Fun Fun Fun!!!!

(Outside of DQ)

I'm sleepy, but I'll give a quick recap on the day. Brad had to go out of town and I wanted to do something fun with the kids since I get the bum rap of just being "mom" and not doing the fun stuff like Daddy does. Whatever. ;-) I decided that I was going to take the kids to see "Monsters vs. Aliens" or to Chuck E. Cheese. I really wanted to take them to the movies, but after I read this I decided it wasn't the right movie for my kids. =( I was really bummed, because I really didn't want to go to Chuck E. Cheese. I've successfully avoided it for many years. I didn't tell the kids we were going because if it looked too busy I was going to go to plan B. It didn't look too busy so away we went. I knew once I pulled into the parking lot that I was committed to going so I knew I had to really be ready. As I was pulling into the parking lot I heard Haeley saying to Jasmine, "Slap me. Slap me! I can't believe it!" Hahaha. It was so worth it.

They were so excited and then frustrated that we had to wait in line for a couple minutes and not get into it all right away. This was Benjamin's first trip to CEC. We had pizza and lemonade for dinner and then away to the machines!!! Haeley came in with 150 tickets, Benjamin had 110, Gabe had 86, Justin 81, and Jasmine had 69. They got their prizes and then I was done with CEC!!! As I was driving home, I wanted to add a final touch to our fun....Mmmm....Dairy Queen. The kids thought we were going to a furniture store! The rain had let up and it was in the 50s, so I thought we would go to the window and eat our ice cream out at the tables. Unfortunately, the wind was BITTER cold and we lasted all of 5 minutes...that was from the time we ordered, got our ice cream, and made it back to the truck! The kids had so much fun and I LOVED getting to spend that time with them.

And the BEST part of my day...Justin. He had an AWESOME day. Seriously, awesome. He displayed such compassion towards his sister when he accidentally hurt her. He really was concerned that she was okay and apologized and asked for forgiveness without an attitude. Then a little later, he was supposed to be picking up his toys out of the foyer and I asked him if he had done it yet. He said, "No Ma'am. I'll do it right now." And he did it! He didn't talk back today or give me a hard time! I'm so proud of him! OH! And last night at gymnastics he got his first "rip". In other words, he got his first blister from doing the bars. It has ripped away and is now healing nicely. He is so proud of it too, he's been showing it off to everyone that will look. ;-) Okay, I'm going to put some pictures on here and go to bed!

(These are of Justin being very dramatic with his 'rip'.)

What Gabe thinks of me

Here are Gabe's answers

1. What is something Mommy always says to you? Umm. No when I ask you to play Gamecube.

2. What makes Mommy happy? When I obey

3. What makes Mommy sad? When I die

4. How does Mommy make you laugh? When I do stuff funny to you

5. What did your mommy like to when she was little? Read books

6. How old is Mommy? 26 I think

7. How tall is Mommy? 54 feet

8. What is Mommy's favorite thing to watch on TV? NBC news. I mean, NBC

9. What does Mommy do when you're not around? Be on your laptop

10. If Mommy becomes famous, what will it be for? Cause your best the Mom in the whole wide world

11. What is Mommy really good at? Being the best Mom in the world

12. What is Mommy not very good at? Nothing

13. What does Mommy do for my job? Love us to death

14. What is Mommy's favorite food? Coffee (Me, that's not a food, that's a drink) Gabe: China food, Chinese food

15. What makes you proud of Mommy? When you say we can play Wii

16. If Mommy was a cartoon character, who would I be? I think you would be Daisy (Mario Kart)

17. What do you and Mommy do together? Play Wii together

18. How are you and Mommy the same? Our hearts

19. How are you and Mommy different? That you have a big bottom (He gets no dessert for a year!)

20. How do you know Mommy loves you? Cause you always like pray with me and you love me to death

21. What does Mommy like most about Daddy? That he's crazy.

22. Where is Mommy's favorite place to go? Starbucks

What Justin thinks of me

This is what Justin thinks of me...I'll post the other kids' responses over the next couple days.

1. What is something Mommy always says to you? Tells me to um...umm...umm...mmm..do your ABCs

2. What makes Mommy happy? When there's something that you don't tell me to do and I do it.

3. What makes Mommy sad? When I bite

4. How does Mommy make you laugh? When I um..the day when we were kinda fighting a little, like play fighting playing and you kept on tripping me and I was laughing.

5. What did your mommy like to when she was little? Ummm..I don't know.

6. How old is Mommy? 4

7. How tall is Mommy? 6 feet (I'm 5'4")

8. What is Mommy's favorite thing to watch on TV? The news

9. What does Mommy do when you're not around? Cry.

10. If Mommy becomes famous, what will it be for? I don't know.

11. What is Mommy really good at? Wii on Mario Kary cause of how much stuff you got

12. What is Mommy not very good at? Going on a race against God

13. What does Mommy do for my job? To give us kids healthy stuff

14. What is Mommy's favorite food? Ice cream (It's not)

15. What makes you proud of Mommy? When I'm cleaning my room and you just come in and help me.

16. If Mommy was a cartoon character, who would I be? Peach (Mario Kart)

17. What do you and Mommy do together? Play Wii sometimes and watch movies

18. How are you and Mommy the same? Cause we have the same type pants

19. How are you and Mommy different? Cause you're bigger than me and I'm littler than you

20. How do you know Mommy loves you? Cause when I say, "Could I have a snack?" You don't let me have it right now because you don't want me to get sick.

21. What does Mommy like most about Daddy? Cause he goes to work to get us money so I can buy my own toys.

22. Where is Mommy's favorite place to go? Starbucks, because you need coffee to live!

Slacker Alert

I'm such a slacker. I will freely admit it. I've not posted on here in over a week! What's wrong with me?!?!? Last Friday the girls and I went to see Natalie Grant, Chris Sligh, and Meredith Andrews in concert. Oh. my. word. It was INCREDIBLE!!!! We were about 4 rows from the stage. Got some great pics! Meredith Andrews has got such a beautiful voice and a heart for the Lord--and she's from NC. =) I've already bought her CD. Chris Sligh is fantastic. Seriously. He is a trip and then some. The girls got a kick out of him. They didn't leave singing any of his "serious" songs...they left singing, "Rock stars need money...they can't live on bologna sandwiches..." He really has a great voice and is an awesome songwriter too. Now onto my favorite.

Natalie Grant.

Oh. My. Word.

I know that I'm gushing here, but she so deserves it! I love Natalie Grant. Love her. Jenn introduced me to her years ago. She has such a beautiful voice. She's a very real person. I've been to concerts before where the performers where just that---performers. But that's not how it was at this concert. Natalie came out before each set and introduced the artists. She shared from her heart and shared some about her journey. We had to leave a little early because Haeley was tired and her ears were hurting. I went out with Haeley and then I got Jas and we all stayed in the back for the rest of the show. What I didn't realize was when we left it wasn't over. She did an encore and sang, "In Christ Alone". I was disappointed when I found out we missed it. Oh well, can't do anything about that now.

More later...gotta run.

Praises and Prayer!

I totally believe in the power or prayer. I believe that it was nothing but God's mighty hand that brought the many praises from today. At church this morning we had a new family join. There were 3 kids and the parents. I love it when we have new families, but the bigger blessing was having the opportunity to sit in with the 2 older kids (11 and 16ish) and assist Cindy in leading them down the Roman Road. These kids were so open and honest and really desiring to have that relationship with Christ. As all 4 of us held hands we prayed and both of these precious kids prayed to receive Christ as their Lord and Savior! What an amazing start to our Sunday!!!! Our Lord is so good. He continued to reign down showers of blessings today. Our pastor went and visited baby Colten and his family up at the hospital this afternoon. Baby Colten does NOT need surgery!!! He will have to stay in the hospital for about a week yet, but Praise God he doesn't have to have surgery!

And another praise...I think Justin is finally starting to get ahold of his emotions and handle himself better. We don't seem to be having as many outbursts and when we do have them he is getting quicker to apologize and make things right with everyone. This afternoon on the way to church he got mouthy and told me "Oh Whatever!" He was really snotty about how he was talking. I said, "Justin do you need to say something to me?" He said, "Yeah." I said, "Okay...are you going to say you're sorry?" He says, "No." I said, "Okay, then I'm going to pull over and wait until you have calmed down and are ready to apologize. When you are ready you let me know." So we pulled over into a parking lot and waited. We had plenty of time to spare and I was completely prepared to stay there as long as it took. I think we sat there for about 5 minutes...then I heard, "I'm sorry Mommy for talking ugly to you. Do you forgive me?" Of course I told him yes and then that I loved him. Some days are better than others with him and I'm praising God for the little victories that we are having with Justin. Okay...going to bed now...g'nite.

Still need prayers

Okay, I just got word. Baby Colten has been transferred to another hospital and is going to have surgery Monday. He has some sort of blockage in his nose. Please continue to pray.

Prayers...

I'll keep this short and blog more later, but I'm asking everyone that reads this to lift up a friend of mine, Angie and her family. Angie was pregnant and due April 10, but she had the baby last night. It was a really fast delivery and the baby is not breathing real well. He's in an oxygen thing (I know, I'm so technical) to help him breathe. Please lift this family. Thanks. I'll update as soon as I can.

The Front Bathroom

Okay, so we still have to put the door on the bathroom and I need to paint the mirror, but you can get and idea of how it looks. :)

Don't you just love the toilet? ;-)

What a morning!

My oh my. We managed to get quite a bit accomplished this morning. I awoke to find that we didn't have enough breakfast for everyone. I had cereal for two...we fed the little boys and then everyone got dressed and we headed out the door. I hit the healthy Dunkin Donuts for the kids and then we ran to Starby's for me! From there we went to Plainfield and hit a couple stores. I got new shoes for Haeley, Jasmine, Gabriel, and Benjamin at Stride Rite. Gabe was wearing shoes that were 2 sizes too small and Haeley's were right about the same. We found out that Benjamin's right foot is 1/2 a size larger than his left. He's now in an 11W. Jasmine's foot is 1/2 a size larger than Haeley's. I was lucky to be able to get them shoes from Stride Rite because they are on the end of the children's shoes and can wear both children's or women's. Haeley, Jas, and Gabe's shoes were all clearanced and then an extra 25% off. Benjamin's were just on sale. Thankfully, Justin didn't need new shoes yet!!! YAY!

Next we hit Children's Place so I could get the kids a new pair of jeans. They were 2 for $28 which isn't too bad nor is it too good...Unfortunately we didn't get ANYTHING in Children's Place because apparently they don't sell slim sizes anymore. I know that I have bought slims from in there, but they said the only place to get the slims or huskys are online. Bummer. I decided we would check out Old Navy...so down the strip we went. I found jeans for Haeley, Jasmine, Gabe, and Justin. Benjamin doesn't need any he's got a ton of pants. I did find a tank top and a short sleeved cardigan for me though! Whoo hoo!!!

Away we went for haircuts and a carwash. We got Benjamin and Justin's hair cut and they look mighty handsome. Justin has been begging to get his haircut and he was thrilled to get his hair cut. Benjamin did wonderful! I was a little concerned that Benjamin was not going to do well, because he doesn't usually like people messing with his hair. When we went in he said, "I want to sit in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang!" Justin picked the "digger" looking vehicle and he did great as well. Justin always does great getting his hair done though. Then we headed to Mike's Car Wash and got the truck washed and cleaned out and away we went home. So now, it's 1:30 and I'm pooped, but I've got a ton I have to get done on the house today. Which means I'm going to get off here and get busy!

Love Languages

I decided yesterday after another day of me practically pulling my hair out with the sibling rivalry (I put Gabe and Justin in a time out from each other that lasted for a good 5 hours) that I would browse my "Five Love Languages for Kids" book. Oh how I'm glad that I did. I gave all the kids (except Benjamin) the assessment to see what their love language was. It was interesting and enlightening all at the same time! We've been having problems with Justin and his anger for quite some time now and there was a whole chapter devoted to "Love and Anger". I sat out in the garage with Brad last night as he worked on the engine for the Comet and I read the chapter aloud. The book had A LOT to say and it opened mine and Brad's eyes up a bunch on dealing with Justin. I'm hoping that the sleepover will help to alleviate some of the tension that has been building up between the kids.

Justin's primary love language is quality time so I sat down with him yesterday and we played Go Fish and then Memory. And let me tell you---that kid has got a MEMORY on him!!! My word! It was a little embarrassing for me as my 5 year old was kicking my tail on memory. He's good. He loved it though. After we were done, my sweet Haeley wanted to know if Justin wanted to play with her and he ate it up! I loved watching them play together and get along. As the evening went on though, I was noticing a little bit of a sadness in Gabe. I pulled him on the couch and we talked about the day and the way the boys had been talking to each other. He and Justin were missing each other and they apologized for the way they were treating one another. After that, all was well in the Smith household. We then had 5 little "puppies"...they were acting out the parts of the "Buddies" from "Space Buddies" and all the other "Buddy" movies. I love my babies!

A little crazy? Maybe.

Last night I thought it would be fun to let the kids have a sleepover in Gabe's room. Yes, all 5 of them in Gabe's room. Gabe's got a big lot bed with a full size bed on top and a twin pullout on the bottom. So Gabe and Justin claimed the top, Haeley claimed the pullout, Benjamin claimed the futon between the loft and the closet, and Jas took the floor between the pullout and wall. It was going really well until Justin said he was going to throw up. So out of the bed he came and into the bathroom. He didn't throw up, but Brad told him that he couldn't go get back in bed with Gabe because he didn't want him to throw up on any of his siblings. I completely get that, but the little guy was so upset!! So he came into our room where I held him in my arms and rubbed his belly until he fell asleep in my arms. What a precious moment that was for me!!! My little boy may be 5, but he'll still cuddle with his Mama. Here are some pictures of us getting everyone situated...


And then here they all are in the morning sleeping soundly. Justin wound up in our bed. ;)

My boys

You're as pretty as....

I love my kiddos. And I love the things that they say to me. Sometimes I scratch my head after and give a little, "Eh?" Last night I had one of those moments. I was in the school room/dining room writing on the board when Justin came in. Here's the conversation:

Justin: Mommy?

Me: Yes?

Justin: You're as pretty as a toilet.

Me: What???

Justin: (laughing) You're as pretty as a toilet.

I then go into the kitchen and tell Brad that Justin told me I was as pretty as a toilet. He started laughing. And I mean laughing. Then the conversation goes like this:

Brad: Benjamin, tell Mommy what I told you to tell her.

Benjamin: MOMMY! You're as pretty as a toooilet!

Brad is then laughing pretty hard and he says, "I told them to say that you were as pretty as a TULIP!!!!"

So there you have it folks. I'm as pretty as a tulip....or as my boys would say...a toilet. Lucky me. :)