the silence is deafening...

i cannot explain the beautiful sound that fills my home at this very moment. silence...ahhh...yes, silence. all three of my kids are asleep!!!!! imagine the hallelujah chorus playing at this moment. oh i might add that it is 3:45pm.
today has been a very busy day. we were out the door by 9:30am heading to swim lessons. from there we drove across town to the pediatrician's office because i love our pediatrician and i am willing to drive 30 minutes to his office. after that we met my sweet mentor at the splash park where neither of the older two kids wanted to play. i have to say that i totally understand their lack of interest due to the way over sized teenagers that were having water fights. i wouldn't want to go in either. from there we drove over to the furniture store where we met ross so that we could buy a new couch and then we headed to walgreens to drop of some prescriptions. finally we are home and each child is tucked away in a bed where they can get some much needed rest.

swim lessons are going quite well now. i take the kids over to a friend's house- julie is a high school swim coach, swam at texas, and even did something with the olympics.
the first day was an utter disaster for daphne. she screamed the entire 30 minutes. she acted as though she has never been near a pool before in her life. it was awful. by day 2 she only cried for 5 minutes and from then on she has done great. henry is blowing me away with his ability to swim. he is already doing the butterfly and working very hard to perfect his breaststroke. i am so impressed. ms. julie says he will definitely be ready for swim team next year. thank goodness...this tball thing is killing us in this crazy heat. i would much rather be by a pool.

my poor baby anna has had the most horrific rash that i have ever seen on and off for the last 2 or 3 weeks. now some of you might think, "you idiot, why didn't you take her to the doctor sooner." let me tell you that the last 3 times i have taken her in to see dr. g she has made me look like a fool. this time i was not going to overreact. i was playing it cool. using some mommy smarts trying different topical agents. finally i broke down on wednesday and called the office. they gave me some ideas to try. nothing seemed to really be working and then after she had a poopy diaper this morning i was cleaning her up and her little buns were bleeding. i felt so bad for her. she has not really complained of it hurting but i just couldn't let it go on. i took her in and the dr. said she has a strep infection and a yeast infection. let me just say that this poor baby has a rash on her buns, thighs, neck and on her forearms and thumbs. even with all of that she is still smiling and being the sweetest baby ever.

those are the latest going ons of the newman family. this weekend we will be enjoying some family time and great bbq over at tod & catherine's! thankfully we gave tod a 5 gallon jug of goode company bbq sauce for christmas.

have a wonderful weekend!

the flip flop error...

i bet you thought i meant to type "the flip flop era" but indeed i did not. many of you, i know because i see you so often, have flip flops in and array of colors and styles (thanks to $3.99 flip flops at old navy). i would be one of these folks. here in tucson there is little need for any other type of shoe than the between -the- toe thong but unfortunately my flip flop wearing days are numbered. i am in great need of a foot doctor who can help my ever hurting arches. when i wear my tennis shoes my feet hurt because there is no room for them to spread out and be comfortable. the sad reality is that my feet only feel good in flip flops or bare feet but that is destroying my poor feet. i can see why the older generation are miserable when their feet hurt. it can be somewhat debilitating...well not that bad...well maybe that bad but i wouldn't know if i would choose to not get up on my feet because i wake up to daphne saying "i need some searal, mommy" or "i need go peepee, mommy" and i must put these aching extremities on the floor and use them. before ross' insurance is up at the end of the month i am going to try to get in with a foot dr. let's pray we can get some orthotics for this painful pair.

shepherding a child's heart...

for any of you who might be in need of some parenting encouragement or direction i suggest checking out the link on the left -shepherding book discussion. this book discussion should prove to be a blessing to all. shepherding a child's heart by ted tripp is a must read for parents and i would actually say it is a book to be read yearly.
with our 5 and 2 year old constantly aggravating one another i find that i grow weary very quickly. by day's end i am worn out and have gotten so tired of my own voice. why you ask? because i spend much of my time fussing at the kids to change their behavior instead of using moments of correction as times to shepherd their hearts towards their Creator and His word.

1 Samuel says man looks at the outward appearance but God looks at the heart. i have so often referred to this verse from the outward appearance angle, not wanting my children to be caught up in the battle of looks that comes creeping in on all of us. what i say and do is a reflection of what is in my heart just as what my children say and do reflects their hearts. i am encouraged to help them grow in their knowledge and understanding of God and His character so that their lives would be a reflection of the Holy Spirit living in their Hearts!

Lord, change my own heart to reflect Yours. teach me how to raise up a godly generation for Your glory. i confess, oh God, how i have relied on my own strength to make my children into "good" little children. Lord, search my heart and know my thoughts. see the offensive ways in me, cleanse me and lead me in the way everlasting. mold me, Lord, into a mom that in all my imperfection still points my little ones to You.

summer is here...

i am so excited that it is summer time! henry finished school yesterday and i think i was more excited than he was. i love getting to spend time with him at home with all of us. though he and daph argue and fuss more than i can sometimes comprehend i love that we are all together for the next 11 weeks.

we started the summer off with a trip over to the splash pad at a local park here in tucson. the kids and i had not yet been there but friends said it was fantastic. well they were right on! with it being 90 by 10am the kids and i loved getting wet. well...i wasn't so keen on the idea in the beginning but God reminded me to just play with them.

i had thought to bring a couple of books so i could get some reading in while they played. after rereading the first page 3 times i realized i wasn't spending any time with the kids. i provided something fun for them to do but how much more fun would it be if i played with them. after that we ran through some of the water sprayers, we shot water cannons across the pad, we had fun. i am looking forward to doing it again soon!

the kids start swim lessons next week. henry is a good swimmer but i am hoping ms. julie can help him with his strokes. next summer we hope to put him on a swim team. daphne is such a little daredevil that she shows no fear with the pool. however she knows very little about swimming so this will be a great time for her to learn some basics and how to float. i will let you know how it turns out.

ross begins a new job next week. i will have the house back!! there has always been this strange awkwardness in how things run around the house with him working from home. the really sad part is that even though he has been wonderful about helping with the kids or letting me leave one or more of them with him when i run errands i think our marriage lost some of its umph. we see each other all day everyday and there is no looking forward to seeing each other anymore. we kind of "co-exist" instead of enjoy the other and our time together. by the end of the day there is no "tag" with the kids because we are both tired of listening to them argue and fuss. i am excited for ross to have a new place to work and to build relationships with new people. i am excited to feel like i can use my bathroom instead of the kids whenever i want to. all that being said, i will miss him. i will miss having breakfast and lunch together. the kids will miss his intermittent hugs during the day as will i. we will all miss him.

i should have some new pictures up soon. i guess since i have these new gorgeous 11x14s of my kids (taken by tonya roberts photography) all over my living room i forgot that you all can't see them.

i've been tagged...

this is evidently the new form of those crazy 20 million questions you are to answer about yourself and email to the world for good luck. thanks jen...here it goes.

the rules:
once tagged you must blog about 7 random facts/habbits about yourself. you then choose 7 people to then tag who must also blog about 7 of their own random facts/habbits. they too will tag folks and so the cycle goes. when you tag someone be sure to leave them a comment on their blog telling them they have been tagged and to read your blog for the details.

Random fact #1: i have always dreamed of going up to maine and staying in an old home overlooking the ocean with a wrap around porch just so i can snuggle up with a big sweater and read a long book outside.

Random fact #2: i love the whole labor and delivery process...pain and all...i loved my 22 hour labor with henry.

Random fact #3: deep down inside i long to be as organized as martha stewart...i do love eggshell blue you know.

Random fact #4: i fear the expansiveness of the ocean.

Random fact #5: i get really excited at the thought of road trips with the kids.

Random fact #6: my two favorite gifts that i get each christmas are a nutcracker for my collection and the next year's calendar.

Random fact #7: i love to learn new things (sometimes that means relearning some old things too).

there you have it. that's my unknown. i now will pass on the tagging torch to the following:
ross
tonya
laurie
nicole
kristen
kelley
danny

our apricot loving daughter...

in all my adventures in parenting thus far the one i have always dredded most was potty training. with henry i didn't even think about it until he turned three. with daphne however, she has shown extreme intrest off and on over the last year. a year ago i knew baby anna was on the way and i just didn't want to cross that bridge yet. so here we are a year later and we are in the trenches.
much to my surprise daphne is doing a wonderful job. she has had very few accidents but she has been holding on to a certain type of bathroom issue for over a week.
yesterday ross and i felt that we were going to have to help expedite this issue with a few dried apricots. i gave her four as i was making her lunch...this may sound like a lot to some of you but our daughter has a very slow system and so four is what it usually takes to get her going. ross came in a bit later and said let's just give her two more. well at some point our apricot loving daughter got into the bag of apricots and ate an unknown amount. we knew what this would mean for the afternoon.
sure enough a few hours later she took care of business and i was sure we had averted disaster. then a little later she went again but then i heard her say as she ran towards me "oh no mommy. i need go potty." before we got there that said disaster i believed we averted earlier came with full force and sound effects i didn't know a little tummy could make. i got her all cleaned up and put her in the tub just in case. all is well now and she is no longer afraid of taking care of that kind of issue on the potty...though she may be afraid of apricots now!

side note: oxi clean is amazing!! i soaked the disaster stained underwear for 10 minutes and then washed them and they look as white as snow. what a great product.

thriving in chaos and thoughts about henry...

i don't know about all of you but when i was in college the semesters i did the best were the ones when i was taking 18 hrs and working. something about the pressure of having so much to do challenged me. i work fairly well under pressure in most situations.
this weekend i am hosting (along with 5 other ladies) a baby shower for my long awaited nephew. this means i am going to attempt to make about 60 petit fors- which i have never done before. it will be quite the adventure but oh what a celebration it will be! i am also working on preparing for our first Boschie Designs Party. jen and i are sewing up a storm so that we will have plenty of products available for purchase. we have been blessed to have several friends offer to host parties around town in several different circles. if that isn't enough i am having to prepare for vacation bible school which is the first week of june and all the while i am preparing/planning the children's ministry program at dove mountain church. all of these things are so exciting. i am taking each day at a time and trying to follow the Lord's lead in it all!
according to msn what i do in a day just as a mom should be paying me well over most jobs in what would be my genre of work and yet my paycheck does not come in the form of an addition to my bank account. my paycheck is found in the lives of my family.
this morning henry and i had a "date". he came with me to a meeting but then we walked hand in hand through a fancy grocery store looking for a rather obscure ingredient for a recipe (the petit fors) i am attempting this week. our "date" was nothing fancy- just a sweet time when we talked about what he was excited about in the coming school year and about going up on the mountain. i love time with my kids.
henry is at an age now where we can have some really great conversations. he is an amazing little man. in fact just a few weeks ago an older lady in our church stopped ross to give henry a compliment. she shared with him that henry was the only one who would come over and play with a little boy who has downs syndrome. after ross shared this with me i was so blessed to know that the Holy Spirit living in him has given henry the gift of mercy. he has a tender heart for those who are not just exactly like all the other children. he has always gone to sit with or play with the children with autism who do not speak or with the children with downs syndrome. my son genuinely cares for the children God created. henry sees in each person the value they have because of who their Creator is not because of the way our world has assigned value. henry loves because God first loved him.

Lord, thank you for henry. thank you for dying on the cross for him. thank you for showing him your great love and thank you for saving him early in his life. Lord, please continue to mold him and shape him into a godly man. may his heart forever be for You and all of your creation.