How Do Your Children Grow???

I confess, I never marked my children’s heights on a door frame until Zoe was 7.  I know.  Bad mom.   I knew the house we were in wasn’t going to be a forever home and I kept wondering how in the world we were going to preserve the kids height markings when we moved.  Then we moved.  And I asked Mark to please figure out how to take the height records with us.  So, being the ever so resourceful engineer, he grabbed an old board and marked the heights.  Fast forward to a few months later and I had a plan how to display the heights (thanks to Pinterest).  
We stained a board, Mark transferred the heights over and Presto!

The verse is from 1 Peter 3:18, “But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” I used vinyl lettering to get it on there, pretty like.

And now, we have a board that will follow us wherever we go…marking heights and making memories.  Mark and I have a bit of a fear though.  Josiah seems to be passing up his older (more competitive) brother in height.

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To the Country We Go!

In February, we traveled to visit Mark’s brother and family. If you’ve read the blog for any amount of time, you would know they have eight children ages 12 to under a year. So, we had a packed fun filled few days while Mark helped his brother with some computer thingy stuff.

On the way, we stopped off where my sister E and her family lives and had lunch with them. It worked perfectly because my nephew E’s birthday was the next day. And, as usual, we were all too busy visiting and catching up to take pictures!

Back to the country. Mark’s brother and family live out on a “work in progress” farm. It’s so neat to see how much it has changed since last we came (that was quite a few years ago) and how much they plan to change and learn from it. It’s an amazing and fun place and the kids had no end to the joys of playing out in the woods and with their cousins.

Malachi and T (who is a little over a month younger that Chi) enjoyed taking toys from each other.  T had just learned to crawl in anticipation of keeping up with his big ‘cuz.

We were able to worship as a family at B&B’s church.  It was a fun time. Especially since Papa & Grandmere were there to.

 Games were out throughout the visit.

A beautiful niece sideways.

The morning of our departure, Mark and B and our nephew J all got up at the crack of dawn and headed to conference with Papa on entrepreneurship.  So, I gathered our crew up and headed to thrift stores.  The thrift stores where B&B live are amazing and I found some great deals.  But, before we left, we had to get a group shot.  This is the whole crew minus J.

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Welcoming Grady

The first of February, we hosted a little party to celebrate the birth of Grady.  It was a sweet time to share with Tracy and Kevin’s family and friends and to welcome their beautiful new addition.

 Mama and Baby.  Yes, he’s big.  This is a two month old in the Tracy and Kevin family.

 Miss Maggie getting help from mama.

 All my kids had to get their baby fixes.

Liam is such a newborn baby snuggler.  He simply loves the stillness of holding a newborn.  I can’t wait to see him be a daddy.
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Finishing out

These are just two random pictures from January and February.  I wanted to include them in here for my personal history.

Ah, my Destructo Duo…While getting ready one morning, they raided my shoes (which are still in disarray…but I digress).  And then they came out requesting a picture…with those adorable faces, how could I refuse?

This is my friend Tracy’s son, Wyatt.  He’s wearing an Alabama helmet and when I snapped the picture he was saying, “Roll Tide!”  That may not matter to some but it does to Wyatt’s father since he is a Georgia alum…sorry Kevin…but we had to record this for posterity.

Our mentally unstable dog has a problem.  Well, she has lots of problems.  Anyone know of a good pet pyschiatrist that could help a poor dog.  She needs therapy.  Badly.  Anyway, one of her problems is that she scratches a  lot and has created a nice dry spot on her back.  We decided to try the “cone of shame” to help give that spot time to heal.  (I can’t take credit for the cone name…borrowed it from some friends).  When we finally got it on her, she had it off in under 15 minutes (after running in to everything she could find. It worked well for Ace though…

Actually, I think the giant floor fans have encouraged her to give up scratching…she’s been less violent with it and a bit more relaxed.

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I hear a bed calling…

Just thought I would share what our day looked like:

We had planned a trip into the “city” to attend a free concert in which a guest Irish Fiddler would be presenting.  So, we got up and as I was preparing breakfast, Liam hobbled up to me and cuddled under my arm.

 He whispered that it hurt to walk.  He couldn’t even walk up and down the steps without being stiff legged on one side.  If you’ll recall, last year after Malachi was born we ran in to the same issue and he had an infection that settled in his hip so he had to be on “rest” for a few days.  This is Liam.  Rest is not easy for him.  I checked out his hip to make sure there were no problems there.  There weren’t but it did warrant a call to daddy to get the final opinion on whether to take him in or not.  We both agreed it was a good idea to see the doctor.

Zoe and I hurriedly made lunches.  I put Malachi down for a brief nap and called the doc.  The appointment was for late afternoon so the kids worked on school while I finished our grocery list for the rest of the month.

We loaded up and were out the door close to 11:30 and made it just in time for the concert.  I spent most of it correcting and pointing and using sign language and batting hands away from Malachi who would have been content to just listen to the music had his brothers and sister thought it would be best if they played with him instead of listening and watching.

We finished up at the concert and headed across town to Wally World…I promised the kids if good behavior ensued we would go somewhere fun before Liam’s appointment.  In and out in under thirty minutes meant a trip to the playground was in order.

We played at the playground for an hour before heading out to the doctor.  Dr. B didn’t notice the same things that brought us in for leg pain but she did notice something that could be causing it.  Liam is flat footed and as such he has been overcorrecting make his feet turn in.  I noticed the tread of shoe was worn on one side and wondered about that. He’s also pigeon toed but that will correct on it’s own.  Dr. B said he needed good tennis shoes with good inserts and suggested we head to a certain store to be fitted for inserts.

Back in the car we went.  We stopped off at a local sports store and picked up a good pair of running shoes and then raced across town (again) to the special shoe store before they closed.  We made it (just barely) and the amazing salesman/owner worked wonders.  He didn’t do inserts, however, he put him in some shoes and then put inserts in those.  He informed me that the cost of inserts compared to just getting the shoes with a bit of inserts around the arch and heel was going to be about the same.

By the time we finished at the special shoe store,  Mark met us and we headed to a food eating establishment and grabbed supper (since it was pushing 6).  We got home, picked up and Mark took off with Ace for a grand finale of our frozen yogurt date nights brought to you by special daily deals!  But, before he left, he discovered there was a nail in the tire of a car that a friend had loaned him to drive until we could find him another one (that’s a whole ‘nother story).  So, Ace and Mark headed to the tire place and then to yogurt.

I bathed the six other kids (well, several of them don’t need me to bather them now) and nursed a sweet almost walker and now all is quiet.

This is what happens when Mom gives the kids a bath…funky hair dos.

I’m tired ya’ll.  But, there is nothing I would not do to help my babies in any way I can.  Paying more for shoes than I ever would for myself (or anyone else) is one of those things we do.  We make sacrifices.  That’s what we do as moms and dads.

I have to surrender myself daily to God and his leading.  Some days I realize that He has given me a most important job and I need to allow Him to work through me.  But some days, I realize that I’m too selfish and too unsacrifical.  But when I give it to Him.  Give it all to Him.  I receive no greater reward than to know I am walking in His light, authority and protection.

Now where’s that bed…I need to snooze.

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Of Picnics and Elephants

Another mild winter found us at 60 degrees plus and sunny in January!  We took advantage of the warm weather and hiked up our small hill to have lunch.  After lunch the kids ferried the leftovers and whatnot back to the house and we hiked the rest of our greenspace to the street.  On the way, we passed some neighbors who were playing outside and one of them reminded me about the elephants “on parade” that was happening that afternoon.  I knew Bryant would be thrilled so we hiked back home, cleaned up the house and headed out to see the elephants with our friends.  The circus was in town and as part of their animal awareness/conservation efforts, they bring the elephants out so we can watch them eat.

I was right, Bryant was thrilled beyond measure!  As soon as we go there and were looking for a spot someone pointed out the elephants walking down the road.  They came right by us and Bryant was yelling, “Hi! Elephants!” the whole time. He talked about the elephants for days.  And everyone walked home with a red nose and stickers.

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Hair!

 Our current favorite babysitter, C, had mentioned that she was interested in learning more on how to care for a home.  After some prayer and other news from C, I felt the Lord calling me to ask her if she wanted to be a mother’s helper for us.  She and her parents agreed and now Tuesdays are a fun day for littles, easy school day for me, and a learning time for her.  We all win.  She mentioned one Tuesday that she was interested in learning how to cut boys’ hair.  It just so happened that I had four boys in desparate need of a hair cut.  So, we went to work!

She got two boys haircut and then I finished off the other two.
I thought she did an awesome job!  And the boys were none too traumatized!

Best part about being a Lilla Rose, Independent Consultant…playing with Zoe’s hair!  Isn’t it beautiful!

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Sprite & Chips

Most moms will know what is going on and why by observing the title and picture.  Unfortuantely, success is slow going.

For those a little behind the times.  Bryant is slowly…ever so slowly, jumping on the potty train.  Truth be told (Southern colloquialisms rearing their ugly head again), he was probably ready about two to three months ago but I just didn’t have the heart or organized brain to start.  And now, we’ve hit it late and are hitting a wall of stubbornness.

This means that if I put Bryant in underwear he will hold it all morning long until he can’t hold it anymore or until I put a diaper on him for nap.  And then he goes like Niagara falls.

He’s given us all the signs that he’s ready:
1.  Talks well and incessantly.
2.  Knows when he is wet (in underwear)
3.  Will tell us that he needs a diaper change
4.  Can get dressed and undressed by himself.

There’s just no motivation and chocolate doesn’t even motivate him.  Really?  Chocolate.  Come on.  I’m totally motivated by chocolate.  I think we may have to use a train or action figure to get him to go.

The picture above was taken in January and we’re still dealing with the same issues.  I know he’ll get it.  Some day.  But for now he’s perfectly content to say, “Mom, I need a diaper change.”

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New Church

Twice in one week.  I’m trying to make a come back.

January saw a huge blessing for our church.  We closed on a property for us to have a permanent home for the church!  It’s a three acre property and includes a house and outbuilding.  Since we’ve been attending the church, we have been meeting in a office building and slowly outgrowing it.  God has truly blessed our church and provided just what we needed when we needed it.

 Here’s the church “house.”  Eventually this will be classrooms, Awana room, office rooms and our kitchen, etc.  All the ladies in the church are excited about having a real oven instead of having to make crockpot meals.  Priorities people

 This is going to be our meeting building after a bit of changes/demo.  It’s about the size of our meeting area now.  The outbuilding goes a bit of a ways back so there’s plenty of room.

We look forward to seeing how the Lord will use the property and our church to share Christ’s love.

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