Help Honor the Jahn Family

Greetings....

Recently I had one of my best friends,Mandy Jahn, and her two kids, Ryan and Kaitlyn, killed in a car accident. Mandy was on her way home from teaching violin lessons and was hit by a drunk driver. This tragic event has made many of us start to see that life is to be cherished and we need to do whatever we can to live everyday to the fullest! I keep thinking that some good needs to come out of this horrible thing that has affected so many lives. It seems that the Christmas season is the best time if any to bless someones life in honor of Many, Ryan and Kaitlyn. Another one of Mandy's close friends has brought to my attention a story of a legally blind little girl that badly needs a new violin. She currently plays but had her violin broken in her home by the kids that her mom babysits for..and her family is not in the position to buy her a new one...as violins are very costly. We are trying to get together some donations to help give this little girl a great Christmas and present her with a new violin. Fortunately we have so far had a great response with people willing to donate. We think we might be getting a violin for free! How amazing is that...God definitely is working here! This violin might not be a good fit we have been told..because if she is a good player she might need another one. However we have realized there are many others that need help this year. We would like to continue to bless others and need your help to do it. There has been a fund set up at Grundy Bank in Morris IL we are putting all donations in there and are going to start giving to less fortunate families in memory of Mandy , Ryan and Kaitlyn. The first $1000 will go to get a new violin for the little girl and we hope that we will be able to get much more and bless many other families this year! There are always people out there that are way worse off than us..and we need to find it in our hearts to bless them any way that we can. I hope that you are able to help in anyway possible. Thank you in advance..and God Bless!
Sara Beland
(Please pass this on to everyone in your address book ....we would love to reach as many people as possible)

For information on how you can donate please email me back.....or you can send donations to me at
147 N Main St
Seneca, IL 61360

Through a childs eyes

Sometimes I think that I don't give kids enough credit. They are smart little buggers and sure do catch on to most things that are going on around them. My oldest daughter, Rose, well she is quite the little conversationer (if that's a word!). We are driving in the car the other day and she says I think that Aunt Tara (my sister who is pregnant) is going to have a girl. I told her that the dr says that it is going to be a boy...she didn't like that response. She was quite sure that her assumption was that it was going to be a girl and that was just how it was. However Rose did come around to accepting the fact that the dr just might be right after all. Then she decides that her and I should think up names that Aunt Tara should use. She says..."hmmmm I think that we should name the baby Dragon." Well..isn't that just the best name for a baby! LOL. Okay you make sure and tell Aunt Tara that this is what she should consider for a name...I am sure she will completely agree with you. Then the conversation proceeds on...but I need give everyone a little history first.. *my sister had a baby last year...and he was very sick..had a heart defect lots of surgeries..and then passed away last august* So the conversation continues with Rose saying "Do you think that this baby will have lots of surgeries like the other baby did..." I told her I sure hope not and that we would pray extra hard for him to be okay. Then she says "I don't think that this baby is going to go with God." Oh my goodness..I couldn't believe that she said that...what an amazing thing for a little girl to say. I told her that she was absolutely correct and that this baby was going to stay with Aunt Tara so he could play with all his cousins. She liked that response alot. This just goes to show you that no matter what the age little kids pick up on everything that is going on around them. Even when you don't think they understand...they get it. I love my little girl to death and sure hope that she is right about my soon to be new nephew...he is not going with God till much later in life...Enjoy your coffee!

Friendship prayer

I think everyone should have a friend that would send you this...it brighten my day so I thought I would share with all of you :)


Myspace Friends Comments & Graphics

A Little Jo Time

Alright well the hubby is still away and I finally get to go out by myself and not with any of my children! I am so excited...yet not sure what to do with myself. There aren't too many times in my life anymore that I get to go do "Jo" things. All of you mothers out there would understand. As I keep adding new kids to my life it gets just that much more complicated :) But I wouldn't change any of it that's for sure! My friend and I are going to see a movie and out to dinner. That means that I can talk with a friend over dinner instead of yelling at each of my three children at different times to stop whatever they are doing. I can order just my food and only my food. I can actually eat my food when it arrives and not ten to fifteen minutes later...after I have cooled and cut everyones food. I can sit and talk as long as I want after I am done eating and not want to shove my food into my mouth and get out the door as fast as I can. Then I can proceed to go to a movie where I will be able to sit for the entire movie and not have to pause it a single time...and get this I will actually be able to hear it without the volume being all the way on high. Although that last one could be rough since I have watched loud TV for soooo long because my hooligans are always making noise not sure if my ears can process soft noises! I am anxiously looking forward to my little friend date and a night out with someone that actually uses big words. I miss my hubby terribly and would rather be going on a date with him...but for now this will do and there will be plenty of other hubby date nights! So if it's been a while for you.....and you are itching to get out...call a babysitter and do it! Enjoy your coffee!

Let's have a freak out!

Sometimes freak outs happen for no reason at all...and then sometimes there is every reason in the book to freak out. I always enjoy a good freak out session(well not really when they are happening..but when its over I like them). It usually makes me feel better. Crying and screaming sometimes brings out the best in me. There have been alot of things on my plate lately and I have a bad habit of just letting them pile up onto each other until they all just topple over. The situation is never good for anyone that might be in the line of fire when the topple begins. I am thankful for my family and friends that have listened to my many freakouts over the years. They might have a different opinion but they should know that they are greatly appreciated. After the freak outs are over I feel a sense of peace...I usually have a good talk with God and all is better. If I would just leave it up to Him in the first place I probably wouldn't need to freak out but would fun would that be. So if you haven't had any good freak out sessions lately and you can feel it all about to topple...go ahead and scream...cry...whatever you need to do to make yourself feel better...it will be worth it in the end. Enjoy your coffee!

An absent husband

So it seems that my hubby is leaving me again. Not in the divorce doesn't love me anymore way...more like the he has to go work somewhere else to make money kind of way! He is going about 3 1/2 hours away to work for about a month. Mr. Jo is due to leave tomorrow afternoon and we are all getting a little nervous about it I think. The time away will be hard for all of us....Rose thinks her daddy is moving....not sure what Robert thinks or if he even has a clue...and as for the baby AnnMarie...there is absolutely no clue! We have had a great week with him home with us...getting in lots of family time. We took the kids to the Field Museum on Saturday. It was alot of fun....the kids lasted a lot longer that I thought they were going to. I am looking forward to getting in a good routine when he is gone. My house for some reason always stays ALOT cleaner when he is not here....odd isn't it?! I will however miss him terribly...and of course the adult interaction daily. After spending a whole day with three kids under the age of 5 I am ready for some adult conversation. I guess the tv and phone will just have to do. I have been offered alot of help if needed in the next month. Which is such a blessing. Most people however probably don't know that I won't ask for help. I have a real issue with asking for things....unless it's my mom! :) She is the one person I can call and have a freak out if needed...thank God for her! I hope the Mr. Jo takes good care of himself and that he comes home safely to us. I can't imagine all those single mothers out there....or the mothers that deal with an absent husband on a constant basis. I could not be one of them. For us this is very out of the ordinary. Bless all of you moms that can do this and do it this on a regular basis...major kudos for all of you. Please keep my husband and our family in your prayers and we journey into this next month....Enjoy your coffee!

The money store

So recently my husband, Mr Jo, and I started taking a financial class. I was leary at first but I am really learning something from it and I really like it. It seems as the years go by we get more crazy with our money and aren't planning well for the future. This class really outlines the simple things that everyone should know and be practicing but aren't. It's very eye opening! There is a great deal of emphasis on teaching your kids the correct way to handle money so in turn you can change your family tree and they won't end up with the same situtations that you are in. My four year old, Rose, is not quite getting this money concept. She has chores (when I remember to tell her to do them) and she gets a certain dollar amount for them if they are finished. Lately when she asks for something I say well you are going to have to do some things around here and then earn the money so you can buy it yourself. She's not liking that idea to much. The other day she asks to go out to a restuarant. I say no I am sorry honey we can't today. To which she replies won't don't have any money right ( gee like I haven't said that before). Rose then says well where can we go to buy more money! Oh my...I about fell over...obviously she really doesn't get this whole money idea. Then today she says " I WANT THE NEW HANNAH MONTANA DVD!" First off I say we don't ask for things like that (or demand them) and second off if you save up your money you can buy it yourself. I tell her go clean up your room and I will give you some money for it and you can start saving for that dvd it will probably cost nineteen dollars. Rose replies...nineteen?!....how about five dollars instead? Well of course Rose let's just call up walmart and tell them that you have reduced the price of the dvd so it's more affordable to you! None the less...she didn't get her room picked up...she didn't get any money...and she's not going to get the Hannah Montant dvd anytime soon.
Enjoy your coffee!

Toliet Tales

Why doesn't God send us our children with the ability to go potty in the toliet? I mean that to me makes complete sense. There born with some sort of trait that allows them to know when they have to go to the bathroom and we could take them....a little signal perhaps....a sneeze...a wink of the eye...but to my dismay this does not happen. We as parents are forced to potty train our children. It just must be one of God's cruel jokes for us....I can imagine that he is sitting there laughing at the thought of all of us crazy moms trying to get this job done. Now if you are one of those parents that says "oh my child was so easy...they did this..and this..and this..then they were trained" or "she/he pretty much just trained themselves"...you can stop reading this right now and go sit in a corner because you are annoying! I have recently started training my second child (who happens to be a boy) to go on the potty. He is just not getting it...my daughter was much easier to train. I can't get him to pay attention to me....to listen to me...I have no flippin clue if he even understands what I am telling him...it's sooo frustrating. After one week of taking him to the potty numerous times a day...yesterday I finally got him to go pee three times on the toliet...and actually I just think that it was a lucky chance that he was sitting there when he decided he had to go. Personally I believe that I say "Let's go to the potty Robert" and he thinks okay...I'll go...but I am NOT peeing on that toliet. I mean I take him we sit there for what feels like forever..and then nothing...not a drop..it's soooo...uuhhhh frustrating..and then as soon as he leaves the room...he ends up peeing. It's like he's thinking "ha ha mommy I just held it and now I went in my pants...nah nah nah poo poo at you." Well to my disliking I am continueing on this journey of potty training and it's only the 2 day into the 2nd week....but I see a LONG path ahead of me...and it's not looking like fun...Enjoy your coffee!

20 Reasons Why I haven't blogged...

Okay you can shut your mouth now.....I know it's been a LONG time but I am actually typing a blog. Really I am serious..shut it...go on take your hand and help it close..okay there you go. So I completely feel like a blog virgin it's been soooo long. I could make all kinds of lengthy excuses as to why I haven't blogged since November....oh wait that sounds like a good idea...I think I will do just that!

My Reasons for NOT blogging since November:
1. I am lazy
2. I have three kids under the age of 4
3. I am lazy
4. The holidays kept me really busy
5. I am lazy
6. I have soo much housework to do I felt bad sitting at the computer
7. I am lazy
8. I just forget
9. I am lazy
10. Did I mention that I have three kids, husband, and a dog.....
11. I am lazy
12. I didn't think that anyone read them...so why do it...
13. I am lazy
14. I have been extremely stressed out
15. I am lazy
16. I never make time
17. I am lazy
18. I quit having things to talk about
19. I am lazy
20. I was just being stupid and not prioritizing it into my schedule! :)

If you didn't catch the drift most of my exucses are lame cause I was just being lazy....and not putting much effort into it. So I am going to try to come back...although that's been said before. But I really do enjoy doing this... and come to find out people do read it (I had quite a few people ask..why don't you blog anymore?) so...here's to another try...Enjoy your coffee! :)