Training Ground...

It's been forever since I've posted on here and I thought this would be a good title to describe the last few weeks or rather months to sum up all that we've been doing! I feel like I'm in continual training on how to be a mom every day to a 3 yr old and an almost 18 month old! Just when I think I might have it down- BAM it changes and I have no clue what I am doing! I find myself continually being challenged to practice patience,ok, LOVE, JOY, PEACE, GENTLENESS....and so on and so on. I guess there is a reason God put that all in the Bible!

Landon's training seems to be at a stand still in the area of potty training. There are days I worry that he'll be 16 headed off on his first date still wearing a diaper. Oh, and a pacifier in his pocket! It's amazingly funny to me the fascination with the potty, but Landon's sincere lack of desire to put the poopy in the potty instead of the diaper! The mind of children huh! I keep trying to remind myself that the day is going to come when Landon IS out of the diaper, the search for the lost paci will be long gone and I'll just have the memory of these days! So, I'm trying to keep that all in perspective and GWTF! (I think that is text talk for "go with the flow"!!!

Now, on the other hand is the sweet litle princess, who is quiet and obedient and reserved and tender named Bree...hahahahahahhahahahaahahahha, excuse me while I go tape my ribs after I busted them from laughing so hard! the girl is made of steel- hard headed and adamant with her theme song being "MY WAY". Throw all my preconceived ideas and notions about raising a girl out the window and start over with just me and God and a lot of wisdom from Him on how to train and raise this little one! She is as sweet as honey, but stubborn as a mule and determined.

Jas is in a lot of training with Chick-fil-A. Not so much training as in learning a job, but just day to day training on how to interact with his crew. He recently just shifted back to working nights so that is a big adjustment not only for him, but for us as a family as well. But a good adjustment. It's hard to believe that we're more than half way through our 2 years here and in just a few short months we'll begin our interview process for a CFA unit!

Keep up with us as we continue our training and see what God prepares us for!

S-M-A-R-T B-O-Y

well, i forgot that i wanted to add something really cool...tonight i was finishing up a few e-mails in the office and landon climbed up on the chair behind me. behind the desk we have a big vintage golf picture hanging on the wall and it says NOTHING BEATS A MISS BUT A TRY...totally out of the blue, landon starts reading the letters off...totally correct...oh my word, talk about shocked..Jas and I just stared at him and asked him to do it again...he got all the letters to B-U-T-A-T-R-Y right except had a little trouble with the letter Y...but then proceeded to tell us the letters for M-I-S-S and N-O-T-H-I-N-G. It was just so amazing and encouraging to hear Landon do that, and to see how fast and quickly his little brain was thinking! WOW!! SOO COOL!

counting down to Saturday...

Well, tonight we had a nice family night together before the kids and I fly up to Pennsylvania. We went to Sonic DriveIn and enjoyed supper and the WIND! Soo crazy, but at least it was nice enough to sit outside so no complaints from me! Landon talks non-stop about "going to Pensuldenuh on airpane to see papdam" -translation is going to Pennsylvania on the airplane to see Pap & Gram...I have the final things to pack in the suitcase and some errands to run tomorrow and then it's an early night so we can be up BRIGHT and EARLY @ 5:30 a.m. So next time I write on here in a few weeks, I'll add pics of our trip! See you all soon!

Easter chickies...

Last week I had the pleasure of visiting my good friend Jeni who has 5 kiddos...Landon, Bree and I had such a good time. I dressed the kids up in their Easter outfits and with the help of Jeni and her kids and also of their cute little (or rather BIG bunny, Oreo), we got some cute Easter pics of the kids! The kids were just darling and I got some adorable pictures to file away into the baby books look at years down the road and remember what a wonderful day! Love to you all and have a blessed, blessed Easter!

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the zoo is fun, i say, i say

today we had an awesome family day! it was so good to just get away and have some time together. we used our family pass and went to the atlanta zoo. poor jas has had to work so much that i just wanted to capture a few special moments of him and the kids! enjoy the photos and see the joy this daddy has with his two munchkins! MY 3 LOVES!

listening with my eyes

lately i've found myself stopping just to watch my kids! yeah, i do that all day long..or at least that's what this whole stay at home mom thing is suppossed to be about! but i mean that i've found myself watching them intently seeing how fast they're growing up. it just doesn't seem possible that almost 3 years ago i was holding a teeny tiny little guy, brand new, amazing over the fact that after infertility God brought us such a gift! and then just a little over a year after landon, i was pregnant with bree. sometimes it's soo cool just to reminisce over the treasures God gives. i have so many friends who are in the position right now of trying to get pregnant, or wanting to have kids and my heart goes right out to them because i have walked in their shoes. the agony of infertility is hard to understand unless you have been there yourself. that is not to say that those who haven't experienced infertility don't care or sympathize or pray for, hope for and encourage those in the midst of it- not at all, because some of my very closest friends who were able to conceive fairly easily experienced their own losses through miscarriage or difficulty in their pregnancies- ad walked such a dark path, and truth be told were some of the very ones who were my rocks of encouragement and truest friends through the hardest times! well, back to my point- i just feel like so often i need to stop and listen face to face to what my kids are saying...what their expressions are on their little faces- what brings them joy, what causes them hurt and things they don't understand. i was reminded of that even more today when i saw a mom literally screaming at her two SMALL children as they were leaving the zoo because they wanted to stay and see the animals. it impacted me so deeply because the thought occurred to me how many times do i not really listen to my kids even if they're having a bad day or a temper tantrum or even just hyper and goofing off? do i take part in their joy genuinely or do i just let it slip away without a thought of finding out what is touching their little hearts. when they're sad or mad or angry, do i use it as a time to reach out to them to listen- in my discipline do i look for the opportunities to show Jesus to them all the time? aggh, i wish i could say that i do, but truth is i don't always do that. more and more i am learning that my kids ARE my ministry- it was a thought always in the back of my mind, but now is the reality. each time i see landon reach out to help his sissy belle up, or give her part of his snack, or belle chasing after landon trying to keep up, or hear my two kiddos upstairs as quiet as can be and knowing that they're probably up to no good, but having a blast doing it- THESE are the times i'm learning to stop and watch them and talk to God about how thankful I am for these opportunities and ask for wisdom to be the kind of mommy these kids need each and every moment of every day! and on those days that i seem to only be able to scold landon for pushing belle down and belle taking landon's toy or drink...i need to listen even more attentively to my kids and give to them in a way that is tender, teaching them- whether through discipline or taking time to talk to them one on one about how to behave or treat each other, and doing it in a way that gives me glimpses into them as little people that they are right now! do you know that one of the fastest ways to find joy in your day is to watch a little person? they find the silliest things the most chuckle-iest, the most simple things to us as an adult, the hardest to grasp, etc. I'm going now because I've got a lot of little Landon and Bree watching to do and i'm gonna enjoy every moment of it!

Jas Jenn Landon & Belle: zooboomafoo

Jas Jenn Landon & Belle: zooboomafoo


http://www.zooatlanta.com

zooboomafoo

tuesday we went to the atlanta zoo. it's such an awesome zoo- probably one of the best i've been to. here are a few pictures of our fun-filled day and a lot of the cool animals we saw!

velvet elvis...

i recently have been reading a really challenging book called Velvet Elvis, by Rob Bell. he is the pastor of mars hill church in michigan. to sum the gist of this book, i give you the word PROBE. probe the words of man, ponder it, study it against what God's WORD says, know it, believe it, live it. i have to say i'm at a point right now where God is so much shaping me and teaching me how to live in the world, yet not be of it. so many times that phrase has been twisted and we end up walking away with this idea we're supposed to be recluses, looking down on everyone and everything that is by man's opinion- ungodly, so we can be set apart, but that's not the point at all...but what does God say about it, about who we are in HIM, where are our pursuits? i'm not really a great writer because i have a lot of thoughts in my head, but i'm not real good at transferring them to "paper", but the further i get into this book, i'll do my best to share my growing pains! we are shaped so often by other people's expectations of us, which can make us critical and miserable. through understanding what God desires me to pursue-which is him entirely, i am finding that i can overcome other's expectations of me, because all i am concerned about is being exactly what it is-who it is God wants me to be.

2 little hands making big hearts!

bree & landon both got into making valentines this year! i guess i have 2 little artists and landon made cookies too! (white chunk macadamia nut!) yummm.

Just some pics of my cuties!

the other day it was so nice and warm outside, that we took advantage of the weather and played! can you tell we had lots of fun!

METSITO & HEART DAY package

Well, pappy hilt just came back from MEXICO (or as Landon calls it METSITO), and sent a fun package to Landon and Bree with some great gifts from his trip! Also, pap and gram sent the kiddos and jas and i too, some funny happy heart day gifts! Here are a few pics to enjoy! landon and ellie belle discovering their fun gifts, me, showing off my new red shoes- LOVE them!

by land, by sea or by air?

i'm so excited! my parents have graciously paid my (and landon's) way (bree is free!) to pennsylvania @ the end of march! here's the deal! jason was invited on a business trip to arkansas to do a chick-fil-a grand opening there and will be gone for 2 weeks @ the end of march! so during that time the kiddos and me will be packing up and venturing on a pay-pane (landon's term for airplane) to visit the very C-O-L-D state of Pppennnsssyllvaaanniiiaaa (teeth chattering)! boy, with the warm weather we've been having here, i dunno that i'm going to survive the sub zero weather the north seems to be having. just today, the kids and i were out in short sleeved shirts and the sun was shining and it was just beautiful. (of course now as i write we are having a torrential downpour- but it's better than snow!) so. i am looking forward to the trip which will be saturday, march 29th through saturday, april 12th! (oh by the way, if you live down here and would be able to pick me up from the airport on the 12th, i would be soo appreciative! since jas will be gone still!) a few things you can be praying about though are:

#1. jas and i have NEVER been apart for more than 1 week, so 2 weeks is going to be sooo sad and we are going to miss each other terribly
#2. the kids have NEVER been away from daddy this long either and are going to miss him, and he them, terribly
#3. i've never flown on an airplane with 2 kids (let alone one of them sitting in my lap!
#4. i'm scared to fly! why you ask when i flew my entire life from the age of 6! yes, well at 6 years old and even as a kid/teen...IT'S SOO COOL, but not when you're an adult and you realize that there are a million billion miles between you and the ground! agggghh! but i know God is right there with me and well, if something happens i'm just a little closer to heaven right!
so, we'll keep you updated, not that there is really too much information to update on although i am sure i'm going to have to blog about PACKING! how on EARTH am i going to cram 1 adult and 2 little people's clothing, shoes, etc. etc. into one teeny tiny littl suitcase (i'm trying to pack as little as i can so i don't have to carry too much or keep my eye on a ton of things!) HMMMM this WILL be interesting! stay tuned!

are you ready for some FOOTBALL?

so today is probably one of the most exciting days in our family life- SUPER BOWL! well it's exactly 4.5 hours till kick-off, we've got a lot of things to get done! so i'll add to my post later with pictures of our day after we've completed our family shopping trip for chips & dip and subs- it just wouldn't be super bowl without it, and of course we have to get into our appropriate team colors- hmm, still not sure who i am going for?? i do love those patriots and tom brady, but then again, it IS eli manning playing for the giants and...oh, i'm sooo torn! check back later!

well, the GIANTS had a GIGANTICAL WIN and ELI is the MANN! :) great and very surprising game! we had a great time watching it although not sure if the kiddos were more into the Lays Chips and Heluva Dip than the game! They were sneaking chips like little chipsneakers! The pics are of our fun superbowl trip to the grocery store!

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take a gander at our moo-stashes!

playdough is sooo much fun. i don't know who had more fun- me or landon! we got into the playdough!