Catching you up....

Boy has it been a busy last couple of days. Madi came down with the stomach flu on Thursday and Sunday the rest of us came down with it. Poor Terry got hit the worst with it as far as how long it held on. He's back at work today but still dragging! Sunday we were all piled out on the floor watching all kinds of movies.

In the midst of the icky, there was a very sweet moment with Madi though. Sunday morning when I was upstairs in the bed (trying not to puke) Madi came in the room and sat down beside me and said "Mommy I'm sorry you're so sick." Then she put her hand on my head and said "I am going to keep my hand here to make you feel better. You make me feel better so I'm gonna make you feel better." It was so sweet. She stayed with me for a while but finally got bored and went downstairs to play. Our kids are so great!!

Yesterday when we were all feeling better (except for Terry), I took the kids to go get their halloween costumes. They were so excited! Joey knew exactly what he wanted to be-a ninja with red dragons on the front. He looks like a real ninja! Madi, on the other hand, has gone between snow white, bat girl, super girl, and tinkerbell. After looking for a while she finally decided that she wanted to be Belle (of course none of the above mentioned choices, ha ha). She looks beautiful in her yellow dress and she loves it because it is so long. Emily did not care at all. She just wanted to play with the pumpkins (her new obsession). So we decided that she would be a cute cat since she loves cats and is great at meowing. It was lots of fun and the kids are very excited for Halloween in 31 days!!

Joey has his cougar run today at school where they run to raise money for the school. So at 12:30 the girls and I are going to go and cheer him on. He is very excited. He wore his new shirt today that I couldn't resist getting him. it is a Halloween shirt that says "Little Wild Man." I know, it's perfect.

Time to go clean up all the sick germs!!!

Happy Birthday Grandma Marilyn

Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday Dear Grandma, Happy Birthday to you!! So two days late, I know, we would like to wish Grandma Marilyn a very happy birthday. We hope you had a special day(: You and Pop Pop are in our thoughts in prayers!!!!

As I watch them grow...

I have really been in awe the last couple of days as i sit back and watch my sweet kids. they are all growing and changing so much that sometimes it is easy to miss something. Yesterday Emily had gone down to Joey's room and was playing with the teddy bears. She was talking to them saying the same words that I say to her when we are getting dressed and when i tuck her at night. I see the same thing when Madi is playing with her princesses. She plays out a conversation and uses the same words that i use with her. It is a huge reminder of how much our children look to us for guidance. They mimic what we do and say because of their sweet innocence that just naturally believes that what Mommy and Daddy do is Right. What an amazing responsibility and gift for us parents.

It is also a huge reminder that now is the time to "seize the day". What we do and say now will form our kids character and values forever. What they see will forever affect them whether for good or bad. Now is the precious time that God has given us to seek His wisdom for ourselves and pour that wisdom and unfailing love into our sweet childrens lives. I am so thankful that God chose me to be the Mommy to the three most beautiful and awesome kids. I pray that mine and Terry's choices today will show our children how amazing they are and how amazing God is. I pray that they will see that they can depend on God no matter what(:

Just some thoughts...

This morning in my quiet time I read Psalm 108. It is a great Psalm and 2 verses really spoke to my heart. Psalm 108:1,4 "My heart is confident in you, O God...For Your unfailing love is higher than the heavens. You faithfulness reaches to the clouds." This beautiful truth makes life seem so simple. Our Father is full of unfailing love and faithfulness for us!! Not because of what we do but because of Who He is! In a broken world where we can't have much confidence in anything, we can have full confidence in Our Lord. It just puts things into perspective for me and I am so grateful to our Heavenly Father. I just wanted to share what was on my heart this morning. I hope everyone has a great Monday(:

CRAZY but fun weekend(:

Well Terry had drill this weekend so the kids and I did our regular Friday night tradition of movie night. We had a fun dinner of tostitos with melted cheese, black beans, guacamole, salsa, and sour cream. They LOVE having chips for dinner. The movie started great but unfortunately I missed most of it. It all started when Madi clogged the toilet so badly that it overflowed and covered the whole floor in the half bath (she is her Daddy's daughter!) While I was on my hands and knees cleaning up that mess, Emily brought me a present of a nice ball of poop...ugh! So into the bath she went. Luckily Joey got to enjoy the movie and quickly let me know that I had missed the whole thing...HA! Needless to say, we all went to bed early that night(:

Saturday morning we got up and the kids decided that it was time to put up the Halloween decorations (they are a little excited about this holiday). So on September 13 the Sleister family has up all of its Halloween decorations. The kids are jazzed so its all good. I'll post pictures later of them in their masks. They have had so much fun putting on all of the different masks and running around growling at everyone or trying to convince me that there is an alien in the house. Even Emily has started joining in. It's pretty creepy when your adorable 2 year old puts on the mask from Scream and starts growling...

After the Halloween decorations we went on a fun adventure called "The Search for Gas." We found some and sadly we were excited to pay $3.95 a gallon. Joey also bought a globe for $.50 while we were on our adventure. It is so cool to see his excitement about learning. He loves to look on the globe and see where other countries are located in relation to us. He even paid for it with his own money from his piggy bank(:

Emily just started the most adorable thing. I have got to catch it on film. When we say the blessing at dinner time, she will murmur words while someone is saying the blessing and then say AMEN really loud. She is so stinkin' cute. It kindof makes up for her obsession with poop(:

Madi is like a little Momma. If somebody gets hurt or something, she'll say "that's why we don't play that way." It is so funny. She is so serious about it too. Oh the kiddos are getting so big and they change so much everyday. They truly are a gift from God and I am so blessed to be their Mommy. It definitely gets overwhelming...often, but I know that this is such a short season and it's important to enjoy each stage. On that note, I am going to sign off and get some sleep. You never know what tomorrow holds.....

The Wilderness

Psalm 106:13-14 "Yet how quickly they forgot what he had done! The wouldn't wait for His counsel! In the wilderness their desires ran wild, testing God's patience in that dry wasteland."

I read these verses this morning in my time alone with God. We all walk through the wilderness at one time or another in our lives...actually many times in our lives. Do we wait for His counsel or do we lose our patience and take matters into our hands and build an idol? I know that I am currently in the wilderness and I must say, God is so good. i am certainly praying that I wait for His counsel and do not take matters into my incapable hands. It is certainly a day to day task that I continually need His help in. I just thought I would share my thoughts today. Hope all is well with everyone(:

The weekend was great and Terry won the soldier of the year in this category. He will now compete in the higher level which competes against soldiers of units from all over Tennessee. He is honored but not so excited about it(: It's just one more thing on his plate, but it's all good(:

How the Sleister kids do things!!!

Today was a fun day, but boy am I pooped! Terry headed out for Nashville today around 12. We forgot to set the alarm this morning so I got up a few minutes after 7am...we usually leave to get Joey to school at 7:10. I was still pretty impressed with us though since we were showered and out of the door by 7:25. Unfortunately we were still 5 minutes late for school. Joey is my kids though so being late should be expected! HA!

I guess the most notable thing of today was the great idea I had to do a fun painting craft with the kids. I decided since Emily is so messy that we would do it outside so I could just spray them off and it wouldn't be as big of a mess as inside. It was a great idea in theory. It took Emily about 5 minutes to realize it was much cooler to paint herself than her picture. Of course, the big kids joined in the fun. So instead of just 3 painted pictures, I ended up with 3 painted pictures, 3 painted children, a painted table, and a spotted deck. It was memorable.

I have to say that lately I have really been realizing how fast this time with my babies is passing by. I am so grateful to be able to stay at home with them and enjoy these moments. What an amazing blessing children are. Our area younglife director used to always ask us, "Where have you seen Jesus today?" I have to say that my answer usually has something to do with my sweet kids. They truly are a gift and I want to treasure every moment with them...even the bad moments(: Those bad moments just remind me of how patient my Father is with me when I am "acting out".

"Let all that I am praise the Lord; with my whole heart, I will praise his holy name."

~Psalm 103:1