Pop turns 60!!!

Today is a special day in our family - Pop turned 60!!! We gathered to celebrate our patriarch with steaks, potatoes, and key lime pie or cupcakes (depending on your age). Family gatherings are quite an adventure these days with 4 kiddos running around - especially when cake is involved! We were able to enjoy Pop and Grannylou's backyard playground thanks to warm weather. Here are a few snapshots of the fun I think was had by all.

Simon Update

Here is a copy of Sherry's blog post from just a few moments ago. Praise God!

Friday, March 14, 2008

Great News about Simon!
Simon's hearing went amazing this morning! My mom and dad get to pick him up at 3:00 today and will have custody of him from now until he gets to be back with Amy and Allen. What an answered prayer! Also, Amy and Allen have very good visitation rights... they can be with Simon most of the time! YAY! This is a HUGE praise! Thank you for your prayers, God is great. This is a big step in getting Simon back with my sister and Allen. Continue to pray that he will be back with them soon.I will post pictures of Simon with my family as soon as I can!

Sherry Clemens
http://ourlifeouthere.blogspot.com/

Blog-apalooza continues

I've been in quite the blogging mood lately. It's probably just a convenient excuse to put off things I know need to be done but sure aren't as much fun! (Maybe I should work on becoming a poet...)

Anyway, there is a new sound in our house..."ma ma, ma ma" It is music to my ears. Yesterday the girl finally distinguished it from "na na" and lovingly uses it when she wants me or wants me to do something for her. The boy graciously joins in when she says "dada" or "mama" - they just love to feed off each other so we get a lot of things in stereo.

The boy has a new love too - Super Why! It's a great show on PBS that teaches reading, writing, and storytelling. He's got the phonetics down for most of his letters - I am just too proud because I've not really worked on that with him - thank you LeapFrog magnetic letters!

I'll hush...there are plenty of posts to keep you busy for a while and I have a few things that need to get done.

Will you pray?

I've debated for days whether to ask you to pray, but I realized today that I need to do so. There is a family I don't know in an unthinkable situation in regard to their son Simon...and they need our prayers. We are in this fight of life together as brothers and sisters whether we know each other or not.

Abby shares the story well so I will send you on to her...Until Next Time and encourage you to blog-stalk a bit as you link through to Amy's blog and Sherry's blog to learn more.

I also ask you to pray for Richard and Jennifer (Jennifer is Sherry's best friend) whose 3 month old daughter died unexpectedly Monday, March 3rd.

I know of another couple who lost their baby this week (they were 11 weeks pregnant) and another little girl born yesterday who is fighting for her health after labor complications.

I cannot fathom what these families are experiencing and I am drawn to my knees. I hope you are too.

Generations

I've always enjoyed the generation pictures I've seen so I made sure to get one of Clay, Granddaddy, and the boy when we took professional pictures together. Not wanting the girl to feel left out, we took Grannylou with us on the last photo shoot for a similar picture. The photographer asked us a few questions while setting up and we realized some crazy similarities between the two pictures taken. I thought I would share them and allow you to see how much the genes seem to follow the gender line.



Picture taken: May 2006
The boy is almost 11 months.
All men are the first born in their family.
Look how much the boy has changed!









Picture taken: February 2008
The girl is 12 months.
All gals are the babies in their family.



And yes, I realize my mother and I have the same smile lines...at least I know what I'll look like in 28 years. I need to scan a picture my mom found of me at 18 months...it is the girl with a bit more hair! CRAZY!

Can't sleep!

What do you do when you can't sleep? Blog, of course!

Yes, this is becoming a habit I'm not too fond of, but lately my heart has been heavy for loved ones and others I don't know. After praying and reading, I often need something light to close down the day. Messing around with my template and sharing moments from our days is a wonderful therapy. Make sure to catch up as I've blogged every day this week!

Billy Graham here we come!

I'm sure you've noticed the new ticker above my posts. In just a little over 3 weeks, my grandmother and I head to Charlotte, NC to visit the Billy Graham Library. I heard about the BGL while watching a TV special on Ruth Bell Graham last fall. When I learned my grandmother, who so loves Billy and Ruth, had never been, I longed to be able to take her. My amazing man encouraged me to follow my heart's desire regardless of the cost.

I can't tell you how excited I am about this trip. I'm looking forward to learning more about my grandmother (my only living grandparent and the one I've always been closest to) and experiencing something new together. I will also get to enjoy a few days away from my sweet husband and adorable children - a first in years. I've never been gone more than 24 hours nor been this far away since kids came along. Minus one overnight women's retreat 2 years ago, my last trip by myself was in February 2001 (to North Carolina amazingly enough)!

I've always enjoyed North Carolina - it's so beautiful, holds the mountains and the beach and has been a bit of a home away from home at various points in my life. Once again it will hold a special memory for me. So if you hear lots of giggles from the east in early April, know that we are having the time of our lives.

(You can begin now praying for Clay who will pull single-parent duty for 3 days! God bless him for sending me away...he is a good man, a great husband, and an amazing father...and he knows I need this more than I realize.)

Road trip - for the guys anyway!

Clay and 4 other guys headed to Memphis last Thursday to go hunting. Yes, they drove 8 hours to hunt. Don't ask - I'm still not sure I understand. Anyway, they had a great time and got 19 birds amongst them - even in 20/30 degree weather. Clay's folks graciously put all of them up for 2 nights and kindly delivered about 4 inches of snow their second night. (Yes, I realize that I said Clay + 4 guys and there 6 in the picture - I really can count - Clay's dad joined them for the fun!)

The snow and resulting tractor trailer wrecks gave them additional bonding time as it took them 4 hours and 15 minutes to make it from Memphis to Little Rock - normally a 2 hour stint. Here is some of the "carnage" they saw...but it wasn't enough to keep them from wanting to make this an annual event.

Practicing

I got the camera out to catch the girl on the phone, but she failed to keep posing. I did catch this cute one of her loving on one of the happies she brought home from her friend's birthday party Sunday. She is all about loving on dolls and stuffed animals. It is too cute...especially when she pats them like we often do to her. Notice that she is free standing - she's coming right along!

I am less than brilliant - I took video of the girl walking on her own (she's getting more comfortable and often trying to walk first) and then I realize I had the camera turned (give me a little break - it was my digital camera)! So turn your head to the side and enjoy...and no children were harmed during this taping! (Make sure to pause the player at the bottom of the blog if you desire to hear what the kids are saying.)

Not so camera happy

Remember that photo shoot I talked about a couple of weeks ago where the little priss was less than cooperative? Well, the actual prints turned out better than I expected. We purchased some simply for posterity, but not really for sharing. This free compilation shows best her refusal to flash that melt-your-heart-smile. You might have to make the image larger to see her forced smile as she sits next to the chair. I absolutely LOVE this closeup of her face and the more artistic feel of the rest of the shots. I'm actually quite pleased. Enjoy!

"Every great oak tree was once a nut that stood its ground."

- author unknown but passed on by my mother

Shifting focus

Ruth Bell Graham shares about a night she woke up with the name of a loved one on her heart and mind. Her imagination ran wild with fears until the Lord said to her, "Quit studying the problems and start studying the promises." After shifting her focus from her worry to worshipping God, she realized that "worship and worry cannot live in the same heart; they are mutually exclusive."

I am an analyzer - often to my own detriment. At a time when those I love are dealing with uncertainty and hurts that easily weigh me down, I needed this reminder to focus on WHO He is instead of the what ifs.

Shifting my focus changes my perspective.

Followed by a messy night

The girl loves using a spoon so much now that she won't eat as much if I try to feed her. She is naturally messier than her brother, and she made such a mess tonight with her yogurt that I had to take pictures. She truly enjoys her food. She is so proud!



The boy saw the camera and immediately started saying, "Cheese!" I obliged his need for attention and got this great shot.

A messy morning

I pulled out the shaving cream this morning for a wonderful messy fun time. It was the girl's first experience, and it wasn't long before she dove right in. The boy was a bit more hesitant being that he isn't much of one for stuff on his hands, but after some coaxing he was all over it. The pictures speak for themselves...

From shorts to snow

Along with a good portion of our country, we experienced wonderful spring weather on Saturday and Sunday followed by the most snow we've gotten all season (not that that is saying much). The picture doesn't capture it well, but it does help show how it was blowing in all directions. It was a great night to be bundled up inside with a fire.

Wee one

Wee - there is just no other word that better describes our girl. One of the her friends came over to play today, and I had to capture the difference between them. 5 weeks younger, our sweet girl is almost a full head shorter than her comrade (yes our friend is on her tiptoes, but it really makes only a small difference)!!!! One huge benefit: we get all the clothes Miss 90% in height can no longer wear! Crazy thing: they wear the same size shoe (at least at this moment).

Disclaimer: I know my daughter will hate this picture in the future, but it really is the jeans making her butt look that big - every part of her is wee, I tell you, wee.