Candle By Night

Need Coffee

2009-12-06T22:57:00.000-05:00

I found this video while I was looking through old posts....still just as funny. :-)

I thought this was cute.

2009-12-04T14:40:00.002-05:00

Scrapbooking Photo Tinks by WiddlyTinks.com

Fun and Family

2009-12-02T13:55:00.016-05:00

Boy...once again I do have a lot to catch up on. So I will make this as short as possible. :-) First up...instead of calling the newest addition Baby K I am now going to call her "Special K." Her uncle started calling the sweet one that and I think it's a good idea. :-) So, first up are a couple of odds n ends pics. I just can't get enough of Special K. She is absolutely adorable and it's even cuter to capture funny pics of her. ;-)

Sweet E.....still as sweet as ever. :-D

Little E usually has his Dee-Doe (Diego) backpack on these days. He enjoys looking at books too.

On Thanksgiving day we headed down to my parents home. It was so good to get to see my Sissy (I have only seen her 2 times this past year) and her Fiance (and it had been about 2 years since I have seen him!). This picture leaves much to be desired. Half of us are in the shade and the others are stuck "squinting" in the sun. Won't even go into how bad I look......so...next pic please.... ;-)

It's pretty hard to hold on to a sleeping baby and not fall asleep yourself...let alone after eating Thanksgiving dinner. :-)

They both found something amusing.

This is a much better pic of my Sissy and her Fiance......I can't wait for them to have some babies. (My children need some cousins!) My Sis is gonna kill me for saying that. LOL But Sis, when the time comes....you know your babies will be beyond adorable! ;-)

Then the following Saturday was the Christmas Parade. It helps that the parade route is only a few blocks South of us. Perfect walking distance! So...here they are patiently waiting.

Sweet E is ready! Her bag was pretty full by the time we got home.

Here they come!

Recognize anyone Marci? ;-)

After the parade was Thanksgiving Dinner with Beloved's family. I think they put something in the food because a lot of them got pretty goofy after dinner. Here is Sweet E dressed as Grandpa. LOL If you know him...you will understand completely! :-)

Special K even joined in on the game playing.

And then she decided to try and blend in with the toys. :-)

As you can tell...we had a lot of fun over the holiday weekend. :-) Praying you all are having a great week. Blessings to all!

Baby Girls All Around!

2009-11-24T14:31:00.003-05:00

I just had to say what a wonderful time of year. Not just because the holidays are coming up, but because of all the new baby girls (and a baby boy too!) First was Beloved's cousin...she had a little boy two days before Baby K was born. Then yesterday a friend had her first baby (a girl) and her cousin followed suit about 3 hours later! Just many more things to be thankful for. Oh how fun it would be to get all those babies together, but sadly we all live in different states. God is so good! I just had to share that. :-) I should add that while Baby K is my fourth child this is the first for the other three Mamas. May the Lord bless you all on the wonderful journey of Motherhood that is ahead of you. :-)

She's beautiful

2009-11-23T09:57:00.008-05:00

Of course you all already know that. It is hard for me to believe that she will be 4 weeks old tomorrow. It has gone by so fast and they only stay this small for such a very short time. And can you believe I have taken a lot of pictures of Baby K since she was born? I know...it's hard to believe isn't it. LOL But I wanted to show some pictures that are not necessarily the best ones, but they are pretty funny. At least they are to me. :-)

And then we have a pic of Papa with his pretty girl. :-)

And one of Little E because I think it's funny he fell asleep on the dining room table. :-)

I forgot something.....see if you can see what is wrong in the pic of Little E. :-)

Timberdoodle: Puzzleball Globe

2009-11-23T08:42:00.001-05:00

Puzzleball Globe

96-Piece Children's Globe
For children in the early grades, consider the 96-piece Puzzleball Globe. Large pieces and child-friendly graphics make this a perfect puzzle for a six-year old.

Bright, colorful, and adorned with animals, your young students will get a kick out of assembling and reassembling this puzzle.

Why Give Your Child A Puzzle To Teach Geography?
Puzzles can be educational in so many ways because they stretch your child's brain and improve the way his mind solves problems. While he's solving a puzzle, he's really teaching his brain to work in new ways. As your child solves a geography puzzle he is mentally drilling himself with physical facts, such as what country goes next to the one he has just completed. Unconsciously he is making a number of associations as he searches for the next piece.

More Realistic Than A Flat Puzzle

Flat puzzles of spherical items are easier to assemble, but what if you could hone your geographical skills on something more appropriate, more true to life? Now you can with Puzzleball Globes. These sturdy plastic 3-D puzzles come in different levels suitable to be used with beginners or for a refresher for both your pre-teens and older children.

No Glue Required!
Each Puzzleball Globe comes with beautiful, vibrantly-colored, and perfectly-crafted curved puzzle pieces that allow for an exact fit and are easily assembled with no glue required!! A stand is included to display your work of art, but you will have so much fun putting it together that you shouldn't be surprised if the stand gets little use!

Price: $12.75

Put out by: Timberdoodle (Publisher: Ravensburger)

***Disclosure: Mama Buzz and reviewers, received a complimentary copy of this puzzle for review purposes.

Big T was so excited when this came in the mail! He wanted to tear into it right then and there. But being a Mama to 4 young children (one of which isn't even 1 month old yet) I wasn't ready for the task. But we let Baby K pose with the puzzle. :-)

I absolutely loved this puzzle. The pieces are plastic (which is the greatest idea every) and you don't need glue. Plus for someone like me trying to help Big T it was great that the pieces are numbered. Not only are they numbered but it even tells you were to place the next piece by looking at which way the arrow points. (I need to add that the first puzzle piece is located by itself in a separate plastic bag. So you don't have to hunt for it! Isn't that awesome?)

Big T really enjoyed putting this puzzle together. He would sometimes try to find the next piece by looking for the image and sometimes he would use the numbers.

Once we completed the puzzle he wanted to take it apart and do it again. Sadly for Big T...Mama said no. I needed to take care of the other children, but I know it will be dismantled shortly and put together again. Once he masters this one I know we will probably purchase one of the large ones to continue to challenge him. There are many Homeschool Supplies that I would absolutely love to get from Timberdoodle. I have a list started already. :-) You all should check it out. Even if you don't homeschool there is a lot of cool things that your children would love. :-)

The Story of Christmas

2009-11-17T09:18:00.009-05:00

The Story of Christmas by Gwen Ellis
Illustrated by Steve Smallman
Ages: 4-7
Put out by: Thomas Nelson
Price: $10.99

***Disclosure: Mama Buzz and reviewers, received a complimentary copy of this book for review purposes.

The first thing my children noticed was that the book came with a DVD. The y then promptly proceeded to watch the DVD. LOL Honestly...it was much better than I thought it would be. I think they watched it at least two times. The illustrations and writing are like what you find in the Read and Share Bible. (Well, it's not like it, it is from the Read and Share Bible.) The description from the back cover says:

Young hearts will love the delightful art and simple retelling of the events surrounding the Christmas story. With angels, shepherds, wise men, and Baby Jesus, this book is sure to be a perennial favorite.

The book starts out with the story the angel appearing to Zechariah, the birth of John the Baptist, the angel appearing to Mary, Joseph marrying Mary, birth of Jesus, the wise men, fleeing to Egypt, and their return home. I think our family's favorite part of the book is actually the last 4 pages. They have taken 3 to 4 pictures for every page, from the previous stories, and jumbled them up. The children then study the pages and retells the story by saying which picture happened first. It's fun to watch the children sit and think about what was read to them and how they retell the stories are cute and interesting.

Thank you to Thomas nelson again for allowing me the opportunity to review this children's book.

Yes, we are still alive

2009-11-16T15:57:00.015-05:00

Believe it or not I am still alive. I know alot of people are surprised since I am doing my best to heal up, take care of a newborn and the three older children. LOL But....trust me... I am not doing it alone. I have had a lot of help. Praise the Lord! Anyway, you know the first thing I have to show are some pictures of Baby K. She is just the sweetest thing ever! Just don't tell me other children that. LOL :-)

My Grandpa and Step Grandma were able to come up to see Baby K (and the other children) on Sunday. I was so glad they were able to come. The family Christmas was Saturday but we couldn't go because of the Upward Soccer award presentation for the children. Anyway. Here is a picture of Grandpa with his newest Great- Granddaughter. :-) ( Edited to add- My Mom came up on Sunday as well...don't want to leave her out)

Do you know how hard it is to get 4 children to sit still for a picture...let alone the rowdy great-grandparents?

You can tell they are all wondering if they are done yet.

Plus the children had a good time trying to figure out what in the world Great-Grandpa was carrying around with him. They liked to listen for the noise it made. :-)

I almost forgot to show pictures from the soccer awards program this past Saturday. I don't have any good pictures. The lighting...and sitting further back in the sanctuary made it hard to get a decent picture. I can't remember the details of the lady that was there except that her last name is Yoder, her husband is a cabinet maker in Plain City, she is originally from South Dakota and the youngest of 12. She did all sorts of tricks and things with basketballs. Big T even got to spin the basketball on his finger. She tried to have Little E do it too, but he moved his finger and he got hit in the face with the basketball. :-( Oh well...they all enjoyed it. She pulled a lot of people from the audience to do some of the tricks and stuff with her.

Because I couldn't figure out the right setting for the camera I didn't get a picture of Sweet E's team (half weren't there) but I did get this picture of Big T and his team at least.

Ever since seeing Mrs. Yoder do tricks with basketballs on Saturday Big T has spent majority of his time outside the past two days getting better at dribbling and trying a few tricks of his own. :-)

More Pictures...again!

2009-11-06T10:12:00.001-05:00

You know I can't resist showing more pictures of my children..especially now since I have 4. :-)

Big Thoughts for Little People

2009-11-06T09:03:00.004-05:00

* Mama Buzz, and reviewers, were provided with a complimentary copy of this book for blog tour purposes*

Big Thoughts for Little People by Kenneth N. Taylor

Ages 3-7

Hardcover retails for $14.99

From back cover:

With all-new art, Big Thoughts for Little People is an updated version of the best-selling picture book by renowned children's author Kenneth N. Taylor. Using the alphabet as a learning tool, this beloved picture book connects Bible themes and verses with engaging art.

Children and adults will enjoy learning biblical concepts and verses while searching for lessons (and hidden ladybugs) in the art. Learning has never been so much fun!

My Thoughts:

I once again had the privilege to review another childrens book. I was so excited to open this package when it arrived. The format is wonderful to say the least. Each letter is associated with a word (obviously...LOL) and a phrase follows that helps to remember what the letter stands for. Like a is for asking, b is for behave, etc. Then there is a paragraph talking about the corresponding illustration. Not only does it draw attention to certain aspects of the illustration, it also draws the child's attention to our Heavenly Father.

There are also a few questions to prompt the parent (or caregiver) to have a discussion with the child(ren). It helps the child(ren) to think outside of themselves and to focus on what they can do for others. It's so much fun to hear all three of my older children give ideas on things they can do to help others. :-) They get so excited coming up with all the ideas!

Who wouldn't want to read this book to their children? I highly recommend it to anyone that has a child they can read to. :-) Thanks again to Tyndale for allowing me the privilege to review this book.

The Tallest of Smalls by Max Lucado

2009-11-03T11:00:00.000-05:00

*This book was given as a complimentary copy to Mama Buzz and reviewers, for blog tour purposes.*

The Tallest of Smalls by Max Lucado
Ages 4-7

Retails for $16.99

My Thoughts:

When we received this package in the mail my children were outside playing in a huge pile of leaves. As I pulled the book out of the package my youngest (at the time) came right over and was intrigued by the bright and colorful cover. Little E immediately asked for me to read him the book. I think I read it three times and I finally had to tell him to go and play in the leaves a little more. He didn't want to, but once I promised to read it again he finally went on to play. I have always enjoyed books by Max Lucado and this one is no different. This book has provided an opportunity for the children and I too discuss how special we are to God. That no one is "too small."

It reminds me of times as a child when you don't get picked first for the kickball game or to be in someone's group for a class project. Actually, it happens to adults as well. With my youngest two we had to take more time to explain the meaning behind the story, but with the rhymes....it kept them intrigued. They also enjoyed picking out different things that they would find on each page.

Not only does the story attract the attention of the children, but so do the illustrations. I know it is recommended for the 4-7 age range, but my 2 1/2 year old enjoys it as do I. It's a wonderful read aloud story for everyone. :-) Thank you again to the publishers for giving me the opportunity to review this book for them. :-)

**After writing this review last night my Beloved read the story to the children. Once again I believe he had to read it 3 times before they were satisfied and I am sure I will be reading it many times again today as well. :-)**

More Pics of My Blessings

2009-11-02T13:18:00.007-05:00

Sorry..couldn't resist sharing more pictures with everyone. :-) Enjoy!

Picture Time!

2009-10-28T15:24:00.006-04:00

I promised pictures...so here you go. :-)

She's here!

2009-10-27T19:43:00.001-04:00

Our newest addition was born at 11:59 am today. She weighs 8 lbs 5 oz and is 21 inches long. I will try and post pictures tomorrow as I am typing this from the laptop in my bedroom and am not at the main computer. Thanks for all the prayers. Blessings!

It's begun...

2009-10-27T06:15:00.001-04:00

Just like I said I would let you all know when it is time. Well...it's time. I have been in labor for almost 4 hours. If it is like the others...I have about 9 hours to go. Will update when I can. Blessings....

Nope...

2009-10-26T15:40:00.003-04:00

still no baby. Thought I better let everyone know. Little E had a nasty spill yesterday. This is what he looked like about 4 hours after it happened. He took such a nasty fall...it was just as hard on Mama as it was on him.

This is what he looks like today. The swelling is almost gone, but now scabs have formed on his upper lip and nose. He also has a large knot and a cut on the back of his head. The under side of his upper lip is black and as the day has progressed......the bruises are showing up more and more. Well...that is all for now. I have leaves to rake and soccer in a couple of hours.

Waiting....

2009-10-19T14:24:00.018-04:00

as patiently as possible. My due date is this Wednesday. My children have never been early. So I am looking at anywhere from tomorrow the the beginning of next week. But I much prefer sooner than later. :-D Right now I am procrastinating on doing work....Why?! Why do I do this to myself? Bless the Schwartz girls for coming over and helping but the very next day you would never even know that they were here. I need to get my sewing room in order at least so people don't have to trip over things when they need to get upstairs.

So...one more thing I want to do before I get to work. I wanted to share some pictures. Up first are some pictures from the soccer games Saturday. Let me just say...it was freezing!!!! The children love helping set everything up for soccer. Here is Big T helping Mr. R get the tent put together for the run through.

The boys working on getting the sound system ready.

Papaw Krumme and Little E trying to stay warm.

Big T's team running out the "tunnel" before the start of the game. :-)

Big T and N trying to warm up before the game.

Sweet E tried her best to stay warm before her game.

Not sure what to say about this one. LOL

Go Yellow Jackets!

Then it was time for the Little Cobras to take the field. :-) They actually ran out this time instead of walking. :-D

Don't you know it's easier to throw the ball while sticking out your tongue? :-D

Up next is a picture of the roses Beloved surprised me with last week. Aren't they beautiful?

And I am just going to end this post with some Autumn pics. This is my favorite time of year. I just wish the camera could capture the richness of the colors. Enjoy!

May you all have a blessed week!

I'm back!

2009-10-15T23:05:00.002-04:00

Praise the Lord...my Beloved is awesome! After contemplating on the computer issue for a few days he had one last idea to try before saying it was completely dead. And he was right. I know have my computer back which means I can get to all of our school resources and I can download pictures again. Which means when the baby comes you all will be able to see him/her right away. Isn't that great? Just wanted to let you all know that. :-)

Computer is.....

2009-10-14T17:19:00.003-04:00

no more. I don't know why it is, but every year we have something happen to our computers. And no...it isn't anything we have done! :-) Usually it is a hard drive or lightening frying the modem. Well, we are pretty sure it is the motherboard. And to replace it with the exact same model is going to cost a good chunk of money so it is just going to have to wait. Which...is okay...just can't download pics. Beloved may have to go to his parents home to put them on a disk so they don't pile up too high on the camera...and so I can post them here. I do have a 10 year old laptop, but it barely lets me send out email or put a blog post up.

I should do a quick explanation. The reason we want the same motherboard is because we backed up our system almost every week. Although I don't think it did it this past week. (Oh well...) but to get the image to transfer back to the computer when it is back up and running the system needs to be pretty much exactly the way it was. If it isn't.....all the info will pretty much be spit back out and just cause more trouble. So all of the backup we did may not even work. So we will just have to wait and see. I just wanted to let you all know what was going on.

Blessings to you! (Should say that I will post when the baby arrives...I will take time to do that!)

Still sick....

2009-10-09T17:30:00.012-04:00

Unfortunately we still have sickness in the house. Praise the Lord that Big T no longer has a fever and Sweet E (at this point) does not seem to be sick at all. Little E has a runny nose, but if that is the worst of it...that is fine with me. Beloved is slowly getting better, but he still feels pretty bad. And the antibiotics make his stomach hurt as well. Can't win either way. As for me...my head feels really stuffed up (pressure) and my sinus' hurt. I pray that this goes away very soon as we try to get everything ready for when the baby decides to arrive. It's so exciting to think we will have a new little person in the house very soon. Seems like it has been forever since we had a baby in the house.

I still have a lot to learn with our new camera, but the children give me plenty of opportunities. They just love to ham it up for the camera....as you can see here with Sweet E. :-)

Oh...and I have received a couple of packages this past week. I know you may not care, but I love getting packages. It doesn't happen very often around here....it's very rare. :-) First up was my order of SKOY cloths. Beloved loves to use these to wash dishes and I think they are just great. I love the colors I got this time: yellow, orange, pink, blue, green, and purple. They even come packaged very pretty. :-)

Next up is my order from Stash Tea. I have been waiting about 8 months to place another order and we finally saved up enough to do it. :-)

The tall boxes have 30 tea bags and look at all the yummy flavors we ordered. :-)

The white christmas tea is my favorite hot tea to drink during the winter months. The Christmas eve tea is our favorite iced tea to make. It is sooooo yummy! I even got a sample of Merry mint tea and Pumpkin spice tea. I figured the Pumpkin spice was appropriate for this time of year. I hope it is as good as it sounds. The orange spice was a freebie they threw in my order. Can't wait to try it either. I much prefer loose leaf tea, but these bagged teas are pretty good too. And now I don't have to worry about running out of these during the winter months. :-)

Oh....have you seen these adorable mugs? (Snowman mugs)

Aren't they just the cutest things ever! My MIL has a set and it is so much fun to drink Hot Cocoa from these mugs. You can't help but giggle when you get about half way done with your cocoa and you see a nose poking through...and then the eyes. They definitely make you smile. Maybe someday I can add these to my collection. You know I am a sucker for anything with snowflakes and snowmen (I guess it's because I have the last name of SNOW! LOL) It's all your fault Mama Snow...you started me on this! LOL ;-)

Soccer and Sickness

2009-10-07T17:54:00.008-04:00

Yes, you read that correct. We have sickness in the house and only 2 weeks till the baby is due! Beloved has been hit hard by something and is on antibiotics. Sadly he said he feels worse today than he did on Monday. Big T had a fever yesterday, but appears to be okay today. I am praying that whatever it was won't return. And then there is me....I have a head cold and feel like I have been hit by a Mac truck. As for Sweet E and Little E, they appear to be doing just fine and I pray that it stays that way. We definitely don't need sickness in the house whenever the baby decides to make his/her appearance.

As for soccer....still going strong. We have 4, possibly 5 games left in the season. It all depends if they decide to make up the game that was rained out or not. I am having a hard time focusing right now (head is all stuffed up) but I wanted to show a few pictures to you all. Hope you enjoy them. Not sure what this face is.... LOL!

Maybe she thought it was time for ballet? ;-)

I love this pic because of the face that Miss S is making. :-)

Warming up before the start of the game.

Here we go!

Go Big T!

Little E enjoying the day

I pray that you all are having a blessed week and are staying healthy! I pray to have pictures to share with you all very soon of a lovely little baby.

Chloe Update and Prayer Request

2009-10-06T21:46:00.003-04:00

I just realized I hadn't given an update about Chloe. She had her scan done the other week and no seizure activity was found. Praise the Lord...now what is causing this....not sure. I haven't had a chance to ask Anna more about it. BUT...the main concern now is Anna's brother. Here are two articles to give a quick run down on what has happened. (Ski resort employee found injured and Resort employee rescued) From what I understand his injuries were not too terribly bad considering all that had transpired. The concern now is that he is running a fever and the doctors do not know why. He has bleeding in his brain and is refusing to eat or drink anything given to him. So if you could continue your prayers for Anna and the rest of her family during this time...I know it would be greatly appreciated. Blessings to you all.

**Just received an update that he ate dinner last night. Praise the Lord!**

Soccer and Preparation

2009-09-30T16:27:00.006-04:00

Preparation......that is a word at the top of our family's vocabulary right now. We are busy cleaning, decluttering, reorganizing, etc to get ready for blessing #4's arrival. I can't believe my due date is exactly 3 weeks from today. I have a long way to go on our to do list, but I pray that we can get the majority of it done in time.

On Monday we were able to have soccer practice (the Saturday games were cancelled due to rain. the children were so sad) But...practice was freezing! It's hard enough when it's cold and windy, but when it's cloudy on top of that....it seems even colder. I did capture a few pictures of practice on Monday. Coach and the thick skinned Little Cobras. :-)

Not real sure what little Miss S was doing, but she was having fun. :-)

Little E kept warm by playing on the swings/slide, joining the Little Cobras scrimmage, and walking in between Big T and Sweet E's practices. Wish I could have felt warmer. I just pray the rain holds off for Saturday and that we at least have a little sunshine. :-)

Big T is in all blue.....I am happy I actually captured a picture of him AND the ball in the same shot. I usually take the picture too late. :-(

Procrastination.....that is the other word on my vocab list right now and it needs to be crossed off! So I better get off of the computer and get to work. Need to do work on the MB and get the bassinet put together in preparation for the baby. I pray that you all are having a great week. And to my Sissy.....HOPE YOU HAD A GREAT FIRST DAY at your NEW JOB! (((HUGS)))

More Camera Fun...

2009-09-27T21:19:00.011-04:00

Still have a lot to learn on settings and such, but just wanted to share some more pics. :-)

New Camera!

2009-09-24T14:38:00.016-04:00

I can't even tell you how excited I am to have a new camera. Problem is......I need a lot of practice with it. This is what we have. It's a Nik*n s630.

It's a point and shoot, but a more complicated point and shoot than our last one. This has many, many more features. Many of the photos I have taken have turned out blurry, but once I play around with it...change the settings, the flash, etc then it turns out okay. So it's a more complicated point and shoot than what I am used too, but I am just excited to have a good camera to capture soccer pictures and pictures of our new blessing due in about 3 1/2 weeks. So ....bear with me...here are a bunch of random photos I took yesterday. Like I said I still need a ton of practice, but I am getting there. :-) ( should add that I love the macro setting...our old camera couldn't take any pictures up close...they were all way too blurry and this has a 7 x zoom)

I should say that.....No, the dark haired little boy is not my child. That is precious little Jacob. He decided he would rather sleep than visit. (But that is perfectly okay...he had a long day) The last picture is of Sweet E and her drawing....She said it was me and she wanted to get a picture taken of her creation. How can a Mama resist? So prepare yourselves...as I learn to use this camera you will see lots more photos hopefully. :-)