we were in the lobby, trying to calm the the rumbles of disgust in our stomachs, a lady came up to us and said we "have a cute family." (Thanks nice lady) That wasn't all. She had more.

"I work for (a magazine) and would love to take your picture. Would that be ok?" (um, really? Have you been watching us for more than .02 seconds? Have you SEEN my children?!) We said yes, and posed for the shot. Which took longer than she though it would because well, she has never met Nehemiah before. hahaha, I kept waiting for her to say "nevermind, I'll use a different family" but it never came. After a few shots she said "got it! It will be in our next issue!" (huh?! For real?) yup. I'll keep you posted on that one!

We have now consumed enough chocolate to drown a small town. I was sure that I wouldn't want to see anything even dipped in chocolate for months. This afternoon though I still got that all too familiar craving for the sweet, melts in your mouth, piece of heaven. Thank goodness Chocolatefest is a one day event.

Cake

If you have read my blog for any length of time you know that I like to bake cakes. Well, to be a little more specific, I like to decorate cakes. For my mom's birthday I created this. (click here here and here for some other posts with cakes I've done.)




I'm a little disappointed with how the bow turned out. The color was much darker before the fondant dried. I think it looks like bubble tape. You know, the kind you get in the roll - by the foot. The pattern rolled into the fondant that covers the cake stretched as I placed it on top. Overall, I'm pleased since this is only the 2nd (ok, counting all of the practice cakes for Hannah's birthday it's more like the 4th) cake I've done using fondant. Nehemiah's birthday cake is going to require at least one practice round as well. You won't get to see that though... not until the finished masterpiece is revealed. :) Stay tuned.

disclaimer... if you looked at those other cake pictures...and if you noticed that there are no pictures of Nehemiah's birthday cakes...and you think that maybe the 2nd child in our house is being neglected... I am not a horrible mother. Pictures were taken. Many. Many. For real. I have pictures of his birthday. Cake and all. I just didn't post them. really. He's not neglected. We give him cake. ;)

The year of organization

We aren't the type of people to make new year's resolutions. We are however the type of people to make a yearly list of goals for that year. We also go over a 5 year plan.
our goals are varied from things easily accomplished (clean out basement) to things that will take us to our limit (get out of debt). This year as we sat to make our list we realized that there was a central theme to all we had written down. Organization. Toys. Shoes. Clothes. Quiet times. Homeschooling. Prayer as a family. The list goes on, but it all has to do with organization. Organizing our time, our house, our hearts, our lives. Getting our priorities in order. Putting God first (not that He was last before, but making a better effort to see God's hand in all we do, think, say....) I'm excited for this year. I'm excited to see how much we can de-clutter - and I'm not even thinking about the house when I say that. I'm ready to let go of things that we've been holding on to. I'm ready to get into the little corners of our lives and dust the cobwebs, making room for all of the new things God has in store for us. While we go through that journey in our hearts....
our house is coming together nicely. Though clothing never does seem to find a home after leaving the dryer we are getting there. Shoes now have their place. Jackets have a home. (We have a "hall closet" but it is seriously too small to hold anything on a hanger) Games and homeschooling supplies are (kinda) organized. Bills... we've found a new system that seems to be working well for us. Everything was always paid before, but there was no real method to my madness. I'm excited about all of the changes we've made around here. It certainly makes my day run smoother when there is a place for everything. It doesn't hurt when the place is a little pretty either.
Ok, pictures of our newly organized "stuff" Prepare to be amazed. Or slightly impressed. Or laugh at my method of organization. Just look at the pictures. :)
New method for bills. File folders - 1 for every month. Then divided into 5 weeks. Once a week bills get paid. Simple. When I remember to pay the bills on their given bill paying day.
Our often used cabinet. Movies, diapers, Hannah's hair stuff. (hello! 2 boys, this girl gets pigtails in her hair almost every day!)
Oooooh, Mommy you left the door open! This is our games closet. And crafty stuff, homeschooling supplies... I think it still looks a bit cluttered but it is oh so much better than the old method.
This is where we keep our shoes. The top books are all of my cook books n' stuff. We enter our house through the kitchen door, so this is where it all goes. Hats, mittens, shoes... they all fit into a designated bin. We all have our own. (with one extra)
My computer desk. Bill free. :) Notice the snazzy computer? My lovely computer savvy husband whipped this dream together for me one evening. We had a broken PC, my parents had a hand me down broken Mac. Put the 2 together and I have one suh-weet Mac. Oh yeah.

I know exciting, isn't it? This is my life people. So, 2008 is dubbed the year of organization. I can't take pictures of what God is doing in our hearts, but He is working. You'll just have to take my word on that one.
I'm sure there will be much more to come on all God is doing for us, with us, to us this year. :)

This n' That

I haven't posted for awhile... things have been a little crazy around here. Roger has been home from work all week so far. Unfortunately he wasn't on vacation. Another trip to the Dr and another trip to the medical lab for more blood work, and hopefully we'll have some answers to come. We aren't holding our breath. This will be the 5th? round of blood work. In just the past 6 weeks.

Odds n' ends...
Hannah peed on the potty - twice! :) Her little hiney just happened to be at the right place at the right time, but I'll take it! She was oh so proud of herself. We are mighty proud too. I'm thinking Nehemiah and Hannah will potty train at the same time.

We are beginning to look into TX again. We were going to wait until July. That's when the tenants that are in our house are supposed to buy it... blah blah blah... To try and speed things along I sent them a letter reminding them that they only have a few months left (I was hoping that this year they would save their tax return $ for the house instead of a cruise). I had hoped that I would hear back with some sort of inkling as to which direction they were leaning (to buy or not to buy)...nada. So... our TX hunt is about as it always has been. Me searching for houses... liking houses... no job or $ to buy house... send Roger's resume to numerous employers...search for house...like house... You get the picture. We're still here. Really hoping God releases us to "go" soon. I realize some of my desire to go NOW is due to winter. I am so not a winter person. And though I am extremely thankful for the lack of snow we have had thus far, the temp and the wind... yuck. I'm sure some of my wanting to go now is from "the grass is always greener" way of thinking too. Hey, at least I would have grass. My yard now is all mud. Usually frozen mud, but mud. :)

Thats the quick update.
Have a Happy Day!!

Snow!

I forgot to post about the snow we got last week!
All day the kids were asking to go out and play in it. They had to wait until Roger got home from work. I don't do snow. Not with 3 kids. So after a quick dinner we went out to play (yes, I went too. Not just for pictures either, I was prepared to play!) We got everyone bundled and headed out. Nehemiah didn't want to walk in it. He kept saying that he was stuck. Hannah was cold. "co! Mommy. Mommy. co" Joseph dove right in and started making snow balls to throw at every moving target. After a few minutes Nehemiah decided it wasn't so bad and he helped shovel the walk. Hannah was having fun, even though she was so cold. Joseph was having a blast! Then.... the dreaded happened. Joseph had to use the bathroom. ugh. Soooo, I took him in. Unbundled. waited. rebundled. Opened the door. There was Roger handing Hannah over. She's cold and ready to come in. 2 minutes behind her was Nehemiah. He wouldn't leave his mittens on and his hands were freezing. So the little ones lasted I think 10 minutes. Joseph went back out with Roger and they stayed out until it was pitch black out and they were frozen through and through. Joseph was still sad when they had to come in. It now takes 15 minutes to get into the car when we go away. We must walk THRU the snow to get to the car. Stomp on it, kick it, throw it.... Oh how I love an East Coast winter.

Here are a few pictures of our 1st real snow this year.
Thats Hannah in her hand-me-down snow suit. I added the purple hat as to not confuse her pictures with Joseph's baby pictures! :)
Mommy! Are you crazy? It's wet and cold out here!
Woo-Hoo!!!!!!!!!!
I don't need no stinkin gloves
And after all the "I'm stuck!" talk, he decided that snow can be fun.

A Boy and a Lego Store

I think I have mentioned before that Roger and Joseph love Lego's. Turns out that a mall only 2 hours way has a Lego store. So recently we made a little trip. We didn't get home until 11:00pm, but we had so much fun.
I'm sure we got some looks from other shoppers as we posed with the Lego block. Nothing says "tourist" like taking pictures at the mall! :)


Joseph was so happy! He didn't want to leave. He suggests on a daily basis that we go back. The drive doesn't bother him one bit.

Notice Nehemiah's leash? I mean harness? :) After his runaway incident we bought this cute monkey backpack. After I got over my fear of what other people would think of me "walking" my son I decided that this backpack was pretty cool. So if you see me walking my children (we bought another one for Hannah) please only comment on how cute they are, not how much they look like a puppy. :)
The Wall of Lego's. Every one of those bins is a different Lego. It's every Lego builder's dream. :) I think. We were wowed by it.
We left with a few things. (How can you drive 2 hours to specifically see a Lego store and not come home with a souvenier?!) I now can make Lego shaped ice cubes and you can only guess what Roger's birthday cake will be this year. :)

Tiny Talk Tuesday

We only have 1 car. We happened to have it today - without having to wake up early to take Roger to work. So with no real place to go, but a car to go with... we bundled up to find something to do. Driving along I asked Joseph where he would like to go. "Hmm, Nehemiah likes Lego's he would probably like to go to the Lego store" Awww, how sweet of you to think of your brother, but um that would be you that likes the Lego store.

We stopped by a Re-Uzit shop today. The kids normally like going. Yeah, not this time. Nehemiah was crabby to say the least. So... after literally dragging him out of the store (why didn't I bring the stroller!?) and getting him into the car I spanked him for his behavior along with a little talking to that I'm sure he didn't listen to a word of. He started yelling "Help! Help!" ..........
.......so we left the Re-uzit shop and headed off to Roger's work. We were early for picking him up but sometimes the kids like to hang out at his office. Immediately after we walked through the door I realized that this was not going to work. (Ok, I'm a slow learner. Why I thought Nehemiah was going to behave is beyond me. His track record for the day was pretty bad) After dragging Hannah away from the printer (she knows how to push the button to make it print test pages!) and Nehemiah away from the stapler, paper clips, glue...... we made it back out to the car. Nehemiah apparently didn't like this deal. He started yelling "Help! Help! Daddy! Help me!" I couldn't help but laugh. He was yelling it but it didn't sound like a desperate cry for help it was more of a pitiful "woe is me" yell. I don't think I ever even heard him say the word "help" before today. Lucky me, twice in one day I get to here his verbal skills improve.



Visit NotBefore7 for more Tiny Talk

Cutest little thing

A recent trip to toy's r us scored us some adorable dress up outfits. They were on clearance for $3.90!? I couldn't resist. Have you ever seen such an adorable pink puppy? Ok, so I have never seen a pink puppy before but this makes for a great first. And the dinosaur... she left out a little "roar" that made us all laugh. Nehemiah wanted to try one on SO bad, but just couldn't quite bring himself to do it. Maybe later. For now... this is all Hannah

Random thoughts

I have a devotional set up to email me every day. Today it was about feeling unqualified. Here is a tiny part from the devotion.

John had devoted his life to preparing for the arrival of Jesus. He had focused all of his energy toward this moment. He was set upon obedience. Yet the very first thing Jesus asked him to do, John resisted. He felt unqualified. Do you feel unqualified to fulfill your mission from God? John felt unworthy even to unfasten the shoes of Jesus, yet Jesus said John was the greatest of all prophets (Luke 7:28). Don't let your feelings of inadequacy hold you back from your God appointed mission.


Hmmm, I wonder how often I don't do what God wants me to do simply because I don't feel like I can do it. Would God be calling me to do something just to watch me fail miserably? I think not. That one really had me thinking.

While I continue to think about that you can go on and check out this website. Sign your husbands up for their weekly email.

http://www.familymanweb.com/newsletter

Read some of the back issues. Specifically the one entitled "marbles matter".

Did you read it? What do you think? Put me in line with how I spend my time.

Tiny Talk Tuesday

This is a conversation between Hannah (15 months) and Daddy.

H (pointing finger) "What dat?"
D "That's my shoe"
H "Why?"
D "because it's on my foot and it's mine?"
H "oooh" happily ran off to play toys

I know it's nothing that will knock your socks off but it made us laugh. She is only 15 months old! There was a full conversation going on there! And over shoes. Thats my girl. I do love me some shoes.


For more Tiny Talk head over to notbefore7

Family Night

In an attempt to organize and prioritize our lives we have dubbed Wednesday nights as Family Night. (much more about our quest for organization later) We read out of a devotional at dinner. We have dessert. We play together as a family.

This game is great for family night.







Everyone can play. No one gets left out. And if it's been a long day Mommy and Daddy can sit to play this one.

Of course, if you don't have the elephant game there is always an empty box.

Mmmmmm

I know you were all in awe over my monstrous remote. I'm not trying to evoke jealousy here or anything BUT... check out what else I got for Christmas.

Ice? You got ice for Christmas? No no... I bought these ingredients. For my new ice cream maker!!















Oh, life is good. Especially when there is homemade ice cream around. (which um, there isn't anymore. Not good for the diet.) :)

Get ready to be jealous

I have inherited a love of all things gadget from my father. I was delighted to receive this gift on Christmas.





Because everyone needs a universal remote larger than their tv. (ok, maybe it's not that big) This thing is comparable in size to the keyboard I am writing this on. My dad also bought a calculator large enough to read from the moon. He decided to keep that for himself.

Tiny Talk Tuesday

Joseph (5)has been cracking me up this week. Here are a few things he said that made me laugh...

For Christmas he got a Vtech laptop. He was playing with it, checking out all of the different games. He very seriously turned to me and said "Mommy! I can't blog on my laptop!"
Another day of playing on his laptop.... "I don't think mine has a "B", does it?" All the buttons are there honey. You just can't blog. :)

I don't know where this one came from but he stood there with his arms waving "Ok, I'm officially freaked out!" haha. I don't know where he comes up with this stuff.

Nehemiah is still cracking me up every morning with his method of announcing to the house that he is awake. It goes something like this "MOMMY!! CAN YOU HEAR ME? I COMIN" but he doesn't come. He means come and get me.

And Hannah has taken a liking to a Lego character. A 25cent find at the Re-Uzit shop got us a Lego movie. Jack Stone. It is the first movie Hannah ever sat still to watch. It's 20 minutes long and she will sit for a good 5 minutes. That is a lot for her. I'm trying not to take advantage of this. :) Anyway... she will walk around the house saying "dat done" (Jack Stone) It's adorable.

Well, thats it for our house this week. Visit notbefore7 for more Tiny Talk.

Nehemiah

My dad is a picture taking, photo editing, nut. He recently unearthed some pictures of Nehemiah from this summer. They were lost in a folder on his computer under a few hundred pictures of flowers. Nut I tell you.
Here are a few that he took and actually sent to me. (thanks Dad! I do want more though) :)


I like this one because even though Nehemiah is standing still his arms are still going full force. He always has to be moving - somehow! :)


This one is just a great shot. He is looking like a big boy, not my baby boy. He's going to make the girls crazy when he gets older. (for more reasons than just that sweet face I'm sure)


And then there is this one. Look at those dimples. You can pack things away in there. Look at his eyes. Do you see it? Do you see the naughty little glint? This is Nehemiah. Oh, I could just eat him up.

Havin' a ball

Have you seen this thing? Nehemiah got it for Christmas... and everyone had to try it out...

Joseph
My cousin Paul
My Nephew Ethan
Brother In Law Micheal
Nephew Kegan (he didn't like it)
my sister Jen

Who would have thought that such a strange "toy" would be such a family favorite? :) Oh and in case you were wondering... I have too much hair. It won't stay on my head.

A good night sleep?

I woke up this morning with a horrible pain in my back. I laid in bed for a minute hoping a good stretch would fix it. I was wrong. I drug myself out of bed. A glance at the mattress and now I know why my back hurts. This is what I was sleeping on.