God just continues to bless and provide for us. The water problem in the basement turned out NOT to be a crack in the foundation, as we were fearing. Instead, somehow the sump pump had gotten turned off, causing the water to back up into the house. While we still have to make some repairs, it will be a LOT less expensive than repairing cracks! Praise the Lord!



I'm excited. I put a deposit down for our 5 year anniversary in June. I found a great little place on a river, that has suites with hot tubs and canoeing right there on site. I think it will be fun. We are going to be hanging out with Cindy and Dean somewhere the first part of the week, but then Kris and I will have 4 days to travel/hang out/relax on our own without the kids. I'm excited. We are going to a place near Eureka Springs, AR. Someone at work told me about Eureka Springs and suggested I check it out--so I did. I think there is going to be a Blues Festival going on that weekend too, which Kris will love! They have a passion play--I have tickets for it already, but I may change my mind and try to do something else. There is also a magic show I want to see, and since I have seen "The Passion of the Christ" I am thinking that the passion play won't compare and that I will be too critical of it! We'll see. I'll talk to Kris about it and see what he wants to do.



Abbey said the word "more" today. I asked her if she wanted more juice and told her to say "more" and she did. It was adorable!! So now the words that I know I have heard her say for sure are "more" and "uh oh." She will push things down or drop them, and then say "uh oh." I think she throws things down on purpose so she can say it. It's cute!

Owning a home can be frustrating. What I thought was just a minor water problem in the basement is a lot larger than I thought. It is extremely wet down there; I had to put shoes on just to do laundry. So, as I go down there to do laundry, I find that the water has come under the walls, into the laundry room and has absorbed into the clothes that are down there. Because I thought this was a minor problem, for all I know these clothes have been wet since Sunday, at the latest. Well, I thought "I guess I'm motivated to finish the laundry." That would have been a good idea, except that when I went to put the clothes in the dryer, the dryer won't work. So I still have a bunch of wet, smelly clothes down there, just sitting because I can't do anything with them. But I guess it doesn't really matter because I'm out of detergent now also. It's been a very frustrating day. Hopefully work will be relaxing for me, and not stressful!!

Does anyone ever wonder why God made our bodies to get rid of the bad stuff by vomiting?? Why would that be the best way? Surely there could have been some other way! But who am I to argue with God? I just think it is strange. Katherine was sick last night. Kids are so funny too, the way the think through things. She said her belly hurt because the spaghetti was trying to get out of her throat. That's how her little mind understands vomiting.



Has anyone heard the song by Evanescence "Tourniquet"? That's one of those songs that could either be Christian or not. It's hard to tell. Look at these words--up until the last line, I think these are "Christian" lyrics.



I tried to kill the pain, But only brought more. (So much more)

I'm dying,And I'm pouring, crimson regret, and betrayal.

I'm dying, Praying, Bleeding, Screaming.

Am I too lost to be saved ? Am I too lost ?

My God! My Tourniquet, Return to me salvation.

My God! My Tourniquet, Return to me salvation.

Do you remember me ? Lost for so long. Will you be on the other side ?

Will you forgive me ? I'm dying, Praying, Bleeding, Screaming.

Am I too lost to be saved ? Am I too lost ?

My God! My Tourniquet, Return to me salvation.

My God! My Tourniquet, Return to me salvation.

(Return to me salvation)

(I want to die!)

My God! My Tourniquet, Return to me salvation.

My God! My Tourniquet, Return to me salvation.

My wounds cry for the grave. My soul cries, for deliverance.

Will I be denied ? Christ! Tourniquet! My suicide.



Why would she be singing that Christ is her suicide?? What can that mean?

I am enjoying a nice game of canasta as I wind down from being at work. I think I would have enjoyed it more if I hadn't lost! I got off work at 11:15pm and it was still so beautiful outside. I think it was holding steady in the upper 60's. I love when the weather gets warmer. We can actually open the windows at night and sleep with the fresh air coming in. I love it! It always makes me thankful to God that such things can exist. That's one of those small, simple things for me that is a reminder that God exists and that He is good.



On a sad note, my friend Addie is leaving next weekend for a trip to Europe. I am thrilled for her, but sad that we won't have our weekly ritual of sitting around in our underwear playing playstation--oh wait--that's guys that do that, isn't it?? Don't panic, anyone--we do NOT do that! Our hanging out consists of either going to Target or some other store that our husbands want us to stop shopping at so frequently. I am sure I will survive a couple of weeks without her, but I will really miss her. She had better bring me something back! Ha ha--just kidding Addie if you're reading this! :)



On a happier note, I am leaving next weekend too. Not to go to Europe which would be awesome, but to go to Springfield, IL. What's in Springfield IL?? My friend Beth Cox is there. I get to spend the whole weekend out there with her. I am looking forward to seeing her again. We should have a lot of fun, and NO KIDS!!! Kris will spend the weekend taking care of the kids. I only feel slightly bad because he is also preaching that weekend. But I know he will do just fine. When it comes down to it, we all do what we have to do, don't we? I'm sure I will miss the kids, but probably not enough to regret taking a trip without them.

It's a beautiful day outside. Katherine and Kaleb are playing Candyland together in the sunroom. Abbey is in there too, but I am not sure what she is doing--getting in to things she is not supposed to I imagine. She is starting to talk more, which is always fun. I don't know what words she's attempting to say, but it is cute to hear it anyway. She says "momma" sometimes, but never in reference to me. Oh well-I know she'll get there someday.

I went grocery shopping today. I know you're all excited! But that's a good thing for me. It's been a long time since I actually went to the grocery store with a menu planned out and bought only the things I would need for those meals. I spent more than I wanted to, but some things I bought in bulk and that will make groceries for the next few weeks cheaper. Anyway, for the first time in a LONG time the fridge is full and I think I am ready to start cooking again. I've been kind of apathetic towards cooking (and most other things) recently, so it feels good to have some real food and a goal in mind. I'm sure Kris will be thrilled that he will actually get a home cooked meal again.



It's only 10:30pm but I'm rather tired for this time of night. Abbey was up a lot last night--she has a new tooth coming in and so that was bothering her. We didn't figure it out until about 2 hours after we'd been getting up and down with her. But once I put that baby orajel in her mouth she went to sleep and slept until almost 9:30am. If only the actual solution was my first thought!!!



We all went to lunch with Ken (Kris' dad) today. He came in for Brandon's doctor appt. and we went to lunch beforehand. It was good to see him and chat with him. Brandon is preparing to go through chemotherapy in a couple of weeks, so I know that will be stressful time for Cindy and all involved. Extra prayers would be much appreciated! I think it will be hard for Brandon, but he's strong and I know God can bring him through it safely. He will be in the hospital for 5 days, then go back for 2 consecutive weeks for a shot, and then he will spend another 5 days in the hospital for the treatment.



I read something interesting today in 1 Tim. 4:7 & 8 "Spend your time and energy in training yourself for spiritual fitness. Physical exercise has some value, but spiritual exercise is much more important, for it promises a reward in this life and the next." I just thought that was cool, especially the part about the reward being both in this life and the next. Physical exercise is good, but only benefits us in this life. Spiritual exercise is even better and the rewards will carry on into physical death and the eternal life that follows.



Something else I read this morning struck me. In 1 Tim. 1:12&13 Paul writes "How thankful I am to Christ Jesus our Lord for considering me trustworthy and appointing me to serve him, even though I used to scoff at the name of Christ." That's me...I spent a lot of time (and at times still fall into this trap) focusing on things other than Christ, and making them such a priority that in a way I was (am) scoffing Christ. And despite that, God has still called me to serve Him, and considers me trustworthy, when my actions have been anything but that. God really is an awesome God!!

I could have sworn I put a post in on Tuesday. It seems to be missing. Very mysterious. Oh well...I don't remember anything really fascinating happening on Tuesday.



I spent the night out last night with Addie. We went to Harrah's and stayed at the hotel there. We had dinner at the buffet there--which was pretty good, although I was really hoping to have some of their wonderful carrot cake for dessert. But, to my sadness, no carrot cake. All in all the food was pretty good.



I learned firsthand this morning why I do not go gambling very often. Well, it's not like I always have the money to, but that's another story. I was on my last $0.50 and decided to risk it all--that's right, all $0.50! And you know what???? I WON $100!!!! Did I cash out? Yes. Did I walk towards the hotel? Yes. Did I give in and plan to just go back and spend $20 of it? Yes. But then, did I go crazy and lose it all??? YES!!!!! How frustrating! It was so awesome to win $100 off of $0.50! And then the casino did it's job and sucked me in! Oh well...I really did have a lot of fun. I do wish I had come away with all that money, though!



I am assuming it is okay to publish this info, as Kris has already told several people. Yesterday, Kris put in his two weeks notice at Metlife, after working there for nearly 8 years. Yesterday, he was offered a position with XSBid, which is a company that has been wanting to hire him for almost 2 years. Things finally came into place, financially (for them and for us) and so Kris has accepted the position with XSBid. He will tentatively start on April 12, as his last day at Met is scheduled to be April 9. How exciting. He is really looking forward to having a normal 7-3, 8-4, 9-5 (whichever it might be) schedule. And I am looking forward to that too. As a matter of prayer, we recognize that God has chosen to bless us even more financially, and that He believes we are ready to be disciplined and honor what he has given us. Please pray that we will be faithful to Him, by first of all paying off all credit card debt, and second of all by putting $1000 in savings. We have other goals, but these are the two immediate goals, that will require much prayer and also much discipline. Anyway, Kris is at a meeting right now to announce to the supervisors that he has officially quit. I'm so proud of him, for all that God has accomplished through him--he is an amazing guy, with a brilliant mind. God has gifted him greatly and I know that God will continue to use Kris and the gifts he has given him to reach out and further His kingdom.



The kids are still trying to get over their colds. I was gone for one night and I came back to the kids being lethargic and whiny. Come to find out Kris had given them way more cold medicine than their little bodies needed. So this time they really were drugged! No wonder he didn't have any problems while I was gone!!! Apparently he didn't read the bottle of medicine, nor bother to measure the right amounts. So everyone got about 1 1/2 times the amount they were supposed to. Kind of funny! So, that's the worst that happened while the kids were left solely in Kris' care (good thing we don't use brandy to treat them). He always does really well with them and I never have cause to worry--but maybe next time I should write out really big how much each kid is supposed to have! They are all sleeping it off, so hopefully they will be better when they wake up. Thought you guys would enjoy that little piece of info.

I got absolutely nothing done today that I wanted to get done. I WANTED to finish Noah's quilt. I WANTED to straighten up the house (not clean because hooray--it is mostly clean!). I WANTED to dry my hair and put make up on (since when do I want to do this????). I WANTED to get groceries. Oh well--I am not grumbling--just looking back wishing I had done SOMETHING! I'll get over it. I did have a nice lunch with Kaleb today. We went to Chili's and then we went to Once Upon a Child and I let him spend $3.50 for a toy that I will eventually sell back to them for about $.70. Oh well--he enjoyed it! And I am enjoying my left over Southwestern Eggrolls for dinner. Yummy!!



On a sad note--my husband might be leaving me next week--just for a day or two. He may be taking a business trip. And I don't get to go. Well, technically I guess I COULD, IF I had a sitter for the kids and paid my own way--don't think that will be happening, although it would be cool because I've never been to Connecticut before! We'll see what happens.

Well, I am really tired so this (hopefully for your sakes) won't be long. I have had a somewhat frustrating day, but it is turning out alright, I suppose. I am working on a quilt for my nephew Noah, and it was not going so well earlier. I spent about an hour and a half fixing a 3 minute mistake I had made and it just really got me down. But I have such a wonderful husband. In the midst of the frustration, when I was about to cry, Kris just came over and sat down beside me. Then he prayed with me and continued to sit by my side. He didn't try to solve the problem, he just sat with me. At one point, he even offered to take over what I was working on, so that I did not get too frustrated or discouraged. What a sweet guy. He sat with me for probably about 20 minutes, just watching me and being there for me. God has really blessed me by giving Kris to me. So, I am just going to tell you all that I love him very much (Kris--God too though) and say goodnight. By the way--I am almost done with the quilt now. I am not sure how it will turn out but it is almost done!

The leadership retreat was great. It was good to fellowship with other brothers and sisters and just talk about where the Lord is leading us. Not to mention it was a night to sleep without someone coming into my room 3 times during the night wanting me to turn their music back on! But let's be realistic--I don't go and turn the music back on--I make Kris do it! But it is still ME that the kids decide to wake up first! I really do love my kids but it was nice to be able to wake up this morning and worry only about myself, instead of trying to scrounge up some cereal for the kids.



I had my first experience with the "stations of the Cross" today. We had our retreat at Our Lady of the Snows and they had the stations set up outside. It was interesting to say the least. It was a good reminder of what Christ did, although I have to admit that it was difficult to see such serene and peaceful images of Christ on his way to the Cross and up on the Cross. Having seen "The Passion of the Christ" and the graphic images portrayed, it was hard to see the seriousness of what Christ did through viewing the stations of the Cross. Does that sound bad...it is not what I intended. Basically the Passion struck me in a more real and personal way than the stations of the Cross. But it was good for me to be reminded again of what Christ did for me. It is not something that comes to my mind and is on my heart as often as I want it to be.



I'm a little sad. I had to come straight to work tonight so I haven't seen the kids since yesterday afternoon. All you mothers out there understand! It's always so fun to come home and see the kids for the first time after being gone. You know, you ask "Did you miss mommy" and they say "No." Ha ha--that's not always the case. Now, I won't even see them until tomorrow morning because they will already be in bed when I get home. I'll peek in and look at them while they are sleeping--that is always nice too!!

Why is it that in the midst of trying to read my Bible and spend time with the Lord the children seem like little tools that the devil is using to distract me?? One minute I am reading, the next I am yelling and filled with rage. Then I come back, and I apologize to the kids and begin again. They are actually misbehaving and being disobedient but the degree of my anger, especially as I am reading God's word, is bizarre. How can you feel such drastic things within seconds of each other?? I can think of no other reason, except that Satan doesn't like this new person that I am trying to become. So he uses the most precious ones in my life to throw me off course. Well, I am determined not to let him. May God grant me the strength to continue seeking him and the wisdom to see and prepare for Satan's attacks.



I was able to get something out of what I was reading. I was thinking about reading Jeremiah, but I wanted to read something I hadn't read for a long time--so I chose Lamentations. What a sad book. It paints a vivid picture of how angry God was about the sins of his people. The first thing that struck me was in chapter 1:14. "He wove my sins into ropes to hitch me to a yoke of captivity. The Lord sapped my strength and gave me to my enemies. I am helpless in their hands." A couple of things came to mind here. First of all just that picture of captivity. That is what sin leads us to. God has really been using this picture of slavery and captivity lately to show me the severity of my sins. What a realistic picture of what happens when we continue in sin. And who can ever free themselves from slavery?? No one...people can break out of prison at times, but they are not truly free. The are on the run, constantly afraid of being caught. I think this would be worse--being on the run. At least by being in slavery there is hope of rescue, hope of freedom. The next thing that struck me about this passage was the last part of verse 14, when he writes "I am helpless in their hands." I think that sometimes is EXACTLY where God wants us to be. We will never rely on him or realize our need for him until everything is stripped away, we are in chains, and we see firsthand that there is nothing left that WE can do. At that realization, God can intervene. He can make himself known and show us that while we are helpless, He has power to do amazing things! He will rescues and free us. He will break the yoke of sin that we have been burdened down with and give us freedom!



As a mother, two verses just shocked and appalled me. It was hard to bear the implications of these verses, and I pray that God never again destroys his people as he did the Israelites because of their sin and idolatry.

Lam. 2:20 "O Lord, think about this!" Jerusalem cries. "You are doing this to your own people! Should mothers eat their little children, those they once bounced on their knees?" and

Lam. 4:10 "Tenderhearted women have cooked their own children and eaten them in order to survive the siege."

How terrible!! In 4:10 it portrays the women as tenderhearted, women who would never even think about doing such a horrible thing. This shows such an extreme desperation and hopelessness! That's just awful.



One last note on this book. There was still hope. There was still that glimmer that maybe, just maybe God would still come through for his people. Lam. 3:20-26 "I will never forget this awful time, as I grieve over my loss. Yet I still DARE to hope when I remember this: The unfailing love of the Lord never ends! By his mercies we have been kept from complete destruction. Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each day...The Lord is wonderfully good to those who wait for him and seek him. So it is good to wait quietly for salvation from the Lord. And it is good for the young to submit to the yoke of his discipline."



Kaleb is making my day. Katherine was really distracting me while I was reading my Bible and I was trying to explain to a 3 year old the need to read the Bible and grow closer to God. Well, Kaleb just went into Katherine's room and found a Bible. He brought it in here to show me that he had a Bible "just like mine." It was cute. And then, as I am sitting here typing I hear him chattering behind me. He is sitting over on the couch, in the same position I was, flipping through the pages of the Bible, telling me he is reading his Bible, just like me!

Well, some exciting things are happening in the Bishop household tonight. I can't say what they are right now, but God seems to be moving and it will be really interesting to see where he will take us. Don't worry--no plans to move from Missouri just yet! We will see what tomorrow and the next few weeks bring.



I had a good time tonight with Addie. O'Charleys was pretty good--dessert was awesome!! Besides getting sick at the mall (not because of Addie) we had a good time just talking and getting away from reality.



The kids are all getting ready for bed now. It's late, but since I was out, Kris and I spent a lot of time talking about the latest news (which will be expounded upon at a later date). We didn't want to interrupt the conversation to put the kids in bed, so we let them play with play dough. It made for quite a mess in the dining room, but I am going to try to convince Kris that I am still "sick" so that he will clean the floor.



Kris and Kaleb are having a conversation about arm pit hair--very interesting.



I had a bathtub scare this evening. All three kids were in there and Kris and I were in the giraffe room. All of a sudden I hear Katherine yelling "Mommy, help!" So I run in there, because I am always paranoid that something will happen to Abbey when she's with them. What did I find? Katherine looks at me and shows me a little toy elephant. She told me that the elephant was calling for help. Apparently she was just playing with the elephant and pretending. Scared me though!



Well, I am going to try to go to bed earlier tonight than I have been the last week or so. I imagine that after the kids are down, though, that Kris and I will head to bed but then stay up until 1 or 2am contemplating this next stage in our lives. Don't worry anyone--I'M NOT PREGNANT---AGAIN!



Until tomorrow...

Well, we had a wonderful lunch at "Apple Juice" (see post below)! It was nice to just sit and talk with Kris and the kids--although the kids weren't too thrilled at having to wait for about an hour for our food--but for the most part they did fine. Kaleb, though, before we left the house decided that we were going not to "Apple Juice" but to "Peach Juice." I told him we were going to Applebees and that just made him mad and he insisted that, no, we were going to peach juice. Okay, so I left it alone. Then, as we were driving home, out of the blue Kaleb asks, "Mommy are we going to "Peach Juice" now?" I have no idea what he was thinking, but it was funny.



I am looking forward to this evening. I am going out with Addie tonight, which is one thing I really look forward to every week. I think we are going out to dinner at the new O'Charleys in St. Charles. Yummy! There is nothing like their rolls!



The kids are all sleeping, and have been for about 2 hours now. That's always nice. It's more of a drug-induced coma than sleep though. Just kidding! I did give all three of them cold medicine, but it was within the boundary of their weight/age. Sometimes I wonder about that cough medicine though--is there alcohol in the kids' stuff too?? Hmm...

I had a wonderful screaming session with Kaleb this morning. All of the kids seem to be getting sick (just with colds) and they are all just plain cranky. I find it annoying, to be quite honest and I don't know some days how I keep my sanity. Maybe I don't keep it--maybe I'm just "running on the gas fumes"??? Anyway, I actually found the screaming match quite enjoyable. Kaleb hated it. See, I have begun to lay on him and hold him down when he is being downright defiant and mean. Does that sound cruel?? I guess that in and of itself isn't cruel--because I am not physically hurting him. Maybe the cruel part is that I find it so amusing when he just screams at the top of his lungs (in his high pitched voice--keep that in mind) "Get off of me! Get off of me!" I just scream it back at him and it makes me laugh. I don't think it helps him get rid of his anger though! But, when he calms down I will get up (sometimes it takes about 15 minutes) and if he is ready to calm down and apologize, we are done. If not, it's pinned back down to the floor we go. Kaleb decided it would take 3 times this morning before he was ready to apologize and behave. But since then he has been good and sweet.



I think it is just his age--I seem to remember Katherine going through this same kind of thing. Unfortunately, no form of anything seems to work with him. So, we are trying this new method. We will see how it goes--it seems to be the only thing that really phases him.



I told Kaleb we were going to Applebees for lunch and he is walking around telling me that he wants to go to "apple juice." That makes me smile--things like that start to make up for his terrible attitude lately.



It is so awesome to see Abigail walking. She is so adorable. And that girl can go fast!



I can't seem to get over how much I like Kaleb's new haircut. It just really looks good on him. Maybe it is because he looks more like his daddy now! He's just like a little tiny Kris, only without the excessive facial hair-which actually is not present on Kris right now. Something possessed him and he shaved a couple of days ago. Despite my shock, I was pleased!



At the risk of not including Katherine, I will just comment on how proud I am that she can sing both the English and the Greek alphabet. I always rolled my eyes when Kris talked about teaching our kids Greek, but I have to admit that it is really awesome to hear your 3 year old sing the Greek alphabet and do it to perfection. For the most part, you can understand every letter that she is saying, although if you are not familiar with the Greek alphabet, you may not think she even knows it!



It is off to lunch now. Kris is taking a long lunch this afternoon which will be really nice. We are meeting (apparently at "Apple Juice") and it will be nice to just sit and talk. We don't see too much of each other throughout the week; one of us is either coming or going every day it seems. But tomorrow will be nice and relaxing. Cindy is keeping the kids overnight and Kris and I are going to a leadership retreat with Crossroads. It will be nice to have a night/morning of not having to worry about what to feed the kids for breakfast (since we are out of cereal).

I am just getting started at this, so I do not know what form it will take. I guess we'll just get started and go from there.



I had a hectic day--seemed like the kids were intentionally TRYING to be bad. I know they weren't but sometimes I wonder! I think it is just me. My emotions seem to be out of control, but fortunately, I may have found the source, which I may or may not address later. So, I am looking into that and hoping that my plan of action will alleviate some of that chaos in my mind and heart!



My night at work was ok. No real problem calls. I enjoy my job. Don't get me wrong--I love to be at home with my kids, but I also love to get away and do something that establishes me as a woman, and not just a wife and mother. While I acknowledge that there is a lot to be said for being "just" a wife and mother--I do not feel accomplished in those areas. And I think to some degree that is to be expected. The marriage and kids are both young, and they are not finished. Though I also realize that I just have some issues there--when it comes to not feeling accomplished or valued in those areas. Anyway, so basically--I like working!



It is getting late and I really should be trying to sleep since the kids will be up in less than 7 or 8 hours. That is the downside to working. Three nights a week I work until 11pm, which means the earliest I get home is around 11:25pm. But I can't seem to sleep as soon as I get home. So this whole blogging thing will be a good outlet for me.



I have some research to do, so I'll sign off of here and see what tomorrow will bring.



Psalm 81:10-"Open your mouth wide and I will fill it with good things."