It's summer time again!

It's that time of year again for new summer dos. My little ones got haircuts with the flow bee. Liam is a pro and sat there very still to get one. Gavin isn't in the groove so he cried for a while but then relaxed when he realized it was just noisy but not going to hurt. Gavin's transformation is amazing. He reminds me so much of Austin when he was that age. When he was sitting on Austin's lap later on in the day it was like a strange sense of deja vu.

ANother big change is that Gavin is out of the high chair and sitting in a booster seat at the table. He loves it, especially now that he can touch Austin whenever he wants.

Liam has now mastered going potty by himself at night leaving me and Bill to experience the pleasure of sleeping through the night. I know that this will be short lived since Baby Wyatt will be coming in three months or less to rock my world. The nice thing about going back to the baby stage though is that now I know it won't last forever and as they start sleeping through the night you have other challenges along the way but at least for now they just want to be snuggled. For that I will give up sleep any day because they won't be around forever.

Goofy kids

I have been trying for days to upload a funny video of the kids dancing with sunglasses but google won't let me. Here's a pic of GAvin doing the funky chicken. It's really funny. The other two are of Dylan and Liam wearing embroidery projects that I did. I bought an embroidery machine and have been having fun with it making things for the kids. I plan to do a lot with it this summer before BAby Wyatt comes. I have been really having to go to the LOrd a lot these days with anxiety and it helps not only to pray but to have healthy things to focus on like making cute things for the kids. I have several projects on tap for me this week, a couple of maternity shirts, pajamas, and a nursing gown before I have some jobs coming in. I'm grateful to have work but it's nice to have a break now to get things in order at home.

Praise and Criticism.

Wow! You have your hands full. Do you know what causes that? Can't your husband get another hobby? Maybe this is too much. Another boy? Are you trying for a baseball team? Large families are for sweet people and you , my dear, are not sweet.

This is just a sample of the fun things I hear all the time. Some of them are intentionally snarky and others are saying it out of genuine concern. It has always been hard for me to be diplomatic when people say things that I don't want to hear. I go back to what Oswald Chambers says when he tells people to follow the Lord and leave the consequences up to Him. I don't follow the Lord perfectly to be sure and I fail more often than I succeed. But on the issue the Lord was very clear to us in the message, "Hands off, give control to Me." What a wonderful thing to obey Him in and I love that I can see the face of the Lord in all of my children. I wish that all the people I encounter would feel the same way but I realize I can't control how people feel.

On the bright side I've also heard wonderful comments of praise and support, mostly from my church friends but not always. It is great and reminds me that I need to return positive encouragement to others too.

Who have you encouraged today?

Gavy the great walks!

He did it! Gavy finally started walking on his own. He just took steps totally unprovoked. It was great. By the time I shot this video he was getting tired so he started stumbling a lot but yeah Gavy! It's so wonderful when they reach those milestones.

Christmas Kienbusch style

Here they are, my Christmas photos. We like to go to Bill's family on Christmas Eve. Taylor gets excited and pulls together some sort of festive outfit. We only exchange gag gifts for the adults and we give presents to the children. My gift was from my Brother in law, Bob, who gave me a hair volumizer...nice....just what I needed. Bill got Grecian formula for his mustache. All those grey hairs you know.

Gavin didn't know what was going on but he sure had fun with all the wrapping paper and other babies. He was up and down the couch all night looking at ELlie and Olivia.


We had tons of fun and lots of laughs. Bill has a sister named Wendy who lives in another state and she sent the goofy glasses with elf ears so we took a group shot to send to her. It's great to be a part of a big family like that. It gives me insight as to what type of Christmases I can look forward to in the future when my kids visit me with their families. I'm gonna love it.

One Day Way

I just finished reading One Day Way by Chantel Hobbs and it's a definite must for people that want to lose weight but are overwhelmed with how much weight they want to lose. Chantel is very encouraging and helps people break down their diet/lifestyle changes into bite sized pieces and not looking too far ahead but just doing what's right now.

After having just lost 40 pounds in the last year I can attest to how hard it is to stay motivated and keep on track. I wish I had read her book last year. Her philosophy is simple, make simple goals and stick to them. For example, move everyday. Eat more vegetables. Skip dessert...just today. As you stick to your goals then add more. Don't try to do it all in one week or beat yourself up if you have that piece of cake. Just get back on the horse and keep going.

Pick it up to encourage you in your new healthy lifestyle, you won't regret it. I have a copy to give away. All you need to do is to post a comment and I will draw a name for who gets it.