We are back

I actually feel overwhelmed with everything that has happened in the last 7 days, that I don’t even know where to begin. Kurt's 30th Birthday was Saturday and Leslie and I did it right! We planned a huge surprise for him for the whole weekend. He was totally surprised and we had a great adult weekend :) So let’s see if I can break it down short and quick.. Friday Leslie came in Surprise #1 Friday night he got his first gift Riding jacket surprise #2. Saturday we wake up go to breakfast and he went golfing with his two friends at Torrey Pines Golf Course.. surprise #3 Reservations for 333 Pacific in Oceanside with Limo service to and from where ever we wanted to go... surprise #4.. I think he had a wonderful birthday now we have set the expectation high for my 30th hahahaha. At least he has 2 years to plan for it :) So that was our weekend, the week has been nice, went to the Zoo yesterday, the kids always have a blast. Madison's favorite animals were the Iguanas.. who would guessed? That place is definitely a work out, uphill downhill uphill downhill pushing a double with two kids who don’t want to walk up hills so I got a nice leg work out :) Anything for my lovies! Today Matthew and I hit up the beach with Meagan and Baby Madison (she isn’t really a baby anymore cant believe she is going to be 2 next week) I just have to say Madison and Matthew are meant to be.. they already show signs of a married couple. For example, she is always looking for affection from him and he turns away and pushes her away hahaha, she goes to hold his hand and he lets go because his hand is sweaty. they fight, they kiss they fight again haha they are too cute together! So tonight was pretty peaceful in our home for the first time in forever.. seriously forever! I tried a new technique for bed times. Every night it’s been bathes then 2 books then prayers then bed, and every night our kids stay up for at least 2 more hours after this playing laughing fighting screaming yelling crying.. you name it they do it. I really have been at my wits end with them, I just didn’t know what to do, till it recently dawned on me to put them to bed at separate times. So far they go in there together then as soon as we leave they go wild. Well tonight everything was done separately. Bathed Mathew did prayers laid him in bed, and no joke 5 minutes later he was out!! I was so relieved I actually cried, I thought this was just going to be our lives from now on and I really was thinking of committing myself to a mental institution. I mean I love my kids to death but they sure can run everything out of you. So I praise God for the revelation to actually do this. As soon as Matthew was sleeping in goes Madison, she wasn’t as easy but she is a piece of cake compared to Matthew. She has to come out and ask a few questions before she can relax. Question #1 "Mom, when I wake up tomorrow is it show and tell?" "yes, Madison you can pick out a toy in the morning" then she runs back in bed. About 3 minutes later she comes in "Mom, when we wake up tomorrow where are we going?" "To Maggie’s" (their nickname for Meagan) "okay, mom goodnight... oh wait kiss hug?" "yes Madison you can have another kiss hug" then she scurries to bed and is now sleeping after about 15 minutes!! I am just so happy right now, because I think of previous nights trying to write and I have to stop and yell " GET IN YOUR BEDS" or "TURN OFF THE LIGHTS" or "KURT HELP ME" which he does :) I really just feel relieved that we may have found a nice solution to our bedtime terror :) I have to give it all to God, because when I was boiling over I stopped and prayed and repented of the way I have been with them and asked God to fully intercede take over take control help me to love my kids the way Christ loves them and help me to see all the good in them. Show me what to do to raise them the way HE wants me to. And snap of the fingers God was there. He was waiting for me to let go and let him take control. Funny how you see the test after you pass but not when you are going through it. God is so good to me and my family it is just so overwhelming to talk about. I always get emotional when I think about how great His grace is for us! We were dirty with sin and he loved us anyway to send His Son to die for us! What a sacrifice!! What an amazing God! All I know is that I want to raise my children to love Him and know Him the way I do and a million times better! I want them to know the creator of this world as their best friend, their Father their Savior and worship Him with every ounce of their souls. Praise God for all things, He is so faithful!

Well let me just say today was a great day! We have officially started Kurt's 30th birthday weekend off with a bang! So, our day starts with waking up to Aunt Leslie being here :) The kids were so happy to see her. They love love love her, and it is just so sweet to see them interact with her. When I sit back and watch them it makes me think of how much they have changed over their few years.. sometimes makes me want another one.. I said sometimes ha ha, anyway today Leslie went over all the times she had seen Madison when she was a lil babes, before Matthew was in the picture, and Madison in all her adulthood responds so differently than I would have expected her to. The most serious response of the day... Leslie and I were telling her about her crazy hair as a one year old. Were were explaining it like feathers, it looked and blew in the wind like a feather would, know of course Leslie and I are giggling because we remember how sweet she was at age one, just reminiscing of the baby days of the first born :) Madison so bolding says to us, with a look in her eye that a 17 year old would give you. "Don't laugh at me" Leslie and I look at each other and then try to back track were we lost the fun conversation to her being offended by us. It was so sad, made my heart break a little at the emotion her little 4 year old self had shown us. What really made me sad was she isn’t my lil babes anymore. She is growing and changing into the most beautiful little girl, and soon she will be a beautiful young lady, then a beautiful teenager, then a beautiful college student and then the gorgeous bride. I actually just teared up thinking of this! It seems like years away but they will come faster than I can even imagine. I love her so much, more than I can even comprehend!! Ok, so enough of the sad gushy stuff.. after that we surprised the kids with a trip to Chuck E Cheese. Now they always have mixed emotions about it, they are terrified of the mouse.. if they see him walking around they become tree frogs plastered to your chest or leg.. whatever they can grab and cling to its in their death grip, and let me tell you they have some strong grips! So after we get there and they walk around on guard making sure he is nowhere to be seen they let loose and really have a blast :) Their favorite game is skee ball, and they played almost all 40 tokens on it. Matthew cracks me up, he likes to play it over hand and he does pretty well with this method, making it in more than half the time, Leslie and I were cracking up :) It was just nice to sit back and watch them be kids.. free kids to do as they pleased to run around and just let loose. Not worrying about cleaning rooms, or taking baths but just having fun. It was nice to be there with them. They are enjoying a fun weekend sleep over and my very best friend Sara's house with her two lil girlies. So they were packed and ready all day always asking "now can we go to Hailey and Chloe's sleep over?" no joke Madison asked 50 times, I finally said Yes its time and she was so excited. We get there she runs up stairs and didn’t care about anything else except playing with them. Matthew on the other hand my sweet sweet boy was stuck to my hip. We get inside and he takes his shoes off we hang out for a little bit and then I tell him "Okay Mommy is leaving now" He runs gets his shoes and say "I’m coming with you" It was so sad, I actually contemplated bringing him home cause I just love him so dang much! Sara sweeps him away with a nice super mom move and we were off to start our Adult Birthday Weekend for Kurt. Meagan and Travis and Grace all showed up for our surprise for Kurt. We had a great night hanging out relaxing and chatting all in all I am so blessed and so thankful for everyone and everything the Lord has given us! Tomorrow is going to be amazing day.. more birthday shenanigans to come.. I will keep you all posted.. Love you all and God Bless YOU!

What a day :)

Hello All, I am happy to see I have followers! Makes me feel special :) Today, was a typical day here in the Hollar House, one of the things I am starting to get used to is getting up before the Sun with Matthew ha ha. One thing I could always count on Madison for was sleeping in until 9-9:30, but Matthew has other plans. He likes to come into my room very very early get two inches from my nose and say.. "I want juice" in the wee hours of the day. I have learned to wake up about 10 minutes before he comes in so I am not scared to death every morning. But you gotta love his tenacity, the kid really never gives up on the juice hunt! Today was a learning experience for us all, I decided this morning that we weren't going to go through the day with chaos and whining and temper tantrums. Now, I know what you are thinking how do you prevent this from happening with a  3 year old and a 4 year old. It wasn't easy, and its a on going process. I made the decision as a parent to pray every time I feel the waters boil. I need the guidance from God desperately. I feel the change of moving to smaller quarters has been wearing on us all. The kids have definitely struggled with all of it, and even with being moved for 2 months now, its hard to get used to. So anyway back to my point, I need God to intercede, I need Him to calm me down and show us all how to handle every aspect of our lives. One thing I am guilty of is not following through with consequences. I am just a barking dog with no bite. So that changed today, we get one warning and a consequence follows if you are still being dis obedient. Let me just say, when you put God at the front of raising your kids, its like a brand new day! Now, I am not saying that they were perfect angels BUT I will say we worked out our differences in much healthier ways than in the past :) So, we will see how tomorrow goes! So now as I write this I can hear them giggling in their room, Matthew has the hiccups already from laughing so much and Madison with her high pitch squawk are just enjoying each others company. Its late I know they should be sleeping but that is a whole new ball game, something else we are "working" on. We are heading into a great weekend.. Leslie is here! a.k.a lafawnduh, my home slice :) We love our Aunt Leslie around these parts, and are so happy she is here to spend Kurt's big 3-0 with us. Good night all, we love you! and, remember praise God for everyday :)

Well here we go...

So about a week ago I decided that I wanted to start blogging about the craziness that is The Hollar House, so here goes nothing :) As I sit here trying to think about what to write I have Madison and Matthew behind me pulling all the printer paper out and throwing it in the air and then swimming in it as if it were a million dollars. Now, mind you when they went for the first piece I said "only one piece" they both replied "OK mom" now the whole pack is on the floor and I sit her typing oblivious to the mess. I could handle this two ways, lose my cool and make them pick it all up or allow the madness to continue. Sometime I realize I really have to pick my battles with these rambunctious kiddos. Today I can say I slightly lost my cool and made them clean it up. Where do you draw the line of playing and blatantly disregarding what the parent says? I'm still working on that one! Today we have a fun filled day of driving to the Pharmacy to pickup some much needed pills, and I know Matthew is going to just love being in the car for 2 hours... if you know Matthew at all you know this is going to be a trying day :)He freaks out if his pants slightly rides up while witting in the car seat just one of the many examples he struggles with. I love my lil guy so dang much, and boy does he have quite the personality. He wants it now, his way or NO WAY! I don't know why people say there are terrible twos..I think that's starts when they turn 3. Now, I read that back and it sounds like he is a monster :) He is not.. most of the time ha ha He has his very frequent moments of being the goofiest lil guy and the sweetest lil guy. Definitely a guys boy and a mamas love all in one. So, while we are driving all over San Diego Madison will be at school, just being the quiet precious student she is. She is so different at school than she is at home. She is quiet and patient and quiet at school.. ha ha. I love her so much her personality really shines when she is comfortable around you. Want to know who your American Idol will be in 2025.. Madison.. you really cant get her to stop singing and dancing. If we nicely shush her.. she just changes the song to something she thinks is more pleasing to us. She is the apple of my eye for sure. Now that you have a little run down on a average day in the Hollar House.. I am excited to see what shenanigans go on so I can write about it. In the words of Kurt.. DEUCES!