Funny Things They Say!

Last night before we went to dinner Eli asked if he could have a suzy back ride. We laughed so hard!!! He was trying to say piggy back ride. Then we got to the restaurant and Jake asked the waitress for some Papa John cheese. Of course he meant Parmesan cheese. They kept us rolling all night.

Fun stuff!

Well, we have been trying to have fun without leaving the house since the gas prices are so high. Yesterday, we decided that we were going to make our favorite cookies in the whole world! I turned around to put some of the dishes in the sink and my little cookie monster was trying to put the whole spoon of dough in his mouth. Eli just wasn' t interested at all He just kept giving us a fashion show while we were cooking! We had a great day and at after dinner we had some amazing cookies!

It is official! Eli is potty trained. It has been a long hard road getting to this point! I guess you could say that this was my first experience as a potty trainer, being that Jake just walked up to me when he was 2 and said "Mom, I want to go in the potty". Eli has been his cute little adorable self, just like his mom...... Stubborn. He has fought it the whole way. I knew he had really gotten it when we went to the park the other day. If any of you have little boys you will understand that we when you go to the park your boys will not do anything to jeopardize getting to stay longer. So I thought okay, this is the test. We had been at the park for a while, the boys were on the playground and I was flying a kite when I turned around to see Eli squatting down absolutely naked going to the bathroom on the rocks. Usually, a mother would be disturbed by this, but this was the happiest moment in my adult parenting life. He had gotten it, at all cost.... do not go in your underwear. The only thing that saddens me a little, is I know I will never talk Nick into having a third child now that there are no more diapers. I just want to say CONGRATULATIONS ELI! YOU ARE A POOPING IN THE POTTY MACHINE! THAT' S WHAT I AM TALKING ABOUT!

Back on the Blog, Back from Africa

I know don't even say it! I have been awful about updating my blog. The last six months have just been a little crazy. However, there are no excuses and today the 23rd of May I am making a new commitment to my family blog. It has a new look and I am motivated.

I recently returned from a medical mission trip to Africa, which was amazing. Actually, I struggle with the words to describe it. I have to say.... it is awkward when someone says, "How was your trip?". The truth is there are no words. How do you describe seeing millions of children without food or shelter, without someone to love them, or trying to understand that the only reason that they have that life and not me is God's grace. I experienced so much I could literally tell you story after story that would break your heart. I know that there is no description of these people and what they go through on a day to day basis that I could give that would be an accurate account of their life. I will tell you what I learned however, and how I was forever changed! It's funny, at the beginning of the trip I was an emotional wreck. You can imagine what it did to my soul seeing 5 year old children taking care of babies because they had no parents due to AIDS, and children that only get portage served to them three times a week as their only food supply. After a while though, I found myself jealous of them. These people had such an amazing love for life and for their Savior! I remember being in tears at one point thinking I will never know God the way these people do! They depend on him for everything and they trust that he will provide. Sometimes I think that I am so blessed and I have so much abundance and resource around me that I wonder if I even know how to trust God like that. I began to yearn for the love they have and the heart they have in the midst of having nothing. Okay, sorry about the deep thoughts I could go on forever, but there is a little glimpse of my trip and what God did in my heart. I love all you guys and thank you for your prayers and thoughts while I was there.