The Best Grandpa in the Whole Wide World

I never talk about one of the greatest men I know, so today I thought I would tell you about my children's one and only Grandpa Alan. He is the epitomy of a Godly man, he doesn't flaunt it, but you know that he totally puts his life in God's hands. He is so full of wisdom, sometimes I wish my husband would listen and learn a little bit more from his father, but I guess Morgan sometimes thinks he knows better. Alan is a great husband to Becky, he treats her with the greatest respect at least from what I can see and he has been a wonderful father to Morgan, but most of all I could not ask for a better grandpa for my children. When Alan is with our children he totally and completely dotes on them. He a Brenna play hard and giggle all the time. He a Jacob right now have little talks, since Jacob can really only listen to his Grandpa and give him smiles and coos. And when we dedicated both of our children Alan prayed for each of them the most touching thing I have ever seen him do, and I hope he knows how much those prayers meant to me. Thank you Alan for being such a wonderful Grandpa and a great man for my children to look up to. Above are some pictures of Grandpa Alan with Brenna and Jacob.

Leaving Your Kids In the Car, Or Not?

I was just thinking as I woke up this morning, such a random thought in the morning, at what age can you start leaving your children in the car while you run into the post office, the grocery store for one item, etc. Now we live in a small town of less than 1000 people, so while you may think you can never leave your children in the car I have a few reasons while I would like to leave them in the car for less than 1 minute.

1. I sometimes feel like I am hurting my two year old a whole lot more by sometimes dragging her by the arm (exaggerating a little) into and out of the grocery store or the post office while carrying my son in his car seat. Both kids are in car seats and Brenna is usually watching Elmo on the DVD player, what would be so wrong in leaving them for a minute.

2. Like my Mom always told me if somebody took me they would bring me back quickly. Okay so that's not really funny because now days the people taking children are taking them for their own sick reason.

3. They might be a whole lot safer in the car than with me in the grocery store, hollering at them and getting frustrated.

All joking aside, I am not really sure what is appropriate. Sometimes I stop in front of the store and get a pop out of the pop machine. Am I supposed to get my children out of the car for this or not? Or I need to run something into someones house quickly? I would never consider leaving them in the car any place other than the small town I live in, but I suppose any crazy could be driving through and see that there are two little kids in the car alone by themselves and take them. Just had to let you here my random thought for the morning.

May God bless you in the same ways you have blessed me.

Thank You

Today I took the kids out to their Grandma's (my hubby's Mom) house to visit and eat some lunch. While we were there we got into a discussion about thanking people for what they do. My mother-in-law serves faithfully at our church in many different capacities, her biggest being one of the women that cooks meals for special events. She was telling me how on Easter morning they were serving breakfast and that hardly anyone told her and the other women thank you. As I look back on that morning, I am not so sure that I said thank you. Now I am normally a kind person and I have worked in the food service field prior to graduating from college and becoming a Mommy and I definitely know the power of a thank you. So I would like to take a moment to tell all the wonderful women of Holcomb EFC that served Easter breakfast, "THANK YOU so much for all you do"!

After talking with my mother-in-law I decided that we don't say thank you enough. Do you know how nice it would feel if every night my husband and I thanked each other for what each of us does for our family, and how much better our lives would be if we simply said thank you. I think we sometimes take our spouses for granted and don't realize how hard each of us works throughout the day. My work as a stay at home mommy may not bring in any extra income, but it sure is hard work and it seems to make our whole house run a little smoother. And I know that my husband, as a farmer, puts in hours and hard work that I can't even imagine, but he does this for the good of our home and to make it possible for me to stay home with our children.
THANK YOU Morgan for all you do for our family!

And one last thank you, which probably should have been first, THANK YOU God for all you have given to me, my children, my family, my friends and a wonderful home.

Tantrums

Can anybody out there tell me what to do with a two year old that throws a tantrum every time she doesn't get what she wants when she wants it. It is terrible sometimes I find myself laughing at her because I am not sure what else to do, her tantrums make her look quite pathetic, she is now the drama queen of this house. I am pretty sure I have been able to surrender my title as drama queen here. Brenna has a melt down at least twice a day and I know it is mostly because she is two and she doesn't quite know how to convey her feelings and she gets frustrated, but sometimes it is a little overwhelming for me. I do however wish that when I was frustrated I could just start screaming and kicking my feet, I am sure I would feel much better afterwards, although I would look like a complete idiot. Anyway, gotta go for now my little boy is waking up.

Easter

We had a wonderful Easter. We started the day off by Mommy sleeping in until 10 til 8, which meant I was running around like a idiot trying to get ready for 10:30 church service. To make my morning a little more hectic, when my husband got back from doing morning chores he asked if we wanted to go to church and have breakfast and I of course said yes. I love the times at church that isn't church, the fellowship and just getting to catch up with people in my church family that I don't always find time to talk to. So we kicked the gear up a notch to get out of the house, I had to finish getting myself ready, get a 2 year old in her Easter dress and fix her hair, luckily a hair bow does wonders and nurse a 10 week old and get him dressed, hoping he doesn't spit up or poop on his outfit before we get out the door. All this happened at our house sometime between 7:50 AM and 9:15 AM can you believe it. After a wonderful breakfast with our church family we headed to the sanctuary for the Easter service, I got to take in the worship songs, but as soon as those were through Jacob needed to eat again so we headed for the nursery. I was really hoping to hear our Pastor's message, but in the nursery with 5 or 6 toddlers and babies it is a little bit hard to hear. After church we went to Kearney, our nearest "city" for some dinner with Morgan's parents and his aunt and uncle at the Alley Rose. We had a great time and then headed home for some naps. I think everyone got a nap except me, which is pretty normal at our house. We finished our Easter with dinner at my Mom's with my sister and her family. We had such a great day that I forgot to take any pictures of my children in their Easter outfits. I am now kicking myself because it was Jacob's first Easter. Oh well, the true reason for Easter is not the fancy clothes, it is that Christ died for our sins and rose again on the third day. So I am just truly thankful for this gift that God has given me, a chance for eternal life. Amen!!!

Good Friday

I just watched a video on KellysKorner a really cute blog you can find it at kellyskornerblog.com, this video was a reminder of what happened to Jesus on Friday, but Sunday is still coming. I am so grateful and thankful that Jesus died for me so that I can have everlasting life. My one prayer is that my children will know Jesus so that they may lived a fully blessed life. Have you accepted Christ as your Savior? If you haven't it only takes a moment, one short meaningful prayer to guarantee you an everlasting life. All you have to do is say: Dear Jesus, I want you to come live in my heart. I accept you as my Savior. Amen. What a simple small meaningful thing to do that has huge rewards waiting for us. Remember this Easter season that Jesus died for you and that He loves you!!!

Jacob's 2 month Check Up

Jacob was supposed to go to the doctor last Friday for his two month check up, but she had an emergency so we went a visited Dr. Lindstrom today. Jacob had an awesome checkup. He is now 13 lbs. 10 oz. and 25 1/2 inches long. These measurements put him in the 90th and 97th percentiles respectively for his weight and height. This is a far cry from what Miss Brenna was at 2 months old, I think she always ranged in the 20 to 25th percentiles for her height and weight. Jacob also got his first round of shots, he screamed when they gave him the injections, but is now doing just fine. I am thankful that we have a big boy and a small petite little girl and not the other way around. I thank God everyday for my two healthy wonderful children. Have you thanked God today???

Grapefruit Size Tomatoes

This is such random thought, but it has been running through my mind for a few weeks. Lately I have been getting spam emails about growing grapefruit sized tomatoes or the largest tomatoes you have ever seen. I have also seen infomercials about them when I am up nursing Jacob in the middle of the night. I have just one question: WHAT DO YOU DO WITH A GRAPEFRUIT SIZED TOMATO????
Do you try to make a hamburger that big to fit the tomato, and then you need to come up with a bun. You would also need to learn to grow pickles and onions the same size too, because how can you make a hamburger without them. If you wanted a cheeseburger you would have to find a slice of cheese that big, because you wouldn't want to put 5 or 6 small slices. After creating this monster burger you would have to figure out how to eat it, and then you would probably have to find a few friends to share it with.
Anyways I don't think I will be purchasing this "miracle" product, because I don't grow tomatoes and if I did I pretty sure I wouldn't want them quite that big.

Oprah and Motherhood

Yesterday I was watching Oprah and it was all about moms. Moms were sharing their struggles and funny things that they have done or had to do once they became a mom. One thing that really hit home with me is how you are not the same person you were before you had kids. I totally agree, just like you are not the same person you were before you got married, before you accepted Christ as your savior. It was just funny to me how some of these women really didn't know that their lives were going to change after children. I don't know what exactly they expected but any new thing in your life or new experience is going to change you. There were also funny mommy moments that made me laugh, but they also made me realize that in the grand scheme of life and being a mommy I am doing a darn good job. One mom said that she has gone 3 weeks without bathing her children, I am not sure if that is funny or just plain sad. I know we all struggle to be the best moms we can be.

After watching this episode of Oprah, I thought I would share how my life has changed in the past 5 years, since recommiting my life to Christ, meeting my husband and having the two most beautiful children in the world. When Morgan and I first met I was kind of a wild child, I was only 20, still thinking there was too much fun out there to have before I settled down. Well after 4 months of dating this incredible guy we started talking seriously about marriage, (I know a little fast) but I make the best decisions when I don't ponder too long over them and with finding the right guy to marry I think sometimes you just know. Before we got too far into our relationship Morgan asked me if I believed in God, and my answer was of course Yes! But I was still missing something, I know as a child I had asked Jesus to come live in my heart, but I wasn't really sure what that meant at the time. At the tender age of 21, ha ha, I was sitting at Westmark EFC during Sunday morning worship and Pastor Dave Carlson's sermon really touched my heart and I knew right then that I was going to try my best to live for Jesus. I know that I don't do this as whole heartedly as I should, but I try my best. Since recommitting my life to Christ I have had my life richly blessed and been able to marry the man of my dreams, even though he is no prince charming.

Married life is tough, but so well worth it. I would say that being married has been exciting and fun. The biggest change is having someone else to worry about and to have them worry about you. I also think a big change for me was finding a man who truly loves me and I know will never leave me.

Children, this has probably been the biggest change and one of the biggest blessings. It is very hard to be truly selfless and think of the needs of another human being before your own. Waking up in the middle of the night and not getting all the sleep you ever wanted, but it is so worth it to me. Adding the second child to our family was another huge change for everyone. Brenna is only 2 and still really needs her Mommy and Jacob of course needs his Mommy just to meet his basic needs. I am still searching for who I am as a mother, a wife and a child of God, but I know that I am not the same person I once was and I am so happy for that. I truly believe that every event happens in our lives for a reason, we may not see it at the time, but I can look back at some events from my childhood and early adulthood that have truly shaped who I am. My children and my husband give me reason to be a better mother and wife, and a better person all the way around.

May God Bless your life in the same way you have blessed mine.

Finding More Time

After the birth of Jacob I found that I really needed to find more time for myself, whenever possible. Even though with two little kids finding time for myself isn't easy I do a few small things for myself each day. Every morning before Jacob and Brenna get up I make sure that I get to take a shower, I know for every mother out there they understand the importance and sometimes rarity of taking a shower. I also make sure that I fix my hair in some fashion so that if the unexpected happens, I can leave the house in a hurry knowing that I don't look too bad. I find that my short shower each morning gives me a little time to regroup, think about the day ahead and count my blessings (which at this point in my life I feel are sometimes too numerous to count). I have also started finding more time to clean my house, which isn't exactly time to myself, but it feels so good to accomplish something everyday (mostly so my husband has nothing to complain about when he gets home). I have come to the conclusion that napping is no longer an option at my house, my two kids never sleep at the same time, so I am using this time, when at least one child is asleep to catch up on things that need to be done, as well as blogging. Each day gets easier with a new baby and finally one day it all falls into place, I am still waiting for that day, but I know its not too far off. I thank my God everyday for how He has blessed me. And if you are reading this I am sure you have blessed my life in some way.

Frustrated and Thankful

I know that hardly anyone reads my blog, and thats okay, so today I am going to vent my frustrations just to get them off my chest and not overload my husband with them when he gets home, although I will probably still let him know whats on my mind. Today Jacob was supposed to go to the doctor for his 2 month checkup, I was excited to get out of the house and to see how much my little boy has grown in the last month (not looking forward to shots), but his lovely doctor who I know is drowning in patients was called out to an emergency and she had a new mommy in labor. I understand her being gone but doesn't she know that we were looking forward to this outing all week, that she is sometimes my link to the adult world, and that I may not have left my house all week except for this appointment. Okay so I am exagerating a little I usually have some grocery shopping to do or we just go to one of the Grandmas' for awhile to get out. But really I wish that if doctors are on call, they should not be scheduling appointments, thank goodness they called before we got to the office and then had to wait for her to show up.

On to another frustration, why can my children not nap when I need them to. Today Brenna is at Grandma and Grandpa Fouts's for the night and Jacob finally decided to nap at 4:15, too late for me to go down for a snooze. I will say however that Jacob is now usually only waking up once before 7 am, (sometime between 3am and 5am) so I am getting a fair amount of sleep during the night so I should probably quit complaining.

And onto one more frustration. Why do I feel completely inept as a mother sometimes. I let my 2 year old watch cartoons all morning, and when it is cold and/or windy out it could be most of the day, with a few interjections of reading and playing with toys, eating lunch, and napping. I mean an excellent mother would have the whole day planned out from art time to story time etc. Me, I just roll with the punches and hope we all survive til Morgan gets home in the evening. I will say this in all my insecurities as a mother, my children are well fed, clean, well dressed and deeply loved. And I guess as long as all of their most basic needs are met, I am doing the best I can with the extras.

Okay now that I am done venting I have so much to be thankful for. So here are my top ten things I am thankful for today.

1. My loving God, that he sent his son Jesus to die for my sins
2. My beautiful family (Morgan, Brenna, and Jacob)
3. The beautiful home I have been blessed with.
4. For God allowing me to stay home and raise my two little miracles
5. The health of my family
6. A wonderful mother
7. Wonderful in-laws (Becky and Alan)
8. The laughter that my children create everyday
9. Morgan, that he works hard, laughs hard and loves me deeply
10. That I don't have to worry about where my next meal is coming from or where I will sleep tonight because God has provided these things for me.

I know that through everything God is in control.

Pictures of Jacob at 2 months

I thought I would share some pictures of Jacob that I took today, his 2 month birthday. Also added at the top is Miss Brenna trying to put on her new shoes. I am also posting a ton of pictures to my shutterfly account so you can check that out at brennafouts.shutterfly.com.

Jacob is 2 months old

I can't believe how the last two months have flown by. Our precious little boy is now smiling and sometimes even laughing. He is such joy to watch and to take care of. Miss Brenna is beginning to like her brother a little more each day. I will try to post some pictures tomorrow when there is a little more time. Gotta go for now, I think the kids are waking up.