Awesome Story

I got this in an e-mail forward from my Aunt and really enjoyed it:

My mother's father worked as a carpenter. On this particular day, he was building some crates for the clothes his church was sending to orphanages in China. On his way home, he reached into his shirt pocket to find his glasses, but they were gone When he mentally replayed his earlier actions, he realized what had happened; the glasses had slipped out of his pocket unnoticed and fallen into one of the crates, which he had nailed shut. His brand new glasses were heading for China!



The Great Depression was at its height and Grandpa had six children. He had spent $20 for those glasses that very morning. He was upset by the thought of having to buy another pair. It's not fair, he told God as he drove home in frustration. I've been very faithful in giving of my time and money to your work, and now this.



Months later, the director of the orphanage was on furlough in the United States. He wanted to visit all the churches that supported him in China, so he came to speak one Sunday at my grandfather's small church in Chicago. The missionary began by thanking the people for their faithfulness in supporting him.

But most of all, he said, I must thank you for the glasses you sent last. You see, the Communists had just swept through the orphanage, destroying everything, including my glasses.



I was desperate. Even if I had the money, there was simply no way of replacing those glasses. Along with not being able to see well, I experienced headaches every day, so my coworkers and I were much in prayer about this. Then your crates arrived. When my staff removed the covers, they found a pair of glasses lying on top.



The missionary paused long enough to let his words sink in. Then, still gripped with the wonder of it all, he continued:

Folks, when I tried on the glasses, it was as though they had been custom made just for me! I want to thank you for being a part of that.



The people listened, happy for the miraculous glasses. But the missionary surely must have confused their church with another, they thought. There were no glasses on their list of items to be sent overseas. But sitting quietly in the back, with tears streaming down his face, an ordinary carpenter realized the Master Carpenter had used him in an extraordinary way.



There are times we want to blame God instead of thanking him! Perhaps we ought to try to thank Him more often.

Vroom Vroom... Off to the Auto Show

Yesterday we took are auto-loving boys downtown to the auto show. It went rather smoothly. Everyone had fun, and no major meltdowns by anybody. For some reason, Big-G has been very good lately. Maybe all the crying and whining was just a phase... I can only hope. Grandma, Aunt-K, Papa and Uncle-M all came too. Made it very easy on my hubby and I. Six adults to 3 kids is a nice ratio. We had fun, but it was obvious that the auto industry wasn't doing as good this year as last. The show seemed a lot smaller and not as much free stuff. The kids didn't care though. They still had fun crawling with their dirty shoes all over the nice leather interiors and smearing their sweaty little hands on the shiny new cars. I'm sure they cringed when they saw us coming! Oh well!

We're off for a quick weekend away in Dells on Saturday. It's always nice to get away from regular life. This is the first time we have gone with 3 kids, so we'll be keeping plenty busy. I'm hoping to get some really good pictures. I'm just so extremely grateful to watch Middle-G up and around and having fun with his brothers. So many things he does seem more special because we didn't know if he would every be able to do them. He's such a joy... they all are!

Middle-G and Big-G by the Micky Mouse car. Middle-G is holding Aunt-K's gum which he repeatedly smelled the entire time we were there. He has a strange thing for odors.

Here is Big-G riding his Italian motor scooter.

I think he would just drive this thing away if his feet could reach the pedals.

Middle-G was doing a little dance to the car stereo. Obviously having fun!

Not quite old enough to enjoy the cars yet but still giving Grandma a little smile.

E + G FOREVER

My very special friend, the sweetest person in the world, just got engaged on Valentines day. Congratulations! I'm just so excited!!!!

A Portrait of Us

Can you believe we got all 5 of us in one picture and nobody is crying! We went to the Domes on Sunday after church and had some friends take our picture which was nice because we don't have many (if any) pictures of us all together. Thankfully, we didn't have too much lunch on clothes! The boys ran and ran and ran. There is something about being with other little kids that energizes them all the more. I love to watch them being little boys, but it's hard thinking that someday they will be big boys and full-grown men and not cute little ones anymore. We're having so much fun right now that we don't want it to end... maybe that's why some people have 10 kids. I'm sure we'll have fun later, but I'm enjoying the now for the time being.

I wonder what's going on in that little head?

I said "Smile!" and then I said "Look natural", and this is what I got?

Sooooooooo cute!

Big-G, Middle-G and their friend Miss V burning off some steam.

Mommy and her boys.

Middle-G with a silly little grin.

When we got home Big-G said, "I just love Miss V." First crush?

My very big 4 year old. (I can't believe he's 4. I was just pregnant with him. How did that happen so fast?)

Look who's 4!!!!

Today was Big-G's birthday party. At the your left is the token "birthday boy with cake" picture. I'm so proud of myself. I didn't think I could do it, but the cake does actually resemble a dog of some sort. Big-G like it though, and that's what counts - and it did taste good. He definitely enjoyed people giving him presents and eating cake. He even said he liked that everyone was coming over to play with him. He got to have pizza and a veggie tray... just what he asked for. Except he ate so many veggies that he was too full once the pizza got here, but oddly enough he wasn't too full for cake. I wonder how that works?

Anyways, we all had fun, especially Big-G which is what really matters.

Tomorrow we are off to the Domes with 2 other families from church. We are stopping at Olive Garden for lunch before we go. Ten kids all 5 and under at lunchtime at a busy restaurant... does that wound like a recipe for disaster? I feel sorry for whoever has to clean up after us.

I put a few pictures below from Friday and today.

Here are the chocolate covered strawberries I made for my Sweetheart for Valentines Day. Some of them looked kind of funny, but they all tasted good!

Here is Big-G writing out his Valentines. Can you tell that he "helped" me with the strawberries?

Here is Big-G blowing out his 4 (can you believe 4?) candles on his dog cake.

Here is me and the boys doing hula hoop on the Wii Fit. If I ever figure out how to do video on this thing, I'm going to put my hubby on here doing hula hoop. It's not like anything you've ever seen before... trust me!

The Most Precious Valentine

Give all your special someones a hug tomorrow, but don't forget the most precious Valentine of all.

Zoo Crew Returns in '09

Yesterday we had our first zoo trip of the year with our home school friends. Believe it or not it's just 3 families pictured above, and there are 2 babies not in the picture. They sure can make themselves seem like a lot of kids when they all get together. Our previously scheduled trip had to be canceled because the weather would not cooperate. You would think that a terribly rainy and cool day would have put a damper on the fun, but that was not so yesterday. We had such a good time, and the rain didn't really bother us. We actually had most of the zoo to ourselves which was really quite nice. The boys just ran and ran. They were totally pooped when they got home. They have been getting up a little after 6:00 a.m. lately, but this morning they slept until 7:15. Middle-G actually walked most of the time, and I think he only fell once. I am so sore today, because I am not used to having to do all the heavy lifting by myself. I usually leave all that to my hubby. It was still such a nice day. We look forward to many, many more trips with the zoo crew as the weather warms.

Big-G is looking forward to his 4th birthday. I have a few things to do to get ready still, but it will be nice to have everybody over on Saturday to celebrate. I think this is the first birthday he will have that he really is understanding what is going on. It's so much fun to watch them have fun!

Below are a few pictures from the past couple of days. The first ones are from our 60 degree day. I wonder how long until we have another one of those?

Here's our little cutie enjoying the fresh air while trying to keep his bald head warm.

Big-G breaking out the sidewalk chalk.

Such an artiste!

Just a quick ride in the wagon with Daddy.

Middle-G playing at the zoo with his friend Miss V.

This picture is tricky. Which side of the glass are the wild ones on?

Choo-Choo... All aboard!

Yesterday, my husband had off work in the morning, so we went to the Domes with my dad to see the train show. It was really neat. We hadn't been there for a year, so it was nice to go back. They had done a lot of remodeling on the building too which we had never seen. It is supposed to open at dark now since they had a lot of new lights installed. Hopefully we can get back to see that some time.

The train show was cool. Middle-G just yelled out, "A choo-choo train!!!" Big-G thought they were really small. I think he was expecting the zoo train which you can ride in. They also had Legos everywhere too. They even had a Miller Park built out of Legos with an actual working retractable roof. The Arid Dome felt cold as usual and the Tropical dome reminded us of Florida. We just can't wait to go back there. Big-G didn't like the Tropical dome. He just wanted to get out of it as soon as he could... said he didn't like hot.

I'm still going to the zoo this week with some of my friends, but the forecast is getting colder. I hope it not windy at least. If the kids enjoy it though I'm willing to freeze. If they don't enjoy it, then we'll all be miserable together.

Here are a few pics from yesterday. My husband was the photographer this time, so we actually got some pictures of me with the kids!

Just watching the trains.

Big-G. He's wanted to wear the "I can love" necklace he colored in Sunday School.

Me and my Middle-G. He's so cute!

My three sons.

Twins, Right?

Try to explain to Middle-G why he can't touch something. He eventually did end up having an incident with a cactus while he was in there.

Smooth Sailing

Not much going on here lately, just keeping busy around the house. We're finally having some smooth sailing, and I'm going to enjoy it while it lasts. We went to the big museum downtown last Saturday and then the children's museum on Tuesday. Nana and Papa came, and the kids had a ton of fun. They saw the butterflies at the big museum. I never go in there because I think butterflies are gross. I don't like anything with more than 2 legs and I definitely don't want it landing on me. The boys were so cute when we got there. Big-G and Middle-G held hands for the first 20 minutes we were there. Then Middle-G got wise and didn't want Big-G bossing him around anymore, but it was cute while it lasted. Big-G just loves pretending, and the children's museum is the perfect place for him. I would have loved it when I was little. Then we went to the hospital on Friday because Middle-G was having trouble with a tube, and we had to get it replaced. It was so strange going there because we haven't been to the surgery clinic for so long. The whole clinic had been remodeled since we were there last, and it is very nice now. It doesn't quite feel like home anymore, but I think that's a good thing.

I think this week we will go to the Domes with my dad and see the train show some time. We will also be going to the zoo this week. It's supposed to be up to 34 and hopefully a little warmer. I'm probably nuts for packing 3 kids up when it's barely above freezing, but we are so desperate for spring now. Hopefully we all have fun and not freeze to death.

Here are a few pics from last weekend:

Mommy and Middle-G.

My two cuties holding hands at the museum.

I can't get over how photogenic this child is!!

Big-G wearing Papa's glasses. This is probably a glimpse into the future for him if he starts going blind in a few years like mom and dad did.

Middle-G having fun with Nana at the butterflies.

Here is mommy and her very big 4 month old.

Middle-G is driving the ambulance at the kid's museum.

Is Papa having fun? I can't tell.

Big-G and Middle-G making a mess at the sand table.

Little-G having some fun.