Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas

I totally stole this from my friend Darby's blog, but I thought it was super cute:

I hope my boys will be this thoughtful and wise when they are 13. Merry Christmas!!

I know this is getting obnoxious....

But I just had to post this picture...I'm just one proud Mama! Ethan (and that's Gabe in the background) is part of Sesame Street's e-"holiday" card!!

Also if you click here and go to the right hand side about 3/4 of the way down there is a link that says "Military Families Highlight Video", click on that and you can watch a video, we are about half way through it (it's not super long). Or you can try clicking here and it should take you right to the video!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

Double Extend

I tried this mascara today. It's Loreal's new "Double Extend" mascara. Let's just say I don't feel doubly extended. Hoping tomorrow I'll have better luck. 11 days until Christmas. I gotta get my Christmas cards out...sheesh!

Memories of Rob

Check out this video from Rob's funeral. It's a little long but really shows how much Rob loved his family, friends, and country.

Rob

Our dear friend Rob went to be with the Lord yesterday afternoon.  Greg and I are devastated.  Neither of us can fathom the fact that it is really true.  

2 Corinthians 5:8 says to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord.  Rob's body was so broken and I know he is now cheerfully whole with the Lord.  I think the angels are rejoicing to have him home.  

Please pray for his family, for his wife, his children, his mother and all those who have been touched by his life.  I sit totally in numb of this loss.  

Rob you fought the good fight, you finished the race, you kept the faith (paraphrase 2 Timothy 4:7) rest in peace my friend.

Happy Thanksgiving!

We just came from a fabulous meal at the Kules house.  It was so yummy and so fun.  Hope everyone is having a great day with friends and family and counting all of our many blessings!!

A Fork in the Road and SkippyJon Jones

Joel has entered the inevitable and very annoying picky baby stage. It drives me crazy. Two months ago that kid would eat ANYTHING. Meat, veggies, fruit, etc. Now, almost nothing. His two current favorites are bananas and white bread. I'm fairly certain you cannot live on bananas and white bread, I'm also shocked the child can actually poop...(TMI?)

One almost sure fire way to get Joel to eat is with the use of a fork. Forks some how inspire him to try new things and even eat a few things that he wouldn't normally eat without one. Strange child, I know.

Joel has been super cranky lately. I hope/pray that is because he is getting new teeth. Look at this face it just screams "QUIT LOOKING AT ME!!"

On a silly note...you know this time of year is very dangerous for Turkeys...because of this we had to disguise a Turkey for Ethan to take to school.

Isn't our SkippyJon Jones turkey they cutest thing you ever saw!! Plus the boy holding it is pretty darn cute too!!

Maybe

Maybe when we finish the basement I'll do something like this:

Then maybe I won't feel so chained to the one set I have.  Don't get me wrong, I love my washer and dryer.  They are 1000x more efficient then my previous set and yet I feel like laundry is all I ever do.  Wash, dry, fold, wash, dry, fold....

Yummy Yogurt

Have you had these:  

Man oh man are they good!!  They are the Gerber Graduate Yogurt Melts, they come in strawberry, peach and mixed berry and they are DELICIOUS.  They totally remind me of the astronaut ice cream we used to get as kids.  They are a bit pricey for the amount you get (almost $3.00/bag at the Commissary) but we all love them!  Greg even says that if he ever deploys again that I need to put these in his care package!

Honking

Am I the only one who is glad that the elections are over?  Virginia is a battleground state, it's no joke.  We received knock after knock on our door and phone calls.  Signs were EVERYWHERE and the TV ads, my goodness!

On Tuesday morning I awoke early.  I hadn't slept well the night before, I was too excited to go and vote!  (Is that sad or extremely civic minded?)  I called my parents on my way to the polls.  It was barely 6AM when I made it to the school and the cars were everywhere.  No joke, there were probably 300 people in line in front of me when I got there.  Luckily, I only had to wait an hour to cast my vote and I must admit I rather enjoyed the election day camaraderie.  

After I voted, Greg and I began our pathetic trek around the city to get all the voting "freebies".  I picked up a free coffee at Starbuck's and then we headed over to get our free Krispy Kreme!!  YUM!!  We probably would have headed over to Ben and Jerry's for our free ice cream cone had Joel not vomited all over the backseat and himself.  (If at all possible do whatever you can to not have to give your baby a bath in a Target bathroom...I nearly threw up at the thought of it!)

On our way to Krispy Kreme we passed and honked at these McCain fans over by the Pentagon:

I love the guy in the middle, his sign says "Dudes for McCain".  Too funny!

Speaking of honking...the other day Gabe kept asking me why "Jesus honked at the grave".  For the life of me I could not figure out what he was talking about and kind of changed the subject.  Finally we were sitting in the kitchen and he very adamantly said...

G:  "Mommy, why did Jesus honk at the grave?"

M:  "Gabe, I'm sorry buddy I really don't have any clue what you are talking about"

G:  "You know, like in the song Mommy"

M:  "What song Gabe?"

G:  "Mighty to Save...it says Jesus HONKED at the grave"

M:  (light bulb moment...giggle...giggle...)  "No Gabe it says Jesus CONQUERED the grave, it means he beat it!  It means we get to go to heaven when we die if we believe that Jesus died on the cross for our sins"

G:  (sheepish little grin) "Oh...(under his breath)...Jesus honked at the grave (giggle)" 

Man, constant reminders that "little pitchers have big ears", huh?!  I'm glad he's paying attention!

Henan Doodles

Sam was only 17 months (exactly) when Ethan was born. Evidently "Ethan" is very hard to say as a toddler so Ethan became Henan, which for me became Henan Doodles. I don't know when we dropped this nickname, but it kind of makes me sad. It means he's growing up, he's not a baby. On Sunday, the 2nd, Ethan turned six. It's hard to believe I gave birth to him six years ago in a crummy little L&D room in Fort Riley. He has been trouble (all good) ever since! Here are some pics from his big day:

The cake. It's an edible light saber. We had a Star Wars theme if you couldn't tell! The base of the saber is made out of Rice Krispie Treats. The covering on it is Plastic Chocolate. It wasn't the best tasting "cake" in the world (very sweet) but it sure was fun to present him with it!

Blowing out the candles!!

The birthday boy!

Most of the Spencer clan. Joel was taking his siesta. Check out our blue teeth!

Daddy putting everything together with some help from some boys.

On Wednesday, Ethan had an appointment with the Pediatric Ophthalmologist at Walter Reed. They have been following him to prevent a lazy eye. More proof that my baby is getting older, check this out:

I'm not sure how we are going to be able to get him to consistently wear these (they are just readers for now) but isn't he cute! He picked them out and is very proud. We go back in six months and he may be getting bifocals then, YIKES!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ETHAN!! WE LOVE YOU!

Halloween

Obi Won (we joked that he was actually Jesus, creepy mask, huh?!  One neighbor actually said...are you some sort of religious figure?  HA!), Batman, Darth Vader, and a Cute Skunk

With all the loot!

My lil' stinker!  He had a blast doing Halloween.  His favorite part was twirling glow sticks!

Joel is finally standing and attempting to walk!  He pushed up to this all by himself!  Notice the candy on his front.  I had just recently fished a drooled on M&M out of his chest hair!  

A Call to Action from Nancy

If any of you have talked to me for more the 10 minutes you have probably heard the words..."Well, my friend Nancy...".  I have heard the phrase is often repeated in reverse..."Well, my friend Heather...".  We are very close.  We have similar views on life and child rearing, etc.  When her husband Ryan was hit by an IED in Iraq, November 29, 2005 we were totally devastated.  Ryan has since made an amazing recovery.  One of the things that helped Nancy get through the long days in the hospital was her "Caring Bridge" site.  Yesterday Nancy and I went round and round about which site would be more effective for getting information out about Rob, Blogger vs. Caring Bridge.  We finally decided a blogspot would be extremely useful and Nancy set about creating the site.  I wanted to post her take on commenting on other people's blogs in these types of situations.  

Aside from the prayer, (I know this may seem simple) but pass on this website, visit it, and COMMENT on her entries!  I CANNOT explain how much it meant to me to hear from perfect strangers that they were praying for my husband.  You might feel odd signing the blog of someone you do not know, but I PROMISE you that she will appreciate it.  The Yllescas family needs to feel the whole world loving on them and praying for them.  PLEASE.  If you have your own blog, consider posting a link to his website (as well as my encouragement for comments!) 

Let's make them feel all of our support today, tomorrow and in months from now.  This is a long journey they are on...  it will be more than a year that Rob is doing rehab for his injuries, and it will be the rest of his life that he struggles with his 'new normal'.   Check in on them, and check in often.  I know it seems like a small thing, but I can tell you personally that it makes a difference.  If you don't quite know what to say, go with something simple- "Our family in Mesa, Arizona is keeping you in our thoughts".

Take care,

Nancy

If you haven't already go comment on their site.  It's like voting...early and often people, early and often!  Thank you to Erika and Beth who have already commented so far!

Rob's site

Rob is still in Germany.  The doctors are working hard to get him ready to transport to either Bethesda or Walter Reed.  A blog was created so that everyone can keep up with Rob's progress.  Please go check it out and leave a comment.  Even if you don't know Rob and Dena your comments will be cherished!  

www.yllescasfamily.blogspot.com

Keep praying, miracles can and do happen!

Update on Rob

I know a lot of you are praying!  Thank you.  Rob is still in very critical condition.  They will be transporting him out of Afghanistan tonight.  In order to stabilize him they did have to take both of his legs.  While this is a horrible thing we (army families) know a lot of people who do amazing things on prosthetics.  Nancy (a fellow Army wife and the wife of an amputee) and I are anxious for them to get here so we can love all over them.  The best we could do last night was "make them dinner" by having four piping hot pizzas delivered which is driving us crazy that we can't actually make food for them ourselves.  (Army wives love to feed people).  Continue to pray for him as things are still not totally stable and their is a very long road ahead of them.  If Dena (his wife) starts a Caring Bridge site I will be sure to post the address so that everyone can pray specifically for their needs.  

Praying for Rob

Rob is the handsome stud on the left.  He is an amazing man, father and soldier.  Rob was Greg's XO in Iraq.  We have a special place in our hearts for Rob.  About 24 hours ago Rob stepped on a land mine in Afghanistan and is clinging to life.  Thinking about it makes my teeth chatter and my body shake.  Please pray for Rob, for his wife Dena, and their two little girls. God is big, he is the Great Physician.  Moments before I found out about Rob the boys and I were singing this song:

I am a wounded soldier, but I will not leave the fight, 

Because the great physician is healing me

So I'm standing in the battle in the armor of his might

Because his mighty power is real in me

I am loved, I am accepted

By the Savior of my Soul

I am loved, I am accepted

And my wounds will be made whole.

Kind of ironic, huh...Pray any time you think of it, I know because of this studly soldier face on the right...

...that prayers do work and that even the most impossible injuries can be recovered from.  Greg and I are off to drown the day in chocolate...

Reading Rainbow

I have a few hobbies. I love being a wife and mother, I love watching TV, I love being crafty, and I love to read! This summer I was so pumped to join our churches book club. I was not as excited when I found out that we would be reading biographies. BLEH! Until this year I thought I could only read fiction, boy was I wrong.

Our book club is the brain child of a wonderful friend, Anne Marie. She has a similar passion to mine and I was overjoyed to find out that she loved reading the Shopaholic books just like I do! Since we both enjoyed similar silly fiction I figured I could trust her choices in nonfiction and dove into the selections.

The first book we read was "The Hiding Place" by Corrie Ten Boom. I will never grow weary of reading this book (this was my second time). This is an amazing story of God's sovereignty even in the midst of Nazi occupied Holland. I will be brief in my synopsis but "The Hiding Place" chronicles the Ten Boom family as they hide Jews in their home and then as they go to concentration camps for their "crimes". Their faith in the Lord in the midst of their trials and their willingness to forgive is amazing. My favorite part in the book is when Corrie and her father see German soldiers herding Dutch Jews into a truck:

"Father! Those poor people!" I cried...
"Those poor people," Father echoed. But to my surprise I saw that he was looking at the soldiers now forming into ranks to march away. "I pity the poor Germans, Corrie. They have touched the apple of God's eye"...


It gives me goosebumps just typing it. What an amazing book. I can't wait to share it with my boys.

The book we read for July was "A Thousand Resurrections" by Maria Garriott. This book was about a white husband and wife who move to inner city Baltimore to be missionaries and to raise their family. The book goes through the last two decades of their lives, through poverty, through jobs, through racism and scares. Many people in our club felt the book was unpolished and not well written but I actually enjoyed the rawness of it. Maria and her husband have a passion for bringing Jesus to places in America where most people don't want to go, I applaud them for that. This book really opened my eyes to the despair that goes on in our country mere miles from our doorsteps!

Our final book this summer was "Elizabeth Prentiss: More Love to Thee" by Sharon James. I thought for sure this book was going to get me. Not only was I not a huge fan of non-fiction books I was really opposed to reading non-fiction about people a century or two ago. This book totally changed my mind. Elizabeth Prentiss (1818-1878) was a Presbyterian pastor's wife, mother, and author, well known for her hymn "More Love to Thee, O Christ" and the didactic story "Stepping Heavenward" (1869)(more on that book to come). The first couple chapters of this book were great, I will admit the middle dragged, but the end picked back up again. Am I the only one who feels as though their trials are brand new to mankind or to God? This book slapped me in the face with the truth that people have been suffering the same problems due to the fall of man since the beginning of time. As soon as I finished her biography I picked up her book "Stepping Heavenward", I haven't finished it yet (I have a bad habit of reading about 5 books at once) but when I do you will hear about it!

{yes that is Elizabeth on the cover, not her hubby...I too was shocked}
[information about Elizabeth taken from Wikipedia]

On the last day of book club Anne Marie challenged us with a few other books from her repertoire. One of those books was "Shopping for Time: How to Do It All and Not Be Overwhelmed" by Carolyn Mahaney, Nicole Whitacre, Kristin Chesemore, and Janelle Bradshaw.
I think a lot of people look at me and think "how does she do it all", well let me tell you A LOT DOESN'T GET DONE! That's why I needed this book. I have a confession to make...my house is not spotless in fact it is often rather cluttered. I struggle with getting it ALL done and having time for my family. Here is what I took away from this book:

• Time management is like shopping. Women shop for the best deals in clothing, food, etc. Why not shop for the best deals on our time. Ephesians 5:15-16 says "Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil". I want to be a better time shopper but I want to do it the way the Lord wants me to. I'm weary from not discovering and doing God's purpose in my day to day life.
• The first tip in the book is Rising Early. WHAT?! I can't get up early...yes you can. If I can anyone can. I've joined the 6AM club...which often becomes the 6:15-6:30AM club but I'm working at it and it's working. I get up early, I shower and get dressed and make-uped. I make the bed, surf the Internet briefly and then have a quiet time with the Lord. If your not a Christian maybe you can use this time to make a to-do list and read something inspirational. For me having a quiet time means reading my Bible and a short devotion and then typing my prayers. I kept trying to pray just by closing my eyes but kept falling back asleep, so typing works well.
• Another tip in the book is Sitting and Planning. This tip is going to take awhile for me to institute. They suggest taking a personal retreat and planning out your year and which of their seven suggested priorities need to take precedence during the particular season in your life. I do know that right now for me that "Loving my family" is huge in my life. With a lot of young children at home it has to be one of my top priorities. I'm okay with that and know their will be other seasons where they won't need me as much and I will be able to focus on other priorities.
  
• I was also encouraged by this book to make more friends. I have a tendency to hide out in my house and clean and do laundry and not work on friendships. I need to do better in this area.
  
• Lastly I was encouraged by a quote in the book by C.J. Mahaney: "Only God gets his to-do list done each day. We are not God. We are finite creatures with serious limitations." "Only God accomplishes everything he needs to do in exactly the way he intends, in precisely the right amount of time. Only God!" That's comforting!
• Along with this book I have been failling miserably at doing "Fly Lady". Does anyone else use this system of housekeeping? I know it can work!
  

Well, I hope you have enjoyed today's version of Reading Rainbow. I have really wanted to share what I have been reading and hope you will be encouraged to pick up some of these books as well!  What's your favorite book?

I'm Sorry I just had to post this...this is for you Dad!!

Tim Gunn...where are you when I need you!

**Since no one wants to insult me by commenting...I've added a new survey!  Answer away anonymously in the comfort of your home.**

I used to consider myself fairly trendy. Recently I have been watching the high schoolers walk home from school and quickly learned that I am no longer even remotely trendy.

On Monday I went to Nordstram's Rack (which I LOVE) and purchased these:

They are super comfy, they are "Privo" which I guess is an off shoot of Clarks. I only paid $40 which I think is a great deal but here is my question...are they cool? Would you wear them? I must say the picture doesn't totally do them justice but after four children, 8 years of marriage and basically being locked in my house all day long I have totally lost my sense of coolness. I really have wanted to get a pair of oh so trendy flats but I can't find any I really like and I am really concerend about having cold tootsies. I hate cold feet. I need some advice PLEASE HELP!!

Rock the Vote

I'm sure most of you are not shocked that I will be voting for McCain...so it is no surprise that we jumped on the opportunity to go to his rally this weekend.

We showed up to this:
There was no way we were standing in a line five to six people deep and at least a mile long. It was cool to show the kids a little bit of history (It reminded me of the time my Nana grabbed her kids and ran them down to the airport to shake {I believe} Truman's hand, my Dad still remembers it and he was a wee little thing at the time.)

When we stopped to take this picture we could hear the crowd chanting "Sarah, Sarah, Sarah". I hear she wasn't actually there (she was preparing for SNL!) but it was still cool to hear!

Of course the road to the rally had a few Obama supporters along the way. These signs were kind of clever even if I don't agree with them:
There was another guy next to him also claiming to be a plumber.

Lastly this car was in front of us as we were driving home:

People put crazy stuff on their cars....all though if you know who get into office I might be printing some of these myself ;0)

Enough....about politics....but either way go VOTE!

P.S. Go read my last post about my new nephew!!

Levi Michael Akin

Here are those pictures I promised. My favorite so far is the one in the car seat. I so wish I could grab him and kiss him and love all over him.

Can you see the familial resemblance? Up top is Levi, below is Joel. My boys have Spencer hair but those little faces look awfully similar!

Congrats Nina and Tim!!!

These are Days....to remember...

Ahh...I love Natalie Merchant/10,000 maniacs....

Okay, there are so many things I want to blog about and so little time.  

First my baby sister just had her first baby!!  Welcome Levi Michael Akin!  He's pretty cute...I'll post a picture soon.

Second, am I the only one on the planet who just found out that Vera Bradley makes furniture/pictures, home decor, etc.  OH MY GOODNESS, they are so stinkin' cute and I now know where I will be spending my coveted furniture budget.

Three, I have been reading some great books that I want to share with everyone!

Four, I never finished that vacay list...sheesh, I'm further behind then I thought.

Five, I want to post some pictures from Sesame Street Live and our Pumpkin Patch!

Stay tuned...I'll be back as soon as I can reattach my head...I'm running around here like a...oh you know!

Where Did These Children Come From?!

My children are NUTS. I had to post some pics of them hamming it up. Ethan is quite the camera poser these days!

Joel's cute little bootie in the background cracks me up!

They LOVE playing barber in the bathtub. They comb each others hair in all kinds of crazy ways!
Check out that grin! He even says CHEESE now when he sees the camera!

Finally a true grin from the Gabers. I have found having him say "PICKLES" actually kind of works in inducing happy eyes and happy smile.

Joel doing his best Cousin Eddie impersonation. Joel has had cradle cap for MONTHS. I have tried everything. Selsen Blue dries out his scalp so last night I thought I would try Baby Oil which my neighbor swore would work. I'm fairly certain it didn't work but we did get some funny pics of his greasy hair. I had to wash his hair SIX times, the last four times with Dawn Dish Soap, to get all of the oil out.

Once again Ethan being silly for the camera. His eyes were closed on purpose.

Who is this kid?! He's crazy!!

I am so glad it's Friday. It's been another LONG week.

FIERCE

I LOVE Project Runway.  I have fond memories of watching reruns of the first season all snuggled up in my bed with my Mom and sister in Kansas.  It is COLD in Kansas so what better way to spend Christmas vacay then with the girls watching some fashion!

I must admit this years show was not as spectacular as years past.  I felt most of the designers were rookies at best, while other years they gave some of the greats a run for their money!  I will send out a huge Congrats to Leigh Anne.  Her collection was beautiful!  

Okay, getting to the point....As all fellow Project Runway watchers know, last season's, Christian Siriano, coined the term FIERCE so I when I saw this headline this morning on Fox News:

Omar Strengthens Into Fierce Category 3 Hurricane

I couldn't help but think of a really fabulous Hurricane with great style and an awesome pair of shoes...what could be so bad about being hit by that?!  I know, I know I have a very odd sense of humor...humor me!

Do I need one of these?

It's a rice cooker in case you are wondering...they had one on clearance at Target.  It was $30 off making it $30 which makes me think that no I do not need one but I've heard they are handy, plus with four boys I figure I will be making A LOT of rice!!  Any thoughts?

P.S.  I'm adding a survey on the side bar!  Be sure and answer!

Never, Never, Never

*UPDATE*  The pie was SO NOT GOOD!  The apples were terribly bitter and I could barely taste the Caramel Sauce.  I worked for HOURS on that thing...if you have the September Southern Living, do not bother making the pie on pg. 120...all day for nothing...I will have to post my ol' stand by recipe soon...there is a reason why Emiril named it the "Apple Pie of His Eye"!

Drop one of these:

I used to have this scale....or at-least one very similar to it...until this afternoon.  

Greg and I were supposed to go to dinner tonight at Greg's new bosses house.  I thought I would make a new apple pie recipe I had as a nice "thanks for having us over" gift.  I had just finished the (homemade) caramel sauce that goes over the top of the pie when I went to to put away my measuring cups.  Somehow I managed to knock my scale off it's shelf which promptly landed on my granite counter tops and then exploded into a million pieces.

Thankfully the glass was tempered...also thankfully my children had just gone in the other room.  There was glass everywhere!!  All over my feet, my counter, my stove top, my floor EVERYWHERE, including my caramel sauce!  I seriously considered just fishing out the two large pieces I could see but would have felt really guilty had we all ended up with throats cut up from little shards of glass in my sauce.  I currently have a sliced finger from one wayward piece of glass as well as several little slivers in my feet...not to mention the chunk the scale took out of my granite...Greg's exact quote was "Baby you heal...but there's a chunk out of our granite?!"  I see where I stand in all of this ;0)

So I finally get back from the bus stop and finish my completely homemade apple pie which has now become a thorn in my flesh, only to have my baby crawl over and barf at me feet.  What a day, what a day.  Let's just say we won't be going to Greg's bosses house and this pie better taste like a slice of heaven!   

P.S.  How in the world do you spell bosses as in boss possesive....Joel is screaming at my feet and Ethan is yelling at me from outside...I have no brain cells left...is it boss's...boss'....bosses...oh who cares!

Neighborhoods

One of the reasons we chose the neighborhood we bought our house in is the amazing community it's in. We are about two miles from our church, grocery stores, post office, gymnastic, libraries, pools, parks, etc. It seems the grounds crews are always beautifying something.

Yesterday I thought I would try to be super Mom and take the boys to our HUGE park. We had a ton of fun, why haven't I done this more often!! By the time we got home there was no energy to run in the house, thank goodness!

My little thumb sucker with his favorite blankie. The two are becoming rather inseparable (good thing we have two!).

I love, love, love those cheeks. And that face....classic Joel checking out his brothers!

Why are all my children in "I'm going to smile like a weirdo" phases?!

Lovin' the swing!

"See this rock Mommy, it's the perfect one for me to eat!"

Pretty cool park, huh?!

Okay I did get at least a couple good smiles!