GOD ENJOYS A GOOD LAUGH!

I love this one!

There were 3 good arguments that Jesus was Black:
1. He called everyone brother
2. He liked Gospel
3. He didn't get a fair trial

But then there were 3 equally good arguments that Jesus was Jewish:
1. He went into His Father's business
2. He lived at home until he was 33
3. He was sure his Mother was a virgin and his Mother was sure He was God

But then there were 3 equally good arguments that Jesus was Italian:
1. He talked with His hands
2. He had wine with His meals
3. He used olive oil

But then there were 3 equally good arguments that Jesus was a Californian:
1. He never cut His hair
2. He walked around barefoot all the time
3. He started a new religion

But then there were 3 equally good arguments that Jesus was an American Indian:
1. He was at peace with nature
2. He ate a lot of fish
3. He talked about the Great Spirit

But then there were 3 equally good arguments that Jesus was Irish:
1. He never got married..
2. He was always telling stories.
3. He loved green pastures.


But the most compelling evidence of all - 3 proofs that Jesus was a woman:
1. He fed a crowd at a moment's notice when there was virtually no food
2. He kept trying to get a message across to a bunch of men who just didn't get it
3. And even when He was dead, He had to get up because there was still work to do


Can I get an AMEN!

Home Made Baby Wipes

BABY WIPES RECIPE

I'm not usually the crafty girl on the block but I do try so hard for my kids! We have all been sick and when I am sick along with 2 toddlers, it makes life tough! We went to Winco this morning because we were out of EVERYTHING!! Including baby wipes! With a newborn, it's dangerous to be without wipes. I already had to "dunk" Hadley in the bath twice this morning do to the wipes outage! So you would think that wipes would have been priority number one on the list. Well long story short, we got home and I forgot to buy wipes! I have plenty of paper towels and so I thought I would try this recipe out!

I am hoping that these wipes work out! They were easy to make and seem to be a lot more cost effective too!

Step One

Strong paper towels work the best.
Cut one roll of paper towels in half.

Take out the core so wipes pull out of the center.

Step Two

Make solution.

2 cups water
1/2 cup of olive oil
1/2 cup baby bath soap

Shake it to mix it!


Step Three



Place 1/2 roll of paper towels in container.
Pour solution over towels.

Cover and wait 10 minutes. Turn container over for 10 more minutes.

Store in container or Ziploc bag.

Makes 2 1/2 rolls.

Happy Mommy! Happy Baby!

When Life Knocks You Around

Lately, life has really knocked us around. I have to remind myself daily that we go no where by chance, but everywhere by divine intervention.

My mom sent me this parable and I think I read it almost everyday! It is spot on!


“Sometimes I feel that my life is a series of trapeze swings. I’m either hanging on to a trapeze bar swinging along or, for a few moments in my life, I’m hurtling across space in between trapeze bars. Most of the time, I spend my life hanging on for dear life to my trapeze-bar-of-the-moment. It carries me along at a certain steady rate of swing and I have the feeling that I’m in control of my life. I know most of the right questions and even some of the answers. But every once in a while as I’m merrily (or even not-so-merrily) swinging along, I look out ahead of me into the distance and what do I see? I see another trapeze bar swinging toward me. It’s empty and I know, in that place in me that knows, that this new trapeze bar has my name on it. It is my next step, my growth, my aliveness coming to get me. In my heart of hearts I know that, for me to grow, I must release my grip on this present, well-known bar and move to the new one.

Each time it happens to me I hope (no, I pray) that I won’t have to let go of my old bar completely before I grab the new one. But in my knowing place, I know that I must totally release my grasp on my old bar and, for some moment in time, I must hurtle across space before I can grab onto the new bar.

Each time, I am filled with terror. It doesn't matter that in all my previous hurtles across the void of unknowing I have always made it. I am each time afraid that I will miss, that I will be crushed on unseen rocks in the bottomless chasm between bars. I do it anyway. Perhaps this is the essence of what the mystics call the faith experience. No guarantees, no net, no insurance policy, but you do it anyway because somehow to keep hanging on to that old bar is no longer on the list of alternatives. So, for an eternity that can last a microsecond or a thousand lifetimes, I soar across the dark void of “the past is gone, the future is not yet here.”

It’s called “transition.” I have come to believe that this transition is the only place that real change occurs. I mean real change, not the pseudo-change that only lasts until the next time my old buttons get punched.

I have noticed that, in our culture, this transition zone is looked upon as a “no-thing,” a no place between places. Sure, the old trapeze bar was real, and that new one coming towards me, I hope that’s real, too. But the void in between? Is that just a scary, confusing, disorienting nowhere that must be gotten through as fast and as unconsciously as possible? NO! What a wasted opportunity that would be. I have a sneaking suspicion that the transition zone is the only real thing and the bars are illusions we dream up to avoid the void where the real change, the real growth, occurs for us. Whether or not my hunch is true, it remains that the transition zones in our lives are incredibly rich places. They should be honored, even savored. Yes, with all the pain and fear and feelings of being out of control that can (but not necessarily) accompany transitions, they are still the most alive, most growth-filled, passionate, expansive moments in our lives. We cannot discover new oceans unless we have the courage to lose sight of the shore. ~Anonymous

So, transformation of fear may have nothing to do with making fear go away, but rather with giving ourselves permission to “hang out” in the transition between trapezes. Transforming our need to grab that new bar, any bar, is allowing ourselves to dwell in the only place where change really happens. It can be terrifying. It can also be enlightening in the true sense of the word. Hurtling through the void, we just may learn how to fly.

Memories

I have been cleaning and organizing and just trying to de-clutter our house these past few days. I am not very impressed with myself as I have been doing this. I have found some of the weirdest items that I have no idea why they were ever considered "save worthy". Today, I have almost felt like I might be able to be on the show hoarders. It was borderline scary, let me tell you! However, I did come across a little clear plastic bag in the bathroom that had a pregnancy test in it that I had dated. I almost took a picture, but then I thought again! It brought tears to my eyes. The date on the bag was October 29, 2005. That was the date I found out I was pregnant with Tanner.

It's crazy to think that was 5 years ago. So much has happened since then and so much had to happen to lead up to that point.

In May of 2004 I got pregnant for the first time after more than a year of trying. I remember I made Tyler drive over to friends and families homes to tell them the good news in person. That pregnancy ended up being ectopic which lead to surgery because my fallopian tube had burst. I will never forget being on vacation in Dworshak with Tyler's family and feeling like we were on cloud nine. So excited to be parents, so excited for this little baby, but also having so much pain and not really knowing why. I asked myself over and over again, is it normal to hurt this much? Am I going to hurt like this for 9 months? The answers to those questions were both no.

We left Dworshak early because Tyler and I both knew something was not right. I was so scared. My doctor tried a few medications to help my body naturally heal itself because I was so scared of having surgery. Those treatments did not work and surgery was the only option after the tube had burst.

The next year after that was filled with hope, a couple miscarriages, and then on October 29, a pregnancy that stuck! Tanner was born on July 1, 2006 and became the first of the 3 biggest blessing to Tyler and I.

Carter came a few weeks less than 2 years later from Tanner, he was a surprise. Although, we shouldn't have been too surprised because we were not doing anything to prevent pregnancies. We just figured it couldn't happen easily or soon since it didn't before. We were wrong. Hadley came a few weeks less than 2 years later from Carter, also a surprise! Are you starting to notice a pattern here? The crazy thing about Hadley is that we were done and I was on birth control. God is in control of our lives, not us. Hopefully we have really closed the door on having kids. I pray that we have. I am ready for the next stage in our lives!

They are such neat kids and we love them so much. I couldn't imagine my life without them. Some days I feel like they are way too close together in age, and other days (when I am crazy) I wish they were closer!

A Very Fun Day!

Thursday we got the privilege of spending the day with Chelsea and Makayla! We had such a fun time. These two girls are so polite and well behaved, they were just a joy to have around! We went to preschool, Target, McDonald's, colored, stamped, played outside, baked cookies and made pumpkin pie! The kids had so much fun with each other and I really enjoyed having all the cute little voices around! The Sterling's are such great friends to our family and we feel so blessed to have them as a huge part of our lives!

Carter, Tanner, Chelsea, Makayla and Hadley

Carter after playing with stamps!

Makayla's hands after stamping!

Carter and Chelsea coloring! Yes, I let the kids sit on top of the table, no it doesn't bother me, as long as everyone is having a good time all is well!

Tanner and Chelsea.

Tanner looks kind of dorky in this picture, maybe even a little "gangsta"!

Chelsea stamping!

Makayla!

Tanner pushing Chelsea on the swing! Its so nice the kids are at an age when they can push each other on the swings! It was a little odd to not be needed in that department, that almost made me sad, but then I felt really proud of them for taking care of business by themselves!

Chelsea, Makayla and Tanner in the back of my car! They talked and sang the entire time we were cruising around, it was so cute!

Hadley is 4 Months Old!

Our little baby girl is 4 months old. Its crazy how fast time seems to be going! She is such a sweet little girl! She is rolling over, laughing, and cooing and just loving life!

Hadley has taught me that I am the perfect mother for my kids. I am not perfect, not even close, but I am perfect for my children. I used to feel like I tried so hard, so very very hard, but still I would feel like I would do so many things wrong. I would look at other moms and feel so insecure and self conscious. I was not "the green" mom, I bought things that were not......gasp....organic! I am not the "super mom". None of that matters. None of that matters. None of that matters. I love my family, we have love and laughter in our house, Lots of it too and its all very very loud! That is what matters. Love matters more than being green, being super, being organic, etc. Hadley has taught me that it is okay to break the rules, to laugh more, to cry more, to love as much as I possibly can, and to enjoy every minute of this time because it does go by way to fast. I knew this with Tanner and Carter I just chose to push it away, and ignore it, while all at the same time, it ate away at me. I wanted to be able to be perfect. I didn't even realize God gave me the ability to be perfect for my children just the way I am. Hadley came along when I least expected another child and she put me in perspective. As much as I guide and teach my children, they have guided me and taught me more than they will ever know. I have sometimes felt that God gave them to me to teach me more about myself. Because of the 3 of them, I have more patience, more understanding, more compassion, and most importantly; more love.

At 4 months, Hadley weighs 14 pounds and when I looked back at Tanner and Carter at 4 months, I noticed Tanner weighed 14 lbs at 2 months and Carter was 14 lbs at 3 months! I thought that was pretty interesting.

I just want to be able to hold, cuddle, and love my kids for as long as possible! All 3 of them are the sunshine of my life and I love them so much!

Go Team Compton!

Sun Valley Girls Weekend

Last weekend Mom, Cammie, Hadley and I all cruised up to Sun Valley for the weekend! It was such a great relaxing getaway. We had a wonderful time! It was just a nice break from life! Lots of girl talk, shopping, trying new delicious drinks and eating yummy foods! I don't know what I would do without my mom and my sister, I am so thankful for them, they are two amazing gals who are so very special to me and I love so much! It was such a blessing to be able to introduce my own daughter to joys of being a girl right along side my mom and sister who are such a fantastic aunt and mimi to my kids!

Mom and Hadley

Hadley! She really enjoyed herself! She was a little non stop chatter box all day Saturday while we shopped! It was so cute!


My gorgeous sister! Also known as "Hollywood"!

Cam and I at the Sun Valley Lodge!

Mom and Cam!