I won't have any pics this week, i left my camera at a Fall Fest at Paradise church, for the 2nd year in a row i left my camera there!!! luckily i'm related to half the people there and my uncle found it and called the next day. i'll get it back friday.

I'm sure everyone reading this is as excited as i am about the phillies being in the world series again this year!!! (that was a little sarcastic:) it starts wed night. we'll let the boys stay up one of the nights to watch some of it and eat popcorn. maybe go to uncle mikey's for another game....

friday my girl cousins and their kids (those not in school) are coming here for a nice little get together. looking forward to that. there will be 6 cousins plus me and all the kids (i think 11 kids).

we were blessed in church yesterday when our pastor called up the pregnant ladies (and our families) and prayed for us. which was only me and another girl. i was encouraged and challenged to listen to what God wants us to know about our new one, write things down as we learn new things. And as i did my devotions yesterday i came across this verse that i think is a perfect prayer for our new little one. Colossians 1:10 "And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please Him in every way; bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God."

I'll end with recent funny, random quotes from the boys... they are too much w/ some of the things they say.

Adam: "Me, Ben, and Brad are the Phillies!" (as he pretends to play baseball)

Ben: "I'm going to put you in the Lion's Den!" (when he's mad, he says this to anyone and everyone)

Brad: "I love food and i love people!" (in that order :)

Birthday Weekend

Last Saturday was my birthday. My mom had all 3 boys for over 24 hours! I said she should win some kind of an award for that! It was so nice to be here in my home, without interruptions or having to be quiet for fear of waking up the kids. I got so much accomplished around the house. Plus Rod and I could watch the Phillies, hit an indoor yardsale, and go to Red Lobster for supper. And to top it off, i was so exhausted that i slept from 10pm - 9:00am Friday night-Sat! wow, that felt good :) It was a very restful time, a special birthday.
A friend from church asked if i got a video of the kids singing happy birthday. Well, this is what i got! Adam was at Awana. So here's the twins version of Happy Birthday. Brad baled pretty early (like, right away), Ben stayed until the "end". I love their little voices....

Peace

Sorry another tidbit from Beth Moore. This weeks fruit that we are studying is PEACE. On the first day of homework, she goes on and on about how important peace is and a must have or else, etc. I kinda though "really? is it THAT important?" Not that i don't want peace, but i thought maybe some other ones would come first....Well then it dawned on me. Every night when i pray for the twins, i pray that God would give them PEACE in their hearts. They are still fussier then most 2 year olds and i just feel strongly that they are lacking in the happiness department. After thinking about that, i find it interesting that I don't pray for JOY in their hearts, or PATIENCE...(they could use that too!). But no, i pray for PEACE. Every night. So without realizing it, i guess i do agree with Beth. Peace IS important! You can't have the other fruit if you don't have peace! That goes for everyone. Not just fussy 2 year old twins :) What a challenge, what a realization.

"The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace"

Romans 8:6

Smoker Fam

I know you can hardly see anyone, but i just had to post this. This is my mom's family. Everyone is here (thanks to photoshop), which is amazing! My mom has 2 brothers and 1 sister and look at what resulted! My Grandparents turn 88 this month. They have 19 great grand children and counting. We have fun getting together every summer for an ice cream party. This was taken in August. Rod and I both have such great extended family. i wonder if our family will be this big 50 years from now :)

Decisions

One of the many things that stood out to me so far on Beth Moore's study, Living Beyond Yourself, is when she touched on all the gray areas in life. Decisions that we need to make that aren't black and white. The Bible of course doesn't give specific answers to what you do in certain situations that come up. She helped me realize that most often with these gray areas (she gave several examples: which job to take, which school to send my child, vaccines, etc) there isn't necessarily a right or wrong answer, you could choose either one and make it work. But there's a right fit for you specifically in your situation. God has a plan for your life and it's up to us to ask His spirit to guide us to the answer that is best for us. So instead of me trying to find the RIGHT answer by researching and asking others, i was challenged to realize that what God has for me and my family may be different then what a lot of people would precieve as the right thing (just talking about the gray areas). I need to ask God what He wants for me, my family, etc. A specific "gray" for me right now is whether or not to take the hormone progestrone to possibly prevent preterm labor again. Now for some women this would be great and work fine. But i'm not sure it's what i should do in my situation. The docs might wonder, "why won't she just agree to this?" I'll need clear guidance from the Lord first.

I know i get carried away with videos, but gotta share this one...What's up with boys and wrestling?? I knew it was coming, i grew up with brothers who very much liked to wrestle. But at ages 2 and 3?? They do this all the time. I have the book, Bringing up Boys by James Dobson. Maybe i should read it and see if he has any insight! At any rate, it's very entertaining for Rod and I and it's nice to see them "bond", as long as noone draws blood or bangs heads together.

I'll end with this quote i read tonight, i like it....

"Live your life in such a way that when your feet hit the floor in the morning, satan shudders and says "oh no, she's awake!"

News

I think most of you have heard our news through phone calls, facebook, or word of mouth :) But i'll let Ben tell it anyway, he says it best.....

Translation: "Mommy having a baby....Mommy get humongous!"

Yum

Here's a recipe for peas that's a must try. The heavy cream makes this so good.

Creamy Peas

2 T butter

6 oz ham steak, diced

1 red onion, halved and sliced thin

2/3 c. heavy cream

1 tsp parsley

1 lb. peas

1. Melt butter in large skillet over med-high heat. Add ham and cook until browned. Add onion and cook until soft and beginning to brown, about 5 min.

2. Add cream, parsley, and salt and pepper to taste. Bring to simmer and cook until cream just begins to thicken, about 3 minutes. Stir in cooked peas.

*you can eliminate the ham, and it's still good!

Corn table

This thing has been such a blessing! We're borrowing this corn table from my aunt and uncle's church. They are letting us use it for the get togethers we're having here. So we'll have it for a few weeks. The boys love it, and since it's big they can all play around it without fighting! They do have trouble keeping it in on the table though.

If any of you want to bring your kids over the next few weeks to play in it, just let me know! it's in the barn, so you can still come if the weather isn't great...

brad sticks his tounge out when he's concentrating..