We were part of the masses that attended the zoo this week. Since Aunt Kristi, Kadyn, Dylan, and Grannylou were on Spring Break, we thought it was a great way to spend a day together. They don't have the privilege to go whenever they want - and our passes got them in for a bit less than normal. We spent 4 hours checking out the animals, battling the crowds, and enjoying each other. It was so crazy that I didn't take many pictures - actually only at lunch. I'm not sure how many more times we'll go - I was so winded pushing a double stroller while pregnant. And if the March weather is any indicator of what the summer will be like, I doubt I'll want to brave the outdoors unless I'm sitting in the pool.






This is an action shot that Clay thinks is hilarious. The boy would NOT stand still for a picture!

"D" day -

Today is one of those days that feels like it needs some comment; but what kind of comment has me baffled.

Today I am officially a child of divorce. (That doesn't sound right since I'm almost 32 - should I say an adult child?) Regardless, my parents divorce became a reality today, and there aren't really words to summarize the day. It has been such a whirlwind - they only decided to separate in mid-November - so today almost feels surreal. I wasn't at the courthouse to hear the judge speak it into being so it's easy to feel like it didn't really happen. But it did.

The sadness is great. Life as I knew it no longer exists. I know things will continue to evolve as we move further from tomorrow. The rawness will disappear, the scab will form and fall away, and we’ll see what this new path really looks like.

I long for healing for all of us. One day at a time. One step at a time.

Love/Hate

Just like all siblings, they have such a love/hate relationship. One minute they are pestering each other; then within seconds they are belly laughing together. They love to tickle each other, race, see who can scream louder, roar like lions, color together, jump on Daddy, slide, and many other things. They trade off who is the leader of the gang, and the other often readily follows. The girl admires her brother so much and wants to do just like he does. He thinks she is pretty funny. It's not all roses though - especially when one of them wakes up on the wrong side of the bed. While it's fun to scream or roar one minute, the next minute finds the girl scared or with hurt feelings. Either one can decide they no longer want to be touched or bothered which results in screaming and crying. None of this surprises me. I am a younger sister and this just comes with the territory.

Two things lately have caught me off guard in regard to these two:
1. We've gone to the park twice this week with friends, and both times they've spent more time playing with each other than the friends they were so excited to see. I'm glad they enjoy each other, but they can play together whenever they want. I often go to the park to give them a change of pace and people. It just makes me laugh. The boy even turned down his precious best girl friend to climb the slide with his sister today! I'm thankful they have bonded so well, and we hope this continues over the years. We would love to know they have each others' backs no matter what.

2. On a lighter note, I've been surprised at how early the boy has become the pesky older brother. I knew it would come - the taunting and teasing just to get a rise out of her. I just didn't know it would start at a mere 3 1/2. He gets such a kick out of chasing her, roaring like a lion while she runs away screaming. He touches her after she tells him to stop. And just yesterday when she asked for the Aquadoodle crayon, he grabbed it and promptly sat on it... cackling heartily. Clay and I have a hard time not laughing even as our daughter wails heartbroken or tortured. If he's this bad at 3 1/2, heaven help us as he gets older and more creative.

What kind of fun will we have once we add another to the mix? Guess we'll know better once we hopefully find out the gender next Wednesday!

When will it end?

I'm so frustrated and tired. I am sick and tired of watching the evil around me prevail. I am tired of watching the effects of living in a fallen world. It seems so prevalent right now - divorce, losing jobs, struggling marriages, illness, depression, anger, fighting, rebellion and the list goes on. I am so ready for Satan to be bound and thrown into the fire, for the pain and suffering to end, and for our tears to be wiped away. I long to stand in His glory face to face with our Savior - no pain, no heartache, no worries, no tears, no fears. Yes, in the midst of all the madness, I have seen God working and blessing - providing for specific needs, healing marriages, healing wounds, restoring relationship with Him, and doing what seems impossible - but it is easy to forget these things if I am not diligent to keep my eyes focused on Him and His character.

Lord, help me focus on who I know You to be. Continue to teach me about Who You are. Help me in my unbelief, and give me the faith and trust I need each day.

1097

1097...that's how many days ago it was when I started this blog.

I planned to post something insightful and reflective yesterday to commemorate the birth of this baby, but I chose to nap instead. Forgive me.

I would attempt it today, but I am so NOT in an insightful, reflective mood. I could easily whip up a lot of sarcasm, rudeness and complaining, but I will refrain. That is not a picture I would like to have permanently recorded.

Think I should get off the computer and go seek God's face...

Happy Birthday, Pop!

We gathered for lunch at Fuddruckers to celebrate this special day since Dad has to work tonight. We all enjoyed some good food and fun. I am so glad we are just down the road to celebrate special moments together...especially with life changing this year.

Happy Birthday, Dad. I hope this next year brings lots of hope and blessings. I love you.

The girl giving Pop a birthday hug... the boy fascinated with the bread making machine... the girl and Aunt Kristi - who got lots of litle girl lovin'!... Kadyn & Dylan helped Pop open his cards... do you think the boy is Clay's mini-me?... the boy asked me to take a picture... the girl and all her stuff on the way home... this is what happens when the boy gets up at 6:30 a.m. going full steam (he's been sleeping until 8:00 or later since DST)!

Redneck trampoline

Choo-chooing through another birthday party

We had a great time at Abby's 2nd birthday train party last weekend. One of our local parks has a miniature train that takes a long 45 minute ride. The kids had a blast as the pictures tell the story well. There are a lot, but there are so many adorable ones it's hard to choose (and some people far away that love all the pics). Sadly I didn't get any pics of the birthday girl, but click on her name for more pictures of the fun.

The girl and her buddy giving priceless looks - model face and "surely you don't think this cute little thing did it!" - and then enjoying a hug... the boy ate the icing on his cupcake by scraping it off with the train ring found on top (it took him FOREVER but was relatively a clean way to eat it)... the girl lovin' on daddy and mama (post a good cleaning after totally enjoying a cupcake)...

After enjoying cupcakes, the kids got their goody bags which contained conductor hats, bandannas, train whistles and suckers. The first pic shows our little hoarder (she is often found with 17 things in her arms as she walks around)... the girl wondering how her brother is making the train whistle... refusing to look at me for a picture... "Mom, I think the hat is a little too big!"... group picture attempt (notice the girl isn't happy I walked away)... "What is wrong with you now?" the boy is asking.

After all that fun, it was time to head to the train. We enjoyed the ride with some of our best friends...and what great photo ops! Daddy and the boy having fun while waiting... the girl keeping watch... here's the engine... seated and ready to roll... mama and my girl... Kristina and the two girls... the girl and Zack (boy does she love him)... the boys enjoying the view from the back during the pit stop...the girl showing off her train ring...the boy not wanting to smile for a picture with mama...Zack ended up with all 4 kids on the back row for part of the trip back...attempting to get a picture of all the kids.

Learning Chinese

Wednesday night at church a missionary to China visited the boy's class to talk about the country. She taught the kids a few simple phrases in Chinese (hello, thank you, etc.). His teachers commented how well he repeated the phrases (thank you, Kai-lan - this is a show on Disney channel if you have no idea what I'm talking about).

At the very end, the missionary asked the kids one last time, "How do you say thank you in Chinese?"

Our sweet boy quickly replied, "Thank you in Chinese."

They couldn't really argue -

Milestones

So many posts running through my head, so little time to actually get them down on the blog. You'll just have to be patient for all my wonderfully, insightful posts and deal with short, picture-focused ones about the kids.

See our big girl in her big girl panties? (The ones that are the smallest they make and yet bunch on her tiny hiney?) The girl is doing fabulous with potty training (how I wish I could say the boy was further along, but alas he is not)! The other day she insisted on wearing her new princess panties. It had already been a challenging afternoon so I thought it was the perfect time to try this out. Why not add cleaning up pee to my role as referee? (Sorry for the cheesy rhyme.) She surprised me by staying dry all the way to bedtime. I was so proud of her. Her daddy was so proud. She was the proudest of all. We've not had that same success repeated, but she is still coming along beautifully in this area. She's even been dry several mornings when she gets out of bed!! My desire to have at least one of them out of diapers before Baby #3 arrives feels more feasible with each passing day.

We are fully aware this next part may cause tears for some of you...namely Mimi and Aunt Claire.

We said good-bye to the adorable, curly, messy mop on top of the boy's head. Clay cut his own hair first...and then we attacked the mound of hair on his mini-me. Even the longer guard he used for the first sweep barely cut through all the hair. The boy was a little traumatized by the event telling us repeatedly, "I'm done. Please stop," but the shower after helped change his mood. He kept rubbing it and checking himself out in our fireplace doors.
We think he's down-right adorable with his buzzed head, and it really shows off his eyes. He looks so much older, and his hair is SO MUCH easier (and now requires no product to look neat). He wasn't very cooperative for pictures; and when he did finally look at me, he gave me this goofy grin.

And yes, that is a nice shiner on his right eye. Running around church with the love of his life on Wednesday, he ran smack into a chair. Just the first of many moments that a girl causes him pain.

A busy school day

The boy's teachers ROCK this year (as they did last year). Ms. Cude is so wonderful about taking pictures and then sending them to us. This past Tuesday was a busy day at school - it was hat day, a pediatrician visited, and they made bread. Here are some shots of the boy's fun. We were WAY impressed he let the doc listen to his heart since he usually fights so hard with the doc we've had since his birth. I forgot to send his favorite hat that day, but he seemed to find one that worked just as well. And he is always one for making something he gets to eat later.


We are very blessed to have this preschool so close. It has been fabulous for him - and I enjoy a couple of mornings alone with the girl.

Birthday weekend

Here are some other fun shots from the weekend. The girl enjoyed showing her sass with her sunglasses as we waited on Mimi & Granddaddy to arrive.
Trying to be like big brother by climbing in the blow up bed he slept in all weekend - and then adding the laptop like Mom & Dad!
A picture before we head to the party... and the boy gave us a mini-concert Saturday night -