My Treasure

Latest Trash Treasure

2012-01-24T13:58:00.000-05:00

I've been saying for over a year that I wanted shelves for Judah's room to put all his toys on. Time, expense, etc has put it on the "one day" list. About a month ago I was heading to get Eli from school and noticed that someone had put a beat up small shelf on the side of the road for trash pick up. As I've posted before I no longer have any shame when it comes to picking a treasure out of someones trash pile.

I don't have a before picture because I honestly had little hope that it would turn out to be something worth showing off "after". Yet, here it is! Oh, and the paint was a random gallon that Kris had picked up at the store for $5 over a year ago.

Judah was happy to be able to find his toys.

I love the things that God does for me, especially when I never even thought to ask Him for them. I am so loved!

Power of the Tongue

2012-01-19T10:31:00.000-05:00

Luke has had a wart on the bottom of his foot for months now. It was really big, but it didn't bother him. Now me, it totally grossed out, but I'm a girl, and that is to be expected.

Last week when we were looking at it I thought of the story in the Bible about the fig tree that Jesus cursed because it wasn't bearing any fruit. In Mark 11, Jesus curses a fig tree because he was hungry, but when he came to the tree their wasn't any fruit on it. He cursed the tree saying, "Let no one eat fruit from you ever again." (vs 14) The next morning when he and his disciples came back by the tree they saw that it had dried up "from the roots." (vs 20) Jesus teaches them in verse 23, "For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, 'Be removed and be cast into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says."

When Luke and I were checking out his wart I told him the story of the fig tree and said, "Luke, lets start cursing this wart every time we look at it and telling it to dry up at the roots and fall off your foot." I told him it could be like an experiment (which he loved) and we could just see what happens. He said, "Wouldn't that be cool if it just fell off?"

Last night I noticed he was picking at the wart, and he said it didn't hurt to do that, which was a new thing. So he picked at it for a few minutes, and then he pulled the whole thing off! Not just the top of it, but down to the root! That sucker shriveled up and came off!

"Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit." Psalm 18:21

I don't know about you, but I know I have a few more things in my life and family that I need to start cursing or blessing!

Mama Said There'd Be Days Like This

2012-01-18T14:55:00.000-05:00

I can't remember why he woke up so miserable this day, but boy was he unhappy!

Mama taking pictures of his crazy hair probably didn't help.

And his mood went from bad to worse.

But a good snack helps everything.

The End and The Beginning

2012-01-07T15:44:00.000-05:00

The boys and I enjoyed our three weeks break from school and a schedule. The first week was spent at home, catching chickens and such.

Eli is the only one brave and quick enough to snatch them up when they wander in our yard.

I have made sure this doesn't concern the neighbors. They assure me the chickens won't have a heart attack and that if they do, it's not a problem. Fried chicken!

"Eli, please, please, please just let me get a decent picture of you!"

"Mama, I don't know what you want me to doooo!"

"Just smile and look cute!"

Christmas morning was fun. A video of the boys running into the room in their underwear to check out the loot is coming eventually.

"Hey! I knew I was getting a bow and arrow!"

After lots of practicing at Grandma and Papa's house the night before, he knew exactly what to do Christmas morning.

Acchh! Look at the cuteness! Stop. Growing. Up. So. Fast!

We spent New Year's evening at the lake. It was a gorgeous sunset.

We actually caught several little fish. And I am proud to say that I removed my first fish from the hook. It was absolutely disgusting.

Eli was getting creative with the angle of the camera. Kris saw that I was putting this picture on here and he said, "People are going to think I always walk around without a shirt on." Well if you got it, flaunt it. That's all I'm sayin'.

Judah and Grandma snuggling and watching the sunset.

He was happy.

So was he....

Happy New Year!

Thanks, Grandaddy and Grandmama!

2012-01-05T19:45:00.001-05:00

Dear Grandaddy and Grandmama,

We love the trampoline! And we think Mama likes it too. She keeps saying something about feeling happy and how crazy hair makes her smile. Eli chipped a tooth on it today, but you can't even tell where. He just handed the bit of tooth to Mama and kept playing. Judah has figured out how to climb off without hurting himself. Most of the time, anyway. We're glad you gave us this for Christmas. Love you!

Luke, Eli and Judah
(Mama and Daddy too)

P.S. Click on the picture to see it up closer.

Heart of Ice by Lis Wiehl

2012-01-04T21:30:00.000-05:00

I love fast paced thrillers and mysteries. But I don't like graphic descriptions that make my stomach hurt and give me nightmares. I was very pleased to find that Heart of Ice by Lis Wiehl met both my criteria perfectly.

Heart of Ice is the third of three books in the Triple Threat series. The main characters are Allison, a Federal Prosecutor, Nicole Hedges, an FBI Special Agent, and Cassidy, a crime reporter. The three friends bring their special skills together to solve crimes in their hometown of Portland.

The villain in Heart of Ice is Elizabeth, a beauty queen who uses her charms to lure her victims in. She deceives everyone she meets, uses them for her purposes and then disposes of them. Literally.

I enjoyed this book. It was a quick read with a good story line. The author gives the reader a chance to become familiar with the characters without giving too many details for the side story lines. The three main characters are diverse enough to be interesting but have enough in common that it makes sense to the reader that they are friends. The author created Elizabeth to be calculating and vicious. The reader gets a clear picture of the way that Elizabeth's mind works. But I appreciated the fact that while enough was implied to write the story well, graphic details weren't used.

I'm glad I had the chance to read this book. I'm always looking for new authors to try, and I'll be looking up the other two books in this Triple Threat series.

This book was given to me by BookSneeze. The opinions are mine all mine.

No More Babies

2011-12-24T21:43:00.000-05:00

There are officially no more babies in this house. Judah is two, and while he has believed himself to be every bit as big as his brothers pretty much since he was born, this morning he woke up with a two year old vocabulary and a two year old attitude. Every time Judah says a new word Luke will say, "Mama! Write that in his baby book. I promised him I would eventually and that I would blog about it for his birthday. Which was Thursday.

I'm reminded all over again that I am going to have to plan a celebration for his birthday early in December every year because if I don't, it won't happen. Today, at Kris' parents' house, we're celebrating his birthday with a candle in brownies. He won't know the difference and he won't care, but if we're still trying to celebrate with brownies when he's ten...well, he might need therapy.

Judah's vocabulary is growing every day, his sense of humor is growing every day, his daring is growing every day, his belly is growing every day. Big, big boy. Yesterday when we were in the car heading home I heard him in the backseat saying, "Hello! Bye! Hello! Bye!" I looked back there and he had his foot up to his ear like a cell phone. Funny!

He's saying "I'nna see" "Want this" "Wanna go" "More please" "All done" and lots of other multiple word phrases. I'm not sure that anyone else really understands him, but his mama, daddy and brothers do. He hauls himself over the top of things that are waaaaay too high for my comfort. He's starting to actually sit down and play with toys rather than only wandering around getting into stuff. He still leaves a trail of destruction wherever he goes, but he's enjoying making trucks move, putting blocks together and throwing balls. He loves to make loud noises, fart noises, happy noises...you get the idea. All. Boy. All. The. Time.

Judah loves a good bath, loves outside, loves his brothers, loves his family. And anyone who has spent even a little time with him knows he loves to eat. The boy can put away some food. He will eat things I would never be able to get the other two to eat. Heck, sometimes it's stuff I don't even want to eat! Loves food.

What a treasure Judah is to us. He absolutely is adored and enjoyed.

Judah, Mama loves you. Daddy loves you. Luke and Eli love you. Grandma, Papa, Grandmama and Grandaddy love you. You are one of the most loved two year olds in the world! Happy birthday!

Faith

2011-12-21T20:27:00.001-05:00

I have found that while the boys are out of school and we're not running around so much, I'm much more relaxed in the mornings. I've enjoyed sitting in what feels like the "holy hush" of the early morning, looking at the Christmas tree with the lights burning (minus the strand that is out) and thinking about my favorite Christmas songs "O Holy Night" and "Silent Night". I can't help but celebrate the sacrifice God made of sending His Son and the sacrifice that Jesus made in coming as a man - a baby even.

I'm grateful for Mary's sacrifice. She gave up everything. Everything! In her day, she risked her life by saying "Yes" to God. She gave up her dreams, the dream basically every girl has from the time they are little of finding their love, marrying, having children...in that order. She gave up her reputation. Then and for the rest of her life she was known as the woman who said "God told her" that she would bear the Messiah. And when we really consider the story, her claims were never truly validated because the Jewish people thought Jesus would come as a king, not a servant. She gave up the dream every mother has for her son of a happy, peaceful, long, honored life. She sacrificed so much.

I've been thinking a lot about the men and women of Hebrews 11. Abraham went, not even knowing where he was going. "Sarah received strength to conceive...when she was past the age". Moses "refused to be called the son of Pharoah's daughter, choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin". Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jepthah, David, Samuel...

"All these, having obtained a good testimony through faith, did not receive the promise."

When I think about these people, what they sacrificed, what they went through to obey, all because they believed God to be faithful...When I look at Mary, how she was never truly vindicated in her life time, never saw the promise of her son reining as King...When I look at my life, the places where I'm not seeing God "come through" on what He's promised...

"These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off were assured of them, embraced them and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth." (Hebrews 11:13)

If it never happens, if I never see what I've worked for and sacrificed for come to be, I will trust. Because He who promised is faithful.

You Might Be Behind On Laundry If...

2011-12-07T11:18:00.000-05:00

...You find yourself dressing off the growing pile of clothes on the chair in your room.

...Your husband has to walk through the house naked after showering to find clean underwear. Every morning.

...Your middle child has been asking about the same shirt almost every day since you got back from Thanksgiving break and you keep answering, "I think it's in the wash."

And the saddest way you know you might be behind on laundry is if...

...Your oldest child comes home with a picture he drew at school of the family decorating the Christmas tree, and the dining room table included in the drawing holds the ten loads of clean laundry that still needs to be folded.

The Encounter by Stephen Arterburn

2011-12-02T21:11:00.000-05:00

I just finished my second book from BookSneeze. The first book I reviewed was excellent, and writing a review was super easy. This time may be a little more tricky.

I have a healthy respect for how difficult it is to write a story in a way that grabs the interest of the readers. I know developing the story is a delicate balance between too many and too few details. I am always very careful in my opinions of other people's work, whatever the nature. I like to beat around the bush when asked my thoughts. I never want to seem critical or insensitive to the creator's hard work. See? Too many details.

Alas, I have to write a review of The Encounter by Stephen Arterburn, and I did not enjoy this book.

Jonathan Rush was adopted as a child. As an adult with anger issues, he embarks on a journey to discover why his mother abandoned him at an early age. Along the way, he meets a woman named Mercy, who knows much more about his past than she is ready to reveal. He makes an unlikely friend in the form of a tenacious reporter. And he finds the truth about his childhood as well as the truth about healing and forgiveness.

The book is short. The development of the characters even shorter. I had a hard time connecting with the story, although the premise of it was good. Conflict, both person-to-person as well as the main character's emotional conflict, was resolved too quickly for my taste. Even at the risk of stereotyping, I'm going to have to say that conflict was resolved in typical male form. What's the problem? How can we most logically fix it? Okay, we'll do that. Done.

Would I recommend this book? As much as I hate to be negative, no, I wouldn't.

A Belated Birthday Wish

2011-11-30T21:55:00.000-05:00

Months ago I was sitting in my bed having a little quiet time before my day (a.k.a. my boys) came roaring to life, and I was praying for my old college roommate. I can't remember what or why, but I was just thinking about all the things I think are awesome about her. Her birthday was November 13th, and I fully intended to "sing her a love song" on my blog that day, but well, we all know about good intentions. After she gave me the precious gift of one of her few days home last week, I wanted to give her some belated birthday affection in return.

When Catherine and I moved in together my second year at UGA, we were both completely unaware of what we had gotten ourselves into. I was a type A, stressed out, slightly anal, perfectionist. I was extremely reserved, never wanting to do ANYTHING to draw attention to myself. My idea of a good time was hanging out with four or five close friends. My first memory of Catherine is of her climbing like a wild woman across all the chairs in the middle of worship at Wesley because she saw someone she knew and wanted to say hey. When I wanted to do something nice for her birthday, I called her friends and family and had them send her birthday cards in the mail. When she wanted to do something nice for my birthday, she threw me a surprise party with an apartment full of people.

You get the idea. We are a bit different from each other. Which is why we nearly killed each other the first year we lived together.

Then we had a sweet, slow, laid-back summer. And now we're friends ever after.

There are lots of things I've learned from Catherine. Lots of gifts she's given me. Catherine is tenacious! When the girl sets her mind to something, she will get it done. Catherine lives vicariously through no one. When we lived together she didn't just have a bucket list. She actually crossed things off her bucket list. After she graduated, she left the country for six months. Even more astounding, she later left the South and didn't come back. If Catherine wants it, she'll make it happen. So what if nobody understands her dream? It's her dream.

Catherine is loyal. She makes deep friendships. She gives her whole heart, even sometimes when it's not fully appreciated. She is thoughtful and generous. She has helped me to be more thoughtful and generous.

I'm grateful for the time I spent as her roommate. I'm grateful for all the times she's come to visit me and my family. I'm grateful for all the ways she's ignored my flaws and loved me anyway. I'm blessed to call her friend.

Happy birthday, Catherine!

Big Boy Tooth

2011-11-24T10:36:00.002-05:00

Luke's big tooth was already coming in before his baby tooth fell out. It freaked me out at first because I was afraid his big tooth would stay far back, but the dentist assured me it would be fine and his tongue would push it forward in time. Just a future tip for those of you in the same "first time" boat as me.

He's pretty proud of his big boy smile, and it's fun for the rest of us to celebrate too.

And then he just started having fun in front of the camera.

But at least I got a sweet smile out of him.

Eli and Judah snuggle a lot, but this was fun to see.

And the inevitable. It turned wild quickly.

But such a rare moment! I got all three of them to look at the camera at the same time. Actually, that may have never happened before.

Joe Cool

2011-11-22T16:59:00.002-05:00

Judah came around the corner wearing sunglasses and talking on a "cell phone". I think our wallets might be in trouble for his teen years. He's definitely going to need a job.

'Cause, I mean, if he looks even remotely close to this cute as a teenager, I will, inevitably, want to give him everything he wants.

He's cute, and he knows it.

For My Amusement

2011-11-20T11:03:00.003-05:00

A few pictures that make me happy...

These two are always wallowing all over each other and making each other laugh.

Silly boys!

Does anyone remember Squiggy from Laverne and Shirley?

This is what Judah looks like when I let him feed himself. I asked a friend who had three boys and then a girl if the girl was so different. She said, "Well, she's definitely neater when she eats." I believe it.

But it does make him happy.

Eli loves smoothies. If I had a little girl, what would I take pictures of?

If only they would fold the clothes too.

More wallowing. So sweet!

I couldn't remember if I ever put this on here. He was so proud of himself!

Apparently he's part koala.

And these pictures are totally for my amusement.

Poor fella, maybe I should help him...

His brother rescued him so I could keep taking pictures.

Luke's 6th Birthday Party

2011-11-17T10:45:00.000-05:00

We had Luke's birthday party the day before Halloween. He was super easy to please this year and didn't want any particular theme and "just chocolate" for his cake with no decorations on top. Really, Luke, you're too good to your Mama. All he wanted was a pinata, which Grandma supplied, along with the candy to go in it. I cooked dinner, made a sheet cake and called it done.

I'm not sure there was sufficient supervision on the pinata because Luke went first and kept swinging until the thing fell apart. I don't think anyone else got a turn...

But everyone did get candy, so that helped dry tears.

I think this was a candy negotiation.

Luke is in a board game phase. I think he has just about every board game known to man. He had been asking for Battleship for months.

The Flarp that some friends brought was a hit. With all the boys at the party, it had to be.

Even Judah and Aunt Erica thought it was hilarious.

Make a wish!

Blow out the candles!

The weather was perfect, and we all sat outside on the porch and hung out.

Happy Birthday, Luke!

Pumpkin Party 2011

2011-11-15T10:38:00.000-05:00

Our church has a Pumpkin Party on Halloween every year. With all the bounce houses, popcorn, games, snow cones and lots and lots of candy we have a great time!

I was very happy with the fact that both my big boys were totally fine with homemade costumes. I stole the idea of a ninja from a friend (Thanks, Catherine!). So, along with a tshirt from Kris' closet, we used last year's batman costume, my black winter gloves and a sword from the Dollar Tree to turn Luke into a fierce looking ninja.

At the last minute Eli decided he wanted to be a ghost. I had a random single white sheet in the linen closet, so after five minutes of snipping here and there he was set. Of course, the costume lasted about five minutes too because he couldn't see, but he happy with his costume.

Judah borrowed a costume from his cousin (Thanks, Tripp!), and he was the cutest tiger ever. I couldn't get him to face the camera, so this is the best shot I could get.

After the Pumpkin Party we hit a few houses in the neighborhood behind us for a little trick or treating. Judah, as usual, was not about to be left behind and followed his brothers right up to the front door.

The only picture of all three of them together...

So, all total, the night cost us a dollar and gas money. Well worth the fun we had. I would like to say I'm trying to teach my children that they don't have to have $30 dollar costumes or all the brand new stuff to be happy. Borrowed and home made is just a fun. But really, I'm just grateful they don't know any better yet. We'll keep riding this train as long as we can!

The Moment We've All Been Waiting For

2011-11-09T16:16:00.000-05:00

Judah's "Quiet Time"

2011-11-08T15:56:00.000-05:00

This is what Judah did this morning while I had my quiet time.

"Cheese!"

It's been a while since I've put an update on Judah and what he's up to these days. He is almost 23 months; I cannot believe he'll be two next month! What a big boy!

Judah has been trying to talk more and more. He says way more than we can actually understand, but here are a few words that are pretty accurate:

apple (bapple), berries, book (buu), mama, daddy, MOM!!!!!!, Papa, Grandma (Gamma), ball, drink (din), this, uh-oh, thank you (da du), eyes, nose, and the one that's been around for what seems like most of his life - NO!

He is still into everything. Everything. He has bruises, scratches, knots and skinned knees at all times. He jumps off the back of the furniture, tries to jump out of the back of his daddy's truck, jumps into open arms (and some that don't even know they need to be open!) absolutely fearlessly. "Hesitation" is never a word I use to describe Judah. If he had his way, he would already be in school. I have to chase him out of Eli's classroom and pretty much any other classroom with an open door just about every day at drop off and pick up. He loves going to the YMCA and does not have a very happy morning on the days that we don't go somewhere. By the time we have to pick up Eli at lunch he's banging on the door out to the garage.

Adventurous and fearless. I love it. Even if it does give me heart palpitations. He is the reason that Kris says, "You know, when I'm sitting quietly eating my lunch at a park I think, 'Maybe we could have one more...', and then I come home at night." I don't think our hearts or our house can take it.

But speaking of our hearts, they are full of Judah. He is totally fun and totally precious. Personality galore and the best snuggles ever. Love, love, love this child!

Six Reasons

2011-11-03T13:59:00.000-04:00

Luke, there are a MILLION reasons I love you, but here are six I have chosen for your sixth birthday:

1. You are mine. Six years ago God gave you to me and your daddy, and we consider that day one of the best days of our lives. Nobody will EVER love you like we love you.
2. You love your mama, daddy and brothers. You instinctively know how to be a part of a family. You give, you honor, you nurture, you embrace so naturally.
3. You are a life long learner. You want to know everything there is to know about everything. Sometimes I call you "Sid, the Science Kid" because you are curious like him. No simple answer for you. You want to know all the details, the why's, the how's.
4. You are motivated to do your best at everything. You don't do things halfway. You do things with your whole heart and almost always with a good attitude.
5. You love life. Every day is a new adventure. And you love adventure. You're not afraid to try new things. You are going to spend your life leading the way. Today you asked me what a pilgrim is. I tried to give you a good definition, but when I looked it up, this is what I found:

pil·grim /ˈpɪlgrɪm, -grəm/ Show Spelled[pil-grim, -gruhm]
noun
1.a person who journeys, especially a long distance, to some sacred place as an act of religious devotion: pilgrims to the Holy Land.
2.a traveler or wanderer, especially in a foreign place.
3.an original settler in a region.

You are a pilgrim. You will find new lands, explore new places, settle new regions. You will spend your life on a journey, going the distance, as an act of devotion to your heavenly Father. I can't wait to see it!
6. I love that you are learning to listen and obey. You are learning to listen and obey your mama and daddy, and when you give your heart to Him, you will easily hear and obey God.

Just six reasons. Out of a million. Happy birthday, my love!

Pumpkin Patch 2011

2011-10-29T14:41:00.000-04:00

We made our annual trip to the pumpkin patch last weekend. Judah wins the prize for being the most cooperative. He is a ham. So, Luke and Eli, when you are grown and going back through the family pictures, you can refer to the above statement as explanation why there are far more pictures of your younger brother than of you two. Not because you're not just as cute.

Luke loves to say, "Hey, Dad, I like to do the same things you do. Because we're twins, right?" Almost.

I believe this is the only photo we got of Eli actually facing the camera.

I guess we will not be replacing last year's family pumpkin patch photo.

A ham, I tell you. But cute enough to eat.

Two more tasty morsels.

BookSneeze

2011-10-26T20:08:00.001-04:00

A friend (Thanks, Hannah!!) recommended the website http://www.booksneeze.com/ to me. It is a site that offers free books in return for a review on your blog as well as a review on a consumer retail site. This is my first review and all the comments and opinions that follow are mine, all mine.

I love Jesus, but I do not always love Christian fiction. Many times while reading Christian novels I find myself thinking, "Cheesy, unauthentic and boring!" and reading about every third page. Shocking confession, I know, but I like to think that I am not cheesy, unauthentic or boring, and I don't want what little time I spend reading for pleasure to be any of those things. (If I am cheesy, unauthentic or boring, please, for the love of heaven, tell me!) But I really liked Softly and Tenderly. I felt like it was an honest portrayal of what it's like to suffer, feel real emotion and then lay those emotions, feelings and your will at the feet of Jesus. This book had enough twists and turns, both in the story line and in the characters' responses to them, to keep things interesting without frustrating the reader. It definitely gets a two thumbs of from me and I highly recommend it to you.

I'm Trying Not to Get My Hopes Up

2011-10-10T19:47:00.001-04:00

I know there's a good chance it was just a fluke. I mean, he is only 21 months. But we are celebrating, nonetheless. He's been sitting on the potty for a few weeks, but today, Judah actually pooped in it!

Give that boy a sticker!!

"Bye, bye, Poo Poo!" Yuck. I wish the potty was cleaner.

The next time I tried to put him on the potty he wanted to stick his foot in there instead of sit on it. He won't get a sticker for that.

Way to go, Judah Lee!

Smart Cookie. With a Dash of Sass.

2011-10-06T09:54:00.000-04:00

Eli is honest. He doesn't mince words. He's very matter of fact. And quite frankly, when he feels like it, he can be a bit of a smart ass.

Last night he was falling asleep in the car, (which we always frantically attempt to prevent so he won't be awake at ten p.m.) and I said, "Eli! What movie can I put on for you!!!!!!" He sleepily informed me, "I'm going to fall asleep no matter what movie you put on."

This morning he was looking at my daily calendar, which was still on the 5th, and said, "We've had six days in October." I asked him how he knew it was the sixth since the calendar was still on the 5th, and he said, "'Cause I know how to count." Ooookay.

Eli is only competitive where Luke is involved. Any other time when we attempt to motivate him to "try his hardest" he looks at us like, "Why?" But if Luke is doing it, by gosh, he can do it! So while Luke was doing homework yesterday, Eli wanted to do "math". I wrote down 2+2= and he said, "Four!" I knew he knew that one, so I wrote 7+3=, thinking it would be too hard for him. After a few seconds he said, "Ten!" I was pretty surprised and asked him how he knew that, and he said, "I just hear a voice in my head that says, 'One, two, three, four, five, six, seven' and then it says, 'eight, nine, ten'."

You make me smile, Eli.

Beautification Project

2011-09-18T15:10:00.000-04:00

I intended to post this over a month ago when it was put together, but alas, life happened. Mama made me some pillows to go on my bed. Pulled together with some pillows I already had and a new coverlet, it is a lovely combination that makes me feel like I have a "big girl" bed. Sorry Kris, it is definitely "girl". But isn't it pretty?

Eli's Rock Star Day

2011-09-17T14:36:00.002-04:00

Thursday was Rock Star Day at Eli's school. While he wasn't 100% sure he liked the idea of dressing up crazy (he definitely takes after both his mama and his daddy like that) he did look pretty awesome!

The closer we got to school the more unsure he felt about his ensemble. He begged for tennis shoes to replace the boots, while I begged for cooperation long enough to get in the class door. This is how he felt about it...

And this is post tears and Mama saying, "Okay, okay, shhh, shhh, shhh, don't cry, we'll change your shoes. It's okay, it's okay, we'll change them right now."

And this is post shoe change, post bandana removal, post tears, and "This is your LAST picture, Mom."

Judah wanted his hair spiked too (he was literally pulling his hair up in the air and pointing at the hair gel), but had to settle for boots since we were short on time. At least one of them wore the boots...

Does Eli's outfit look familiar?

Floridian Amusement

2011-09-16T15:12:00.000-04:00

Luke's Exciting News

2011-09-13T15:25:00.000-04:00

Putting Judah to Work

2011-09-12T14:05:00.000-04:00

Eli's Turn

2011-09-06T14:21:00.000-04:00

Finally, Eli gets to go to school too. He's been asking me every day for a month now, "Do I go to school today?" He has the same teachers and the same classroom that Luke had last year, so he is way excited. It's so familar that I even said to Judah at pickup time, "Come over here to get Lukey from his classroom" only to smack myself and say, "I mean, get ELI from his classroom."

Ready to go!

He picked out his own outfit the night before.

"Okay, Ma, enough pictures. Get in the van."

He had a great morning and has spent the last hour telling me all about the boys in his class and the girls who chase them. It's going to be a fun year!

My Kindergartner

2011-08-29T15:39:00.000-04:00

Luke started kindergarten last week. He was pumped. My stomach hurt when he left. We were both happy by the end the day. Luke's teacher is kind and a good listener. He likes her, and I was very happy with my first impressions of her at "meet the teacher".

He felt like such a big kid leaving with Daddy before his brothers even got out of bed.

He was pumped about getting to eat lunch at school and begged to eat in the cafeteria several times. Until I showed him what was on the menu, and then he was grateful for his packed lunch.

One more, "I'm so cool to be leaving for the day with Daddy" pose.

I mean, seriously, could they look any more alike?

We've started week two, and I think we're going to like this school thing. Eli asks daily if it's time for him to start yet. Next week, babe. What am I going to do with myself?!

Silly (But Clean) Boys

2011-08-20T13:38:00.000-04:00

Sweet Summer Nights

2011-08-19T14:14:00.000-04:00

We went out to the lake to look at the new dock that was built on the family property. When Judah wasn't scaring us half to death by running full tilt for the edge (which was really only as long as the food lasted), it was a fun time. Just taking in the last sweet summer nights before school starts next week!

A Cautionary Tale

2011-08-07T16:41:00.000-04:00

As I mentioned before, I'm trying desperately to keep these boys entertained and to burn their boundless amounts of energy. It's a losing fight. But I'm giving it a valiant attempt.

We went swimming at the YMCA so I could put Judah in the nursery and just have the big boys in the pool with me. The nursery closes at 12:00, so after swimming for a bit, I left Luke and Eli in the splash pad area and ran in to change and get Judah. As soon as I walked in, I was assaulted by both the harried look on the nursery attendants faces and the smell of my child's very full diaper. Needless to say, they were busy and he stank. I grabbed him, ran back out to the boys, hustled them inside dripping so we could go the family bathroom that is all the way through and across the entire building and change Judah's diaper and their suits. (I'm not complaining, but does anyone agree that they could make the family bathroom a little more conveniently located to the pool area? Just sayin'.) Eli was carrying my wet things wrapped in a towel and Luke had one of the bags.

We made it to the bathroom where all hell broke lose as I was trying to change everybody and get our stuff together. I won't go into all the gory details, but I'm pretty sure there was a, "Mama! Look at my hiney, it's got a fart!" and maybe a "Mama, I'm naked, don't let Luke see me naked!" and definitely a "Ooooh!!! Poop!!!" all at top decibels. And I know for a fact that I was standing their thinking, "God, did you really have to make boys so loud?" and probably, "Okay, God, my pride is officially in the toilet. I'm completely humble. Please make it stop."

We wrapped up that mess, and I shoved them all out of the bathroom door, where I stopped dead in my tracks. For there, on the floor, directly in front of a sweet, elderly gentleman, were my swimsuit bottoms. Crotch up. We exchanged polite smiles (actually, he already had quite a wide grin on his face), I scooped up my suit and my youngest child who had planted himself in front of the man for a visit and made as quick an exit as possible.

I guess the moral of the story is to never let your children be in charge of your underpants.

Walking in Peace

2011-08-05T08:50:00.000-04:00

Peace is not natural, but it is spiritual.

I choose the Spirit and the ways of the Spirit. I choose peace, not fear. My children will be led by the Spirit, protected by angels, bound by Covenant to the very heart of God. I will walk in and pray out of the God given authority over my childrens' lives - not because I will it, but because it is the will of their heavenly Father. They get to make their own choices, but according to the Word, they will choose Him because even now they are being shown the way of life.

God. I trust your promises and your heart for our children.

Bloggy Fix

2011-07-31T15:08:00.000-04:00

I haven't been able to comment on blogs lately, so I did a little look up. I found an explanation here and it seems to have fixed the problem. If you've had a problem signing in to comment, try unclicking "remember me" or "stay signed in" and that might help.

Now, I can go back to commenting on all the excitement of other people's lives...

Kissy Face

2011-07-28T15:11:00.000-04:00

Chalk Paint

2011-07-28T14:59:00.000-04:00

I'm trying desperately to keep these boys entertained. Cheaply. I don't know how I never came up with this idea myself, but it was a hit!

Eli was way more interested in crushing the chalk than actually painting. Come to think of it, I don't know that he ever really painted.

Does Luke look hot? Trust me, I looked much hotter. And not the good kind of hot.

Just a few of our creations.

We had to clean up right after this picture since Judah woke up from his nap. Upon seeing all the excitement, he immediately started wreaking havoc. It was fun while it lasted.

Angry Birds!

2011-07-19T14:40:00.002-04:00

Luke and Eli L-O-V-E to play Angry Birds on their grandma's phone (or anyone else's phone that they can manage to get their hands on). When we saw this craft, they were all in. Even though by the end of the craft I was growling, (not that it was so hard, but just because I'm always growling by the end of any craft that involves my children and more than one step) they were thrilled with the results, and I was proud that at the end of it all it still somewhat resembled the original. An easy, cheap craft that was fun.

Brothers

2011-07-15T16:02:00.000-04:00

I remember looking at the blog of a friend with three boys a while back and seeing the pictures of her boys sitting sweetly in a chair together, looking for all the world like they were the best of friends and thinking, "I'm not sure if that will ever happen in our house." But it did. And it does. And I love it.

A Few Favorite Moments

2011-06-29T20:51:00.001-04:00

My little panda bear.

My big panda bear. Both of them are totally cute.

Luke is working on perfecting his hand stand.

He brought me these and wanted me to put them on him.

These two ADORE one another.

I was grateful to get him to stop long enough for a photo. Even if it did involve a tongue.

It was a rare moment, so I snapped quite a few.

Strangely, nothing makes Eli happier than having someone wallow on him or having someone to wallow on.

And Judah continues to find ways to get into trouble.

Can you see the huge goose egg?

It had actually gone down a bit by the time I snapped this picture. We might need to get him a helmet.

Eli Rides a Bike

2011-06-23T18:34:00.010-04:00

Kris "taught" Eli to ride his bike last night. I say "taught" because he held on to his shirt for about two seconds and then Eli took off. He was definitely ready.

I love the hands swinging and then on the hips at the end. That's my, "I'm so proud of myself, but I'm trying to be cool about it" move.

They were literally racing three minutes after Eli learned to ride. A little brotherly competition.

One of My Favorite Things

2011-06-22T16:50:00.003-04:00

Cooking dinner with some Jack Johnson playing on Pandora while Judah's napping and the big boys are outside riding bikes (Yes, it's 100 degrees here, but they have to burn their energy!). Love it!

Incident Reports

2011-06-21T18:04:00.000-04:00

I'm not sure if I should just be amazed that I have never had to sign an incident report for Luke or concerned that I have had to sign so many for the other two. I had to fill out two incident reports for Eli at school, both because he had cut his thumb on safety scissors. Not even sure how that is possible, but the first time it was bad enough he almost cut the pad of his thumb off. It stopped him from sucking his thumb, so it was really a good thing in the long run.

Today when I picked up Judah from the nursery at the YMCA I had to sign an incident report because another child pinched his face and made him bleed and he also fell and hit his head and had to have an ice pack. Right after that we went to the library where the first thing he did was dive head first into a movie display. When I got to the checkout counter the lady behind the desk said, "Wow, if he had done that here I would have had to fill out an incident report." I just smiled and said nothing. She obviously didn't connect the earlier screams with us.

So, along with the rather large bruise on his back where he fell off the top of the ladder to the fort and the busted chin from swimming Saturday he has two more nasty marks on his face. I'm going to have to start explaining things when I go in public if we keep this up!

Judah, Judah!

2011-06-15T14:32:00.002-04:00

Look at this sweetness. I know you won't believe me when I tell you that this child is a pistol!

Most of the time when he has his tongue out, it's directed at me and is blowing out a portion of his dinner.

And then he'll smile sweetly so I won't be mad.

Or he'll snuggle up next to his brother so the cuteness will overwhelm me.

Or pose in a sleepy way so I blame it on, "He's just tired."

Right before he goes back to this.

"What?? My brothers do it. Why can't I?"

"I can do whatever my brothers do because I'm just as big as them. See?"

Today alone he has eaten two crayons and a couple of markers, climbed on the middle of the kitchen table numerous times, dumped out half of a 32 oz. carton of chicken broth on the kitchen floor, and flooded the bathroom floor (after he chewed on a bar of soap). All this was squeezed in between spending over half the morning at the YMCA and napping most of the afternoon. That really isn't so bad compared to the day he jerked his diaper out from under himself and ended up with poop on his nose, eyebrows and forehead (not to mention all over his and my hands). At any given moment, if not being carefully watched, he will snatch a knife from the dishwasher, a full drink from the table or pull open the hot oven door. When this child reaches his second birthday, it won't be because he hasn't lived adventurously. But if he does not learn very quickly that telling Mama "NO!!" is his riskiest behavior and extremely hazardous to his health, whether or not he'll make it to his second birthday might be in question.

It truly is God's plan to make one year olds terribly cute. Sigh.....I think I need to go kiss his cheeks. He's just so cute!

A Butterfly Experience

2011-06-08T22:02:00.000-04:00

For Christmas, Raeanna gave the boys a butterfly garden. It came with a coupon for caterpillars that we "grew" in our garden. The boys (and I) loved it! I'm finally getting around to posting this, even though we did this in February.

Our baby caterpillars. Every single day you could see them getting fatter.

Once they got fat enough they went into their chrysalises.

They grew for about ten days...

And then became beautiful butterflies!

Once it warmed up a bit, we released them in our yard.

A (bit long) video of us watching one of the butterflies coming out of its cocoon. It's been since February, so it's crazy to see how much Luke has grown up in four months!

2011-06-03T12:58:00.000-04:00

Luke, Eli and Judah just watched Barney and then Calliou. I think we all just lost about a billion brain cells apiece.

May, In Moments

2011-05-27T15:07:00.000-04:00

It seems like our lives have been in a whirlwind since Christmas, but especially the months of April and May. We have had lots of fun and made some special memories:

Luke's Mother's Day Tea

(This was such a special time. You could see all over his little face that he knew he was loved, and he was proud of his mama.)

Eli's Mother's Day Tea

(Once he realized that Mama was in the building, he would have nothing to do with his teachers or friends. We left school early that day.)

The next morning I left for a trip with my parents and sisters in Puerto Rico. It was beautiful.

At the top of a lookout tower.

Daddy had a little trouble figuring out how to work my camera, and this was the result. We're not a very patient bunch.

We hiked down a trail in the rain forest to a waterfall.

And even though it was worth it, the hike back up was...intense.

There were these crazy iguanas at our resort that would do a belly flop out of the trees into the pool.

In the meantime, Judah is growing like a weed and figuring out all kinds of ways to get into trouble. I have to shut just about every door in the house these days to keep him contained.

Luke's preschool graduation was this week. He is thrilled that he will be in kindergarten next year. I have mixed emotions!

Luke with his friends Maggie and Haley. (Yes, this Haley.)

Luke with his best school bud, Cole.

Luke and Eli were signed up for soccer. Luke had a great time playing, and Eli says he'll just wait and play next year.

So, vacations are done, parties are done, school is done, soccer is done, MOPS is done and Mama is DONE! I'm going to go lay on the couch with my boys.

Eli is Four

2011-05-01T22:47:00.000-04:00

Eli had his birthday week last week. We celebrated with family last Sunday, with friends at school Wednesday and at home on Thursday, his actual birthday. I still can't believe he's already four. It almost seems as though he has morphed into a big boy overnight. He has started asking more intuitive questions, understanding more abstract concepts, quit sucking his thumb. (He had a little help with that. He nearly cut the pad of his thumb off with scissors at school, and the result was that he wasn't able to suck his thumb. Extreme measures, but I am grateful.) He is still most happy at home with his family and doesn't easily venture too far away from Mama's side, but I know he will all too quickly grow out of that, so I'm not rushing it.

I know I say it about each one of my children, but there is just something about this child. He had my heart from the very beginning. I often wonder who he takes after. His daddy and I are both so even keel. He is so passionate. He feels hurt, sadness, anger, weariness so intensely. He feels happiness, contentment, excitement, love so intensely. He is loyal and devoted, kind and generous. He often shares and offers encouragement without prompting. He protects his brothers and his mama and daddy when he thinks we might need it. Sometimes I think I want to protect him and his little heart because I know he gives so intentionally. If he gives his affection, he meant to. I want to tell him to protect himself from those I know will not appreciate what he is offering. Instead, I know I need to simply learn from him.

I love you, Eli! You make me smile every day. You keep me on my toes and make me a better mom every day. I love who you are and the part you play in this family. Thank you for the way you love us. Happy four year old birthday.

And while he did get some great birthday gifts, who needs toys when Daddy has an air compressor?

For Him

2011-04-20T11:18:00.000-04:00

"So, whatever you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God." 1 Corinthians 10:31

I've never understood what this really looks like. How do my daily "dailies" get done "for the glory of God"?

When I obey this command, I help a friend, not because I'm trying to win God's favor or to look like a good friend. I already have His favor, and I want my friend to know she has it too. I want her to know He thinks she's a big deal.When I discipline my children, it's not so they will behave in public and make me look good. It's so they learn to bow their knee to authority and ultimately win freedom. It's not so he'll love me and serve me back that I love and serve my husband. It's because I've been loved and served and I have the privilege of loving and serving. My motivation changes and so does my attitude. When my attitude changes so does my response when things I do aren't necessarily appreciated, or maybe aren't even noticed! I just get to be grateful that it's not about me and that God didn't quit on me because I haven't responded appropriately to Him. He isn't motivated by need for affirmation and appreciation, need for order, need for affection. He is motivated by love.

So will I be.

Caribbean Cruise

2011-04-18T16:19:00.001-04:00

We spent last week on a cruise to Mexico with Kris' parents and his sister's family. I only vaguely mentioned it before because someone mentioned to me one time how I shouldn't put on my blog that I'm leaving town because someone might read it and rob my house while I'm gone. Narcissistic to think that anyone actually reads my blog, I know, but I was freaked out enough by it that I took it to heart.

But now, we're back, we're tan (for us - I mean, we no longer have vitamin D deficiencies), and I have pictures! And I'm sure you're all dying to see how much fun I had on my vacation. The narcissism never quits.

One last photo before we dropped him off with Grandma and Grandaddy. He had no idea he wasn't going, and he had a fabulous time without us.

They make your bed and clean your room twice a day and then leave you fun towel pets at night. What's not to love?

Luke and his two cousins loved the kids' club. Eli was having none of it. He ate dinner with us every night. He had Grandma Bonnie's phone (games) all to himself. Why would he be foolish enough to go to kids' club?

Eli did love the public pool at Costa Maya. I'm thinking of painting our house the color of the building in the background. Your thoughts?

Luke floating.

Eli "floating"

One of the few times we forced Eli to do kids club they had pirate night. They both loved it!

Because I'm afraid of robbers reading my blog, but apparently, I'm not afraid of perverts reading my blog. Eli felt that the beautiful Caribbean waters were the perfect place to relieve himself.

I thought of you while I was relaxing, Catherine. And then I stole your photo idea.

For my sisters and Mama.

When we were in Cozumel, we paid a taxi driver to take us to a resort where we could use the pool and beach. It was beautiful and we all loved it.

The obligatory family photo.

One of the only photos Luke stood still long enough to take. He would have stayed on vacation forever.

Eli's stamina wasn't quite up to Luke's (neither was mine), and this was him by Thursday.

It was a great vacation, and we would do it all over again in a heartbeat. After I recuperate and fold all my laundry.

Sweet Eli

2011-04-10T22:04:00.000-04:00

Kris and Eli were setting up Connect 4 today, with Eli directing. "Daddy, you are red and I am black." When Kris asked him why he was red, Eli said, "You're red because red wins. I want you to win because it will make you happy!"

Sweet Eli! Thank you for loving your brothers, your daddy and your mama the way you do. You are always hugging, kissing and loving on us, and you have such a tender heart. I love you!

And the Punches Keep on Coming

2011-03-29T16:04:00.000-04:00

I'm laying on the couch, sweetly snuggling with Eli while watching a movie, when he says, "Mama! My belly is hard and your belly is squishy!"

If you need me, I'll be at the nearest plastic surgeon's office restoring both my dignity and my post-baby body.

Flat Bumps

2011-03-27T14:50:00.001-04:00

I'm always a little nervous about what Luke's teacher is going to say when I pick him up because it seems like Luke's inquisitive nature often leads to awkward conversations. Last week he was trying to teach his teacher how to hula hoop. When she wasn't successful around her waist he suggested she move it up higher. She is not a small chested woman and simply said, "It won't work up higher for me." Luke, who is never satisfied at a simple answer, persisted in asking why not, until his teacher finally said, "I'm too bumpy." Luke then proceeded to ask the other teacher if she was as bumpy as Miss Mandy. Miss Keri, trying not to laugh, said, "Nooooo, no quite."

He came home telling me about the bumps his teachers have on their ribs and how they couldn't hula hoop because of them. I was absolutely floored that he didn't know that they were referring to their breasts, considering I nursed Judah for over a year....until I heard him talking to Kris about the whole situation later. Kris asked him about teaching his teachers to hula hoop and their bumps, to which Luke replied, "Yeah, Mama has bumps too, but hers are flat bumps."

There's nothing to boost your self esteem like the honesty of your children.

To Catch Up

2011-03-26T10:49:00.000-04:00

It's just been a while, and in order to catch up a bit I thought I would have an explosion of pictures, taken over the last several months, all in one post. Ready?

Sweetness!

They absolutely adore one another.

Luke and Eli's school had a sock hop. Eli didn't stand like a statue this time, at least, but he didn't exactly sing either.

Luke jammed out. I had the best time listening to him sing, "Yellow Polka Dot Bikini" and "Yakkety Yak" for weeks before the performance. So cute!

Judah is turning into a big boy. He loves being roughed up.

I can assure you this lasted long enough for me to snap the picture, but I know that I will love this moment forever.

We spent spring break in Camilla with the cousins. They all got quiet, and I got a pleasant surprise when I went to make sure there wasn't any mayhem brewing.

Working together.

Rae was the only one who wanted to stop and cheese for me.

Luke, Eli and David had so much fun playing together. David even spent the night with us.

Judah is slowly walking more, but climbing is not a newly learned skill. He's been a pro at that for a while.

This is how he prefers to watch t.v.

Baby Einstein is his (and Mama's) favorite show. No matter what kind of day he's having, he'll be happy when it's on, at home or in the car.

We are really enjoying the incredible weather. Contrary to how it appears, Kris is not as garishly white as this picture makes him seem. Not one of us can claim "bronze god" status (ever), but neither do we all have vitamin D deficiencies, as this picture would lead you to believe. He's probably going to fuss at me for putting this picture on here.

We have been running around lots lately. I'm hoping things will slow down soon so we can just enjoy being together "as a whole family", as Luke requested this morning. And maybe I won't have to catch up for the past three months in one post.

For a Good Mommy Laugh

2011-03-10T13:14:00.000-05:00

You know how you get on the computer to "check your blog real quick" and thirty minutes later realize that you've been sucked into a infinite, black vortex of links to peoples blogs that you've never heard of and will never meet? You know, it's the same reason I don't allow myself to get on Facebook unless I have at least an hour of my life that I'm okay with never getting back because I know good and well I will end up gawking at the pictures people should have never had the nerve to put on their wall in the first place. Well, I did that today. The vortex of links, that is. But I got a good laugh out of what I found and thought I would share.

http://teresastrasser.com/blog/2011/03/why-im-jealous-of-your-baby/

Enjoy!

Pretty Woman

2011-03-06T21:06:00.000-05:00

I was getting dressed for church last week and asked Luke if he thought I looked pretty. His response?

"Mmmm...yeah, I guess. Do you have any brighter lipstick?"

Should I assume it has anything to do with his really pretty, blonde teacher who wears red lipstick most days?

Luke Rides a Bike

2011-02-22T17:10:00.002-05:00

The Kitchen Is Closed (Almost)

2011-02-20T09:22:00.000-05:00

I've been working on weaning Judah for the past month or so, hanging on to those last morning and evening feedings just for cuddling purposes. With some baby-free vacations coming up quickly (Judah doesn't know yet, so don't spill the beans.), I figured I needed to finish the job before leaving him with Grandma for a week for three very important reasons:

1. Somehow I doubt she would appreciate me leaving him with her while he still expects someone to take their shirt off for him twice a day.
2. I have no interest in taking a breast pump on a cruise. Been there, done that, not signing up for it again.
3. Judah has only been eating on one side for a while now, and while being lopsided in full clothing isn't so bad, it's a little tricky to camouflage in a bikini.

So, with the exception of the moments when he wants to double check that the tank is indeed empty, I am officially finished nursing Judah.

Sigh.

Who Says Men Aren't Observant?

2011-02-16T21:55:00.000-05:00

A conversation with my boys after picking them up from school today...

Luke: So, Mama, where did that shirt come from?
Eli: Yeah, is it new?
Me: I've had it for a long time, I just don't wear it that much. Do you like it?
Eli: Yeah!
Luke: Yeah, it looks like it would be perfect for Valentine's Day!

I felt like I had just been hanging out with my girl friends. How funny!

Messy

2011-02-06T21:40:00.000-05:00

My friend came over for lunch last week while the big boys were in school and Judah napped so we could celebrate her birthday. She commented, "Your house is so clean every time I come over. I can't even keep up in our house and it's just the two of us."

Ummm...of course it was clean. I knew she was coming over.

At pretty much any other given moment, this is what my house looks like:

So often I feel like people have the idea that because I almost always have a smile on my face that I "have it all together". What does that even mean? Children are messy. I am messy. Family is messy. Relationships are messy. Life is messy. NOBODY has it all together. Some of us are just better at pretending and hiding than others.

Perfection looks like Jesus. Period. When I start comparing my life to anyone else's, I become dissatisfied. I want the things they have while they're wanting what I have. I wish I could do the work that she does while she just wants to stay home. I try to mimic his personality while he's trying to be someone else entirely.

"Godliness with contentment is great gain." (1Tim. 6:6) Everybody gains something when I keep my eyes on Jesus. I will be the very best version of me when I don't try to be like anyone else but Him. I know this, and yet, I forget. And the messiness starts to bother me.

I have to keep reminding myself that if I didn't have the "messy" I wouldn't have the children, the family, the relationships, the life. What fun is that?

Bye, Bye!

2011-01-26T16:21:00.000-05:00

We are all on the mend. Luke and I both had Scarlet Fever, which is just a scary sounding way to say we had strep throat and didn't know it until we got the rash that goes along with it. I sent Luke to school on Tuesday because I had no idea he was still sick until he broke out into a nasty looking rash Tuesday night. I knew he didn't look like he felt 100%, but I kept trying to talk to him about how he felt until he said, "Mama, you've asked me one hundred times!"

Okay, then.

I knew I had a sinus infection but couldn't figure out why I could sleep four hours during the day and still happily go to sleep at night. Let's just say the laundry got washed, everybody got fed and the rest took care of itself. Anyway, we're much better. Unfortunately, over half of Luke's class was out today. Most with a rash. I have been assured that it could have come from other sources, but you can imagine that I have heaped mounds of guilt upon myself about not realizing Luke was sick before the rash. C'est La Vie.

Anyway, Judah is the star of this post with his new, super cute trick. It's much cuter in person, of course. And I tried to explain to him that the screaming at the end takes away from the cuteness, but he said to stop wasting my breath and feed him more sweet potatoes.

Better Left Behind

2011-01-16T20:20:00.000-05:00

Some things are better left behind. This week is most assuredly one of them.

WARNING: I'm about to whine. If you don't like whining, consider yourself warned.

I'll put it simply.

Sunday: Eli-Stitches.
Monday/Tuesday: Judah-stomach bug.
Wednesday: Luke-fever, Eli-fever (continued through Friday).
Friday: Stitches removed, strep test on Eli negative.
Saturday: Mama-cough, dizzy head, achy.
Sunday: Luke, Eli, Mama - More of the same. But no stitches.

Here's to a better week starting now!

I Should Have Knocked

2011-01-13T09:37:00.000-05:00

The other day I was having a conversation with some friends about how surprising it is that with three active boys I've never had a trip to the emergency room. One of the moms said, "Knock on wood, right? Hah, hah."

Enter post title.

Sunday night Eli's forehead got in a fight with Grandma's coffee table, and the table won. Four and a half hours and three stitches later, I can no longer say I've never had a trip to the emergency room. Has it stopped him from picking fights with his brother and running around the house like a Tasmanian devil? Not for one second. All I can say is, "Thank you, God, that it was his head and not his eye, nose, teeth, etc."

Judah's First Birthday

2010-12-30T10:22:00.000-05:00

I have definitely gotten the message that we are going to have to celebrate Judah's birthday early in December. It's just too crazy right before Christmas. We did celebrate his birthday, it was just right in the midst of many other activities. The Sunday before his birthday we had a party with yummy food, pretty cupcakes and fun gifts with the family.

"Mama is making a crazy face. What's all the excitement about?"

"Hmmm....This looks...."

"YUM!"

"Mphfff..."

A bath was in order.

Judah had a rotten cold that ended up in an ear infection, so he slept through the majority of his birthday party. In spite of that, he had a good time being the center of attention.

I know it's predictable, but it has to be said: I cannot believe Judah is already one! This year has gone at light speed. Our family has been so blessed by having Judah in it. There is not one of us who has not completely enjoyed Judah. I think he would say the feeling is mutual.

Judah isn't walking yet. He tricked me. I thought for sure he would be. He stands by himself for a long time and cruises the furniture, so it won't be long. He is drinking well out of a sippy cup and eating only big boy food (which has seriously decreased the meal time screaming). He has discovered foods he doesn't like. Eggs was the first food. He prefers foods mixed together. Yay! A southern baby...he loves casseroles! I'm still nursing him, with no end in sight. He's just so sweet about it and we have the sweetest cuddle time while I'm nursing him. I recognize the value in that and know it will come in almost no other way. My two big boys have taught me that.

Judah has no idea that he is a baby. He is convinced he's a big boy and tries all kinds of big boy things. This morning he fell into the bathtub. The other day he nearly hauled himself all the way into the toy box. If the boys are outside, the why in the world isn't he?!!

Kris has always been a jokester, and I think Judah will follow in his footsteps. He always has this grin on his face like he's up to something. He loves to smile and giggle and is happy the majority of the time. Much more so when he's either in my arms or I'm out of his line of sight. He gives the best kisses. He comes at you with a wide open mouth, and once he makes contact with your face he might even lick you.

Judah, love, you are such a snuggle bug! I love you. I enjoy you. I look forward to getting you out of the bed in the morning. Sometimes your Daddy and I take you out of each others arms because neither one of us can get enough of you. Thank you for all your smiles and for the way you've settled so sweetly into our family. Your first year has been a delight, and I will treasure it and you always. Happy Birthday!

Christmas Scramble

2010-12-24T09:16:00.000-05:00

I finally got around to wrapping presents Monday night, so Tuesday morning the boys were really excited to see them under the tree. Eli picked a present up and turned to me with wide, excited eyes, "Is this my humpback whale?!"

Oh. No.

He really wants a humpback whale for Christmas. My entire Tuesday morning was spent online frantically trying to find a stuffed humpback whale in a store somewhere in the vicinity. No luck. I spent Wednesday afternoon scouring two different malls and various stores. No luck. Apparently, dolphins and penguins are popular. Humpback whales, not so much.

So, Eli will not be getting his humpback whale for Christmas, but at least I know what he wants for his birthday.

The Most Pitiful Sound You've Ever Heard

2010-12-18T09:42:00.000-05:00

Judah is a "little bit" under the weather (You can read that "the most rotten cold ever".) He was crying this morning, and I got a recording of how he sounds. While that probably isn't the best mama thing I could have been doing as he was sitting at my feet trying to wail, at least I didn't actually video him. Right?

Luke and Eli's School Christmas Program

2010-12-14T11:24:00.001-05:00

Luke and Eli had their Christmas program at school last night. They sang songs for us and then, more importantly, we ate cookies. I cry every single time my children perform. If I didn't know that I was one of the many weeping mothers I might wonder if I had a hormone imbalance. But I recognize that this is what happens when we become mothers. Any time one of our offspring look unbearably cute, we smile, our chins wobble and then we weep. It's inevitable.

This was only Eli's second time in front of the large crowd. This is what he thinks of performing for the masses (Eli is in blue):

Luke, on the other hand, is a seasoned veteran (Luke is in pink, next to the tallest girl in the school. I told him to choose his place in line more wisely next time. She made him look like a peanut.)

Luke's Birthday Request

2010-12-05T14:12:00.001-05:00

Luke told me for his "number six birthday", on November 3rd, (in case I wasn't sure when his birthday was), he wanted a baby girl sister. I told him that was sweet and to pick again. Eli is probably more likely to get his humpback whale.

Judah At Eleven Months

2010-12-05T14:09:00.000-05:00

We went to Camilla for Thanksgiving and then we had a week of various illnesses, so I'm a little behind. Judah hit 11 months on the 22nd of November. Apparently, he thinks he's five years old because he gets ticked when he gets left behind. He has started running away when he knows I'm coming after him. He looks around to see if anybody is watching when he's about to get into or touch something he knows is off limits. He gives me "the face" when I'm not making him very happy.

Exhibit A:

Judah stands by himself for as long as he wants to. He sometimes forgets he can't walk and tries to take a step but hasn't successfully completed one yet. He still loves pretty much everybody with Mama being his #1 pick. {smile} The only people who make him cry are Kris' uncle and cousin. We have no idea why but everytime they're in the room Judah boo hoos like he's been assaulted.

Judah hasn't met a food he doesn't like. We have not yet deciphered the screams that accompany every single meal. I think they mean "More!!", "Faster!!" and "All done!!"; but they seem to all run together without a break in between. Meal times have become a bit of a challenge. I know. This too shall pass.

I cannot believe Judah will be one in a few weeks. This year has flown past! What a treasure he has been!

Wishing Big

2010-11-20T20:43:00.000-05:00

Eli told me tonight with a deadpan face, "I want a humpback whale for my birsday." Then he stuck his thumb back in his mouth and turned his big, blue, serious eyes on me, completely expecting a "Yes" out of me.

This is one of the millions of precious moments with my boys I absolutely never want to forget.

Keep Your Eyes Peeled for the PayPal Button

2010-11-17T16:06:00.001-05:00

I think Judah has decided that my beef vegetable soup is his favorite meal. I had to take a little video of him eating the other night because it was ridiculous how much he was enjoying his food! By the time these boys are teens, I will either need to have found a part time job or to have added PayPal to my blog so my friends and family can donate to the "Feed the Hoffmann Boys" fund.

Can you believe the intensity?! I think the scream at the end meant, "Stop wasting my time, Mom, and give me more soup!"

Please Explain

2010-11-03T16:26:00.000-04:00

Why do my children insist on peeing in the front yard? We have three doors. Why the front one?

I Have A Five Year Old!

2010-11-03T08:00:00.001-04:00

Look at those blue eyes and that sweet smile. This is my Luke. I love this picture because it is such an accurate depiction of Luke's disposition. Sunny, sweet, happy, loving, affectionate. This child gives the sweetest smiles and the best kisses. And he gives both so freely. His brothers A-D-O-R-E him. Eli follows him around faithfully, waiting for Luke to have an idea so he can copy it. When he wakes up in the morning his first question is, "Where's Luke?" When he is given any instruction at all his first question is, "What's Luke going to do?" He absolutely hates the idea of being separated from Luke. Luke is very good natured about it, but occasionally says, "I need a little break, Mama." Judah starts dancing when Luke walks in the room and giggles out loud when Luke makes silly faces or movements. Luke can, without fail, get smiles and laughs from his brother. He is a good big brother and declared once that he wanted 11 sisters. When I told him that I would need a lot of help taking care of that many children he said, "You could just feed them with your nuckles like Judah. Maybe you could have, like, eight nuckles." I didn't correct him on the pronunciation of that one, although I did try to explain to him that if I had eight "nuckles" I would be somewhat of a freak.

Kris and I, of course, think Luke is incredibly smart. He is reading and learning math. He loves to learn, asking me, "Teach me, Mama" all the time. He likes to pretend that we're doing school every day when he works in his work books. We are always looking things up on the computer to satisfy his curiosity. The other night he asked us when God's birthday was. When I told him God didn't have a birthday he said, "We need to check that out on the Internet."

Luke is asking more and more questions about God, right and wrong, heaven and the future. I made a comment about "one day when you have a family of your own and you live in your own house..." and turned around to find him crying. After many tears and questions I finally figured out that he was NOT okay with the idea of us ever living apart. While I know he won't always feel that way I love that he thinks he will always want to be right here with me.

Luke, you absolutely make my heart overflow. EYE HEART YOU (with hand motions). You make me smile first thing in the morning when you crawl into my bed to snuggle until you go to sleep in your little white undies at night. I love that you love me. I love that you love your family. I love that you love your life and never want it to change. And I love that as you grow and change I know you will always be an absolute blessing to this family. Happy birthday!

Judah At Ten Months

2010-10-27T10:19:00.000-04:00

Judah is already ten months. I feel a little panicky sometimes when it hits me how quickly he's turning into a little boy instead of a baby. Oh, and he is a little boy already. He has learned how to make farting noises by blowing on the leather chair. He grabs himself the second I take his diaper off to change him. He eats whatever I give him and lots of it. He smiles at anything female. And he is happiest when he's being tossed around by his daddy or brothers. Definitely all boy.

Luke and Eli still think he's fun. They like it when he does big boy things with them.

Sometimes Judah enjoys their love and sometimes he just has to endure it.

He is more tolerant of Luke's type of affection. (Mama, I promise Luke has had a hair cut since this picture.)

Judah is standing without holding on to anything for maybe ten seconds at a time. He might be my only early walker. He doesn't like to be crawling when everyone else is walking, so that would make him happy. He is a really content fella, and he is always happy in other people's care. He likes to give me a hard time, though. If I'm anywhere near he has to fuss unless he's in my arms or at least has my attention. When I'm holding him and talking to someone else he'll grab my face and turn it so he can smile at me. He's a little possessive of his mama, which I may fuss about, but I secretly love it. He gets jealous when I hold Eli or Luke. It would have freaked me out if my other two were ever like this but with Judah it makes me smile. I know how quickly they get to the point where Mama's affection is more tolerated than desired.

Happy ten months, Judah!

Weekend in Georgia

2010-10-18T16:00:00.027-04:00

Daddy's 60th birthday was on the 9th and we spent the weekend in Georgia to help him celebrate. He knew we were all coming in to town, but he had no idea that there was a surprise party planned for him. It was lots of fun to celebrate his life and what he means to all his friends and family. We are blessed that he belongs to us!

We also had lots of fun in the gorgeous weather and playing with cousins.

Look at all those teeth! Trust me, he knows how to use them.

The boys stayed in a half nude state all weekend.

Eddie was a good sport about all the attention he received and even helped the boys run off some of their energy.

Luke loves his "big" cousins and hung out with them as much as possible.

What a Face

2010-10-17T13:45:00.003-04:00

Without fail, this picture makes me laugh every time I look at it. He was checking out the camera.

Beach Trip

2010-10-13T20:25:00.000-04:00

I can't believe I forgot to put these pictures on here. We went to the beach for the night about a month ago, and because our boys woke up E-A-R-L-Y we were able to catch the sunrise. Beautiful morning and beautiful day!

Did I mention it was early?

Quotable Quotes

2010-10-13T14:57:00.001-04:00

Judah and Eli have had the crud, so Eli hasn't been able to go to school this week. First off...man! You get used to having just one child around a couple mornings a week pretty quickly. Second off, poor Eli. He loves school and hasn't been thrilled about missing. This morning I checked his nose to see how it was looking. It was still runny, so I said, "Bummer, your nose is still running." Quickly grasping what that meant for his school status, he said, "They have tissues at my school, Mom." Smart little three year old.

I wrote about Eli being a copy cat here. It sometimes frustrates Luke. Okay, it really frustrates Luke. Like, to the point that he whispers what he wants for breakfast so Eli can't hear and copy it. Last night he whispered in Kris' ear that he wanted a piece of candy after dinner. Eli, with his super hero hearing, comes sprinting into the kitchen, "I want a piece of candy tooooooo!" Luke threw his hands up in the air and said, "For goodness sake, Eli!"

My MOPS group will be filling boxes for Operation Christmas Child again this year. Luke was filling out a questionnaire that goes in the box so the child who receives the box can correspond with him. I was explaining to him that the box will go to a little boy or girl in another continent like Africa, Asia, Europe, etc. and then that child might write him a letter. To which he declared, "I want a pretty girl from Africa! Because I like pretty girls a lot."

How Times Have Changed

2010-10-06T16:06:00.001-04:00

Sunday was my 30th birthday, and it absolutely made me laugh. Kris gave me a blender, and when his parents took the two big boys home with them from church, we took an hour to rest and then cleaned house the rest of the time that Judah napped.

The funny part?

It was one of the best birthdays I've ever had. Kris' parents did have a party for us Sunday night, and that was fun too. It just made laugh that I was totally thrilled with a blender and a clean house. It reminded me of all the times we would ask Mama what she wanted for her birthday or for Christmas and she would, predictably, reply, "Just obedient children."

Silly Sock Day

2010-09-29T11:58:00.000-04:00

All these dress up days are brand new to me since we started in the middle of the year last year. Both Luke and Eli had Silly Sock Day today in honor of the letter S. We had fun decorating Luke's baseball socks (hope he doesn't need those again any time soon), and surprisingly, there were no arguments over having to share one of each sock.

Another Lefty

2010-09-26T21:30:00.001-04:00

I often forget just how much our children are learning brand new. Every concept and idea is totally new to them. Their way of seeing things makes me laugh!

Tonight Luke came to me and said, "Mama, I have some news for you."

Smiling, while trying to take him seriously because that was a new phrase for him, but he was obviously being very serious, "What news do you have for me?"

"I hurt my right foot. It really hurts. I can only use my left foot, so I'm going to have to be left-footed from now on."

Judah at Nine Months

2010-09-23T15:44:00.000-04:00

Judah is officially nine months old. This year is flying by so fast. The first year has never been my favorite part of having children, but I have to say that at night when I'm nursing him before bed I sit and hold him thinking the whole time, "You are growing up way too fast, and I want you to stay a baby for longer." Sometimes it absolutely makes my heart hurt. He is sweet and handsome, funny and engaging. He is at the point now where I have to peel him off of me like a banana whenever I drop him off somewhere or put him in the car seat or put him to bed or put him on the floor with his toys or put him anywhere, actually. Oddly, most of the time I don't even mind it. Maybe because he doesn't really act ugly about it. He just whimpers and looks at me like, "But I want to be with you!"

We had a photo session in the grass last night. He wanted to check out his surroundings before we got serious about pictures.

After every blade was properly tasted, he was willing to smile for a bit.

And then he was done.

Kris and I got a date night this past weekend, and when we got Judah up the next morning the sitter had put him to bed in these jammies. He was absolutely yummy!

We went back to the foot doctor this week, and we are officially finished with the corrective shoes! His foot still turns in, but the muscles are flexible and the drift will be able to correct itself with time. I haven't taken Judah for his nine month check-up yet, but at the foot doctor he weighed a little under 22 pounds. He is wearing 18 months clothes now!

Judah is crawling all over the place now. You would think that since he's my third child I would remember important things like making sure the boys haven't dropped pieces of cucumber on the floor or left checkers lying around. Good times. I also have to continually remind myself to SHUT THE BATHROOM DOOR!!! I have found him hanging over the edge of the toilet with toilet paper in his mouth and on his hands more than once. The toilet paper came off the roll on the wall and not from the toilet, but the sight is a shocker, nonetheless.

Judah, you are precious to us. We need you in our family. You give something to each one of us that no one else can offer. We love you!

Rock Star

2010-09-16T21:31:00.004-04:00

Today was "Rock Star" day at Luke's school in celebration of the letter R. We had fun dressing Luke up, and the hair was even a success. I don't know that he quite understands what a rock star is, exactly. He kept mentioning birthdays and his friend from his tee-ball team named Rox. I asked him if he had fun at his rock star party and he answered, "Yeah, it was fun, but Rox wasn't there." Oh well, he was still the cutest rock star I've ever seen.

Seriously, he kept pulling his sunglasses down and giving me the, "How you doin'?" look. Too funny!

'Cause what good is a muscle tee if you don't show off your muscles?

Homemade Photo Shoot

2010-09-10T11:08:00.005-04:00

So I must confess that we have yet to have a family picture made since Judah was born. Actually, we haven't had a family picture made since Eli was six months old. I know, I know. But it's just so painful! I'm working on it, though, I really am. We did have an impromptu photo shoot on our back porch about a month ago with the boys in their undies. We got a few good ones and once it turns a little cooler maybe we'll make a habit out of it.

This is as good as it gets with Eli. Sometimes I think he knows just how photogenic he really is and he's prepping for the catwalk in NYC. He absolutely poses. It's funny, even if a bit frustrating.

Luke liked being the center of attention for a moment, and he worked with us.
Sweetness!

We had a whole lot of this...
Plenty of this...

A little more of this...

But it was worth it for this...

First Day of School

2010-09-08T10:24:00.003-04:00

Luke and Eli started school this week. Luke's first day was yesterday. He was absolutely ready and barely noticed when I left. Eli started today since he'll be going Monday, Wednesday, Friday. We got a few pictures.

Eli definitely noticed when I left. He asked me to stay with him and got a little teary. I have to confess that I got a little teary myself. He was sitting in the teacher's helper's lap sucking his thumb when I peaked back in to hand his teacher something. I know he'll have a great time. I know I will be fine too. We'll both just have to adjust.

Double Bug

2010-09-01T21:39:00.002-04:00

We've had a double bug around these parts. Kris, Luke and Judah had a cold last week. Judah passed it to me. His ears are infected. I'm counting on my sinuses staying clear this time.

Luke and Kris both were throwing up yesterday. They're back to normal today, thank you, Lord. My hands are absolutely raw from washing like an OCD maniac.

This morning we were sitting at the table doing a puzzle, and Luke started sniffing. He said, "What's that smell?"

Me: "I don't know, what does it smell like?"

L: "I fink it smells like frow up. It smells like frow up in my nose. It's dis-GUSTING!"

Poor fella. He had to get in the shower to get the "frow up" smell out of his nose. I know the feeling.

Prayer of Faith

2010-08-29T22:00:00.004-04:00

This morning I was laying in the bed for as long as I was allowed when Luke came in to tell me laying in the bed was no longer allowed. How did these kids get so bossy? I explained to him that I wasn't feeling well because he had given his cold to Judah who had passed it to me. Which, by the way, Judah has another double ear infection and my cold is way worse than Luke's was for the whole two days he suffered with it.

So, I told Luke I didn't feel good and was trying to rest, and after a few seconds he said, "Can I pray to God for you to feel better?" He has many times asked me to pray to God for him to feel better, but he's never been willing to do the praying himself and he has certainly never offered to do the praying. Of course, I said yes.

This is how it went:

"Okay, I'm going to lay my hand on your nose." He put his hand to my nose.

"Thanks, Father. God, would you make Mama's cold well? In Jesus name, Amen."

"Are you better?"

My day could not have started any better than that.

The prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well. James 5:15

Judah At Eight Months

2010-08-25T14:30:00.003-04:00

Judah did some speed learning this month. He has perfected the art of sitting up and is also able to go from laying down to sitting. He pulls up on anything from the couch to his toy basket to my head if I'm laying on the ground. I am training myself to always raise the side of his crib because I nearly had a heart attack the other day when I went in to check on him and found him standing up and leaning over the edge. He can army crawl, or so I've been told by Kris and the nursery workers at church. He won't do it when I'm around. When I'm around and he wants to get somewhere he looks at me and screams, "Get over here, Woman!" I guess that means he has also learned the art of manipulation in this, his eighth month.

We have another big eater on our hands. Lord, help us when these boys are all teenagers! He eats whatever baby food I give him, and he'll eat whatever mashed up table food I give him too. Last night he was the only one of my boys to devour his broccoli. Maybe he'll be a good influence.

He sleeps twelve hours at night and takes a catnap in the morning and a 3-4 hour nap in the afternoon. That's different than what the other two boys did, but it works really well with our schedule.

Sweet Judah! We love you!

Relationships

2010-08-24T15:20:00.005-04:00

What a word! What a concept! God knew He wanted relationship with us. So did the enemy of our souls. That is why he has been undermining trust and truth in relationships since the beginning of time.

If Satan can get us to doubt each other; if he can get us to think and expect the worst of each other; if he can get us to love ourselves more than each other; if he can get us to sabotage our relationships with each other by being overly sensitive, secretive, insensitive, too busy, negative, harsh or sarcastic, then sabotaging our relationship with God is a cinch.

Psalm 133 -
"Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!
2. It is like the precious oil upon the head, running down on the beard, the beard of Aaron, running down on the edge of his garments.
3. It is like the dew of Hermon, descending upon the mountains of Zion; for there the Lord commanded the blessing - Life forevermore."

Not Much to Report

2010-08-12T14:48:00.007-04:00

There isn't much happening here. Just trying to keep up with the break-neck pace involved with three boys. We went to DeLeon Springs yesterday and swam and picnicked, but I forgot to take my camera. Even though I left Judah with a sitter I'm so used to not having free hands for pictures that it never crossed my mind take a camera. It's a pity because I could have gotten some great shots. I do have a few pictures of the past week or two.

I'll refrain from showing the pictures of Eli's monstrous nosebleed. I only took pictures so Kris could see them and understand how truly unbelievable it was. I was feeding Judah in his room with the door closed. I had banished the boys because Judah won't stop watching them long enough to eat when they're around. Eli was, as usual, pushing Luke's buttons, and Luke was, as usual, falling right into the trap. It doesn't take great imagination to envision what transpired next, and experience tells me that what Luke gave Eli was earned. However, I was a little surprised to hear Luke saying, "Ooh, Eli. That's a lot of blood! You have blood EVERYWHERE!" Like I said, I won't put the pictures on here, but trust me, it was incredible.

These pictures are much cuter and much less stomach turning.

Eli being Mama's helper. Judah had been crying all the way home, and I had tossed a bottle to him while I was driving to see if he could figure it out. He figured it out enough to keep him from screaming, but by the time we got home he was willing to accept help from anyone. These third babies have to, in the words of my daddy, "Root hog or die." I'm not entirely sure where that saying comes from but it does paint an accurate picture, does it not?

Hanging out with some "big" boys

Judah's first bath with his brothers. I was exhausted afterwards, but a good time was had by all.

I would really love to know what Judah was thinking.

Eli after Mama has had a really long day and has locked them outside on the porch. Trust me, it was for their safety.

Eli after he determined that Mama wasn't letting him back in anytime soon and that he needed to figure out a way to amuse himself.

Judah At Seven Months

2010-07-27T14:19:00.004-04:00

Judah hit seven months last week. I do happen to know that he weighs about twenty pounds since we've been to the doctor a couple of times in the past few weeks. Bless him, his ears are still giving him trouble. I will have to take him back tomorrow if his nose isn't clear.

Judah cracks me up. He already knows how to be funny. He will do something like hang a sock out of his mouth or turn his pacifier sideways and then look at us to make sure we see him. When we acknowledge what he's doing he'll laugh like, "I know, it's hilarious, isn't it?!" He likes to play stare down as he moves his face closer and closer to yours. Then when he gets right up to you he'll grab your face or hair and pull you in for a lovely, slobbery french kiss. Poor Luke and Eli get their hair pulled all the time because they're just the right height when he's on my hip.

Judah's sitting up well now. He's also getting on his knees. He will probably be crawling before too long, which will be a fun challenge since we have all kinds of small toy pieces and parts all over the house. I guess I'll be used to him moving already, though, because even now if you put him down he rolls from one side of the room to the other.

I remember writing a thank you note to Baby Einstein when either Luke or Eli were babies. They might be due for another from me. This is what Judah looks like when we turn on Baby Van Gogh.
And this is what he looks like when I try to nurse him somewhere other than in his room in the dark. He's a little bit of a nosey butt.

"Just making sure you're not doing anything interesting without me."

If you notice in the pictures his nose is a little orange. He likes his fruits and veggies. I'm trying to do more green veggies and purple and white fruits to balance out his coloring. We've started giving him a few nibbles of table food, which is going pretty well. He just likes to eat. Seems to be the standard in our house.

Reptile Discovery Center

2010-07-26T14:20:00.002-04:00

I took the boys to the Reptile Discovery Center on Friday. Trust me, you want to click on that link and watch the video. It is crazy fascinating. Unless, of course, snakes make you feel woozy, and then I don't recommend it. It really was an awesome experience.

Until.

I realized two things after the fact: 1) Visiting at the same time as the summer school group was probably not wise. 2) Going against my better judgment and waiting until afterwards to feed everyone lunch was insane.

I had to move Judah's stroller out of the way so the school kids could get a closer look once they began the venom extraction (Again, watch the video. Fascinating.). I moved back, and before I could turn around to grab Eli's hand, the masses moved in. Wailing and hysterics ensued. I managed to extract him from the crowd, but Luke was glued to the window watching, so I stood in the back of the room and kept my eyes on him while I slipped Eli and Judah food to keep them from a complete meltdown. Only I didn't know that Luke was glued to the window because he didn't know where I was or how to get out of the mob. Only after fifteen minutes when I decided I couldn't hold the two little guys off any more and parted the sea of people to get Luke did I realize that he had been standing at the window crying silently because he thought I left him.

You may now nominate me for the Mother of the Year award. Oh well.

We did get some great photos, thanks to my friend, MaryAnn.

Baby alligator. They are surprisingly soft.

This is the only picture of Eli holding the snake. Luke's asking if he can have a turn, and I'm saying, "Eli, don't squeeze!!"

One Tough Cookie

2010-07-14T20:17:00.004-04:00

Do you want to see a picture of the toughest baby ever? I thought you did.

And yes, I did say toughest, but you're right, he is the cutest too.

As you can see in the picture, his nose is absolutely raw and really gross. All last week he had a rotten cold, didn't sleep very well, had a fever off and on. But he never really fussed. I have flown with a cold. It is a painful, miserable experience. When we flew home on Saturday, he whimpered as we landed. That's all. I finally took Judah to the doctor yesterday because his nose was getting worse, not better. Diagnosis? Double ear infection. Are you kidding me?

Oh yeah, and he has four teeth coming in on top. He is one tough cookie!

Tennessee Vacation

2010-07-13T14:56:00.004-04:00

We spent last week in Tennessee with my family. We left Sunday and flew to Sevierville, where we stayed until Saturday with two grandparents, four children, three in-laws, a friend and eight grandchildren. We visited Dollywood, Dollywood Splash Country, Cades Cove, lots of restaurants, Wal-Mart (which would have been better left undone, in my opinion), the urgent care center (never fear, all is well, but it was to be expected with that many children), an indoor miniature golf and arcade center, the pool and some beautiful streams and camping sites.

Unfortunately, we weren't able to take our good camera with us, but here are a few shots.

Eli and Rae meeting Brer Rabbit

Luke and David exploring the stream

Eli didn't want to be left out, but he needed a little help.

Eli and Daddy taking a rest

Luke and David joined them On the never-ending trail at Cades Cove

We made lots of good memories and had a good time. Oh, and Judah? He got lots of a great bonding time with Grandma Clair. And, I got to change his diaper on the plane to Tennessee and on the way home as well.

Judah At Six Months

2010-07-02T15:40:00.003-04:00

We had Judah's six month check-up yesterday. He is 27 1/2 inches and 17 lbs, 1 oz. That makes him about 80% in height and 50% in weight. I find it so hard to believe there are babies much fatter than him! I had all three boys with me at the doctor's office yesterday, so that is all the info I have from his check-up. I guess he's fine otherwise. If not, I wouldn't remember if the doctor said anything else or not.

He is almost sitting up now, he just needs one finger holding him to keep him from dumping over. He sleeps through the night, praise Jesus! Once we got his cast off I felt happy about letting him work it out at night. He's wearing shoes now 24 hours a day. Most of the time he doesn't seem to mind them. I try not to notice how gross the shoes laces are, since they are his favorite thing to chew on and he spits up on them regularly.

Judah is a really happy baby 99% of the time. He's been teething lately, so that 1% is a little painful for all of us. He loves his brothers. And he LOVES his daddy. If Kris sneaks in the room while I'm nursing him he'll stop and get really still, and then he'll start smiling before he even turns around to see him. It's like he has a Daddy radar. Then he'll turn over and reach up to put a hand on Kris' face and just smile and stare at him. Precious. When I get him up in the morning he puts his chubby arms around my neck and buries his face into the side of my neck.

It won't be long before Judah starts crawling. He definitely does not stay in one place anymore. He rolls around front to back, back to front, side to side. Bathing him is a major work out. He thinks it's so funny to make me work so hard to get him clean.

Luke and Eli make Judah laugh. He'll hang out of the side of his stroller watching them like he's at the circus, which, is quite appropriate around here most days.

(The entertainment is Luke hitting a beach ball. The big commotion at the end is Luke doing a split after he accidentally stepped on a toy. It wasn't pretty; however, after many tears, he was okay, and I think he will still be able to father children one day.)

Everybody Going Surfing!

2010-06-23T20:33:00.003-04:00

Luke has been a little fish since almost birth, but we never expected him to be such a good little surfer! (Click on the pictures to see them better.)

I was in the beach house with Judah when these were taken, and Mrs. Bonnie came in to bring Eli up and let me know he was surfing. By the time I made it out there it was getting dark and Kris said he was concerned about sharks since that's when they generally come out. I figured he was just kidding around and trying to get Luke out of the water, so I got them to go back out so I could actually see Luke surf. Well, Luke was not interested in going back out because he heard Kris say there were sharks, so he never would stand up for me to see. He had a death grip on the board, and whenever he got close to Mr. Eric, he would jump off the board into his arms.

Right about the time Luke rode the board in for the third time, Kris' cousin, who was fishing from the beach about fifty yards away, caught a shark. And then ten minutes later his other cousin caught a bigger shark. I think they caught a total of ten sharks in a one hour period.

I have no words.

Copy Cats and Black Eyes

2010-06-21T20:26:00.003-04:00

Every morning I have the same conversation with Eli.

"Eli, what do you want for breakfast?"
"What's Wuke having?"
"I don't know. What do you want? Do you want cereal?"
"Is Wuke having cereal?"
"Okay, fine. You're having cereal. Do you want milk?"
"Is Wuke having milk?"

One of these days I will learn not to ask. Anyway, Eli is not the only copycat in our house.

Maybe he figures he looks just like him, why not be exactly like him too? Baby, you could do a lot worse than being just like your daddy. I think it's great.

This past Saturday we went to a birthday party for Kris' cousin's little girl. It was absolutely the most fun little kid party I've ever been to. All of Kris' cousins were in town, for one. But there was also great food, a popcorn machine, a snow cone machine and an 18 foot water slide. It was like a carnival minus all the sketchy people. It was definitely against our better judgement to let our three year old go on the water slide, but once he went down the first time, there was no stopping him. That is, until he collided with his cousin's face. Thankfully, the eye is the only damage. He's proud of his black eye, and we're just grateful he's not brain damaged.

Luke's Turn

2010-06-14T20:44:00.003-04:00

Luke hasn't gotten much exposure on the blog recently. To be fair, he hasn't been a very squeaky wheel. He has, by far, been the least squeaky wheel in the house. But here are a couple of things he's been up to.

Bedtime stories for Eli

Literature of choice...
Finding creative ways to make going to bed fun

So, he's really not reading the Divine Comedy. But he is reading. He can read the beginning reader books and can spell words by sound that surprise me almost daily. He likes to write people notes. He'll have me or Kris write what he wants to say, and then he'll copy it down so he can give Grandma, Papa, Grandaddy, his friends, whomever a note.

He doesn't seem to notice it, but he is Judah's favorite face, right after Daddy. The second he walks in the room, Judah is turning around and smiling, just looking for him. It's really so sweet.

We are enjoying our break from school, staying in our pj's for a good portion of the morning. Okay, I'll be honest. Staying in our pj's for a good portion of the day. Luke is a lounger. He likes to lay around, watching cartoons and would do that all day if I would let him. I am letting him rub off on me, and I am doing a good job enjoying having three wonderful boys far better than I was doing when we had a daily schedule. The house shows it for sure, but they boys are showing it, too. They are giving me some really sweet moments, and I'm storing up precious memories.

Psalm 121

2010-06-05T17:25:00.003-04:00

"I lift up my eyes to the hills-
where does my help come from?
My help comes from the Lord,
the Maker of heaven and earth.
He will not let your foot slip-
he who watches over you will not slumber;
indeed, he who watches over Israel
will neither slumber nor sleep.
The Lord watches over you -
the Lord is your shade at your right hand;
the sun will not harm you by day,
nor the moon by night.
The Lord will keep you from all harm-
he will watch over your life;
the Lord will watch over your coming and going
both now and forevermore." Psalm 121:1-8

I knew when Eli was very young that he would push the limits and do all kinds of things that would make me cling to God's promises for protection over him (ex. Hanging from the edge of the toy box by his fingernails at nine months old).

While I was in Nashville with Judah, Kris was at the beach with Luke and Eli, along with his parents, sister and her family. They spent Saturday and Sunday nights there. Saturday night Kris put the boys in the bed and went back outside with everyone else to hang out while they slept. They all went to bed a little later. At 4:20 someone knocked on the door and woke them up. Total strangers were holding Eli.

I still feel a little bit hysterical every time I tell this story.

Our best guess is that Eli fell asleep knowing that Kris was outside and when he woke up he assumed Kris was still outside, even though he was really asleep in the bed right next to him. Eli unlocked and opened the door and walked out. The people several doors down woke up and heard him outside their door calling for Daddy. When they went outside and saw him they recognized him as having been with the family a couple of cottages over and brought him back.

Every time I think about it, all the possibilities of what could have happened immediately start running through my mind. The beach one way, the highway the other way. Crazy strangers. Perverts. Good grief.

Then I have to remind myself what DID happen. God woke those people up to hear Eli's voice. Over the air conditioner. Through their sleep. God woke them. God caused them to notice him earlier in the day so they would know where he belonged in the middle of the night. God kept Eli from going to the beach or the highway. And God will keep him for the rest of his days. So, I rest.

And what did Kris do? Once he starting breathing again, he moved the dresser in front of the door.

Lord Help the Mister

2010-06-03T13:49:00.005-04:00

I spent this past weekend with my two sisters, hence the title. Fortunately, the only "mister" involved was Judah. And he was a perfect gentleman.

We left Thursday afternoon and flew to Nashville to meet up with Kate and Raeanna for four days of fun. I've never flown with a child before, so it was a learning experience. I had no idea that when you go through security they make you fold up your stroller and put every piece of equipment you have with you through the scanner. Thankfully I was in the "family" line behind a family with more children and way more stuff than me so I had time to watch and then figure out how I was supposed to hold Judah, fold the stroller, and get all my stuff on the table. And, oh yeah, if your baby happens to have a cast on, you have to stand in the glass box like a suspected terrorist and wait for the security people to swab the cast and test the swab in their special terrorist-detecting machine (I'm sure that isn't the proper name, but you get the idea, right?). This is while everyone in the area stares at you in the glass box, certain you really are a terrorist because I mean, come on, your five month old has a cast on. I was sweating by the time I got my tennis shoes back on. I sat down to wait for my flight and had time to stop sweating, but again, you have to unload and fold your stroller while holding the baby and your bags and trying to get out of the way of everyone else pushing past you to get on the plane. Nothing about this was done gracefully. But we did it and sat down next to two delightful sisters who were helpful the whole flight. Even when Judah completely filled his diaper and, subsequently, the surrounding area with the lovely odor. Did I mention he was constipated recently. Well, don't worry, he's not anymore. He fixed that problem right there at 38,000 feet. Have you ever changed a poopy diaper in an airplane?

So, all in all, Judah was perfect and I was fine, too. I was just really sweaty. And by the flight back, we were both pros.

So, we did lots of this.

We also, shopped, got pedicures and manicures, ate way too much, took a painting class (totally fun), laughed lots and slept very little. It was a fabulous weekend. Can't wait to do it again, Girls!

"Sisters, sisters,There were never such devoted sisters.
All kinds of weather, we stick together, the same in the rain or sun.
Two different faces, but in tight places we think and we act as one.

Those who've seen us know that not a thing can come between us.
Many men have tried to split us up, but no one can.
Lord help the mister who comes between me and my sister,
and Lord help the sister that comes between me and my man."