Chore Night

Thursday night's at our house is chore night. Elijah picks up Stella's toys.

He also straightens up the entryway shoes! He does his own room too!

Austin's responsibilitiy is the basement, his room and the living space. Vacuuming and straighting things up. He also does the stairs.

We all do our own chores. Emily does the bathrooms. She is also responsible for her own room. I just love to see the kids working, it makes me so happy. Emily also dusts, yeah! When we all work together, it all goes so much easier. Then the mom is happy!!

I have waited a long time for my kids to get to the age where they can truly help around the house. They have helped for years, but now it ACTUALLY helps! I don't even have to go behind them and redo things!

The other thing that could be happening is maybe I'm getting a little older and a little more relaxed. I think maybe I'm realizing that the most important part is not always having a spotless house, but having a house that is a haven for our family, where the family is more important than the house!!!

Three's a Crowd!

Emily and Elijah both had fun playing together this morning.

Emily was the cook!

Elijah was the waiter !

Today It was just Emily and Elijah at home, mostly all day! It always seems that when there are only 2 it is so much quieter!! It is usually if Emily or Austin are gone everything goes very smooth. They both play great with Elijah! They don't always both do well with each other, I think it is the age thing. Anyway, Emily & Elijah played restraunt (?) together last night and this morning! Grandpa & Grandma Dietzel broght them the hats from Krispy Kreme the other day.

Now Dave and Austin and Emily are all gone away until tomarrow! Elijah and I have the house to ourselves, it is almost TOO quiet!

I am sure we will find things to do to keep ourselves busy.

My Hero

Today is the 2nd anniversary of my moms passing. She was without a doubt my hero!!

My mom was the most selfless person I have ever encountered in my life. She always gave even when it hurt. There were times I knew she was in unbelievable pain and yet she still wanted to keep going, no matter what we were doing.

She lost a husband at a young age and had 2 daughters. She married my dad with his 5 kids which then gave them 7. She took my grandfather in who had a stroke and also cared for him. To top it all of she had me. I asked her more than once, why in the world she had another baby with all of the other stuff she had on her plate? Not only did she have me but she had a few miscarriages before me. That alone would have caused me to give up on having another child.

I think it took the heart of a hero to do the things she had done at this point.

I wasn't there for all of the crazy family times of all of the 7 kids growing up. I have heard alot of stories, both the good, bad and ugly. In my eyes, no matter what the situations were it took alot of guts to do what both my mother and father did. They raised their kids to love God and to me there is nothing more important than that.

She was a grandma who always gave. Her grandkids were always the apple of her eye!

She worked a 40(plus) work week since the time I was in the 1st grade. Until the time of her passing!

I remember always being in church, every time the doors were open, all of my growing up years! I remember sitting with my mom at the altar while she had tears streaming down her cheeks. She always told me they were just because she loved Jesus so much!! Those are the memories I cherish most!!

In her later years she was involved in Power Company kids Club, an inner city children's ministry. She worked with those kids and loved them until she could not physically do it anymore.

My mom had severe back and hip pain all the time!! She had a kidney transplant after doing self administered dialysis for 5 years.

The most amazing thing that I will always remember about my hero is that she NEVER complained or gave excuses as to why she couldn't do something!!!! She was ALWAYS in church and working for the Lord even up until the day she passed away!

My prayer is that anytime I want to give a lame excuse for something I don't want to do I will remember the example my mom left for me.

I could always follow her as she followed Christ! Those who have come behind her have surely found her faithful!!!

I am so thankful that she has heard those words---

WELL DONE THOU GOOD AND FAITHFUL SERVANT, ENTER INTO YOUR REST!!!!!

My first baby is 13!!

Yesterday was Austins 13th birthday. Of course him turning 13, we broke down and got him a cell phone! Many requirements come along with it! Good grades, chores, responsibility all the expected things.

He did not want cake and ice cream. He wanted oreo cookie ice cream dessert! So that's what he got! The white spots on top are where the ice cream melted when I poured on the hot fudge sause. I put it back in the freezer so it could freeze again. I have to say it was pretty yummy!

I just can't believe that he is already 13! Oddly enough I seem to remember every single detail of the whole experience almost better than Emily and Elijah's. I reminded him that I worked EXTREEMLY hard 13 years ago and he had better be nice to me! I actually remember crying when the nurse came and told me that he was crying in the nursery at the hospital! She said "Oh but he likes the swing"! I still remember how my heart broke to hear that he was unhappy at all! It was the very first moment of wanting to make everything right in his world.

Little did I know that with each year that goes by, it gets harder and harder to see any pain in his life. It also gets harder and harder for mom to fix it. That is where this mom is so thankful for Jesus who loves him more than Dave and I will ever be able to, and wants the best for him, more than we do.

We always sang to him, You are my sunshine, my Austin sunshine.........! We also had a fun song we loved to sing to the tune of the KFC comercial...Everybody needs a little Austin D.....

I am so thankful for his life! We know that God has huge plans for our "Austin D"