voss voyage

"Don't set your heart on anything that is your neighbor's" ~Exodus 20:17 I always thought that #10 of the 10 Commandments, "Do not love your neighbor's wife" seemed completely doable. And because I never really  knew what coveting was, so I just kinda ignored that translation, too. But then I read Exodus 20 from The Message (kinda like a Cliff Notes Bible) and I thought, "oh, it means being content with what I have. Oh. Great." Where is the King James version again? Some people are so content with the possessions they have. They are satisfied for all their stuff. They don't long to accumulate more stuff....in fact, they want to get rid of the stuff they have. They are not only content with their stuff, they are content with the people surrounding their stuff. Don't you wish you had one of these out back? Obviously, because I am writing this post, I am not one of them.  According to the dictionary, this means I'm not sat...

I've been wanting to post on this topic for awhile now. I don't go through a week without someone saying the words, "I don't know how you do it," or some variation of that. Most people are well intentioned, and just can't imagine having 4 young kids, especially having twins....at least, I think that is what they mean. I always want to have a really good comeback, but most of the time I wonder what "it" is. So I decided to see what Google had to say on "it." I stumbled upon a blog and thought the author, Misty, had some enlightening words when her mother had a sudden, massive heart attack : When I was doing all the things I knew to do to take care of my mom, I never even thought about “how” I was going to do "it". Most mornings (and most nights) I told God that I couldn’t, so He had to. He did. He woke me up every morning, got me showered and cleaned, put me in my car, drove me to the hospital, and got me back to that room (not...

The twins 12-month well check went as expected. They are a tad small and developmentally behind according to the charts. But they just want to keep with Voss tradition and do things late. Actually, they are doing more than their older sisters at this age, and I'm not worried a bit. After a few shots we headed home in record time for a twin check...under an hour!! Here is a comparison of the Voss Girls Allison... 22lb-7oz  (75%);     29 1/8" (50%) Mia...     20lb-2oz   (40%);    28"       (23%) Natalie...19lbs-14oz (30%);   27 1/2" (10%) Jenna...  19lbs-1oz   (20%);   28 1/4" (24%)

When people found out I was pregnant with twins they would say "the first year is the hardest." A few twin moms encouraged me that it "wasn't that bad" but most well-intentioned people had me scared to death! While there were certainly many challenges (and lots of tears shed), the past year has been a delight and a double blessing in so many ways. 36 weeks 2 days.... right before admission Seeing both twins for the first time.          with Natalie, while still preggo with Jenna Natalie a few hours old Jenna a few hours old Our first birthday picture together My mom was able to live with us for about 2 months right after the twins were born. She was such an incredible blessing to us. I was able to get some much needed early morning sleep (as moms of breastfeeding twins know...those are the most precious hours) while she took care of Allison (then 4) and Mia (then 2). She did all of the cooking, cleaning, and house keeping. And w...

Be intentional. That is my resolution for the year 2012. I need to stop floundering, looking for where I fit. God will put me there if I just stop for a bloody second and listen to him. I talk about priorities all the time, yet can I list what mine are? Yeah, yeah, yeah, God... Family... Others... But what does that really  mean ?  I'm reading through a devotional called "Made to Crave" with a friend of mine. It's purpose is geared to weight control, but God is speaking much bigger things to me...and we are on day 2. I'm resisting the urge to read ahead and focusing on the scripture she shares & how it applies to me. And God is speaking--big time.  Along with being intentional about EVERYTHING, he's telling me to stop acting entitled and start acting humble. Yup, I said it. I'm selfish. I want people to love me. I want to be appreciated. I want to be noticed. I get my feelings hurt when people are rude, mean,  and insensitive. And I realize tha...

We were fortunate to be able to spend a week at my older brother's house in Pittsboro, Indiana. They had just moved to a farm in the country. OH.MY.WORD. My kids were in absolute heaven. I honestly didn't see Allison for the whole week. When we got home she said, "Can we pllllleeeeease move to Indiana? I love my cousins and want to live there!"  I also feel so incredibly blessed to have such a wonderful sister-in-law, Susan. She truly is a sister to me. Anyone who can tolerate our crew for a week is sure to be a saint! We built so many wonderful memories. I am blessed!!!!!! Time together in the hot tub.  Natalie among the presents during Christmas #2.  Dad's are so cool. They built this snowman with little effort. Love the addition of the beer can in Frosty's mouth.  This is how I am a lot of the time. My dad would say, "may your children be like olive plants around your table."  Pepper the pony escaped to the neighbor's p...

Here are some of my favorite pictures from our Christmas Celebrations in 2011. Of course there a few really fun things that we missed capturing on camera. I'm trying to be better about this, but I still can't seem to get all the special moments. Maybe that will be one of my resolutions for 2012! I'm also going to try to figure out how to post video on here as there are 2 that we got that are really funny! Cookie Exchange with some girlfriends--really yummy & fun. One of Allison's teachers, Mrs. Nutt. By far one of the most awesome people I have ever had the privilege of meeting!! Enjoying cookies after Allison's preschool performance. I LOVE this picture of Jenna. She is 11 months and still full of snuggles. We had our annual appetizer night early this year-- on December 23rd. We had 34 people in our house!! This is the only picture I got the entire night. The kids decorated gingerbread houses to stay occupied. I think I was a little ove...