Lord, are you teaching me to vacuum???

Tuesday afternoon the kids were playing in the den and I walked into the kitchen to wash a bottle for Mariah. I heard her coughing, but didn't think much of it because we are all sick. After a minute or two I heard a gasp and ran in to see Mariah fall back and stop breathing. I grabbed her up and screamed for Jordan. I laid her face down in my arms and started back blows. After about 3o sec she coughed up a large piece of wood, who the heck knows where she got that. Of course she was fine, but it really scared me. That happened to Chase at about the same age at Mom's house. After I calmed down I was thinking of what God could possibly be teaching me through this incident, and then I thought, Lord are you teaching me to vacuum??

Moments!

God has given me yet another great week with my most treasured gifts, my children. Even while I feel sick as a dog, just about to hack up a lung, my kids never cease to make me laugh out loud.

Pat a cake!

"Pat a cake,
pat a cake,
baker man,
bake me cake fast you can,
roll, roll, roll
deh-dah-lee-dah-lee-dah-lee-dah-lee." - Chase Binder

More Milestones

In the past month Mariah has been doing new things everyday. Her crawling is getting better and better, she is starting to say sounds "dah," and now she is pulling herself up on whatever she is close to. She is even starting to take steps, while holding onto something of course. Oh, and by the way, remember when I mentioned that she was our mellow and calm child, well she outgrew that. Mariah is turning out to be as wild and full of energy as Chase is!!

Food Fun

I found these cool pancake molds at Williams & Sonoma. I am trying to be more creative in my food preparation for Chase, just to make it fun. I liked these because they were only $18.00 for a set of three molds (Lion, Monkey and Elephant). Chase loved them, but I think the most comical part was watching my try to make them the first time. As you can see the elephant didn't make it, the monkey was a little crispy, but the lion was perfect!!!!

Is there room for prayer?

Tuesday night I ran up to the store for some grocery's. While sitting at the stoplight, I started reading the bumper stickers on the truck in front of me. The first one caught my eye, "Religion kills brain cells" and the second took my breath away, "Nothing fails like prayer." Even now, I shudder to strike those keys. I immediately started praying for the soul in that white truck. My mind started to ask why? how? What could make this person put that sticker on their vehicle? Was it a tragedy, an unanswered prayer, a wrongfully answered prayer? I started to beg God to touch this person, to have me or another Christian come into their life that day. I felt like I had to intercede in prayer for a person I didn't even know. My thoughts then wandered to an even more disturbing event earlier that week. A woman I know received a phone call at work telling her to pick up her daughter from school because she had just tried to commit suicide on school grounds. What is worse, the daughter is 7!!! Oh yes world, we need prayer now more than ever. Why, because God is there when no one else is, God is there waiting for us to spill out our worries and fears, and most of all, because God will never leave us or forsake us. Please take a moment to pray for all the "white trucks" that you see on a daily basis, and all the "7-year-olds" that feel they have no where else to turn.

. . . and more pictures!

To be a child again.

Last week Jordan and I took the kids to the Children's Museum. I was very surprised at how much stuff they had for the kids to do and how well it was laid out. The place is very spaced out and has plenty of room for kids to run and play. There is learning for all ages. Chase had a blast, but you could tell he was a little overwhelmed and shocked by all the millions of kids there. He ran from one thing to the next without stopping, and made a few friends (I wonder who he gets that trait from!). The train room of course was the highlight of my child's day. Of course they had train tables set up for the kids to play on. They were great, but the agony of leaving had Chase in the restroom twice for a little redirection and lesson in obedience!!! We will definitely be going back in a couple of months, hopefully this time all of the tidewater school system will not be there!!

Mariah on the move!

Mariah has been crawling and sitting up since 5 months, but being a busy mom of two I have just recently had time to film it. Mariah is doing things much faster than Chase did, probably because she can either move out of his way or get bonked. She is a very funny little thing, she only crawls to things she really wants. Most of the time she is dying to get her hands on one of Chase's toys or secretly slip into his room. Of course then I hear, "No Ma-ya-ya, don't touch it. Mama, Ma-ya-ya is touching." Oh my, sibling rivalry has begun!!!

Chase's shadow!