Quick Update

Man, it has been super busy since school started. I feel like I haven't gotten to take a deep breath in awhile. The girls are enjoying school this year. They love their teachers and once again we were blessed to get awesome teachers for the kids. We just had our parent teachers conferences and heard nothing but good things from all 3 girls' teachers. I love going to those meetings and hearing that they are being awesome at school. I heard from all 3 teachers how the girls were helpful, sweet, good listeners and that they were nice to everybody. The boys are hanging out at home with me. We started Mommy school, but have taken a little break so that I could get my stuff together and help Jarrod out with office stuff. I am now the leader of Emma's Brownie troop and the VP of our district's PTA (it is one PTA for all 3 schools in the district). Brownies is a lot of fun and PTA is....interesting. Definitely very different from other PTAs, but we are working on making it better.
We went trick or treating around the neighborhood this year. Kaitlyn went with some friends and we hung out in the area so we were close by. It was coooold! The kids had a ton of fun and once Coen figured out that EVERY house we went to had candy for him he got really into it. It was really cute watching him trick or treat. The kids were polite as usual and thanked everyone for their candy. The people at the houses seemed shocked when they would do it, but they also thought it was adorable when Coen would get a piece and go "tank yoo".

Thanksgiving was great! It was a rest that I needed. We drove to Bozeman Wed. and did Huffing for Stuffing on Thurs. The weather was wonderful. We started the 5k a little cold, but about halfway through we were stripping off jackets. The 4 big kids ran the 1k with Jarrod and then we all walked the 5k as a family. The boys rode in the stroller and we all made it to the finish in an hour and 5 min. We did our Thanksgiving feast on Friday and just hung out. Saturday night we drove to Coeur D'Alene and took the kids on Santa's Boat Cruise. It was so much fun! It will definitely be a must do for next year too.

As far as family stuff goes, we are doing good. Jarrod's new business is up and running, so we could always use prayers for more patients for him to help through chiropractic. I am helping him any way I can. The kids are getting big! Mia just lost her 1st 2 teeth (2 days apart) and Coen is starting to talk more (finally!). It is fun watching him come into his personality. He seems to have picked up the stubborn from both sides, but like his big brother and sisters he is a sweetie!

Some Halloween Fun

Happy Halloween from the Kiddos-

Personalize funny videos and birthday eCards at JibJab!

and Happy Halloweeen from Me and Jarrod-

Personalize funny videos and birthday eCards at JibJab!

7 Years....

7 years ago today I married my best friend. It has been a great 7 years and we have been blessed with a great marriage and some awesome kids. We have been through so much together and it has only made our marriage stronger. We have pulled together and hunkered down during the tough times and had a blast during the good times. Today, he is still my best friend and I love him more and more every day.
Happy Anniversary hot stuff!

Summer so far...

We have had a busy few weeks and it has been great. No boring summer so far =). We signed the middle 3 up for swim lessons and they have been going great! The first few weeks were really cold, but atleast the pool was heated. Jude did great! He hasn't cried at all. He has been so excited that his teachers have been so proud of him. The girls have improved so much! Emma is doing freestyle and backstroke and working on side stroke, dolphin kicks and breaststroke. Mia is pretty much learning all the same things, but isn't quite at the same level. She still stops quite a bit b/c she still doesn't really like the water in her face. Kaitlyn is also swimming in a Jr. Swim Team twice a week. She wasn't too excited about it, but I think she is enjoying herself now.

Around the end of June Poppie came for a week. We had a lot of fun. We went out to eat, went to the park, drove around checking out the town and we even went to the Rodeo. The Rodeo was a lot of fun. Mia and Jude did Mutton Bustin' and it was sooooo cute. They didn't win, but they loved it and are still talking about it.

Now, Grandmom and Grandad are here visiting. We have been hanging out and having a good time.  Last week Jarrod and I even got a date night (we are going to try and go out again this week), then we celebrated my Bday and Sunday we handed out water at the marathon and got to cheer on the runners. We have had a lot of fun.  I will try to keep this updated, but with family in town it has been kinda crazy.

(I also got a haircut and some feathers for my Bday)

What I've been up to

So, I have been pretty busy lately. Jarrod has been really busy with screenings and stuff so he can get patients and I have been hanging out with the kiddos. I have also been doing a few really cool things (one I started today).
A few weeks ago I started the Maximize Your Mornings Challenge. I discovered this through a blog I really enjoy (Inspired to Action). Basically you get an e-book and you read it then fill out the workbook section. So, I did all this in January, but then put it aside until about 3 weeks ago. While my ideas have changed (I moved my wake up time, I'm doing the Bible Study through the group-Philippians, and I have basically skipped the workout part) I have greatly enjoyed doing this. But, it has been HARD. I am definitely not a morning person, so waking up early is not something I like doing. With the kids still in school for 2 more days it has been hard b/c they get up at the same time I do, so I'm not technically getting quiet time for my Bible study. But, I get it done and that is what matters. As the summer goes on and the kids sleep in, it will work out a little better as far as quiet time goes. The Philippians study has been great, because without it I don't know what I'd be doing for my quiet time with God. I need structure and a focus, so this has worked out well. They gave us a study guide and questions and things to look for everyday. It has really helped me learn- you read the same section for 5 days answering different questions and looking for different things each day. I am doing the summer session and have an accountability group through Facebook. (they do quite a few sessions)
Today I started 21 Days of Prayers for Sons. Basically for 21 days I will be praying for/over the boys 10 times a day. I found this through a couple of friends on Facebook (Diana and Jamie). The creator of the whole thing has a blog that details what the whole idea is about and how it works. I have joined a group for the summer session of this also. This is also based on an e-book (available for purchase on the blog) that comes with some background info, different topics to pray about and a list of prayers based on the topics. I love the list of prayers. Each topic has 10 prayers (the 10 you would do for the day) which totally helps me out since I have a little difficulty in that area. It gives you pretty specific stuff to pray for and the spots to insert you child(rens) names. I have already prayed for the boys twice today and I am so excited to see how this goes. The author of the e-book/blog  (Brooke) also posted this the other day and I thought I'd share it-

{Originally posted at the M.O.B. Society, I like to post this article the day before the start of the 21 Days of Prayer for Sons challenge.  Perhaps you need to settle this issue in your heart once and for all.  There’s no time like today.}

This parenting of the male species is hard.
Whether you have an adventurous boy, a scholarly boy, a rambunctious boy, or a bookworm boy. A little boy, married boy, big boy or somewhere in between boy. Sinner boy, saved boy, sanctified boy.
It’s still hard.
I’ve watched your words, you boy mamas, and I confess: I’ve been totally overwhelmed with what God is doing through this community. I’ve rested my head many nights speechless that God would allow me to kneel with you and pray for His hand in our boys’ lives.
Several times I’ve asked God, “what are You doing?” And other times I’ve read about a mom’s deep burden for her son and all I could utter was, “O God.”
He hears our groanings.
The coupled pain and hope that keeps a mama on her knees wears a carpet thin.
But He hears you.
And God is for you.
You are the apple of His eye. His beloved. His thoughts toward you are many and His plans for you are good. He will never leave you nor forsake you.
When your son takes his first steps and you realize for the first time that your baby is growing up…God is for you.
When you give it your all and his heart doesn’t change…God is for you.
When you wake up and he’s five and you realize there are already so many moments you’ve missed and will never get back…God is for you.
When you realize the home life you desperately wanted to provide for him isn’t going to happen…God is for you.
When you realize how your own sinful choices have affected him…God is for you.
When you’re defeated and ready to quit…God is for you.
When you see the desires of his heart and realize that they’re not always good…God is for you.
When your son gets hurt or that thing you always wanted to protect him from happens…God is for you.
When his heart doesn’t belong to just you anymore…God is for you.
When he makes choices that hurt you, no, devastate you…God is for you.
When the threads of your carpet are worn bare from the praying, begging, hoping in God to complete the work He started…God is for you.
And His heart for you is good.
As we prepare to join our hearts in prayer for 21 days tomorrow, perhaps the one thing we should settle is this:

God is for us. And His heart for us is good.

promised pictures

Here are the pics I promised. They are Kaitlyn's Bday and Mother's day (my craft table painted and my gift from Jude).
Bday-
We got a cookie dough cake from Cold Stone. It was super yummy.
She had 2 friends over and they had cupcake fondue.
Our gift to Kaitlyn was a real haircut at a salon in town. The places like great clips and cost cutters have butchered her hair in the past, so we gave her a "real" haircut. We went to Barnes and Noble and scoured the magazines and found this cut. She looks great with bangs.
Mother's Day-
I asked that we paint my craft table that has been waiting for a few years to get painted. We did the top in chalkboard paint and the rest in Purple Dragon. Jarrod suggested the stripes on the top. I think it turned out great!

Jude made me a flower bud vase at the Lowe's Build and Grow. (He didn't want to take a picture) I love the vase!

You need to read this

I just finished reading this post.
http://simplekids.net/three-friends-parent-needs/

I loved it! We really do need those kinds of friends. I NEED those kinds of friends. I NEED a friend who will help me move a body (check out the link to Brene's post for the info on this). Once upon a time I thought I had friends like that. But, I have come to realize that maybe I was mistaken. I have called and messaged those friends and I just get ignored and passed over. I don't really like to get close to people because I usually end up getting screwed over. So, when it does happen I hope it's with the right people this time. I mean, I have "friends", but I WANT friends like this. Friends that I can depend on, that will be there if I call at 3am b/c I just want someone to talk to, that will be there for me to vent without trying to "fix" me. Thankfully I have that in my husband, he really is my best friend. He fits all three of the descriptions in the post, plus he would definitely help me move a body and I'm pretty sure he'd say the same about me. But, I'd still really like to have a girl to chat with. So, I pray maybe I'll find somebody like that cause I think I need it.