'You need new sweats..'

Last week, my husband kindly told me I should consider going shopping for some new 'comfy clothes'.  He told me I needed new sweat pants & shirts, and a few cute little matching jacket & pant outfits..He thought my daycare families were probably getting tired of seeing me in the same-old same-old every morning.  I just looked at him with a 'Are you kidding me look?!'..  he couldn't figure out why I was upset.  He thought I would be excited to go shopping for myself!  So anyway, I guess I'm on the hunt for new work clothes, although I am positive that any mom (or dad!) reading this knows perfectly well that sweat pants & t-shirts are the most comfy things ever to chase kids around in.. and get pooped on..peed on.. barfed on.. you name it! 

I really couldn't ask for better kids to take care of.  Not one of them is a handful (other than Brigham!) and 9 times out of 10, everyone plays well, eats well & naps well, so I really couldn't ask for more!

Here are a few pictures of the kids from the past few weeks.

This little guy's previous daycare provider told me he would be the easiest kid to watch.. she was right!  

 

 We did some painting last week!  I told the kids it was magical paper & that once they started to cover the paper with paint, their name would magically appear!  It worked!  :)

      Gracie gets so focused when she paints or colors!

 I didn't dare give this little guy a paint brush, so he got a snack instead!  Bennett just celebrated his 1st Birthday!

The older kids love to play games.  Memory, Trouble, Connect 4 and Candyland are some of their favorites!  I usually have to supervise closely or they start to blame each other for cheating!

 Makinli loves it when I read books.  She listens SO WELL and then likes to read it back to me.

Each week we try to do a letter craft for a capital & lowercase letter.  It takes quite a bit of prep work on my part, but the kids love it & it's adding some nice direction to the cement wall in the basement :)  I found the idea here for anyone that is interested. 

 

I've had a lot of people ask me if I am enjoying having a daycare.  It worked well taking a few kids here and there, but I was skeptical of taking on permanent part-time families.  It was something I had always thought of trying, but there was a part of me that wondered if it would drive me crazy. I'm a clean freak and having kids around messing up the house all day was a huge worry of mine! Silly I know, but I was more worried about the mess than the stress :)  I am very surprised at how well it has gone.  There are definitely days that I look at the clock, patiently waiting for it to be 5:30, and I love having a day or 2 off a week...but overall, it has gone much better than I ever expected!  The kids are awesome, and so are the parents, so I am very blessed!  It took me awhile to get into a groove that worked well, but I have found that it works best for me to clean the entire kitchen during rest time every day & that all the kids help with clean up around 4:30 or 5 so that when the last kids are picked up, you would never know there were kids playing here all day!  Speaking of cleaning the kitchen... I better get that done.  All the kids are sound asleep, or resting their eyes quietly!     

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

'Come Work For The Lord...'

On Monday morning, August 27th, Derek's last living grandparent was called to her heavenly home.  Glady's mother, Jennie Vis, was 96 years old.  She lived a great long life, and she left an incredible legacy to her 9 children, 33 grandchildren and 56 great-grandchildren.  The service celebrating her life was one I will never forget.  

The grandchildren & great-grandchildren stood in front of the church and sang In Christ Alone, while Boston and the other little ones sang Jesus Loves Me & God Is Good.  4 of her grandsons spoke at the funeral sharing memories of their grandma. It was incredibly touching.  I sat in the pew and cried thinking 'What an amazing woman!'  I never had the chance to visit with Jennie and get to know her on my own.  Her mind had started to slip several years ago, so many of the times that we saw her she didn't know who we were.  They spoke about how there Grandma was never wealthy, and that she never had many material things, but she was rich in the Lord.   One of them closed with saying he was so proud to be a part of the Vis family.  I am proud to have married into it.  After hearing stories of her life, how she set such a great Christian example & how deeply proud her family was to be a part of her life... I couldn't help but think 'I pray that when it's my time to go, my friends and family can say the same things about me'. 

Chelsea & Grace made the trip home from Zuni, New Mexico for the funeral. It was great to see them and spend time with them. On our way home from the funeral in Leota, MN on Thursday, we made a stop in Valley Springs.  Derek wanted to stop and see his dad's grave site.  Always an emotional stop.  We all left the cemetary in tears (Brigs was sleeping).  Poor B cried all the way back to Sioux Falls about missing his Papa. 

 

Yesterday, Sept. 2, was 3 years since Derek's dad had died.  The years have gone so fast, yet it still seems like yesterday.  It was so nice that Glady could have all of the kids together as a family this past week, as she mourns the loss of her mother, and we all remember Jerry & the incredible man he was.  Friday night we all got together at Glady's for supper.  We had ice cream cake in celebration of Grace's 1st Birthday at the end of the month!  Saturday morning Glady, Chels & Grace came over for coffee and then the boys and I went to Glady & Les' for lunch and playing! 

 

 Brigs learned how to say 'Mam-Ah' and Glady thinks that's pretty special!

Earlier this week he found a picture on our fridge of  Mam-ah.  He would point and say Mam-ah over and over again.  We lowered the picture for him, so now he carries it around the house.. even given her kisses! 

He even knows how to say 'Papa'. 

 

Derek has worked the. entire. holiday. weekend.  Even though the boys and I have loads of fun & keep plenty busy, I still struggle after 3 years in the car business, spending the long holiday weekends just me & the boys. 

 

I came down with a horrible cold on Thursday so the boys and I have watched several movies, done lots of snuggling on the couch and enjoyed several naps!  It's been wonderful and I am finally feeling better.  

 Last night after Derek got home from work, I took B to the movie Brave!  We had been wanting to see it for a long time so it was something we both looked forward to all day! 

 The boys find new ways to entertain themselves all the time!

'Look mom, no hands!'

 

I best wrap this up & tackle a few things on my to-do list.  I haven't been real productive these past few days but I have enjoyed every single minute of soaking up time with family, remembering loved ones & the blessing that my 3 boys are.  I will leave you with these last words..  Jennie Vis had hand written this quote on a piece of paper that was tucked away in the back of her Bible.  It has deeply touched my heart.

 

'Come work for the Lord.  The work is hard, the hours are long and the pay is low, but the retirement benefits are out of this world.'