voss voyage

I'm posting this picture for my friend, Rachel. See, you are not the only one who struggles with plants. I tried REALLY hard to love & nuture this little tomato plant. I'm hopeless....

Natalie 22lbs 8oz (24%) 30 1/2 in (19%) *Babbles up a storm, and can have 2-3 minute monologues; but no real words in all that babbling except "here ya go." Super cute as my other kids didn't do this. *Real Words: mama, dada, bye, uh-oh, up ,here-ya-go, go ( should have 8+words and putting 2 words together). We have chosen not to pursue speech therapy at this time. *Signs: more, up, all done, eat, please, milk *"Reads" books to Jenna. I'm trying to get this on video but have been unsuccessful so far *Started real walking at end of 16 months after walking on knees for months *Sleeps through the night mostly and takes 1 nap (90min-2 1/2hrs). We are not on any kind of schedule. I don't mind, they sleep when they need to, and are super flexible *Sleeps in crib 50% of time, PnP in closet other 50% (depends on how Jenna is doing). Light sleeper. *Likes to eat, but much pickier than Jenna. Favorite foods are banana, cheese, yogurt, crackers, peanut bu...

Being the oldest, Allison is getting to try stuff first. And she is the perfect one to do it as she likes just about everything. Since about 2 years old, Allison loves to dress up and dance around the living room. So she was in heaven when she got to dress up and dance with other little girls her age at "real" dance. We had heard about "In His Steps" from some friends of ours. And since one of those friends offered to pick her up and take her to dance, how could I say no? In His Steps is actually a ministry of Tricia and Angie. They use their God-given talents and schooling in professional dance to help budding dancers praise God. They ask for a minimal donation for each class and use the money to help the poor in Nicaragua. The girls (of all ages) perform for nursing homes during the year and then have a "Night of Worship" with other churches at the end of the year. Allison has really enjoyed dancing this year. It's also neat to watch her break into...

  So I've been really slack with my blogging. When school gets out I am  inundated with summer activities and the constant bickering  talking of preschoolers. My computer time gets a major blow each summer. I think this is a good thing and I always vow to keep the screen time to a minimum when Fall rolls around. That has yet to happen! Ha! But I always have good intentions.  I'm going to try to play catch up with the next several posts. I'll have to come back later and add a few pictures, since I haven't taken any of the pool or fun summer activities we've done. I need to get a phone with a camera! Upward Soccer Allison loves to be involved in any kind of activity. She loves people and loves running around, so we thought she would really enjoy soccer. Yup, she was a natural. When I asked her what her favorite part was, she said, "snack." Ok, so she likes to eat too! Allison was one of the only aggressive players on her team. Imagine that?! ...

Well, its over for my oldest child. Three years that I wouldn't trade for the world, at the best preschool I could have ever hoped for. Allison was born to be with other people. She is about the most social person I've ever met. I never dreamed I'd put my 2 year old in preschool, but it was the best decision for her. She had a WONDERFUL 3 years at JPP. This past year was the best by far. She was in a class with exceptional teachers.  I know that you must possess a special gift to work with preschoolers, but these two teachers are more than blessed, they are anointed! TRULY! They work together as such a great team and have really brought the best out of each child. Allison fell in love with Mrs. Nutt on the playground last year and this year the bond continued. She loved every.single.day at school. (for some reason I'm having a hard time adding captions to these pics. They are of the end of the year ice cream party that Robn & I put together, and the end of year prom...

I recently went to a Memorial Day party, and brought dipped strawberries. yes, they were yummy! Several people asked me, "how did you find time to make those?" I answered truthfully, "have you seen my house?" They laughed, but I wasn't kidding!  The exchange got me to thinking about my priorities and my new years resolution to be intentional. My husband, Patrick, often says that we make time for what is important. We all find time to eat, sleep and shower (although I know many of us skip those some days, too!). We make time to do the things we want to do. Baking and cooking is a stress reliever to me. So is watching TV...scanning facebook...talking on the phone...reading on my kindle. I seem to be able to do all those things. Cleaning my house? Folding laundry? Mopping the floor? Not so much. So those things get left & it shows.  I've been convicted this week that I'm not doing the best I could be at my job....the home manager. ...

I posted my multiple miscarriages story here . But I wanted to expand on the story, give more details, and share how I believe God has worked in my life to give me four precious miracles. After my third miscarriage I felt hopeless. Because I'd been told by a few OB practitioners that having three miscarriages in a row happened less than 1% of the time, I figured we were done trying to have biological children. I didn't know if I could emotionally handle another loss; and I didn't think I wanted to find out. Patrick and I had only been married a short time, and we weren't emotionally ready to head down the adoption path either. I felt empty, sad, hopeless, trapped. I was already in my 30's and we had wanted a large family. Now I just wanted ONE child. A friend of mine at work approached me one day and shared her story of infertility and miscarriage. She encouraged me to not give up. She also encouraged me to go to www.babycenter.com and look for online ...