ever feel this way?

You know you are tired WHEN...........

Early this morning at 3:45 am, after listening to our baby cry for 45 minutes (don't judge, i swear we checked him a lot, plus it got to the point where he KEPT waking up all night long and i didn't know what to do anymore- he is teething, eating SOO much, etc, etc), Mark rolled over and said to me, "All I can think about is how I can't wait to go to bed tonight."

Okay, make me feel better today about my tiredness. Answer this one....."You know you are tired WHEN...."

happy halloween...

....from the cutest little chicken and kitty I have ever seen!

More Lost Than Found by Jared Herd

It seems that we hear of many who walk away from the church after being hurt, frustrated, feeling judged, or many other reasons. In the book, More Lost Than Found, the author Jerod Herd speaks to the pain of leaving the church and also his decision to walk back in. He decided the problem wasn't Jesus, the problem was how he has been taught to see Jesus. This book walks through his story, but more than that, shares how to give faith another chance.

I was drawn to this book as I have heard Jared speak at a youth conference and also I was curious what he had to say about this topic. I appreciated his honesty and the way the book was written. It was easy reading. Many times throughout the book, he challenges Christians not to get stuck seeing Christianity in a sanitized way. One thing he talked about was the need for imagination when it comes to faith. It seems that many of us have lost that child-like imagination and have put our faith in a box. I also appreciated the reminder of how technology has caused many of us to live without wonder or true relationship.

At times, I felt that the book lacked in direction a bit, however, overall there were enough great "parts" that allowed me to connect. He challenges both those within the church and those who have chosen to stay outside the walls to reconsider the direction of their lives. As a church leader, it was a great read. I would also suggest it to mature teens or young adults, as well as older adults, especially those questioning the church or their faith.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

loves her daddy

Mark started Youth Art Team tonight, which he is pretty excited about. This meant a night home with just me and the kiddos. When Addelyn found out her dad was going to be gone, "helping kids with art," she gave me a big hug and said, "Mom, why don't you go help the kids and Daddy can stay home?"

SUCH a Daddy's girl!!!!

pink eye

I was telling Mark that Addelyn's buddy "J" has pink eye.

Addelyn, listening as always, responded, "What happened to his blue eyes, Mom?"

a day in the life

Just another day in the life of Addelyn's babies. (I found her in the closet the other morning, taking pictures with my camera.)

*Be sure to check below for new posts, for some reason they ended up below older posts!*

happy days

I have decided my children usually are happy together. Or sad together. Or mad together. They cry together. At least we have unity, right? Gotta love the happy days.

stories

Addelyn is telling the stories like crazy these days. She shares her imagined stories in the most matter of fact voice- usually using hand gestures. We have to try our hardest not to laugh.
For example, this is ONE of the MANY daily stories:

Addelyn: My husband will be home soon. His name is Matt. I call him honey.
Me: What is his last name?
A: Oh, Kramer. Well, sometimes Hoskinson. But it doesn't matter, I call him honey. Yeah, he'll be home from work soon. I had my baby today. He came out and cried a lot. Matt is going to cook dinner now. What should we have for dinner he says?

PAUSE.

A: I am actually in high school. I am packing up for my Caravan trip now. And baby is going with me. Matt has to stay home though but baby likes to go, see I packed her bag!

(Usually I don't have to say much, I just listen! She has conversations with herself.) I LOVE LOVE LOVE this imagination. Makes me smile every day.

friends

We love our friends, the Bartletts and the Schultzs. We all got together a few weeks ago and it was great. The kids had tons of fun running around and playing. The guys golfed in the rain. So thankful for such great friends!

4 months down

Time sure flies these days. Crazy to think my second baby is already 4 months old. He is a sweet baby boy. As you can see, Addelyn and Jace are getting to know each other better. He even loves morning snuggles, watching cartoons with her. She has chilled out a bit and although she still loves to be around him, she isn't quite as much in his business!
He is a big boy- the funniest thing is, people (random strangers) are always commenting. "That is ONE BIG BABY!" or today, a mom of a 10 month old mentioned how our babies are the same size!
His stats from his 4 month appointment:
16 lbs, 1 oz- 86th percentile
24 inches- 26th percentile
17 inches- head - 90th percentile (yeah the head makes him look bigger I think!)

Jacers naps well- but not necessarily on a schedule. I do know that he will pretty much be ready to sleep 1 1/2 - 2 hours after he wakes. He goes to bed around 8ish and gets up twice a night still. That is one thing I am ready to be done with- come on buddy, Mommy needs some sleep! But this boy loves to eat. He does a good job at going back to sleep as soon as he is done eating which is the good thing. I'm trying to remember that these late night moments of holding and nursing my baby boy will soon be over and I'll be craving holding him in my arms.

He is still not able to have dairy- if I eat something with it on accident- I'll find out at the next feeding- as I'll have a little boy in some pain. No fun. So I continue to be creative with my eating and also enjoy junior mints and Oreos, the two "chocolate" options I have. Seriously, I love my chocolate so this dairy thing has affected my sweet eating- not that this is a bad thing! I like to complain about it every few days and then I feel better.

He has a voice- he screams (happily), grunts, coos. I LOVE hearing him talk. So sweet. He does cry- mostly when he wakes up hungry, that is when you hear his "loud" voice.

He is rolling over. Mostly from tummy to back but he can do from back to tummy too.

The mullet- sweet! He lost a lot of his hair from birth and has a sweet, soft layer growing in on his whole head. He still has cradle cap. Can't quite get rid of it! He does still have a nice little area of hair in the back that he never lost.

Tummy time- this boy has a strong neck! Loves to be watching what is going on!

I think this picture (above) is one where he looks a LOT like Mark and the Hoskinson side. I call him little Dar.

He likes being outside a lot and that is where we are on many of these beautiful fall days. He watches Addelyn play, goes for walks in the stroller, and sometimes even naps outside if I don't make it in at the right time (I'm a little more laid back with him that I was with Addelyn haha!)

We love our sweet, cuddly baby boy. So thankful to have him in our lives.

too many cakeballs???

Last night we were out for a family walk- Addelyn was riding her bike, Jace in the stroller, and Mark and I were walking. We came to an area that had TONS of walnuts on the sidewalk. Addelyn started riding her bike over them and they were cracking and making noise. She yelled, "Wow, Mom and Dad, there are cakeballs ALL OVER and I'm running over them!"

Maybe we have been to Scratch Cupcakery a few too many times?!

helping a mom out

Yesterday I had help with my non dairy diet. As I unwrapped one small little tootsie roll, Addelyn said, "Mom, are you sure you can have those?"

Caught. Just one little small tootsie roll sounded sooo good.