Spring ...Wonderful Spring

Spring and Fall are DEFINITELY my most FAVORITE times of the year. They are so different and so unique and I LOVE so many different and unique things about them. Both seasons reflect the different characters of God and who HE is. For instance, Spring is so new. Spring is so FRESH. Spring is so BEAUTIFUL. Spring demonstrates NEW LIFE. New Life through the HOLY SPIRIT. We see a beautiful sunset and we know that the HS did that. A blooming tree or a budding flower, that is the work of the Spirit. He is FRESH and NEW EVERY MORNING (if we seek Him).
I love the AIR that surrounds us during this time. I love the birds that wake me up BRIGHT AND EARLY, right outside my bedroom window. I love the green blades of grass that are trying their hardest to break through the dead brown mess that lays dormant all winter. I love the way SPRING makes me think of my FATHER and how HE created ALL of this so that we can not help but be drawn to HIM in personal inward worship. I love that HE made ALL of this just for YOU and ME.

Fun times with Family

This past weekend we had a special visit from my wonderfully delightful niece, Milly and her precious (just like a sister to me) mother, Deryn. Milly is 4 months older than Quaid so she moves right in and is at home with the energy and craziness of my household. My children ADORE her. We don't get to see them often since we moved to B'ham but once upon a time ago, we would see them AT LEAST once a week. Most of the time it was more than that.

The kids played the entire time and Deryn and I talked THE ENTIRE TIME! It was so fun to catch up and it was so nice to be around her. I miss them desperately. (sorry the pictures are foggy)

The Perfect morning...

We, in the Rasmussen house wake up every morning with a song in our heart and a kind word on our lips. We wake up with Hugs and Kisses, Sunshine and Flowers! It is perfect here in the Rasmussen house. Every child is perfectly obedient and every adult is perfectly Lovely. The children get dressed with their shirts tucked in and pants neatly ironed because I, the perfect mother, has ironed everyones clothes before I went to bed last night. We have OBEDIENTLY taught our children that GOD comes first, so each of our children have had a Quiet Time before heading downstairs for a PERFECTLY healthy breakfast feast of fresh fruit and home-made oatmeal (which I might add, they gobble up quickly with NO arguements or complaints, because they LOVE IT). We all exchange hugs and kisses just before heading off to school where they will learn everything possible about READING, WRITING, & ARITHMATIC. They will NEVER have their names on the board or have to sit out during RECESS. They NEVER get in trouble with their teachers and they get along perfectly with their friends and siblings. IT IS GREAT TO BE US!!!

Okay, here is how our day really went (and most days I might add)... we woke up late because we went to bed to late due to baseball and baths and homework and chores, etc, etc, etc... so we are running late. Kids are grumpy because they are tired. One child is complaining that he doesn't like the breakfast we are eating. Another complains because someone is touching her. Another complaint about how his shoes don't feel right. AND THE LIST JUST KEEPS GOING. Well the good MAMA i am forgot to make lunches last night, so I am last minute throwing things together. Not sure if it is healthy or not because I am half asleep.
Milk is spilling off of the counter, dogs are eating the dropped food, and children are fighting. I have had enough. So, the good mother in me starts yelling...YOU GET THE PICTURE.

We had a "COME TO JESUS MEETING" on our way to school. We are NOT going to have anymore mornings like the one we have had this morning or sadly too many mornings in the past. We are starting a MARBLE JAR. I have been wanting to start this system for a while now and today seems like the perfect morning. I bought three jars and each child's name is painted on the jar. I have written out a schedule for the morning and afternoon, on a poster. Every morning (and afternoon) that the schedule is followed by each child, they can put one marble in their own jar. If there is a problem with the morning, that particular child does not get a marble. There are NO chances here. They have been warned! :)

Now the reward for getting marbles is having a sleep over with a friend. If you get 100 marbles in you jar, then you can invite ONE friend over for a night of SUPER FuN times. In the Rasmussen house, sleep overs are EXTREMELY RARE. In fact, Quaid has had maybe 3 in his life and the other two even less. (We aren't too fond of our kids sleeping over at other people's houses either- but that is another story). So this is a HUGE treat for them. I will keep you posted on how it is going!

A Date with a Little Girl

On the same night that I took Clayton out on a date, Kristian took Reese to a Daddy/Daughter Dance for her girlscout troop. They started the night off with dinner at the Super Fun Restuarant, ICHIBAN (habatchi grill). Where Reese said, she got to help the cook. After that, they made their way over to the dance. Kristian had given Reese a corsage and they even had their picture taken like it was prom. They apparently danced the night away. They got home at the late hour of 9:15 and Reese was EXHAUSTED!! When they got home both of them were grinning ear to ear. Kristian said how special the night was for him and Reese said that her daddy danced with her the entire time. I asked her what her favorite part of the night was and she said with all love and humility... "Having daddy all to myself. AND, that I looked SOOOOO beautiful".

Valentine's Day - Oh How I Love this Man

This is late- but late is better than NEVER...right!!!??? This VALENTINE's DAY was a REALLY fun day. We woke up and took a leisurely morning getting started. We had a great breakfast in which the kids made...bisquits and sausage (we helped with the sausage). Kristian and I had set out their SMALL Valentine's gifts - seriously small. Consists of a small box of chocolates and air heads. Which they thought were AWESOME! They got to keep it in their rooms and eat when they wanted :) (i think it lasted about an hour at the longest). After breakfast, we spent the morning doing NOTHING.

Doing NOTHING is so NICE once in awhile.

After doing nothing, we went over to my Sister's for my Neice's Birthday party. It was so fun and she is 3! WOW- I can't believe it. We left there and went to BASEBALL practice. It was fun and the boys had a blast.

THE BEST PART OF THE DAY: we got a babysitter (which is ALWAYS fun for us) and we met both of my sister's and husbands at a GREAT restuartant called MCCORMICK & SCHMICK's. We had  a great meal and had such a great time with everyone. We shared good wine, great food, fun conversation, and many laughs. It was so fun. We don't get to do that often but it is always a BLAST when we do. I love that I got to share that with the LOVE of my life but also my precious sisters.

PS- my sweet HUBS got me a gift certificate to i-Tunes and to a tanning salon (which I do every spring)- He thought ahead and did this SOLELY on his own. He is soooooo AMAZING. I really don't know what I would do without this man

Lent

Okay, I am not Catholic or any demoniation that even practices Lent, so why do I do it? I grew up with a DAD who, his ENTIRE life was CATHOLIC. I grew up with him practicing some of the traditions of his childhood. One of those was LENT. Since I can remember, he has always given something up for LENT. Now the defintion of Lent is : n: The 40 weekdays from Ash Wednesday until Easter observed by Christians as a season of fasting and penitence in preparation for Easter. I began to think about the definition. It says a tradition observed by CHRISTIANS. It doesn't say CATHOLIC's or EPISCOPALIAN's or any other demonination but it says CHRISTIAN's. Even if I stopped at that part of the definition, WHY wouldn't I practice this tradition? A lot of people participate in LENT and really have no idea what it means except that they are giving up something they like. IT IS SO MUCH MORE THAN THAT!
 I studied further and reasoned that FASTING is such a BIG part of the Bible...now, fasting can be practiced in so many different ways. Some do a "sun to sun" fast, which is no food during daylight hours. Some do a total fast of a certain period of time. Fasting is something that is between me and the LORD. (Matt. 6:16) The purpose of fasting is to "give up" something that is BIG in your life. Something that, when given up, is really HARD. It is also something that when given up and you are wanting or craving that particular thing, IT DRAWS YOU TO THE LORD IN PRAYER AND TO HIS WORD. It is a rememberance process.
So, with all of that said, I am giving up all hamburgers, french fries, and pizza for a season for LENT. These are my absolute FAVORITE foods and I don't know if I can do it. This is where the fasting part comes in. I know on my own I cannot do it - I cannot give these things up...even for 40 days, however, I do know someone that I can completely rest in who can give me the strength to do it. (Phil 4:13) So, when I feel weak- those times where my family orders pizza, or I am hungry and we are stopping at McDonald's, that is when I begin to pray for strength, then I will pray for whatever else the Lord has put on my heart. I have a feeling a lot of those prayers are going to be about my own lack of self-control!

SnOw DaYs

Here in ALABAMA, we get out of school for snow flurries. We title our get of school day "Inclement WEATHER day". So, after a rush of Valentine's Parties in each classroom, all of our kiddo's got out of school at 11:30.  Basically, all kids are thrilled and all Mommas are not so thrilled. Don't get me wrong, its not that I don't like my children being home (sometimes :) ), however, the kids are so excited about the snow that we will literally have 6 or 7 children in and out at all times. With this constant activity comes, dead grass and leaves that are wet because of the snow being dragged across the floor mixed with wet clothes laying all over the place. Then there is the mud, in ALABAMA, when we get 2-3 inches that sticks to the ground it is just enough to have fun in but it also is mixed with a lot of mud. So that comes in with the children. More work for MOM. Also, in our eyes we are in the middle of a blizzard so we MUST have HOT CHOCOLATE. So, I will have 6-10 children wanting warm, creamy, hot chocolate- which is great- it's the mess afterwards that is not so great! BUT, with all of that said- I would not have it any other way. I truely feel all of these whiney things but I LOVE the excitement of the snow as much as my kids do....

I just wish we could plan this for the weekend when Kristian is home to help :)

Date Night with the most Charming 7 year old in the world

Everyone in the world needs to have a DATE with their children, one on one, every once in awhile. On Saturday, Kristian took Reese (by herself) to a DADDY/DAUGHTER dance with her Girlscouts and dinner beforehand. Quaid was at a Birthday Sleep Over. So, that left Clayton and Me home all alone. WE TOOK ADVANTAGE OF THAT. Clayton and I went to a Japanese Habatchi Grill where we dined on Shrimp and Fried Rice. YUMMY!  Then after that, was the BEST part: we drove over to THE MELTING POT where we had Decadent Dessert (and LOTS of it). It was so Delicious.
The best part of the whole evening is that I got to be by myself with just Clayton. Clayton is my middle child who is probably my hardest to be a MOM to. He is usually in his own little world which gets him into trouble a WHOLE lot. He is also my most LOVING. The entire night, he held the door open for me. He lavished me with Kisses and Hugs. He opened my car door even in the 33 degree weather. He held my hand everywhere we walked. It was SERIOUSLY A DATE. He was so charming and sensitive. He melted my heart. It was such a great evening and I had him ALL TO MYSELF. What a rareity.
I don't get this time very often but when I do, I hope those times are as GREAT as this one was tonight.

We have a new baby

We just added a new dog to our already incredibly chaotic household. Our new baby is a 1 year old RESCUE Great Dane. She is BEAUTIFUL and her name is LUCY. We LOVE her and the kids have basically eaten her up. She is so YUMMY. She is HUGE already and not quite finished growing. Her dad was 225lbs. and her mom was 175lbs. Kristian especially loves her. To finish this post, I must say, Lucy is a lot like my 7 year old...but that is another post all together.

A fresh New Start...and look

Okay- I am going to attempt this one more time for my family who lives away from me. I am so bad at keeping up with this kind of thing for a lot of reasons but mostly because I get obsessed by it. I will go so strong for weeks or even months and then it will be all that I think about and I will put all of my effort into it. Then all of a sudden it will hit me that I am neglecting things that truely are important. It is the same way with FACEBOOK. I often take a few months hiatus from things because I can not self-regulate like most people. Sad huh!

So here I am AGAIN, setting up a blog in an attempt to be disciplined and self- controlled. Those two go so closely together. I need discipline to work at this but self-control not to obsess. These are things God is REALLY trying to get through to me in my day-to-day life as well. So here we go...let's see what happens.