Live Love. Give Grace.

Sick leave is over

2011-10-28T13:29:00.003-07:00

The 2 older children and I have been sick all week. Its been ok. We didn't get to go anywhere and that was nice in a way. But we missed out too. I had to miss Bible study, which threw me off of my daily studies and homework for the class, so now I am behind. We had to miss Wednesday night, Edmund is awesome at saying his memory verses at AWANA and missed seeing his friends. And I was supposed to start practice for our SWAT Praise Team. Grrr....But I got to stay home. I got to snuggle my babies. We watched a lot of movies. And my office is CLEAN!!! For the first time in 2 years since we bought our house! Yesterday we started feeling better and decided to resume our Friday schedule. We leave the house early and go grocery shopping. We try to get there around 8. Then we have tap lessons at 10. I enjoy Fridays. I enjoyed today. Shopping in the morning is amazing! There are so many less people at Wal Mart! Anyway, we had a good morning. And then we got home. And the lists of things that I really need to do all came flooding back. And there are dishes piled high. Toys scattered all around. And always more laundry to do. We were invited to the pumpkin patch and I was torn about going because I have ALL this STUFF to do. The kids walked in the house and instantly started to tear a box apart and I screamed at them. And then I breathed and said I was sorry for yelling at them. Its not important. We need to go to the pumpkin patch. We LOVE the pumpkin patch and it will be good for our spirits to go and be together and spend time. Deepen friendships. ALL this STUFF will wait for another hour. Another day.

Starting Over; Real Words

2011-10-27T16:18:00.002-07:00

When I opened my blogspot account forever ago, I didn't know what blogging was and I didn't think that I would ever write anything worthy of merit-I can't write!

At least the lie that I believe of myself is that I'm never or will ever be good enough.

The words, they never come out right.
The aren't ever carved out perfectly.
They aren't good enough.
So I don't publish them.

But to whom do I write? Who is my audience?

I'm switching gears and bearing my heart wide open. And I'm scared. And I don't want to.

But I keep hearing this urging to write my story. To lay down the ugly. To show the struggle in my heart. To give thanks. To worship.

And my audience is One.

And I offer this space to my God. And I ask you Lord for your words. For your healing. For your glory to shine through.

Because in all this mess-my life-you are weaving and working and making me whole.

Wholly yours.

Henry William Hummer

2011-08-10T10:08:00.003-07:00

Henry William Hummer was born on July 13, 2011 at 5:40 pm.

He weighed 9 pounds 2 ounces and was 22 1/2 inches long.
Henry means: Ruler of the Household and Trusted
William means: Resolute protector and Noble Spirit

Now Henry is 4 weeks old! He is about 11 1/2 pounds and 23 1/2 inches long.
He is very squeeky! He is very snuggly. He is the most ticklish baby in our family.

Edmund and Genevieve adore him. Genevieve has her mommy radar on high alert. Any time he starts to cry she runs in to check on him and make sure he is ok. She is a very good helper and likes to do everything that I do, including breastfeeding her baby! Edmund loves to hold him and give him kisses. He can't wait to teach him how to jump on the trampoline and to read.

"The steps of a man are established by the Lord, when he delights in his way; though he fall, he shall not be cast headlong, for the Lord upholds his hand." Psalm 37:23-24

Photos by Kaydee Lynn Photography :-)

The Practice of Love

2011-07-27T13:59:00.003-07:00

My heart flutters with panic...and I send them away. I can't yell at them anymore. We have loved this brown haired baby boy for 2 weeks now. And he has been loved well. But it's easy to love a newborn who can't do anything for himself. How do I love the others? The ones who desperatly need me to love them. The babies who I have neglected these last days. The husband who has worked his heart out to take care of us. How do I love them well? And why is my heart racing with panic? Maybe it's because my hands have felt idle these last 2 weeks trying to recover. I have struggled to watch my husband do my job. I want to take over and let him rest. Then I do too much and I get exhausted. How can I love well when I am exhausted? I guess I still need time. Time to heal. Time to adjust. Time to learn. Time to sit and love well those who need loving.

Lord, teach me to love these you have given me. Calm my heart. Amen.

Hurting

2011-05-20T15:54:00.002-07:00

One major theme that I have noticed the last couple of years is despair. Girls that cut themselves to escape the pain of whatever they are going through. Suicide so prevalent that it isn't even mentioned in the local news. There is so much pain and hurting is so many people around me. What does it look like to love them? How do I even begin to understand the depth of their hurting? How is our small town so full of hopelessness? And so empty of Jesus? I don't know the answer to any of these questions. I do know that because the Holy Spirit has awakened me to this pain that I must do something. And the only way I know to start is by asking Him.

I'm going to embed a new song by JJ Heller. It's about letting go of our control and trusting God. It was written for her friend who struggled with self hurting but we can all use a reminder to let go of our control and let God control our lives. He has the best plan.

Ministry

2011-02-24T13:42:00.002-07:00

Here is our news for those of you who don't know already.

We took over the youth group 4 weeks ago!

It has been such an amazing experience!

Here is the story....

In the first week in January the youth pastor announced that he and his family were moving to Texas. And 3 weeks later they were gone. Robert and I had been involved in the youth group before and we were a little worried about what was going to happen. So we were praying and Robert started poking around for information and everyone he talked to had no idea about what was going to happen. So we kept praying and he finally called up one of our elders and was talking with him about it. And the ball started rolling from there. We both felt like the kids needed to have stability during transition. They needed to have familiar faces, not different ones every week. And the Lord started to give us a vision of what that would look like. We both felt like we needed to be involved on a consistent basis. So Robert talked with Pastor. Pastor talked with the elders. And February rolled around and now we are leading the youth group! It's sorta crazy because neither of us see ourselves as leaders. But Robert is a teacher so he has training in leading a group of kids. It's even crazier because the vision that God gave us has come together like bread and butter in just a short few weeks. We changed the whole system and some of the students are a little hesitant still but others are seeing the benefits. We added in small group time after the teaching and that has been positive for all of the leaders, it will just take time for everyone to get to know each other and feel comfortable talking in front of the other students. We also made the band take some time off. We were going to cancel it because they didn't do any performing on a regular basis. And the next week God provided a leader who is talented in leading a band. So he will be starting that up in the next couple of weeks. They will be playing every week at youth! We are excited! Also, leaders are popping up out of the woodworks! We have about 10 who are involved right now. We usually have at least 6 each week! It is so cool to see how the Lord has worked out all of the details! It's going to be a fun journey to see what else the Lord has in store! We have already planned our first event and even if the students are showing excitement we really feel like this first event will really pull everyone together through fun fellowship and lots of hours together :-)

Krystle

Trust Me

2011-02-22T15:06:00.003-07:00

We can't get pregnant again until......conditions are perfect.

The thought that was going through our head after Genevieve was born. We can't fit 3 car seats in our 20 year old car. So we can't have another baby till we have a newer car that can hold 3 car seats.

Then the Holy Spirit started to stir. Why aren't you having another baby? Because we just don't have the room! Are you going to trust me to provide a vehicle for you?...............Yes Lord, we will trust you.

And so we had my iud taken out and were birth control free (which was actually more freedom than just being able to get pregnant; I had been stressing out about it for over a year). I wanted to have a few months at least to lose some weight, but less than 2 months later, we were pregnant.

The only semi-issue we had was that I didn't have any insurance. I wasn't in any hurry to apply and go through all the hoops that are required of state insurance and I don't like my former doctor's office and I was dreading the idea of going there again. Plus, I didn't want Edmund's to change before his second eye surgery was over. So I waited. And then I applied. And then I was denied.

Robert makes too much money for me to be on state insurance. We pay a small fee for Edmund's and Genevieve qualifies for that same one but there isn't any funding for the program to accept new children and she has been on a waiting list since she turned one.

I was so sure that I would be accepted that not being accepted didn't cross my mind. I was shocked! Lord, what are we going to do now? Just trust me. Please. I have the best plan. Trust me and you will know that I will take care of you. I'm just asking you to trust me, just like you did in the beginning. Will you trust me to follow through?? Yes, Lord, we will continue to trust you.

And peace has been our banner.

And our car is falling to pieces.

And I'm halfway through this pregnancy.

And this precious baby has started to stir in my belly.

And I know that He is faithful.

So I will trust.

The best kind of love

2011-02-14T17:11:00.004-07:00

The BEST FRIEND kind of love. My husband. He is the best. And he is my best friend in the world. We talk about....literally....everything. We have no secrets. Except with each other. And today....love day....he came home with the best present. Fried green beans and a mediterranean salad.

Now, I know you are probably thinking, what in the world?? Why would he bring that to you on Valentines day? Doesn't he know about chocolate and flowers? First of all, if you haven't tried fried green beans, you have to head up to Tall Pine Grill up by the theater in Lakeside and get some. I promise you won't be disappointed! And both have to do with 1-I'm pregnant and when I'm pregnant and certain things taste good...my husband pays attention...and tries to think of how he can get me said thing. And 2-Because I'm pregnant and have the curse of a pregnancy related never ending yeast infection, I'm not eating any sugar. Sugar makes it 100 times worse. And my husband knows this, and is thoughtful, and didn't want to buy me sugar. As far as flowers go, he buys me those throughout the year so it isn't something that I have to have on love day beacause it is even more special when he gets me them on ordinary days :-) So, this is my husband, loving, thoughtful, kind, caring, wonderful! I love you baby! Thank you for loving me so well! :-)

I'm NERVOUS!!!!

2011-02-05T23:34:00.002-07:00

Tomorrow morning bright and early, I will have to force myself out of bed, get dressed in a groggy haze of alertness and go to the early service at church. We NEVER go to the early service unless something like this forces us to! I have to make my legs work, one in front of the other, walk up onto the platform and get behind the podium. I have to give my testimony! EEK!!! Wait? What exactly is a testimony? I mean we hear the word in church and other times but what exactly are we looking for? I looked it up. It is simply a formal written or spoken statement. And I am supposed to be talking specifically of how EE or Evangelism Explosion impacted my life and how I met Jesus. So here goes everything! I'm just going to be praying that my legs don't collapse and my thoat doesn't close up and my face doesn't look like a tomato! I'm def going to be wearing makeup tomorrow :-) Maybe it will hide my uneasiness! Ok, here it is!

My Uncle was going through a rough time in his marriage. He asked us if we would go to church with him. So, my Mom brought us here. I didn’t grow up in a church but I also didn’t grow up not believing that there was a god of some kind. It just wasn’t important in our house to learn about Him. So going to church wasn’t too awkward. The awkward part came when Pastor set up a time to come to our house and “get to know us a little bit.” I just turned 16. I just got my license that day. I didn’t want to get to know a pastor. What did that mean anyway? What was he going to say? Isn’t it weird to ask if you can come over? So I, in my slightly rebellious nature, was trying every way to get out of it. But my Mom wouldn’t let me. She told me I had to be home at a certain time because the Pastor was going to be there. As I was pulling into the drive way they were walking up to the door. I say they because there were 3 of them, Pastor and 2 kids from the youth group. My stomach started to churn. I was nervous. I was thinking,”seriously mom, why are you making me do this?” I went inside and sat down at the table. And in his usual way, Pastor started talking and made everyone feel more comfortable. I’m pretty sure we didn’t jump right into what the Bible says about Jesus but that is all I remember. I remember him showing us the Bible and telling us who Jesus was. Then he asked the question,” If you died right now and Jesus was waiting for you in heaven, and he asked you why he should let you into his heaven, what would you say?” In my head, it was clear to me that I didn’t have any reason why He should let me in. And I answered,” I really don’t know.” And then Pastor told me that I could know Jesus and that he would forgive me for my sins because He took the payment that I deserved. My life was forever changed when my sin was revealed to me and Jesus was made known to me. I was grateful after that, that my mom had forced me to come home and that a pushy Pastor had made an appointment to come and get to know us a little bit! My name is Krystle Hummer, and so you don’t have to ask, I’ve been here for 10 years!

The cold kicked us out last night

2011-02-04T13:21:00.002-07:00

Around 6:30 pm the lights flickered off and on and then kept flickering. I thought I was at a club somewhere :-) Then the lights dimmed down to being barely on. Then the stove stopped blowing the fabulous hot air that warms our house. And I started to panic and texted my husband who had been gone all afternoon at junior high basketball games. Thankfully, he was just around the corner. I tried calling our neighbor but no one answered. So I called APS. They told me that they had a crew on it and they were having some trouble with a few transformers and that they usually have it fixed within 4-5 hours. By then we all would have frozen in our sleep with how cold it has been so we packed our bags. We bundled up the babies and put them in our freezing car that has no heater and headed to Concho. On the way down the road the snow was blowing off of the hood of the car and somehow hitting me in the face! We really need a miracle car. I'm thankful my parents live close and that we had a warm place to stay. But I don't do well with the stress of instant packing and driving in the cold. I'm also thankful for an amazing husband who came over before work and filled up and started the pellet stove so that when we all were ready we could come home to a cozy home. Thanks baby!

Today, our friends buried their baby girl...

2011-01-08T22:42:00.002-07:00

....she suddenly got sick. And 4 days later she died. She was just over a year old. And my heart has been broken in so many ways. A mommy and daddy had to say goodbye to someone they gave everything for. They can't hold her anymore. They can't teach her anymore. They can't kiss her anymore. They can't rock her to sleep. She is gone.

My week has looked a little differently. I have looked at my babies a little differently. I love my babies. I try to be the best mommy I can for them. But I have been tired and a little distant for the last few months. This week that all changed because they could be gone tomorrow and I don't want to miss out on today and what could have been. I have enjoyed combing my fingers through Genevieve's hair as I dry it every night. I have listened more closely to all of Edmund's imaginings. I have stopped and cuddled them when they have needed it. And I have sat with them to eat. Because just being with them and present for them is a blessing and something that shouldn't be overlooked. We spend quite a bit of time at night getting ready for bed. We bathe them, brush their teeth, dry their hair, read stories, sing songs, and pray.Robert stays with Edmund and I take Genevieve and we sit in the rocking chair with a blanket and I just enjoy her and pray for her and sometimes she falls asleep but more often, she asks for her bed. I wouldn't trade these times for anything. It's a precious time that we all get to enjoy each other and slow down and love in a peaceful kind of way.

I'm sad. All I can think is that while I get to hold my baby close, my friend has empty arms, and it hurts me. I know that the Lord must have something amazing planned for them. I pray that their marriage is strengthened and that their hearts can be healed and filled with peace. Because HE can do it.

-Krystle

Breadsticks

2010-10-27T15:30:00.004-07:00

My kids LOVE breadsticks.......and who wouldn't when they look like this :-)

YUMMY!!!

Oh...and my Prince Charming made a homemade marinara sauce that was fabulous! I LOVE cooking with him. It's so much fun. And something good always makes it to our plates :-)

-Krystle

The best dessert ever!

2010-10-24T21:21:00.001-07:00

Seriously the best dessert I have ever had!!! Homemade Pumpkin Ice Cream! YUMMY :-)

-Krystle

The House

2010-10-22T16:25:00.004-07:00

My Home Tour

I am going to take you on a tour of my home! I will show a picture of what things look like and tell you what I want to do with it. I will do it over a few posts for those of you with slower internet connections so it doesn't take a year to load :-)

We will start in the master bath. I need to finish painting the ceiling.
It has a giant tub! We love it. Above the towels I want to put a stick on the wall clock in black like the ornamental one here. I also want to add pretty lace or toule curtain to the window. Not sure if I want them to be black or white.

This is the toilet area. It was all white and I added the black. I spray painted the regular colored basket black and arranged the flowers. Robert told me I couldn't plant daisies because they smell like stinky feet so I asked him if I could use them in the bathroom and he said yes :-)

I painted this door completely black.

This is the shower. I want to add a sheer white pretty curtain in front of it. Inspiration from Rhonda Cross :-)

I added black to this door. I want to fill in the boxes a little more.

The sink is new. The mirror is one that I found at a yard sale a few years ago and I painted it black. I would still like to change the light fixture to be centered with the sink and mirror and probably facing up toward the ceiling. The other cabinet was all white and I added the black.

These are the rugs that I made. I love how they turned out!

Happy Touring! -Krystle

When a boy works too hard!

2010-09-22T12:10:00.001-07:00

This is a post I wanted to post a long time ago but couldn't get my pics to work!

Edmund woke up with the sun this morning....which wasn't horrible because we were getting up early to work on the garden. So this afternoon when I was watering my seedlings, he was playing in his sand box and this is how I found him:

The Lord gives the increase!!!

2010-09-22T12:08:00.000-07:00

We built a garden this year. It was a bit stressful at the beginning because we had to have some very large stumps removed from the area where we wanted the garden and the tractor was held up. But the tractor did come and Edmund got to go for a two hour tractor ride and loved every minute!

This is the raw ripped up by the tractor land.

My wonderful husband killed himself trying to get this wall done. He did a fantastic job! The reason for the wall is because our property has a stight slope and I wanted to plant my rows East to West so I needed level ground and the wall allowed for that to happen. Thanks also to my mommy who bought the bricks for us :-)

This is what it looked like when I planted everything. We used soaker hoses for watering which turned out to work amazingly!

Grandpa Hummer taught me all his secrets about growing tomatos! He gave me an awesome small tiller which I have used for everything and love. It is one of my favorite tools! Thank you Grandpa Hummer!!

I tilled the ground, planted the seed, watered and weeded but only God can give an increase like this!!!

Now all I need are the tools for canning all of this deliciousness!!

Why I'm not going to use SALT much anymore!

2010-04-10T11:31:00.002-07:00

In junior high it was popular to wear JNCO jeans and Nike shoes...specifically ones that were not made in China. And since I wanted to avoid being made fun any more than I already was and my mom loved me she bought me JNCO jeans and Nike shoes. It didn't really change the fact that I was made fun of but at least I had something right....at least according to THEM!

So here I am, 24 years old, a wife, a mommy to 2 babies, managing my own home and it has happened again. I love to cook and I can do it very well. My mommy taught me how to follow recipes! Sometimes I get creative and add my own ingredients. It doesn't matter. The point here is that I don't use a whole lot of salt to cook with. I find it unnecessary and I can use other herbs and spices to make my food extra yummy. And salt makes me balloon up! I seriously swell up if I have too much salt over a period of time. So...I have some people in my life that make fun of me for not using salt. Really it doesn't sound like it's such a big deal but over time and with my past experience's of being made fun of I start to care what they think and in my brain if I start using salt in my food maybe I won't be made fun of anymore. So I start adding salt when I cook. Not a big deal I decide...until now. I feel like crap and my whole body feels like a balloon! I knew it. I know how I react to salt and I feel like an iddiot for caring what other people think. So, I will go back to my own way of cooking and illiminating salt from my food!

Edmund's B-day Invite

2010-04-07T17:23:00.002-07:00

Family and Friends,

Edmund will be turning 4 on April 14!!!!!

His birthday party will be at our house on:

SATURDAY
APRIL 17
@ 11:00 am
Hotdogs and cake
Hopefully warm weather :-)

Hope to see you there!

P.S. If you are or were planning on bringing a gift......Edmund would like story books instead of toys :-)

My joyful heart...

2010-03-07T22:52:00.003-07:00

Edmund just totally blessed my heart tonight with his beautiful little singing voice! He just started singing this song that I think he learned in Cubbies or Sunday School, not sure....here it is as he sings it:

My heart was black as sin,
Until the Savior came in.
His precious blood I know
It washed me white as snow.
God's Word I'm told,
We'll walk on streets of gold.
Read your Bible and pray,
Is the way we grow each day.

Big News

2010-03-07T00:01:00.002-07:00

The struggle: public school vs. home school

The background: My husband is a public school teacher of junior high social studies. We were both raised in public school. We both have our reservations about public school. We both had our reservations about home schooling. We are SURROUNDED by tons of people who home school.

The investigation and observation: I like to ask questions. I have been trying to seek out this whole home schooling thing but it has seemed almost like a club and I don't feel like I'm part of it. Anyway....I still asked a few questions and the answers I got were mostly about curriculum. Which I wasn't excited about. I don't see much of an excitment to learn or about learning. I mostly hear about all the homework everyone has and a general dislike of school-now I don't know if that is everyone, that is just what I have seen. So I was wondering if, in home schooling the object is to get my kids to pass the test and answer the question correctly, shouldn't I just send them to public school where they teach the same thing?

The unexpected encouragment: I went to California with my family for a weekend. I went to a conference called the Mom Heart Conference. I was just looking for refreshment. I was looking for insight. I was looking for meat. And the big thing that the Lord taught me that weekend was about sabboth rest and actually resting. My body and my brain...which was a foreign idea to me. How do I rest my brain? The idea was that we need a day to rest our brain and give that day to Him by not worrying or thinking about what needs to be done. I still haven't acheived that but anyway, back to the story. I came home with some amazing books. I love to read (thanks to Robert), and I love to learn about things that I'm passionate about. Especially my family. So I got a book called Educating the Whole Hearted Child. When I looked through the table of contents before I bought it I knew that it was going to be perfect! The Lord had already been instilling these ideas in my head for a while and I was excited to see what someone had to say on it!

So Robert and I have decided that we are going to home educate our family. Because it is right. Because the Lord has given us the job of teaching our family about Him. Because He instituted the family, not the public school.

This book has been so much fun to read. It has an amazing chapter on discipling your children and ways to do that. It has a model for fully educating your children using real books to inspire them. It's just so rich with information. I'm so glad that there is a way to do this without only using curriculm as a guide. If you are burned out on using only curriculum...I would highly recommend this book for ideas! It's wonderful and encouraging. I feel like I can actually do this. Like this is the job that the Lord has given me and he has equipped me to do it.

So I am thankful for CA and for the affirmation it gave to both Robert and I in this process to decide! The Lord truly worked everything out!

I am a SLUGGARD!!

2010-03-06T23:41:00.002-07:00

Or a reformed sluggard.

The great thing about scheduling a quiet time for my is that it is actually getting done....most of the time!

And the even greater thing is that the Lord just teaches me awesome things through that.

Ok, back to being a sluggard....have you ever read Proverbs 6:6-11??

Here it is:

Go to the ant, O sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise.
Without having any chief, officer, or ruler, she prepares her bread in summer and gathers her food in harvest.
How long will you lie there, O sluggard? When will you arise from your sleep?
A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest,
and poverty will come upon you like a robber, and want like an armed man.

I AM A SLUGGARD!!!
I should mention that I LOVE sleep. I have always loved sleep. I thought that if I didn't get my 8 or 9 hours, I would die. Or at least be a zombie all day. Well with having babies my 8 or 9 hours has somehow turned into 9 or 10 hours and somewhere along the way sleep started to be hard and I would wake up with a headache and I didn't know why....wasn't I sleeping enough? Then the Lord showed me this scripture and I felt like He was telling me that I was valuing MY sleep more than...gulp...my time with him. More than....time with my children. More than....actually getting my life in order. (God is a God of order) And I was losing the battle with myself. I was believing that I was a bad wife and a bad mother because I just couldn't do it!

So, I decided that something had to change. I decided that I would just aim for 7 hours of sleep. I'm not sure why. That is just what came to me. So I did it. And I felt AMAZING!!! I don't get it perfectly on but it's not 10 hours! And I'm getting my daily routines down pretty well. I set my alarm every night and work from there. It seems like such a simple thing when I think about it now, but it has been a tough one to get to.

And when I sleep....I'm sleeping like a baby :-)

Fly Lady Update

2010-03-06T23:03:00.003-07:00

Ok so it's been over a month and this is hard work!!!! I mean, the system isn't really hard in theory.....but getting a daily routine down is hard work. I know that sounds ridiculous but it's true. I have definitly made progress though. I think my hardest obsticle has been waking up at the same time every day. I know that isn't really mentioned but it's important to me and the way my brain functions.

Ok...here is what I have so far for my daily routines (which I am not totally great at yet....but improving)

1. Wake Up
2. Get dressed to lace up shoes
3. Swish and Swipe
4. Quiet time; read Bible and pray
5. Change laundry
6. Start dish water
7. Make Bed
8. Make breakfast
Never done in any particular order....just done!

Night Routine
1. Lay out clothes for tomorrow
2. Change laundry
3. Brush Teeth

I can say that I have noticed a huge change in my thinking and attitude having these things done everyday. I actually have time to work on my problem clutter areas and I wouldn't be ashamed to show you my house if you stopped by (I might skip the office!) I just LOVE having structure and have longed for it for a while, I just didn't know how to get there :-)

The New Plan

2010-02-01T21:35:00.002-07:00

My house was beautiful on Friday (well...minus the office and play room). I can't even describe to you what it looks like today. By Saturday it was already becoming a disaster, but I had used up all my energy on Friday trying to get it all done. It's a miserable way to take care of a home. I think on Saturday I finally was at my wits end and gave in to the idea of using FLY Lady. I have a couple of friends who use this organization. So I did it. I signed up. And then I was looking around at the site and starting liking it. I'm really excited about the Control Journal. I'm type A when it comes to paperwork and organizing things in my brain. With the house work I just don't know how to do it and so it drives me crazy! So I decided that today would be my first day and it worked out perfectly that it is the first day of the month. Today also turned out to be a day that I wouldn't like to repeat.

This is what I got accomplished today. Somehow.
Got dressed. (almost impossible because I couldn't find my second tennis shoe. It ended up being where it was supposed to be hidden under a t-shirt that is not supposed to be there!)
Put my hair up in a pony.
Brushed my teeth.
Made my bed.
Put a load of laundry in the washer.
Did Kelly's Zone 1: Mission #1.
Spent a couple of minutes clearing off a hot spot.
Picked up some dirty children's clothes and put them in the basket.
Layed out some clothes for tomorrow.
Brushed my teeth.

For me and my usual habits, this isn't very much. But I wasn't home much today either. I was gone for 7 hours of the day.

So.....wish me luck and pray for dedication on this new journey. I truely desire to build and maintain a home that is pleasant to be in. And one that I don't despise.

Krystle

Playdough

2010-01-31T16:25:00.002-07:00

Edmund and I made our first two batches of play dough! It was SO easy :-) He chose Red and Blue.
My old camera is broken and my new one still doesn't have a memory card so no pics for now!
Hope everyone is having a great day of rest!

Cool Damage

2010-01-28T10:35:00.002-07:00

Isn't this crazy? This is one of the sites the storm produced. We thought is was cool. It's just before the turn off to Bourden Ranch Road. If you look closely, the dead part of the tree lives while the alive parts of the tree have fallen. And the light is shining down on the dead part. It reminds me of hope and salvation. If we die to ourselves the Lord redeems us. If we only have life on this earth, we will just fall in the end.

Mom Heart Conference

2010-01-26T16:33:00.002-07:00

Anyone want to go with me?

Mom Heart

Conference Details

THE MOM HEART CONFERENCE
Irvine/OC, CA ~ February 5-6, 2010

2010 Conference Theme: You...Renewed!
Renewing Your Mom Heart for a New Start

Marriott Irvine
18000 Von Karman Avenue, Irvine, CA 92612

A two-day hotel conference and getaway designed especially for Christian mothers, now in its 12th year of ministering to moms. When the cultural ground is shifting, there's no better time to renew your heart for a new start with God. Sally will strenthen and encourage your heart to rise to the task of raising wholehearted children for Christ at home. Julie Hiramine and Sarah Clarkson will share heart-renewing messages, and a special Panel Discussion will discuss the Mom Heart Ministry vision. The conference includes practical workshops, inspirational worship, a seated banquet luncheon, book tables, and more.

Conference Schedule (subject to change) FRIDAY
1:00-3:00 ~ registration and booktable
3:00-5:15 ~ workshops (3:00, Sarah; 4:15, Julie)
7:00-9:30 ~Session 1 (Message, Sally)

SATURDAY
8:30-11:30 ~ Session 2 (Message, Sally; Message, Julie)
12:15-1:30 ~ Seated banquet lunch
2:00-4:30 ~ Session 3 (Panel discussion; Message, Sally)
5:00 ~ Conference ends

Conference Registration
Regular Registration: After January 8, $99.00

A PERSONAL INVITATION

Did you know that the Greek word for “renew” means to make something new in the midst of other things? It doesn’t mean to start over, but to keep going, only with a newness of purpose. It means to add newness to what is already there. I can’t imagine a better topic for this year than “You…Renewed!” I know it’s right where I am as mom in ministry, and I believe it’s right where most of you are as mothers in a changing culture. I believe we all need to be renewed by the Spirit for the road ahead.

Since 1998, this has been the WholeHearted Mother Conference. But this year, it is something new…it is now a Mom Heart Conference. This year marks the official start of a new ministry to mothers to encourage them to renew their hearts for biblical motherhood. I’m not starting over in my ministry to moms, but I’m keeping going with a renewed purpose and vision. My beliefs and convictions have not changed, but the culture around me is changing by the day. In the midst of that change, Mom Heart Ministry is a renewed vision of my spirit for helping mothers.

Every day, I hear from precious women all around the world who know the Lord, and are committed to serving him in their homes, but they are weary in the work of being a mother. They have no intention of giving up, but they need something more to keep going. I hear in their voices and words the need for a renewed sense of the Lord’s work in the midst of their lives. If that’s you, I want you to know this year that God wants you to be renewed in him…he wants to do “new things” (Isaiah 42:9) in and through you. He wants “You…Renewed!” in your habits, heart, home, and hope. That’s my message to you this year.

As I wrote my new book, Dancing with My Father, God worked in my heart a renewed understanding of his abundant joy. Everything my heavenly Father has done is so I could dance with joy in his presence. What I learned is a perfect complement to this year’s conference theme because it is about being renewed in that joy. What I share in the book is the ground in which the messages I want to share with you this year are grown. I am so looking forward to being with you and to filling your heart and spirit with the life-renewing truths of God’s word. I am praying that this weekend will be a time when you will be refreshed, restored, and above all else, renewed in the power of the Holy Spirit. I hope you will plan to join me and my friends. You are in my heart!

Sally Clarkson

WHAT TO EXPECT

Warm Fellowship with Mothers -- You need to be with other wholehearted mothers like you! You need to be able to laugh and cry and shout and sigh about the same experiences. At this conference, you’ll be refreshed, revived and restored by being around other moms who want the same thing for their children that you want for yours. Come enjoy the pleasure of being away in a lovely hotel for the weekend with friends, and be spiritually encouraged, too. It’s a getaway just for you. Join us!

Spiritually Encouraging Program -- The weekend away for a Mom Heart Conference is also filled with inspirational worship. Friday afternoon seminars will offer practical help and encouragement for mothering and parenting skills. There will also be a Whole Heart booktable filled with carefully selected titles to encourage and equip you as a mother.

Faith-Building Messages by:

Sally Clarkson -- The heart of a Mom Heart Conference is Sally’s ministry of encouragement and inspiration. She is a gifted speaker and teacher who touches the lives of thousands of women and mothers around the world through her heartfelt messages and inspiring books for mothers, and her blogs and newsletters for Christian women. She speaks from her heart to your heart with personal warmth, real-life humor, biblical insight, and inspirational passion. You can expect to have your heart re-charged, challenged, and changed. Sally’s messages are drawn from her own full life as a mother of four wholehearted children for 25 years, and from her walk with God for 35 years in ministry, missions, marriage, and family. She is the author of Seasons of a Mother's Heart, The Mission of Motherhood, The Ministry of Motherhood, and The Mom Walk, and co-author of Educating the WholeHearted Child. Her newest book, Dancing with My Father ~ How God Leads Us into a Life of Grace and Joy, will be available at the conference (January 19 release date). She and Clay live in Monument, CO. Sally will speak on:

--Renewing Your Habits: Learning How to Be at Home with God (Session 1, Friday evening)
--Renewing Your Heart: Loving the Lord with All Your Heart (Session 1, Friday evening)
--Renewing Your Home: Living as a Life-giving Mother (Session 2, Saturday morning)
--Renewing Your Hope: Longing for the Living God (Session 3, Saturday afternoon)

Julie Hiramine -- Julie Hiramine is an international speaker and author, and the founder and executive director of Generations of Virtue, a ministry dedicated since 2003 to equipping parents to empower their children to be pure in today's world. The ministry provides planning and resources for parents to teach children about godly and biblical purity, sexuallity, and character. After graduation from Pepperdine University, her involvement in youth ministry and church planting contributed to her becoming a passionate advocate for raising the next generation to fulfill their God-given destinies. Julie and her husband Kay have ministered together on five continents in their 20 years of marriage. They are based in Colorado Springs, Colorado, but also have a home in Conesus, New York. Julie is a homeschooling mother of five children. Julie will speak on:

--Setting a Paradigm for Purity (Session 2, Saturday morning)

Sarah Clarkson -- Sarah brings a wealth of knowledge about life-giving literature, a love for books and reading, and a heart-full of thoughtful insights about the importance of truth, goodness, and beauty to the wholehearted spiritual life. She is known for her blog, Itinerant Idealist (itinerantidealist.com), and is developing Storyformed.com, a new blog to explore the power of story in our lives. She is also a guest blogger for The Rabbit Room blog (rabbitroom.com). Sarah's new book, Read for the Heart: Whole Books for Wholehearted Families, is her reflections on literature and reading, and her recommended books for families. She wrote her first book, Journeys of Faithfulness: Stories for the Heart for Faithful Girls, as a teen, and is working on a revised and updated version. Sarah lives in Monument, CO. Sarah will speak on:

--Read for the Heart: The Lifegiving Power of Stories, Books, and Reading (Workshop 2, Friday workshop

Happy New Year!

2010-01-06T19:57:00.011-07:00

I sure am hoping that 2010 is a little less chaotic than 2009 but pretty sure that won't happen! We stared off 2009 with a newborn, got into a pretty good rhythm, decided that we were done looking at houses to buy and were content to live in our apartment....forever!, then when the time came to renew our lease our property manager wasn't there and the next day God plopped a house in our laps and the chaos began!

Edmund at a D-backs game with his daddy!

She ADORES him :-)

She absolutely loves water.

7 or 8 month photo shoot!

They like to play together. I just know she is going to be his guinney pig! She isn't afraid of anything.

He wanted to help paint, and I didn't want any ruined clothes!

She doesn't mind taking his leftovers!

Edmund put plastic bag capes on and the adventure began!

These two are going to be in more trouble that I think we can imagine right now :-)

This is Rhylee, 7 months older than Genevieve.

We love our home. The kids keep us on our toes. I am hoping to keep more up to date than I have lately.

Come and see us!

The Hummer 4.

Online Book Club

2009-09-15T08:48:00.002-07:00

I have found a really cool online book club. It's called Bloom. There are over 1,000 people involved and it's neat to read about what others think. More importantly the book we are reading is called "Crazy Love" I am picking mine up from the post office today. I am really excited about this book! It sounds so good. The website for the book is way cool to. If you do nothing else go there and watch his videos- the awe factor of God and just stop and think.

www.crazylovebook.com

The book club is here:
http://thebloombookclub.com
http://bloomcommunity.ning.com/

Psalm 139

2009-09-15T08:40:00.002-07:00

Oh Lord, you have searched me and you know me. You know when I sit down and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. You disern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways. Before a word is on my tongue you know it completely, o Lord. You hem me in-behind and before; you have laid your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain. Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presense? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. If I rise on the wings of dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast. If I say,"Surely the darkness will hide me and the light become night around me," even the darkness will not be dark to you; the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to you. For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made, your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordainde for me were written in your book before one of them came to be. How precious are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them! Were I to count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand. When I awake, I am still with you. If only you would slay the wicked, O God! Away from me, you bloodthirsty men! They speak of you with evil intent; your adversaries misuse your name. Do I not hate those who hate you, O Lord, and abhor those who rise up against you? I have nothing but hatred for them; I count them my enemies. Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead my in the way everlasting.

New Address

2009-08-26T09:18:00.002-07:00

I have new pics...but no way to upload them at this time because my little thing is packed away some where in some box :-)

So, our new address is:

1582 DuPierre Circle

Show Low, AZ 85901

Mailing:

PO Box 90752

White Mountain Lake, AZ 85912

Vacation

2009-08-02T17:13:00.002-07:00

We went to Salt Lake City area last week on a totally spontaneos journey! Robert was online at our favorite soccor teams website. He saw that they were coming to North America and freaked out! Even more when they were going to be playing against the MLS All-Star team in Salt Lake! He was like...ummmm we totally have to go! PLEASE!!! And since life has been extreamly crazy busy stressful ALL month we decided to go. It was a blast and every detail worked out perfectly. I found just about the cheapest motel that I could find with a weeks notice so I booked it. It turned out that the hotel was right next to a TRAX (light rail) station that we were able to ride into Salt Lake where we went to this awesome hands on children's musium called Discovery Gateway. Edmund LOVED it. They had this area that had the balls that are at McDonalds and you could put them into these vacuum tubes and they would go up and around and drop back down into a cylinder thing. The other area he loved was this town and there was a construction zone, farm, and store area where you could pick out fruit and veggies and meat and put it in a basket. There were bails of hay and a horse to sit on and some trucks to drive. It was awesome. Then we took him to Build a Bear. I know it's a crazy way to spend $30 but it was so cool for him to get to pick out the animal and the clothes and the shoes and push the pedal to fill it up with fluff! He chose a dog and named her Angela and gave her a fire fighter suit and boots! Then we rode the TRAX back to the hotel. We were there for a few min and made some dinner reservations for a restaurant that our neighbor recommended to us! Thank you Anne! It was awesome :-) It was called The Mayan Adventure. It happened to be right across from the stadium and about 10 min from our hotel! When you walk back to the seating area there are these huge trees and right in the middle is a wall of water falls and a pool at the bottom. And every 30 minutes these guys would do all sorts of crazy dives into the pool. It was neat. The food was yummy. After dinner we walked over to the stadium and had a blast watching the match. It was really cool. I think we barely made it cause we were in the last row and it was sold out! We will def be going back to Salt Lake. There is a ton to do and of course more Soccer to watch! Oh...and since we didn't have a US team to root for we decided to pick Real Salt Lake as our American team....it was either them or the team from LA....who wants to go there?
So now we can say that we saw Everton play and WIN! The next time we see them hopefully it will be in Liverpool!

We did some painting this week....

2009-07-11T10:29:00.007-07:00

This was the color of the master bedroom (In this pic Robert is standing in the den and looking into the master)

This is what it looks like now...the back wall is bittersweet chocolate and the other three walls are whispering wheat....that door goes into the master bath.

This is what the kitchen used to look like...

This is the new color of my kitchen....french country blue (That door goes into the den and has a pretty hanging wood door)

Next week we will be out there on Thursday to paint 3 walls in Edmund's bedroom and primer the living area!

Painting!

2009-07-03T21:51:00.002-07:00

Hello all....just wanted to invite whoever is available and wants to paint to our new house next Wednesday the 8th of July to primer some walls! We will be out there around 11am.

Call me for directions-928-245-7281

A New House

2009-06-24T15:29:00.002-07:00

ok....so the news we have been wanting to tell everyone for over 2 years.....the Lord has plopped a house right in our laps!!!!!! We are so excited :-)

It's the deal of the century for us! It is a 2001, 2050 square feet, 4 bedrooms, 2 bath on 1.1 acres of land! And it is the perfect price. We have been pre-qualified for the loan and are working out the details of it all. We should be moving in in Sept....be prepared for our last moving party!! Hehehehehehe.....

I'm sure there will be pics in a little while!

April May June Update!

2009-06-19T22:53:00.006-07:00

WOW!!! Time flies when you are busy. And boy have we been busy! I'll start from Edmund's B-day party and end today!

The party went fine....but it was so windy that no one could enjoy anything!!!! And Edmund was sick...better luck next year I guess :-) He was still a trooper and tried to enjoy his birthday party.

I started my business....well now the second one I guess if you count being a doula as the first. I am now a Beauti Control senior consultant! I do in home spa events that are a BLAST!!! I love love love this way to make some extra money and to have an outlet of sorts. So my very first spa was May 5th and I have had one a week till this week. It has been great and I am so excited to see where this path will lead in the future!
My first spa!
Spa Brunch~YUMMY

We have made lots of shirts....so going to Poland next summer on a missions trip! If you are interested in helping us out go to www.shirtcon.com and order some awesome Christian t-shirts...we have designed them and do all the printing! It's a blast :-)

We went down to the valley for our friend Rachel's wedding. It was so beautiful! She married a man from Ethiopia and they intermixed cultures and it was really cool. We had such a good time! Plus we got to shopping for summer clothes which turned out really well!

This week Robert had Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday off and we were working! We put together this gigantic play house/swing set at his parents house! The directions said that it would take 16 hours to put together and it took all 16 hours!!! It was fun but man it had a ton of little boards!

Robert finished his 2nd year of teaching and received a contract for next year despite all of the worry over the budget! We were seriously ready to move if that is what the Lord wanted but it seems we are being led to stay. And now a house has been plopped in our laps and we really want to buy it! It would be amazing. It is a 2000 sqaure foot double wide on 1.1 acres of land. It has wood flooring throughout, a georgeous kitchen, 4 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms....it's perfect for us to grow into! We are so excited and praying that it will work out! Robert has to go back to school in order for our dumb student loans to go into deferrment so that we can qualify for a loan but it will work out for the best...he needed a little push back into school to start his masters and this is the perfect reason!

He is working up at the Pinetop rec center for the summer....well part time! He isn't getting as many hours as we would like but the Lord always provides and gets us through. He likes it cause it's an easy job to do and has low stress! It's been a good break for him and he is getting some rest with all of his time off! We have even gone fishing this summer! WOOHOO :-)

Now onto Genevieve! She is 6 months old today!!! It has flown by and we have had a blast. She is eating some solid foods about twice a day. We started a couple of weeks ago and she doesn't want to stop! She loves to eat and when she isn't eating she tries to go after Edmund's food! She has her two bottom teeth. They came in the 1st and 8th of June. It has been a work in progress for about 4 months but they finally came through! She started rolling over April 26 back to tummy and completed the roll May 2nd and hasn't stopped since! She is up on her hands and knees and lurching forward and almost crawling! It's so much fun to see the differences between her and Edmund. They are total opposites! They adore each other and it's awesome to see Edmund love on her and play with her. He is such a great big brother. He brings her toys to play with and he will cover her with a blanket and every morning when he wakes up he comes up to her and tries to tickle her and give her kisses. It's the best and I love every minute!

My precious Princess! Such a happy girl!

Seriously Adorable :-) Summer fun!

I love my zaz!

Let the Birthday Celebrations begin!

2009-04-13T13:25:00.003-07:00

My baby is turning 3 tomorrow! I'm so excited for him. He has been so cute about his birthday party. He's like I want balloons and cake and candles with fire :-)

It has been such an amazing 3 years. I cherish every day that we get to spend together. He is such a sweet boy. He loves making us laugh. He cares deeply for his sister. I pray that we will always remember to teach him about the love that Jesus has for us.

Here is one of his 1st b-day presents:

It has a battery powered pump. He loves it. Whenever we do dishes he always wants up there to play in the water so this gift is very fitting :-) Thank you Nana and Papa!

Easter egg hunt!

2009-04-13T13:19:00.003-07:00

Last year Edmund didn't really get the whole hunting eggs thing....but this year he did :-) It was so cute!

2009-04-07T22:33:00.001-07:00

Make a Smilebox invite

So much fun!

2009-04-06T15:56:00.003-07:00

This week I went to my doula workshop...which I thoroughly enjoyed.

I snuck in a little time to go visit my aunt and she invited me to a little party they were having. She sells Beauti Control and has been wanting to share with me. So I went and had so much fun. It was just a get together for their team so it wasn't the full experience but I had fun. She is wanting to come up here and do a full spa and I SO want her to. We are trying to work out the dates.

So...this week was busy and I thought that is was going to be stressful because I was nervous but it turned out to be refreshing and like a vacation! I got to stay with my friend Amanda and it was nice to spend time with her and her family.

3 Months Old! & 35 Months Old!

2009-03-21T12:26:00.004-07:00

Genevieve turned three months old! It has been a blast.

She is smiling, cooing, and laughing. She can stand on her legs. She can sit with support. Her sad face can bring tears to the best of us! She has been sleeping through the night for a while now (which keeps me sane!) And she has started staying up longer in between naps.

Edmund will be turning 3 next month!

They adore each other...it is so much fun to watch them interact together :-)

Glasses!

2009-03-15T14:35:00.003-07:00

Here is my cutie! He does pretty well with keeping the glasses on. We had to get the nose pieces adjusted once and that helped a lot. But.....I don't know that they are doing all they are supposed to. Meaning this: his eye still goes in toward his nose sometimes with his glasses on and it does it even worse when he takes them off. We have a doctors appointment on March 30 to see what they have done and if they are working. If they haven't helped then he might have to have surgery on his eye muscle.

So-pray that the glasses are doing some good. I am so nervous about the idea of my baby having surgery. So my prayer request would be for peace about it all!

Pay it Forward!

2009-02-28T14:21:00.001-07:00

Here's the idea. Be one of the first 3 people to leave a comment on my blog and you will be the lucky recipient of a hand made gift from me some time this year. Now here is the catch, you have to post the same thing on your blog and do the same for 3 lucky people. This is going to be fun!

Christian Shirts

2009-02-25T12:39:00.001-07:00

We have designed and are selling shirts to raise money for a missionary couple from our church.

We are having a special shirt sell right now.

Check it out

http://www.shirtcon.com

New Blog

2009-02-24T10:56:00.001-07:00

I have started another blog. I am going to get my doula certification and I will post all about that at: http://mydoulaadventure.blogspot.com

Edmund needs glasses!

2009-02-23T14:11:00.003-07:00

Edmund had to go the the eye doctor today. He has been having some problems with his left eye for about a month. It is turning in toward his nose. As we guessed, he is farsighted. He will be getting glasses on Friday. (Pictures to come of course!) We are praying that the glasses will correct his vision because if in four weeks we don't notice a difference then he will have to have surgery. He did such a great job at the office. The doctor said he was probably the most cooperative 2 year old he has ever had! :-) I am so thankful!

So, my biggest question is how in the world do you keep glasses on a two year old???? My first guess is duct tape! The doctor said...I don't know....bribs, pleading!!! So...hopefully we can help him get excited about them and hopefully they make a difference in his vision so that he will want to wear them because he will be wearing them all the time minus bathing and sleeping!

2 Month Update

2009-02-21T20:35:00.003-07:00

Genevieve Rea is two months old :-) She had her check up and shots on Thursday.

She weighed in at 11 lbs. 5 oz.

She is 23 inches long.

She is sleeping about 8 hours at night.

She is smiling and cooing and trying to laugh.

She had a very definite poo face...

She is super cuddly!

She adores her daddy :-)

Feel free to come visit us............

My Valentine :-)

2009-02-18T13:06:00.003-07:00

Robert and Edmund painted me a wooden jewelry box for Valentine's Day. Edmund also thought it would be fun to paint his face! Good thing it's water based :-)

Edmund and Genevieve

2009-02-18T12:44:00.002-07:00

Can you believe she is two months old already??? So much fun :-)

Talking to Daddy

2009-02-18T12:14:00.002-07:00

When Edmund gets hold of the camera!

2009-02-18T12:04:00.003-07:00

Yes....he knows how to turn it on and take a picture!

Cloth Diapers

2009-02-06T14:21:00.002-07:00

Most of you think I'm crazy for using cloth diapers...I know...but for the couple of you who have asked me about them I am going to post prices and the final tally for what you would need to have a complete set of diapers.

Pre-fold cloth diapers

Infant size: 3 dozen $18.90/doz= $56.70
Regular size: 3 dozen $22.50/doz= $67.50

Diaper Covers $8.25 each (because of buying more than 24 at once)

Infant size w/umbilical cut out 5-9lbs: 3
Newborn 6-11lbs: 5
Small 11-16lbs: 5
Medium 16-21 lbs: 5
Large 21-27lbs: 5
XLarge 27-34lbs: 5

28 covers= $231.00

The grand total is $355.20

Now....after Edmund started eating solid food I started using liners that you can flush in the toilet and those are $6.25 for a pack of 100 or you can buy them in bulk and pay less per pack. Totally recommend these!

You would also need a pail and we would use gallon size ziplocks for the diaper bag but there are places that sell washable bags that are way cute and we just got one as a gift when Genevieve was born.

The website that I buy from is http://www.babysorganicnursery.com

I have enjoyed them and what I enjoy most is not having to go the store and buy those ridiculously expensive disposables! :-)

6 weeks already???

2009-01-30T11:52:00.004-07:00

Genevieve is 6 weeks old today! :-) Up until this week she has been fabulous. She has had some nasal congestion and hasn't been able to sleep as well as she would like to. I have had to suck junk out of her nose every couple of hours so she can breath! But I have found some awesome stuff to give her and she is on her way to getting better!

So...this is what she is doing at 6 weeks old. She is sleeping (most often) 5-7 hours at night. She is smiling at us with the most beautiful smile I have ever seen! She has also started to try and talk to us. Goo! She loves to look at her daddy. Yesterday my mom was holding her and I started to talk to her and she turned to look at me. It was so cute. I let Edmund annoy her. That is really the only way I know how to put it. But my reasoning is that if I let him kiss her and hug her now then she won't be as annoyed by him later? I don't know if it will work...I guess we shall see :-)

My babies and the zoo!

2009-01-22T21:32:00.004-07:00

This last weekend we took a mini winter vacation. Actually for us it was a big vacation because we were gone for 3 nights! Anyway, we went to Phoenix. We left Friday afternoon and went to Robert's grandparents house in Scottsdale and spent the evening visiting with them. It was the first time for them to see Genevieve and Edmund is always a ham so it was fun. Robert went to the Rage fest all day Saturday and saw some of his favorite Christian rock bands perform. I hung out with some great friends, Amanda and Ian and Ronda. Then Edmund, Genevieve and I went to dinner with Robert's sister Stephanie and her husband Chip-which is who we were staying with all weekend. Sunday we had the opportunity to see another great friend of ours, Brad, who was our college pastor when we lived in Glendale. He happened to be in town from Germany the same weekend as us! We were so excited to see him and some other friends that we hadn't seen in a long time :-) Another crazy and great thing that happened on Sunday was of course watching the Cardinals make their way to the Super Bowl! Is it real??? And then on Monday we purchased a wii for our family in anticipation of our tax return! WOOHOO! SO MUCH FUN :-) And we went to the zoo. Edmund was so cute looking at the animals. We have been wanting to take him for a while and he was so excited to go! Boy, in writing it seems like we never stopped! But it was a great weekend, and much needed for me. I hadn't left the mountain since September!

Great Grandpa Hummer

Great Grandma Hummer

At the Phoenix Zoo.

A 9100 pound elephant!

At the Zoo.

Chonie head-This is Edmund being Edmund. This is the name he gave himself!

Baking with Edmund :-)

2009-01-10T13:08:00.003-07:00

This is what it looks like in our house when we bake together! It's a blast :-)

Yummy batter. Huge mess. Chocolate everywhere. Cupcakes.

Genevieve is 3 weeks old!

2009-01-10T13:06:00.001-07:00

Something Funny

2009-01-07T14:15:00.001-07:00

When I ask Edmund to do something that he doesn't want to do he says, "I can't, I have a bad fin!"

Genevieve's Two Week Update

2009-01-07T12:54:00.002-07:00

She will actually be three weeks on Friday! But we went to the doctor yesterday for her two week check-up. She is now 9 pounds 4 ounces! She is fabulous :-) We adore her. Edmund loves her. He is so sweet to her. We are still in the process of getting into a routine. And since everything is crazy now anyway, we have decided to stop giving Edmund a nap. It has been a fight for a while and now it is a fight at night time and he is waking up during the night and coming into our bedroom, so we decided that it was time :-) Yesterday he actually went to sleep and slept all night! So I think it will work. We will just incorporate a down time in the middle of the day which will prob include a movie or a show of some sort so I have time to do my thing!

Genevieve Rea

2008-12-28T15:12:00.003-07:00

Genevieve is one week old! We are all loving every second of her :-) Today was her dedication and I got to play dress up!

A dedication is mostly for the parents but it is also for the church. It is a time for Robert and I to dedicate ourselves to raising Genevieve in a way that is pleasing to the Lord and based on the Bible. It is also a time to remind the church to pray for us and to hold us accountable to what we promised we would do.

I am so grateful to have a church family that will love and support us!

My baby sister and me!

2008-12-23T22:39:00.003-07:00

He fell in love with her before he knew her! It is so much fun to watch Edmund love on his sister.

Genevieve's Dedication...

2008-12-23T22:28:00.003-07:00

...is going to be on Sunday at church at the 10:45 service.

Genevieve Rea Hummer

2008-12-21T10:51:00.006-07:00

Our precious baby girl has arrived!

Genevieve means: Fair and inner beauty
Rea means: Poppy flower and firmly grounded

My prayer for her is that she will be firmly grounded in the truth of Christ and that she will reflect his beauty.

She was born on Friday, December 19, 2008 @ 7:52 a.m. Her labor was quite short. I woke up at 3:30 trying to figure out if I was having contractions. Once we decided that I was in fact having contractions we called those who needed calling and finished getting ready. We arrived at the hospital around 5. I was at 7 cm. We walked around until Dr. Tindall arrived. I was at 8 cm when he got there. He decided to break my water which was 7:20 and less than 10 min later I was at 9 cm! The contractions started getting stronger and I was having some back ache and asked if I could lean on my hands and knees to relieve the pressure and they said it was ok and Dr. Tindall went into a story about how the only baby he delivered that way was a horse! I was laughing until my next contraction came and it was a booger. It finished me off and Dr Tindall checked me and told me that we needed to get me turned over because we were going to have a baby! He also guessed that the baby would have blonde hair because of the way it felt when he checked me! So pushing started and he found that her arm was up so he had to turn her a bit to get her shoulder out. About 10 minutes later she was born :-) She looked like the color of eggplant. She had the cord around her neck but he said it wasn't too tight and it came off easily. They got her cleaned up and gave her some oxygen and she was ready to eat by 8:20!

She was 8 pounds 4 ounces and 21 inches long.

Still Pregnant!

2008-12-16T16:47:00.002-07:00

No contractions....lots of snow. Robert got another snow day today...although...it mostly rained.

Happy Tuesday to you!

7 days and counting. Well, actually prob 6...that is when my next appointment is.

We shall see.

39 WEEKS!

2008-12-15T17:02:00.002-07:00

I am not technically 39 weeks till tomorrow, but I went to the doctor's office today and wanted to share the news!

I am 4 full cm. I am not having contractions yet, but he stripped my membranes for those of you who would like to know. SO...if it works I could go into full labor today or not. Who knows????

I just want to see my baby and enjoy what our new family will be.

It's been snowing all day long. It's gorgeous and freezing. I think I will have Robert take me to Wal-Mart and walk me around! Hope you are all doing well.

38 Week Update and News!

2008-12-11T13:59:00.004-07:00

I am 38 weeks this week! WOOHOO :-) I so want to see this kid!

I went to the doctor yesterday and I have news to report!
I am dilated to 3cm now! Although that doesn't mean anything when I'm not having contractions! It's just fun that my body is progressing toward labor! I know that sounds crazy but I'm actually looking forward to it. We had such a great experience with Edmund and with how excited I am to see the baby, I will almost be comforted once it finally starts for real :-)

Snow fun!

2008-12-11T13:43:00.004-07:00

Robert had his first snow day of the year on Tuesday! It was fun to watch Edmund play in it :-)

Helping Daddy wipe off the cars!

This is just a fun pic of Edmund! He loves to sing and play drums :-)

What would the world do without little boys?

2008-12-04T09:44:00.002-07:00

Last night I was getting Edmund out of the shower and he totally made my week! I was dressed in my pj's and had my hair in a towel and he looked at me and said "mommy you are so beautiful!"

I love my baby :-)

37 Week Update

2008-12-02T14:33:00.002-07:00

3 weeks left!!! I can't believe it :-)

At this point we are prepared for baby to come! We have all the furniture ready. I have all the clothes unpacked and put away. The diapers are ready. We just have to wait!

There is nothing to report from the doctor. He said everything is the same. He is going out of town again and said that I can't have the baby till Sunday! HAHA....I don't really care if he is there now, because the new rooms should be open and that is all I was waiting for! I didn't have my doctor when Edmund was born so I don't have any worries about that with this one!

Hope everyone is doing well. I am turning into a plump sausage....curse you water retention :-)

Christmas

2008-12-02T13:40:00.001-07:00

On Friday night we had a Christmas decorating party! It was fun. I made hot chocolate and we listened to Christmas music. Edmund was funny with the ornaments. At one point he had 8 on one little limb!

This is what we did:

Our little village!

36 Week Update

2008-11-26T15:13:00.002-07:00

I went to the doctor's office this morning for my appointment. It turned out well. I guess that little red sticker they put on my chart after being super annoyed two days in a row turned out to be a good thing! Or they just had time today. I don't know... but I was scheduled to see the nurse lady because the doctor was full but I needed to be seen before the doctor left for holiday. So I was waiting and only after about 5 or 10 minutes they called me back and said I would see the doctor because the nurse had 3 people waiting in front of me! I was excited :-)

So to the news....there isn't any new news. But that is ok. I'm the same as I was last week. Baby is just hanging out in there :-) He told me that I have to wait till 36 weeks and 5 days and I asked why and he said it's because that is when he comes back! I thought it was funny!

I asked him if the baby would have any problems if it was born this early and he said that it's impossible to tell. He said that girls usually come out a little spunkier than boys do. So, we are trying to hold on. I'm not really doing anything differently than before. I have been pretty relaxed this whole pregnancy...minus the volleyball and youth activities! But those two things are pretty much finished for me. I could try to play volleyball next week but I haven't decided yet! :-) Anyway....back on track.....I'm fine, baby is fine, we are just hoping to wait till at least Monday-preferably Tuesday-because that is when the new wing is supposed to be open! Or Christmas break so that Robert won't have to use his sick days!

35 Week News!

2008-11-20T16:34:00.002-07:00

I just got back from the doctor's office-which was a much better visit than any other one by far! I didn't have to wait. It was amazing :-)

He was going to wait until next week to check me and do my beta strep test because they usually wait until 36 weeks, but then I asked him what his philosophy was on traveling and he decided to check me. I was really glad he decided to because I have been looking forward to seeing if anything is happening in there :-)

Well-there is and I have some fun news! I am 2 cm dilated, 75% effaced, and the baby is at a -1 station!

Oh and it's really official that the opening date for the new labor and delivery rooms at the hospital is supposed to be Dec 2. So-I'm just hoping that the baby waits till then to come out :-)

WOOHOO! I am so excited to see what it is!

New Email Address

2008-11-19T13:47:00.002-07:00

Ok so since I was hacked into and am still in the process of figuring it all out I got a new email address. Here it is if you would like... krystlehummer@gmail.com

Also..that means I don't have ANY email addresses of anyone else, so if you feel like leaving yours I will add it to my list :)

35 Week Update and a few of Robert's amazing students!

2008-11-19T12:48:00.004-07:00

Here is my 35 week pose! I go to the doc tomorrow...so I will write again if I have any news!

Today I went to Robert's school for lunch and I was surprised with a baby shower from a few of Robert's students. It was super cute. They had sandwiches, cake, cookies, drinks and presents!

These are the cute gifts that they gave us! :)

They even gave Edmund a gift and this is him posing with his bag! He is such a ham :)

My first rolls!

2008-11-19T12:44:00.001-07:00

I have had my Grandma's recipe forever but have never made them! They were yummy :)

34 Week Update

2008-11-13T14:18:00.002-07:00

I finally have batteries!

Here I am-34 weeks pregnant. That's all I have for this week. I go to the doctor's office next week. They are going to check me so maybe I will have some news :)

33 Week Update

2008-11-06T17:31:00.003-07:00

My experience with my doctor's office hasn't been the best....but I will continue on....

Yesterday I had an appointment and after waiting for an hour and 20 minutes I had to leave because I still had to eat dinner before going to church. So, I didn't see the doctor. I rescheduled and I thought it was for next week but it ended up being today. So I went in...not expecting anything better. I waited for an hour again before they took me back....grrrrr! I was a bit upset. Whatever, I just have to learn to deal with it I guess.

I have gained a total of 22 lbs. Hopefully I don't gain much more because my legs are killing me. They don't like to carry all this weight! I can't wait to lose it after the baby comes :) Any workout buddies out there?

Edmund got to hear the hear beat today! He thought that was pretty cool.

The doctor said that the baby's head is down and that it is very well engaged! YEAH! He even showed me where to put my hands to feel it! That was cool :)

He said that in two weeks he will do my strep B test and check to see how far along I am dilated if any...I think it is already starting so hopefully I will have some news on that in a couple weeks.

Anyway-that is where I am with the pregnancy. I can't wait to see the baby and find out what it is! I guess we better get busy with the names :)

32 Weeks!

2008-10-28T13:58:00.002-07:00

Ok. I know I haven't updated much about the pregnancy...and that is because I haven't had any batteries for my camera! I also don't go to the doctor that often....I don't like his office! Well, I still don't have batteries which means I don't have any updated pictures. But because I am at 32 weeks and I only have 8 weeks to go, I thought I would give a quick update.

I have definitely popped out! I have gained about 20 lbs up to this point. The baby pushes into my lungs and ribs and sometimes it feels like I can't breath very well! It moves like crazy when it decides to move. (Especially at night when I am trying to sleep!) It has this crazy poking thing it does and it moves really quickly. I don't remember Edmund ever doing that. He was crazy but he mostly just rolled in balls, not the crazy poking thing! If I sit in a chair for very long my legs fall asleep! Thank goodness for my exercise ball because I can sit on it forever and they are fine! I know I still have 8 weeks left and I know that the baby will get even bigger but man....I feel like I am stretched out enough!This child is all out in front. With Edmund I was more round...but I also gained more weight with him.

Oh....we took Edmund to a Super Sibling class last night! It was so cute. He was so excited to go to his special class. I'm not sure about how much he understood, but he got to look at pictures of babies and the teacher talked about holding the baby and how the baby will eat and she gave an example how they can't feed the baby what they are eating. It was cute. They also watched this video with a crazy guy on it....but it had babies and older siblings. Then we walked around the hospital a bit and they showed the kids where the rooms were and where the nursery was. They also took us up to the new floor!!!! :) Please oh Please be open! The nurses are saying that they are moving up there in the end of November and it should be open and they are shooting for December 2! Oh man.....it's way nice. We didn't get to see the actual rooms cause they are still working on them but it looks so nice.

Ok....so I think that is all I have to say. I go to the doctor's office next week. Poo.... If there is anything to update then I will but it should just be a normal boring appt!

YUMMY COOKIES!

2008-10-03T11:50:00.002-07:00

I really like most of Martha Stewart's recipes and I get Martha Stewart Living magazine and the newest one had a recipe for Cowboy cookies and they are sooo....yummy! So, I thought I would share it with you. It was super easy.

Cowboy Cookies

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 t baking soda
1 t salt
1/2 t baking powder
8 oz (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
3/4 C granulated sugar
3/4 C light brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 t vanilla extract
1 1/2 C old-fashioned oats
6 oz semi-sweet chocolate, cut into 1/4 in chunks (1 cup)
=I used semi-sweet choc that was already chunked up!=
3 oz (3/4 C) pecan halves
=I used walnuts because I didn't have pecans=
1/2 C shredded unsweetened coconut
=I used sweetened because Wal-Mart didn't have unsweetened=

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Sift flour, baking soda, salt and baking powder into a med bowl.
=Instead of sifting it, I let Edmund stir it for a while, it was fun! :)=

2. Beat butter and sugars with a mixer on med-high until pale and creamy-about 3 min. Reduce speed to medium. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla.

3. Reduce speed to low, and slowly add flour mixture, beating until just incorporated. Beat in oats, chocolate, pecans, and coconut until combined. (Dough can be refrigerated for up to 3 days.)

4. Using a spoon or ice cream scoop spoon onto prepared baking sheets, spacing 3 inches apart.

5. Bake until edges of cookies begin to brown, 11 to 13 min. Transfer baking sheets to wire racks and let cool for 5 min. Transfer cookies to racks. Let cool.
=Most of ours took just past 10 minutes to finish. They turned out super soft and yummy and it was fun to make with Edmund and Robert!=

Edmund is officially a big boy now!

2008-09-26T13:16:00.002-07:00

This all has to do with a papu (for those of you who don't know-this would be a pacifier.)

I'm not sure what the "signs" have been or why exactly we have decided to take the steps we have in dealing with the papu. I think both times have been because suddenly Edmund would get totally addicted to his papu and want it all day long and it drove us crazy! So, the first time was when we decided that he would only get his papu during nap time and night time and that happened sometime after he was a year old. Last night was the second. Edmund traded "special toys" for his papu. But, in order to get his special toys, he had to throw his papus into the trash can. Boy was that emotional. I think I almost cried! He did really well tho. Normally when he throws something away it's really quick and this time it was a much slower lowering of the papus into the trash can. He has asked for it a couple times today and I had to remind him that they were in the trash but I think he will be fine without it. It has taken him less than 30 min to fall asleep today! HOORAY for no more papu!

Doctor's Appointment

2008-09-15T11:13:00.003-07:00

We finally went to the doctor's office on Friday. I have been avoiding going because I don't like Dr. Tindall's office at all and was trying to find somewhere else to go. But it seems I have no choice. And I wanted to see my baby! We had our ultrasound and it was a blast :) And no we didn't find out what the sex was! According to the measurements, the baby is around 2 pounds and about a week ahead of growing schedule. I didn't have any 3 or 4D ultrasound with Edmund and they did with this one so that was really cool. It is amazing that you can see the precious little face in there. I invited my mom to go since her lunch break was the same time as the appointment and I thought she would really like it and she did. She hasn't seen an ultrasound for a long time and they have made big improvements since then so she thought it was pretty cool. It was fun to have her there. Our printer isn't working very well right now so I can't scan the pics in yet. I will put them up as soon as I can!

Family

2008-09-08T09:57:00.002-07:00

My Aunt and Uncle came in from Rhode Island for a small vacation. We went over to my Grandma and Grandpa's house on Saturday and hung out with them. It was a lot of fun! We pretty much played Wii all day. That is such a great game for groups because it's funny to watch people play and it sort of focuses a time that everyone can just talk and hang out. I think it's great! :) We also played a round of Taboo and Imaginiff...

It was good to see family. We laughed a lot! Edmund stole the show...just like always...he is such a HAM!

Changes to our Apartment

2008-09-08T09:39:00.003-07:00

Since we have lived here we have added a few fun things!
This is my new bed set! It matches my curtains!

We bought this futon to go in the office. It is way comfy!

Yesterday we changed around Edmund's room. It worked out that half of it is baby stuff and the other half is for Edmund. This room is huge! We hung a shelf up in the corner for books and it makes a fun little play area that I think Edmund will really enjoy :)

24 Weeks.

2008-09-01T19:47:00.004-07:00

Here are some updated pics of my belly! Edmund is always asking to give hugs and kiss the baby so I thought it would be cute to show you. It is really funny when he looks at my belly seriously and says "baby come out of there!" He also knows that we won't get to see baby till Christmas -even though he has no clue what that means!

These are my silly boys! They make me happy!

FRIENDS!! :)

2008-09-01T19:31:00.002-07:00

Our friends came to visit!
This is John and Christy Spencer. They came up to escape the heat for a night and to hang out with us on Friday and Saturday. We LOVE you guys. Thank you for allowing us to share our home with you :)

We decided to take them to Woodland Lake. They have two little boys. They thought it was fun to throw as many rocks as possible into the water. That was until the littlest guy fell in!

We went to the little park area after that.

It was a quick trip but it was wonderful to see our friends!

GREER!

2008-08-11T14:11:00.006-07:00

On Saturday we decided that we should go play in the creek at Greer. We took my mom along. It was a lot of fun. Edmund wouldn't walk in the water at first but as his feet got wet, he got more brave and let daddy walk with him in the water.

Our new home

2008-08-05T12:51:00.003-07:00

We have moved again! Here are some pics of our new apartment. It's a three bedroom, two bath. We have extra storage outside on our patio and a garage down below.

Kitchen: It's smaller than our last one but I can fit almost everything in it. So far I like it a lot.

Pantry/Laundry Room: More shelves to come!

Edmund's Room: Big enough to fit his and the baby's bed in! (Sorry it's dark)

Office/Spare Room: I LOVE this room. The closet is big enough to hold all of my craft stuff in. It will be a lot of fun! :) (Again, sorry it's dark-but I'm kinda glad because it was a little cluttered.)

Dining/Living Room: About the same size as our last one, but way more functional. I LOVE it!

My Room: Wonderful!

I'm half way through!

2008-08-05T12:48:00.003-07:00

I have made it into my 20th week!

I guess an update is in order for the first part of this pregnancy. It's almost like it hasn't been very real. We have been busy with youth this summer and haven't really had time to think about it. Plus by this time with Edmund we had seen the baby by ultrasound two or three times. We haven't seen this baby at all. But it's starting to move around and kick me a little bit, so it's getting much more exciting.

The pregnancy itself hasn't been very eventful, which is nice. The worst of my symptoms has been indigestion.

We bought some clothes for me for summer because I was dying from the heat. I bought them a little big in anticipation of growing but I haven't gained much weight and now that summer is toward the end they still don't fit. I guess that is something to be excited about!

The reason I call the baby it is because we are the annoying type who like to wait till the baby comes out to find out the sex, so if you are waiting in anticipation of a gender you won't find one on here until around Christmas time!

Edmund is 2!

2008-04-23T12:44:00.027-07:00

Edmund turned 2 on April 14! It has been an amazing adventure. Here are some of my favorite memories from the last two years.
This is Edmund Charles Hummer. Born April 14, 2006. He was 7 pounds and 20 inches long.

May. One month old.He is practicing lifting his head up!

June. This is my chubby two month old! He is so cute! I didn't realize how chubby he
had gotten until I looked back at his pictures.

July. Three months old.

August. Four months old.

September. Five months old.

Six months old. October was a busy month! We traveled to Oceanside, CA when my brother returned from Iraq. My sister and her family were able to come down from Wash. Edmund meets Uncle Kurtis and Edmund with his cousin Rylie!

November. Seven months old.

December. Eight months old. We moved from Glendale to Lakeside. Our friend Andrew took this pic of us for our Christmas card.

January. Nine months old. Edmund's 1st hair cut.

February. Ten months old.

March. Eleven months old.

April. One year old! He didn't really like the grass!

The second Year

Daddy graduates from College.

Auntie Teph and Uncle Poop's wedding!

Road trip to WA to see pregnant Autie Tiff, Uncle Craig and Rylie! We had a fun week.
The driving on the other hand-not so much fun!

Playing in a creek in the mountains!

My little lion.

Edmund being mischievous and playing with plant dirt!

Edmund's first snow cup!

This is what we like to call the cheesers!

Happy B-day silly boy! He is running all over the place. He talks non-stop. He knows about 175 words, and learns new ones everyday. He is such a sweet boy. I love being able to stay home with him. It is so much fun!