Dirk's New Toy

So Dirk and his brothers decided on a way to beat the summer gas prices this year! They found these:


They are called Bobbers. They are like Scooters with the look of Choppers. Dirk and his brothers stayed up until 1am yesterday putting them together. Dirk still has some little things left to do to get his to the complete stage but he loves it already! He isn't the only one who thinks it is pretty cool.

Lexi had to have her turn sitting on the bike. She really liked it. I even sat on it for awile but I just don't look as cute as Lexi on it. Dirk does want me to learn to drive it this summer. What a scary thought!

Where I've Been

So I've really enjoyed reading everybody's posts about their wonderful Valentine's and weekends!

Well we were planning on having a relaxing time at home with the kids. Things just didn't happen that way. First Wednesday I catch Rayden and Alexia's cold. Usually this isn't a big deal but I lost all energy with the cold. Pregnant and sick is not a good combination. Then Thursday I woke up with pink eye in both eyes! I went to the doctor and got some antibiotic drops. I spent two days wearing glasses that are far from the right prescription. So I added a headache to it. Saturday I started getting better but Lexi came home from a sleepover with a fever of 101. We gave her some fever reducer and she seemed fine for the day. That night her fever went to 105. This was scary for me. She was completely lethargic. She asked her Dad for a blessing which was very comforting. I love that my 4 year old thought of that! Anyway we had a couple of bad days and nights with her fever not wanting to go away. Yesterday morning she took her medicine and the fever went away and never came back. By the early afternoon she was running around and going crazy. I made her stay home to make sure she was getting better.

So today sickness appears to have finally left our house! NOw I am cleaning like crazy. I am so glad that we got all of this over this last week so we are all healthy for Jake and Melese when they come home this weekend!!!!!! We can't wait!

Saturday I was able to get out for a little bit. I went to lunch with my MIL and SIL's for my MIL's birthday. We went to Iggy's and I have to say I love the Sicillian Lasagna there! After that we went to Kohl's. I found some adorable baby outfits for Simon. Now I have to decide which one he is going to wear home from the hospital!

I do have one picture to share from this last week. Here is Lexi and Rayden right before Lexi went to her Valentine Preschool party on Wednesday. She had a blast and came home and shared her candy with Ray. She can be so sweet! I love Rayden's cowlick look. I think it is time for a haircut!

Valentine Tea Party

We had so much fun today going to a Valentine Tea Party! It was a Mom and Daughter party that Julie and Jaclyn Popa gave for a small group of girls who would all be going to Kindergarten together. Lexi was so excited. She got to go early to make some cookies to share with me and Rayden. I love how you could see her fingers in the icing. She had to make sure they tasted good! I also thought she looked beautiful with the makeup that Jaclyn put on her! Also don't mind the hair she did it herself this morning!

The little brunch party was very good. We had some yummy treats and sandwiches that were shaped like hearts. Even the cheese was cut into little heart shapes!

Here is a picture of most of the group. Rayden was there playing with Stockton but he skipped out on the picture!

From left to right: Brooklyn Taylor, Melanie and Kaitlyn Hiatt, Jaclyn and Stockton Popa, Alexia

Little Mommy

So we are at 2 months and counting down to the arrival of Baby Simon at our house. I've been driving everyone crazy with my extreme nesting mode lately. I have been cleaning out closets and reorganizing rooms like mad! Along with my nesting I have been pulling out all of the baby stuff and washing it so it is all ready. Most of the stuff is sitting in the nursery until it is needed. Well over the last couple of days I have gone in there to find my baby gear occupied!
We have a little mommy in the house who likes to leave her babies all over. She has had her baby in the bassinet for about a week now. That is one tired kid! I just got the car seat on Wednesday and yesterday I went in the nursery to find that she had put her baby Emily in there. When I asked her why she was there she said she was taking a nap. In the same breath she said, "Mom you really need to get me one of these!" So Liesl if you read this I might be asking you for the old car seat back so Lexi can safely "drive" her babies around!

I'm Invisible

I found the following on another blog. It is what I have been striving for my entire life. Have I reached it? Not even close but it gives me a perspective of where I want to be. I have other posts to post but they might have to wait a few more days as I have 3 of my sister's kids here. They got here on Wednesday and are here until Monday night. It has been stressful and reminds of how thankful I am for the peace in my home any other time! I love my nieces and nephew though and we have had lots of fun. Anyway here is that story!

I'm Invisible.
It all began to make sense, the blank stares, the lack of response, the way one of the kids will walk into the room while I'm on the phone and ask to be taken to the store. Inside I'm thinking, "Can't you see I'm on the phone?" Obviously not; no one can see if I'm on the phone, or cooking, or sweeping the floor, or even standing on my head in the corner, because no one can see me at all. I'm invisible. The invisible Mom. Some days I am only a pair of hands, nothing more: Can you fix this? Can you tie this? Can you open this? Some days I'm not a pair of hands; I'm not even a human being. I'm a clock to ask, "What time is it?" I'm a satellite guide to answer, "What number is the Disney Channel?" I'm a car to order, "Right around 5:30, please." I was certain that these were the hands that once held books and the eyes that studied history and the mind that graduated summa cum laude - but now they had disappeared into the peanut butter, never to be seen again. She's going, she's going, she's gone!One night, a group of us were having dinner, celebrating the return of a friend from England. Janice had just gotten back from a fabulous trip, and she was going on and on about the hotel she stayed in. I was sitting there, looking around at the others all put together so well. It was hard not to compare and feel sorry for myself as I looked down at my out-of-style dress; it was the only thing I could find that was clean. My unwashed hair was pulled up in a hair clip and I was afraid I could actually smell peanut butter in it.I was feeling pretty pathetic, when Janice turned to me with a beautifully wrapped package, and said, "I brought you this." It was a book on the great cathedrals of Europe. I wasn't exactly sure why she'd given it to me until I read her inscription: "To Charlotte, with admiration for the greatness of what you are building when no one sees."In the days ahead I would read - no, devour - the book. And I would discover what would become for me, four life-changing truths, after which I could pattern my work: No one can say who built the great cathedrals - we have no record of their names. These builders gave their whole lives for a work they would never see finished. They made great sacrifices and expected no credit. The passion of their building was fueled by their faith that the eyes of God saw everything.A legendary story in the book told of a rich man who came to visit the cathedral while it was being built, and he saw a workman carving a tiny bird on the inside of a beam. He was puzzled and asked the man, "Why are you spending so much time carving that bird into a beam that will be covered by the roof? No one will ever see it." And the workman replied, "Because God sees."I closed the book, feeling the missing piece fall into place. It was almost as if I heard God whispering to me, "I see you, Charlotte. I see the sacrifices you make every day, even when no one around you does. No act of kindness you've done, no sequin you've sewn on, no cupcake you've baked, is too small for me to notice and smile over. You are building a great cathedral, but you can't see right now what it will become." At times, my invisibility feels like an affliction. But it is not a disease that is erasing my life. It is the cure for the disease of my own self-centeredness. It is the antidote to my strong, stubborn pride. I keep the right perspective when I see myself as a great builder. As one of the people who show up at a job that they will never see finished, to work on something that their name will never be on. The writer of the book went so far as to say that no cathedrals could ever be built in our lifetime because there are so few people willing to sacrifice to that degree.When I really think about it, I don't want my son to tell the friend he's bringing home from college for Thanksgiving, "My mom gets up at 4 in the morning and bakes homemade pies, and then she hand bastes a turkey for three hours and presses all the linens for the table." That would mean I'd built a shrine or a monument to myself. I just want him to want to come home. And then, if there is anything more to say to his friend, to add, "You're gonna love it there." As mothers, we are building great cathedrals. We cannot be seen if we're doing it right. And one day, it is very possible that the world will marvel, not only at what we have built, but at the beauty that has been added to the world by the sacrifices of invisible women.