Caden the puppy

I have to share this because it is quiet honestly the funniest thing that my little man has ever done.

Caden loves to pretend he is an animal usually it is a dinosaur or a frog but today he chose to be a puppy. First he and Casey disappeared into her room for a few minutes and came back out with him on all fours and her holding a belt draped on his back like a leash. She said "Mommy I have a puppy!" and Caden barked in a agreement.

Next he needed breakfast (usually we have a family breakfast but today is tuesday and Joe has a 6:30 a.m. bible study at church) so I decided that they needed to have dry cereal so they could continue their game. Casey now at this point thought it would be more fun to be the puppy too instead of master so she was now on all fours. I let them eat their cereal on the floor like a dog would and they really enjoyed eatting the best they could using only their mouths no hands : )

Casey went back to being a dog owner at some point had to  be taught the correct way to train a puppy so we spent some time "training" Caden to sit, stay, beg and speak.

Eventually Casey lost interest and went to playing other things and I started cleaning the house but a little time later I heard my little puppy pawing at the door. I figured he was going to run around outside like a dog and play so I opened the door and out he ran then he pulled down his pants and peed!!!! I was freaking out I couldn't believe it I mean I don't care if he goes outside when we are out there and stuff it was just a total shock that he did that. After he was done he just pranced his little self back into the house with a bark for good measure.

So this was the high light of my day today and I thought I would let you all in on it because it is something I will probably always remember : )

Oh and by the way Casey was completely grossed out by her brothers behavior and scrunched up her nose and informed him he was a "bad puppy!" LOL

How to stop the complaning child

This morning and really this whole weekend Caden has been a whiner. I mean not just a little I mean a BIG one. I HATE it when he whines I really really do so this never goes unpunished. Usually taking away the toy that is causing him to complain or a trip to put his nose in the corner works but sometimes it just stops it for a while which means he has to have a spanking (yes that is right I spank don't go getting all bent out of shape I would never abuse my child). He isn't usually like this, he really is usually a big sport and does everything I ask without much question (except the normal WHY? because he loves this word and wants to know everything now) but he has been sick and when he is sick he whines. I understand I do that too.

Today we needed to go shopping because frankly I needed flowers and mulch for my front garden because it was pathetic and we have company coming in a few weeks. Caden usually LOVES shopping and I always bring snacks. Today he didn't want to go though and he was pretty much pouting the whole way there much to my displeasure. So we go to Target where he got in trouble for complaining and touching things that are not his. He really wasn't so bad once in the cart he just sulked cause he doesn't like to have to sit there. I was sure this was going to be a long shopping trip.

Then we went to Home Depot! The garden section and like magic my son turned into a wonderful child that you never would believe was ready to walk home rather than continue to shop just mere moments before. So we got what we needed (well except top soil for mom she didn't see what she needed) then went home where I got the kids in swim suits and we headed outside to work. Caden is an excellent gardener, just ask him! He pulled weeds with me and helped me dig the holes for the flowers and helped spread the mulch all over  then he insisted he water the plants by himself. Now in the midst of all of this Caden let me in on the secret to not having a whining child!!! He told me while we were busy pulling weeds that "Mommy I am not whining anymore because I am busy pulling weeds. I can't whine and pull weeds because I am busy!" I was like alrighty then! From now on when we have a whine problem we will be heading to the garden so he can pull some weeds!!!

He has been great ever since we went swimming and right now he is cleaning up all his toys and books before we head to Grandmas house for family night dinner. He is also teaching Casey how to make her bed "the proper way" and asked if he could dust for me.

Moral of the story is have a garden full of weeds so your children can be busy ; )

Crazy Weekend

This past weekend was so crazy fun I am still tryng to recover LOL

It started really on friday morning with me trying to get ready for the business that was ahead. I cleaned the whole house and went grocery shopping in the morning made sure the kids laid down for a nap. Though they actually never slept for some weird reason that day probably because I needed a nap :)  Joe got home from work around 4 and  my mom got the kids and we hit the road.

This weekend was  Jeni's birthday so Joe and I went up there to celebrate with her, Jarrad and JoAnn. Jeni started a tradition of going to Disney on her birthday when she was really little and when we became friends in 2nd grade she started to take me with her (something I always LOVED!) when we finished school though we didn't keep up with that so this was the first time in a long time we got to do it like we did when we were little : ) Having our hubbys with us made it even better!  We went to Animal Kingdom and Epcot on saturday then went out to dinner. I think we all discovered we are getting old because we were all exhausted! It really was very funny I kept going between so tired couldn't hardly think to then thinking everything was absolutly hilarious and being just plain silly. Joe at one point informed me I was just way passed tired when I started laughing at myself and doing corny things : ) Joe and I drove home that night because I had sunday school and nursery duty in the morning but thankfully the lady I teach with said she would handle it by herself so I got to sleep in till the kids got up at 7 so that was very  very kind of her since on the way home around the 100 mile to go mark we started having to yell and celebrate every 10 miles so that we wouldn't  fall asleep. Joe is older than me and didn't bounce back as nicely as I did yesterday (you know those 5 years diff make a BIG difference) He pretty much stayed tired all day where I went back and forth of tired to having spurts of energy (Joe also informed me I was very cranky at times). We had lunch to celebrate my Grandpas 85th birthday and Mothers day for June. We got home around 3 and took a nap for a while then I headed back to church to support our Youth Groups drama which was awesome I was so proud of them.

This morning was very nice we slept till 7 and then the kids have been so great and played and helped me clean. We are just taking it easy for this week. I think we will go to the library tomorrow since the kids love that so much and just enjoy the week.

Something to Remember

So I have been reading a lot lately and trying to branch out from my normal christian romance and mystery books to some of the non fictional christian books on our bookshelf. Right now I picked "Willing to Believe (the controversy over FreeWill" by R.C. Sprout. Joe loves these types of books so I figured I could read them too and then we discuss them : ) So anyway the reason for mentioning this is  a ran across a very good thing to remember...

Robert godrey, president of Westminster theological Seminary in Escondido, California, recently suggested that I write a book about "the myth of influence." I was startled by the suggestonn because I did not know what he meant. he explained that this phrase refers to the modern evangelical penchant to "build bridges" to secular thought or to groups within the larger church that espouse defective theologies.

The mythical element is the naive assuumption that one can build bridges that move in one direction only. Bridges are usually built to allow traffic to move in two directions. What often happens when we relate to other is that we become the influensees rather than the influencers. In an effort to win people to Christ and be "winsome," we may easily slip into the trap of emptying the gospel of its content, accommodating our hearers, and removing the offense inherent in the gospel. To be sure, our own insensitive behavior can add an offense to the gospel that is not properly part of it. We should labor hard to avoid such behavior. but to strip the gospel of those elements that unblievers find repugnant is not an option

I think that this happens a lot I have seen people try to reach others for Christ but end up not being an example of what God wants us to be like because they end up doing exactly what the non believer is doing and I have seen people try to reach others through force or lack of tact and kindness. Jesus was always kind and loving and very humble but he also NEVER failed to do what God expected and never watered down anything just so others might be a little more open to it and so people wouldn't think he was a freak. Since we are supposed to strive to be like him I think we need to work harder to make sure the line is clear and stays clear when we are trying to win other for Christ. So next time you decide you are gonna show your friends that christians can have fun too so you go to a party or hang out with your friends make sure you are still showing God and not just joining in the way others are talking or laughing at someone elses expense because everyone else thinks it is funny. You will reach a lot more people if you don't laugh but also don't point out that they are all horrible people for being so rude and unkind.

Okay well just my thought of the day : )
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Chickens...

So anyone who knows me knows that I am a total animal person I LOVE animals!!! Never met a animal Ididn't think was cute or want to take home with me...except chickens. Out of all the animals in the world I find birds the hardest to love (meaning have a bond with I love all Gods creatures). I did have a bird when I was in like in the fith grade I believe named Cindy and she was great I would let her out at bed time and she would sleep on my pillow but then she died rather quickly of unknown problems. We have had just about every animal that would be on a farm growing up we had a steer, pig, goats, pony, horse, lots of dogs and cats and of course geese, ducks and chickens. I had a rather unfortunate incounter with our gander while water our flowers outside one day which started with a hunk of my thigh being removed and me grabbing the think by the neck and shaking it (don't worry he was fine but he didn't ever do that to me again either). The female geese never bothered me I liked them I also loved the ducks except for the fact that our backyard was like one big minefield and my sister and I had to clean out their little swimming pool twice a day YUCK!!!!! Then we have the chickens...now frankly chickens aren't all that bad but roosters are another story for me. For some reason these creatures know I dislike them and they follow me around! I am serious even when we went to England we stayed at this bed and breakfast that was on a farm and the stinking roosters (and chickens) followed me around from the minute I would open my door in the morning! My mom found it funny and taped it I didn't think it was that funny. Incase you don't know roosters have these claws that they use to attack things. THEY HURT! I am not commonly attacked by them but since was when we had them in our backyard I now kinda fear them so them following me is not my idea of a relaxing time.

Oh and how about the crowing! I mean how annoying is that! I am not a city girl. I love the smell of horses (yes even the less flattering smells they can produce I don't know I am weird I love it), pigs don't really bug me (now Joe won't go anywhere near a pig pen), and cows. I love the sounds they all make they are comforting and just make me smile. Crowing makes my nerves go on end. My mom LOVES the sound of crowing. I think she is a little on the nutty side. Joe thinks he enjoyes this too. My dad is with me and finds it annoying.

Anyway all of this was fine because we don't currently have any chickens OR roosters on our property...that is all about to change though. The order has been placed and we are expecting 25 chickens the week we return from our cruise. Dad and I were out numbered because Joe, mom and the kids all want them. I wanted goats but since we know some one pretty close by that is having thier goats picked off one by one by a panter we decided we didn't want to invite that into our backyard. Joe has spent all day today working on building the coop for them. It is gonna be sweet! He designed it to have brooding boxes and a large door for us to enter the coop from the back also will have a hinged door on both sides where the brooding hens will lay their eggs so we can collect the eggs with out disturbing the chickens too much, of course a little door with ramp for them to get into the coop AND (now this is my favorite part) a large chicken run! Yup that is right we will have free range chickens that are confined! The coop will be on wheels so that we can move it pretty easily every couple of days around our yard. This way they can have plenty of room to do their little chicken thing durning the day and we can make sure the coop doors are closed at night so no fox, bobcat, raccon, or panther can get to them (that was why we don't have chickens anymore because slowly something picked off all of them) and I don't have to worry about being afraid of my backyard : )

I can't wait for the eggs we go through a lot of eggs in our house and I really do love fresh eggs. Caden and Casey are very excited for the babies to get here and I actually am too becasue lets face it they are fuzzy and cute! Maybe I will become a chicken lover now?? We shall see : )