FIVE under ONE

Today I Cherish #5

2012-01-29T20:21:00.001-05:00

"The days are long, but the years go by quickly," so today I choose to cherish these moments...

Empanar

2012-01-28T00:01:00.001-05:00

According to Wikipedia, an empanada is a stuffed bread or pastry baked or fried in many countries in Latin America, Southern Europe and parts of Southeast Asia. The name comes from the verb empanar, meaning to wrap or coat in bread. Empanada is made by folding a dough or bread patty around the stuffing....

Want Some? Bake Sale. This Sunday. New Life Ministries. See you there ;)

U know it

2012-01-24T11:27:00.002-05:00

U turned out to be one of my favorite letters. Who knew?!

U is for Umbrella

Color by Numbers and Do-A-Dot worksheets by confessions of a homeschooler

U is for Under

We made a fort and read our alphatales "U" book UNDER it!

U is found on a stick of celery

so we painted with them ;)

U is for Upside down day.....

Underwear on the head!!!

U is for Undivided Heart
(to learn more about seeds family worship check my sister's post click here)

Psalm 86:11-13 Teach me your way, O Lord and I will walk in your truth; give me an Undivided heart, that I may fear your name. I will praise you, O Lord my God, with all my heart; I will glorify your name forever.

Volleyball-oon

2012-01-23T19:11:00.000-05:00

implement PATIENCE

2012-01-22T14:01:00.002-05:00

Most people need a little more of it.

Sooner or later, we all have to learn it.

Even when that sippy cup is filled with nice cool milk,

it just might be a good idea to implement PATIENCE

and wait for mama to put the lid on before taking it off the counter!

Snow Day

2012-01-22T13:51:00.002-05:00

Snow always brings bundles of excitement and inspiring creative play. For our snow day, we enjoyed jumping in the snow, pretending to snow blow, painting the snow (water bottles with food coloring in it), and tasting ice cold snow.

Add caption

One of the best things about snow days is coming inside from the cold and getting cozy warm. Then, all we added was finding a nice book to read....

Courage

2012-01-16T19:58:00.000-05:00

"Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear, not absence of fear." --Mark Twain 

"Courage is contagious. When a brave man takes a stand, the spines of others are stiffened." --Billy Graham

 "One man with courage makes a majority." --Andrew Jackson

Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be men of courage; be strong. 1 Corinthians 16:13

Stomp!

2012-01-15T16:28:00.001-05:00

The twins love wearing mama, dada or uncle andy's shoes. They will stomp around the house giggling up a storm wearing any shoes they find.

On a side note - if you are wondering why Jonny has a pacifier (since none of my kids have ever taken a pacifier) - the twins discovered pacifiers a few days ago and they are in love. They are both in the middle of some intense teething and have loved chewing on them. My family makes fun of me that I introduced my children to the pacifier when most parents are trying to wean their kids off the paci - ha ha. Hey - whatever works!

Here is a post of Alina doing the same thing when she was about the same age as the twins are now.

S-T upendous

2012-01-10T21:45:00.000-05:00

Silly, you thought we forgot our letters S and T but we didn't!

Letter S:

Getting ready to do our S activities with Slippers, Shirt and Sweat pants and Strawberry Shortcake

I had stations of letter S activities. She would do an activity and then switch to the next station. Letter S activities included: straws on a string, snowmen art, playdoh stockings, snowmen, and "S" Snakes, magic board S, and cut out letter S.

Scripture: Sing unto the Lord, bless His name. Psalm 96:2

Letter T

Activities included riding a train, making a human "t", cutting out triangles and having turtle tea party.

riding a tricycle

Scripture: Trust in the Lord with all your heart. Proverbs 3:5

Mischief

2012-01-10T13:38:00.000-05:00

These two guys are always getting into trouble! Just this past week, they have......

-gotten into syrup and paper towels and created a paper mache' type substance on themselves and the house.
-pulled off ALL their clothes from the hangers in their closet
-shoved tons of clean diapers in the diaper pail
-used the Christmas ornaments as balls and broke them all over the room
-dumped out a box of cheerios
-found a new water table aka toilet and made a splash
-are constantly removing their diapers.....onesies and zip up pajamas can't even stop them. Oh ya, now that I have my video monitor on in their room, I once caught them throwing their diapers back and forth from their cribs at nap time.
-discovered that when they give smiles, kisses and hugs, they can get away with all of it!

like me and not like me

2012-01-06T10:55:00.001-05:00

What Alina would wear everyday if I let her.....

What I would dress Alina like everyday if she let me ;) ......

She is like me and not like me in so many ways.....and I LOVE that about her!!!

Alina-isms

2012-01-01T20:34:00.002-05:00

Me: you need to go clean up your room.
Alina: no that's not the deal mom
Me: yes it is the deal
Alina: that deal expired. sorry mom.
lol

While playing the game Guess Who.....

Alina: Does your guy have brown hair?
Me: no, I have blonde hair
Alina: mom you can't tell me that. that's not in the instructions. I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that.
Me: ha ha ya you are right
Alina: Do you have red hair?
Me: no I already I told you I have blonde hair
Alina: MOM!!!!!!! I told you I was going to pretend I didn't hear that. You need to follow the instructions if you want to play.
Me: ha ha ok ok

How are you feeling?

2011-12-30T14:08:00.003-05:00

There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven.

Ecclesiastes 3:1

FOUR!

2011-12-27T20:58:00.001-05:00

Thanks Zoey for coming over today to help Alina celebrate her 4th birthday! I still can't believe my little baby girl is FOUR!!!

Top 4 things I love about my Alina:

1. Her laugh

2. Her playfulness

3. Her prayers

4. Her cuddles

Ariel Princess Cake

2011-12-27T15:38:00.001-05:00

Alina wanted an Ariel Princess Cake for her birthday. I have never made a barbie cake before so I called on my friend Nina to help (see her cinderella cake here). For my first time, I thought we did an pretty good job.

I was a little nervous about putting this cake together but pretty pleased with the results. We baked the cake in a bowl and another cake pan. However, Ariel was still a little big for the cake so I added extra scrap pieces to the top.

A little trim and a little frosting go a long way...

My completed Ariel Cake!!

However, Alina and Zoey thought Ariel needed much more sprinkles and added their special touch....

Alina holding ariel's hand while showing her new age of 4!!!

Happy 4th Birthday baby girl!!

**Special thanks again to Nina for taking time out to help teach me how to do this cake;)

Good News of Great Joy

2011-12-25T14:14:00.000-05:00

And there were shepherds living in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; He is Christ the Lord. Luke 2: 8-11

Merry Christmas!

Christmas Eve

2011-12-24T21:44:00.003-05:00

We celebrated Christmas early this year. Tommy and our family made the decision that Tommy should work at the prison this Christmas. Therefore, we moved our family Christmas to Christmas Eve. On Christmas Eve, the kids woke up and were greeted with holiday cheer (their parents smiling ear to ear with presents). We had a sweet time with the family and everyone loved their gifts.

We then headed to the Maus house for more Christmas traditional family fun.

Merry Christmas to all!

The Minivan Express

2011-12-24T21:16:00.001-05:00

The eve before Christmas eve, Tommy and I had an exciting surprise trip planned for the kids. We found this link from confessions of a homeschooler about the "Minivan Express." We had the kids watch The Polar Express during the day. Then at night, we changed them into their pajamas and warned them it was time for bed. When they got to their rooms, they found their surprise golden ticket (for free printable click here).

After we put on our winter coats, packed popcorn and candy canes for treats, turned up the Christmas music in the van, we were ready to board.

Tommy was the conductor and collected the tickets as the kids were boarding. Similar to the movie, conductor Tommy punched the tickets in a special shape. Tommy punched crosses in each ticket to remember the real reason we celebrate Christmas...Jesus! Alina was super cute and called her dad "conductor" the entire trip.

ALL ABOARD!

Conductor kept warning Alina not to lose her ticket and she was very careful to never lose her ticket. She also made sure everyone else always had their tickets on them.

We made special stops on the way to our adventure. The first stop was "Christmas 11" aka 7-11 for hot chocolate drinks. Then, we arrived at the light show. All the kids were into the light show and oooooohhhh'd and aaaaaaahhhhh'd the entire show. Alina sat in the front seat and pointed with excitement at every display.

This is a tradition we will def keep. Everyone in the van fell asleep on the way home. Christmas joy was had by all.

More Christmas Festivities

2011-12-18T21:51:00.000-05:00

I seriously LOVE Christmastime.

More fun Christmas activities.....

Gingerbread Houses

Playing with Nativity Scene (done prior to Jonny's haircut...he he)

Dancing to Christmas Music

Hot Chocolate

Christmas Cookies (notice somebody made a Tommy gingerbread cookie....can u find it?)

All I want is a family picture!

2011-12-18T21:44:00.000-05:00

Today was another failed attempt at getting a Christmas family picture. Thankfully, I inherited a little tenaciousness from my mom which keeps me trying! Today, Alina was a little crabby for unknown reasons and the boys were their crazy selves all into our precious Savior's manger's hay. I am grateful for my husband who willingly accepted my plea to at least get a picture with us two in front of the Christmas tree :) I love Christmas time and I love my family - every little part!

A Carlson Christmas

2011-12-17T20:27:00.000-05:00

I love the day that we have our Carlson family Christmas party. The day is filled with love, tradition, great food, and a little chaos and fun. Usually we celebrate on Christmas day, but this year my parents will be in Africa (they leave Tuesday!!) so we celebrated Christmas early...today.

These grandparents are a little outnumbered now but they love it!!

8 kids that are age 5 and under....you know the picture above was not the first take. Here is one blooper picture....Alina was crying because she didn't get to hold a baby....Jonny's toy was taken away right before the Christmas picture so he was quite upset too....Elijah was more interested in Papas big smile....I think following this picture...Judah and Jacob start crying too. Ha ha (on a side note - I love Isaac's big smile in this picture!)

If you know my mom, she always thinks of the cutest ideas for the holidays. This Christmas she had little boxes hidden around their house. The kids would open the first box and read the first clue. They then had to run around to get the next hidden box (as a team of course) and read their next clue...until they finally found their treasure full of goodies.

Running to get next clue!

Jonny and David surprisingly got in on the fun too and tried hard to keep up with the older kids!

After the game......present time!

One highlight of the night: Elijah loved Zoey's new doll pack and play - and was feeling a little tired. He kept trying to get in it to take a nap :) He was the cutest thing ever!

Although Elijah did not fit, we found someone who did....baby Jacob!

Uncle Tommy served as great entertainment as a pony ride!

snapshots of some of our cuties!

All in all - a great Christmas was had!

A Hair Tale

2011-12-16T18:31:00.000-05:00

Getting a little adventurous over here in the Sheerer household - with our hair that is!

So, you say you want twins...

2011-12-15T14:52:00.001-05:00

Last night, we were putting the twins to bed for the night and they were just a bit hyper.

I separated them and the silliness did not end...

wrap it up

2011-12-13T20:53:00.000-05:00

The Christmas festivities are beginning in the Sheerer household. Today, the highlight of my day was making homemade wrapping paper with my kiddies. They really enjoyed getting out the dot to dot markers and decorating with them in an all original pattern ;)

After the boys went to bed, Alina and I wrapped some of the presents. Alina couldn't contain her excitement as she had been waiting ALL day to do this. I had Alina write the names on each of the presents. I just told her each letter and she wrote it down. I am so proud of her and how good she is getting with writing.

This is by far the busiest, craziest time of my life and I am so grateful for special Christmas memories that I get to make with my kids. I am sure there will be many more memories to come...

Angels

2011-12-11T22:56:00.001-05:00

Christmas Pics....not so much

2011-12-05T12:41:00.001-05:00

The dreaded day approached where I had to try to get my 3 kids together for a beautiful picture that I would send to all my friends and family to wish them a Merry Christmas. My kids had fresh baths and I put on their new Christmas outfits. In the back of my mind, I knew this was going to happen but deep down inside I hoped it would go differently.....

Here's to wishing you a very MERRY Christmas full of love and laughter!

First Snow

2011-12-02T22:09:00.001-05:00

There is something so special and lovely about the first snow that comes every year. Having kids makes it extra exciting!

Judah Bug Visits

2011-12-02T16:09:00.001-05:00

The boys took it upon themselves to take care of their little cousin. David collected all the cars in the house and kept bringing him more and more cars. Jonny loved giving Judah his pacifier.....then pulling it out.....then putting it back in Judah's mouth. Judah was a good sport and was all smiles!!!

I love Judah's face in this picture!

Love you Judah Bug!! Thanks for putting up with your crazy cousins!!

Strawberry Shortcake Party

2011-11-25T20:21:00.001-05:00

She's a berry bitty girl with very big possibilities and fruit filled fun is the secret to her recipe. She may be small. Her tasks too tall. She'll be your best bud. Just give her a call.

Strawberry Shortcake.....

Alina's Strawberry Shortcake 4th Birthday Party

(We celebrated a month early and it was so worth it)

Strawberry cupcakes with a strawberry in the core (made by Jeni), Strawberry Shortcake Kabobs, Stawberry Sprinkle Cups, and Grandma Neva's Chocolate Chip Cookies.

Alina's face lit up with every present she unwrapped. What a fun birthday watching her get so excited with every gift. Some of her presents included: Strawberry shortcake dolls, Uno Moo, Ariel Pajamas and Slippers, Ariel purse, play cupcakes, Leap Frog's Leap Pad and Mr. Pencil App, Clothes, etc.

We blindfolded the kids and let them try and get the berries in the basket.

Strawberry Shortcake Party Hats!

Thank You BERRY Much

We love you Alina - you bring soooooooooo much sweetness and life into our home.

Oh, Christmas Tree

2011-11-25T19:43:00.001-05:00

If it was up to me, it would have been up in October....

Favorite time of the year!

Introducing Jacob

2011-11-23T23:02:00.001-05:00

My newest nephew is here...Baby Bunk #4!

8lbs 4oz 20 inches

Jacob Christopher Bunk

The Wait...

Baby is Here.....

Meeting Jacob...

The Box

2011-11-22T19:52:00.001-05:00

Our neighbors dropped off pretty much the coolest thing in the entire world to a 3 year old and twin 1 year old boys......a humongous box!! They have figured out how to use this box in so many ways! Wherever this box is - there is sure to be tons and tons of giggles.

Food Fight

2011-11-21T21:21:00.001-05:00

If I had time, I would sit back and watch these two all day long.

Never a dull moment in the Sheerer house.....

Princess Tea

2011-11-21T20:28:00.001-05:00

Alina and her bestest Zoey (later joined by their wonderful friends Kate & Kaylee) were able to go to Wee Love's Princess Tea Party. Alina, of course, had the time of her life - dressing up as a beautiful princess and going to Cinderella's princess party. Thank you Lori (9 months pregnant wonder woman) for taking Alina and Zoey. Thank you Wee Love and Cinderella (Kristen) for hosting a fabulous party that Alina has been speaking about for days ;)

Thanks Lori for taking pictures!!

Shutterfly House Party

2011-11-21T19:54:00.001-05:00

I love House Party! If you haven't heard of it, you should check it out. My first house party I had was Gerber! This month, my friend Kristen and I joined together to have a lovely Shutterfly House Party. What is not to love when you have friends, coffee, pajamas, Christmas music, Starbucks goodies, and free Shutterfly books-calendars-cards! The party went perfect - everyone loved their gifts from shutterfly and loved making lasting creative memories! The night would have been perfect if it wasn't for the broccoli I brought - ha ha. If you don't know what I'm talking about, trust me - you don't want too! :) Thank you Shutterfly for allowing us to have a wonderful House Party!

Feliz Cumpleanos

2011-11-21T19:41:00.001-05:00

I can't believe I haven't blogged in 20 days! We were blessed to have "Abuela" come visit us last week on her birthday. Alina loved surprising her with lots and lots of cards! Alina is always glued to Abuela's hip while she is here and loves her dearly. Happy --th Birthday Abuela! We love you and of course....thanks for making empanadas while you were here!!!

Thanking and Giving

2011-11-01T20:49:00.000-04:00

At last, November is finally here which brings about an excitement that the holiday season has approached. Yes, Christmas music is on the radio and the scary, Halloween decorations are finally being put away (ahh thank you). I am clearly not as prepared or as cool as I was last year with my awesome advent calendar but here are some things I do want to do in November this Thanksgiving.

Top 10 Things I want to do with my kids to celebrate Thanksgiving

10. Go to the library for Thanksgiving books.
9. Make fun Thanksgiving/Fall themed treats (like these or this).
8. Find creative ways to be Thankful.
7. Find creative ways to Give.
6. Turkey Hands
5. Tree of Thanks
4. Leave thankful notes for mailman, teachers, garbage men, etc.
3. Thanksgiving Family Movie Night :o)
2. Let them see me having gratitude in my daily life!!!
1. "Give thanks to the LORD, for HE is GOOD; His love endures forever." Psalm 107:1

RRRemarkable

2011-11-01T20:18:00.000-04:00

We are moving right along to the letter Rr

R is for Rainbow

Do-A-Dot Rr

R is for Rocks. While we were searching for rocks outside, we were scared by a Rabbit that jumped out of the bushes at us. We screamed....then laughed. We appreciated Rabbit's appearance on R day though!! ;)

Painting our rocks. Of course, many of them had to be RED!

We tried POP ROCKS and then enjoyed watching and listening to them crackle in the water.

Ribbon Rs

Reading about Ruth and Rachel in the Bible.

Bible verse: Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy. Exodus 20:8

Gladiators!

2011-10-31T16:14:00.003-04:00

Tommy vs Chris

A tale of 2 superheroes and a little strawberry

2011-10-30T21:46:00.000-04:00

There once was a little strawberry that needed help. "Help, Help" she cried.

A superhero far away heard a desperate cry for help.

His partner in crime flew up in the sky to find this young lad who needed help.

These superheroes searched high and low for poor little strawberry.

They found her but she didn't need help anymore. Grandma had found her and rescued her. Those superheroes are quick but grandma is faster.

Next time you are in trouble, you know who to call...............

Grandma!!

Wheels Turning

2011-10-28T22:26:00.004-04:00

Tommy has been teaching Alina how to ride her bicycle (with training wheels) all summer but this week, it seemed like she perfected it. She had great starts, great turns, and great breaks. Proud of you Lina Bina for this special achievement!

Nothing compares to the simple pleasure of a bike ride. ~John F. Kennedy

The Triplets

2011-10-22T19:55:00.001-04:00

My sister and brother in law moved into their new house today.....yaaaaaa! There was a little section of the day that her kids and my kids came to my house for a little rest. The twins and their cousin Elijah were so stinkin' cute together! Every single thing they did - they did it together!

Cars....

Basketball....

Sitting and Climbing.....

Eating....

Gazing....

Banging Cabinets...

Drinking....

Since I already have a working system for twins at home, it was no big difference adding another who is about the same age. Elijah jumped right in and fit in perfectly!! I loved watching them interact.

By the way, I do, however, have a new appreciation for Denise, an awesome "real" mother of triplets!!

Quickly now, the letter Qq

2011-10-17T08:30:00.000-04:00

The letter Qq has made quite an appearance here.

Mega blocks Q

Making quilted Qs.

Tossing quarters and trying to land them on our Q.

Learning about Queen Esther.

Pretending she is Queen Esther

(she couldn't find her crown to be a queen but she thought this headband would suffice)

Tracing Qq on her Lakeshore Magic Board

Using Q-Tips to paint our letter Qq

Scripture: Quench not the Spirit. 1 Thessalonians 5:19

Stand

2011-10-16T19:09:00.000-04:00

Standing on the Word of God!

1 Corinthians 16:13

Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be men (and women) of courage; be strong.

2Thessalonians 2:15

So then, brothers, stand firm and hold to the teachings we passed on to you.

Ephesians 6:13

Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you done everything, to stand. Stand firm then.

Michigan's Little Bavaria

2011-10-16T10:41:00.000-04:00

Our family headed up to Frankenmuth, an annual tradition. As part of the tradition, we love to pose with the many figurines located around the area. This years highlight was Bronner's nativity scene.

The boys seems fascinated with the animals this year.

As a tradition every year, the kids get to pick one ornament from the huge 1 and a half football field sized Christmas store Bronner's. These two girls were set on getting pink furry ballerinas the entire time but in the end, they finally decided on a sweet pea ornament from veggie tales.

Pink ornament heaven ;)

The boys got their "thing one and thing two" ornament.

Hours of shopping later......

Prayer x3

2011-10-14T13:43:00.000-04:00

Today we took the kids to the doctors because we could tell they weren't feeling well. Here are the results:
Jonathan has a double ear infection and will now be on amoxicillin.

Alina has wheezing and horrible coughing and will now be on albuterol breathing treatments.

David has a double ear infection and wheezing and will now be on amoxicillin and albuterol breathing treatments.

The Sheerer family could use your prayers - Thanks!!

Falling for you!

2011-10-14T13:17:00.002-04:00

Our tree has tineee tiny leaves that are horrible to rake but what's not to love when your whole family is out in the yard - raking leaves together! Well, Tommy and I were raking and the 3 kids were undoing all our work but nonetheless, we all had fun!

Alina's highlight was jumping in the leaves!

Jonathan's highlight was throwing the leaves but wanted nothing to do with jumping in the leaf bag - ha ha.

David's highlight was holding the rake and helping his mama and dada!

I love Fall and I love my Family!!

The Problem List

2011-10-09T19:25:00.001-04:00

Yesterday morning, Alina came into our bedroom and woke us up. She told us she needed help. Her daddy asked her what was wrong. She then gave us this list.

1. I can't find one shoe (she had only one princess dress up shoe on).

2. My necklaces are tangled.

3. I can't find Hearts (her stuffed monkey).

She then turned to Tommy and said, "that's a lot of problems, right daddy?!!"

We just laughed at her so concerned with "all these problems." Tommy and I then started talking about how God must do that with us. When we go to him with our "problem" list, I bet He also gets a good chuckle at what we consider big.

Tommy untangled her necklaces and helped Alina find her missing items. He did it because it mattered to Alina. He helped her because he loves her more than anything and loves seeing her happy. He didn't care about the problem - He cared about her.

We serve a good God who loves us and cares for us!

Yates

2011-10-02T16:50:00.000-04:00

Fall just isn't the same without a visit to the cider mill. There is something so cozy and relaxing about being there. From cider to apples and donuts, to rivers, cool breezes and animals, so much fun to be had. This year, we celebrated our cousin Elijah's first birthday there. The kids loved being outdoors near the water.

Birthday boy opening his presents.

Love this picture!

Elijah enjoyed his cake.

His cousins enjoyed it too.

Throwing rocks in the river with Uncle Andy.

The highlight this year was the random fisherman who attracted all the kids. The kids lined up in a straight line all on their own and were watching him in silent awe. It was amazing - I have never seen all the kids so still. He was catching a fish every minute (not exaggerating). He started giving the fish to the kids when he caught them. They were too excited and he was a great sport.

Boys will be boys.

Girls will be girls.

She was like this the whole time at the petting zoo.

Yep, still plugging her nose.

David trying to get through the fence to get closer.

Our brave David :)

She just couldn't get over the smell....ha ha ha.

18

2011-09-23T23:22:00.002-04:00

The twins had their 18 month check up yesterday.

Jonathan is 25lbs 7 oz (68%) and 31.25 inches (14%)

Jonny boy, you love balloons - like over the top love them. You can't contain your excitement when you see a balloon! You will carry it around ALL day! We already can see your natural athletic ability. At one and a half, you can kick a soccer ball with power and accuracy. It's amazing. You are shy around people you don't know but I don't mind when you come cuddle your face into me. You have the best charming smile. When you don't like something, oh boy - you are well - known for your dramatics of laying down with your arms spread out. You sure have some vocals! You are so much fun and we love you so much!

David is 25lbs 4oz (66%) and 31.5 in (20%)

You love cars and gadgets! You are so smart as you already have figured out how to get past baby safety locks. You love adventure - you climb up things and stand up tall on the smallest edges. You are so brave and bold. In public - you seem to love charming strangers. I still think your laugh is by far the cutest laugh in the world. You love outside - if you see someone leaving the house, you will run to the door in hopes of leaving. If I tell you its time to go, you will go get your shoes and come right to me to put them on you. You can't contain your excitement. You are so much fun and we love you so much!

You two give me a run for my money. Your mischievousness seems to increase when you are together. You guys love sharing with each other and love taking from each other. Love you both so much and I know your daddy and older sister do too!

The Tree Post

2011-09-23T08:40:00.002-04:00

One of our many Sheerer Traditions.....

(Alina first time in the tree here)

Trees are your best antiques. ~Alexander Smith

Hope for LIFE

2011-09-21T21:53:00.000-04:00

On my way home from work, I heard on the news that the Michigan state House and Senate today both approved bills that would implement a state ban on partial-birth abortions. I think my heart started beating a little faster as I excitedly thought about all the lives that would be saved. The measures now heads over to our governor Rick Snyder who makes the final approval. Since he is pro-life, this looks really good!

I couldn't help but think about how The Call is in our area. There is a focus in fasting and prayer that is going out to end abortion! Our God is a good God!

Right to Life of Michigan President Barbara Listing said, “Partial birth abortion is an unconscionable, indefensible means of killing a child who is more born than unborn. After several laws being enacted and court rulings that blocked them, two vetoes by the previous governor and a citizen petition drive, we are grateful for the persistence of the current legislature to put this ban on the books once and for all.”

“Now is the time for Michigan to finally place this measure to protect babies who are inches from being born on our law books once and for all,” Listing says.

Please join me in prayer for Michigan and Governor Snyder to make this ban happen! Praise God!

The peachiest, peppiest letter P

2011-09-20T17:16:00.001-04:00

The possibilities for the letter P are pretty much endless....

We started out with P is for PIG

She made pretend she was a Mama Pig and had a perfect baby pig.

My favorite activity.....P is for Prayer!

We made hand print cards for people that we are praying for or felt God wanted us to pray for.

Printed out our letter P and used our do-a-dot markers.

We then filled in the dots with Pennies.

P is for Pretty, Pink & Purple Princess.

We read the book I'd Be Your Princess: A royal tale of godly character by Kathryn O'Brien. I highly recommend the book for little girls!

P is for Playdough

Homemade Peanut butter chocolate edible Playdough

1 can of frosting; 1 cup of PB, and 1 1/2 cup of Powered sugar.

The twins also loved playing with the play dough. It was nice that it was edible so I didn't have to worry about them putting it in their mouth. The downside was that it tasted a little too good to David!

Alina singing her Dora Spanish "Bate Chocolate" Song while mixing the chocolate and peanut butter.

Bate = Mix

Memory Verse: Praise the Lord!! Psalm 147:1

A Cheeky Smile

2011-09-16T22:59:00.001-04:00

A smile is like tight underwear - it makes your cheeks go up. ~Author Unknown

Have Patience

2011-09-16T22:39:00.000-04:00

Alina came with me to our local grocery store. As we were leaving the parking lot, I was behind a car waiting to turn left. The car in front of me had more than enough time to turn but wasn't turning.

Me (talking to the car as if they could hear me): Go Go Go Go

Alina: Mom you can have patience you know. You don't have to tell the car to go, go, go. Just have patience.

Me (with a smile): Thank you Alina that was a nice reminder. You are right!!

We turn left and pull up to a red light.

Alina: Mom, you can practice your patience at the red light!!! :)

NJ: Conclusion

2011-09-11T21:30:00.000-04:00

We were also blessed to be able to spend time with family while in NJ. After a much awaited time, we were so excited to be with our cousins!!

Lucas and Alina in the tv zone

Jonny and David busting through

Lucas helping Alina not be afraid of his dog Zoe

Lucas and Alina loved being with each other so much - they were best buddies...

Sweet little Ruby

Leyla taught Alina how to make fresh orange juice!

Thank you Leyla and Alberto for letting us stay with you for the week, for opening up your home, for making wonderful meals, and for helping us with our kids. We loved visiting you and are extremely grateful for all you did. We love you!

NJ: Hoboken

2011-09-11T21:29:00.003-04:00

One place I REALLY wanted to visit this NJ trip was Carlos Bakery in Hoboken, NJ! This past year, I became a fan of Cake Boss and could not wait to check out Carlos Bakery. Everyone warned us that there would be huge lines when we got there. However, when Matt, Rachel and I arrived, we walked right in the front door of the bakery. No we did not see Buddy but we did get a few cupcakes!

Tommy and I went back to Hoboken a second time on Sunday evening with our great friends Phil and Ruthy. We enjoyed NY Pizza at Grimaldis and then walked a beautiful boardwalk with the most amazing view of the Manhattan skyline - a perfect evening!

NJ meets NY

2011-09-10T23:01:00.001-04:00

Things I love about Times Square in New York....New Yoooorrrrrkkkkkk

1. There is always a Starbucks in view!

2. Nobody...and I mean NOBODY is out of place.

3. The world is at your finger tips

4. You see famous people and places.

5. There is always something new to look at.

6. You can always find good fellowship.

7. You feel well protected.....

8. You can take the subway.......ok this part was actually NOT the highlight of my evening this trip. Jonny was overtired and hated it which meant I DID NOT enjoy it. On a good note: we were quite entertained by some bongo players :)

9. If you need some quiet time, Central Park is quite close

10. Nearby, you can also visit Ground Zero if you are up for some walking. When you get there, even if you can't see anything because of the high fence blocking the construction zone, you can still find a great place to sit :)

NJ: Pool

2011-09-10T10:54:00.001-04:00

Boys will be Boys.....

NJ: Primera Iglesia Metodista Libre de Passaic

2011-09-09T11:57:00.001-04:00

11 hour drive to New Jersey.....

Wednesday Service

There is Power in the Name of Jesus!

Friday Night Youth Service

Deep Cries Out!

Saturday Children's Ministry Training

Sunday Service

The mountain top is where we receive the revelation of God, but the valley is where we live and reflect that revelation for the glory of God.

Adios!

Get it?

2011-08-29T19:10:00.001-04:00

Alina and I were talking about a 7 day goal we made for her....

Alina: If I do it today, it will be ONEday!

Me: Yes

Alina: If I do it the next day, it will be TWO day........Get it Tuesday!!!!

ha ha ha ha ha

well, it made me laugh

Praise Baby

2011-08-29T18:59:00.000-04:00

I can't get these hyper twin boys to sit still even for a moment but today I witnessed a modern day miracle (ha ha)! I am so thankful for....Praise Baby DVD! It was the first time I brought out the dvd for the boys to see. I thoroughly enjoyed watching all 3 kids as they were quite excited and kept pointing to all the different animals and colors. I also enjoyed that I FINALLY had a moment to fold my laundry without those 6 little feet jumping in it!

Waiting

2011-08-29T10:47:00.000-04:00

taken from Waiting on God by Andrew Murray

Come, and however feeble you feel, just wait in His presence. As a feeble, sickly invalid is brought out into the sunshine to let its warmth go through him, come with all that is dark and cold in you into the sunshine of God's holy, omnipotent love. Sit and wait there, with one thought: Here I am, in the sunshine of His love. As the sun does it work in the weak one who seeks its rays, God will do His work in you. Oh, do trust Him fully. "Wait on the Lord! Be strong, and let your heart take courage! Yea, wait thou on the Lord!" "My soul, wait thou only upon God!"

6 feet in shoes

2011-08-25T22:58:00.001-04:00

Jonathan and David's summer shoes were starting to fit a little tight and had horrible boy like smells coming from them. Since fall is right around the corner (ya!!), we decided it was time to go SHOE Shopping!

The boys had their first shoe shopping experience (Remember Alina's experience here). Their feet were professionally measured and were found to both be size 5 1/2.They were well behaved and had huge smiles on their faces most of the time.

Alina had to get new shoes too. She had been complaining that her feet have been hurting lately every time she wears shoes. Well it turns out she is 9 1/2 and we had her wearing size 7/8!!!! I am so sorry Alina!

The end of the story is happy - as they all found nice fitting comfortable shoes!!

Uh-OOOOOOO

2011-08-23T14:43:00.000-04:00

Letter Oo (Part 2)

O is for Owl

As soon as I saw this cute owl lunch on pinterest, I knew I was going to use it for "O" day.

O is for Octopus

Making paint Os with the top and bottom sides of a cup.

Outside to play a review game with our "O" shaped hula hoop.
Lina would walk around the outside of the hula hoop until I called out the letter O.

Scripture: Oh give thanks to the Lord for He is good! Psalms 107:1

To Love is To Obey

2011-08-22T22:05:00.001-04:00

We are on the letter O this week. However, before we got into the fun activities, it was really on my heart to talk about obedience. Our big opener for the letter O was O is for OBEY. Alina and I talked about how "obey" means listening to mom & dad (and other leaders) and doing what God says in the Bible. We read stories in our Bible about Daniel who obeyed God and prayed even though he was going to be thrown in the Lion's Den and we read about Jonah who didn't obey God and ended up being swallowed by a big fish (but said he was sorry and decided to obey God). Most importantly, she learned that you obey because you love God with all your heart. To obey really pleases Jesus and very much pleases mom and dad. As Alina says, "Jesus will be so happy when I obey." Yes, HE WILL.

John 14:15 If you love me, you will obey what I command.

To help Alina remember the correlation between loving and obeying, we made brownies. We then cut out hearts (for loving Jesus) and circles for the letter O (for obeying).

Lets just say Alina got a quick refresher course on what it means to obey. After I told her not to stick her whole hand in the brownie batter, she did it a second and a third time. At first I just laughed at the irony but then I realized this is a process. A process I am more than willing to stay devoted to. A process that is part of my calling.

Give Me S'More

2011-08-21T15:07:00.000-04:00

What's not to like when you have bonfires, marshmallows, and friends?!!

Today I Cherish #4

2011-08-19T16:53:00.001-04:00

"The days are long, but the years go by quickly," so today I choose to cherish these moments...

Sky Writing

2011-08-19T16:32:00.000-04:00

Thank you Selfridge for adding a little excitement to our day.

Alina giddily called out each letter the aircraft puffed out.

What a great alphabet review......ha ha........

It ended up reading....SANG AIRSHOW ;)

Chalk it Up

2011-08-15T20:37:00.000-04:00

What a perfect day to go outside! The sun was shining, the breeze was blowing, the birds were chirping, and the kids were playing!

The next thing to be added to the mix......chalk!

The niftiest, neatest letter N

2011-08-14T21:32:00.000-04:00

How Nice to be on the letter N n

Nickle Rubbings

Noodle Necklace

Painting our nails

Neighborhood nature scavenger hunt (found here)

Scripture: No one can serve 2 masters Matthew 6

A.W. Tozer

2011-08-14T14:56:00.000-04:00

quotes by A.W. Tozer:

An infinite God can give all of Himself to each of His children. He does not distribute Himself that each may have a part, but to each one He gives all of Himself as fully as if there were no others.

It is either all of Christ or none of Christ! I believe we need to preach again a whole Christ to the world - a Christ who does not need our apologies, a Christ who will not be divided, a Christ who will either be Lord of all or will not be Lord at all!

The Word of God well understood and religiously obeyed is the shortest route to spiritual perfection. And we must not select a few favorite passages to the exclusion of others. Nothing less than a whole Bible can make a whole Christian.

An honest man with an open Bible and a pad and pencil is sure to find out what is wrong with him very quickly.

The neglected heart will soon be a heart overrun with worldly thoughts; the neglected life will soon become a moral chaos.

Any faith that must be supported by the evidence of the senses is not real faith.

We can be in our day what the heroes of faith were in their day - but remember at the time they didn't know they were heroes.

I'm not afraid of the devil. The devil can handle me - he's got judo I never heard of. But he can't handle the One to whom I'm joined; he can't handle the One to whom I'm united; he can't handle the One whose nature dwells in my nature.

The man with a cross no longer controls his destiny; he lost control when he picked up his cross. That cross immediately became to him an all-absorbing interest, an overwhelming interference. No matter what he may desire to do, there is but one thing he can do; that is, move on toward the place of crucifixion.

Jesus is not one of many ways to approach God, nor is He the best of several ways; He is the only way.

CHOP CHOP

2011-08-05T09:40:00.000-04:00

Jonathan got his first haircut!

He is my first kid to actually need a haircut - ha ha.

Look at that hair!

Jonny sat still (more like frozen) the entire time. He was so quiet and calm and oh so cute.

The end result..........

We love it - thanks Michaelin!

Life with 16 month Twins

2011-08-02T17:36:00.003-04:00

I love you my exciting, adventurous, lovable Jonathan and David!

Water Refreshing

2011-07-29T14:10:00.001-04:00

With the temperature being extremely HOT lately, yesterday we headed to a local park with a water play area to COOL down!

Alina is now the perfect age to skip around the park and thoroughly enjoy the water play. Typical for Alina, she quickly made friends and they splashed all around.

She even got her daddy to go into the water with her; even though, he was not dressed for it. Daddy always takes excitement to a new level!!

Jonathan and David were a little timid at first. Then, they quickly got used to the loud noise and ruckus and jumped into the fun.

Jonny enjoyed the water the most when daddy/mommy or papa/grandma were close by. He went through a series of smiles and frowns but stayed his cute self throughout the entire experience.

Our fearless David walked through the water park like he owned the place - ha ha. He loved the water and even opened his mouth to get a better taste of the excitement.

Ya....He's a stud ;)

After we all changed into our dry clothes, we enjoyed a nice evening swinging in the park. Even Grandma Neva joined the fun.

The Tradition Continues

2011-07-25T18:43:00.000-04:00

Alina has been helping Abuela make empanadas every year of her life.

Age 1

Age 2

Here she is at Age 3:

She told me when she gets a little bigger, she is going to make them for us all by herself. No complaints here ;)

ChAmPiOnS 4 LiFe KiDs CaMp

2011-07-25T18:08:00.006-04:00

Tommy and I were at CFL KIDS CAMP for the past week - a kids camp for the neglected, abused and abandoned children of our local communities that aims to show them the hope and love of God. We were the Crew Leaders this year. We had an unbelievable experience as always and loved watching God transform lives!!!

SOME OF THE HIGHLIGHTS....

Boot Camp:

The Kids say NO to darkness (Crew representing) by using the Word of God (Paint Grenades)

Tug of War

We can do all things through Christ (Kids beat Adults)

Copa Banana

Silly Morning Exercise

Thank you Abuela and Andy for watching the kids while we were away. We appreciate you!

Sleepover Friends

2011-07-12T21:13:00.000-04:00

Uncle Chris and Aunt Lori are at kids camp this week so ZoZo came over today. Best part of the night was our little sleepover we planned. These 2 were way too cute.

M is for Monday

2011-07-11T21:12:00.000-04:00

Moving on to the Letter M m

M is for m&ms

Played Many fun games with our m&m numbers and other printables we found here

M is for Monkey

M is for Marble Painting

M is for McDonalds

look at that beautiful m on the fries ;)

More alphabet letters to come....

Fifteen

2011-07-11T18:09:00.000-04:00

The boys recently had their 15 month check up:

Jonathan is 24.38 lbs (70%) and 30.5 inches (19%).

David is 23.75 lbs (62%) and 31 inches (35%).

Brother - Sister Love

I LOOOVVVEEE THESE KIDS!!

2nd generation neigborhood friends

2011-07-08T15:05:00.002-04:00

We grew up next door to 2 girls who were about our age. My sisters and I used to always go over their house and play in their backyard. Now, Alina is going over their house and playing in the backyard with one of the girls daughter. Talk about bringing back memories!

On a side note - Is my daughter really old enough to play with a neighborhood friend?!!! Here is a picture of Addison (Kristen's daughter) and Alina. Addison is always coming over knocking on our door - looking for Alina to come play.

The girls colored rainbow pictures at our house. Addison's picture is the top one and Alina's picture is the bottom. If you notice, Alina colored her rainbow in the correct order: ROY G BIV. LOL. She makes me laugh - she is too cute :)

Family Picture

2011-07-02T22:33:00.000-04:00

So Silly...

Hamburguesa

2011-07-02T22:01:00.000-04:00

Hamburger Cookies

Ingredients: Vanilla wafers, Fudge Mint Cookies, Red and Yellow icing, Coconut (with green food coloring), and sesame seeds for the top.

JuMpInG jElLy BeAnS

2011-06-24T15:12:00.000-04:00

These kids have endless energy! They woke up from their nap just a little excited today.....

Stickerific!

2011-06-21T14:00:00.000-04:00

A couple years ago, I remember Isaac and Alina decorating themselves with stickers (Remember?)

Well, I wondered if the twins would enjoy it if we embellished them with stickers. They were absolutely fascinated with it. They loved it! We started with David because he is always up for anything.

Alina next.I don't know why she posed that way. ha ha.

Then, Jonny. He has to slowly warm up to a new idea.

All in all a messy, entertaining, silly, fun time!

L is for LoVeLy

2011-06-20T17:04:00.000-04:00

Look, we are on the Letter Ll.

L is for Lion.

L is for lamb

(Our Lord is described in Scripture both as the Lion of Judah -Gen 49 and Rev 5- and the Lamb of God -John 1)

Licking a lollipop

Love letters for our L family members: Aunt Lori and Uncle Lance.

Listening to hear L words and then acting them out:

Laugh, Lick, Leap, Look, Love, Listen, Large, Little, Loud, Lion, Lamb, Ladybug, Lizard, Lost, Leg, Lips

(picture below is LOUD)

Visiting the Library

Lina was able to pick out 6 books to check out. Jonathan and David gave her many recommendations by pulling books off the shelf for her but she settled with:

Princess Collection; Click, Clack, Quackity-Quack; Hello Kitty Hello Color; The Terrible Fight; Rugrats Twin Trouble; and Chicka Chicka 123.

The picture below is of Alina holding her first Library card!!! She could not contain her excitement.

We visited our library on the day they let all the kids draw and decorate their sidewalk. Alina had to decorate on a square that did not have any chalk on it so we found a hidden walkway that we could decorate.

On the way home, Alina said "mom thank you for taking me to the Library! That was so much fun!" That one comment made my day and made the challenge of taking 3 little kids out SOOO worth it!

Scripture verse: LOOK unto HIM and be saved!! Isaiah 45:22

Cousins Day In

2011-06-17T21:35:00.002-04:00

We love it when our cousins come over to play!

The little guys.

The older kids

Character building.....

Little animals...

One Car. Two Boys.

2011-06-13T15:41:00.000-04:00

One Car. Two Boys.

They quickly figured out on their own how to make it work.

Jonny pushed David around and around the yard.

Alina giggled as she followed behind them on their crazy course.

Spiders, Catepillars, Oh MY!

2011-06-13T10:38:00.002-04:00

Alina woke up yesterday and asked me if I wanted to know what she had dreamed about.

Me: What did you dream about?

Alina: I dreamed about a caterpillar crawling on the wall!!!!

Me: Why do you keep dreaming about bugs?

(last week she told me she was dreaming there was a spider in her room)

Alina: I think Jesus thinks I'm a boy!

Letter K k

2011-06-06T08:55:00.000-04:00

K is for Keri :)

Alina: "My mom has two names.....one name is my mom and one name is Keri"

K is for Kangaroo

Hopping around like Kangaroos. We didn't have any baby kangaroo stuffed animals so little ducky volunteered to go into Alina's pouch.

K is not only for kangaroo but also for kite

K is for Kick

Kicking the Big Soccer ball when she saw a BIG K and the little soccer ball when she saw little k

Play-Doh fun

Scripture: Keep your tongue from evil. Psalm 34:13

In HIS Shadow, I rest.

2011-06-05T21:12:00.004-04:00

In the last three days.....
Our dryer broke - I was behind in laundry when this happened so I actually had to go out and buy the kids clothes and underwear while we decided what we were going to do.
Our AC in the van stopped working.
Tommy got a case of poison ivy. We heard that a poison ivy outbreak can last up to 8 weeks.
Jonny broke out in a rash - took him to the doctors who said it was from all his recent bug bites.
David had a 102.7 temperature right before bedtime and was crying the entire night.
Alina woke up in middle of the night due to a nightmare. She was terrified of a "spider" that was trying to attack her. She had a hard time getting back to sleep.
Jonny could not sleep with everyone crying and screaming.
Neither could Tommy or I. No sleep that night.
The next night, Jonny almost reached 101 temperature. He cried most of the evening.
Boys were not eating well. Neither was Alina.
No AC in house - the temperature outside was HOT which made the inside of the house HOT!

In the last two days......
My dad and Tommy figured out that the belt was broken on the dryer and they fixed it, costing only $20.
We found out our AC in the van was under a special extended warranty for that specific problem and it was fixed for free.
Jonny's rash is gone.
Jonny and David's high temperature only lasted 12 hours and they are on their way to complete recovery.
Our entire family slept through the night last night.
Our old fashion AC unit was placed in our window and managed to cool down the house for me and the babies.
The doctor gave Tommy medicine that will get rid of the poison ivy in less than 10 days instead of 8 weeks.
I was able to do 6 loads of laundry and counting....

The Conclusion:

Psalm 91:14-16

"Because he loves me," says the Lord, "I will rescue him; I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name. He will call upon me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him. With long life will I satisfy him and show him my salvation.

What took YOU so long JUDAH!

2011-06-02T20:39:00.000-04:00

My newest nephew is here.......Judah Andrew Cupp!

The first born to my little sis Jeni and her husband Lance!

He may have been a week late......he may have made his mama push for 3 LONG HOURS......but HE was worth it because he is such a cutie and we love him already (all 8lbs 9oz of him)!!!

YES, We LOVE HIM!

These two all of sudden became soooo old and huge!!! ha ha.

Alina singing lullabies to her baby cousin

Cutie Pie!

A Carlson tradition - my dad praying and dedicating his grandkids to the Lord right after they are born. Judah's turn!

Congratulations Lance and Jeni - you did GOOD! :)

EACH

2011-05-26T11:35:00.005-04:00

Everyone A Chance to Hear
Over 500 Christian churches coming together in the Metro Detroit area to give everyone in our region (over 3.5 million) a chance to hear to message of Christ.
Here are a few testimonies:
2WORDSTORY.COM

I speak Spanish and English too

2011-05-23T21:46:00.003-04:00

To Abuela:

A Colorful Day

2011-05-21T14:37:00.000-04:00

I was sitting on my couch when I caught a glimpse of one of my little guys walking by. He had a mischievious grin on his face......yes, at the age of ONE. I looked a little closer. He was covered in many different color paints. WHAT!! Alina and I had done finger painting earlier this morning. I had left the paint up high on my kitchen table. I walked in the kitchen. My kitchen was covered in paint and so were my two precious little one year old boys. I had just been in the kitchen 5 minutes prior. How could they possibly get paint off the table and paint themselves and the kitchen so quickly?! I wanted to scream but their little laughs made me just embrace the moment.You can imagine how it was to clean up - bathing two little infants by myself why Alina is trying to "help." Then trying to keep them trapped while I clean the kitchen. An adventure.....to say the least.

Waiting

2011-05-17T20:29:00.000-04:00

One of my favorite parts of the day:

the kids waiting for their daddy to get home from work :)

Lessons Learned

2011-05-16T12:49:00.000-04:00

I've learned a lot from my kids this past week..............

If you have 3 crackers and only 2 hands....improvise!

(he walked around like this for 5 minutes :)

A box can be way more fun than any of those expensive toys.

Its ok to march off to your room mad and come out looking like a sweet angel.

Enjoy just being together.

Pley-fuhl

2011-05-02T21:29:00.001-04:00

Duchess of Couchez Pt 2

2011-04-29T21:05:00.000-04:00

Duchess of Couchez

2011-04-29T18:08:00.000-04:00

Yes, we watched the Royal Wedding (Alina and I that is). No, we did not wake up at 4am. Princess, dresses, wedding, and carriage ride........Alina was gleaming and talking up a storm.

"Oh, well, what's a royal ball? I suppose it would be frightfully dull, and boring, and completely....completely wonderful." -Cinderella