My Sticker Chart

Recently we began giving the kids an opportunity to earn an allowance. With this began the creation of their very own Sticker Charts. Being that we have a variety of ages for those able to earn some cash, we also have a wide variety of "chores", some of which are really just behaviors we would like them to improve on. I got to thinking what MY sticker chart may look like if I were to have one. Here are a few I came up with:
Kids Chart - No Time Outs
My Chart - Take a Time Out! Sometimes a break is really needed to refresh and regroup. I have a Really hard time admitting that I need to take some time for myself in order to "behave" better.
Kids Chart - Finish your meal before leaving the table (can you tell we have a 3 year old!)
My Chart - Take time to eat 3 meals a day. I can not tell you the last time I sat down and ate breakfast in the morning. I am "too busy" making lunches, getting kids dressed, brushing said kids teeth, getting shoes and coats on, etc. I REALLY need to make time to at least eat...maybe my morning would go better :)
Kids Chart - Dress yourself in the appropriate clothes for the day
My Chart - Get dressed in something other than jeans and a t-shirt. Since becoming a mom my attire has REALLY suffered. I joke that I try to make sure the kids always look nice because then no one will pay attention to what I look like. I however enjoy looking nice and classy even with being a mommy!

I could go on and on, but you get the point...it appears I need to work on my own improvement a little bit and I intend to do just that :)

BATS

I LOVE hearing about everything Delson is learning at his new school. It is AMAZING what he can all take in when there is not the chaos of 25 kids in the room. Last week he was learning about bats and we had this conversation on the way home from school:
Delson: Mom, did you know that even if you do not like bats you can not kill them? They are God's creation and you do not want to make God cry by killing them.
Me: That is true Delson, we don't want to kill living things (praying in my head, God PLEASE do not let a bat show up in the house as I KNOW I would go postal on that!!)
Delson: Mom, did you know that the bats are running out of caves? Maybe we should build a big cage for the bats so they don't end up gone like dinosaurs!
Me: Ummm, I am not so sure that is a good idea...

Rainbow

Today as Micah and I were riding down the street I had the pleasure to be with him when he saw his first rainbow. I know we have tried to point them out to him before, but he never could really see it until today. Nothing is better than sitting in the car with your 3 year old while they are in total amazement at God's beauty. He even knew that Noah was the first person to see a rainbow (thank you WONDERFUL Sunday school teachers!!) and we could use it as a learning opportunity to talk about God's promises. What a Wonderful

The Joy of Raising Boys

Today the boys were playing outside and I ran in to answer the phone. I went to look something up for someone and was going to head back outside when I hear Micah crying and see a neighbor lady walking toward the house. I run out the garage door and see Micah riding up on his bike balling as Delson yells, "It wasn't me!". Well, the neighbor lady askes me to walk with her to her house (3 houses down) and says that my son was destroying her antique wooden sled. We get there and she shows me the 3 boards that were broke and thrown in her yard. I apologize over and over then ask how we can make this better. She says maybe he can come and rake leaves, I said that would be fine. I then said that he has been really into being a fireman lately and I think that he gets carried away thinking things are real, then I state "I guess that is what happens when you are 3". She says, "3?? Oh no honey, it was the older boy!" The whole time I thought it was Micah because he was crying SO loud and Delson said it was not him when I came out. So....I head home with my new info and have a LONG talk with Delson. He says he does not know why he did it. I have him get his money out of his piggy bank and make a I am sorry card to bring down. He delivers his "gifts" and says he is sorry and will NEVER do it again. We then talk again to get to why and he explains that they were playing fireman and he was pretending it was a car on fire and used a shovel as an axe to get the "people" out of the car. He claims that he didn't think about how it was just pretend and that we can not do that. We had a long talk and had him do some work around the house tonight instead of playing...oh the joys of boys :)

Fall Fun Pictures!

The post you have all been waiting for...pictures! The kids have been LOVING the nice fall weather we have been having and have enjoyed getting out in the leaves and apple picking! Here are some fun pics of what we have been up to!

Did you miss me?!?

I am back. I have REALLY missed my blog and I hope that you all have too. So, since it has been SO long since my last post, I will give you some updates on how everyone is doing:
Sitota is now a beautiful 10 year old little lady. She is in the 4th grade and currently goes to Carl Traeger elementary school. Recently Sitota started ballet and LOVES it. She also is very into cooking and takes a kids in the kitchen class. Sitota has enjoyed taking swimming lessons and is now at a level 3. She is looking forward to trying out for a local children's musical in a few weeks. We have had some bonding issues and she is struggling with abandonment issues regarding her family in Ethiopia, but we are working through those things and have made Great progress. She is a true blessing and her smile can brighten a room.
Delson is now 5 years old and still full of energy. He started Kindergarten this year and was struggling with the large class size so he will be starting at a Lutheran school this week. The fact that he will be the 8th kindergartner there will be a HUGE blessing. He is enjoying getting outside to run and ride his bike. Delson's favorite thing to do is build things and he is Very good at it.
Micah is now 3 years old and smart as ever (along with that comes that he is sassy as ever too!). He started preschool through our rec department and LOVES going to school like the big kids. He goes 2 days a week for 2 hours, which is perfect for him. He also did dance and gymnastics through the rec department, but is taking a little break while in school. Micah's big loves are race cars, airplanes, and fire trucks. He is loving his time with mom while the other kids are at school :)

As far as me and Scott, we are preparing for our mission trip to Haiti this December. We will be going with a team of 5 people from our church to Haiti. This will be truly a life changing experience and we are truly blessed to be a part of this team. Also, after MANY discussions we feel that our family is now complete and rather than focus on any additional adoptions we are going to put our energy into what we are blessed to have. This was actually a difficult topic for me as I have felt like I was being led to add one more child to our family, but I am finding the joy in what I have and realize that no one can fill the void I feel but God. I am trying to take some more time to focus on myself as I have not been good at taking care of me and it shows. By taking care of me I feel I will be able to better take care of my family as well.
Well, that is what is going on. I am going to try to be more faithful to this blog to let everyone know what is going on...and of course will get some recent pics up soon!! - Melissa