Scenic Saturday...(and then some!)

Well, here it is again on Saturday.  Wow, have we had a crazy week.  I think it was on Wednesday that Matt and I commented that we should stop answering the phone, since it seemed that every time it rang it was someone else with something pretty major going on in their lives.  (Just kidding about not answering - we would NEVER do that! :-) )  But seriously, it does seem that the Lord is allowing a lot of our church people to go through some pretty tough trials right now.  So, because of all this, Matt has been gone a lot this week.  The kids haven't seen much of him.  I haven't either, actually!  But, I kept myself busy with the kids, potty training Leila, and some other stuff that you will see in the pictures to come below!

Leila is doing FANTASTIC with the training.  That first day was rough - lots and lots of accidents and laundry, but we made it through.  Liam was acting up a ton, and Libby was fussy, and I thought I was going to go mad (in case you didn't catch that from my last post!)  But, it got better the next day, and by Friday, the 4th day of potty training, Leila was actually coming up to me to tell me when she had to go and we have not had an accident since!  Good for her!  I am so proud of her!  She caught on a bit faster than Liam, and it is so nice not to have to worry about changing her diaper any more!  And she loves it, too!

I figured out that Liam was acting out mainly to get attention, since Leila was getting a lot of my focus with the training.  So, I started including him in it, and he has done mucho better.  I gave him the task of handing out the stickers to Leila when she goes, and he seems to really enjoy that job!  So our sweet little boy is back.  Yay!

Well, the man I told you about in the last post did go Home to be with his Saviour yesterday around lunch time.  Brent was diagnosed with cancer about 6 months ago, and there was not a ton the drs. were able to do.  They did all they could, but the Lord saw fit to take him Home.  Brent's wife, Beth is 33 years old, and their son, Ethan, is 9.  Please pray for this family.  It is a comfort knowing where he went, but the loss is still felt deeply.  Matt has been visiting Brent and Beth a couple times a week ever since the beginning, and spent a lot of time with them this week.  I was able to go with Matt on Thursday night and spend some time with Beth.  My heart just goes out to her.  She sat there the last few days, knowing the end was near, just watching her husband breath in and out, all the while wondering if that would be his last breath.  I can't imagine doing that with my husband.  And little Ethan is trying so hard to be tough for his mom.  He is the man of the house now, and he is trying to hold it all together for her.  So please pray for them.  The funeral is on Monday.  Beth has asked Matt to give a clear gospel message.  Brent's family is not saved - they are Catholic, so maybe God will use this to lead them to Him.

This morning we had Ladies' Bible Study here at our house.  I always enjoy that time together with the ladies in our church.  We had a great time of fellowship, and we are studying the book of Esther.  Haha - it is slow going, though!  This was our second meeting like this and I just finished up the first chapter!  But I am learning so much and am really enjoying what God is teaching me!

Well, it is time to move on to pictures!  Thanks for "listening" to me and have a great weekend!

He is such a ham for the camera these days!

The other day it was quiet, so I went to investigate and found Liam putting Leila to bed in he dolly's pack-n-play.  She had her paci, her blanket and everything!

She chews on EVERYTHING!

So, on Friday, I took these beautiful strawberries...

....mixed them with some of my "magic potion"......

....and turned them into 16 jars of strawberry jam - my kids favorite!

And I had a very cute helper!

Although, she really just sat there and chewed on her toy and bounced in her bouncy seat. By the way - she LOVES her bouncy seat!  She gets that thing bouncing so hard!  It makes us laugh!  I have never seen a kid bounce those seats that hard!

That's what's up with us!

Until next time...