Hot Chocolate!

Evie felt like such a big girl!

More Snowman! More Snowman Please!

Evie is so stinkin' cute! We've gone out looking at Christmas lights a few times already and she is absolutely crazy about snowmen! She gets a little huffy if we go too long without seeing one. Somehow she thinks we can control what lighted structures people decide to put up in their yards.

The festivities of Christmas are starting to kick off today! My girlfriend and her son are coming to visit for about a week and then my MIL and Aunt from AZ are coming right after they leave. We'll have company staying with us for the rest of the month of December. It will be so much fun! We have so many activities planned. Christmas light displays in St. Paul, MOA, Hollidazzle, Macy's Elf display and puppet show, decorating the Christmas tree, Christmas cookies, and one super big surprise for my MIL. I'll tell you about that later.....

My Photo Christmas cards are coming in the mail today, so that will be fun sending them out and the 1st Christmas party of the season is on next Tuesday! It's for my mom's group that I absolutely adore! I'll try and post pictures soon! Love you all!

Dress UP!! Love it!!!

I got both the kids costumes for $5 each at Old Navy! Then I got an extra $1 off for screaming. Love it!

Catch Up Video -EV's 3rd B-day, EJ's first haircut

Pictures Galore!

These pics are from all over the place and are not necessarily in the proper timeline.

Corn Maze in Champlin, MN

Edmund would have stuck a chicken in his mouth, if I would have let him.

Evie definitely did not trust that cow!

Poor girl was super scared, but it looks like it was fun in the end

Oreo Cookie Time

Evie's 3rd Birthday! She was so blessed that she got to celebrate it with her Great Aunt and Two Great Uncles. I'll post videos on a later post.

Mamma's Curly Head Boy.

He got his first hair cut recently. I'll post video later as well.

I'm crazy about pig tails lately!

Movie Night at the Wharton's

Who says a five year old does not need naps.

Dinner Boat Cruise w/ Sharon this summer at Lake Minnetonka

Edmund is a Stinker!!!!!

I have no pics, but I couldn't let this one go without documenting it. My son has officially entered the "Terrible Twos" and he's only 18 months!!!

He has become an excellence Escape Artist! He now gets out of his crib, is constantly climbing on the tables, and grabs things he knows he shouldn't have and books it as fast as he can out of the room! Such a fun time I'm in (insert sarcasm).

Well, today he was not only tackling my 3 year old and pinning her to the ground, but he found a weakness in our defenses. We took the handle off the front door about a month ago and the door that enters the garage is much heavier, so we just try and keep it locked. Well, not only was the garage door unlocked today, but he's now strong enough to open and exit it on his own. Also, the car garage door was open as well. The stars have aligned for "the Perfect Escape" of an 18 month old. I know he's just been waiting for this opportunity...the little stinker!!!

Anyhow, he was missing for only a few minutes. Praise the Lord! But he managed to make it two houses down and into the backyard. He was playing with a two year old boy and his grandmother. So, I go to pick him up, and am mortified that this woman thinks I'm an incompetent mother, and Edmund continues to run away from me! Ugh!!!! The fun never seems to end (again sarcasm). :)

I know it's been Forever!!!

So we've been a little busy and that really is no excuse. My big excuse is I misplaced my camera battery charger and therefore no new pics/video to post, but it's found now and I just need to get back in the habit of taking pictures.

Here's a quick run down of our summer so far.

* MIL was here for two super fun weeks. Can't wait to see her for Christmas!!

* Evie is in a "Big Girl Bed". Ahhhhh....My heart just melts writing this. She is such a sweet, spirited little girl. She has transitioned beautifully. Sometimes she doesn't take a nap and I can hear her bouncy around, but she has not come out of her room.

* Edmund had his 15 month appt. He's 70% in weight and 95% in height. He is starting to exert his will a lot. 'How dare you take away my toy!!!', while feet are stomping in a circle and then the infamous dead weight fall to the ground. Y'all know the one I'm talking about....the one where you could end up in Urgent Care because they take no consideration of the hard corners of furniture around them.

* Just had my sweet nephews for 4 days. Lots of fun and interesting sleeping arrangements.

* I did a Bible Study over the past two months with five amazing women. We studied the book of "Ruth" and let me tell you I have fallen in love with the woman! She is amazing!!! Here's the link to the resource we used. You can do the study on your own as well. It's not as much fun as making time for "girl talk" but it's still really good.

I'll post some pics soon!

New Pics My Sister Took. She's getting really good!

MIL visiting and Upper Midwest Faith Explosion is here!

Just wanted to update everyone real quick on the Wharton happenings...

• My MIL is coming tonight for two whole weeks!! Yea!! It's been almost a year since we've seen her. Waaaay too long!
• My church is hosting the Upper Midwest Faith Explosion this week and everyone is invited. Click here for details.
• House update. The deck is done. Sprinklers should be installed today. Sod later this week. I made another flower bed last week on the opposite side of our house, so the front yard is look'n good!

Have a blessed week everyone!

New Chandelier, Kiddos & More

The first chandelier that we had for the front entry was too small and very boring. I love this piece!

It's more like a piece of art than a lighting fixture. My husband worked all day taking the old

one down and putting this one up. Thank you Sweetie! You are the best!

The first "official" flowers that Evie has picked and given to me

Evie and her baby doll

She loves to console her baby after she throws him across the room

Just like daddy

Edmund & Finn

Amazing Daily Devotional Blog

I've recently been following the "Proverbs 31 Ministries" Daily devotional blog. It is amaing! The Word coming from this blog is alive and so practical. Check it out if you need some encouragement.

God's Grace & Mercy

So we had an incident yesterday. Let me set the stage...

We are in the midst of potty training and there was an accident. I took Evie upstairs to get her cleaned up and changed into new underwear and pants. Well, we are in the full blown two and a half year old brain disequilibrium. She doesn't want to wear diapers, but she doesn't what to put on underwear or clothes (This woman would run around naked all day if she could).
We finally get underwear on her (no pants, it just wasn't worth it) and start to walk down the stairs. She starts crying because she wants me to carry her down the stairs. I do carry her a lot, but am trying to get her to walk because one: she is getting heavy and two: she is old enough to walk and I'm usually carrying Edmund. Well, she stops halfway down the stairs and starts screaming at the top of her lungs. I decide that she can scream if she wants to and continue to go downstairs and make dinner.

Well, Edmund is walking around the main floor and usually when Evie is having a timeout or a tantrum he is drawn to the drama she creates. I notice he is no where in sight and my mind immediate knows what is to follow. I run around to the stairs and just as I turn the corner. Evie pushes Edmund from the mid-landing on the stairs and he is tumbling towards the bottom. PTL I catch him mid-fall and no damage was done.

Evie knew immediately by the look on my face that she had made a HUGE mistake. Honesty, I was so angry with her that I wanted to scream and punish her for what she had done. "How dare she hurt my baby!" was my thinking. I just Praise God for all the great resources that have taught me over the years to respond and not react. I knew I was in a place to punish and not discipline and within nano-seconds I had grabbed Evie's arm and brought her to her room and put her in the crib. I walked out of the room with crying Edmund in my arms and shut the door.

I consoled Edmund and he recovered quite quickly and then it dawned on me...I didn't loose it! I didn't loose it! I didn't utter one word in anger. I didn't treat her harshly. I didn't punish my daughter for making a really bad choice. I didn't do anything that would damage her self-worth and what she thinks about herself. Praise God for his mercy and grace. I was just holding on by a thread to not react badly, but I did it!

I gave Evie (and me) about a 20 minute timeout. Then I went into her room and the first thing she said was "Sorry Edmund". We talked about choices and what to do when we are angry and what not to do. We had lots of hugs and kisses and then she went and apologized to her brother and gave him a hug and kiss on the head. Then we moved on. Life moves on after mistakes and it doesn't help feeling shame or embarrassment about them. Just repent and try to do better next time. It's so nice to see victory in your life. I know this might seem small to some, but to me this was huge. My anger has been a major issue and it is my hope and prayer to speak life into the lives of the ones I love. I want my words to be a blessing and not a curse. I know I'll make more mistakes, but I'm better today than I was yesterday. God is changing me and I'm forever grateful!

Proverbs 21:23 "Watch your tongue and keep your mouth shut, and you will stay out of trouble." (NLT)

Psalm 73:26 "My flesh and heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever."

Proverbs 18:21 "The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit."

Vacuum Fun!

Big Tree - Midnight Landscaping

Here's a video of the big tree we had planted this week.

So my husband comes to me at 4pm on a Friday afternoon and sells me on landscaping our whole front yard in 24 Hours. Well, since I've been married to this man for 10 years now I know his math. What he thinks he can do in 24 hours usually ends up taking 4-7 times longer. Well, this ended up taking 7 times longer. I'll post the before and during pictures and once we get our sod in I'll post the finished product.

These two pics are the uninspiring landscaping that came with the house.

Hubby rented a truck and came back from the nursery with over 50 plants and two trees

Hubby realized that he really should put in a drain pipe before doing the landscaping. That only added about 32 hours to the project.Our great friend from Oklahoma came up to visit us and what do we do? We put him to work! Anyone else want to come stay with us???The funny thing is that these two use to work together doing the same type of work in their early twenties. The following two pics are the reason why I talk about sod so much! We need sod ASAP!

Kiddo Clip: Evie, Edmund & Cousin Henry

Great Post on Thankfulness

One of my favorite pastors wrote a great blog entry on Thankfulness. Check it out if you have 3 minutes.http://readfreshmanna.blogspot.com/2010/05/how-to-improve-your-eyesight.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+FreshMannaByPastorTimBurt+%28Fresh+Manna+by+Pastor+Tim+Burt%29

Week of Thankfulness Day #7

I missed yesterday because I was at the musical CATS. It was very good and I had a fun time with the girls!

Today I am so thankful for my church! Living Word Christian Center
This church has been instrumental in changing my life by helping me grow in the Lord. They have supported me, been patient with me, and always have had a forgiving spirit when I have stumbled and fallen. They picked me up and cheered me on to run the race that God has called me to! Thank you Lord for my amazing church! I am so BLESSED!!!

This concludes my "Week of Thankfulness", but don't be surprised if you see more "Thankfulness" posts. I've been meditating on how much perspective changes everything. I am where I am today by the choices I've made and how I choose to look at obstacles/challenges that have occurred in my life. If life looks hard, it will be hard. If I look for good things that happen everyday, then life is something to treasure and a blessing.
My MIL has been such a testimony to me. She has never had much materially and been through many trails that some of us will never come close to experiencing, but she embraces her life and the cherishes the relationships that God has given her. This woman can love like no other person I have ever met. I aspire to have a heart like hers. I am one truly BLESSED woman!

Week of Thankfulness Day #6

New DrivewayNew Sidewalk

Today I am thankful for a driveway! I cannot wait to drive on it. Five days to procure and one colossal mess to clean up in the garage and my car will be in protection heaven. We got my Honda the second year of our marriage and it has been amazing! It has mostly lived under the scorching sun, blizzards, and dirty snow for the majority of it's life. It had a short break on occasion at our last house when the single car garage wasn't acting like storage or Christian's tool shed. It's not the prettiest car anymore, but it still runs like a stock car. Hopefully, it's later years will be prolonged by it's new home. Honda's Rule! Forever!!!

Our trees go in next week and then the final grading of the yard. Then sod, sod, and more sod. Edmund will be so happy! Every time we go outside I need to hold him and he just wants to RUNNNNNNN!