first "snow"

maddie first alerted us to the freshly fallen "snow"















emmy is all bundled up in her new red coat.















maddie in her spring jacket. her little hand is beginning to freeze.















emmy put on her snow suit in record time to go out and play. to bad she doesn't dress herself this fast for school.

pumpkin picking

last saturday we ventured to stonycreek farm.
we played games, made candles, watched a
black smith make a snake, jumped in hay and
of course picked pumpkins from a pumpkin
patch. here's em with her future jack-o-lantern.










maddie eventually decided to choose one
that she could carry all by herself.












em traced out the cat and mommy cut it using
our brand new pumpkin carving knife.












putting on finishing touches













maddie decided she didn't want to cut a shape into hers,
but she did want to apply paint and marker and tape
all over it.















both created works of pumpkin art.

as a side note, i do not recommend pumpkin seeds as a tasty treat. i thought i was eating mulch covered in cinnamon and sugar.

home

Pray for Craig and Kim as they lost their son Tyler last night from complications with his colon. Tyler went to be with the Lord at 11:19 pm. Pray that God would comfort Craig and Kim and their families. Also pray that God would continue to be with Hannah and Kaitlyn. They are doing fine but pray that they will continue to grow and get stronger.

update on little tyler

Tyler is going into surgery right now. He is having trouble with his colostomy, the surgery he had last night to remove his colon and create a colostomy. Something is not right with it, so the doctors are going back in to repair the problem.

update on the trio

please continue to pray for the triplets. the girls seem to be doing well but tyler took a turn for the worse yesterday. here's the email from his mom:

Tyler had surgery late last night. They removed most of his colon. Right now he has an ostomy bag and they will monitor him and in 6-8 weeks as long as everything is going the way it should he will have another surgery to reconnect his bowels. The surgeon seemed pretty optimistic. He is still sedated and on a ventilator which he probably will be for another couple days or so. Please pray for quick healing and that he does not suffer any pain or discomfort. Also, please pray for our girls that they will continue to grow and be healthy. (They are still at Community North Hospital.) We will not be able to see the girls as much, as we will be at Riley(Children's Hospital) quite a bit now.

thoughts on three

whoever coined the term "terrible twos" apparently never met a three year old.
i like them to spend a hour with my little darling.

em's question

last night em asked if we could "multi-task."
she does have a drop or two of my blood running through her veins.

incredible three! incredible blessings!

this weekend maddie celebrated her third birthday! incredible maddie blows out her candles.








I can see the fingerprints of God
When I look at you
I can see the fingerprints of God
And I know its true
You're a masterpiece
That all creation quietly applauds
And you're covered with the fingerprints of God





Daddy buys flowers for the girls
on their big day. purple!








Never has there been and never again
Will there be another you
Fashioned by God's hand
And perfectly planned
To be just who you are
And what he's been creating
Since the first beat of your heart
Is a living, breathing, priceless work of art















Just look at you
You're a wonder in the making
Oh and God's not through, no
In fact he's just getting started!

current critters

an assasian bug
and yes, as it's name suggests it attacks
its prey and injects poison into it.











a black cricket we've had for two weeks


















a woolly bear caterpillar making it's caccoon


















we've had "cricky" for several months now.

details

last sunday we held a baptism service after church. em didn't see it, but noticed the water in the tank after church, so she started asking questions.
"why is there water in the tank?"
i answered, "because a couple of children were baptized today. after they decided to ask Jesus into their hearts..."
they got to go swimming in church!" em interrupted.
"no, pastor dunked them under the water to show that they wanted to obey God and that they love Jesus."
i stopped. emmy looked concerned. "what's wrong, em?"
"did he let them back up?"
"yes, yes, yes! he always lets them back up!"

"a" is for anaconda!

last friday's show and tell:
emmy brought her rubber anaconda to school.
she advised her class that anacondas are constrictors
and
they eat people whole.

that's my girl.

million dollar evening

we just returned from a capitol fund-raising banquet at our church. we are building a children's wing. we have a fantastic children's ministry, but not enough room for the munchkins. 2.1 million was pledged this evening. of that amount a little over 1 million was collected tonight. nearly paying off our existing debt!

attempt great things for God
expect great things from God

to God be the glory
to God be the glory
to God be the glory
for the things he has done!

little con

emmy convinced the teacher's assistant in her class to make dots in the shape of the letters she needed to write for her seat work. decreasing the amount work she needed to do and making handwriting significantly easier for her. miss lopez discovered emmy's manipulation on the last question and told emmy to write out the last answer on her own. em realizes handwritting is difficult for her (and nothing else is), so if you can talk someone else into doing the work...

to be or not to be

maddie has decided (for the moment) to be a doctor when she grows up. she'll exclaim, "i'm mcateer." (her ped.) good news for our future health care costs!
emmy wants to be a dentist. more good news for our pocket book.
of course after helping pay for college and med school, we will expect free medical and dental care.

pray, pray, pray

Please be in prayer for the Mayse babies. The doctors are pleased with how they are progressing. Praise the Lord!

Kaitlyn & Hannah are on ventilators. Tyler seems to be doing the best. The CAT scans came back with no problems and that is a praise! Please pray for the girls that they would be able to breathe on their own and for all of the babies that they will continue to gain strength.

Kim is slowly recovering from the birth. She is going home today.

the triplets were born this week at 28 or 29 weeks. the parents are members at our church and would appreciate your prayers on behalf of their little ones.

makeup party

emmy and i painted our nails this morning. fun times with my five year old. note: my finger nails have rarely been painted since college. maddie's are painted too - purple!

words, words, words

1. One book that changed your life:
the seven cries of a spirited child - arp
Narnia

2. One book that you’ve read more than once:
Chronicles of Narnia, Harry Potter series, charlie and chocolate factory

3. One book you’d want on a desert island:
Bible, Narnia and Harry, family picture albums
i picture myself floating to the island on a book case, so there are quite a few books.

4. One book that made you laugh:
James and the Giant Peach - Rold Dahl
maddie, emmy and i love it when the aunts get taken out by the peach.

5. One book that made you cry:
The Four Loves - CS Lewis

6. One book that you wish had been written:
i'll take a strong-willed child over a spirit-less child any day.
or
just because she won't count to ten for you doesn't mean she can't count to 100,000

7. One book you wish had never been written:
if i wanted to offend i would respond: books written by Laura Ingalls Wilder, but since i would hate to offend anyone i will not answer this question. :-)

8. One book you’re currently reading:
Mousetrap and other Plays - Agatha Christie
currently Witness for the Prosecution

9. One book you’ve been meaning to read:
Perelandra - Lewis

10. Now tag five people:
1. Sara
2. Lauren
3. Christy
4. Sara

servant's heart

the other evening i was working in the computer room when i thought i heard something odd upstairs. so i made my way up the stairs and heard a familar voice filling the entire second floor. pavarotti seemed to be giving a free concert in maddie's room. then another familar voice greeted my ear's over the famed tenor. "swing your leg over the side. you can do it, maddie. all the way over." emmy was very busy coaching maddie on how to climb out of her crib.
"what are you doing?", i exclaimed.
"i'm helping maddie in her time of need."
i burst into laughter.

first call

the moment we've been anticipating since the first day of school finally arrived.
miss lopez (em's teacher) called us thursday night. there had been an incident. apparently, emmy wanted to sit by lexi during reading time, but two other girls were sitting by her, miss lopez advised emmy to sit on the "c" or the "u". emmy didn't like the choices, so she sat behind lexi. (she's a problem solver.) after reading time miss lopez dismissed the children (by letter) to line up to go home, but since emmy didn't have a letter, she wasn't dismissed. after all the children were in line emmy asked why she wasn't allowed to leave. miss lopez stood her ground and said, "you were given a choice and you didn't make it. before i'll let you go, you need to sit on the letter"c" or "u". after whimpering for a moment, emmy realized the battle was lost and moved. (to the "u")

i'm sure this won't be the last we hear from miss lopez.

ridin' on the bus

wednesday marked a momentous occasion in emmy's young life. i relented and allowed her to ride the bus. my little manipulator waited patiently for the moment mommy weak. maddie was making it very clear that she did not want to take emmy to school. so while i was arguing with a crabby two year old, emmy formulated a plan. she weaseled up to me. looked up with her big brown eyes and said, " you know mommy, i could just take the bus. just for today."

so off she went with a smile of triumph spread from cheek to cheek.

when i picked her up she said, "i think i'll ride the bus tomorrow."

i reminded her - "but you said 'just for today' emmy."

she responded, "yeah i've been thinking about that. i think i'll ride the bus tomorrow too."

so my little one flew the coop on the wings of a big yellow bus.