Who Knew??

Who knew David Crowder (from David Crowder Band) was funny??   Between his heavy southern accent, his dead pan delivery, the fluctuation between self deprecation and cockiness and what seems like a good supply of hillybilly/redneck stories, he is down right hilarious.

For those not familiar with David Crowder Band they are one of the best in contemporary christian music.  The Hubby and I had the privilege to see him perform last night. along with some other well known artists.  

If your church sings contemporary songs then  you probably sing like a dozen of David Crowder's songs on a regular basis-O Praise Him,  Everything Glorious, and How He Loves to name just a few.

Here is his immensely popular(and powerful) song How He Loves Us -http://youtu.be/GzfPHnoT0-0

So what does this renown artist look like who's been #1 on the billboard charts?  Just how you think-

Ok.  Maybe not. 

During the performance there was some technical difficulties so he filled the time by telling a story(this is how we found out how hilarious he is).  He said it was like we were all just sitting in the living room chatting.  But then he said that would never happen because if he ever showed up on our doorstep and we opened the door we would think, "Where did that hobo steal a guitar from??" LOL

David( I am going to pretend I'm on a first name basis with him) performed his song Open Skies and it was amazing since we were literally under open skies (outdoor concert).  The lyrics are, "Praise Him under open skies, Everything breathing praising God.  In the company, of all who love the king."  

Amidst hundreds and hundreds of people, maybe thousands( I really have no idea how many people), with the moon above and singing this song...wowza.

We also saw Sidewalk Prophets and Sanctus Real perform.  The Sidewalk Prophets singer also surprised us.  He is, well, bigger than I expected.  But this is what I love.  Last night we saw an overweight guy, a hobo(his words not mine!), and then a more GQ type guy who are all among the best in their profession.

It seems that Christian music has less stereo types than mainstream music.  I love how even though they were all very different on the outside, their hearts were all the same on the inside.  They were just loving Jesus and sharing that with others.

And let me tell you, the Sidewalk Prophets guy has some mad singing capabilities.  I mean seriously talented.  His high notes reminded me of Adam Lambert.  Weird comparison, I know.

All the kiddos stayed home with Nana and Papa so it was a nice little night out for me and the Hubby.  I did miss Little Miss though. Say that ten times fast( you just did didn't you?). I was busy yesterday and hadn't really held her much all day.  I got some snuggle time in before we all headed to be though.  So all is good now (=

I also realized as I was sitting at the concert why I am a bad blogger.  See, a good blogger would have been taking pictures to go along with their post about the performances.  So now guess if I brought my camera?

You're good.

So now tell me what fabulous things you did on your Friday night?

Blessings,
The Mama

Newborn Shoulder

Newborn Shoulder.

That is what I am coining the term from the pulled muscles you get from holding and taking care of your newborn.

It's a pinched feeling in the shoulder blade area that radiates all the way up to the neck.  I hold Little Miss with my left arm so it's my left side that is in a vice.

They should tell you in the pregnancy books to practice holding a sack of potatoes in the months leading up to delivery so moms can build up those muscles.

So my well planned day of cleaning has gone to pot.  I can't pick Little Miss up or put her down without grimacing in pain.  And of course Little Miss is really fussy today with tummy trouble (poo problems) so she is wanting held a lot.

I've had to switch to holding her in my right arm to avoid as much pain as possible.  So then I had to prepare a bottle with my left hand.  It did not go so well.

I am so glad I have my other kids to help out though.  They are such a blessing.  That is a big difference from when I last had a baby.  Bubba and Sissy were just 4 3/4 and 3 1/2 yrs old when Snuggle Bug joined our clan.

But on the positive side, we don't have to go anywhere today so I can just hand around the house.  Where as yesterday Snuggle Bug had an eye appt in the morning with his pediatric ophthalmology ( he has strabismus- an eye that wanders when he is tired or reads a lot) that I took everyone to except the Filipina. She went to speech and OT with her dad). Then me and the 4 kids had to stop by Walmart after the eye Dr. to get some stuff then at one more store before heading home.

In the evening we went to a homeschool group meeting( that we are super psyched about and I will talk more about tomorrow).  I held Lily for the entire 2 hour meeting and we actually got there 20 minutes early so tack on that time.  I believe that is what flared up my Newborn Shoulder.

I put a heating pad on my back/neck right away this morning but after a few hours it hadn't helped and I just ended up sweating like a... *insert name of something that sweats a lot* ( feel free to write in the comment area what word you interjected here).

So that's my day.  Hope yours is better!!!

Summer Fun at a Glance

So this year I came across an idea I liked on pinterest( what did we ever do before pinterest??).  It was a poster board for the family where you wrote down things that were going on in the summer.  So that way the kids could see what all they had to look forward to and what was coming up.

I took a step further and had the kids tell me things they wanted to do over the summer.  For myself, it never fails that fall arrives and I think,"Crap!  I really wanted to do 'such and such' this summer but in all the hustle and bustle I forgot about it."

So I thought this was a great idea to help with that problem.

Here is our super simple board-

I just used sticky notes, a permanent marker and a poster board I had lying around.  This could definitely get more fancy but I have little time for fancy anymore with 5 children.

Here are some things we stuck o our board:

Other things we have on our poster board-campout in back yard, campfires(put on hold due to no burn ban), family pool party and cookout, go to local baseball game( not to be confused with the above sticky note which just signifies the kids's baseball league*I always get confused when I should put an apostrophe s and when it should just be an apostrophe after an s*), some summer Bday parties, our vacation to Florida, Bubba's mission trip, family who came to visit us, a wedding, do 1 new dessert a week and 1 new craft a week(details later on in this post), summer reading program at library, go to the zoo, 4th of July fireworks, etc.

As we have done some of the activities, I have put them on the left side of the board so we can see what a fun summer we have already had.

I went on pinterest (again) and found a bunch of desserts I have been wanting to try and each week I pick one for me and the kids to make together.  

Then we have a 'Craft Jar'-

Along with all my dessert pins, I have a ton of craft pins I have been wanting to do.  So I wrote down all the crafts that we could do this summer that were on my boards and told the kids to choose 10 of them( one for each week left in the summer).  I then wrote them down on colorful construction paper and dropped in this cute jar.  Each week they take turns drawing one out.  There are crafts such as Q-tip bow and arrows, Mt Dew lanterns, tin can stilts, glow in the dark bowling, etc.

Now the trick to this is to draw on Monday and figure out what you need to get to complete said craft by the end of the week.  This is where I have fallen short.  We are now 2 crafts behind because I keep forgetting the supplies to actually complete the craft.  Oopsy.  Bad Mommy.

I also came across the idea of an Uh-Oh Jar-

  My boys fight like cats and dogs at time.  Not physically per se( though sometimes it does take a nasty turn) but arguing and bickering and so on.  So what we do now is if any of the kids are fighting, arguing, excessively tattling or whining( can't stand those two things), etc they draw out of the Uh-Oh Jar.

As the name suggests, this is not a good thing.  So what's in the Uh-Oh Jar you ask?  Chores!

And not the typical chores( dust, mop, etc), they are already expected to do those type of things( with out compensation).  These are more unpleasant, time consuming chores like weeding, washing out the garbage cans, cleaning out the fridge(yikes)-things of that nature.

I figure that if they have enough energy to fight and so forth they can put that negative energy to good use by doing some beneficial chores.

Is it bad that I am half wanting them to draw out of the Uh-Oh Jar??  I could finally get some of these groan inducing tasks done around here.  It would be poor parenting to set them up to fight or tattle right?  haha 

Yes, yes it would.   I know.

 Darn (;

I have already gotten the trash cans washed out.  And you would be surprised at how fast the threat of, "Do you want to draw from the Uh-Oh Jar?!" quiets the room.  I usually try to give one warning before they have to draw but sometimes if it's a particularly bad offense( as in they totally knew better) then it's a straight trip to the jar.  

So far this summer we have went strawberry picking( I will blog soon about this adventure ), to the drive in to see Madagascar 3(polka dot polka dot afro circus!), had family come visit, had Filipina Princess's(that darn apostrophe issue again) Bday party, and are in the middle of summer baseball season and we are obviously doing the 1 craft and 1 dessert a week thing too.  

What special things does your family do during the summer months?  Fee free to share in the comments section. (= 

For I am Wonderfully Made...

Every time I look at Little Miss I think of the same bible verse-

I will give thanks to you for I am fearfully and wonderfully made...-Psalms 139:14

I'll leave you with these shots of pure nibble your toes up cuteness.  Hope you have a blessed Sunday!

Well Hello There!

Hello!!  Welcome to my new blog!!   We were way overdue for a change as we transition into a new stage of our lives(survival).  My old blog was simply about our adoption of our 9 year old daughter but that was almost 2 years ago that our Filipina Princess came home.  Since then we have added another kiddo to the mix( 4 weeks old yesterday!), Little Miss.  That brings our grand total of little ones(ok some aren't so little anymore) in our house to 5.  We are so out numbered.

You will notice the name of this new blog is My Cup Runneth Over.  I debated on what to call this blog.  I wanted something that really encompassed how I felt about my family and life.  I invited my facebook friends to weigh in on what the new name should be.  There were some interesting ones(and just plain bad ones- you know who you are), but most concentrating on our last name.  I wanted more than just a cute play on words.

My Cup Runneth Over comes from Psalms 23:5-You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.  That is the New International Version.  The older text reads like this-Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: Thou hast anointed my head with oil; My cup runneth over.  Some of you may simply know it from the movie "Hope Floats".


That is how I am feeling these days-that my cup is overflowing with blessings in the form of my (ever growing) family.


Yes I still have bad days (and there are plenty of times I need desperately for my children to go outside and play to get out of my hair) but over all life is good and I have realized more than ever that children are a true blessing from God.  And so is a husband who will do the dishes! Can I get an amen ladies??

Ok, so on to life at the moment...  Little Miss was born a month ago @ 37 weeks 4 days ( C-section because of low amniotic levels).  She was 7lbs 2 oz  at birth and now is 8lbs 7oz..  She is a wonderful baby(praise God!).  

Our Filipina Princess is doing AMAZING with Little Miss and all the changes.  We thought sure there would be huge jealousy issues and regression, but nope.  Shows you how much we know(nada) and how much God knows(opposite of nada).  Filipina Princess has actually been MORE loving to all of us since Little Miss came along.  

And it has opened my heart up more to Filipina Princess.  I think I realize how much she missed( in the love category) as a baby and toddler.  It makes me terribly sad. )=

Filipina Princess just celebrated her 9th Bday!  It was her 2nd one with us.  Here are some pics from it-

New chair(from Grandma), sunglasses, light up wand and necklaces(from Sisssy), flip flops(from Southern Cousin), baseball medal(from Snuggle Bug)

She had just been in the pool, hence the wet hair.

We started ball for Bubba and Snuggle Bug.  Sissy also got roped into ball, but is actually enjoying it.  With the Hubby coaching, it has been hectic as usual.  But Bubba has been doing great as the starting pitcher and I can't believe what a difference a year has made for Snuggle Bug( wow he would really hate that name lol).  He is much more into the game and is hitting the ball a lot more.  He was super proud that he was made to stand in the back row for pictures this season( which means he is one of the tallest).  (=

Ok that's it for now.  I have a couple posts lined up for some other shenanigans we have been up to lately.  I will work on tweaking the blog too and add some other tabs and info and some pics of the fam.

Blessings!

The Mama