33 minutes with Owen at 16 months

I am amazed at how busy Owen is-these photos are from our time outside...
he LOVES to pick up and move rocks, especially these in our neighbors yard!

Katie and Owen found a fort. It is in between the bushes on our side yard. They love it. Owen has learned climb the bush by watching Katie-and look at those cheeks. :)

The shovel is a fought over toy almost everyday, but today O has it for digging up some weeds in the yard.

Now he lends his expertise to Katie to 'fix' her bike.

Is that a bark?? Is Charlie the doggie outside??

Owen, LOVES LOVES LOVES to climb. I never worried about K climbing out of her crib, but I do with O! His thoughts-"Should I get on the tricycle like this? Oh YES, I should!"

fixin the mower

moving the bucket

attacking his lovely sister

Doing the slide all by himself!

Owen we love that you are SO into life right now...That nothing worries you and that you go with gusto to anything that you desire to try. You're doing great!

50% is good!

I wanted to send a new photo of the kids to my Gramma. I took a 4 photos in 1 second. These are my favorite. Eyes open-check! Looking at the camera-check! Sorta smiles-check!
Voila! -The two winners. :) *note to self...always have daddy dancing behind me and the camera.

out takes....

Journaling-allergies

This is what I feel like is happening at our house....our favorite things are giving us fits-sneezing, runny noses, coughs!

I need to post about allergies and the kids. No one probably needs to read this except me when I slowly start to forget that certain foods do effect our kids strongly!

There have been many many days over the past three years for Katie and 16 months for Owen that I have wondered, "what is going on in our kids?" I know that many children get sick and it is a way of this life. After all I know we are living in a fallen world that God will one day set right, but it's broken right now. My prayer is that they will outgrow these issues and God will heal this but until then...

But time and time again I think-"we are sick more then normal-something is wrong-what can I do to help our bodies be stronger"... I finally set to work trying to figure out what could be causing these issues in Owen and Katie. *I am sure they exist in Justin and I too, our bodies are simply able to handle them better. *

But for Katie and Owen, beside dairy to cause runny noses, I think anything that has an excess of mold triggers it too. Bah!

Here is what I want to remember:

Dairy-is not a bad thing, but it needs to be limited, used mostly of goat so the proteins digest better and have it processed as least as possible.

Mold-I have come to learn that certain foods are prone to mold easily. I knew this was the case in cheeses, breads, etc , but I have learned it is in nuts (peanuts/cashews), dried fruit, strawberries and melons too. It not that they necessarily are moldy when we eat them-that would be yuck, but in the growing process there are a lot of mold spores floating around. So we are limiting these things in our house. Bummer! Again I just want to document this so that when the kids are runny noses facets once again I will try to eliminate these foods back to sparse consumption.

Mold also flies around outside, so I guess this is a double concern if Katie and Owen don't tolerate it well. But heck, who tolerates breathing in lots of mold! Plus we live in yellow pollen country for 3 weeks out of the year and here they come...

Attitudes of the kids-this is the main thing that concerns me.

I am continually AMAZED at the change in attitude and disposition Katie has when her body is not working well.
If I am paying close attention to her and discipline starts to go up? One thing I want to ask myself, do I think she is having a allergy response? Normally the next day her cough comes and her nose runs. Teach and give extra grace! She might run a slight fever or none at all. Her eyes stay clear-which is why I don't believe she is actually sick with a cold or flu. It has almost always lasted 3-5 days and during that time she has insomnia and is aggressive. Yes, I believe that excess dairy and mold probably cause this change. Every time I see a Dr. about it for her they say, her muscles are weak in response to dairy and mold testing. I should know this by now!
I need to pray for patience and grace the most during times like these.
Then after we get her some good uninterrupted sleep-go away cough and drainage-she is back to joyful self.

Owen is normally more mild in response (runny nose and some cough), but only time will tell for other distractions in his happy self.

In conclusion...I am in need to be reminded that yes, food does make a difference in our bodies. It either gives us energy to love and live or it adds to the tearing down of our energies and joy. To avoid these foods for my kids is good for them; they don't like to be sick! Sometimes I think, they are not being given a good childhood, because they can't eat something. We all know it is better to be healthy than eating cheese dip and sick! I am not going to leave in fear of if they eat something they shouldn't, but I do want to help my kids live well. I don't want to make food more important or an idol then it should be. It is simply necessary to live and God gave us delicious foods to enjoy.

Therefore, may I think about how I am raising my family in all the areas I am called to each and everyday.

Owen

Loves to climb into anything. "What?? I shouldn't be in here?"

Has learned to be silly and loves to laugh.

Will sit still for about 1.543 seconds for a photo. But GLAD I caught this one!

Wears these beads constantly. They are our "Go Uncle Dory, Go!" CSU colors are gold and green. :) ...But boys don't wear necklaces-quote by Katie.

Love you little man!

journaling-flowers

They remind me that, God is causing ALL things to grow. He sustains us at every moment.
The Lord clothes the lily's of the fields.

Thankful to have fresh flowers.

Our House: Katie's room

I love how Katie's room turned out! We have made it sweet and cozy for her and our guests.
Please come and visit us!

She loves her reading corner and sweet flower light-from IKEA and my friend Hollie-thank you! This is the chair I redid for $25! I am so glad Melissa helped me with it before Justin threw it out...but for my husbands sake, it did sit untouched for 14 months!
My other favorite part of her room is the 'k'. Around the 'k' are the words, "In Christ alone, my hope is found, he is my light, my strength, my song." One of Katie and my favorite hymns.

No little girls room is complete without a baby doll section!

To add some more space in her room we took the doors off Katie's closet and added these gingham curtains. It is also the perfect hide and seek spot for our kiddos! I was glad to find them the exact length I needed off of Craigslist! (thanks Robin for picking them up for me!)

This closet also makes a great semi nursery as our friend Nahum slept in it with the curtains drawn-perfect!

Wonderful!! Katie's 'office' is in her closet. :) (And Owen's restaurant too...and do you see him climbing on the shelves??? That boy is a climber-whew!)

Sweet bed....complete with Stitch and Bunny...one to cuddle with for each arm at night. :)

Love you big girl-thank you for sharing your room with our guests and for helping me with your room.

PS...what you didn't see was the pile of stuff I removed from K's room so that I could take photos of it clean. There was a PILE of clothes and toys that needed to be put away. Oh well, just like our wonderful kiddos-busy and creative! :)

oh my...he's in the locked car with the keys

Issac was locked in the car! Yes, it is true, Katie M. was getting ready to leave after graciously watching our kiddos (I went to a luncheon with Justin:) and realized Issac was in the car and her keys were too-and the doors were locked!

Little Issac tried to reach the locks, but he couldn't. Here Katie is talking to him through the window/door. He was amazing unconcerned and great about it!

My friend, Hollie, had once done the same thing with her little girl and so I knew the police/fire department would unlock doors for free if kids were involved. So for the third time in my life I called 911. After giving all the info about our address and number I told the operator our 'emergency'. A little boy was in a locked car (thankfully it wasn't too hot or too cold!)...he was awake and it had happened about 2 minutes ago. The operator responded that he would send out a fire truck right away. Really?? Could you just send a police car, I asked? He told me the fire department was the closest rescue truck...so he would send the fire department. I definitely felt silly by now. But thankful too!

The fire truck arrived with lights on and with FOUR firefighters. Yes, 4! Katie signed the sheet that it was okay for them to break into her car and Issac calmly watched it all from the back seat. They had him out in about 3 minutes. Yay!

They let the kids come and see the truck up close, but they were too scared to get much closer then the driveway. I think that our Katie learned we can't play in cars (she might have been the one to push the lock button) and that there are people who want to help us out in emergencies! She was FULL of questions after they left. Owen just managed to make his 'truck' noise almost the entire time.

Thanks again Katie for watching our kiddos. I promise (or at least will try) to make it less eventful next time we are together. :)

Loved It!

Justin and I went to a fund raising banquet for Corral this past Saturday. We enjoyed the food at the Angus Barn, the company, the venue and the cause! This ministry serves hurting girls and horses. Corral is a ministry in the Cary/Holly Spring are and we think they are doing good work. Thank you love-I loved being with you as you work with ministries trying to serve people and love Jesus.

Thank you!

She loves, loves, loves her spring pj's!

He loves his Momma and his pj's!

Where did I get these???

From Nana and Papa!

We love you guys. Thank you for our new pj's. They are super comfy and cozy. :)

Love, Katie and Owen

journaling- favorites-letter "F"

Here are some of our favorite foods right now. All of them have a very short ingredient list, which I love. Short ingredient lists mean they are close to 'natural'...and that's what I am going for!

Sweeeeeet-Kombucha!
These are back on the shelf. (I think they had an issue with the label) What a wonderful treat. I've blogged about these before, but they are terrific to drink. They are filled with millions of probiotics-strengthening your body! Again they are pricy-about the same as a Starbucks fuf fuf drink, but worth it. I do make this homemade, which is WAY cheaper and love it. The best way to try these is at Whole Foods/EarthFare. They do go on sale a few times a year. Our favorite right now is Trilogy and Ginger-berry...though grape comes in a close second.
*Even though Katie and Owen LOVE this, we try to save them for Justin and I to split as they are super special. A lot of times we drink them in place of soda when eating pizza...ahhhh....love the fizzles too :)


Oh wow, we eat a lot of bananas! Justin and I learned recently that bananas are good for calming anxiety and giving extra energy before a performance. We've always eaten them after road races for the potassium...but they are great before hand too! Not to mention they are yummy, peanut butter goes great on them and their cheap!


Lara Bars are our "go to" granola bar. They are a bit expensive at about $1.30 per bar, but with only dates, nuts and salt, they are a nutritious and fast to have around. (I also have a recipe for granola bars that is good!) I normally split one between the kids so as to use them well...But they are worth buying! And they taste yummy. You can buy these anywhere. I recently saw them at Target on sale, but they were sold out! Our favorites are the cashew cookie, peanut butter, and pb with chocolate. But they have a huge variety of kinds! We eat about 3 per week.


We eat A LOT of hummus around here. I have tried to make it and though it is easy, I can't find something as good as the ones at TJ's. We love just about any kind. I am glad that the kids like it as much as Justin and I. We like the original, garlic and edamame kinds at TJ's. We dip veggies, crackers, pitas and pretzels into this delicious snack.



Gouda cheese. I love the creaminess of it! Not to mention that they make a goat gouda that is good and Katie can handle! The one at TJ's right now that I crave is the Double Cream Gouda.


And then there is the always foods...coffee, dark chocolate, homemade bread and water with a squeeze of lime...