September catch up

So it has been quite a while since I've posted on here. I guess it's time... We've had a busy few weeks. At the beginning of the month we went on a vacation to NY to visit my brother and his family. Let me just say, Thank God I am a parent in a time where we have DVD players in our mini vans! A 9 hour road trip with 3 kids is rough, but I can't even imagine having to do it with no form of entertainment. Here's a picture of Lilah on the road trip with her head phones for the movie, her sunglasses, and travel pillow. I think I took this during the only 20 minutes of the trip when she actually slept. =) We had a great time! The kids had soooooo much fun playing with the Newman cousins. They miss them a lot. We enjoyed lots of fun time outside and beautiful weather. We went peach and raspberry picking, played at the beach, and celebrated Lilah's 3rd birthday. Aunt Sarah helped plan a special dress-up tea party for Lilah with the theme that Lilah requested of butterflies and flowers. The kids got all dressed up and we set up the picnic table outside for the party. Unfortunately, it was at the end of a super fun and exhausting week. So Lilah was pretty much spent and had gone into child demon/meltdown mode by that time. She fussed about everything and was nasty and the party ended with Lilah getting a time-out and then being sent to bed for the afternoon. I have included a picture for your viewing pleasure. =) But overall, we had a great time and miss the fam so much.

After NY we came home and enjoyed a couple of fun days with friends from ORU for Labor day weekend. Adam and Kim and Violet came into town and Aaron and Angie came as well. We had a second little "princess" birthday celebration for Lilah that went MUCH better and she behaved much more like a princess than at her first party. It was a lot of fun and we enjoyed a cookout with friends and then the"sapphire girls" got to ditch the kids with the dads for drinks and a chance to catch up. Although we very much missed the 3 sapphires who were unable to join us. Liz and I get lots of time together now and we loved getting some time with Angie and Kim too.

The other big event this month was Seth starting preschool. He is LOVING it! I knew he would because he loves structure and people. Both are in abundance at school. He's having a blast and thinks he's being punished the 2 days a week that we don't get to go to school. He's learning about the body and has proudly displayed his macaroni/bones picture in the house for the past week. Lilah is really wanting to go to school too and misses Seth. She'll enjoy it next year when it's her turn. I just can't believe Seth is getting so big! The kids also started their first YMCA class last week where they get to do an hour of gym time (soccer, gymnastics, yoga, basketball, etc.) and then an hour of swimming. They LOVE that and Lilah feels very big to get to do that along with Seth. And I like it because I get to work out then while Isaac plays in the child watch program.

We also made a quick trip to Ohio for the kids to spend some time with Nina and Papa while Josh and I attended the memorial service for our friend's sweet baby, Eva Genelle. It was very important to us to be there with Dan and Jessica to celebrate Eva's powerful little life. We feel very blessed to have had the opportunity to participate in Eva's life while Jessica was pregnant and then for a few weeks after Eva was born before we had to move to Michigan. I have posted a picture of one of the moments I got to cuddle Eva for myself when Jessica gave me the lucky job of holding Eva while she made a plate of food for herself. Jessica shared at the service about the significance of the butterfly symbol that she chose for Eva. It was very moving and I will, from this time on, forever think of precious Eva Genelle everytime I see the beauty of a butterfly. If you are not already on the site, I encourage everyone to check out the caringbridge site for the Clearfield family. It tells Eva's story and Jessica writes beautifully in a way that captures your heart. Please also continue to keep them in your prayers as the noise of everything is fading and life is settling in and they are needing an extra dose of strength and peace to handle the day to day right now.

That's all the big stuff this month for us. I will try to post a bit more regularly now. =)

pictures from last week

We've had a fun, busy week. We went to NY to visit my brother and his family. The kids had a BLAST with the Newman cousins and we loved getting to see Ben and Sarah. Ben happedned to be on a vacation as well, which meant we actually got to see him even though he's a first year ER resident. =) We went peach and raspberry picking, went to the beach at a fun park, had a cousin birthday party for Lilah's 3rd birthday and just hung out. Lots of fun. When we got home some friends from ORU came into town to visit so we had several days of fun time with college friends as well. We celebrated Lilah's birthday again with the second generation "sapphire girls" since this is actually the week of her birthday. Now we're recouping, getting unpacked, and have a busy week ahead with doctor's appointments and preschool orientation. Here's the link for the pics.

http://picasaweb.google.com/tojuls0/DropBox?authkey=Gv1sRgCMmI2eC7z-yzfw&feat=directlink

fun, busy week

We are wrapping up a very fun and busy week. I left on Sunday for my parents' house with the kids so that we could meet up with our good friends, the Rosses. I told Seth and Lilah that we were going to go to Nina and Papa's house to see Brenna and Ava two days before we left. Seth was awake and waking up Lilah every morning at 6am until we saw them because he was so excited. It was like Christmas at our house! Erin and the girls came in and we all had so much fun. The kids bounced on the moon bounce, rode bikes, drove the power wheels Jeep, made sand castles and splashed in the lake, picked apples, played on the swingset, and played with toys. In the evening we let them each make their own individual pizza with their own toppings, which they thought was pretty fun. We sat on the deck and ate our pizza and watched the sun set over the lake. The we went down to the patio and roasted marshmallows for smores, popped popcorn on the fire and ate popscicles. Needless to say, the kids were a disaster. At one point we found little Lila hugging a pizza to her chest. =) We're glad we ate outside. Since it was clearly a bath night for all the kiddos, we let them play in the hot tub for a little while before bed. They thought the lights, bubbles, and waterfall were pretty exciting. Erin and I were on the edge of our seats the whole time because my Lilah seemed determine to drown herself. She could touch in the hot tub, but kept going under and just loved it. She'd be drowning under the surface with a smile on her face the whole time and then when we could pull her up she'd just be giggling. Lilah is wild and that's just all there is to it. I am terrified of the teenage years I think. We put the kids to bed and enjoyed some grown-up, mommy conversation for a while. lol... The next morning we all got up and had waffles and played some more before the Rosses had to head home. The kids had so much fun and Erin and I are already planning some more get togethers. Anybody want to meet us at Cedar Point sometime soon??? =) We spent a couple more days at mom and dad's because Josh was busy with a presentation. Now we are home and looking forward to a fun weekend as a family with Josh. I got my house put back together today and did several loads of laundry to get ready for our next big adventure next week. We are going to Rochester, NY to visit my brother's family and to see my newest niece, Emalyn Rose. We are very excited about the visit because we are all missing the Newman cousins a whole bunch. I can't wait to give all my nieces and nephew big hugs! And we're really looking forward to catching up with Ben and Sarah as well. I hear Lilah awake from her nap asking permission to come downstairs. Time to go!

Diva

Last night I went to a Children's Place outlet with my friend, Liz, and stocked up on clothes for the kids at super cheap prices. yay! I got a cute little dress with sparkly butterflies and kind of a chic, bohemian style for Lilah. So she found it in the bag this morning and insisted on wearing it right away. She loves it. I helped her put it on and we fixed her hair and she accessorized with jewelry. Then she walks into the living room and says, "Mom, I'm all dressed and pretty now. Will you turn on my music so I can dance?" (She is referring to the On Demand Beyonce music videos that she likes to dance and sing to). I obliged because I thought it was cute and watched my 2 year old in her sparkly dress "drop it like it's hot" for the next 5 minutes to Beyonce. I think I have a diva on my hands. ???

How do I explain that?

So the other day we were at a McDonald's playplace with my parents and the kids were playing. Seth was running around and making this horrid, loud, screeching, siren noise. I went over to him and told him to stop making that loud siren noise. He said, "Mom! It's not a siren!" So I said I don't care what it is, just stop because it was an irritating noise for everyone in the playplace. Seth responded loudly by saying in front of EVERYONE else in the playplace, "Mom! I can't stop! It's my mating call!" I don't even want to know what the grandfather with his 4 year old grandaughter thought of this announcement. In an additional note, one day earlier we were at a restaurant and Isaac was "talking" loudly and making lots of noise. Seth asked then if that was Isaac's mating call. I should have known at that point that it was on Seth's mind and would turn into an embarrassing moment sooner or later. As a backstory for this incident, my brother started working with Seth several months ago to make obnoxious noises and call it his mating call. He even trained Seth to hoot specifically at women when they walked into a room. In the past, it never manifasted itself beyond Dan and Seth hooting at Aunt Lauren. But now it's getting embarrassing. Thank you Uncle Dan! I will add this to the long list of awful and inappropriate things one of my brothers has taught my children.

Lilah

Conversation with Lilah last night after she ran into the kitchen to tell on Seth for doing something silly.

Lilah with a whiney voice: Seth (did whatever... don't remember what...).
Me: Lilah, you don't need to tattle about every little thing. Don't be a tattletale.
Lilah screeches: Mommy! I am not a baby frog!

On a side note: Lilah has not had an accident since Sunday. She has stayed completely dry and has even done all of her poops in the potty completely by herself. yay! =)

Seth's Big Day

So, as some of you might know... Seth has had kind of a preoccupation with death for a while now. Not like crazy, just very curious about great grandparents who have passed away and wanting to know about heaven, etc. So we talk about heaven pretty regularly when he starts to ask questions. Today he was asking about heaven and Jesus' house and wanted me to tell him all about it. So I told him what the Bible says about heaven and then I realized that all this time, I've never really shared with Seth what the alternative to heaven is... hell. So I told him the story (in a very simplistic way) about Jesus and Satan and Adam and Eve and our need to for forgiveness for the naughty things we do (sin). And we talked about how Jesus died on the cross for our sins and how everybody has a choice to make during their lifetime whether they will love and obey Jesus or not. Seth asked LOTS of questions throughout and I was shocked at his attention to the story and the details. I explained that when he was ready to ask Jesus to forgive his sins and ask Him to live in his heart and try to obey Him, that he could come to mommy and daddy and we would help him pray about it. He asked some more questions about the cross and sins and heaven and hell and then when the conversation was pretty much wrapped up, he bowed his head completely by himself and started praying "Jesus, I love You and want to obey You and live with You in Your house in heaven someday." I asked him a few more questions to make sure he understood what he was doing and then we prayed together for Seth's salvation. So we are very excited in the Vicena house today. We called daddy and Nina and Papa right away. I'll let Seth and Josh call grandma together tonight to share his story. Is his understanding of everything simplistic and minimal? For sure. But he has the basics and I believe today will lay the foundation for a strengthening and deepening of his decision as his understanding grows with time. I still remember the moment that I really understood salvation and what it meant for me. I was 4 years old and I thought about it for several weeks. I asked lots of questions and then came to a realization that I needed Jesus. I understaood that my sins were wrong and needed to be covered by the blood of Jesus Christ. Granted, my sins were hitting my brothers and telling mommy and daddy the occasional lie. But I remember feeling a true sense of conviction about the things I had done that I knew were wrong. I went to my parents and asked them to help me pray. They talked with me about it to make sure I really understood what I was doing. I specifically remember my prayer. "Dear Jesus, thank you for dying on the cross and please forgive me for my sins. Please come live in my heart and help me to obey you. And thank you for boats." Obviosusly, my understanding of my faith was simplistic. But it grew as I grew. And to this day, I recognize that day when I was four years old as my moment of salvation. That was the moment I chose to follow Christ. So I know Seth's understanding of his own faith is minimal right now. But I am praying that this day has laid the groundwork for a life of relationship with and service to His heavenly Father. Seth's spiritual birthday: July 21, 2009.

Luke 15:7
"In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents."