This Little Light of Mine

A very interesting rendition

Norrises at the Zoo

Jeff's parents, his brother Thad, and our niece Hallie came to visit last weekend, and we went to the zoo! All three kids had a blast, and we loved getting to hang out with Jeff's family. Here are a few pictures...Pretty much all of them are of Miller and Hallie holding hands. They must love each other!
Hehe...how cute is this?
Miller was so happy to see Hallie. When I look at this picture, I wonder if he will be tall like his Daddy and Uncle Thad.
Riding the train...and still holding hands. :-)

The Hornets Attack

Maggie had her first soccer game today (well, two games--a double header!). As promised, it was pretty funny. Some of the usual humor was taken away because the referee made the kids stay in bounds, and they weren't kicking the ball two fields over like they do in practice.

Maggie's team is the Hornets, and they played the Yellowjackets and the Grasshoppers. They pretty much dominated (ha!). I'm thinking the Hornets are a little older than the other teams. Mags scored two goals! We were proud, but more importantly, she had fun! (Right?!)I loved watching the kids work together, high-five each other, and cheer for their teammates. I so look forward to Saturday mornings for the next few weeks.

Here are a few pics from this morning. I 'm also including pictures of the neighborhood kids playing over the past few days. It already feels like summer around here with everyone outside. I love it!

Alex observing as Shelby and Maggie inspect their drawstrings

Sizing up the competition...They kept saying, "Look at those Yellowjackets!"

Maggie and Alex before the games

Maggie and Cooper high-fiving each other. These were some happy Hornets!
Maggie and Karma waiting on their turn to play
Good game, Yellowjackets!
Miss Mags singing a "rock 'n roll" song
The lighting is bad in this picture, but I love it for a few reasons. First, we love having all the neighborhood kids playing outside together (although I think we're missing a few in this picture). Second, Scott (standing by the UPS truck) had ordered a new cell phone for Margaret, and he flagged the UPS man down as he was passing our house and asked if he was delivering the phone to their house. (I love being in a neighborhood where you can do things like this.) Third, don't you know that UPS man was terrified of all the wild monkeys (I mean children) running around in our yard? And I don't love this, but Jeff in this picture pretty much illustrates what the pollen is doing to all of us...

Happy Saturday!

New Mercies

“Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.” Lamentations 3:22-23

This verse has been on my mind all week. And no wonder—I needed it big time.

Have you ever seen a child throw a fit? A huge, gi-normous, record-setting, hysterical fit? Both of mine did yesterday. Whoa.

I have been trying to keep the kids up through naptime this week because Jeff has all of his National Board Teaching Certification stuff due next week, and I’ve wanted to put the children to bed early so he could get work done. Plan=fail. They haven’t been sleeping well, and yesterday, things broke down around here.

We attempted a playground trip. I told the kids we were going to make a couple of laps around the park with the stroller, and their reward for good behavior was getting to play. Good deal…everyone seemed to be in agreement…until Miller really understood what was going on. As soon as he saw the stroller come out of the trunk, he started whining “plaaayground.” I reminded him of the deal. He got louder. I buckled him into the stroller. Even louder. Tried to walk for about a minute. Louder.

We packed up the stroller and went home. Took fifteen minutes for me to get the double stroller squeezed back into the trunk. Miller screamed the whole way home. I felt horribly for the way the trip turned out, but I could not reward the fit. He slept for a while when we got home, so that was obviously the problem.

After Miller’s nap, we went outside to play and then decided to go to Momma Goldberg’s with Scott, Margaret, Colby, and Maggie’s new friend Emma. Emma and Maggie just love each other and wanted to ride together, so we moved Maggie’s seat to the middle of the backseat. Maggie got upset because she didn’t have a clear, look-straight-ahead view to her tv in the car. So she started crying. (Really?)

It was one of those fits where she began to stray from the original cause. She started screaming, “I…want…to…go…home…and…watch…Wow…Wow…Wubbzyyyyyy!” Tears streaming down her face, gagging, the whole nine yards. She was not being kind. We got to the restaurant, and after two long trips to the restroom with her, Jeff got her calmed down (He’s truly magic). Our Maggie was back. Not sure who that other child was…

At bedtime, I was exhausted and discouraged (We all were). But, whew, am I thankful for the Lord’s ever-renewed love and compassion. And I said a special prayer this morning that he would help me have that same compassion with my family today. That I can be forgiving, patient, and kind.

So thankful for a new day. Off to enjoy it...

This Past Weekend

We took lots of pictures this past weekend, and I've been meaning to post them but couldn't find the camera until today...

Saturday morning, we had Maggie's soccer pictures. Their first game is in a couple of weeks...cannot WAIT! Practices are hilarious. My sides hurt from laughing when we leave. Those kids sure were cute in their soccer gear on Saturday! Here are a few pictures.




Saturday afternoon we played with some neighbors outside at Scott and Margaret's house. We are blessed to live in a neighborhood where nearly everyone plays outside all spring and summer. So much fun!

Colbs dropped his popsicle!
Scott and Marg's niece McKenzie and our neighbor Nate. Are they not a cute pair??

Sunday afternoon was our niece Hallie's second birthday party. I couldn't go because I had a stomach bug, and I was SO sad. Jeff took the kids, though, and they had a great time. Hallie is a precious little girl. Here is a picture from her party.

Mags was proud of the card she made for Hallie.

And here are some pictures Jeff took of Maggie and Miller being wild and crazy during bathtime.


And here a couple more pictures. Maggie makes the beds most mornings (or at least puts all the pillows on for me). She wanted me to take a picture because she was proud of her work. The second picture is of Miller trying to hide under the couch pillows when I told him it was naptime. Silly boy.


Hope everyone is having a good week!

Special Birthday

My birthday was yesterday, and it was excellent! We are blessed with incredible friends and family who made me feel special. I got cards, phone calls, and messages from several sweet family members and buddies, and that in itself made my day! THEN, Becky and her sweet little ones, Alex and baby Caroline, took the kids and me out for a birthday lunch at Momma Goldberg’s. THEN, Jeff asked our friends Scott and Margaret to keep the kiddos so he and I could go out for dinner. After dinner, we got a cookie cake, and Jeff bought me a new dress and pair of shoes. THEN, when we got back to S and M’s, they had put up a birthday banner, and all the kids had made sweet birthday cards. I am undeserving of the wonderful friends and family God has given me, and I feel so blessed (and spoiled). And to top it all off, Mags was as excited about my birthday as she was about her own! How sweet is that? Thank you to my precious friends and family for a wonderful day! :-)

Be Still

Most of our friends and family know we've had a sub-par week. :-) To sum up, we're having to get my car repaired to the tune of a BUNCH of money, and we found out Monday that our house has "toxic Chinese drywall," a problem common to houses built in the time period when ours was built (2006-7), and a problem a lot of our neighbors have, too. We can't sell the house as is, so we will have to have it repaired, which will cost about 2/3 the price of the home. We are having to file with a class action suit, which may not settle for a couple more years (or more). We had some big plans that are becoming blurry as a result.

But you know what? Those were our plans, and God has different ones. And since His plan is the master plan, we're praying for peace and know that God will use this for His glory. And in the grand scheme of things, we know this is really not a big deal. Just made for a long week.

We sang this song in church Sunday night, and it has been on my heart all week as I strive desperately to "be still and know":

Hide me now
Under your wings
Cover me
within your mighty hand

When the oceans rise and thunders roar
I will soar with you above the storm
Father you are king over the flood
I will be still and know you are God

Find rest my soul
In Christ alone
Know his power
In quietness and trust

When the oceans rise and thunders roar
I will soar with you above the storm
Father you are king over the flood
I will be still and know you are God
("Still," Hillsong United)