Fun at the park

We visit the park a lot here (a benefit to abnormally warm TX weather) - and I realized I hadn't taken a lot of pictures of the kids lately. We are so blessed to have other mommies who get to stay at home or have crazy ER doctor/nursing schedules that love to get together. Our kids play well together and it gives us all some adult conversation. I realize so many mommies don't have the privilege to stay at home or don't have a handful or more women who love to get together - I am one blessed woman. Here are some pictures of our fun last Friday.

The girl is all about the pig tails now. She requests them most days, and is doing well at leaving them alone. She was all over the place on Friday...it was fun to watch. She is so ready to be big, and it's hard to believe she will be 2 on Saturday!

The boy finally figured out how to drive a powerwheel on Wednesday - well, he needs to work on steering, but he's got the gas thing down. The kids LOVE riding around, playing with the radio, and having the wind in their hair. The girl already knows how to shift it into the highest gear - she is a speed girl. I didn't get as many pictures of him because he spent his whole time in the jeep - the picture that looks like nothing actually shows him & Elyjah about to drive into the creek. Candie (Elyjah's mom) was rescuing them from danger.

Candie also brought a kite since it was pretty windy. All the kids had a blast - even when the kite landed on them. It was fun to watch them try to fly it themselves. The girl saw the opportunity to have the jeep to herself, and took it. What a great way to spend the morning with friends. Again, blessed, so very blessed.

Out of the mouths of babes

"Come on Cletus," said the boy.

Heard last night from the boy as he was trying to get his father to come with him.

Learned from said father during previous wrestling matches.

There are many other great sayings, but I'm failing to write them all down. I think one of our favorite responses to questions right now is, "I think so/ I guess so."

The girl is keeping right up with him although she isn't quite so humorous yet with what she says so much as how she says it. She does jabber non-stop much like her mama is known to do.

It does make us laugh that she tries to identify letters (much like her brother), but she only says "d" and "r." However, she calls out either of those letters upon seeing any letter. Too funny. She has recently decided she loves to sing, but usually only gets out the last word from each line. This is what you may hear from the back seat:

"...heart...gainst you...heart...gainst you"

We've fallen in love with these two blessings all over again the last couple of days, but how can you not?

Amazing song

If you've read my blog for any length of time, you know how much I love praise music and how it speaks right to my soul. I LOVE our worship minister. He has an amazing gift of leading us into the presence of God each week, a humble spirit, and it helps that I love his voice too. This week he introduced us to a new song (to me anyway) - Jesus Lord of Heaven by Phil Wickham. The sermon, early in the service, reminded us of the goodness of God. Steven followed that with an amazing time of musical worship including this song. AWESOME! I've added it to my playlist so you've been listening to it if you haven't muted it already. I encourage you to start it over and really listen to these powerful words. I've been singing this song all week...

Tails, friends, and our newest one

I actually got the girl in pigtails for about 30 minutes the other day. She agreed to them although she was NOT happy about having her picture made. She has so much hair, and desperately needs a trim to keep her bangs out of her eyes. Isn't she adorable? Sadly, she's not let me repeat.

We had Bethany and Lauren over to play the other night so their mommy and daddy could celebrate their anniversary. I've never laughed so hard in my life. Our girl finally got in to dress-up (thanks to clothes from Kadyn and Lauren showing her how it's done). She kept walking around saying, "Princess." The best was when she looked at Clay and said, "I'm cute. I'm cute." I think we're in trouble. The kids had a blast tackling Spider-man and singing along with Veggie Tales. If you dare test your hearing, enjoy the video below (make sure to pause my player).



And our newest little one...often referred to as Baby Tres by one of my friends... Our world changed again Tuesday, December 2nd. That's when I saw a + sign on the test that was simply to help me put the questions to rest! Yes, we knew there was a possibility of being pregnant, but we really weren't thinking we could/would be. I got a funny icky feeling on Thanksgiving Day which raised some red flags for me, but I was fine the rest of the weekend. I realized I was late Tuesday morning; and having a $4 coupon (can we say AWESOME?) for an EPT product, I decided to get a test just in case. I figured I would save myself another trip to the store. Got home, unloaded the groceries, checked email, etc., then I began to realize it was a nagging question in the back of my mind so about 10 minutes before I needed to leave to get the boy from school I took the test. I was honestly FLOORED that it turned up positive - and then I had to scurry out the door to do the rest of our busy day. I didn't get home for several more hours, but managed not to give it away to friends or others I saw that afternoon. Clay came home and found the following note in the bathroom: Here's vindication...God's got a sense of humor! The pregnancy test was taped to the note. (For those that don't know, we were told that we had less than 5% chance of conceiving a child without medical assistance. Well, this will be our 3rd child, and we have yet to use medical assistance.) He was quite speechless - excited, but speechless. We decided to keep it mum since we would see his family in just a few weeks, and it would be the first time we could tell them in person. It was a tough few weeks keeping quiet - especially with me not feeling well - but it was a lot of fun. My mom and a couple other friends figured it out, but it was basically our little secret. We had our first sonogram January 5th, and sat amazed once again that He has blessed us with another little Skipper. I'm currently 11 1/2 weeks, and feeling better than I did in December. Some days are better than others, but it is all very doable. Clay has been a rock star - picking up my slack, running to get me the one thing I know doesn't make me ill (chicken strip sandwich from Sonic), and helping even more with the kids. We can't wait to see our little one again March 25th - and we hope to find out what we're having that day. Until then, it's business as usual with a huge change looming ahead. Zone defense is a bit scary on this side of it - especially knowing they'll be 4, 2 1/2 and a newborn. The kids have no clue, but I'm sure as I get bigger they'll notice something changing. The only down side? Having to go through most of the summer in latter pregnancy...I am sure I will look like a Cabbage Patch kid knowing how much I swelled with the boy. Ah, the joys!!!! I can't believe we get to do this again!!!!

Christmas 2008

I'm way behind on blogging - this pregnancy is kickin' my tail so I don't have much leftover energy to focus on the blog. We had a great Christmas this year. Christmas Eve was spent with my family going to the Branch's church and then their home for dinner and play time. It was there we surprised them with the news that we're expecting another baby. What great fun - and we were glad to finally let the cat out of the bag after being quiet for over 3 weeks!!! We went home for our first real time with playing Santa...check out Clay's frustration when he realizes he has to drill some holes! We were very excited to be done by 10:30 p.m.

Christmas morning was spent at our home with Pop and Grannylou. The kids weren't really into opening gifts, but they sure enjoyed playing with them. The adults all got in on the fun - playing the boy's new guitar, talking on the phone that came with the girl's kitchen, and remembering how to do a sit-and-spin. Grannylou is on the other side of the camera so her beautiful face wasn't captured all morning. We enjoyed a nice brunch, and then everyone took a few hours to relax (well, we finished packing since we were leaving early the next morning). We headed to my folks' house that afternoon to meet up with the Branches again. The kids exchanged gifts and played their hearts out. My camera battery died so I only got one shot. It was a great way to spend the day.

We headed for Memphis the next morning - Aunt Claire took all the pictures so you'll have to wait on those. It was fun sharing our news with them too. New Year's Day we headed to Hayden, AL to spend some time with our best friends. I can't believe we didn't take one picture! We had a blast watching our kids play and just being together. We miss them dearly. It was a wonderful way to celebrate the birth of our Savior and start the new year.

Here are a few pictures of the fun...the computer we got the boy was the hot commodity and caused multiple fights that day...when putting the kitchen together I was afraid it was too short for our little gal, but I think we're fine since she can barely reach the microwave! And yes, mock my shirt...it's a HUGE sweatshirt my mom made for all of us several years ago. It is so comfy and warm...and everything else was packed!!!

And then there were 5...

Have you heard?

Our princess is now the middle child...little does she know what is really coming.

We're moving to zone defense in early August.

I'll tell more of our story when I'm not so tired.

(That goes for Christmas pictures as well.)

Better than a card in the mail...

Merry Christmas from our family to yours!

Catchin' up

It's been a busy week or less I guess - Clay went hunting for 4 days, the boy had his last day of school including program and party, a new baby was born to our gaggle, and Christmas is around the corner! Here are some fun shots & video of the adventure of the last week...

Here is the boy playing with his best bud at school before chapel began. The girl was paying close attention to it all. The boy finding his place...and helping his buddy up (who did NOT want to get on stage)...then singing his heart out. The program started off well - he got on stage and didn't fall apart when he saw us. He didn't sing the first song, but sang the second. Then it started to get a little crowded...and then he got pushed. He went to the back of the stage to calm down a bit and then rushed forward when it came time to sing Happy Trails. The video (of him singing Happy Trails) isn't great quality, but he's just too cute. Make sure to pause my player to hear the sweet voices!






The kids decided they wanted to have a photo session one afternoon. I have no idea what got into them, but I took advantage of it. They weren't very still so many of the shots are blurry. They posed and smiled...and even hugged the tree. (Girl needs a belt!) The boy has taken a great interest in taking pictures himself. Here is a great one he took of one of the girl's many funny faces!

Cooper arrived December 18th - the 5th baby born since our gaggle began meeting 2 1/2 years ago...and we have another coming in February!

Not my best day

***UPDATE***

Friday is going so much better. I can tell people were praying for rest for me last night and for my sanity today. We've had a lazy morning, and I've gotten some laundry done. Again it makes me so thankful that we get a fresh start each day - and today didn't start until 7:45 a.m.!!! It's also finally a sunny day which always helps my attitude -and reinforcements (meaning my mom) are on they way.

*****************

Kids: 14 (or so) Mommy: 0

Today has not been my most stellar day as a mom. You would think after 3 1/2 years I would be getting the hang of this - and I've even had 2 kids to practice on. Nevertheless, I found myself thinking I needed to re-think my strategies today. The day started off well enough, but has quickly become a blur of whining, crying, pestering, arguing, and bribing. I have compromised on so many things I shouldn't have. I am just too tired today to battle them. I know I'll pay tomorrow, but survival was the name of the game today...and maybe tomorrow too since Clay is out of town until Sunday. I am not proud of myself, and I am so very grateful that we can go to bed tonight and start fresh tomorrow - just hopefully not before 7:30 a.m.!!!!

Busted lip

"So glad _______ got her pictures taken this weekend." These were the first words out of her teacher's mouth on Sunday morning when we went to pick up the girl. Then she stood up and we saw her big, fat lip. The pictures don't do it justice. She looked like she had a beak - poor thing! (The second one does show how her top lip sits over her bottom.) They said she didn't cry too long after falling face first on the school bus, and she handled it like a pro once home. It didn't phase her eating or smiling or getting into trouble one bit!



And those pictures we took - you'll just have to wait so we don't spoil some Christmas presents.

A Saturday with the cousins

Kadyn and Dylan came to play this morning after spending the night with Grannylou. It is always fun to see the kids continue to grow in how they play together. The boys and Kadyn were wrestling, playing some kind of keep-away game, and laughed a lot. Grannylou worked hard keeping all the kids moving on the swing set while we enjoyed the unseasonably warm temperatures.

Tonight we headed to Prairie Lights - a mile or so long drive through Christmas lights with a stop in the holiday village where Santa and some great rides are! The kids really enjoyed watching the lights and riding the rides, but weren't so crazy about Santa. The boy just kept running circles around us, both kids enjoyed the Dizzy Dragon ride and the carousel (no pics because we were all riding at warp speed). It was a great night that has become quite the family tradition.

Making memories

We had a few firsts tonight: we made our first pizza and baked & decorated cookies. The kids really enjoyed most of it, but had a hard time waiting for their creations to cook. It wasn't the best pizza we've had, but it was a lot of fun watching the kids spread the crust, sprinkle the cheese, and place the pepperoni and Canadian bacon.

After supper, we made some sugar cookies while Clay made chocolate chip ones. The boy preferred to eat the dough over rolling cookies (like his mama), and the girl just liked placing it the dough on the pan. Once decorating began, the girl took great care in decorating her cookies just so. The boy preferred to eat the toppings over putting them on a cookie, and then he would just scrape the icing off. Here are a few pictures of our fun and the finished products.


While not a roaring success, we had a great time. Our biggest news of the day - the girl seems to be catching on to the potty thing. (No, the boy is still miles behind with little interest.) She turned a corner a couple of days ago, and tonight she even asked to go! She was dry and then used the potty!!!! Much rejoicing occurred - and I haven't had to change a poopy diaper for her in 3 days. I just want one of them out of diapers, and I really don't care which one.

I got an honesty award?

Last week my friend, Rachel, gave me an Honest Award. Say what? I am quite humbled by Rachel's selection of me and her remarks. God was gracious to cross our paths for a couple of years thanks to her sharing her high school years with Clay. She was the one that introduced to our first church in this city - a church that became our home and provided an amazing family of friends. Life has taken her to various parts of the country, but we reconnected again through challenges our eldest children experience (I know, that's a detail I haven't written about much here, but will soon.). While we mostly keep up through our blogs, I know she is there if I ever need an ear about what life is throwing my way.

Here are the instructions:
"When you receive the prize, you must write a post showing it, together with the name of who has given it to you, and link them back. Choose a minimum of 7 blogs that you find brilliant in their content or design. Show their names and links and leave them a comment informing that they were prized with 'Honest Weblog'. List [if you can and/or dare] at least ten honest things about yourself. Then, pass it on!"

Well, here goes:
1. I am not the clean freak everyone thinks I am. I like things to be clean, but I hate to clean so it often doesn't get done. I am a master of deception in this area by picking up/hiding the clutter so everyone always seems to think my house is always clean.

2. I have become quite lazy since becoming a stay-at-home mom. I am an amazing procrastinator and waste way too much time on the internet.

3. I am now gray enough that I color my hair (started back in May). It's not a fun color like my friend Abby (who can't love peanut butter chocolate?), but it does pull out the natural red. I like it.

4. I shave my legs every time I shower/bathe - even in the dead of winter. I can't stand the feeling of stubble rubbing against the sheets. Gives my legs a "headache" as my mom calls it.

5. I think my husband looks best with a full beard. I love the winter because out it comes. He looks so sharp. And I don't mind kissing him with it one bit.

6. There are parts of motherhood I really don't like. Having waited almost 3 years to get pregnant with our son, I said I would never take anything for granted or complain. I've had to eat a lot of crow for those words. Motherhood is not what I expected it to be on so many levels, and there are days I would prefer not to have the responsibility. I love my kids, and they bring me great joy; but, some days I really don't want to have to worry about anybody else.

7. I often wish I was more of a girly girl, but not enough to really work on it. I would love to always be stylish, but I really like my jeans and t-shirts. I wish I had a cute hairdo, but I really like being able to pull it up. I wish my house was better decorated, but I just don't have the eye or the patience to learn about it. I like the finished products of crafts and scrapbooks and such, but I don't like the process of creating it. I can be sentimental, but not usually in the traditional way.

8. I'm a pretty picky eater, but my tastes have expanded since meeting Clay. Mainly because he pushes me to try things, and sometimes I actually like them! I still don't really like my food to touch though.

9. I am saddened that I have let my love of the written word wane. I used to write a lot in high school. I let life and my own insecurities slow my passion, and now the words don't flow as freely.

10. I wish I hadn't stopped learning to play the guitar and piano. I would love to be able to play for my kids, and worship God in that way.

Now, I'm going to pass on tagging 7 others because it's hard to choose. Instead of listing most everyone listed to the right, I'm just going to share that they are listed because I enjoy keeping up with each one for various reasons. (I know, I'm cheating...) If you feel so led to share 10 honest things about yourself, I challenge you to do so on your own blog or in the comments.