Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas from our home to yours! May you take time this Christmas to remember the Reason for the Season!

We will be enjoying our Christmas with our little family for round two this week. All the boys Christmas presents were wrapped and placed under the tree Saturday afternoon... by Sunday evening that had all changed. We were keeping a very close eye on our youngest for fear  he would get into the presents. Our eagle eyes should have been trained on our oldest who decided to unwrap the gifts while Mommy and Daddy got ready for church Sunday night.  Daddy and Mommy had to laugh at first because we both have Christmas present opening or shaking stories in our past. Round two wrapping will not begin until approximately 10 minutes before presents will be opened this Friday night. :) ha.

I Just Had To Chuckle...

Tonight I was working on redoing my sad little Christmas wreath. I had my trusty supplies of scissors and a pair of wire cutters by my side along with my trusty side kick, Tyler. He kept wanting to assist with the wire cutting, and I had to keep reminding him to put the wire cutters down. One time I happened to look over at him and caught him looking lovingly at those wire cutters, and he said, "They are beautiful". A sure sign I have a boy in the house. ha. Skip the wreath, ribbon, and all those goodies, but those wire cutters just stopped him in his tracks. Ha. I guess a few years ( approximately 35) down the road if a girl wants to get his attention she should try wearing a few wire cutters in her hair. :)

This little guy has decided to place himself on Christmas tree demolition duty 24/7. I'm not sure how many unsuspecting ornaments have lost their lives, and the ribbon will never be the same. I am daily, make that hourly, or even minutely (okay, so now I'm exaggerating) trying to assist the poor decorations on the tree. Its a hopeless cause, but I'm looking on the bright side....let's see, if he continues breaking all my ornaments I might just have to buy new ornaments. Maybe Mommy will join Demolition Zachary in a redecorating the Christmas tree scheme. ha.

WE ARE GROWING BY TWO FEET!

We are happy to announce that a new addition will be joining our family in June 2012. :) Excuse the above picture, Hubby is Jesus in our Christmas program hence the beard, and well, I have no excuses its just a very unflattering picture.


Tyler is strongly requesting a sister. Everytime we ask whether he would like a brother or a sister. It is always a sister, and heaven forbid we mention a brother. ha. When we asked Tyler what he would name a sister his reply was "Daddy". Ha ha. We might need to work on his naming skills.
Here is little "beans" first ultrasound picture.

Just for fun, this is how I found Tyler when he was supposed to be napping today.

From the Inside Out

           From the Inside Out God's Looking at me. From the inside out I hope He likes what He sees.

                  From the Outside I might not look so good. But you might change your mind

                                             If only you could. See me from the Inside out.

Does anyone remember that old children's song?? I believe it was off a kids Gaither "tape" back in the day. That song kept playing over and over in my mind when I was looking at these pictures I had taken of the boys today. Tyler was outside playing on the back porch, and Zachy was inside looking out wishing he was out there too.

I felt very convicted over this little tune, and have been asking God to search me and make me pleasing to Him. I pray that from the inside out==He likes what he sees.

My Three Baseball Lovin' Blessings

 I never thought I would allow my children to play baseball in the house. Regardless of whether the ball is a hackey sack, baseball is baseball. God blessed me with two little guys that love bats and balls though...so once in awhile Daddy plays a rousing game of baseball indoors. Here is a video clip of that "rousing" game. I get so tickled at Zach standing there with his bat and ball...that's the way you find him wandering the house most of the time. Poor Zachy gets right in the way when Tyler is swinging his bat. Thankfully, he is a tough little guy!

Sorry that video was so long. I'm not techy enough to be able to figure out how to cut it down.

I had quite the conversation with Tyler tonight. I was talking with Jonathan when I heard an excuse me, Mommy...Yes, Tyler. "Last morning, I was lying in bed and I picked my nose." I was very glad to learn that he didn't eat it, but just wiped it on his pants. A little bit later, it looked like Zachy was chewing on something and  I said," I wonder what Zach has in his mouth"? To which Tyler replied, "Maybe its a booger". I laughed quite heartily over that one!

Boogers and Baseball pretty much sum up my life right now. I wouldn't have it any other way, and feel pretty blessed that I have two precious baseball playing, booger picking boys!

My Accidental Cooking Marathon

I learned a valuable lesson in the proper closure of freezer doors today. Lesson: All safety measures must be taken to assure a firm closure is reached, which might include a firm push, a solid kick or even a double locking device. Last night, after we got home from church, I got a frozen pizza out of our freezer that resides in the garage.Unfortunately, I  failed to implement one of the above mentioned closure methods. When Hubby came home for lunch today he noticed water leaking from the freezer, and we quickly realized that the freezer door was not fully shut. Thankfully, our freezer was sparse some things had to be thrown out, but we were able to salvage the meat.
Let's see, hubby grilled out meat for lunch. I threw a roast in the crockpot to use for vegetable soup, fried up cubed steak, made spaghetti sauce and put two roasts in the oven. Thankfully none of us are vegetarians since we will be eating like carnivores this week. :)  I am very thankful that the freezer door mishap happened today and not a little in the future. You see today our freezer was sparse, but we just invested in 1/4 a cow that will be mooing its way to our house very soon. Our freezer will once again be stocked, and I think I might just have to buy a double locking device, or I will at least have to implement a sure footed kick to the freezer door.


In other news, I thought I would share a couple Tylerisms. If I don't share them today more than likely I will forget them by tomorrow. My brain just works that way. :) On our trip home from PA, Tyler was mooing in the back seat. Jonathan mentioned that it sounded like there was a cow in the van, to which Tyler replied that he was a boy not a cow. Jonathan said well how can you be mooing if you are a boy...because I'm a "Cowboy". ha.

Another funny occurred when Tyler was using the bathroom the other day. Sorry about the bathroom stories..it just comes with the territory of having a toddler. Anywho, Tyler was supposed to be going poopie, and we heard him say," My poopie is not coming out it just wants to stay at home". Jonathan quickly replied that Tyler's poopie needed to go on vacation. haha.

Missing Mom

We arrived home early this morning after spending a week in PA. It was nice to see our beloved home again. I'm sure our excitement about being home had nothing to do with the fact that two small boys in our van were very sick of their car seats. :)

 Its so hard to say goodbye....Im incredibly thankful that we have the hope of heaven. Mom's funeral service was so special. I left feeling  incredibly blessed to have known her, and once again inspired to follow in her faithful footsteps. One of the songs that was played at the funeral was a song by the Collingsworth's that says Fear Not Tomorrow, God is already there. This song came to mean a lot to Mom sometime within the last year when she was facing a rough time. I can't imagine all the emotions, feelings and suffering she faced, but what an awesome testimony she left behind. No matter what she faced she fully submitted to God and His will for her life.

 I have thought of so many things I wanted to tell her. Mom, did you notice that Zach is practically running now...or that Tyler has started quoting, "Children obey your parents in the Lord" whenever he gets in trouble....or I meant to get that recipe....and on and on the list goes. Dad Slagenweit said it best when he said if I could just tell people to hug their spouse a little tighter tonight, or in our case your loved ones. As the song says, "We have these moments to hold in our hand.... yesterdays gone and tomorrow may never come, but we have this moment today".

While we miss Mom terribly, I am so thankful that we have a great "Pappy" for our boys!

Finally Home

Bonnie Kay Slagenweit arrived safely home this morning. Not to her home on Eighth St Drive, but to her Heavenly home with streets paved of gold.

Mom, thank- you so much for being my "Hero of the Faith" and leaving such a wonderful legacy behind for us to follow. By watching your life, you have inspired me to be a better Wife, Mother, Friend, Christian, and Cook. You loved to fix for your Family! I don't remember a time when we came home and there wasn't a pot of vegetable soup waiting for us on the stove.

I have never met someone who suffered so much, and yet; wouldn't complain. Your faith NEVER wavered during any of your suffering! You definitely have been a Proverbs 31 woman, and your children rise up and call you blessed.

We love you SO much, and oh, how we will miss you! This is not Goodbye though....its just until we meet again.

The Punkin Patch

We took the boys to the pumpkin patch tonight! Tyler was so incredibly excited. Mommy kinda sorta made the mistake of mentioning our visit to the pumpkin patch before Tyler's afternoon nap. Oops. You think I would know better by now!

It was fun to compare pictures at the pumpkin patch from this year and last year.

Tyler 2010

Tyler 2011

Tyler & Zach 2010

Tyler & Zach 2011

This week has been a tough one for our family. My precious Mother-In-Law has been in the ICU and had to have emergency surgery, etc.  I have been so heavy hearted just thinking of all the suffering she has endured not only from this hospital stay, but in the last 10-15 years of her life. She is an incredible woman that I only wish I could emulate. I feel so blessed that I have the privelege to be her Daughter-In-Law.

Treasures A LA Yard Sale!

This weekend I once again went out  yard saling with my trusty companions and later in the morning an unsweetened (with 8 packets of splenda, please) McDonald's tea. Isn't life grand? :) It was quite the morning and we spent 3 hours, I repeat 3 hours, in one community for their community wide yard sale. Wohoo! We found some lovely little treasures, and loaded the vehicle down! I thought it would be fun to share some of my finds with you!
First up is two 1969 "growing hair" ideal toys Crissy dolls. I paid $15.00 for both, the lady was originally asking $30.00 so I was happy with that price. I already have them listed on ebay...I'm just not sure how they will do...we shall see. I also bought a talking Buzz lightyear doll, playskool ball popper toy (although I didn't list the actual toy just four out of the five  balls that came with it for replacement balls they sell fairly well on ebay ) and I bought a few other toys to sell.

I also bought some shirts and jeans for my little guys. The Ralph Lauren shirt and Old Navy jeans were each 25 cents.  Although they are both size 6, which is a couple sizes to big for Tyler, for that price I will set them back! I found a couple Vineyard Vines polos and a Ralph Lauren pair of jeans that will fit Tyler this winter/next spring. I also found a Penn State onesie for Zach for 1.00. Did you hear that Pappy Slagenweit~ Penn State? I also found a couple pair of pajamas that aren't pictured for Tyler for this winter/next spring.

I also found a beautiful black and white smocked new with tags dress that I'm storing away for my someday bin. I splurged and paid $10.00 for the dress. I attempted to get it for a lower price, but it didn't happen. I don't blame the lady since the price tag on it was for $148.00 dollars. Yikes. 

My favorite find of the day, I do believe, was this rocking horse that I scored for $2.00. It has found a home in the nursery, and I can't wait until Christmas since I'm already envisioning Christmas pictures with my new friend. At the same yard sale I picked up a Dr. Seuss Yertle The Turtle book for 25 cents. I had been wanting to buy this book for Tyler's room, but didn't want to pay full price for it! I firmly believe that God cares about even the tiniest desires of our heart!

I also got a folding round table that needs a little TLC on one of its legs, but hey, for only $1.00 I'm sure Hubby can figure it out! I also picked up this old army trunk for $2.50 at an Estate sale. I have plans to paint it, or should I say I have plans for hubby to paint it, and I want to use it as a night stand in Ty's room. The funny story behind this trunk was I saw the price tag of $5.00, and told them I would buy it, and then they said everything was 1/2 price in the garage, which made the deal even sweeter. Anywho, my best buddy and I were walking around the house looking at items that were incredibly expensive, and she told me she thought the trunk was $500 and not $5.00. I about fainted dead away since I had already told the nice fellow that I would buy it.... I decided I would quickly unbuy it for that price. I went back and talked to said nice fellow, and thankfully, it really was only $2.50. Shew.

I picked up this decorative bird feeder for $1.00. It hasn't found a home yet, but I'm sure it will soon.

Just for fun, I thought I would throw in a picture of Zachy sporting his jacket Mama, my Mom, found at the Goodwill for $1.79. The 50's Banquet/ Fundraiser for our youth group is coming up in a few more weeks, and I wanted a jacket similar to this for the boys to wear. Now I just need to find one for Tyler and I'm all set. :)

I'm linking up to Coupon Tipster and Apron Thrift Girl.

Ring Around the Rosies~ Tyler Style

I love to watch these two interact. I especially love when one of them gets tickled and the other joins in heartily!

Tyler was supposed to be napping, and he came out to the dining room where I am trying my very best to get a needle threaded. ( I do believe that they are making thread thicker--it has nothing to do with my poor vision.) Tyler asks me what I'm doing and I explain the whole process to him. He looks at me, gives me a thumbs up and says, "Good boy, Mom". ha. Another favorite saying of his recently has been, "Just be a good sport, Mom". I have no idea where he has heard that phrase.

Back to trying to get my needle threaded....wish me luck!

The "Man" WIth The Yellow Hat.

Maybe this would be better titled, "The Monkey who stole the Yellow Hat". A picture is worth a thousand words, right? So, today will be my thousand word day in pictures.

 The true owner of the yellow hat, Mr. Paddington Bear.

 

This past week was quite busy, and then this week-end Hubby went to paint ball retreat. He managed to secure two welts~ its a rite of passage I hear. I have to share with you a  poem written by our friend, Nate Becker, aimed at my dear Husband.



 AN ODE THE MY VEST

I am Jay and I'm the Best.
That's because I wear a Vest.
To protect me front and back.
... From a vicious paint ball attack.
I wear a vest though thought "un-cool"
I wear a vest because I'm not a fool.
I'll wear my vest out to the Land.
I'll wear a vest wherever I can.
If I can wear it while we eat...
I'll even wear it in my sleep.
I'll put it on while on the Bus.
For wearing a vest is a must.
While paintballs hurt all the rest.
I'll be safe here in my vest.
The sting! The zing! The SNAP! The Pow!
I can almost feel those paintballs now.
Oh wait I can't! I must protest!
It must be these 3 sweatshirts and this leather vest.
My VEST My VEST! It's saved the day!
My vest is BEST I have to say!
Could anything be better? - now let me think...
OH YES OH YES!!! - If my Vest was PINK!

- Written by Nathan Becker on the eve of the Fall Paintball Retreat! " See you out there Pastor Jay!

The retort:

AN ODE ABOUT THE PINK VEST

I DO NOT LIKE PINK VESTS I SAY,
BUT NATE BECKER WEARS ONE EVERY DAY!
I WILL NOT WEAR ONE HERE OR THERE.
... I WILL NOT WEAR ONE ANYWHERE.
I DO NOT LIKE PINK VESTS I SAY.
I DO NOT LIKE THEM ANY DAY.

I DO NOT LIKE PINK VESTS- ITS TRUE
WOULD I EVER LIE TO YOU?
I WOULD NOT WEAR IT WITH A FOX
I WOULD NOT WEAR IT IN A BOX.
I DO NOT LIKE PINK VESTS YOU SEE.
THE COLOR JUST ISN'T RIGHT FOR ME.

NATE BECKER LOVES PINK VESTS I'M TOLD
AND WON'T PART WITH HIS TIL HE IS OLD.
BUT WHAT HE LOVES MORE THAN A VEST OF PINK
IS HIS SECURITY BLANKET MADE OF A SOFT MINK.
POOR LIL NATE, WHAT ARE WE TO SAY...
OUT AT PAINT BALL RETREAT, YOU WILL GET YOUR PAY.

Written by Jay Slagenweit's Assistant on the eve of the falll paint ball retreat. See you out there, Nathan Becker

 

And, of course, I can't leave without one Tyler story. Excuse me if its too much information, but I want to preserve this little memory:). Yesterday Tyler was having a little issue with going to the bathroom, okay, so truthfully it was a BIG issue. He likes his privacy, and so we would check on him periodically. One time that we checked on him he said, "I prayed to God for Him to take the poopie away". ha. I love that kid:)

A Snippet From Our Saturday.

Tyler has been memorizing a new verse. Ephesians 6:1. May he take it to heart.

 Zach has Roseola (or however you spell it) and approximately 36 hours ago broke out in a rash all over his body. Benadryl and Motrin are his best buddies right now, and I think I just heard him sing out, "I Will Survive". Here is a picture of him, and yes, he is attempting to eat his lotion. My kids have both loved eating lotion.  Every time I lube Zach up after his bath he tries to find little specks of it to consume.  Silly boy.  Who knows, maybe he is greasing his insides for better digestion. ha.

 So, my picture is horrible, but you can see it a little bit. It is the worst on his back, and then his tummy, face, arms and legs. Poor little guy. Honestly, I am a Nervous Nellie when my boys are sick. My nursing skills float to the back of my brain, and I worry, worry, worry. For example, I called the on call Pediatrician today explained Zach's symptoms, told her what I thought his diagnosis was and why I thought he had Roseola. She agreed with me and told me to give him Benadryl. So you see, even if I can figure out what ails my children....I still have to double check. It gives me peace of mind. :)

Pray Like A Child!

My husband typically does the honors of putting Tyler to bed at night, reading him a story book, a Bible story and then saying prayers. Its their ritual, and it gives Jonathan a bit more time to spend with Tyler. I love getting an opportunity to put Tyler to bed, and listen to all the things he wants to pray about. Tonight we said the "Now I lay me down to sleep" prayer together, but then we had to say a "real" prayer. Mama, Papa, Pappy, Grandma are at the top of the list, then he requested to pray for his brother and the special baby. I asked him who his special baby was, and he said Uncle David and Aunt April's baby. :) He wanted to pray for all of his cousins, and so on and so forth. I got tickled when he requested to pray for Mavis. Mavis? My train. Why do we need to pray for Mavis? So that she will help the other trains. We prayed for quite a few other trains before the prayer time was over, and I believe we even prayed for the train tracks.

I walked away from Tyler's room tonight feeling very convicted. I felt God nudge my heart and whisper, That is how I long for you to pray. Tyler's prayers are so full of faith and he has such an incredible trust. The story I read Tyler tonight was about a friend that never leaves us. I asked him who he thought that friend was and without hesitation he replied, "God". I sit here thinking about my wonderful friend, and how often I forget to truly commune with Him. God has been dealing with me so strongly recently about how I need to pray believing that He will answer my prayers, and bringing all my needs before Him. I love the fact that Tyler prays for his trains. They are important to him so he believes that they must be important to God. I pray that God will help me to approach the throne with that same child like faith!

One of my greatest desires is to be a godly mother to my boys. I already have a bundle of regrets for how I've handled situations with the boys ( specifically Tyler) in their short little lives. I pray that God would give me an extra dose, or two or three of wisdom in dealing with these precious treasures that I have for such a short time. I was kneading bread dough the other night and began praying that God would start kneading away on my life. ( no worries, I am definitely no Betty Crocker, and I have the broken hand vessels to prove it. ha) . I have so many knots, bubbles and rough edges that need His refining touch!

 Malachi 3:3~ And he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver: and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness.

Here is a little story I found that is related to the above verse.

Malachi 3:3 "He will sit as a refiner and
purifier of silver." This verse puzzled some women in a Bible study and
they wondered what this verse implied about the
character and nature of God.
One of the women offered to find out the process of
refining silver and get back to the group at their next
Bible Study.
That week, the woman called a silversmith and made
an appointment to watch him at work. She didn't
mention anything about the reason for her interest
beyond her curiosity about the process of refining silver. As she watched the silversmith, he held a piece of silver over the fire and let it heat up. He explained that in refining silver, one needed to hold the silver in the middle of the fire where the flames were the hottest so as to burn away all of the impurities.
The woman thought about God holding us in such a hot spot; then she thought again about the verse that says: "He sits as a refiner and purifier of silver." She asked the silversmith if it was true that he had to sit there in front of the fire the whole time the silver was being refined. The man answered that, "Yes, he not only had to sit there holding the silver in the fire, but he had to keep his eyes on the silver the entire time it was in the fire. If the silver was left a moment too long in the flames, it would be destroyed. The woman was silent for a moment. Then she asked the silversmith, "How do you know when the silver is fully refined?"
He smiled at her and answered, "Oh, that's easy -- when I see my image in the silver."

Falling Into October....

We have been busy, busy, busy around our house. We like busy though, and truthfully, wouldn't know what to do with ourselves if things slowed down. Although, I do have a couple of thumbs I could twiddle, and sometimes I do long for a slower pace of life so I could check out my twiddling skills.  One of our most recent endeavors is planning a 50's banquet/ fundraiser for our youth group. I'm loving it! I've already located a poodle skirt for myself on ebay, and I can't wait to grease the boys hair back (well, all of Zachy's 10 hairs, not to mention his ginormous cowlick). We have a great staff, and I love seeing the details come together!! Who knows, I might so enjoy my poodle skirt and my sort-of saddle shoes that I will never go back to "normal" clothing. Felt is itchy though, isn't it? Scratch that idea. hehe.

Zachy has known pat-a-cake for awhile now, but he has just now learned the "roll it, roll it" motions".

Tyler had a case of sympathy for my parents dog yesterday. He was worried about Cocoa and why she was so sad. My Mom told him that she liked to be petted, and so he began petting her. He stopped and commented on how bad Cocoa's breath smelled.(Cocoa truly has horrific smelling breath, my Hubby calls her the Breath of Death)  Mom explained that Cocoa was getting old, and that's why she had bad breath. Tyler said, " I have bad breath now, and I'll have it when I get old, too". Oh, the wisdom of youth!
Here is a picture of the little guy after waking up from his nap today. It always takes him a bit to wake up, and so he lays down like this after waking up in the mornings and afternoons. I love the fact that he had already picked up one of trains and had "spencer the train" laying beside him. Thanks to Tyler I now know the names of most of his trains.

Here are some fun attempts at fall photos with the boys after church Sunday morning.