Family Time

for the past week or so, the fam and i have been at the beach.  it was spectacular.  that really doesn’t even begin to describe how great it was. 

my family, my sister’s family, my little bro and my awesome sis-in-law, and my nana (my mom’s mom) all stayed in a super-fancy beach house on myrtle beach.  it was just so good.  my sister and i had our babies each very close together, so they each have a buddy their same age.  they had a blast playing together!   my sister and i got to have those moments where you just kinda’ sit around and talk about nothing, but there is nothing we would rather be doing (ok, so the ’sitting around’ part didn’t really happen too often with 6 kiddos 4yrs and under running/crawling around). 

it was a great time.  i worried that it would be a really sad time.  we haven’t been to the beach as a family since mom died (we vacationed at the beach most every summer growing up).  i felt that it would just be a reminder that she wasn’t here anymore.  it was sad at times.  i think it was really hard on my sweet nana.  i can’t imagine.  we just loved on her. 

mom loved the ocean.  i mean, she really loved it.  she also loved us kids and was crazy about her grandkids.   she would have loved being there with us.   she would have laughed a lot with ken.  she would have held baby ian while we all ran around getting ready for whatever was next.  she would have made us the yummy sandwiches she was always so good at making (the lettuce was always so cold and crispy).  she would have read to  the grandkids and walked with them on the beach holding their hands.  she would have held my hand as we walked.  she would have had to wipe her tears as she watched her son-in-law preach from the Word in such a powerful and move-ya’-into-action kind of way.  she would have said over and over, “i just love the ocean.”  she would have kissed on my ‘little’  (really i should use the word younger.  he is in the marine corp and is more cut than i have ever seen him) brother and called him ‘john-boy.’   she would have made my sweet sister-in-law feel super comfortable by just ‘being.’ she would have kissed us each good night. 

she would have made a really really great trip… perfect.

i am ready to not miss her this much.  

there have to be beaches in heaven.  i am convinced of it.

 

 

 

 

automatic flushers

i used to really really enjoy bathrooms that had potties that flushed automatically.

not anymore.  now i have to search out restrooms that are not so fancy.

“why?” you might ask.

 

meet my 2 1/2 yr old.  she has a new phobia.  her fear is not of bugs (she ran up to me while we were outside last week and said excitedly, “look, momma!  ants!”  there were about 5 of them crawling across her grubby little hand.)  her fear is not of dancing in public (she gets that love from her daddy).  she is also not afraid of the reprucussions of hitting boys bigger than her (talk to her big brother about that).

she has a phobia of toilets with automatic flushers. 

i don’t know how she has learned the difference in appearances of potties with and without these, but she has.  she is terrified.  she cannot relax long enough to even begin to use such a potty. 

i am at a loss on how to help her through this.  she is not being defiant or a bad listener.  she is truly afraid. 

any suggestions?

can’t think of a clever title.

so, i am excited because this summer some girls and i are going to do a bible study.  it should be fun because it is going to be an eclectic mix of people.  i hope to do a book called don’t waste your life by john piper.  in preparation, my sweet friend katie let me borrow a dvd of a sermon piper did from his ‘don’t waste your life’ series.

it was amazing.

i have been thinking about it since it ended.  he was really sharing the fact that there are soooo many opportunities (especially in america) for us to waste our lives.  we look up one day and we are 70 years old and realize our life was wasted.  i guess it just struck me so hard because i have such tedencies toward materialism.  i like nice things and i fall in the trap of comparing my circumstances (really my things) to those around me.   instead of being so grateful for the hundreds of ways God has blessed me, i look at the things we don’t have the i think we need… you know, like a house with a playroom (even though i have an amazing backyard where the kids can play, thanks to kenny), a gmc acadia (even though all 3 car seats fit perfectly in the honda), a skinnier body (even though mine is cancer-free and gave birth to 3 sweet babies). 

i don’t know.  i just fall into the trap of accumulating stuff and feeling good by having stuff… i mean, it is just stuff.  it is not eternal.  i will not sit on my death bed and want to have my new car by me.  i would want my family and my friends.  i don’t want my kids to learn to love things from me, i want them to learn to love jesus and other people.  my sister taught me something the other day.  she was referring to their super-cool new place they just got.  i asked her what she thought about it.  she said (so wisely, as she usually is), “you know, we teach titus (their son) that we only love God and people, but i sure do really like this house.”  that’s great huh?  to teach our kids that we only love God and people.    i mean, it is just stuff.

i am going to be praying that the Lord will really give me eternal eyes.  i think i am going to ask myself from now on when i am about to make a purchase or go somewhere… ‘does this have eternal value?’  or ‘what does this teach my kids about where my heart lies?’

i just want to do things that matter.  i don’t want to waste my life.   i’ll let you know how the study goes.  in the mean time, if you have read piper’s book, let me know what you think.

thank you, Lord, for friends.

 

 

a few weeks ago we were able to spend some time with our dear friends that have left the great state for a short while.  we miss them deeply… and by ‘we’, i mean kiddos included, jonah especially.  we had a great time celebrating birthdays, riding the train, visiting the zoo, and just hanging out with really really close friends.   our time with them is never long enough.  we hope the lord allows us to get together again very soon.   it is so great to see our kids continue the love for one another that we, the ‘fellowship’ parents have. 

 

first teeth

baby boy’s first teeth!

i can’t believe it.  ian has his first teeth… where has the time gone?

it’s funny.  i don’t know if it is because i just feel more confident as a momma this time around or if it is ian’s sweet tempermant, but i am really just cherishing every moment with this baby (although i could probably do without so many ‘moments’ to cherish in the middle of the night… please sleep for daddy and momma!).  maybe it is because he might be our last.  i don’t know.  i just love to hold him.  i love to feed him baby food from the cute little jars.  i love that his face lights up when he sees me.  i think his 2 new little teeth are 2 of the cutest things i have ever seen.  i love that he seems to know his big brother and big sister.  i love that he is starting to utter his first babble sounds.  he is so fun to watch jump in his excersaucer.  i love the little clothes that he wears and that some of them… okay, let’s be real, MOST of them were his big brother’s.  he is just a sweet baby.  i know i am his momma, but he really is just sweet.

ps.  ian wanted me to add that he apologizes to his ‘aunt’ robin and ‘uncle’ pard for the  lack of sleep the other night.  he says he is not sure what was going on and that he will try his hardest to not let it happen again. 

it’s all in how you look at it…

the other night i attempted to make  a new dinner for the fam… coconut chicken.  it sounds delightful and from a person that really knows how to make it, i am sure it is.  however, mine was more ‘chicken dipped in coconut then soaked in canola oil.’  i am not good at frying things. 

the best part of the meal was the strawberry daiquiri jell-o i made.  it was a new item at wal-mart, so i thought we would try it.  well, it is as great and yummy as it sounds.  we all highly recommend it.   so here is the funny part.  

*DISCLAIMER*  please do not allow this next story to prevent you from ever eating at my house.  i promise this is the first time something like this has happened.  

jonah bear took a big bite into his jell-o and yelled out excitedly, ”daddy, i found something!  i think i found a treasure!”

ken looked at me and then investigated further with jonah.  it turns out that he had a small piece of plastic in his bite of jell-o.   it was a tip of one of the piping bags i cut off that we were using earlier.  i have no idea how it got into the jell-o.

jonah was so excited.  he set is ‘treasure’ next to his bowl of jell-o and proceeded to take another bite. 

“maybe i will find another treasure, daddy!  i will let you know.’ 

it’s all in how you look at it.

i was tagged

my friend robin ‘tagged’ me a few weeks ago.  in true kim fashion, i am now ready to respond.  hey, better late than never, i always say.

 the directions:

share 5 random/and or weird facts about yourself, and then share 5 places on your ‘want to see or want to see again’ list, and finally tag 5 people.

random things about me: 

1)  i secretly (well, not so secretly anymore) would love to be a sportscaster for espn.  wouldn’t that be a cool job?  (is sportscaster even the right name for that job?)

2)  i like to  have one foot sticking out of the covers when i sleep. 

3)  i am not naturally good at keeping a clean house.  it is a discipline i am really trying to work on.  but, my towels in bathroom cabinets and in the kitchen drawers are ALWAYS really neat and organized.  i have no idea why…

4)  i was allowed to take spanish in 7th and 8th grade INSTEAD of reading class because i did well on some reading test in 6th grade.  then i failed the reading portion of the ‘taas’ test  in high school, so had to take a remedial reading class for 1 semester.   i don’t know spanish.  my masters degree is in language & literacy (basically READING and writing).   i don’t know why i think that story is so funny, but i do.

5)  i love having lots of sharpie markers at my disposal (thanks, j and gretch for feeding this strange addiction). 

5 places i must visit/revisit:   (in no specific order)

1)  tahiti with my kenny.  we want to stay in a bungalow-type place that is literally on the ocean.  it has a trap door type-thing that can be lifted up and you can feed the ocean life under you right from your room.

2)  africa.  i would love to take a family mission trip there one day when the kiddos get older.

3)  australia

4)  disney world with the kiddos and ken.  we have to stay in either the wilderness lodge or the animal kingdom lodge on disney property.   we have to eat hotdogs at casey’s corner in the magic kingdom.  we have to get some chocolate dipped marshmallows at the confectionary in the magic kingdom.  we also have to get a mickey mouse ice cream bar. 

5)   charleston, sc to see my sister

5 people that can now consider themselves tagged:

1) gretch (in all of your spare time)

2) jamey

3) darci  (oh, and could you start a blog, too please)

4)  j-dub

5)  bevin

best friends and babies

i have to tell you that i have a new favorite thing… well, person.  his name is hayden.  he is the super cute baby on the left (next to ian, the super cute baby on the right).  his momma is sharla, my greatest friend.  we became friends in junior high (despite my very large bangs and awkward, well… everything!).  she is the most even-keeled person i know.  she is calm and smart and wise. 

we endured crazy high school boy relationships together.  we played high school sports together. we went to church youth group together.  we worked on a golf course together.  we missed our senior prom together.  we cried over broken relationships together.  we have prayed for each other.  we were in each other’s weddings.   we attended the weddings of each of our siblings together.  she was literally right by my side in the arlington hospital when we found out mom had breast cancer.  we have attended/endured  each other’s college undergraduate, graduate, and medical school graduations. we have been on many, many vacations together.  she came when each of my babies were born.  she cried with me and hugged me and gave me cards and made me smile and helped me get ready and held my babies and reminded me of the Hope we have during the single most difficult time in my life thus far… mom’s death. 

she has answered many questions about my babies not breathing right, or not pooping, or grabbing their ears, or coughing funny.   she has listened to them with her stethoscope more times than i can count.  she always comes in a time of need, however big or small. 

she challenges me to live the life God has called us to live.  being with her is a comfort like no other.  she is the kind of person that knows all of my past… the kind of person you can just ‘be’ with and they love you for it. 

and now the Lord has blessed us both with new baby boys.  we are sure they will be great friends, too.  i can’t wait to see  what He has in store for ian and hayden.  whatever it is, i know we will have fun watching it unfold… together.

Jeans with heels

i mentioned in an earlier post that ken and i are really loving working with some college students from our church.  they are so great.  they challenge us, make us think, spur us to living a life we are called to live, and make us laugh.  it is a great time at the gassiot house each wednesday night! 

in addition to the above mentioned ‘awesomeness’ they are, the sweet college girls are also really really cute!  i mean, i just call it like i see it… we’ve got some hotties!  :)  they help keep me abreast of the latest fashion.  i have learned that wearing heels with jeans is the cool thing to do now.  so, in an effort to keep up with the trend, off i went to target to buy some black heels.  they are adorable and do really look kinda’ cute with jeans if i might say so.  i have found one issue though, being a stay-at-home mom with 3 kiddos ages 3 and under, not too many opportunities have presented themselves for me to wear my new found fashion!  i guess i need to call the girls and plan a girls’ night or call a sitter to have date night with kenny. 

i was thinking about this the other day and laughed when sweet sydney walked out of her room in the above ‘ensemble.’  she has on jeans with heels!!!  snow white heels to top it off!  she wasn’t going anyplace special, just hanging out at the house, probably reading a few books, playing ‘cooking’ in her kitchen, painting, and watching dora (just keeping it real, folks).  so,  i have been inspired.  one day this week i am putting on my cute jeans with heels just to hang out in at the house.

i’ll let you know how long i keep them on. 

Do we look alike?

 

 

all smiles in their jammies!

here is a recent picture of the kiddos. 

what do you think? 

do they look alike? 

which parent do they favor?