AmaZing AriZona!

Last month (sorry, I'm way behind on blogging these days!), I had the awesome privilege of spending a few days in Arizona with my dear hubby...without the kids! He travels there for work and raves about the beauty and fun of the state, particularly Phoenix. It has always been a desire of his to take me there and show me around, not to mention give me a nice refreshing break from full time mommyhood.

Between two precious people in my life -- Steph (who I nicknamed Super-Steph after keeping my kids for an entire day!) and my mother in law --my kids were in good hands while I was gone. Many thanks to both of you!!! I love you!

All in all, the trip was wonderful, and I told Tyler while walking hand in hand one afternoon that is was nice to 'remember how much fun we have just the two of us.' My favorite part of the trip (other than the unbelievably awesome food!) was the day we drove north to Flagstaff and Sedona. The views and scenery with the red rock is absolutely amazing. I felt so relaxed and aware of God's creation that day, and it was awesome to praise Him for His marvelous works! Here are a few pics from the trip!

Dinner at The Tortilla Factory

I just thought this picture was funny :)

Here we are in Flagstaff!

Breathtaking views in Sedona


We shopped at a mall one night and they were putting up this beautiful tree--the sunset behind it was just gorgeous! Any guesses on how many ornaments are on this tree?????


And one final thing...I texted a picture of a cactus to Savannah (via Steph) and, bless her heart, she asked if mommy was IN the cactus! I'm still cracking up about that one! Don't you love kids and their questions?

Savannah is 3 !!!

3 years ago to the minute, I was actively laboring in a hospital bed :), anticipating one of the most miraculous and amazing experiences God has given me.

3 years ago at 11:03PM, Savannah Renae Engel was born!

3 years ago, our lives changed...absolutely for the better!

Happy 3rd Birthday, my sweet little princess!

~~~Savannah, 4 days old, and mommy


~~~I can't believe she was ever this small!!!


~~~Sweet baby in one of our favorite newborn outfits! :)


~~~And 3 very fast years later...

~~~Savannah in her tu-tu ready for her ballerina birthday party!


~~~3 year old Savannah and her 'mickey' birthday breakfast!


~~~Savannah and mommy riding the train at the Lincoln Children's Museum today! Daddy took the day off of work, and we spent the day as a family!!!! What a blessing to hear "mommy this is SO FUN!" the entire train ride :)


Savannah, you are such a blessing! We love you dearly and thank God for you!

There were four in the...

hammock...but thankfully the little one did NOT say roll over! :)



Great friends, great times, group hug!!

The musical fruit

We were eating supper tonight having nice family conversation when out slipped a little...hmmm...how should I say it..."toot" from one of the kids. You never know which kid it is because both are quite capable of the occasional dinnertime music :) but Tyler and I glanced at each other, giggling, and knew it had to be Savannah. Tyler looked at her and said "was that you?" to which she replied "it was my buns!" And there began the uncontrollable laughter from all four of us...

Thank you Savannah...

for reminding me...






to stop and smell the flowers...

Fireproof!

A couple of months ago, some friends in our flock group were discussing the movie Fireproof and passing around the DVD for everyone to watch as couples. Excitedly, I took the DVD home and looked forward to watching what I thought would simply be a nice, wholesome, encouraging movie. This summer has been particularly busy with work travels for Tyler, and there were times over the last couple months when I'd take a glance at the DVD sitting on our dresser and think "maybe we can squeeze this in tonight." By God's perfect plans, however, the DVD remained on our dresser until this last weekend.

~~To summarize these last few months of personal growth, the Lord has opened my eyes to some amazing truths that, though I have always known, have truly become living and active in my walk with Him. He has shown me amazing things about grace, relying on the Holy Spirit's power, and the power of prayer as I walk this life as a wife, mother, friend, etc. Additionally, the women in my flock have been studying "The Power of a Praying Wife" together. God has brought me to a whole new level of intimacy with Himself. Thank you Lord! ~~

Back to this last weekend...
Sunday afternoon we put the kids down for naps, and Tyler asked if I'd like to watch Fireproof. My first thought was "we probably won't be able to get through the whole thing before the kids are up." He said we should watch what we can and finish later if needed. I joked with him that I'd heard this was a tear jerker and, being the emotional one in the family, was prepared for a few tears of my own.

WOW! I had no idea what amazing, impacting, truth filled movie we were about to see. Long story short, we cried together, were able to watch the entire movie without any interruption from napping children, and talked and prayed afterward about God's incredible timing. Had we "squeezed" the movie in weeks ago, the impact would not have been what God intended it to be. We were encouraged by so many aspects of the movie and were able to analyze our own marriage in light of it. For marriage to be what God truly intends it to be, we must first and foremost Love Him with All of our hearts and seek His Will above our own, realizing His sacrifice on the cross for our sins. Marriage is hard work, but it is worth it, not only for God's glory, but for the gift of Oneness that He provides.

If you have yet to see this movie, prayerfully ask God to set aside time for you to watch it with your spouse...it'll be worth the time!

My Current Favorite Song

A couple months ago, I was sitting quietly in our recliner spending time in God's Word. I had the radio softly playing K-LOVE, and though I was focused on my reading, I began to vividly hear some powerful words from a song I didn't know.

I grabbed my pen and jotted down the words to the song because they were my heart's cry...they were truly what I have been desiring to experience in my relationship with the Lord, and I felt God powerfully speaking to me through that song. Using the words I had written down, I was able to search online and find the song name and artist.

Ever since then, this song has been my daily prayer. I was so accustomed to playing childrens CDs throughout the days because I have little ones around, but I decided to keep K-LOVE playing a few hours per day for that added encouragement to keep focused on Christ. I hear this song at least once every day. What's even more amazing is how my toddler sings the song along with me! She sees her mommy get pretty excited to sing praises to Jesus (we're pushing charismatic worship sometimes :) ) and she has thus learned the words and joins in. Praise God!

The song is by Aaron Shust titled "To God Alone." Lord, as a sinner and child seeking after You, my prayer is that everything I say and do would be all for You!

Click here for the link to the video!

1st Family Vacation!

Last week, the four of us packed our bags and headed to the Ozarks. Tyler had a work conference to attend for a couple of days, so we extended the trip and made it a family vacation. We stayed at Tan-Tar-A Resort in Osage Beach, MO in a beautiful house overlooking the lake.

I was so grateful to the Lord for allowing me to peacefully wake up earlier than my family the first two mornings and spend time reading on the deck and praising Him for His creation, followed by family breakfast outside!

While Tyler attended his work meetings, the kids and I spent our time at the beach and the pool. Bless his heart, my hubby even set up a massage appointment for me while we were there. Much appreciated and enjoyed!

The kids did great traveling, sleeping, swimming, and playing, so we are thankful for a smooth time! Here are some pictures and memories from the Engel's first family trip!

Precious! Kiddos holding hands across car seats!



Big sister helping little bro with his milk one morning at breakfast :)



Playing on the beach



The little baby pool was perfect for the age of our kids. Here's Camden crawling into the sprayer!



Savannah and daddy on the waterslide...funniest thing - this was her story all the way down "I don't want to go down, I don't want to go down" and then they splash into the water and she changes to "Hee hee hee hee let's go again!" This happened word for word at least 10 times!



This - pause while I try to control my laughing attack - is the employee at a men's clothing store playing with Savannah under the tie tables! They hid in clothing racks and played hide and seek in the dressing rooms while Tyler and I shopped! Hopefully this sweet lady still has her job! :)



The whole fam



Savannah called our home for the week "the new house" and still frequently asks when we get in the van if we are going back there. I sure hope so sometime! It's refreshing to get away and much appreciated to have the opportunity. Thank you Lord for the memories made on our first family vacation!

My baby is ONE!

Happy Birthday to you, Happy birthday to you, happy birthday dear Camden...Happy birthday to you!

My sweet baby boy turned 1 on July 16th, and we had a fun little party for him!

For my boy, I love transportation, so we found a fun car, boat, train, and plane party package for him, and low and behold I even found a great airplane cupcake pan. So here's a few pictures of my growing-up-too-fast birthday boy!

Camden with his candle and airplane cupcake!



I think he likes it! He definitely got his mommy's sweet tooth! :)



Getting messy!



The party crew...can't believe they all sat still for this picture! :)



--Enjoy each moment with the little ones you have, for it goes so fast! I love you Camden! Praise God for you!!!!

Kids say the funniest things!

The other day, the kids and I were getting ready to head out for a picnic at the park. It was not within walking distance, so I strapped Camden in the car, asked Savannah to jump into her seat, and I put the cooler and toys in the van. Then I got into the driver's seat, opened the garage door, started the car, put on my seat belt, and (as always) asked if everyone was "ready freddy?"

Anyone catch what I didn't do?????

I was about to back up when Savannah said "Mommy, you forgot to strap me in!" (She can get into her seat by herself, but she cannot buckle herself in.) Whoops!

So, I put the van in park, got out and walked around to her side of the van to help her. She then proceeded with the following (and just picture a very dramatic 2 1/2 year old :)

"YOU FORGOT TO STRAP ME IN! IF YOU DRIVE, I WILL BONK OVER AND FALL DOWN AND STAY HOME!" (while saying this she pretends to bonk over - do you know what I mean, or is that just an Engel term? :) )

There was actually more after this last recorded statement, but by then, I could barely contain myself, and I grabbed the closest piece of paper and pen I could find and began jotting this down so I wouldn't forget. I mean, really, if I forget to strap my daughter in the van, there is no way I can remember this story without writing it down, right? :)

Thank goodness for a vocal daughter who could point out to mommy that she would not be safe riding without being strapped in! A mommy has too many things going on at once to keep it all straight! :)

disappointment

I won't go into details - it's probably a petty situation anyhow - but today was tough. I did, so to speak, have my 'hopes set' on something important to me and was completely let down. The strange thing is, it had nothing to do with anyone I know or love, but I felt it's effect greatly. (not to mention my dear hubby left this morning for a business trip so I had to get a long distance hug!)

But as I cried tears of disappointment, I was touched in the heart by the loving hand of Jesus. I began to realize that my focus was in the wrong place, my 'hopes' were 'set' not on the unfailing love of Christ but on fleshly desires, and that by turning my eyes upon Jesus, the things of earth truly do grow strangely dim.

We all experience disappointment. Maybe it's someone else receiving the job promotion you were seeking, maybe it's hurt from a friend or family member, maybe it's a miscarriage (been there a couple of years ago), but we will all face situations that disappoint us. The challenge, I've learned, is to remember that Christ is sovereign over things that happen to us, He is unfailing, He knows our hurts, He has suffered far beyond any pain we can imagine, and ultimately, nothing on earth matters. For those of us who love and serve Jesus, this life is nothing compared to our eternity in Heaven. How I long to see His face!

It was humbling to talk to Savannah about disappointment. She saw my tears, she wanted to help mommy feel better, and I hope she learned with me today that when life hands us something we wouldn't choose for ourselves, that we can trust in His sovereignty and rest in the truth that He will use it for His glory and for our good. (Romans 8:28) It certainly renewed my perspective today!

Here are the scriptures that redirected my eyes and heart upward today:

Psalm 13:4-6
4 my enemy will say, "I have overcome him,"
and my foes will rejoice when I fall.

5 But I trust in your unfailing love;
my heart rejoices in your salvation.

6 I will sing to the LORD,
for he has been good to me.

Psalm 20:7
Some trust in chariots and some in horses,
but we trust in the name of the LORD our God.

Deuteronomy 31:6
Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you."

I feel like I've gotten "over" today's situation now. (I'm definitely out of tears :) ) But I realize that I'm grateful for situations like this that challenge my faith, challenge my focus, and remind me that we live in a fallen world - people will disappoint us, we will experience suffering and sadness - but that Christ is unchanging.

Happy Father's Day!

We love you daddy!!!! So thankful for you!

Short and sweet

It's been awhile (almost made the 2 month mark since my last post - sheesh!) so here's a quick update.

We're here, we're having fun, we're busy, we're grateful for each and every day!

Thank the Lord for children, sunshine, friends, family, the beauty of His Creation!

--a few random pics... Camden with an abundance of goldfish from his big sis! :) Savannah signing "I Love you!"

April Showers...

Savannah has been asking us for an umbrella! It has been raining a lot these days, and she looks out the window at the rain and often says "you need to buy me a pink umbrella so I can go out in the rain!" Now, before you think that we just bow down to our daughter's every request :) we really had been thinking about getting her one before she started asking. However, I finally found some child sized umbrellas at Hobbytown, so Tyler surprised his little girl with her very own umbrella this morning. Now all we need are some cute little galoshes and we'll be out splashing!!! I love rain!

Who likes what mommy made for supper tonight?

'nuff said! :)

Ready...or Not?

This morning, I took a shower before Savannah was up but I heard her calling "mommy!" from her room just as I was about to dry my hair. I went to get her and brought her into my room to hang out as I finished getting ready.

At breakfast a few minutes later, she asked "are we going to my classroom today?" which is where she goes on Sunday mornings at church and also Tuesday morning for my women's bible study. I wondered why she thought that, but I just told her no, we weren't going to her classroom today. Then she proceeded to ask "why did you get ready mommy? Where are we going?"

At 2 1/2 she recognizes that mommy only 'gets ready' when we are going somewhere! Ha! Such is the life of this stay at home mommy! :) Around our house, PJs and undone hair are common attire all day unless we are planning to go out! Gotta love it!

Ain't no such thing as coincidence!

Do you ever wonder what God may want to say to you at a particular moment? Tonight I sat here feeling just that, so I looked up the first passage that came to my mind. Here it was.

Psalm 68:4
Sing to God, sing praise to his name,
extol him who rides on the clouds—
his name is the LORD—
and rejoice before him.

Wow! This verse is awesome! Sing to God!!! Extol (lift up) him who rides on the clouds. What a word picture! Rejoice before Him.

Thank you Lord that my 'random choosing' of this verse was exactly what you wanted me to hear and meditate on tonight. I must always remind myself that 'to rejoice is a choice.' It is easy to be swayed by circumstances and to dwell in self pity. But if I take myself out of the picture, I can see Christ fully and I can rejoice!

Coincidence? No...it's called sovereignty and divinity. God has a purpose for everything. His word is living and active and speaks directly to our hearts. Thank you Lord!

Double take!

The other night Tyler and I watched Todd and Steph's boys while they attended a wedding shower. It was such a nice evening, so we took a picnic to the park and ate and played. It was super fun and the kids had a great time together. The little boys spent most of the time in the baby swings while the toddlers ran around climbing and sliding. We even got a few questions from other families as to whether all four kids were ours! It would be pretty much like having two sets of twins! :)

By the end of the evening the kiddos were all dirty and sweaty, so after heading home in the stroller and wagon, everyone got baths! A little taste of Jon and Kate Plus 8 divided by 2! :) Fun times!!!!

Here's a pic---

Disciplining an 8 month old...

Caught in the act! Can't you just tell on his face how much desire he has for that cable box?!? With Camden on the move - and very curious - we are consistently steering him away from certain places and beginning to instruct him on what he can and cannot do. It is, however, sometimes quite comical to see his response when he is being firmly told not to touch something. At his young age of 8 months, he inevitably does not completely understand, so he just smiles at me and gives me that typical "Camden ham" look and chuckles... which causes me to practically fall on the floor laughing! I love my little man!

Cousin time!

This week my sister in law, ReNae, (Tyler's sister) and her two precious girls stayed with us for a few days. Lainy is 6 months younger than Savannah, and Libby is 5 months younger than Camden, so our kids mesh well together!

I am so grateful for the fun we can have and that God chose to put us together as family. We enjoyed some good play time, some good mommy discussion, and it is always a nice change of pace to have visitors. Come back anytime gals!!! :)

Here is a picture of the little girls enjoying their ice cream sundaes (which the moms enjoyed too I must add!) and a picture of the babes!




Thanks for spending the week with us! I love you!

Go Green!

I love the color green! Two rooms in our home are painted green. Tyler and I both own many green shirts. I love green grass! But I also love the reason for the term GO GREEN! Our family has just started recycling!

Many of you have probably been doing this for years, and I wish we were one of them, but it's never too late to start. I recently found out from my brother in law that near Super Saver at 27th and Pine Lake there is a huge recycling center, so we started collecting our cardboards, plastics, paper, etc. Last week the kids and I loaded up our stash and took it to the bins. Call me crazy, but I was pumped! How cool to help save our environment of bulky trash and to allow our stuff to be used again!

So if you aren't already among team green, start separating out your recyclables and make it a family activity to fill the bins at 27th and Pine Lake! You will leave feeling refreshed! :)

To be or not to be...a GERM-A-PHOB!

So the positive to having the stomach flu run its course in our home (without affecting Camden thankfully!) is that I joyfully disinfect each and every possible thing touched, from toys to light switches to door knobs, to...no end. :) And I have finally concluded the washing of load upon load upon load of bedding and blankets. Sure, it takes some serious time, lots of disinfectant, and probably instantly begins growing new and interesting bacteria, but it is just something that I have to do--you see, I am a self admitted germ-a-phob! :)


I have a small container of Purell in the van that I use after things like getting gas, groceries, etc. The funny thing is, every time I reach for it, my 2 year old daughter asks "mommy, can I have some sanitizing lotion too?" LOL!

Some good family bonding

I am happy to report that we are back to normal! Our family was hit with a stomach virus/flu early Sunday morning through Monday, but I wouldn’t want to endure those difficult times with anyone other than my loving family. Prior to Tyler coming down with it himself, he selflessly served the rest of us by taking excellent care of Savannah while I was down and out. Definitely would win “daddy of the year” in my book!!! Despite the aches and lack of appetites, we truly had some good simple family bonding time. Praise God for that opportunity in the midst of sickness! And a special thanks to my awesome friend Steph for dropping off chicken noodle soup and Gatorade which clearly helped us regain our strength! (don’t worry, we told her to leave it on the porch so we wouldn’t pass our yuck onto the Hohlen fam!)

There's a new Care Bear in town - drum roll please..... It's **SNOW BEAR!!**

Last Saturday, on Valentine's Day, we had a fun family day. It all started when Daddy went out first thing in the morning to snow blow. Savannah and I were in the kitchen making our normal Saturday breakfast - Mickeys!!! (Although being Valentine's Day, we made them a little extra special ---strawberry syrup and heart sprinkles on top! They were a hit!)

Breakfast was almost ready, so we went to check on Daddy to see how long until he'd be done. However, we open the back door to see the garage door going down and daddy driving away!? Where's he going, we wondered? After a moment or so, I remembered it was Valentine's Day, and his tradition is to bring his ladies flowers right away in the morning!!! A few minutes later, he arrives with beautiful pink roses for mommy and pink daisies for Savannah! Sorry, Camden, no blue flowers! :) We put them into vases and sat down for breakfast. It's not everyday we eat with fresh flowers on the table! Thanks hun! We love you!!!


*****

I have been very excited to get Savannah out in the snow to play around and make a snowman. Even though last week's beautiful weather continues to encourage my spring fever, I was super excited when the snow came and we could finally get her out to play. So after our morning Valentine breakfast, we told Savannah that we'd have to get her boots and mittens and play in the snow! She was pretty pumped!

We got all decked out in our snow gear and went outside, just the three of us. (Camden missed it all while he was napping!! Next year, bud!) Grandpa Jerome and Grandma Nancy had given her a shovel for Christmas, so she wanted to be just like daddy and scoop! Daddy started working on the snowman, but he quickly realized the snow was not sticking together well, so we came up with another plan. We packed all the snow together in a pile and formed a big 'thing' into something with eyes, a big nose, ears, and a mouth. It cracked me up as I realized it resembled a Care Bear...enter **SNOW BEAR!!** We enjoyed him for awhile but then came demolition of Snow Bear. All in all, our first snow outing was fun and memorable, and here are the pics to prove it!!


After the fun outdoor adventure, we came in for a warm meal! To top off our Valentine's Day, Savannah and I made a heart shaped pizza! Ummmm!!!


On Valentine's Day and always, I am grateful for my hubby and kiddos! I love you all so much!!!!!!!

The Body of Christ

I have been amazed at how blogging and the internet can reach people all over the country (and even beyond!) to spread news and connect people. I recently received the news via email about a little girl named Cora Paige - two weeks ago the little 11 month old girl from Kansas was diagnosed with cancer. Her God-serving parents had a family blog, and they posted the info about Cora's condition, continually expressing their faith in Jesus to sustain them in the unknown time. Immediately, the power of God used this amazing tool to reach people across the country to pray for little Cora. With each update the family made regarding Cora's status, people posted encouraging comments that there were prayers being prayed, even from people who had never met the family but had read about the situation on their blog.

Savannah and I looked at the online pictures of baby Cora together and prayed for her frequently each day. She would often pause from what she was doing and say "mommy, let's pray for baby Cora."

I feel deep sadness for the parents, Joel and Jessica, as yesterday baby Cora passed away but thankfully is now in the presence of Jesus. This family's deep loss has touched the lives of an incredible amount of people - as of today, there were 1200 comments listed on yesterday's post that shared of Cora's death. Is that not an amazing response of the Body of Christ? I am encouraged! May God be honored by this family and their faith through this devastating process. Check out their blog at http://themcclenahans.blogspot.com/.

We have since talked to Savannah about Cora being with Jesus and that she is no longer sick. Savannah asked if she could sing to baby Cora - Daddy told her she can sing anytime to her! Wow, did my tears flow... We will not understand why this family went through this difficult situation, but we must rest in the truth that God is in control and continue to pray that the entire family would feel the peace that only Jesus can give. Please remember them in prayer often.

My Little Helper

I'm so thankful for the love my children have for each other, even at such a young age! Savannah is such a good little assistant and loves helping me care for Camden! If only she could take over the night time feedings ha ha ha!

She enjoys pushing the stroller when we go for a walk. Yesterday was a beautiful day in February! Woo hoo! I have a major case of Spring Fever right now! :)


She also asks numerous times to feed Camden his solids. I told her from the beginning that he needed to get used to eating food before I would let her help, and I think he is at the point where she can help with a bite or two here and there.

However, I turned my head for a nanosecond (like all mom's do occasionally, right? :) ) and she had grabbed the food and started feeding him. I was kinda impressed with her talent! So I had to capture the moment. By the time I sat the camera down and turned back to look, she was gone and had let Camden have his bowl in his own hands, and well...then I had a mess to clean up. :) It's so precious, though, to hear a little sweet voice saying, 'come here little pea' and 'that was a good bite!'

A Milestone!

My baby has his first tooth! It's hard to see in the picture, but the first chomper has poked through and is quite sharp! I excitedly told Savannah that Camden got his 'first tooth' and she said "I have my 6th tooth!" Don't know where that came from, as she has a mouth full of teeth, but it was precious and memorable. Camden, you are getting closer and closer to indulging in a big fat cheeseburger with your momma! :) However, don't grow up too fast baby. I love you little man.

**Unfortunately what CAN be seen better than the new tooth is the nice scratch between his eyes - guess we let the fingernails get a little too long. :)

So this is what we've been up to the past month...

My mom surprised me with matching aprons for Savannah and me for my birthday and here we are making memories...oh and cookies too! :)



Hey, no sneaking a bite!

Happy Chef!

Savannah and I often paint our toenails together. I have a thing with her precious little feet. A friend of mine once said that little kids' toes look like they've been formed with play doh! Perfect description...I just had to capture it on camera. I also painted Savannah's fingernails for the first time that day, and soon after she said "mommy paint her fingernails?" I hadn't painted my fingernails in years, but I did and it was SO fun! I love having a little girl!!!


My sister in law ReNae had her second baby girl on December 18th, Libby Mae. Here is a picture of Gran and Papa with all their little grands!


Our Family Christmas


The kids were pretty excited about opening their stockings!


We gave Savannah a baking theme gift - she got a little mixer (blue just like mommy's!), a toy apron/chef's hat/oven mitt set, and a cute slice and bake cookie set. It was a hit! And her cookies are quite tasty I must say. :)


My sweet boy with his gifts. I'd say the smile is the best gift he gave us this year! :)


Family picture at my parents' house for Christmas



That's a lot of KIDS!!!! Tyler's mom's side of the family for Christmas. Everyone was able to make it this year - yea! - and the kids are about to outnumber the adults! :)


My baby is sitting up already! Such a big boy (aka drool master!)


Happy New Year!