Meganoff

With all the boy talk lately, I decided I needed to infuse a little estrogen into my blog. So in no particular order are just a few of the many things I love about my favorite daughter! (I can call her my favorite because she's my only daughter :)
1. She is a great sister. With 3 brothers in Indiana and 2 in New York, she puts up with a lot.
2. She shares a bathroom with 3 boys who have very bad aim, and she rarely complains.
3. She cooks dinner for us one night a week. And it's usually better than what I make!
4. She is beautiful from the inside out!
5. She is cute, smart, and funny!
6. She will go get a blizzard with me whenever the need strikes.
7. She will stop at the store and get random things I need.
8. She makes the best salsa and dip ever.
9. She is a great scrapbooker. I am jealous of her skills.
10. She is going to make a great teacher, wife, and mother one day! Her little babies are going to be so cute!!

And I almost forgot...she gives great piggy back rides!!

Indian Summer

We have had a few cold days here in Indiana, but the past 2 days have been beautiful! Today the boys and four of their neighbor friends spent the day making forts, picking teams, and taking every toy gun we have outside!


We are all taking advantage of this weather, because we know winter is coming! And with that brings snow, slush, boots, mittens, scarfs, and no more playing outside!

My Kid's Love Languages

If you've never read Gary Chapman's book about love languages, I highly recommend it! It is very insightful and helpful as a wife and mother. When our trip to Colorado was over, I asked each of my boys what their favorite part of the trip was. Their answers confirmed their individual love languages at this stage in their lives. Noah's favorite part was going to Kmart and buying legos. He loves browsing and buying!

Dalton's favorite part was hugging Dakota. He loves all physical touch....hugs, kisses, back rubs, and snuggling.

And lastly Devin's favorite part was hanging out with daddy working on Poppy's motorcycle. He loves spending quality time with anyone!

So I learned a lot about my boys by asking them this question. And I plan to apply this to future "dates" with my boys!

Colorado

We traveled to Colorado for fall break to hang out with Meme and Poppy (Steve's parents). We arrived in a snow storm and had a ton of fun hanging out in Pueblo. I learned it's not fun to hike in the snow with Birkenstocks on!

The boys loved playing in the snow!

We had to eat at Souper Salad....the restaurant I miss the most.

And these boys rock!!

She Did What She Could

I am so excited to be a part of the Tyndale Blog Network. I was introduced to this program at the MOPS convention in Nashville, Tennessee last month. If you know anything about me, you know I LOVE to read. Seriously, I always have a pile of books I am plowing through. So I am excited to introduce you to this book.

This book was written by Elisa Morgan, former CEO of MOPS International. She recently moved from CEO to the role of President Emerita. I had the privilege to hear Elisa speak about her book. I must say she is very passionate about this.

So the question I have been asking since reading this book is WHAT CAN I DO? This is the question I will be asking myself for the days and weeks to come. Elisa takes a simple story from Mark 14:3-9 and then explains it in simple terms. Starting with the idea we are all loved by God, she then challenges us to action. Because of God's great love for us, we are changed. And when we are different, we can start making differences in our homes, churches, communities, schools, and the world. She also encourages one to look at what they have and go from there. This can be done in the simplest of ways and using resources already available.

If you are looking to be encouraged and inspired by the many real-life stories in this book, you will be! Elisa gives practical examples of how to live out Christianity and simply do what you can do!

A few....

A *few* months ago we bought cabinets, a countertop, and a sink for a kitchen renovation we planned. They have been patiently waiting for us to get started.

A *few* weeks ago my husband built the pantry that would start the renovation project.

And a *few* days ago the cabinets started coming out gradually.

I never know what I'm going to come home to next!!

MOPS Convention!!

My sweet awesome husband let me escape from every day life for four days! I was able to travel to Nashville, Tennessee with a group of great girls for the 2009 MOPS convention. I had the best time learning, laughing, worshipping, and being real. I came away with tons of ideas to think about and process. Here are some of our trip highlights.
I was able to meet Rick Johnson, author of "That's My Son". His book became a favorite of mine this summer while dealing with three boys!

Another very cool author we met was Margaret Feinberg. I bought her new book "Scouting The Divine". She is an amazing speaker and writer. And yes she has her dog Hershey in her coat.

One of the more tragic events was finding Bob and Larry on a platter! My friend Susan decided to collect small condiments (from the room service carts) for her camper while we were at the hotel. We were both saddened by the passing of our friends!