Merry Christmas!!

Merry Christmas everyone! I had great intentions of putting lots of pictures from this season here, but my computer had other plans...I am just hoping that I can get the rest of my pictures off of it!

I hope everyone has a great Christmas, and I can't wait to hear from each of you!

Christmas time...

I LOVE christmas. It is probably my favorite time of the year! Here are a few shots of what we have been doing these last few weeks...


Picking out our Christmas tree... (I will try to put one of it decorated later)

The kids getting their ornaments this year.


Well, not every part of December has been that great. S got a cold that he couldn't shake, which turned into bronchiolitis and an ear infection. Here he is taking the breathing treatments...hopefully we are on the downside of all of this!

I got tagged!

I was tagged by Shea at http://tapsalteerie.blog-city.com/ so here is the deal...
*link to the person who tagged you
*post the rules
*name 8 things others don't know about you
*link to 8 other blogga-mamas

1-I REALLY don't like these- tell something about yourself or pass along chain letters, BUT because I love you Shea-I am doing it for you! :) I think I don't like the tell about yourself because I don't like writing about myself, but let's see how this goes...
2-I love mayo! I will sometimes eat in right out of the jar (P also got this love from me)
3-I have always wanted to be a wife, mother, and teacher! When I was little, I used to line my stuffed animals up to "teach" them.
4-Even though I miss teaching right now, I LOVE being at home with my kids (even when I have days like I wrote about last). In fact (crazy as it sounds), I am thinking about baby #4!
5-I really like Disney movies- most, but NOT Dumbo. We watched it in 8th grade, and I cried like a baby...haven't liked it since!
6-I love to laugh!! That's why comedies are one of my favorite kind of movies. Also, for those of you who know my husband, that is one of the many things that attracted me to him!
7-I love to make lists! I make them almost daily-not that I always follow them or even keep them, but I think it makes me feel in control and somewhat organized.
8-I am a big supporter of our local library! Not only do we go there to get books, but I am constantly giving them my money from fines...OUCH! There is one lady there that always jokes with me about it. I keep trying to convince her that I am vying for the new wing of the library to be named for me! :) Maybe I should follow #7 better! :)

Now I don't know 8 other people that blog (well I read other blogs, but I don't know then well enough to "tag" them..don't want to seem like the stalker type) but here are 2... Erin at http://tindalsataglance.blogspot.com/ and Erika at http://erikacounts.blogspot.com/.

**Maybe #9 needs to be that I still have ALOT to learn about computers!! I tried to set a link to the 3 others blogs, BUT it would not show up, so I had to do it manually. (sorry there are no links to these 3, but the links are over on the right side of my blog)

How should I Label this Day???

"If you don't laugh, you'll cry"
"Find the Humor in any situation"
"I have had more fun than one should be allowed"

Oh, the labels/fun phrases that people like to say just flood right in now...

I guess you could say that this day o fun (24 hours) started last night when E began throwing up! YUCK! AND, of course, she had laid down in the boys room right before she got sick. So I had to scramble to find other sleeping arrangements for the boys in between helping her.
The morning seemed to go off without a hitch, and the 4 of us had a good time together, resting and watching tv. Then, while I was feeding S (ie occupied, unable to get to the others... BTW, why are kids programmed that when mom is busy, that is their signal to either get into trouble or REALLY need you???) I heard P screaming for me. I sent Iz to check and her reaction... "you REALLY need to get in there!" But P came to me...naked from the waist down, streaked in poop! (sorry- I am going for the mental image now, so you can feel ALITTLE what my afternoon was like) :)
He then leads me back to the bathroom where I see poop- on the floor, all over the toilet, and all over my child - with P VERY quietly & pitifully saying "sawwy mommy, I not make it".
After I clean him up, I realize that I need to clean not only the bathroom, but also the hall, the den and the florida room (remember he came to me having poop on the bottom of his feet) AAGGGHHH! "ok, I can do this"

Well, while I am getting afew cleaning things together, I go into the kitchen...
and there is S, sitting on the floor, playing in something. As I get closer, I realize there is something shiny on his head too. All I can think of is to yell my middle child's name. He comes around the corner, with that sheepy smile on his face, "yes?".
me- "what did you do?"
P- "I helpin to clean?"
me- "what is on S? and why do you feel the need to clean him too" And he shows me the small bottle of Dawn!! AAGGHH!

So I calmly take both boys to the bathroom to scrub them down, and as I was stripping S down, he decides he needs to go to the bathroom...all over my legs!!! AAGGHH!


Here they are during the clean up...notice the shine/bubbles all over S's head!! HA!! And Poor P, he had a rough afternoon too!

OH- I just thought of another "cute" expression...
"What doesn't kill us, makes us stronger" HA!!

Happy Thanksgiving and Fall

Here are a few shots from the last few weeks...

Dad and the boys in their Thanksgiving clothes.

Ps preschool had a Thanksgiving program and lunch.

After lunch, he was playing with a few of his friends so I thought I would walk over and get a few shots. (this is what my boy did when he saw the camara) :}

Hear no Evil, See no Evil, Speak no Evil
Since he wouldn't smile anyway and the girls were in a playful mood, I had a little fun with our 3 little monkeys!! :)

Happy Halloween

Here are a few pictures from last night...

My Audrey Hepburn. I have some other pictures of her from far away, but I love this close-up!


My Cowboy and cow. P LOVED his cap guns at his sides!!



One of the games they played (they are trying to feed a doughnut to those sitting down) I liked it because it shows some of K's costume too.

October...so far

October started with my birthday on the 2nd. The day went pretty good (except for worrying about my niece who ended up in the hospital for a better part of the day with a head injury! Sophie gave a quite a scare, but I am glad to say that she is all better) Between friends and family calling to wish me well and then the family took me out to eat-YUM, I had a good day! Oh, and then my friends at church surprised me (and Katey) with pizza and cake the next day at circle-Thanks guys!

Lorri made sure S was decked out for the festivities!


Then the church went to Bonclarken for the weekend. We had a great time hanging out and spending time together! We also got to see the gamecocks play one more time!

Have a great rest of the month! Can't wait to see some of your fall pictures and if your kids dress up, I would love to see those too!

Was it really that long ago??

I promise that I am still here...
I noticed today that I haven't posted since August 24th!!! I really can't tell you exactally what happened to me (I would love to say something exciting like a big trip or cruise..even abducted by aliens would be a grand excuse) nope... just life. It's just harder to find time when S wants to climb all over me while I type.
Oh, and how sad is this... I went to the dentist today to get 2 teeth filled and I fell asleep in the chair!! Can you tell I don't sit down much!

OK, quick update... (and pictures)
Izz is in soccer and still doing great in school. She had her 8th birthday last week! WOW! She took a few of her friends to a pottery studio and painted different pieces.



P started pre-school this month and loves it! He is in class with one of his best friends, Lisey Lou (check out Erin's blog for more pictures of the 2 of them)



S has really come into his own in the last 2 weeks! He is interacting with us alot more and LOVES exploring in all the corners of our house! AAGGH!!

Here he is with his "play buddy" Lauren.

We got to see K's family last weekend and my whole family will get together this weekend!! We haven't all been together since last July!! I will post again soon!

In the Blink of an Eye...

My kids are growing and changing SO fast...
Izz started 2nd grade this week. She was so excited, and now she is back to waking up before me and begging me to get her there early!! Oh, and for the last 2 days a boy from her class has been calling (it was just about playing on a computer site together, but still...) :) She is also ready for soccer to start in a few weeks!!

Here she is on her first day. It is so hard to believe that my baby will be 8 in less than a month!!


p is getting to be such a big boy!! He is now potty trained!! YEAH!! Well, he still has an accident every once in awhile, but I will take those!! He LOVES being a big brother and momma's helper!! He is also getting to be quite the storyteller and has a vivid imagination!!

Meanwhile, S has changed SO much these last 2 weeks! He is now sitting by himself (in fact, he is trying to sit himself up now too), he can roll and scoot anywhere (quite quickly)& yesterday he was up on his hands and knees rocking- so I guess we will be totally mobile soon, he can hold his sippy cup/bottle by himself now (which frees up my hands some!), and is eating almost every kind of baby food now!! Oh, and has his first tooth too!

I know you all are busy, but if you have time- I would love to see or hear what you have been up to too!

Middle School Retreat

K was the morning speaker at the middle school retreat this summer at Bonclarken. He did such a good job!!
I am posting these pictures of the week though because of their humor value...
Near the end of the week, K and Sam challenged 2 of our friends (the MCs for the week) to a dance off. The middle schoolers LOVED it! And yes, I have the video to prove that Kyle did dance.


This last picture came right after we got home. Another friend told P, at the retreat, that he would look "stylish" with his hair spiked. I didn't realize he understood Patti until we got home. He said that he "fixed" his hair like Ms. Patti said. When I questioned how...he preceded to take me in the bathroom and show me the Lysol!! Evidently it makes great hair gel! ha!

Going, going...soon to be gone

It is so hard to believe that summer is almost over. By this time next week, Izz will know who her teacher is and will be starting school in less than a week! WOW! I have a second grader!!
Izz and I were talking yesterday at Carowinds about what a fun (and busy) summer we have had. I thought it would be good (esp since I went so long without posting anything), if for the next few posts, to put up some of the shots from this summer.
So- here starts my trip down memory lane from the last 3-4 months...
(These are not in order of how/when they happened...just random events and snapshots)

The Wises are some of our dearest friends! And even though we live many hours away now, I like knowing that we get to see them at least once a year! This past May (while our husbands were at a Minister's Conference) we met a the zoo and then went to lunch.



Izz and F were such good buddies when they were younger, it is funny to see P & K.R. now!

Colorado

My sister and I (and S) just got back from CO- visiting our brother and his family, which we haven't seen in alittle over a year! We had such a GREAT time (thank you Bry and E for your WONDERFUL hospitality)!! It was good to be able to catch up, laugh, see the sights- I just wish we had longer! Here are a few of the pictures, and hopefully we can get some more up later...



This is a picture at The Garden of the gods. It is incredible to see these "sheets" of rocks rising out of the ground!!




Here we are at Salida (that is the Arkansas river behind them). E- too bad I didn't get the famous "S" behind you! :)

Birthdays and Rainy Days

We had a party for P last night, and yes it did rain. This was his first birthday party with friends- so he was SO excited! It was a firetruck party and 2 of our good friends are volunteers so they brought the truck for the kids to play on and with. Besides the thought of having 20 kids in my house, I really didn't want it to rain because the truck might not get to come. I shouldn't have worried because (as usual) I was taken care of and it all worked out fine! It didn't start storming (and I mean stormimg-lighting and thunder along with a little rain) until almost everyone arrived and was in the house, and then stopped when the truck got here!! In fact, the lawn got wetter with the deck gun than the rain!! :) AND- the rain started back as everyone was getting in the cars! How cool is that! But the most important thing was that P had a BALL!
Here are a few shots from last night...



After the party, Tom drove P around the block


Here he is with his COOL cake that everyone raved over! We ate the cupcakes at the party, and then we took the cake over to the fire department and he shared it with C shift!


Getting this many kids kids to be still for a picture was funny! Here are the older ones that weren't scared of the truck! ha!


If you have access to a fire truck, I highly recomend this for a kids party! It was cheap, and the kids had a good time!

And the race is on...

I know, if you have been looking at my blog, that I haven't posted in awhile. Basic explanation- May/June is upon us! :) We are now back in town (at least we all are for the weekend) and are trying to catch up on things at the house. I will post pictures and recaps from the last 2 weeks soon- so be checking back- before we hit the road again for the next set of adventures!
Love yall!

Playing around

While I was in the other room I heard this cutest giggle. When I looked in on S, he was on his play mat looking into the mirror- laughing and talking to himself. I tried to get it on video, but he stopped when he saw me- of course. But I did get this of him, please ignore my voice.

Pictures of our day

They had such a good time playing with friends and the games. And after all those tickets won, Izz is sporting one of the "fabulous" prizes they won!

More pictures of our day

This is how S spent alot of his time at "the rat" (as K calls it).

Today's Excursion

My friend and I decided to take on Chuck E Cheese (by ourselves) with 6 kids today- granted 2 where in strollers, but still...

Now as I sit and think back over our day, I am exhausted!! But we did have fun. Here are a few shots from our afternoon...

Well i wanted to add pictures (and I will) but blogger is having a VERY difficult day... :(

more to come...

Happy Birthday Soph!

Hope you have a great birthday!

We love you and are looking forward to seeing you this weekend!

My Budding Artist

It is always a good idea when you don't hear from your 2 year old to go check on him...
He found his bath crayons and decided to help me decorate my toliet.
Don't you love it???
And yes, finding the humor first, Kyle took pictures of the crime scene and then talked to him about what we draw on and what we don't.
I think this one might end up in the MOMA one day!!

The Voice

"Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. The second is this: Love your neighbor as yourself" Mark 12:30 &31

I have heard that little "voice", the nagging feeling, that we know as the Holy Spirit quite a bit lately- Whether it be my husband's link article, the speaker we had at the ladies lunch, my SIL's blog, and circle bible study. It seems I keep hearing the same 2 things-I need to be spending more time in the word, being intentional about it (learning, soaking, being renewed) and looking out for others (not caught up in what is going on around me, my struggles and problems). Every time I hear this voice I know I need to put forth the effort, but then the world comes rushing in. And even though most of the time it is good things that I am getting accomplished, God is pushed to the backburner. So I need all of you to "come along beside me" and to gently remind me and pray for me. Thank you!!
And to all of you who are reading this- What is God telling you? What is the "voice" asking of you?

Happy Mother's Day

I am so blessed! Besides having a great husband and 3 wonderful children, I was able to spend today with most of our families at one time! They were all great to either switch their work schedule around, put off vacation 1 day, and travel on Mother's Day to be with us and help us celebrate our son's special day! Thank you for that!! It meant alot to K and I for you all to be here. Besides the baptism, Izz and P also sang together in the service! It was SO sweet and I was so proud of them! Maybe I can figure a way to put a recording here so others can hear it too (hint, hint Erika- please let me know how you put it on your blog!). :)
I took many pictures of our little buddy, but I love this one!
I hope you all had a great Mother's day and was able to spend some time this weekend with family too!