eat sleep and farm

A couple weeks ago I caught this cute moment with Jase and the girls. I had the camera with me and had to catch a few shots. :)

As a stay-at-home mom of 3 small kids, I often feel like all I say is "No, no. Say yes Mommy. Look at me when I'm talking to you, please listen and obey" etc... I often wonder if any of it is really getting through to them or if I'm starting to sound like a broken record. All 3 of our kids are sick with colds right now and so we've been taking it slow today, in my hopes of trying to finally kick this thing. Rachel got to watch a video (we've really toned down on TV the past couple months) Ethan got to play the DS and I did a lot of cuddling with Kara. I realized Ethan had been playing the DS for about an hour, so I went and told him it was time to put it away. He whined and complained, talking about how life wasn't fair and how I "never" let him play for long. I was busy trying to calm Kara down and so I had to leave his room and tend to her... all the while thinking "I wish I had 2 bodies so I could deal with Kara and now deal with Ethan....

On January 4th and 5th we had fun with friends at our house! On Sunday, our good friends Cody and Chanel came over after church and we had a blast visiting with them. They're expecting their 1st baby in August, so they're getting in lots of practice time. :) On Monday our friends the Bartoks came over for breakfast and wii fun. They're expecting their 4th baby in July, so youngest brother Connor was getting in some baby time as well. :) After everyone left, Ethan and I sat down for some wii fun. He taught me how to play Mega Man, which I was actually pretty decent at!

Thank you all SO much for your prayers - Jason accepted a job last week! Its a job that he's had on the table since December and last week they made him an offer. The job is based out of Sacramento, but is 100% telecommuting, so that's a huge praise! We're feeling so blessed and thankful to God for this quick answer to prayer. Thank you all again for your prayers!

Another Keith Green favorite. I have no idea why, but I want this song played at my funeral. I think because I want people being pointed to Christ. Where my life will end, I would pray other lives will begin, spiritually speaking. This song became my all time favorite after God saved me and I had it memorized within a day or two. I hope you all enjoy it. "Rushing wind blows through this temple, blowing out the dust within. Come and breathe Your breath upon me; I've been born again! Holy Spirit I surrender, take me where You want to go. Plant me by Your living waters; plant me deep, so I can grow. Jesus, You're the One who set my spirit free! Use me Lord, glorify Your Holy Name through me. Separate me from this world, Lord. Sanctify my life through You. Daily change me to Your image; Help me bear good fruit. Every day You're drawing closer, trials come to test my faith. But when all is said and done Lord, you know, its been worth the wait. Jesus, You're the One who ...

I love Keith Green. I love his music, I love the relationship he had with God. I love his passion in his music. I love playing his music on the piano. Last night I was thinking over a lot of things, feeling very prayerful and serious and this song came to my mind. This song always reminds me of the grace I have in God; the hope I have in Him. I love the closing line "please wash me a new, in the wine of Your blood." My eyes are dry, my faith is old. My heart is hard, my prayers are cold. And I know how I ought to be, alive to You and dead to me. Oh, what can be done for an old heart like mine, soften it up with oil and wine. The oil is You, Your spirit of love. Please wash me a new, in the wine of Your blood.

My friend Gretchen works at a salon in San Ramon that sells this amazing line of baby products. I bought a few travel sized lotions and diaper cream when Kara was born and was immediately hooked. Gretchen bought me the full sized kit as a gift for Kara and Jason and I (and our kids) have fallen in love with it. I'll never go back to the old stuff, which was Method Baby. I like Method Baby (and it is cheaper) but this stuff is simply wonderful. Try the sample sizes and you'll see. Very little goes a long way and your baby will smell delicious and feel absolutely divine. I put some lotion on Ethan's cheeks last night and this morning he still felt like a new born baby. Ahhhhhhhh......

Many of you already know this, but some probably don't. I'm not sure how many of you read Jason's website (hi Laura!) but I'm assuming the majority of you don't. Back in December Jason's company had to make some serious budget cuts and they let him know that as of February 1st they would not be able to keep him on full time. We were sad to hear it, mostly because this has been an awesome job for Jason, but we knew God would continue to provide for us and so we began praying and Jason began calling contacts and looking for work. Seemed like he was going to get a new job the day he began looking, but one by one, jobs that looked good, soon became obvious that they weren't a good fit, doors that seemed to be opening, were being shut very quickly and interviews that originally went well had to call back and let him know that they did not get 2009 beginning of the year funding and so they also couldn't pay him a decent salary. So after about 3+ weeks of this...

Jason and I took a Bradley Method course in prep for Kara's birth and last week we had a reunion party. Everyone came (minus one couple) and it was fun to see the cute babies and hear all the birth stories. Amazing to me how different each story was! In the picture: L-R Barrett & Christina Owen James 23 hours of labor Jason & Stef Kara Joy 10 hours of labor Our instructor, Gina Joel & Olivia Lucas Jonathan 4 hours of labor (and barely made it to the hospital!)

I'm not doing as well with this "blogging after having the 3rd baby" as I thought I would be. I also think I've decided that I don't agree with the 2nd baby being the hardest. For me, having a 3rd has definitely been more trying. I guess having the 2nd makes you learn how to multi-task, but I will probably always say "if you can have 3, you can do any number!" By the time our busy days are over, the kids are bathed, put to bed, bathrooms and kitchen cleaned, all the clean laundry put away and then time spent with the husband... my brain just feels too fried to write anything worth reading on here. Believe me. You'd all feel punished rather than entertained. We flew back into our normal routine this past week and I've decided that when nursing a 3 month old (which I've never done before) and taking care of 2 toddlers, I do not have as much energy as I used to. I've been forced to get myself on a better bedtime routine, not because I wa...

I was looking over the agenda for the week ahead and started thinking "oh brother, another busy week!" But then I looked over it a second time and found myself so thankful. Thankful for the amazing Bible studies and classes I'm able to go to, thankful for my amazing friends, thankful for my family, thankful for 3 healthy kids, thankful that I'm able to be this busy and capable of handling it all :) Just thankful for the life God has given me. Its a good way to start the week .... thankful.

The past 3 months have just flown by! I took these pictures last night, so they're nice and fresh :)

this is pretty much how we spent New Year's Day :-) Ethan seemed to like our friend Jess a lot. :) Kara's favorite place to be - the Beco carrier Ethan gave his bed to Chase for the night but he didn't want to sleep on the floor, so he slept in Kara's crib, since she still sleeps in our room. Abe Green & Jase My sister Emily Our friend Peter, from church. Our childhood friend Anna Lutz (Kara loved Anna!)

So tacky... I took a picture of the TV screen at 12AM :) Around 11PM on Dec. 31st My sister Emily and her friend Anna the guys, playing C.O.D. Me with Kara

More "around the house" pictures I just found. I find Ethan on the floor with Kara so often throughout the day. Rachel loves doing dishes with me. I hope this desire sticks well into her teen years. My sister Emily. Proof that she isn't afraid of babies. :) Kara Joy- 2 months pushing Kara in her doll stroller

Happy New Year, fellow bloggers! I always love the start of a new year. Sometimes its been because the previous year wasn't so great... I cannot say that for 2008. It was a pretty great year all around. We feel so blessed and so ready to see what God has in store for us this year. We had a nice holiday week and have been enjoying Jason's time off work. He doesn't go back until the 5th, so we've got fun plans to look forward to for the rest of the weekend. New Year's Eve was a lot of fun! Our friends Abe and Jess Green came over with their little 2 year old son, Chase. The kids had a lot of fun with Chase (and boy, has he grown since we last saw him!) coupled with the typical toddler banter over who gets what toy, wrestling like Kung Fu Panda and deciding where each child would sleep and bed time and nap time. They have spent the last 3 New Year's with us and it gets better every year! We've known Abe and Jess since our single days and I have to say, we have ...

when she's out, she's out. :) he's a natural! so Rachel had to try :) adoring her baby sister He says Kara makes his heart happy. :) I'm having fun buying matching outfits for the girls :)