Girls Night Out

We had SOOOO much fun!
Originally uploaded by mommybrain4.

Last night we did what has never been done before! We went out together...no kids...no husbands...just girls! We all got dressed up, put on some mascara and cute shoes and went Karaoke-ing.

Here are some of the highlights:
Nancy rocked on Hit Me With Your Best Shot! Her wedding band days really paid off and she had the whole bar in the palm of her hand. Too bad you can't sing that stuff in church...she's awesome!
Carrie showed us her hidden dancing talents. Have you ever met someone who no matter what they do on the dance floor they look good? That's Carrie~ We all decided that she's got the beat! I would be remiss if I didn't tell you about Carol's awesome dancing skills too. These brought the house down~ I have never laughed so hard in my life! Carol & Nancy did an amazing recreation of Time Warp! What more can I say? Laura surprised herself and all of us with Delta Dawn...who knew that song had a verse? She pulled it off with grace and then wowed the crowd with her sweet and sultry voice. I got to relive my childhood dream and became Barbara and Olivia in one night with Sleeping Single and Hopelessly Devoted...which I can't get out of my head. We ended the evening singing Last Dance in the parking lot...harmony and all! Thanks girls for more fun than I've had in a long time, my checks hurt from laughing, my throat is sore from screaming and my legs have cramps from the high heels! You girls are the best!

Blogging Girlfriends Swim Party

My dearest blogging girlfriends...

You are invited to my house for a get-together next Wednesday, Aug 2nd at 1:00pm. Please bring your children, towels, sunscreen, snacks and let's have some fun!

Please RSVP in your comments and email me if you need directions.

Put it on your calanders...we're gonna have a blast!

Love ya,
Mommy Brain

Down Came The Rain

Friends of Tim & Jen's, Shauni & Brian, lost their baby yesterday at 31 weeks. It was a boy. Please remember them in your prayers.

Down Came The Rain
by Christine Bierma copyright 2006

Down came the rain
And I held out my hands
I said, Lord, I know your with me
But I don’t understand
Down came the showers
And my life fell apart
Every piece of it came crashing
And it tore out my heart

I don’t want to be this broken,
This is not what I had planned
How I need your love and comfort
In this awful barren land
Down came the rain

Oh help me Jesus,
Help me to stand
I have no strength left in me
And my life is shifting sand
How can I find you
When everything is so dark?
You said you would never leave me
But I am falling apart

I am walking through the valley
And the shadow is on me
I never thought that I would be here
And I just want to leave
Oh help me Jesus

Jesus, Jesus, Jesus
How can I ever live again?
Will this weight ever leave?

I see the sunrise
Yet, it is so far away
The light is peeking through the corners
For the first time in days
I see the sunrise
How can this be?
I never thought that I would laugh again
I never thought I would see

How can the night be over?
It has lasted so long
But I see the sunlight on me
And the darkness is gone
Oh thank you Jesus

Indiana...so close and yet sooooo far away!

Ok, so we are back from our short trip to Indiana Beach. We had a great time...although it was the hottest 4 day stretch of the year. Doug kept saying what didn't kill us made us stronger. It was really, really HOT & Sticky. Next time we try this pseudo camping stuff we are going in September!
Our cabin was great, no bugs, no mice, realy clean. Perfect for our first pseudo camping experience. Jellystone was awesome...they actually have camp director's there to schedule events for the kids every 1/2 hour! It was awesome..."hey kid's go up to the ranger station and hang for a couple of hours!" Now, I'm exagerating but really it was like they were at summer camp, they had water sponge fights, made bracelets, participated in an egg toss, watched movies...like having a built in baby sitter when we needed to clean or cook or put Wesley down for a nap.

So, while I was in Indiana, I noticed that life in Indiana is so different than life here at home. Here are a few of my observations:
#1 All the people there talk with a southern accent even though they only live two hours away from Chicago? Hey, Hoosers, you live up north!
#2 People in Indiana are really hung up on rules. While at Indiana beach I saw a sign in the restroom that read like this...

This bathroom is not a changing area
You may not change here
If you are caught you will be ejected from the park!

...if you want to change there, you should be allowed to change there.
We also had an stange experience on the tram back to the campground. A family was going to get on the tram and the operator yelled into the public address system, "Sir you must put your shirt on in order to ride this tram!" What!?!?! Aren't we at the beach?! Who cares if people have their shirts on...personally I'm in favor of all men wearing shirts to walk around, unless your the diet coke guy, but really do you have to have a rule for that?
Then there were the signs on every restaurant that said you must be 21 years old to enter the bar area, and the lady at the corn stand that said I wasn't allowed to peel the corn to see if it was good before I bought it??
It was just really strange in a twilight zone sort of way. I kept asking myself, how far away from home are we?
#3 When trying to engage the employees of Jellystone or Indiana Beach or Walmart or anywhere else we went, we were met with this open mouthed blank stare. I'd say something like, "Wow! I can't believe how hot it is...I think I'm gonna melt." open mouthed blank stare
or
"Isn't that cute, the kids think Yogi is a real bear!" open mouthed blank stare
I've seen this stare before on Doug's relatives from Indiana and just thought it was his family...but now I'm starting to think it might be the whole state! At one point I started talking real slow, maybe it was my accent that they couldn't understand me? no...just an open mouthed blank stare. Oh Well!
#4 The exact same radio station broadcasts at multiple places on the dial...but none of them come in clearly. I was searching the radio for something to listen to...on 89.1 heard I could sing of your love forever...on 90.8 heard the same song...on 92.4 same radio station...what is going on here? Now it's my turn for the open mouth blank stare.

We did find a country station that came in clearly and had been listening to it all week. At some point on the way home Emily asked, "Mom, are we in Illinois yet? Can we turn off Indiana and put on WBGL?"
All in all it was a nice time away with no phones, email and yes no blogs to distract me from life. We watched deer every night as we ate dinner and I was reminded that our God is good and creative and inspiring and His creation is so amazing and beautiful and inspiring and versitile...I mean look at the Hooser...To view photos of our trip please click the photo badge on the right.

There's More Than Corn in Indiana

So we are off for a few days to good old Indiana Beach! This is our first camping adventure with all four kids...although we are not tenting it so Carol says "What ya complaining about?"

Packing for four kids, two adults, one dog and one stow-away niece is not all that much fun. So what am I doing right now...stalling on my blog. What else?

It's funny the things that come up when you are packing for the family.

1. Emily's clothes must match! And she must have a few options. plus the right underwear, the right pj's and a few changes of shoes!
2. I really only own 2 pairs of shorts...so after packing Miss Emily's clothes my clothes look pathetic.
3. I have two sons that are not in diapers. One, compulsivly changes his underwear, one never changes his underwear...how do you pack for that?
4. Doug only owns 2 pairs of shorts...something is wrong here!
5. How are we going to fit 4 kids, one dog, one stow away neice, our clothes, ourselves and a cooler in a Dodge Caravan...we need a bigger vehicle.

So goodbye for now...we'll be back soon. I can only handle a few days away with a 20 month-old.

The pool is open for any and all who want to use it...just don't pee in it! There are snacks in the pantry and beer in the outside fridge! Have a blast and be sure to take pictures.

We will miss you...both of us...we are kind of addicted to this blog thing and don't have a laptop.

See ya!

Christine & Doug

Girls Just Want To Have Fun!

If it wasn't pink, didn't giggle or have lace on it it probably didn't belong at our house on Thursday afternoon.






Let's see how far daddy can throw us was the game of the day. I could not believe how he launched these girls and one brother in the air!




This is Dooglas AKA "Dr. Beautiful"our party planner! "He just had soooo much fun!"






All in all, we had a great time! I loved getting to know Emily's friends and seeing her so happy. Sometimes we parents just need to endulge our children a little...and that's fun!

Happy Birthday Emily!

Happy Birthday to my only daughter Emily Nicole!

She turned 7 years old yesterday and did it in such style. We had a pool party with all of her friends, ate fancy fruit kabobs, drank Hawian Punch and feasted on double layer cookie cake. The girls laughed, screamed, giggled and ate alot! It was so much fun to watch them, I felt like I was in second grade all over again.

Emily is turning into such a beautiful little lady and it really is so much fun to watch her. She was so graceful at her party and was wonderful a friend and hostess. It was a hoot to watch her flit from friend to friend yesterday making sure everyone felt included. She hugged each girl after opening the present they had given her and went out of her way to make each girl feel like they had given her the best present in the world.

And as I tucked her in she just hugged me as tight as she could and I wondered how my little girl had grown so much already. Time really does fly...sometimes when I'm in the thick of a "he said, she said" argument or sitting at home one more day with little ones who are sick it doesn't feel that way. But when I sit and look at my family I have to ask, "where has the time gone and how did they get so big?"

It's in moments like holding her and tucking her in at night that I truly understand the passage about Jesus' mother when it says that "Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart."

1 2 3 Not It!

1. My home is... full of children.
2. I am listening to... SpongeBob.
3. Maybe I should... get off the phone.
4. I love it when... the house is clean, dinner's on it's way and the kids are going to bed.
5. My best friend...is Doug, Laura, Jen & Carol. Who can pick just one?
6. I don't understand...math, my DVR & why the gallon of milk is always empty.
7. I lost... you name it I've lost it. Many times my purse off the roof of the car.
8. People say...I look like my mom.
9. The meaning of .my blog name is...my brain has never been the same since the birth of my children.
10. Love is...true love is security.
11. Right now, somewhere, someone is...getting a massage.
12. I will always...put ketchup on my bratwurst.
13. Once upon a time...my thighs did not touch and my boobs were perky.
14. I never want to...be alone.
15. My personal motto is...don't stay angry it takes too much energy.
16. When I wake up in the morning...I make coffee, read my email and my blogs.
17. I get annoyed when...short people get to call themselves petite and tall people have to call themselves X-LARGE! NOT FAIR YOU ARE JUST SHORT!
18. People always...want more.
19. I sing...all the time.
20. Hugs are the best when...they last a long time and take your breath away.
21. Today I...made my bed.
23. Tomorrow I will...have coffee with my girlfriends.
24. I really want...to play an instrument well.
25. If my girls/boys were born the opposite sex, I would have named them...Samantha, Jason, Stephanie & Tara.

These are harder to answer than I first thought, maybe it's because of my Mommy Brain? I tag Laura!

Superwoman

This post is entirely self-serving and unashamedly self-promoting and unquestionably egotistical...that is just a warning...

Yesterday, I got 5 children up, clean, dressed, fed and to church by 8:15 am all by myself! Wow! I'm still asking myself how I did it! But we were there. We all were dressed properly, no one's face was too messy and all of our shoes were on and they even matched! (The whole shoe thing...it's a sore spot with me...)

I feel great!

I feel tired!

I'm a SUPERWOMAN!

Join me fellow SUPERWOMEN...tell us what you've done lately!

Tell me what you see

What is New Life?

Doug and I visited a new church over the weekend. It was amazing! The kids programs were incredible...each room was more outstanding than the last. Each person that greeted us was friendly, knew their job and they seemed so organized. Once we had settled all of the little ones, we stepped into an auditorium that was nothing less than a dream come true for a wanna be Christian music artist and worship planner. Huge stage, three screens with motion back grounds, lights, cameras, big sound and very talented musicians. It was truly overwhelming!

It was so hard not to sit there and envy what was around me. And I must confess I found myself thinking about what it would be like to be a part of this amazing production. And it wasn't too hard to take the next leap and wonder what was keeping us at our present church. At that moment in time, I confess, it did not feel as if there was much to tie us down to New Life.

I have been asking myself "why do I feel like we need to be so loyal to NL?" There is much there that I would really like to just walk away from right now. Much work, much frustration, much stuff. Why couldn't we just stop here and go there? People do it...why couldn't we? What is keeping us here? What is tying us down? Couldn't I find a place at this new church to be active and use my gifts?

I believe God designed the church to be more than a worship experience, more than a place to use your gifts, more than a Sunday morning service, more than 'the fields are ripe for harvest.' I believe God designed the church to be a family. And if you are blessed, you will find more than friends at church...you will find family.

Now, it is 3am...so bear with me if I get weepy or ramble. Today I was playing bean bags in my backyard at our 4th of July party and I had my loyalty question answered in one picture. I looked up at our patio and saw our 'family' eating together, drinking together, laughing together and my answer was given. I am loyal to NL because that is where God has blessed Doug and I with friends who are our family.

We have been married for 12 years and have always talked about wanting to make friends...the kind of friends that you can be yourself around, laugh till your sides hurt, call up on a Friday evening and ask over for pizza. Friends that do not require walls or masks; the kind of friends that just fit and are comfortable and are safe and the kind of friends that care about your kids and your family as much as you care about theirs.

We have those kinds of friends because we go to NL. We have a family at NL that is worth more than any big sound and light board, fancy cameras or talented musicians. We have this family that is worth the fight...worth the frustrations...worth the time it takes to make things right. Because even if we walked away from NL and all the stuff that is going on and went to this new church and replaced NL stuff with new stuff we are unaware of...we could never replace our family.

And so by God's design, I believe, we will stick it out...because we have a full life that is full of friends. And really, who could ask for more?

Time to make the donuts

So it's Saturday morning and we are out of food and coffee. When I announced we were going to Dunkin Donuts cries of "Can I go? Can I go?" were heard throughout the house. And they actually cooperated to put eachothers shoes on!!! Wow! We should go to Dunkin Donuts more often!