Mommy is Back!

I got back last night from the airport at midnight from an awesome conference and a great weekend with my grandparents. Daddy did great with the kids and had some super help from friends and his parents. From what I've gathered there were no nightmare stories. I really sensed that God provided so that I could really enjoy the break. Thanks to anyone that said some prayers over the past week. While away, Adam laid some new flooring in the kitchen and bought/installed a new dishwasher for my birthday! I was very impressed!!

The conference I attended was very refreshing in reminding me why I love to work with kids and the great responsibility that I have to teach my own children about the Lord. I took away a lot, but one thing I wanted to share with other families is that Phil Vischer (VeggieTales guy) is attempting to launch a children's christian television online this summer. I'm including the link on the side bar for you to check out. Having a child that is in LOVE with the TV, I'm excited about this. :) They used 2 of the puppets for intro clips at the conference, and they were very humorous!

Being away from "life" for a little was so refueling for my mommy tank. I think I've given each of the kids at least 50 hugs and kisses today. Being away helped me to remember the beauty in each of them.

Thanks Daddy for doing such a great job!

Mommy's going away?!

Mommy is heading to Chicago for almost a week! I am attending a children's ministry conference for several days and then spending the weekend with my grandparents. This will be a big test for Daddy! If you could say some prayers for him this week, I'm sure he would appreciate it! :) Maybe Daddy can write a post if there are any good stories.

Some Firsts!

Today Addie had her first popsicle.

She wasn't quite sure what to think of it.

But she kept wanting more!

The boys went on their first independent walk through our fields.

It took some encourage from Mom and Dad, but they enjoyed it once they got to the trees.

AND MY FAVORITE. . . Addie eats yogurt by herself for the first time! As I was scrambling to get supper made, I turned around to discover that Addie had helped herself to Tanyon's leftover "snack".

What a mess! If you look carefully, you can see the yogurt between her left toes.

She was so messy that I couldn't help but laugh!

Independence, ugh!

Someone forgot to mention in the parenting manual how much effort it takes for children to become independent. I have been reminded over and over again how much effort it takes to be intentional about things. It's so much easier to just put the boys clothes on for them rather than try and talk them through getting dressed while their being goof balls and jumping on their beds. I thought being potty trained would be the best thing ever. Now every time we go some where I have to remember to remind little boys to use the potty before we can get out the door. Now we get half way through our grocery shopping trip, and someone has to go potty. Try to picture all 4 of us, me holding Addie, squeezing into a bathroom stall and repeatedly saying- "Don't touch!".

I've been wanting to teach responsibility with chores with the boys, but that means things like making sure the dishwasher gets washed at night so it's ready in the morning. And I have the neatest little chore chart, but do you think I can remember to come up with a plan for that?! Then when they do perform chores for me, I have to remember to pay them and work on the whole tithing idea of giving money to Jesus. The hardest part seems to be at night when all I want to do is get everyone in bed, but I want to teach them to pick up their toys, and to brush their teeth (which they now want to do which slows done the processes even more) and read a Bible story and prayers. It seems like 'til we get all that done I'm completely whipped! Even little Miss Addie requires more work to be intentional as she develops. Gates have to be put up, dishes done when she's not around (because she loves to crawl on top of the dishwasher door) and remembering to put on the bib (which I'm not so good at) because I've got 4 outfits soaking right now because she's learning to feed herself.

But as I found myself grumbling tonight (at 9:30 because the boys had just gotten in bed) about how hard it is to be intentional, I sensed God was reminding me how good I have it. My life right now is truly blessed, but not easy! I have learned more about being selfless since becoming a mom. It's something I struggle with each day, but thankfully God gives me the strength to try. Being a mom is not something that I necessarily dreamt about growing up as a kid (like some girls do), but I'm starting to believe more and more each day that being a mother and wife is the greatest way that I can serve God. It's a position that a lot of times is anything but glamorous here at the Shaull household, but what an honor! By the way, I think I never did receive that parenting manual. I'm so thankful that God gives me the wisdom I need when I ask. I just need to remember to ask! :)

Swimming Lessons

We started swimming lessons today at the YMCA. The boys were VERY excited to go, but a little hesitant once the class started. They tried everything that was asked of them though! I would say that swimming on their backs was NOT a favorite. Tanyon had his arm gripped around the instructors neck the whole time he was on his back.

A Gentle Heart!

Tanyon has spent the past 2 days carrying around a duck that Addie got for her birthday. He has pretended to feed it, give it a nap, take it to the hospital for shots and my favorite- take it for a walk. He was insistent that the duck had to have a coat on since I was making him wear a coat. :) He didn't want the duck to be cold he kept telling me when I said we didn't have a coat small enough. He solved the problem by putting Addie's coat on it.

Tanyon continues to amaze me each day with how he can be so full of energy, looking for trouble, a daredevil, impulsive and at times defiant, but can be so thoughtful of other's at the same time. It just doesn't seem like they should all fit together but it's what makes him so special I guess. I can only imagine in a couple years when he is in school that he will be able to really frustrate his teacher but they won't be able to be mad because he is being kind at the same time. I often joke that it's his saving grace. I continue to pray that this caring spirit will continue to develop in him and that he will use it to help serve others and show Christ's love.

We LOVE warm weather!

We have enjoyed the sunshine and warm weather so much the past 2 days. The first thing Bryson wanted to do was play baseball. He is becoming very determined to be a good baseball player for when he goes to school. He even asked to run on the treadmill so he could get faster at catching the ball. That lasted for about 1 minute. :) For only being 4 he is starting to develop a nice swing I must say.

The boys love when Pappy comes to pick up Uncle Craig because they know he will throw them some pitches.

All smiles after a hit!

Tanyon has spent the majority of the time while Pappy throws to be a clown. You can really tell the year difference between the boys when it comes to baseball/batting. Watch out though Bryson, Tanyon's not too far behind. :)

Trying to be a clown, included making his sister laugh. Which Tanyon is pretty good at!

Addie even got a little swinging practice in while Bryson threw the pitches. Yes, Addie is still carrying around her baseball from her party Sunday. :)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ADDIE!

This pic. is actually from a different party, but it was the only pic. with a party hat!

Yesterday we celebrated Addie's 1st birthday! How quickly a year flies by when your taking care of children under the age of 4! She really wasn't quite sure what to do with all of the attention at times. The things they say about birth order really seem to be true. Addie is so pleasant and go with the flow that her very active brothers seem to get a lot of Mommy's attention.



Oma made the cake since Mommy knew she would have difficulty handling getting everything ready for the party.




Addie who is a great eater was very uncertain of us telling her she could eat the cake. All 3 of our kids have been quite disappointing with eating their first birthday cake. We really thought Addie would be the one to tear into the cake!


The final outcome was messy but not too bad.




Addie was quite excited to open presents.


She was very cute in that she would carry each present over to someone to open the presents.


Aunt Shannon got Addie a very cute doll, but Addie showed the most excitement over the balls that she received.


Once she opened her baseball she carried it everywhere with her! If someone tried to take the ball away from her, she was not very happy. I guess my family would say Mother like Daughter.






I had to include this last picture of Addie, because I caught her awesome smile! She continues to win my heart each day. She is such a tremendous blessing to our family. I'm so thankful that the Lord works past our own selfishness or else we wouldn't have her in our family. As I was pregnant with her I was a little concerned about having another child with the boys being young and so close in age, but I took comfort in knowing that God knew what our family needed and would give me just what I could handle. What a special gift she has been. Her brothers adore her, she has her Daddy hooked already and her smile is what keeps Mommy sane some days when brothers seem to be looking for trouble. I try to enjoy her each day because she is losing the baby side more and more, but I eagerly await to see the little lady she will become! Thank you God for Addie!

A Pleasant Reminder!

Today I had a rough time with getting Tanyon to sleep for his nap. We went several rounds for about a half hour before he decided to give in. As I started to get irritated, God helped me to remember how far we have come in a year. When we put the boys together in a room last February it was a nightmare. Tanyon went from awesome sleeper to battle warrior over night. Adam and I would spend anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour and a half chasing the boys (esp. Tanyon) back to bed at night. Nap times seemed to be the worst because the boys just seemed to feed off each other. Every day it seemed like I had to break his will before he would give in to sleep. With as much energy as the boys have, nap time is a very precious thing to Mommy's sanity. As I thought back today about that transition it seemed like we would never get through, but it was so good to see how God has given us the wisdom and strength to get through those rough times. I am so thankful that I can lean on Him for strength and wisdom!

Not the best picture, but a beautiful site to me! :)

Progress Being Made, I Think?!

We are officially staying at our new house with all of the essentials for living at the new house. We are gradually trying to bring the left overs from the old house to the new. This has been a very unconventional move, but it seems to be working. I try to make a trip everyday over to the old house and load up the car. My goal has been to find a home for everything when it's brought over to the new house. So far I've been fairly successful. Adam's parents, my friends Jen & Drue and our neighbor Haven have been very helpful with getting us into this new house.

This is our neighbors' Gator. Haven took the kids for a spin while she was watching them. We are blessed to have such kind neighbors!

Some of our friends have not seen our new house and others haven't seen some of the updates, so I thought I would post some pictures:

The Exterior of the house needs a lot of work, but that will come with time!


Our property goes to the tree line that is behind Tanyon.


We were able to move our swingset from the old house! This makes me happy since I bought the slide and swings at stellar yard sale prices!!







Bryson took these interior pictures for me! :)


Yes, the loft now has a railing!




This is the view from the loft. The center stone on the chimney is from Africa! The family we bought the house from were and are going to be missionaries there. This has been an awesome reminder to me daily to make sure God is the center of our family!


Like the bright green paint?! Bryson picked it!! It's so bright that it reflects a yellow tint!



Addie's room is my favorite! You can see in the kids room how we restored the logs. They were heavily water damaged, but we were able to remove the stains with some sanding.



This is our sunroom and current dumping ground.



You can see the awesome view of the mountains that we have from this room. I'm looking forward to this room being functional!

This is a brief glimpse at what we've done so far. There are so many projects that could be done, and will be done with time. I look forward to this transition phase being done. I can't wait to be able to hang out as a family at night and not feel guilty that we aren't working. God has blessed us and I try hard not to forget that.

Happy Late Bday Tanyon!

With moving we found it hard to find a night to take Tanyon to Chuckie E. Cheese. You know that since we did that with Bryson we HAD to do that for Tanyon also. I'm not sure if mom is real excited about this bday tradition, but the boys had a blast! Addie also enjoyed some rides too!