for you, kristin

we are headed north today to visit dustin's folks.  so far, so good as far as the traveling goes.  molly was a bit dramatic as we left jack today (our friends wes & melanie are house/dog sitting for us), and adie has done ok.  she's still not the best traveler.  they had lots of fun at a huge mcdonald's playplace though, and now we're on the homestretch.  

christmas was a blast this year.  molly really enjoyed it....adie still didn't really get it yet.  i enjoy giving gifts to my kids, as i would assume any parent does.  it's especially gratifying when they are appreciative of what they've been given.  molly was so sweet after opening presents....  i was cleaning up and she came to me and gave me a great big hug and said, "mommy, thank you so much for all my presents."  and then she tried to give me one of her dollars from her allowance jar.  and said, "i just want to give you this b/c you got me so much stuff."  (we really didn't even get her THAT much!)  how sweet.  she really IS such a sweet little thing.  so tender-hearted.  i love that about her.  

i love giving gifts at christmastime.....we give out of love and appreciation of receiving the greatest gift of all in Jesus.  our Savior, our Redeemer.  a sweet baby King.  God in the flesh.  our Hero.  the One who makes it possible to have a relationship with God.  i love christmastime b/c i love celebrating the awe and mystery of God coming down to be with us.  how incredible is that?  the Creator and Sustainer of the universe wanted to make a way for us to know Him personally.  for ME to know Him personally.  when i think of that, i think of how often i have disappointed Him.....how often He has waited for me to talk to Him in prayer, or know Him more through Scripture, or make the most of opportunities He has given me to share His love with someone.....and i fail Him.  but i know His grace is enough for me....but i also don't want to take His precious grace for granted.  i want to grow and change and become ever-more like Christ......when will my desire overcome my weak flesh?  when?  it seems to be this way all the time.  i want it to change....Jesus change me.  i pray that we can all remember the awe and mystery of the christmas season throughout the year.  merry christmas to you all!

8 magnets

i am in the middle of a battle with adie.  all about 8 magnets.  8 magnets.  earlier today adie decided to take the letter magnets off the fridge and put them on the floor....and i told her then that it was fine, but that she would be putting them back on the fridge when she was done.  to which she said (after a reminding), "yes, ma'am".  we are now 30 minutes into the battle.....and i will win.  i keep sitting her in time out for one minute and then going to her after the minute is up and asking her if she wants to sit in time out some more, or put the magnets back on the fridge which, for some reason, she is not choosing, so she's in time-out again.....here we go....

YES!!!  the battle has been won!!!  after approximately 38 minutes of battle, mom has won!  woo-hoo!!!  magnets are back to their proper place on the fridge, adie is happily eating a sucker and has forgotten the 38 minute battle, and mom is feeling accomplished and proud of herself for not giving in.  yay me.   

quote of the day....(drumroll please)...

this morning may have been the longest morning ever.  for some reason, everything took about three times longer than normal.  add to that having to get a shower and letting molly play in the teensy-weensiest amount of snow you've ever seen....and...well, i guess that's probably why it was the longest morning ever.  well, molly came in from the "snow" (seriously, just a light...if you can even call it that....dusting) and she was crying and all dramatic b/c her hands were freezing cold.....(i know i don't sound sensitive in the least....but i was frustrated b/c it was the longest morning ever and i couldn't get ready, and molly wanted hot chocolate!)....and somehow, in the midst of tears, she says....

"mama, i loved buckeye as much as i love Jesus!"

long, silent pause.....

what in the world?  buckeye was a stray dog that showed up at our house, that we ended up feeding and letting sleep outside for about 3-4 weeks.  (molly played with him some, but really not all that much)  we took him to the vet to get his shots and we were going to keep him but he had adult heart worms that would take about $500 to fix.  so we had to take him to a shelter....we just weren't (and couldn't) gonna spend that much money on a stray.  he was a sweet dog, but we just couldn't keep him.  

molly cries about buckeye once every few weeks, which seems crazy to me.  i guess i'm not as much of an animal lover as she is, but sheesh.  come on!  even my mom (who cried as a child because she squished a cricket) thinks it's a bit nuts.  i mean....it's great and all that she has such a sweet, tender heart....but seriously, she's gonna have issues if she can't move on from this and remember buckeye fondly, but be happy she has a new dog (that she LOVES probably more than Jesus at this point!), and GET OVER IT!!!  good grief.  

........so i say, "i know you loved buckeye, babe.  do you want me to get you some hot tea?"  

i don't know what to do about it....so i just acknowledge her and try to change the subject.  sigh.  high-maintenance people wear me out....and i'm bound and determined that the blackburn girls will NOT be high-maintenance! it was a good quote though....  

miracle?

adelyn joy has been listening and obeying quite well the last two days.  it has been so nice.  if she doesn't listen the first time, then i ask her if she needs to sit in time-out (or if she needs a spanking) and she'll say, "no" and then come to me or do whatever it was i asked her to do.  and the other day, just randomly, she came to me and said, "mommy....listen and obey" letting me know that she had been doing a good job.  so i praised her and loved on her and told her she was doing a good job.  

even though she wears me out at times, her name fits her so well....she is a true joy.  she is so funny and makes these faces that just crack us up.  i'm quite blessed to have such wonderful, beautiful girls.  thank you, Jesus.

quick update on us

so it's been awhile since i've posted, so i thought i'd give a quick update on us:

molly is still completely in to spiderman, batman, ben ten alien force and any other boy-like tv show.  she regularly pretends to be ben or peter parker....which means, by default, i must be grandpa, mom or mj (that's mary-jane for those of you who don't know who peter parker loves).  she generally talks constantly, especially when we are in the car.  she is doing very well in pre-school.  she had her program a week or so ago and was a super-star.  no tears or drama, which was great.  she did a good job and she's a very good singer.  and lately she says that she plans to be a singer so she could have songs that play on the radio.  and sometimes she makes up songs and they, without question, always make me smile......she ALWAYS sings about God and how He loves us, and never quits loving us...and how Jesus died to save us.  so simple, but brings tears to my eyes.  i love that she sings that - and i love that it's completely true.  i love her.

adie.....is a complete terror.  she likes being in trouble and she thinks it's funny when i'm stern with her.  i'm not sure what i'll do with her.  she may possibly live in time-out or have a forever red bottom from being spanked all day long.  she normally wears me out most days.  she is very cute though, and i'm quite certain this girl will never ever have self-image issues. she likes scaring jack (our dog, for those of you who may not know....like anyone reads this!) and gets in trouble for that at least 3 times a day.  she'll find the broom or a push-toy and run at him with it and then laugh hysterically.  again, i'm not sure what i'm going to do with her.  i haven't figured out what discipline tactic works best....any suggestions would for sure be welcomed.  she is very funny as well.....she just now said, "shake your booty" for no real reason at all.  a funny story that may be too much information:  i got out of the shower the other day and was walking to get my undies on and she says, "mommy booty shakin".  great. like i need her to tell me my booty shakes when i walk.  grrrrr.  and now anytime i am changing clothes and she catches me, she likes to remind me...."mommy booty shakin".  yay.

dustin......is the best ever.  he is  so funny and he loves me so very much and it makes me feel so good to know that.  i know that i'm important to him and that the girls are important to him.  i love him and i will forever.

me....well, the biggest thing with me is that volleyball is over, so i'm feeling much less overwhelmed with my job and it's SO very nice to have nights and weekends free.  my volleyball girls were 4th in the region, but won the "team christian character award" which i was very proud of.  i really am enjoying my job as AD at jbc.....i'm getting used to all my responsibilities and i know that it will just get easier with time.  i'm really looking forward to the holidays.  thanksgiving at our house again this year, which i always love.  can't wait to see everyone.  and then christmas will probably be a blast.  i already got molly a ben ten alien force watch thing....she'll go nuts.  so fun.  

well.....i need to get the girls in the tub.  i'll try to post more regularly for those of you who care.  

~nyssa

it's official...

we are soccer parents.  i am a soccer mom.  molly started AYSO soccer today and it was so much fun.  she has all the gear....cleats, shin guards, socks, and ball.  and she, of course, looked cute as a bug.  she is really, really fast - but really needs to learn to run with purpose rather than just running.  because she'd run really fast straight out of bounds.  or she'd run really fast with her head down and run into someone else.  and she rarely paid attention to where the ball was.  but....she's fast.  eventually she'll learn the other stuff. :)  she'll probably learn from her incredible coach....her daddy.  yep, dustin signed himself up to be a coach.  he's crazy.  but he'll do a great job hollering at 4 and 5 year olds and helping them to have lots of fun.  i'm glad he's doing it.  we are both excited about it.  it will be a great chance for molly to learn a sport (which we are really pumped about) and also a great opportunity for us to meet new people and maybe impact some lives for Jesus.  yay for soccer.

thankful

i'm so thankful today.  i love my precious family.  and i love the bruno's - who are here visiting from italy....they get to stay with us until 9/11.  i love that i have a house that can accommodate all of us comfortably.  i love that molly & anyssa are getting along so well.  i love that gianni has been making some killer italian meals that we get to enjoy.  and that he has been so willing to watch the girls for us if we need it.  aunt stefania and uncle gianni are amazing people.....they love Jesus.  they are so sincere and beautiful.  i love them.  it's a joy and pleasure to have them here with us.  here are some pics of our kids together.

parenting 101

here we go again.....

molly is a great kid.  i feel like, for the most part, our parenting with her is mostly done.  now, don't get me wrong - i know there will always be parenting and teaching times with her - but she knows the rules and consequences for things and she (generally) listens and obeys very well.  

it has just begun with adelyn.  in the last week i have just noticed her testing me on things - to see what i'll do when she pushes the limits.  she's a rascal.  and she's so friggin' cute it's almost hard to get on to her!  she'll just look at me with this "i know you think i'm cute anyhow" look and it both drives me crazy and makes me want to squeeze her and love on her at the same time.  but she has GOT to learn what "no" means and learn to obey.....no matter how cute she is.  

today we went to target and then walked on down to old navy.  she kept saying "walk" - so i told her that she could walk, but that she would have to hold my hand.  she started off good - but once we were in old navy, she was off like a rocket.  just running through the store.  and she is somehow VERY fast.  well, i finally catch up to her and pick her up and she just starts kicking and hollering, "walk! walk!".  we did walk...right out of the store.  didn't even get to look at anything.  once we were outside again, i gave her three more chances to walk and hold my hand....and every time, she disobeyed.  so i finally just picked her up and carried her to the car.  she's determined.  but i will win these battles!  i must!  

later we ate with my friend jen and her kids - aedan (4) and silas (18 mo).  adie got mad about something and head-butted silas right in the chest.  and i swear i think she was going to try to bite him!  not the biting already - for crying out loud, she only has 4 teeth!!!  sheesh.  

so this is the time, i think, when our parenting has got to be hard-core.  always tough, always consistent.  it takes a lot of determination....like two years of determination.  but i know it will pay off in the long run.  so here we go....wish us luck.  :)  

huh...

this blog will, in no way, be mesmerizing or enlightening.....just a little snipit from this morning that i thought was, well, i don't really know - just one of those, "huh" moments.

i sat adie on the counter while i was getting her breakfast ready and she grabbed my checker (technically, my blood glucose meter).  she grabbed the thing that pricks my finger....held it to her finger tip, then looked at her finger (she had not actually pricked it, just held it there) and then licked her finger.  this is what i do like 8 times a day.....she mimicked me completely (all the way to the finger licking) and i've never even known that she notices that i do that.  huh.  interesting.  she's 17 months old and that perceptive.  kids are like sponges.  reminds me to be mindful of everything i'm doing and saying!! 

speaking love

the other day i was trying to talk to molly about some unkind words she had spoken to her sister.....after much drama and about 10 minutes of "time out", i was able to get through to her that in our house, we speak love.  

well, later that day i was trying to get supper ready and adie kept trying to stand on my foot....and she stood in a way that really pulled the skin, you know - hurts pretty good.  so i unkindly and with much frustration told her to get off and picked her up and put her back down on the floor....and not in a real gentle way.  

well, of course, molly was right there and she politely and matter-of-factly reminded me, "mommy, we speak love in this house, remember?  and that didn't sound very loving to me."  sheesh.  she really did listen.  i love her so much, and i'm glad she keeps me on my toes.  she's gonna be a neat girl.

might as well...

hey everyone...

figured i might as well just start blogging like everyone else so you can keep up with our family - if you so desire!  the summer is flying by....we just got back from a nice vacation to florida to visit steph & family as well as tim & jess.  the girls did great on the trip. we're so glad we flew rather than trying to drive - adie is not the best car rider!  molly is swimming like a fish.  it's so fun to watch her.  

so now we're back at home....dustin is back to work and i'm back to the norm for summer (laundry, housekeeping, playing with the girls, etc.....oh, and work occasionally :) )  it really is fun - but part of me really does miss the routine of the schoolyear...and i'm starting to get excited for volleyball season.  i think i'll have about 15 or so girls trying out, so that's great. i'm always excited to meet the new girls and see what God will do through volleyball.

  

been thinking a lot lately about grace....and how i know i really don't understand it completely.  and how the church has done a great job at teaching law & truth, but a really crappy job at teaching grace & love.  so now we have a lot of unlearning to do.  because i just don't think we can appreciate and accept fully the gift of Jesus' sacrifice if we don't understand grace.  knowing the law & truth doesn't automatically draw us in to the heart knowledge of grace....but, i believe, knowing grace will lead to obeying and knowing law & truth.  i think the church got it backwards....and now it's time to start teaching grace & love - and stop being fearful of what kind of doors that opens up to those who might be seeking God.  

ok....didn't mean to go off on a tangent there.  but that's probably what this blog will be about - my family and my thoughts....however random they may be!