Trial Run....

So God worked things out (as He always does), and organized a 'trial run' of sorts for me.  After writing my 'rant' last week, I got a call about being a substitute teacher for a gal I used to teach with before I decided to stay home.  The gig would be 6 weeks, morning kindergarten and it is even the same school I taught in prior to 'retirement' (that's what Ryan calls it)!  How perfect is that?  Naturally there was a bazillion and one obstacles including CHILD CARE and some other random things.  The Lord worked them all out in a way that COMPLETELY confirmed that this opportunity was indeed from Him, and it was indeed right for me AND MY FAMILY.  What a blessing to have that peace.  I don't need any outside affirmation now that I know I am called to this, be it short-term, venture. I feel free from the desire to explain myself and seek approval of my friends.  I don't know what will come my way for next year, but I know that this opportunity will be an amazing trial run.  I can serve, seek the Lord, pray and make a far more educated decision about the next year! Thank you Lord for wisdom from You!

An asian restaurant or a wedding...

 The other day Mason was ' up to his old tricks'!  I keep lots of rice in the house (hence the title 'An asian restaurant or a wedding) and Mason took the liberty of distributing it throughout the house!  Grrr....I was less than thrilled!

and later that day he and Mya also did this...farewell to one of my favorite decorations!

Mason and Mya are so good (for the most part) but together it's like a slumber party gone bad.  They sort of encourage the mischevious aspects of each other.  Sometimes it's kind of funny and other times I want to cry!  I wanted to cry about the rice but the  bowl was sort of funny! :)

Gardening 101...preperation

Yesterday I got the grand idea of getting some flowers to plant the whiskey barrels in the backyard and all the random pots I have around.  I'm sure this doesn't sound particularly abnormal, but the thing is...I hate gardening.  I don't like working in the yard at all.  In fact, I don't even like the garden section in stores.  Everything is wet and dirty.  Don't get me wrong, I don't mind getting dirty in the name of something fun, but gardening? Really?  It just isn't fun, it's just work that gets you filthy!   All that to say, when I decided to go get flowers...it was relatively out of character for this mama (Ryan definitely raised his eyebrows).  What isn't out of character for this shopper is PREPARING for the activity.  Yesterday my desire to go look for plants gave way to shopping for the gardening gear.  I decided to go for green and pink (#1 rule: always have some sort of theme).  I got cute little yard shoes (lime green), pink yard tools, a pink and green kneeling pad, green gloves and a few other odds and ends.  I didn't just 'run into these items'....I hit Target, Wal-Mart, and Fred Meyer.  Looking back this all sounds relatively ludicrous, but at the time it made perfect sense. Fortunately I did eventually  get flowers, potting soil and all that good stuff but since it was raining I didn't get to start.  I will definitely update you all on my new gardening adventures! 

I had my mom take my picture with this 'statue thing' because it said, I love gardening!

This is my loot from Fred Meyer...I exchanged the gloves though because on my way out  I found some that were a way better green!

Ag-Fest!

The kiddos loved the pools full of corn.  They dug, drove and played until we finally pulled them away!

The kiddos all got balloon animals (or swords :)) We had a tough time convincing Mason and Mya not to eat their balloons.  Needless to say, these didn't last very long!

Chickens...

Mmmmm......

I love ice cream!

This definitely makes a girl VERY happy!

Ag-Fest this year was better than ever.  I think we've made it every year, and we always love it.  Ryan was working, so we went with Nana, Auntie Rachel, Addi and Lilly!  What a fun Sunday afternoon...

Wisdom...

Today I am feeling like I need some 'mama wisdom'. It is always the cry of my heart to do what is absolutely best for my hubby and kiddos. I love serving them by making a home that has meals prepared, bills paid, sheets changed, clothes washed, pictures scrapbooked, gifts bought, books read...etc (the real stuff that has to get done by someone) . A home that is peaceful and a blessing. On the flip side of all that is my personal longing to teach again--not just my own kiddos but in a professional setting. I long to get up in the morning and have a reason to wear real people clothes (not just yoga pants), and accomplish a task that is measurable. Motherhood is the most important job on the planet (and the highest of callings, in my opinion) but in the day to day grind of motherhood is scraping dried macaroni off of the heater vent, wiping pee-pee from the bathroom floor , washing the same shirt 3 times to get a stain out (with Zout and Oxi-clean), and cleaning moldy bath toys. Somehow those things don't feel like such a high calling in the moment. Are you tracking me?

I am feeling especially torn and confused as to what to do with all these feelings (besides the obvious answer of giving them to the Lord). I want to feel truly content with wherever the Lord has me...home, working part-time...I just don't know. What to do, what to do...

"If any of you lacks wisdom let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach...."

Fun stuff...

A few fun pics....
Shauna and I took Logan, Ella, Mason, Mya and Ethan to the Gilbert House.  Naturally the kiddos had a blast!

the kiddos got soaking wet in the bubble room...

natural gardeners...agriculture is in the blood I suppose

and so is shopping...even if it is in a pretend grocery store

Ryan and I also made it to the Young Life auction this year....Our dearest buds Josh and Becca came too!  It is always a hoot to see Dan be the auctioneer.  This year he was cowboy Dan...Yeehaw!  Not only was it a blast, we got some really great stuff too!

We got $1 bills in our balloons this year.  A few years back we got the $100 bill in our balloon..It's hard to top that! 

Josh and Becca...

New Baby...

My best friend is having a baby.  Denee' (and her hubby Travis) are due on cinco de Mayo...and I am so stinkin' excited to find out if this sweet baby is a boy or a girl.  I am also so excited to see him (or her, but my insticts say him...) be born.  This will be my first time witnessing childbirth (other than my own if that counts).  Denee' is like a sister to me and we have been through a lot together. I am overjoyed to share this time with she and Travis. 

This past Sunday I went to one of Denee's baby showers.  She looks so incredibly amazing (as always)...she's a darling pregnant gal as you can well see.  She got great gifts! I got her a bunch of random stuff off her registry and stuffed the remainder of a large box with nursing pads.  It was pretty hilarious, even if I do say so myself.  Just a couple of weeks left.  Congrats Denee' and Travis.  I can't wait to meet the newest Kroeger.  Did I mention that I'm so excited?

Preganant ladies eat first! Especially at their own baby shower!

Together...

Dress that belly up with a bow!

Dress 'em up!

 Occasionally Logan, Mason and Mya bust out the dress up clothes!  Mya loves to dress up, so I have started buying 'boy-approved' dress-up clothes (aka not fairies and princesses) for Mason and Logan.  Logan has taken well to the fireman and railroad conductor outfits but I still have to work on keeping Mason out of the fairy and princess outfits.  Needless to say, Ryan doesn't love his sons wearing pink and purple dress-up clothes.  Even so, I think these pictures are PRICELESS!  In fact, they should probably be in a Mastercard commercial...

Nana and Papa got Mya this purse for Easter and she LOVES it! She has a mirror, lipgloss, keys and sunglasses in it....It's her newest prize posession.

We'll miss you!

This weekend Ryan and I took the kiddos up to Tacoma for a BBQ in honor of my brother who is leaving for Iraq.  It was sort of a mini family reunion too. We 'camped' in a cabin for the weekend .  The kiddos ran, played in rocks, explored EVERYTHING and Logan even got to do some fishing with his dadddy.  We had a really nice time.  These were a few of the highlights I just had to share...

The 'group shot'

The princess shared her ice cream cone with me!  How sweet...

A patriotic theme is only fitting, don't you think?

What's not to love about that smile?

and that one too! 

Right in front of our cabin was an unfinished walkway that quickly became a rock quarry for the boys.  PERFECT!

Fishing...unfortunately they came home empty handed!

Super...

Aren't these shirts a hoot? I found them at Wal-Mart for 5 bucks each...It's hard to tell in the picture but Mya's shirt has ruched sleeves and the S is pink with sparkles.  Mason's shirt has that 'old school' look.  Talk about great play shirts.  I also got them Batman ones similar to these. They weren't super excited about posing for a photo, but I just couldn't resist!

Good Morning God!

Good Morning God! This is your day. I am your child. Show me your way!

Out of the mouth of babes...Logan was singing this little tune around the house this morning (of course I jumped in too), what a blessing children are.

Lord, help me to remember the words of that little tune, remember what a blessing my children really are and cherish these precious, fleeting moments of life!

Click, click, click...

Imagine this as a slideshow of events over the last couple of weeks... Nothing too exciting, just enjoying the Easter season, spending time with friends, celebrating birthdays, and laughing really hard at our goofy kiddos!  They seriously get funnier and funnier each and every day (that's why I stuck some of the random photos in here)...Enjoy!

Ryan turns 32!

Mason thought celebrating daddy's birthday was pretty cool!  He found some crazy old sunglasses of Nana's in one of the kitchen drawers

We love play-dates with our good friends Kylie and Melia

This is my 'grill-friend' Melia

We painted Easter posters...

and the little kids made sticker scenes!

Later that week I made yummy Easter cookies with my cousin Ella

Logan's attention span for decorating cookies was minimal...but hey, they tasted great!

Logan at an Easter egg hunt with friends...

Logan and the Easter bunny

Family picture on Easter...no, the lake shouldn't look like that in April!

Ryan and I...

I didn't get a group photo of the kiddos on Easter (could have something to do with the fact that we left early because Mason puked all over) so I thought I would put this up so you could at least see their cute little outfits~

Mom (Grammy) turned 60!  We celebrated and made a fun banner that said "Still Wild at 60!"

I forgot to take a picture of the table (cheetah..wild...you get it right), so I threw this photo in here so you could see our  theme.  We got grammy navigation for her car!  Happy 60th birthday Mom...

too funny to keep out...

These two have the craziest antics....they are 100%  best friends!