Happy Memorial Day!
Take a moment to remember today……It’s not just about the BBQ.
I am taking a few days off to get caught up on a few things, and be Mommy to all 4 kids who are HOME for the first official full week of SUMMER! 🙂
See you Friday for Weekend Potluck as usual….
Hugs, T
The lines under her eyes tell a story…….
They speak of Weariness.
Loss. 
Strength.
A great War, Waged and Won.
The strength of his stance speaks of great Courage, 
The shine in his eyes a testament of Hope.
A man who has faced his demons head on,
A man who has Victory.
These Pictures weave a story of a Love,
Shattered & Lost, 
Found & Reclaimed,
Reborn & Renewed. 
These pictures may not shout of the tragedy, tears, broken hearts, or broken dreams……
Instead, they whisper…..
that in the rubble of a broken marriage,
In the mess and sorrow of it all,
Hope was born.
Just a glimmer at first.
Too fragile to even move towards touching it, lest it be snuffed out……
But it grew.
It grew stronger and brighter until it was grasped with two hands,
Two hearts crying out for healing.
Crying out for Wholeness.
Reaching for a Love, Deeper than ever before.
Brokeness made into Strength.
Tears turned into Courage.
Hope springing into Laughter
and Love,
The kind that goes down deep with its roots. 
For it has weathered a ferocious storm,
And strong it stands, 
On Promises anew.
2 circles unbroken.
Promises of forever.
Whispers under the covers,
Water fights in the kitchen,
A hug at the end of a long day.
Freedom.
Fidelity.
And Hope.
Always Hope.
Even in the midst of utter Despair.
In the angry moments of WHY?
In the sad moments of quiet acceptance of a “Truth” I don’t want,
In the heart swelling moments of a Love
So deep…..
So great, that it brings tears to your eyes.
In the moments I forget to Forgive,
In the moments I don’t.
Hope is there, 
Underneath it all.
Hope in Jesus.
In a new Creation….
In Brokeness made Whole.
For behold, He makes all things NEW.
Happy 11th Anniversary {tomorrow} to the LOVE of my life……
I know we are weary.
I know the road to total healing is a long one.
I know we are still working out the kinks of this new life of ours.
But, never, ever forget, that…..
I. Choose. Us. 
Now,
Always,
I give you all of me….
From now until forever.
Because Love Wins.
Do you hear that?
~T
Story starts here: http://www.4littlefergusons.wordpress.com/surviving-infidelity/
Photos by the talented Melissa. Check out her blog, Voice, for more of her amazing work!!!!
We have a new Kids Game at our house that we LOOOOVE to play! Aunt Kasey taught it to the kids and we’ve been playing it ever since. It’s fun to watch Ty and Avery, 6 and 4, playing it and having fun during quiet time! This game is great to teach them counting, as the cards are placed in numerical order each round!!!!
Avery and I were both not feeling well one weekend, so we played while we rested, and she totally kicked my booty! It reminded me I wanted to teach it to you!
I am going to try my best to explain it with some help from this site……
2 players use 1 deck of playing cards
3 players or more use 2 decks of playing cards
Leave all cards in deck:
A-10 are in play
Kings and Jokers are Wild Cards
1) Dealing:
Shuffle, then deal each player 10 cards face down, no looking!
Like this:
The remaining deck is placed in the middle.
The point of the game is to line up your cards from Ace through 10 before you opponents do.
2) Playing:
The first player draws a card from the center deck. If it’s an Ace through a 10, place that card in its correct location. For all remaining turns, each player chooses from the deck or the discard pile.
Example: In this photo, I drew a 2, so I am flipping up the card in the 2 position…..
Whatever card you flip, may also be played! I just flipped a 3 that I can use as well in the 3 position… 
Wild Cards, King & Joker, may be played anywhere in your hand at any time.
You keep flipping cards like this until you get a number you cannot use, then discard and your turn is over.
Example: Under the 3 position was an 8 I didn’t need because it was already filled with a flipped 8, so I discarded it and my turn was over.
Avery could choose to grab the 8 from the discard pile, OR draw a fresh card from the stack.
If you draw a card that can replace one of your Wild Cards, do so and use the Wild Card again in another spot!
Example: Here I drew a 5 from the draw pile It can replace my Wild Card King, and he will go down on 8’s position. Because of this, I will have finished this round successfully.
3) Winning A Round:
When a player has assembled all cards Ace through 10 in front of him, he wins that Round.
Remember, you can win with Wild Cards in place too! Like this:
Remember, Wilds are Joker and King!
After the Round winner flips his last card, each player has ONE last chance to draw a card and use it. They may also flip over all remaining cards, per the chance that they actually can use those cards and finish their Ace-10, Wild cards and all.
{Sometimes it really does happen!}
4) Round 2 & Winning the Whole Game:
The deck is reshuffled and dealt again, only now, ALL of the previous round winners who completed Ace through 10, only get NINE cards. They will spend the next round assembling Ace through Nine.
If you didn’t win the round, you once again have to try to do Ace through 10 until you complete it.
This continues Ace-8, Ace-7, Ace-6 on and on, until one player gets down to one card in front of him and draws an Ace. That player wins the entire game!
Have fun, it’s such a great game to play with your kids! And such a nice change from Candyland or Shoots & Ladders….
Just sayin! 🙂
~T
GUESS WHAT!? I forgot to tell you something exciting in the last post. {yes, there is 2 today}
Tomorrow is Destiny’s LAST DAY OF SCHOOL! YAY! 
I am so ready to have all my little people home with me all day long!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I know, I know, not everyone agrees that having kids home from school is worthy of that many excitement marks, and that’s ok. You just happen to be on my blog today, so you just get to hear my opinions right now!
I love summer break, and I so look forward to playing outside until dark, going places all as a family and making really great memories while we are at it.
On to the food….
This recipe use a simple Brownie mix and comes together pretty quickly considering you are dealing with little individual bite sized desserts! I needed to make some cookies for the Kids School Play last month, What’s Up Zak? {the story of Zacchaeus} and this was something I easily had all the ingredients for in my pantry.
Think little bites of chocolate peanut buttery goodness….
And bonus, they look like you went to a lot more work than you did! 🙂
{click title for easy printable}
Prepare brownie mix as instructed on box. Spray mini muffin pans well, and drop 1/2-1 tsp. in each muffin tin. Bake at 350* for 13-15 minutes. When Brownies are out of the oven, press an indention in each muffin tin with a tart shaper, or the back of a spoon.
Place peanut butter in a small microwave safe bowl and heat for about 30 seconds. Spoon 1/2 tsp. of warm peanut butter in each indention. Allow to cool a bit, then sprinkle each cup with both chocolate and peanut butter chips.
Cool then remove from pan, by running a thin, sharp knife around each cup and carefully removing.
Enjoy!
~T
Tylan is done with Kindergarten! He graduated last night.
They sang cute songs and recited their Bible Verses.
Destiny was so proud to get to run the video camera tonight. Paxton thought it would only be fair if he would get a turn too. 
I love how it slid down his wrist, but he just kept at it! 
Ty’s teachers handed out the neatest awards, each child had an award that matched a Candy: Life Saver, Whopper, Smarties etc. Tylan recieved the Mr. Goodbar award, for being a good friend to his classmates.
They had a video interviewing each Kindergartener about their favorite part of the year. Tylan’s favorite was Recess, and Bible Stories, Samson in particular. Why? Because he is STRONG! What happened to Samson? He knocked down the building where they worshiped other gods.
See that right hand picture below, we call that “The Ty Face” not sure why he does it, but there is was in all it’s glory on the big screen mid interview!
Can’t believe my big boy is already done with half day Kindergarten. Thinking about him being gone all day in First Grade makes me want to cry!!!!!!!
Head to post 2 today for some yummy Peanut Butter Brownie Bites! ~T
May is just the craziest time of year, isn’t it?!
Seems like a very popular month for Baby Showers, Bridal Showers, Family photo shoots, and lets not forget all the end of the year school stuff and Graduations! Not only did we go to multiple graduation parties this weekend, but we hit a darling Woodland themed Baby Shower as well.
These girls went ALL out! I, of course, came straight from church/lunch without my camera, but here are a few shots with someone elses……
Check out the cream cheese almond hedge hog, and those red things are mushrooms. Well, they are mozzarella cheese sticks with half a tomato on top. The dots are ranch dip! SOOO Cute and soo yummy!
They had a Onesie Decorating Table! Everyone had so much fun making flowers and trees, tractors and hearts out of iron on fabric that someone was going to iron for us later. There were some fabric markers available, too. I don’t have photos of my kids creations, but they did a great job! Ty did a grass, tree and sunshine scene, Destiny did a woodland theme with a mushrooms, 2 owls and a hedge hog. Hers had a big heart on the back, right where Emerson’s little buns will go. Cute! Avery did a big yellow cloth sun that said you are my sunshine around its perimeter, with Love Avery on the sleeve. Paxton just ran around! 😉
Check out my “4 little Fergusons love Em” onesie. Baby’s name is Emerson, Emmy for short, but Em is going to have to count on this onesie. I couldn’t fit more letters on! haha
Front view and Back view 
The Mommy and Daddy to be! 
Also this weekend…..
Avery, graduated from Christ Care Preschool. Big girl! 
Last preschool stage event, Avery had a lot of anxiety and cried the whole time. She was sooo brave this time! Smiling and doing ALL the actions! 🙂
Sweet friends
Ty graduates from Kindergarten tonight. WHAT!? How is that even possible?
Such a sweet baby….
It makes me want to cry to think of him at school all day next year.
All this stress is making me lose my hair……
Ok, not really. I made me lose my hair, like 8 inches of it! I have had looong hair for a lot of my life, like back in High School Days and my early marriage years.
This is when Destiny was 3 and I was in my early 20’s, long curly hair, almost to my waist.
But the more kids I had, the shorter it got…..
I cut off a foot and a half of hair when Ty was born, and kept it a bob for Avery, who came 17 months later:
I grew it out again until Paxton. Hello, 10 pound Baby in AUGUST! Goodbye, hair!
I always like long hair best, and promptly grew it out again. I found a shoulder length style I LOOOOVED, and have been trying to get my hair to do this look again for 2 years:
Not happening.
It’s like my curls changed shape?! Crazy. So, I just wore a ponytail or braid, EVERY SINGLE DAY. Blow drying and flat ironing it takes 35 minutes. Yeah, not in the Mommyhood Morning schedule!
So rather than kick the dead horse any longer, I decided to call it what it is and whack it off. With some major thanks to my BFF for her moral support, and my amazing hair dresser, who always works her magic on this massive mane of mine!
Ack! Here it is, new hair!
I am still getting used to it, but I love it. I feel like I’ve lost 10 pounds! I have never had it this short in the back, and it feels GREAT!
I keep reaching up to fix a ponytail that is no longer there. Any bets on how long this will last until I grow it back out? I am giving it 8 months based on my previously mentioned hair cut history. We have a strict 4 and no more child policy at this house, so it sure won’t need to be kept short due to pregnancy anymore! haha
Hope you had a great weekend! I have some fun and delicious posts planned for you all this week. 🙂
~T
We try to pepper our conversations around here with talk of the Lord, choosing today who you will serve {Ty says, you have to pick if you are on God’s Team or satan’s team} and the promise of an eternity in Heaven. As a result, all of our children have had a very clear concept of Heaven and Hell from toddler years on. Some people believe that this is too early for them to grasp Salvation and all it means, and while I agree that yes, some concepts are larger than their capability, I will never ever walk away from the chance to pray the Salvation prayer with a child who comes to me with NO prompting, and begins to ask about it. The matters of the heart are the Lords, not mine, to judge.
We have been talking a lot more about death and life, Heaven and Hell lately, since my Grandpa passed away. It was no surprise then, that on my way to preschool from the backseat, Paxton was talking about Jesus and Grandpa up in Heaven.
“Jesus up in Heaben…..”
Yes, buddy He sure is.
“Jesus in my Heart?”
No, not yet, but someday you will ask Him in your heart.
“Jesus in the kids’ hearts? And Mommy & Daddy’s hearts?”
Yes, your brother and sisters have asked Jesus in their hearts. And Mommy & Daddy too…
“I asked Jesus in my heart….”
No, not yet, someday when you are big.
“Paxton ask Jesus in his heart?!”
Yup, someday you will ask Jesus in your heart.
After a few more minutes of talking, I realized he wasn’t going to drop it.
Paxton, do you want to ask Jesus in your heart?
“Yeah, I DO!!!!”
Ok, then repeat after me:
Dear Jesus,
Dear Jesus….
Please come into my heart to live, please forgive me for my sins and be my Savior. Amen.
He repeated after me beautifully, and with pounding heart and teary eyes, I caught his glance in the rear view mirror and told him how PROUD I was of him! That he was a CHRISTIAN now! And that Jesus and the angels were having a Born Again Birthday Party in Heaven. That God wrote his name in the Book of Life, and that meant one day, he would get to go live with Jesus.
We get to preschool to pick up Avery and he runs right up to her teacher Miss Melissa and tells her his big news…..
“Miss Lissa! Jesus in mine heart!!!!!”
Miss Melissa and Avery were so excited for him! We couldn’t wait to come home and call Daddy and tell him the good news.
Later that afternoon, Paxton woke up from naps and raced out to remind us all again that he had Jesus in his heart! He was so proud to tell Destiny when she got home from school, too.
Here is a video of him telling us about it again over dinner…….
Please excuse the food in his mouth. Mommy has bad timing! 🙂
To commemorate this great event, we write the children’s Born Again Birthdays on the calendar, so we can honor and celebrate them again and again. Sometimes we do a Born Again Birthday Cake for them all to share in the smack middle of all their special days {cause that’s a lot of sugar!}, other times if we are having a special dessert anyways, then we will do individual celebrations, complete with candle. You can decide those family traditions as you go, we just want them to remember and honor that special LIFE changing day forever.
Helping to lead your child to Christ is such a big moment, excited but kind of daunting too. Is there a right or wrong way to do it? What if we mess up, does it count? All normal questions, with simple answers:
Try the ABC’s…. {From our Bible School curriculum 2 years ago}
A Admit we are sinners.
B Believe God sent Jesus to die on the cross for our sins.
C Claim Jesus as Lord of your life. This means you act different from the world, and show God’s love to those around you in all you say and do.
After our children have accepted Jesus in their hearts, we tell them that the Lord has washed their hearts clean from the ugly “weeds” of sins. (this gives a good reference point later, when our children tell a lie, that a weed grew in their heart when they told that lie.) The only way to get that weed out, is to say sorry for their sin to their Heavenly Father, and He’ll clean it out and make it beautiful again.
The second thing we talk about, is that God has opened His BIG book, called the “Book of Life” and has written their name in it! That means someday, when Jesus comes back for us, or when they die, they are welcome into Heaven. WOW, how exciting!
Then we tell them that the Angels are dancing and having a Praise Party up in Heaven.
Why?
Well, they are celebrating a Born Again Birthday! Because today you were Born Again, fresh and clean without sin. Not in your Mommy’s tummy, but in your HEART, a new life in Christ this time!
Once our children become Christians, they are also allowed to partake in Communion at Church. After so many years of being passed by, this is a big deal at our house! We make sure they understand, it’s NOT snack time, it represents the body and blood of Jesus, and the life He gave so they could have eternal life.
I am one proud Momma of 4 little born again believers, who put their trust in a really BIG God, that they now all serve as their Lord and Savior.
Praise His name!
~T
I didn’t have a blog back in the year of Destiny’s salvation story, but you can click on the other children’s names to read their Born Again Birthday stories…..
Destiny, almost 3: June 30th, 2006
Tylan, age 3: October 20, 2010
Avery, age 2: November 11, 2010
Paxton, age 2 1/2: May 15th, 2013
I got this recipe from my Aunt Judy in Phoenix. She made it for us after a long day of Bargain shopping WAY back when I was pregnant with Destiny. I just found the scrap of paper I wrote it on in an old cookbook of mine.
These Pizzawiches come together easily and with a broil time of only 2 minutes, you’ll be having supper in no time FLAT!
{click title to print}
Cook beef and onions with salt, pepper, oregano and garlic powder, drain. Stir in tomato soup and add Basil, Rosemary and Italian seasonings. Heat and stir.
Slice English Muffins in half. Divide meat mixture evenly between 18 halves and top each with cheese.
Broil for 2 minutes until cheese is nice and melty.
Serve warm with a nice tossed salad on the side.
Enjoy!
~T
My Grandpa’s funeral was last Saturday, May 4th, it already seems like a lifetime ago. I decided this weekend, that I was ready to go through photos and share them.
I haven’t been to many funerals in my life. I thought the viewing would be hushed and quiet, and that my kids may not be welcomed there for long. It was amazing to me how LOUD and joyous it actually was! Even the funeral director came up to me and said how they loved families like ours, that had hope and peace and even JOY in the midst of sorrow. He said he could tell we all really loved and enjoyed each other. From a man who deals in death? That is a real compliment!
I only have pictures from the afternoon, when I went to set up the Memorial Table for Grandpa. I wanted it to represent him down to the tiniest details, so we did everything from his Bible and magnifying glass, to the combs and hair clips he used to control his wavy hair….
Of course we included his rocks and beautiful creations from them, his cologne truck & hammer that have been on his dresser all my 32 years, and his Lemonhead candies. The clock was set to the exact time he left this world for Paradise.
We had pictures of our Scooter Parade, which was displayed with his red suspenders, and we couldn’t forget his famous Golf Club-Turned-Walking Stick…..
Dale brought the kids right after school pick up. I wanted them to have a few private moments to see their Great Grandpa for the last time. They were a teeny bit anxious to come in, wondering what they would see.
They all lined up in front of the casket….
After a few moments of quiet, Paxton says:
Gwandpa in HEABEN wiff JESUS??????????? {Grandpa in Heaven with Jesus?}
He RAAAAN up to me to tell me again, Louder this time, where his beloved Grandpa was:
Gwanpa Up der, in Heaben!
You can’t tell me children cannot understand death, because I watched it happen in the most peaceful, beautiful way last week.
Bright and early the next morning, was the burial. It was SO freezing cold, like 32*! Not Spring-like weather at all, we bundled up as best we could. I was honored to be a pallbearer, along with 7 of the 8 cousins.
See that photo of Paxton? Top right of the above collage. That is “Grandpa” Glen, he is the husband of our beloved “Gramma” Esther, who went to be with Jesus just 8 hours after my Grandpa. It was wonderful to have him here to pay tribute to Grandpa in spite of his own grief and loss.
Inspite of the cold wind whipping around in the tent, it was a beautiful little mini service out there at the grave site.
I loved when the Pastor laid his hand on the casket and said something about how,
That is so comforting! Our lives are carefully planned out, every moment from first breath to last. 
The children were very curious about how the box with Grandpa’s body in it would go down into the ground, so sweet Grandma agreed to do it right then. The emotions of that moment played out beautifully on her face….
Then it was time to head across town to have the Memorial Service.
So many Godly men stood and spoke of the life of my Grandpa and the impact he left on them!
The Grandkids had a chance to share…..there was much laughter, and many tears shed from that pulpit.
I said:
My brave kiddos came up on stage, proud to tell everyone about this special man in their lives:
Isn’t that the beauty of our faith and Salvation in Christ? The knowledge that we WILL see our loved ones again, in a beautiful, perfect and joyous place!
I know this is long, please remember this blog is the story of my children’s lives, one I want them to be able to reference and read and remember one day. Before I go, I have one more thing I want to share on here. I worked many, many nights on this video slide show. I stopped counting hours at 16, but the important thing is, it came from my heart. It was how I dealt with my grief and the many, many tears I shed while making it and editing it. This was my way of showing my love and respect to my Grandpa, and I’d be honored to have you watch.
Blessings to you today,
~T
I hope you all had a WONDERFUL weekend and Mother’s Day! I spent my first Mothers Day ever, at home with my family. Dale usually works at his mom’s restaurant on Mother’s Day, helping her with her Mother’s Day Buffet, as his gift to her. I head home after church with our kids and the cousins, and have them nap and or play until about 2. Then, we go up to eat the leftovers with the family. It is a great tradition, and something we have just always done. But this year, Dale asked off. He decided this Mother’s Day, he wanted to be home together. It was amazing and I felt very pampered and special!
So, the day started with sleeping in. I didn’t even know I knew HOW to sleep in anymore! I photographed a wedding reception Saturday night and got home late, so it was almost 9:00 before I woke up. NINE! Do you know how late that is around here? Church started at 9:15, so there was noooo way we were going to make it.
They brought me breakfast in bed, as they have in years past. I am making it way easier on them, because this is my breakfast now: a nutrition drink! Mmmm. 
Then I opened presents; a card from Destiny, a key chain from Ty {not pictured} and a sun catcher from Avery. Oh, and Tulips from Dale! They are in a giant Ball Jar and just gorgeous! {use your imagination, it’s too dark to go take a picture now}
We just hung out and had a leisurely morning together. Dale spent an hour and a half in the kitchen making lunch. LOOK at it, oh my goodness, he did amazing….
Steak, Rosemary New Potatoes, with sautéed Asparagus & Morel Mushrooms. For dessert he and the boys made a PIE! Mmmmmmmm!
{Psst, I will be blogging the pie this summer! It is delicious!}
Nap time was spent editing photos and making Destiny some ribbon flip-flops, and then we headed to the Zoo. So fun!
New Dino Dig exhibit, super cool!
Oh NO, a T-Rex is eating my children!
Do you see the spider web in the next collage? I have a picture on this exact Spider Web {middle left} with my cousins when I was a kid! I told the kids to “Be a spider,” and they did the SAME hand actions I was doing in my old picture too. Crazy cool!
Too bad I can’t find it, or I’d share it with you. 🙂
Destiny and Pax were NOT feelin’ the tarantula exhibit.
My little Prairie Dogs….
Check out this amazing tree! The blooms grow right out of the trunk and branches. Our Creator is SO creative!!!!!
After the zoo, we headed to THE fountain. I say THE, because this is where Dale and I came after our first “group date” to the movies as friends. We sat on a bench in front of this very fountain and he put his arm around me. I leaned forward, out of his reach, and said, “Do you put your arm around ALL your friends?” Haha, sassy girl!
Needless to say, I feel in love that summer, and the rest is HIStory.
Papa John’s had a BOGO pizza deal, so we grabbed a couple Larges and headed to the park for a picnic. I had already packed waters and carrot sticks because I was hoping this would be our supper plans.
Check out that Mom on her husband’s Smart Phone in the center picture above. WHAT is she thinking? Shouldn’t she watch her childrens EVERY MOVE at the park!? {haha!}
Dale and I were cracking up when he took that photo. I really was messaging a family member, but then quickly put it away to run and play with the kids. See? It’s all about finding a balance. RIGHT!? 🙂 I even had on the same hat as in the Dear Mom On the iPhone post, too! Oh the irony.
Last, but not least, the older kids had FIVE free Ice Cream certificates from Braum’s that expired in June, so who were we to let such a good deal go to waste? Ice cream treats for everyone!
The kids were beginning to think this Mom’s Day stuff was pretty good for kids too!
Being a Mom is messy, its hard, and sometimes I want to pull my hair out. But most days, I walk around my home with a song in my heart, because THIS is what I have dreamed of my whole life……. 
The good days are great, the bad days are exhausting, and the rest just fades away in the sticky fingered glory of it all…….
Hope you had a Happy Momma’s Day!
~T
4 little Fergusons 