Raising McGees

Sisters

2012-02-04T23:13:00.001-06:00

I was trying to get a few good pictures of Sarah and Katie wanted to be in the pictures too. I am so thankful these girls are sisters!

The First Bath

2012-02-04T23:06:00.001-06:00

It wasn’t much of a bath, more of a wiping down. But either way, Sarah screamed through most of it. Much like she screams through each diaper change.

Hello Yellow

2012-02-04T23:03:00.001-06:00

All of the kids have had jaundice. Some got to wear superhero masks:

Katie just had to eat more. Sarah had a prescription to sunbathe.

It is quite difficult to keep a less than week old baby warm when it’s in the high 50’s/low 60’s outside. We decided on a space heater blowing close to her. She took some really good naps and was always nice and toasty when she woke up. We went to the doctor for bilirubin and weight checks for 6 days before the doctors finally told us it was no longer an issue even though her levels were still somewhat high. She stayed yellow for over a two weeks.

The first few weeks, she usually had her hands clasped while she slept. I think this these were the best pictures we got.

David Jonah

2012-02-04T22:41:00.001-06:00

Oh my, what a sweet boy David is. He has a great sense of humor and loves BIG. Even though he has his moments with Katie, for the most part he loves to play with her. He absolutely adores Sarah. He always tells me “I can’t take my eyes off of her she is so pretty!” He is the first to tell me I am pretty and wants to give me hugs and kisses all of the time. He is sensitive and easily gets his feelings hurt when a friend wrongs him, especially when that friend is his big brother.

He loves to color and do crafts. He is a great puzzler and loves to play match. He is great at games on my phone. He likes to play any of the Thomas the Train apps I have and really enjoys Angry Birds. It is amazing that he can figure out how to play almost any game I add without help from me. It also amazes me how he has deleted several apps and rearranged others. He often wants to cook with me even though he is the least adventurous of the kids in what he will eat. His favorite thing to eat is anything sweet.

He has a positive attitude and is always excited to go to school or Bible study. He is always excited to tell me what he did at school during the day and wants to surprise me with whatever craft he brought home.

David gave up naps months ago. Instead, he loves to ~~destroy~~ play with Legos during quiet time. Some days he just lets himself out of quiet time and runs down to see me and some days he yells “MOMMY CAN I COME DOWNSTAIRS?” over and over until I give in.

He can dress himself, although some days he prefers that I help him. He needs to be reminded to wear underwear on school and Church days (I can’t explain) and has recently decided sleeping in his clothes is preferable to pajamas.

We love this kid!

Did I mention he makes the funniest faces?!

David is 4!

2012-01-30T16:40:00.001-06:00

It’s hard to have a birthday on a Sunday. But I think David had a great day. He had Grandma and Mama Sue here to celebrate with him!

His birthday started a little earlier in the week when Pop brought him this bike:

It’s Hot Wheels and makes “vroom” noises. Bonus! He did great riding it.

His birthday started off with special breakfast with Daddy. They went to the local donut shop where he ate a kolache, a donut and blue Gatorade. Yum! David had helped me make “strawberry brownies” from one of our kids cookbooks on Saturday and he took them to share at Sunday school.

David finally decided on Zaxby’s for lunch once he received a postcard in the mail for a free kids meal (he lives for kids meals at any restaurant). We dined at home so that Sarah could join us. After lunch, we opened his presents. Earlier in the day, he and Daddy enjoyed shaking the presents and trying to figure out what was inside each one. He was excited to get two boxes of Legos. He had mentioned to Matt a few days before his birthday that he never got Legos for his birthday. He was so excited about all of his gifts that he didn’t want cake and ice cream until after AWANA.

David said he only wanted peppermint ice cream for his dessert. I thought he might change his mind and then we wouldn’t have a cake so we made one anyway. A few weeks ago (you know, when he was saying he still wanted a cake), he said he wanted a cake with Robin (from Batman and Robin) on it and then it developed into including all of the superheroes. I went with the easy one and made a Robin cake.

This is how the kids eat cake in our house: eat the most appealing part first. I understand eating the “R” first but I am confused by the buttons.

On Monday, David took cinnamon rolls to share with his class. He was excited that they sang “Happy Birthday” to him.

We love you David! Happy Birthday Handsome Boy!

**All three big kids have really been into birthdays lately (hmm…could it be that we now have three within a month?!). Katie had a rough night the night before David’s birthday and she saw his decorations as I brought her down the stairs: “Decorations for Day-dee’s bur-day!” She was so excited for him. I told her she needed to tell him “Happy Birthday” when he woke up the next day. On his birthday, that was the first thing she told him and she even sang her version of “Happy Birthday”. So sweet to see their relationship with each other.

Happy New Year’s Eve!

2012-01-15T21:12:00.000-06:00

With the Bob the Builder exhibit at the Museum of Nature and Science ending on January 8th, we decided to take a little field trip so Daddy could enjoy it with us.

Katie loves hugging the characters around the exhibit…

…and of course the slide.

David and Sam loved this bubble machine. I think they could have played there all day.

All of their favorite characters were there…and they could get in them!

The three boys went to see Sea Rex at the IMAX theater. They really enjoyed it but the two little boys were a little disappointed there was no popcorn or drinks.

While the boys watched the movie, Katie and I went downstairs and played. She had fun at the water table, as always.

She even took a duck out and snuggled with it.

We ended with lunch at the Happy Meal McDonalds (the building actually looks like a Happy Meal). The kids think it is the neatest place to go. Katie wasn’t too keen about sitting on the black toilets though! I am thankful this was the way we were able to spend the last few hours as a family of five since a few hours after we got home contractions began.

Merry Christmas

2012-01-10T21:53:00.001-06:00

We had a nice, quiet Christmas at home. Once the kids were all up, they had a breakfast of pigs in a blanket before opening presents. Because we went to church, the kids weren’t able to open all of their presents (not because of time but because of sheer volume!). After church we found a McDonalds open and headed home to dine on our fast food. Once we finished lunch, we opened the rest of the presents before relaxing the rest of the day.

Anytime Katie opened clothes, she immediately wanted to put them on. Here she is in her first costume change. There was one more before the morning was over.

David kept opening presents and saying “This really surprises me!” He always has such a good attitude!

Here is all of the loot!

Our family had a blessed Christmas. We hope yours did too!

Katie: Age 2

2012-01-10T21:26:00.000-06:00

Katie amazes us every day. I am so thankful that she is my daughter.

She reminds me every day that God really did make boys and girls different. She loves playing with her brothers’ toys but she loves her baby dolls even more. She naps with them and when we let her, she brings them with her when we leave the house. She likes to put on jewelry and brush her hair. I just wish she loved bows since her hair is always in her eyes.

She has done so many things earlier than her brothers. I am so excited to say that she is potty trained—and it was her idea! Not at night, but we will work on that. Not only that, she wants to sit on the toilet, not the chair or seat anymore. It makes my life so much easier! Katie has conversations with her brothers. She will answer their questions even if they aren’t talking directly to her. She is also a bit of a tattle-tale. She likes to tell me “Daddy said no cookies” or “David took my baby”. She also wants to get herself dressed (or undressed). Sam and David would take their shoes and socks off in the car. Katie will do the same thing, but then she will put them back on. She already has a love for shoes.

Someone commented the other day that Katie really likes to be in the kitchen. I corrected him by responding that Katie likes to be around the food in the kitchen. She is a grazer. She seems to eat better if she can walk around the house eating (which we try to discourage). And if there is anything with sugar in it in view, she will find a way to get to it. She would move the stool to get on the counter to get anything she wanted. So Matt put it in the pantry but all that did was give her a way to get things off the pantry shelves. Now all of the candy is even out of my reach! With no stool to get on, she found the kitchen chairs work just as well. She cannot be deterred.

She loves her Daddy. She always wants to know where he is when she wakes up. She likes to help me make his lunch. And after he leaves, she likes to tell me “Daddy at urk”.

She likes to dance and sing. Her favorite song right now is “newborn king” also known as “Hark the Herald Angels Sing”. There are a few books with the word “dance” in them and when we get to that part she will stand up and dance. She likes to sing “Jesus Loves Me” which sounds something like this “Jesus uves me I know”.

One of her favorite activities is swinging, followed closely by sliding. Oh, and we can’t forget jumping on the bed and spinning.

I love to listen to her talk and use her own words for things. It is disappointing as she gets bigger that she is starting to pronounce the words more and more correctly. My absolute favorite is how she says David: “Day-dee”. She will say “like it” while shaking her head no which means “I don’t like it”. She still has problems with “S” so Sam is “Ham” and “spooky” is “pooky”.

She is a beautiful, fun, sometimes stubborn and very loving girl. I am so thankful she is ours!

One Week Old

2012-01-08T23:08:00.000-06:00

Sarah is one week old! She celebrated David’s fourth birthday today and enjoyed a little more sunbathing!

Sarah Grace

2012-01-07T14:54:00.001-06:00

Sarah Grace arrived at 3:30 am on January 1st. She weighed in at 7lb 5 oz. and 20 inches long. And she is beautiful! With brown hair!

Her birth was probably the strangest I have experienced. Contractions began around 4:00pm on Saturday and I couldn’t get them to stop. By 10:00 pm or so they were 4-6 minutes apart but sometimes 10 minutes apart. We called the doctor and she said since it was the fourth, we needed to go ahead and come on in. We arrived at the hospital shortly after midnight. The doctor came in and broke my water, I got an epidural, enjoyed a little rest and then started to push just after 3:00am. As I started to push, the contractions continued to be inconsistent, some seemed to come quickly and others seemed like they were minutes apart. As her head came out, the doctor noticed that the cord was around her neck. Once the doctor cut the cord, one more push and she held up a beautiful girl. Because the cord was around her neck, Sarah was a little stunned and had and APGAR of 6 but the next two were 9 and 10. She was very alert and looked all around the room (while peeing and pooping) as they checked her out. We were able to spend about two hours with her nursing and snuggling before they took her to the nursery.

We didn’t see her again until about 9:00 am while they had to assess her and clean her up. Her bath revealed a few battle scars, which we all think were due to her hitting some bone on the way out.

Sarah was just too tired to eat much but had no problem snuggling with Mommy, Daddy, Sam, David, Katie and Grandma. Katie wanted to hold Sarah most of the time she was there. The boys were somewhat interested but really just wanted to watch the Thomas the Train movie Misty Island Rescue.

I really enjoyed my night nurse. She left the sweetest daily goal for me on the board.

Sarah didn’t want to sleep her first night much (preferring to snuggle) so the nurse took her to the nursery around 5:00am so we could get some sleep (they would have come to get her at 6:00am anyway for labs and so the pediatrician could examine her). When the doctors (mine and hers) came in on Monday morning, we were both approved for discharged so we got the heck out of there as fast as we could!

We arrived home around 2:30pm to a gorgeous welcome home sign and three kids who decided they didn’t need naps.

Once we got inside, Grandma told us they had arranged the leaves on the driveway so they would be “beautiful”. David and Katie were happy to show us their handiwork.

Sarah’s first night home was uneventful and didn’t result in much sleep for me but oh she is so worth it!

Sarah was the second baby and first girl born in 2012 at Medical City Hospital and she got quite the gift basket. I am so excited that she has some things that are just for her and she has some trivia already!

(David wanted to show you the basket!)

January 4th

2011-12-29T22:08:00.000-06:00

A good day for a McGee to be born? Let's hope so! Unless this little one decides to make its debut earlier, he or she will be joining our family on January 4th.

I have been unsure about me determining the birthday of this baby but this is an answer to prayer: we don't have to worry about what we are going to do with the other three! My mom will fly in on Tuesday and the boys will spend Wednesday morning at school. When they get done, they can come to the hospital and see their new sibling!

Still Waiting….

2011-12-27T23:38:00.001-06:00

In case you were wondering (because I haven’t posted much about this pregnancy), I am still pregnant and full term. And this baby has already set a family record! As of 8:53am yesterday, this has been my longest pregnancy. Although, based on last week’s sonogram, it probably won’t be our biggest baby. I can’t believe we are actually talking possible induction next week. I guess it all depends on what the doctor says tomorrow. We had dismissed the idea after last week’s appointment but now I don’t know how to feel about that considering I never thought I would still be pregnant today!

So far, this pregnancy has been relatively easy. Other than being exhausted for the first 6 months or so, it has been good. I have gained the least weight of all of my pregnancies (yes, sadly, even less than my 32 week pregnancy) which has been helped by not wanting to be the fat sister in my brother’s wedding in August and a stomach bug I had for a week followed by another month of nausea due to iron supplements.

The kids have nick-named the baby Joey after a baby kangaroo. I know it’s silly, but so is calling the baby “the baby” for nine months. Katie has been really funny. She will scream at my belly, “COME OUT JOEY!" Lately, she has been been saying “Joey Pooping” (what is it with kids and potty talk anyway?!). And I quickly say “We don’t want Joey pooping now” to which she replies “No pooping Joey!” The boys have their days. Sam will sometimes want to hug Joey goodnight. David wants to kiss my belly. And not much is funnier than why they want another sister. We have told the boys that if the baby is a boy they are going to change rooms but if the baby is a girl, they can keep their room. We think it would be in everyone’s best interests if the boys share the Jack and Jill bathroom (they cannot hit the toilet!). David will tell you he wants Katie to have a sister. But Sam is quick to tell you that he wants Katie to have a sister and (the real reason) he wants to keep his big closet.

I have spent the last week or so getting our house back together (we had to paint, get new hardwood floors and new carpet due to water damage) and preparing for the baby at the same time. For the first time, our room isn’t on the same floor as the “nursery” so I had to rearrange some things in our room to make space for some of the baby’s things in my nightstand and dresser. When I see all of the baby things waiting, I think about how our lives are going to change with this little one. The entire dynamic of our family will change. What will this little one look like? How will I ever be able to grocery shop when I have to take them all? How long is it going to take to get all four out the door, in shoes and socks and strapped in the car? I will have FOUR kids?! But above all, I am thankful for this blessing and I know that as soon as I see that beautiful face, I will thank God and wonder what took him or her so long to bless our family.

A New Toy

2011-12-27T22:42:00.001-06:00

A proper Christmas post is coming but as we watched the kids play tonight, we couldn’t not share this with you. Even though the kids received all of this on Sunday:

This is what they wanted to play with tonight…the suitcase car:

Which can’t be outdone by Lightning McQueen which delivered a bunch of presents a few weeks ago

complete with McQueen’s number

a door

a speedometer and buttons

and room for two brothers.

Merry Christmas

2011-12-24T20:35:00.001-06:00

Here are three of my favorite gifts.

I love this picture. I told the boys they needed to wear church clothes to the Christmas Eve service. Sam chose a button up shirt and tie and then talked David into wearing the same thing. I told them how handsome they looked. David kept saying “I look handsome.” They make me smile.

Katie’s 2nd Birthday

2011-12-19T14:40:00.001-06:00

How could this tiny little thing…

…already be two years old?!

Poor girl woke up sick on her birthday, but that didn’t stop her from having fun. After a bowl of “fruity keggles” for breakfast, she played and read with Grandma all morning while I took the boys to Bible study. She loves to go and I hated to leave her but, boy, was she snotty!

She dined on a dinner of spaghetti, salad and bread. It’s easy and the only thing she would rather not eat (because she will if she dips it in the right kind of dressing) is the salad.

…mmmmm bread!

“Hands Dirty!”

Katie requested a lady bug cake but at the last minute she also wanted a butterfly. We improvised.

It was Sam’s idea to give the Lady Bug a smile. He and David had so much fun helping make and decorate the cake.

Even though it grosses me out knowing what goes into the frosting (do you see all of the grease around the edges of the cake?!), I still love it.

Katie is very slow opening her presents.

And then Sam gave her the new baby doll. All unwrapping stopped.

The doll eats, cries and sleeps. She LOVES it!

She did open a few more presents before we got to…

…the new baby bed David picked out for her.

And don’t you dare try to put the old baby into the new baby’s crib because this is what happens…out…

you go!

Sam has mentioned a few times that Katie still hasn’t played with the princess blocks he chose to give her. But why should she?! She has a new baby!

Happy Birthday Sweet Katie!

**I can’t finish this post without mentioning my trip with the boys to the store to get Katie’s birthday presents. When we got to the toy section, they instantly gravitated to things they wanted. They thought she would love a Thomas the Train set. I spent most of our time looking reminding them that Katie is a girl and needs girl toys. After all, she already runs around the house holding up a stick or other “sword-like” object saying “Grayskull” and “Battlecat” (Yes, that is a reference to He-Man and the explanation deserves its own post) and wants to play “Thomas” on my phone. I am so thankful she finally has girl toys!

Our Angel Craft

2011-12-19T13:53:00.001-06:00

The boys’ Sunday School class made advent calendars on Thanksgiving. The project was a little tedious for the class on the whole so we finished our calendars at home. David tried to work on his alone but he got bored, left it on the couch and it got crushed before we could finish it. When we sat down to finish them, his ended up pretty sad. In his defense, I was responsible for the craft and didn’t execute the preparation well (it seems to be a trend in all of the crafts I attempt with the kids).

Sam’s turned out a little better.

On the second day of the calendar, the suggested craft was an angel. The boys each chose a different way to make their angel. Poor David ended up making two different ones. Again, poor execution on my part on his first attempt.

His second attempt was a little more successful. But lacks a head. Oops!

Sam wanted to do the popsicle stick angel. He spend time coloring each stick and kept wanting to look at the directions to make sure he was doing it right. I am so proud of how he has grown in his second year of pre-K. He is paying more attention to detail and is more focused on tasks.

Katie didn’t want to miss out on the fun. She took a piece of foam and put glue on it.

She was so excited to show me her “angel craft”!

And here are the finished products (and some other crafts from school)!

Preschool Christmas Parties

2011-12-14T14:16:00.000-06:00

Sam and David had their Christmas parties at the same time! Thankfully, Matt was able to come too so we split our time between the rooms.

David’s party included a chicken salad lunch (you should have heard the discussions in our house about such a choice for three-year-olds, and yes, our opinions were correct!), hot chocolate, a wreath craft, a game and gingerbread decorating. He had a lot of fun.

Sam’s lunch was cheese, fruit, vegetables and crackers. The class enjoyed two books read by the older brother of one of their classmates. Sam also got to decorate a gingerbread man…he has a habit of piling things on!

For dessert, Sam got a cupcake. Of which he only ate the frosting. No doubt he is my kid!

They had a lot of fun at their parties and were thankful for all of the sweets.

A Little Christmas Music

2011-12-12T13:41:00.000-06:00

The boys’ Sunday School class serenaded the congregation with “While by the Sheep” also known as the “Joy, Joy, Joy” song. It

The rehearsal went great! Here it is:

The real performance during the service: HILARIOUS! Someone said that you could watch the video over and over and watch a different kid and be thoroughly entertained each time. So while Sam is a little hard to see, he does sing a word or two. David, oh sweet David. That face! Sorry for the shaking camera…I was laughing too hard.

A Christmas Night Out

2011-12-11T15:20:00.000-06:00

The church where the boys attend AWANA had a Christmas program on Saturday. We decided to make it a night out for all of us. We started at In-N-Out Burger for dinner. While Matt and I had both eaten there before, it was the first time for the kids. Sam enjoyed his cheeseburger but David and Katie chose fries only. The boys LOVED their hats.

David even decorated his with the stickers they gave him.

The church had a yard full of animals to pet: sheep, bunnies, donkeys and goats. They also had a live Nativity scene with some pretty smelly camels…we didn’t hang around long!

While we waited inside for our tour of the Christmas story, the kids had their faces painted. Sam and David each chose Santa and Katie chose a tree.

Katie wasn’t a fan of being quiet during the Christmas story tour so we left early and headed to the cookie decorating. She loved putting the sugar on but didn’t really want to eat the cookies.

When the boys arrived, they also enjoyed the cookie decorating.

Sam really enjoys putting on as many toppings as possible.

As we walked back to the car, Sam and I agreed that our stomachs hurt because we ate too much sugar. Somehow, I don’t think a little stomach ache will stop either of us for long!

Lollipops Please

2011-11-21T15:10:00.001-06:00

I flew to Albuquerque about a week ago and took Katie since she can still fly free for a few more weeks. It was just a quick trip so we just needed the basics for Katie, pajamas, a change of clothes and lollipops. Yes, lollipops. I put some in my purse for the plane. Short ride, two should be enough. And two in the carry-on bag for the return flight. That should be enough, right? Wrong! She saw them in the bag and turned down all sorts of chocolate candy at Uncle Dee’s house and kept going back to the carry-on bag and saying “Loll-e-pop in there!” I gave in and gave her one (it had been a long day!). Then I asked Grandma to find her some more the next day because I knew we wouldn’t survive a plane ride with just one. Grandma sent us off with lots of them. Too many according to me, not Katie! Thankfully, I still had one in my purse yesterday at the fabric store that allowed me to get what I need before we had a breakdown. Sugar: it’s a slippery slope with that sweet girl.

Oh, and if you take a lap child on a plane, please make sure you actually have a lap for her to sit in. Thankfully, we had an entire row to ourselves coming and going. Otherwise, no amount of lollipops would have been enough!

A Thanksgiving Feast

2011-11-16T15:19:00.000-06:00

Matt and I were invited to join Sam for his Thanksgiving Feast at school. What a treat! They made Pilgrim and Indian hats to wear. Sam chose to be “Brave Sam”.

They sang two songs. By “they”, I mean the rest of the members of the 4 & 5 year old classes. Sam had told us before we went that everyone else was singing some songs but he was just going to watch them. He is a man of his word.

The food was good. Sam and the rest of his class helped make pumpkin spice muffins. He was excited for days before the feast about them. We also had popcorn (which Sam brought) and Chex mix with marshmallows and chocolate chips. He wouldn’t start eating until he had all of his food, including his water. He was hilarious.

We are so thankful we were able to spend some time with just Sam.

Down on the Farm

2011-11-04T16:29:00.000-05:00

David’s class enjoyed a Farm party! They had corn dogs, carrots and dip. Yum! They could dress up like a farm animal or a farmer. Since we were lacking in farm animal costumes, David went as a farmer who wears fire boots (also lacking in the cowboy boot department!).

They had yummy pudding in an ice cream cone with “dirt” on top for dessert.

Daddy and Mama Sue had the privilege of going to the farm. What a fun party!

Happy Halloween!

2011-11-02T16:10:00.002-05:00

On Saturday, I took the kids to AWANA and the fall festival at the AWANA church while Matt picked up Mama Sue at the airport (she loves to spend Halloween with us). We met up at home and then went to the Farmer’s Branch fall festival. The boys loved the bounce houses!
On Sunday, we worked on our pumpkin. The boys were so excited to carve the pumpkin. They wanted a scary one.

Before

After

I would love to show you pictures of the kids scraping out pumpkin guts but once I cut that pumpkin open, they scattered. They thought it smelled bad and would be slimy. David hid inside. Their loss!

The costumes were rather simple this year. Well, maybe not. Sam wanted to be Mighty Man. Mighty Man is a super hero that Sam has created. He has an amazingly detailed costume with blades coming out of his arms, a sword, a shield and tons of armor. I did my best but at least two people thought he was Tony Hawk.

At the very last minute, David decided to be Handy Manny. A much better choice than the giraffe costume he wore the last two years.

Katie was a lady bug. I don’t know of any lady bugs with a tutu, but I thought it would be fun. It should be lots of fun next year when she can tell me what she wants to be!

We went down the street for a neighborhood party before we headed out for the candy. Matt had to work late, so Mama Sue and I led the candy charge. It was quite successful. Matt arrived home just in time to take them to the last few houses. While we waited for him to get ready, the boys helped me hand out candy. By the handful. They were too excited to count to two or realize that the other brother had already put candy in the bag. I had to dip into the “bad for your teeth” candy the boys got just to get by!

We ended the night with the boys eating whatever candy they wanted. I loved teaching them how to eat fun dip. Sam just missed the part about licking the stick and not eating it. He ran out of stick before dip! David does not like Kit Kats (good! more for me!). We confirmed that Katie loves lollipops and unless we hide them, will eat every single one the boys got!

Anger

2011-10-22T15:01:00.000-05:00

Last week, the temper of one of our children got the best of him and this is what I heard:

“You are an Alabama fan!”

As you already know, we think that Alabama is the worstest team ever. I wanted to say that this was one of the most hateful things this particular child could have said, but it was just too funny!

Fall Fun

2011-10-15T13:36:00.000-05:00

Last week, I decided that we should go to the Arboretum after Bible study so that the boys could get their faces painted. They really enjoyed it last year. Surprisingly, they both chose to get their faces painted with Spiderman. David went first...

…and couldn’t get enough of looking at himself while he waited for Sam to get his face painted.

Then it was Sam’s turn.

The artist asked if I wanted Katie’s face painted but I didn’t think she would sit still. We tried it and she did great!

The finished products:

I love this picture because it reminds me of how wispy sweet girl’s hair is:

And you just have to see this progression of the Spiderman face:

We finished our visit in the hay maze and visiting the petting zoo.

Fixed

2011-10-15T13:19:00.001-05:00

It doesn’t take much to get me excited. It doesn’t take much to get the kids excited either.

Yesterday, I found enough energy to try to fix two sprinklers in the front yard. Again. This time, it worked!

I have to admit that it might not have been as successful if this guy hadn’t suggested using the water guns to get the water out of the sprinkler holes. Genius!

So what made me so excited? Fixing something on my own (without spending a penny!). And what made Sam and David so excited? Running through the sprinklers in October and shooting dirt out of their water guns.

And this little one? Simply going “out-ide”.

How Not To….

2011-10-14T16:53:00.000-05:00

Paper Mache a pumpkin.

The boys asked to make pumpkins. With no school on Monday for Columbus Day, I got a *great* idea to make them out of paper mache. My first plan was to use orange crepe paper so we wouldn’t have to paint. Off to the dollar store I went to get orange paper mache, cheap glue and balloons. They were out of orange so I got white. And now we would have to paint. Nuts!

First attempt: I blew up the balloons to the boys’ specifications. The paper mache was much too thin and basically melted in the paste.

Second attempt: We hung the balloons from a mop handle atop two chairs because I thought it would be easier to glue. Nope. The balloons kept falling.

Third attempt: With the balloons on the ground, we tried construction paper.

The boys got annoyed with how messy the project was and decided to stop. They look ok. But I definitely know why you should use newspaper and smaller balloons!

The better option was the pumpkins we bought from the pumpkin patch at the Arboretum.

I love the shape of David’s pumpkin. It was such a fun shape!

Here Sam is showing the baby which pumpkin we picked for him/her. The belly is growing!

First Day of Preschool

2011-09-26T16:03:00.001-05:00

Sam is on his third preschool. I sure hope he doesn’t have a similar record once he starts school next year. This school is a little farther away than the one last year and the hours are longer but I think, overall, the boys are going to learn more. They have music time everyday and fish! They also have computer time twice a week but I have a feeling that, based on what David tells me, it is mostly games. Mickey Mouse is his favorite.

I thought for a minute that maybe I should make the boys “dress up” for the first day of school but then I thought that just isn’t how we roll in this house. So I let them pick what they wanted to wear (just like every other day except Sundays) and this is what we got.

I love these pictures because they really show each boy’s attitude toward school this year, at least when I drop them off and most days when I pick them up.

With the exception of this picture, which is apparently what Sam’s teacher sees each day. She sent home a note last week that said his smile makes her day great. Me too!

The Rosie

2011-09-26T15:01:00.000-05:00

Last week David requested to play “Ring Around the Rosie” with Daddy after dinner. Katie loves this game and we often find her playing it by herself, saying “fall down” as she does it, laughing.

On this particular night, David wanted Donkey to be the “rosie” so Katie wanted Baby to be the “rosie” too.

Ring around…

…Donkey and Baby…

…pocket full of posies…

…ashes, ashes…

…we all fall down!!

After the game, Matt told me that David wanted to sing “God’s Army”. One line of the song is “I may never….shoot the artillery.” David told Matt, “Daddy, I want you to be the B-tillery” because he wanted to shoot Matt. I love the way these little minds think (well, other than the fact that my boys think they need to shoot everything they see and I caught Katie using her straw as a gun the other day).

Katie and her pizza

2011-09-04T16:50:00.000-05:00

Katie loves her pappa. And now she eats it “big” instead of “cut up” (the two options in our house).

We do not normally eat on the floor. But it was movie night and we always eat in the living room while we watch our movie.

Shot Day!

2011-08-02T14:29:00.000-05:00

Yesterday was shot day. It is a day that Matt dreads. But he only has to dread it for 17 more weeks.

Wait. I guess I better back up and explain since I have been so slack on this blog. The shots are necessary for this little one:

And since I have been so slack, I have to apologize that this little one has been a part of our family for almost seventeen weeks now. His or her arrival is expected around January 11th (hahaha....).

We are looking forward to this fourth blessing. And it will remain "this fourth blessing" until someone tells me just what it is on delivery day. Sorry!

Another Little Chef

2011-08-02T14:12:00.000-05:00

David created his own sandwich for lunch on Saturday. I am sure you will want to try it too.
1 piece of bread, sliced diagonally
Peanut Butter
Grape Jelly
Ketchup

He ate it. All of it. He did have one complaint: he wanted smooth peanut butter, not crunchy.

Yum!

Measuring Life

2011-06-07T21:52:00.000-05:00

As parents, we measure the lives of our children in hours, days, weeks, months, years, quarter years and half years. Never minutes. In fact, I don't think I saw Sam or David for a couple of hours after they were whisked away to the NICU.

But that is just what our friends did this past week. They welcomed their son and said goodbye in fifty-two minutes. Fifty-two minutes.

I don't understand why this had to happen. I don't know why God chose this family to bear this burden. It is easy to see how these questions can result in anger and a dismissal of a "god" who would allow this to happen. But my faith in Jesus Christ and His death on the cross allows me to answer these questions without the anger (most of the time). Through faith, I know that I don't need to know the answers to these questions. God knows the answers and it isn't my place to question Him.

But in faith, it has been hard to process this situation. It is even harder when this wasn't the first tragedy this family has suffered this year and it isn't the last.

God is God.

As I have struggled to comprehend all that has happened to this sweet family, my faith in God has only grown stronger. As I continue to grow in my faith, I have learned that it is often during these times of sadness and despair that God shows me just who He is.

God Loves This Child

The events leading up to the past week are not a surprise to God. He knew them before the beginning of time.

For You formed my inward parts; You wove me in my mother’s womb. I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; wonderful are Your works, and my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from You, when I was made in secret, and skillfully wrought in the depths of the earth; Your eyes have seen my unformed substance; and in Your book were all written the days that were ordained for me, when as yet there was not one of them.

--Psalm 139:13-16

Trust God to Provide

There were so many times I wanted to ask how we could specifically pray. Details. I am totally into details. But there was never a moment where such a question was appropriate. More importantly, every time I would get worked up about wanting to pray for exactly what they wanted that still small voice would say "I already know". And in those moments (yes, moments, because I did forget He already knew many times), I rested in the fact that God knows His children and answers prayers according to His will. So I prayed that God would answer their prayers.

Be Thankful

This might seem like an odd way to deal with such sadness but it is not.

*I am so thankful for this child. I never laid eyes on him this side of heaven but he is just as important as every other child I have held and loved.

*God picked the perfect family for this precious child. God showed me a family of strength and powerful faith. Despite all that was going on in their lives, they lived with grace and their faith was evident in all they did.

*I learned a lot about myself. I am thankful that God pointed out my sin of pride, specifically that how I would handle a situation is how I would handle a situation and I shouldn't expect others to be like me.

It has been incredibly difficult to watch this family walk through the trials they are suffering and not be able to do anything to make it better. Unable to console in a way that will bring complete healing. I can only be there to support them and stand with them. To pray that God will give them strength, comfort and peace. And to be reminded: "Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:6-7

Thankful Tuesday

2011-06-07T20:49:00.000-05:00

It has been a long time since I have done one of theses posts but I couldn't let this day go by so I can remember how thankful I am.

It's only the second week of summer and I already feel like I haven't done enough fun things. Since we had to run a few errands yesterday morning, and I knew I needed to come home and clean the house for life group tonight, I decided that we would go to the park early before it got too hot. We left around 9:00 and got back right around 10:00. I told the boys not to open the door because the alarm was set. Well they didn't listen. I was having a nice chat with Mr. Bob, our neighbor, when I heard the alarm. I dashed inside and turned the alarm off only to see a waterfall coming from the ceiling. It only took me a minute to realize that the hot water heater had broken in the attic. Above the second floor.

Thankfully, Mr. Bob is super handy, turned our water off, had his helper turn off the hot water heater and then...then!!..went and got his commercial size water extractor and started cleaning up the water and tearing out the padding. I started cleaning up the water downstairs. And began the many calls that needed to be made to fix the mess. We had a restoration company come out and check the walls, floors and ceilings. The fans and dehumidifier are running now.

Yes, there is damage, but it could have been so much worse. So today I am thankful for:

1. Mr. Bob! I am thankful he was home and willing to help. I can't imagine how much worse it would have been had he not been able to get some of that water off as quickly as he did.

2. We only went to the park for a short time. That we didn't have plans that would have kept us away all morning.

3. That we are able to sleep in our home tonight even if the boys are on the pull out sofa and Katie is in my closet.

4. That we weren't harmed and we are healthy.

5. That as I started to whine throughout the day I was gently reminded that this is a minor inconvenience compared to what some in our church family are going through.

6. That my new camera was not on the island. Although my iPod and the remote are likely goners.

7. God provides all I need: emotionally and physically.

The Worstest Team

2011-05-03T21:28:00.000-05:00

One of the games the boys play at bedtime with Daddy is the game with hints. I got to play it tonight with the boys. This is how our game went:
Sam: "The category is football teams."

Me: "The Pittsburgh Steelers."

Sam: "I will give you a hint. They are the worstest team ever."

David: "ALABAMA!!!"

A First For This Mama

2011-04-29T16:41:00.000-05:00

Today I am doing something I haven't done since I got married. Since I became a mom.

I am flying on a plane. By myself. Without kiddos.

As Katie would say, Uh Oh!

This will be a challenge in a couple of ways:

1. The only time I have left my children alone at night is when (a) they are in the hospital (and they had excellent and expensive childcare!) or (b) I am in the hospital birthing a baby.

2. Because of number 1, Matt has never been alone with any kid overnight, let alone all three of them.

Am I a little too protective and overbearing. Yes I am. And I am completely ok with that!

I am so thankful that Matt is willing to let me go visit a dear friend. This trip comes at the perfect time. I need to get away and refocus so I can come back and be an even better mother and I want to encourage my friend who is in a new town that is far, far away from her family and will likely require me to pack a winter jacket. Plus we will eat all sorts of good things that I wouldn't dare try to cook for my family.

We would appreciate your prayers this weekend as we embark on the unknown.

Sweet Moment

2011-04-27T20:51:00.000-05:00

I really thought I would be the mother of boys. No girls. Just boys. And that was fine by me. After all, I am not a girly girl type and would have no idea what to do with bows and pink and other girly nonsense. It shouldn't have surprised me when Sam, at the time well over three years old, asked me one morning as I got ready for church "What are you wearing?" A dress sweet boy.

And then Katie came. What a surprise! What a blessing! And our journey together has been filled with some really sweet moments.

On Monday morning, I was brushing my hair (again, something I don't do regularly but if I was going to get by without a shower it had to be done) and Katie watched. When I was done, she started patting her hair. So I scooped her up and asked if she wanted her hair brushed. She nodded. I began brushing her soft, wispy, blonde locks. And she just smiled.

I am so thankful to be the mother of this girl.

Easter Celebrations

2011-04-24T20:29:00.000-05:00

Today was just an awesome day. We have tried to focus a lot on the meaning of Easter and less on the other stuff. As we have gotten closer to Easter, we have been talking about Easter being the day Jesus rose from the dead. It is a difficult concept to grasp, even for me. Rising from the dead. Don't we all have someone that we wish could rise from the dead, even if just for a minute?

But Jesus' death on the cross and rising from the grave was part of a wonderful plan. A plan that existed before the beginning of time. The Jesus Storybook Bible says it like this:

"Then Jesus shouted out in a loud voice, 'It is finished!' And it was. He had done it. Jesus had rescued the whole world."

Do you know that this one selfless act of Jesus dying on the cross can bring you eternal life if you believe in Him? Oh how I hope you do.

And despite that dark day He died for me, for you, today is a day of celebration! He is risen!

Our children's choir sang "Christ the Lord is Risen Today." I don't think Sam sang...he was too busy watching the dulcimer. David sang a few words but spent the rest of the time making me pray he wouldn't flash the congregation by pulling his pants down.

We had an Easter egg hunt at church and then friends over for lunch. One of the families brought over more eggs so we had another hunt in our front yard. More chocolate! And David in long sleeves and sweats when its over 80 degrees out and humid as all get out. But he did dress himself!

After everyone left, the boys were able to play with their water squirters they got for Easter. They loved it! They played for over an hour.

And Katie sat inside and ate their chocolate. Good girl Katie, good girl!

A Yummy Lunch

2011-04-12T14:14:00.000-05:00

It is rare in my house that I hear these words:

"Thanks for lunch. This sandwich is yummy."

But I heard it today from Sam. He told me the recipe for his sandwich and I made it. And he ate it. All.

I must share this recipe with you so that you, too, can have a yummy lunch:

Sam's Sandwich

Jelly
Pepperoni
White (aka mozzerella) cheese
2 pieces of bread

Spread jelly each piece of bread. Add the pepperoni and cheese. Put the pieces of bread together. Cut if desired. Enjoy!

I would love to hear how you like this recipe!!

New Games

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

The boys invent lots of games: What is that? Monsters.

This week, Sam came up with Frisbee Freeze. As we were about to begin playing yesterday, here is what he told me:

"You and David are the smoothie team. Your lobo is an empty smoothie. Me and Katie are the enchilada team. Our lobo is an enchilada on fire!"

For those of you confused by Sam-speak, you might know "lobo" as "logo". Oh, and Frisbee Freeze is when you run around the couch (apparently until a parent can't run anymore) holding your frisbee, which sometimes you throw.

Playing

2011-03-30T17:51:00.000-05:00

For the last few weeks, the boys have been playing very nicely together (most of the time). Today is no exception.

The problem: They are both playing bad guys.

Camp House

2011-03-03T13:29:00.001-06:00

The boys found a new place to play today.

They call it Camp House. They plan on sleeping there tonight. We will see how long they last!

And just where is Camp House? Well, you will have to wait a few more days or so until it is finished. It is going to change my life. Well, that is an exaggeration. It is going to drastically change how I do some things in my life.

Sweet Prayers

2011-02-21T20:42:00.000-06:00

I wasn't sure what I witnessed a few days ago was actually what I witnessed until I witnessed it again today. Several times.

Katie is praying with us! She folds her hands together and when we say "Amen", she says "Mah". My heart melts. Oh, Lord, how I pray she will be a mighty prayer warrior for you!

Sweet Sayings from Katie Girl

2011-02-21T20:37:00.001-06:00

We are amazed at how quickly Katie is starting to talk. Talk being a relative term. But there is no way her brothers were using "words" at 14 months. It is, therefore, time to begin the list of sweet sayings! We will add to the list as she adds to her vocabulary!

Mama = Mama (not sure of the date but before she was one)
Kahker = Cracker (12/10)
K-uh = Koa (12/10)
Dada = Daddy, David or Sam (2/11)
Ba (with a wave) = Bye (2/11)
Ba = Boat (2/11)

Baa = Baa, as in sheep (2/11)
Kack = Quack (2/11)Mah = Amen (2/11)
Ha (with a wave) = Hi (2/11)

Ham = Sam (9/11)
Daddy = Daddy (9/11)
Day-dee = David (9/11)
Blue = any color we ask her to identify (9/11)
Baaber = water (9/11)
Papa = pizza (8/11)
Pizza = Pizza (10/11)
Nola = Granola (10/11)
Olly = Molly, grandma's dog (8/11)

Happy Heart Day

2011-02-14T15:46:00.000-06:00

Four Years. How is that possible? Four years ago I was sitting next to my baby watching him sleep, breathing on a ventilator with dried blood around incisions and too many tubes to name.

And today?

Today, I watched him run around "his" museum playing Firefighter Sam and knocking over buildings.

Today, I watched him run!

That makes me a blessed mom because not every heart mom has that privilege. So today in honor of our very special heart day, please pray with us for the heart babies who have survived and for the families of those who haven't. Pray for the doctors and nurses who make it their life's work to help heal these sweet children.

Below is a post I shared on a friend's blog a few months ago.

____________________________

I have a very special son. Is it because he has red hair? Blue eyes? A need to talk all of the time? Was born seven weeks early? He is my son?

Yes. To all of these.

And because these statistics from the Center for Disease Control tell me my son is special:

About 1 in every 100 to 200 babies is born with a heart defect. Heart defects make up about one-third to one-fourth of all birth defects.

They are the most common type of birth defect, affecting nearly 40,000 births in the United States each year. They are also the leading cause of infant death due to birth defects.

CDC estimates each year that about 1,575 babies in the United States are born with tetralogy of Fallot. In other words, about 4 out of every 10,000 babies born in the United States each year are born with tetralogy of Fallot.

He has Tetralogy of Fallot.

What? We had to have the doctor spell it for us because we had never heard of it. TOF, as we like to call it for short, is a congenital heart defect. When he was six months old, he underwent open heart surgery to repair his heart.

You see, Sam’s heart has never been, is not, and will never be normal. It functions for the most part as it should, but it is not normal. And while his doctors anticipate him needing some type of additional intervention in the future, they do not anticipate that to be until he is between 7-12. Naturally, I expect all of his annual cardiology appointments until that time to end the same way: “He looks great! Come back next year!”

This year was a little different.

And a little disappointing.

We don’t need to go back until next year but his heart doesn’t look great. Sam’s heart has become “minimally” enlarged. Nothing we should worry about, at least that’s what his cardiologist says. While this news is not the worst news we could have heard, it was definitely not what I was expecting or what I want for Sam. But it has taught me so much.

I see this as a disappointment. God seeks to use it for His glory.

I see this as an attack on my plan. God sees this as part of His plan.

I see this diagnosis. God sees Sam’s entire life.

A Radical Dream

2011-02-08T14:43:00.001-06:00

I had an American dream once. But when I discovered that Jesus died for my sins and I developed a personal relationship with Him, that dream died. As I found my footing as a Christian, I began to change my thoughts on how I should live my life and spend my money. But more than seven years later, parts of that buried American dream as well as some new parts have crept back into my life. And I hadn’t really noticed.

Until I read Radical: Taking Back Your Faith From the American Dream by David Platt.

I had heard a lot of great things about it but was a little skeptical when I discovered David Platt is the pastor of a mega church. Let’s just say I am thankful for the very small church we attend now. But what I read, especially in the early chapters, was supported strongly by Scripture. And it made sense.

The basic premise of this book is that the so-called “American Dream” is in direct contradiction to the commands of Scripture. Platt states that “the goal of the American dream is to make much of us, the goal of the gospel is to make much of God” (p. 47). He argues that the average American Christian’s worldview has become so distorted by the proverbial “Joneses” that he is no longer molding himself into the Jesus of the Bible but rather “molding Jesus into [his] image” (p. 13).

Platt spends a good deal of the book focusing on Jesus’ command to make disciples of the nations and provides a compelling argument for why it isn’t enough to send money to missionaries so they can do it for you. He confronts head-on the materialism that abounds in America. He asks his readers to consider the true cost of the luxuries we enjoy in America when “more than 4.5 billion people in the world today are without Christ” and thousands each day are “dying and going to hell without ever even knowing there is a gospel” (pp. 142-143). Wow. When discipleship is put into numbers like that, I can’t do anything but think about how I am not living up to Jesus’ command to make disciples of the nations.

He closes the book with the outline for the “Radical Experiment”. It consists of five components to be completed in a one year period: (1) pray for the entire world; (2) read through the entire Word; (3) sacrifice your money for a specific purpose; (4) spend you time in another context; (5) commit your life to a multiplying community (p. 185). As he explained these components, I got a good sense of why he calls this a “radical” experiment. However, he explains that this is a one year commitment. My flesh said why is it even that long(?!) but my soul was saying why shouldn’t we, as Christians, incorporate the components of this experiment into our daily lives for the rest of our lives. I think limiting it to one year gives readers an out and ability to return to their American lifestyles.

Overall, this book served as a great reminder (especially since we have moved back to Dallas and are confronted with excess and materialism on a daily basis) to return to what really matters and that is becoming more like Jesus and loving others enough to share His love with them.

I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review. You may download the first chapter of this book here.

WooHoo!!

2011-02-04T13:09:00.000-06:00

So my Dad, Annie and Korinna are coming for the Super Bowl. My brother is not. I was surprised because he is a HUGE Steelers fan. He even went to Super Bowl XLIII. But, he is too busy doing this (well, not exactly this. This is Vail and he is in Breckenridge but snowboarding is snowboarding):

AND PROPOSING!!!!

I am getting a sister-in-law! I can’t wait! Jessica, we love you and we can’t wait until you are officially a part of our family!

A Little Project

2011-02-03T15:42:00.000-06:00

I recently came across an amazing website for the DIYer. You know, because I am a DIY wannabe. There were excellent plans for this shelf project. I put them together all by myself. Thankfully, I didn’t need to cut anything, only drill and nail and glue.

They aren’t perfect but they are exactly what I wanted! I look forward to more DIY projects!

The Most Importantest Song

2011-01-30T20:08:00.000-06:00

Sam: "Jesus Loves The Little Children" is the most importantest song in the whole world.

Me: Why is that?

Sam: Because it's true! Jesus DOES love all the children!

Thank you Lord!

Daily Dilemma

2011-01-28T23:34:00.000-06:00

During quiet time today, I heard David scream. Screaming like there was something terribly wrong. I immediately thought he had broken something. When I got there, he was hysterical saying there was a lizard in the room. This had happened before so I wasn't too surprised. And, yes, there it was. A little brown lizard. What was I to do?

This: Call my mommy to come get it.

That: Calm my very scared child down, find a box and get that little booger out of the house.

It's times like this that it stinks that I am the mommy! But I am thankful it wasn't a roach. Those things are just gross.

A Half Birthday Party

2011-01-25T15:41:00.000-06:00

Since Sam has a summer birthday, his teacher let us celebrate his half birthday! Weeks before the actual celebration, Sam knew just what kind of cookies he wanted: chocolate chip with frosting. Oh boy. Here is the result.

Mrs. Debbie made him a crown out of construction paper to wear. He chose purple. I still haven’t figured that one out since he says his favorite color is green! He enjoyed being the snack helper and really enjoyed his cookies!

A Buggy Week

2011-01-22T15:23:00.000-06:00

The stomach bug hit our house this week. Thankfully, it only hit me. But it made for a rather boring week at home. Here is a little look at how the kids spend the week when I wasn’t functioning.

If the washer is running when David and I happen to be in the laundry room, he will watch it spin and when it stops, he will say “GO!”

I love these blocks from Uncle Stan and Aunt Diane. They keep all three kids entertained for hours. Sam built a hospital with a secret entrance (the yellow bricks).

Looking at his creation.

Intensely describing it.

There is just something about underwear. She has never seen anyone put it on their head. But yet, anytime she sees a pair (usually after making a b-line to the dresser drawer she knows it is in) she tries to put it on her head. Silly girl!

And thankfully, this was a clean pair!

Flowers for the Birthday Girl

2011-01-18T15:40:00.000-06:00

Granny Kate’s birthday is this week and I thought it would be fun to send her some flowers. The boys really enjoyed making them!

I gave up on cutting out “flower” shapes and just started cutting shapes. Much easier!

I hope they make her day!

Cheese

2011-01-12T20:54:00.000-06:00

David loves food. Well, let me correct that. David is passionate about those foods that he loves. Just this morning he told his teachers he doesn’t like broccoli. But deny his request for something he really wants (like a cookie or candy) and you have an all-out breakdown of crying, pouting and whining. It’s actually quite funny. Most of the time. Tonight, he dined on one of his favorite foods: cheese.

Me: David did you eat all of the cheese off of that piece of bread?

David: No. There is still some left (he pointed to the tiny pieces that are left)!

That little mind is amazing!

WAR EAGLE!!

2011-01-11T15:15:00.000-06:00

Uncle Josh and Ms. Kellie came over to watch the BCS Championship game. I was surprised that Matt agreed considering how particular he is about the goings on while he is watching Auburn play. But Josh knew what to expect and Kellie said she didn’t mind either. We let the boys watch most of the first half before bed and they made Ms. Kellie read them an Auburn book. I guess she got a little dose of what it means to be an Auburn fan.

Thankfully, Auburn won and peace reigned in our house! And now Matt plans on spending his Christmas money on Auburn Championship stuff!

A Little Snow

2011-01-10T14:44:00.000-06:00

We got a little dusting of snow but the forecast predicted much more. Thankfully we were able to get my mom on an earlier flight just in case it was as bad as expected. We were on the western edge of the heavy snowfall so our friends in Plano and Garland got snow in the inches as opposed to our centimeters!

David was the only one brave enough to go out in it at our house. He didn’t stay out long.

Unfortunately, all of the snow melted before the kids got up from their afternoon naps so we couldn’t even go out and try to make snowballs!

Happy Thanksgiving

2011-01-09T15:02:00.000-06:00

Sam and David each had Thanksgiving activities at their school. Daddy and Mommy divided and conquered. Daddy watched Sam’s class enjoy a feast and sing (which, of course, Sam didn’t sing).

I went and ate with David’s class. which made soup. He was so excited! Each child helped to add the ingredients. I was so thankful I could sit and eat with him. It was important to him as he told me just this week that “I made soup at school and I ate it and my teacher gave you some to eat too.” I am so thankful he has that memory!

We went to Albuquerque for Thanksgiving and had a great time with my family. As always, it was not long enough. On our drive back, we stopped in Lubbock and saw Amy and Amelia. I am so thankful we were able to spend time together, even if it was too short. I would love to post pictures of our trip but I was too busy having fun to take any!

David is Three!

2011-01-09T14:36:00.000-06:00

How is it that this big boy…

was ever this small?

Oh, and why is it that my children come out so dark but end up so pasty white?!

David is so sweet but he can be so rough. Many times I have told him “Show me gentle” and he would stroke my face and say “gentoe, gentoe”. He is just a rough boy with a sweet, sweet heart.

She loves his sister (and loves to eat her food off of her highchair…he says she said it was ok!). He kisses her and makes sure she has toys. When he falls, he says “I’m ok!” before we can ask if he is alright. If I make a mistake and say “oh no” he will say “It’s ok.” A few weeks ago when I got to his classroom to pick him up, he was sitting next to one of the girls who stays all day and was patting her back (hard!) trying to help her go to sleep. So sweet.

He has a set of lungs! Since he was born he will scream when he doesn’t like something. Three years ago it was changing his diaper or taking him out of the tub. Now, it is mostly when Sam does something to him. It is so shrill and most times over something so insignificant. Maybe he feels it’s his only way to be heard over Sam.

He has a heart for older people. He will just crawl right on up in their laps.

It is so sweet to see him interact with his grandparents (not that they are old) and his great grandparents. He loves for them to read to him.

He is a very independent little guy. He plays well by himself and has no problem heading outside to play in the snow or swing by himself. Although, he could be a little better about cleaning up when he is done.

He is learning how to dress himself although he prefers help most of he time. He potty trained himself in about a week in late July/early August. He would still rather suck the toothpaste off of the toothbrush than brush his teeth.

He LOVES sugar. He screams if I won’t let him have it. He is a good reminder that I need to limit all of the family’s sugar intake.

He is just silly. The has a great sense of humor. He loves to sing songs he makes up. We sing songs before bed (almost) every night and at least once a week he requests one that we make up on the spot. Like “the one about lights”. I have no idea where that comes from but Matt or I make up a song about lights. It’s fun and he loves it.

He loves Puggles. He enjoys going every week. He takes his little book we made for him and as soon as he gets home he wants to put his new card in. They sing the B-I-B-L-E song so he always wants to sing that one at home.

He can sing the ABC song and has been able to for several months. He does well on counting and can generally get up to about 10 before he starts making up numbers (eleventeen). He knows his colors and his shapes.

He has ridiculously long fingers and toes, the most beautiful blue eyes and one of the sweetest smiles. I am so thankful he is mine!

David’s 3rd Birthday

2011-01-09T14:20:00.000-06:00

Happy Birthday to my goofy 3 year old!

Even though David’s birthday was on Saturday, it started a little earlier in the week when he took a birthday snack to his class. He wanted Lightning McQueen and Tow Mater cupcakes. I am so thankful Grandma picked up these picks for us!

Thankfully, there were a few extras so that everyone could make sure they were ok before we took them to school!

Look at that fabulous crown! One of the Ms. Yolanda’s made it. Pop sent a cookie cake on Friday with Thomas on it. Yum! It didn’t last long…by Saturday morning, it was half gone. By the time our birthday dinner guests finished with it, it was completely gone!
David’s birthday started with Chick-fil-A (they were, after all, giving away free Spicy Chicken Biscuits…yum!). He had nuggets and dip and punch and fries and dip.
Because the boys found the surprise present (ok, I didn’t wrap it because, well, it was really BIG!) before we left for breakfast, we let him open some of his presents when we got home that he could use with his BIG surprise.

Sam just took over the table like it was his present!

Even Katie got in on the fun.

Oh, what the heck! We let him open all of the presents. He knew they were all there and then we didn’t have to deal with requests for opening presents ALL DAY LONG! His friend from school gave him some Band-Aids. But that is a post all to itself!

We had a family party for David with a few friends who are family to us. David requested pizza and a Cars cake. Yes sir! I am so thankful that his Christmas present from Uncle Dee doubled as cake toppers!

And I really shouldn’t be surprised, he is after all my child, that all he ate was the frosting. And had a sugar hang-over for days!

Happy 3rd Birthday David!

Christmas Eve

2010-12-29T13:17:00.000-06:00

I love Christmas Eve services. It’s just another reason to dress Katie up!

Because of last year’s disaster, we were prepared this year! We brought toys, coloring books and snacks. And we sat off to the side so we wouldn’t bother anyone too much!

Here are our attempts at pictures around the church Christmas tree. You will see the toys we brought.

Sam brought Oreo Shake.

David brought Tow Mater. He was a Christmas present from Uncle Dee I let them open early because (1) I didn’t want to wrap it and (2) I knew something new would be the perfect distraction.

Katie spent most of the service crawling around. But she was quiet. And stinky.

After the service, we drove around Highland Park and looked at the lights. Those houses are always so beautiful. Excessive, but beautiful. I am so thankful we were able to spend such a quiet night together as a family.

Exceptionally Weird

2010-12-28T22:07:00.001-06:00

My kids are exceptionally weird.

Sam’s first words were “Jacks” (his version of the dog’s name, Jack)and “socks”. We didn’t hear Daddy or Mommy for months after we heard Jacks and socks for the first time.

David decided to roll over once before he turned one. He was crawling before he was rolling.

And now Katie. Sweet Katie. How you just fit right into our weird family. Your first words were Mama, Dada, Koa and Cracker. In that order. And you pronounce the entire word, even the “k” sound.

I am so thankful that my kids think outside the box!

Hay is Our Favorite Place to Play

2010-12-28T21:17:00.000-06:00

One of my new favorite places here in Dallas is the Arboretum. We took Mama Sue there when she came for a visit (in October!) and just happened to be able to participate in all of the fall festivities they had going on.

This place is fabulous for ideas! I can’t wait to spend some time there in warmer weather and get ideas for our backyard! Just look at these things!

Enough with the foliage already!

The fall activities included an amazing pumpkin patch with amazing pumpkin houses. So much fun!

What I loved about the pumpkin patch was that they had dozens of little vignettes where you could sit and take pictures without waiting on any one. It was so nice not to feel rushed; a true blessing with three kiddos.

But then again, who am I kidding?! It will be years before we have a picture with everyone looking!

David enjoyed throwing the pumpkins and Katie enjoyed figuring out what the heck they were.

Here they are making scary faces.

There was a small petting zoo. The boys weren’t that impressed. I thought it was neat.

There was also an amazing hay maze. The boys enjoyed running around it and occasionally throwing the hay. Katie loved crawling through it!

The boys also got their faces painted. They thought it was the neatest thing!

With a little encouragement, David decided to roll down the hill.

It was a lovely day with Daddy and Mama Sue!

Something Fishy

2010-12-28T18:46:00.000-06:00

Me: You should eat your fish. It's healthy and it tastes good.

Sam: You're right. It's not half bad!

Christmas

2010-12-27T14:19:00.000-06:00

Christmas is chaos at our house But we love it! My pictures this year aren’t much better than last year. There is just too much going on to worry about snapping pictures!

We corralled the boys on the couch in an attempt to keep some control over the bazillion presents they received.

This is the crowd favorite: the whoopee cushion. It’s from Mama Sue. It makes us all smile. We love it. Oh, and it’s self-inflating which makes it really easy to love.

Katie wasn’t too interested in opening presents. She just crawled all over everything to see what was going on.

This was by far the favorite present. It’s a fire boat. At Thanksgiving, my dad gave Sam a Lego book to look at and told him to circle all of the things he wanted (this could get ugly). Once Sam found the fire boat a few pages in, he circled it and stared at it the rest of the night. It was hilarious. Thankfully, that fire boat showed up under tree!

Mama Sue does a great job of finding presents. Here is my favorite. It’s a book called “Bible Fiery Tales”. It’s a compilation of stories that have fire in them like Moses and the burning bush and the fiery furnace. It is perfect because Sam is obsessed with fire.

Since we stayed in Dallas, we were able to do whatever we wanted. We stayed in our pajamas all day and made pizza for dinner!

Who Licked Your Card?

2010-12-23T15:39:00.000-06:00

David really wanted to help me with the Christmas cards this year. And since I can use all of the help I can get, I thought about it. I thought that they might not look perfect. They might be a little messy. And then I let go of that tendency toward perfection and said yes.

I am so glad I did.

He had so much fun!

And I didn’t have to lick all those envelopes!

And we tried to remember the difference between stickers and stamps.

So if your Christmas card from us looks like a two-year old mailed it, he did!

Merry Christmas!

The Gingerbread House

2010-12-22T13:12:00.000-06:00

David’s teachers are so creative and are always doing something fun. He was sick most of the last week of school but was well enough by the last day to go. And I am so glad he did…he made a gingerbread house. And all he wanted to do was eat it.

I am always amazed at the self-control of my children (because I don’t have any!). He ate a good bit of the house over several days. And he shared. Because that is just the kind of kid he is.

Cookies

2010-12-21T13:57:00.000-06:00

I love sugar cookies. I love them so much they were the one thing I would NOT share (or very selectively share) from my college care packages. But not just any sugar cookies with just any frosting. Only our family recipe. Ask my mom. She got at least one call from her displeased daughter over what was on those cookies (I still feel bad about that Mom, I am sorry I was ungrateful!).

And what goes better with Christmas than sugar cookies? And what goes better with sugar cookies than kids? We had ourselves a cookie decorating party!

David and Sam helped me mix up the cookie dough. There may or may not have been a stray finger from a certain boy in green in the cookie dough. But I figure if anything did happen to get in that cookie dough, it was cooked out. Right?!

The actual decorating part was lots of fun and, thankfully, not too messy. It was funny to watch the kids. Some decorated and decorated and decorated some more. Others decorated and then ate, decorated and then ate. Both of mine were the latter.

It was pure chaos at the decorating table but no one seemed to mind.

Thankfully it was a beautiful day outside so the party naturally moved to the backyard. I was horrified when I discovered they were in the sandbox but thankfully the sand ended up outside the sandbox and not on the kids (as it often does when it’s just my boys).

This was such a fun party. I look forward to doing it next year!

A Christmas Performance

2010-12-15T22:19:00.000-06:00

The three and four year old classes at Sam’s school put on a small Christmas program, ate snacks and showed off their December craft to the parents. I would like to tell you it was a lovely program, but I wouldn’t know. Katie puked a few minutes before we needed to leave so I stayed home with the sick kid and Matt took the boys. He did video it for me. Here is just a small portion of it.

Sam was excited about the program. He informed me for days before the program that the boys needed to wear suits and the girls needed to wear dresses (even though all the information the parents got clearly said jeans were just fine!). So, he wore a suit (that doesn’t really fit him).

The classes had learned a few songs to sing. Sam, of course, didn’t sing. But, boy did they enjoy the cookies after the performance! All they wanted to tell me when they got home was that Sam got the last Christmas tree and David got a snowman. Merry Christmas!

Forever Different

2010-12-14T22:08:00.001-06:00

Finally, just days before her first birthday, Katie decided it might be nice to have some teeth. I felt the first one trying to break through on Tuesday and it was out by Wednesday. The second one came through on Friday. Here are some pictures of those pearly whites (and a little left over dinner).

I love how all of my babies have looked without teeth. It seems like once they get that first tooth, they just look a little older. I am thankful that my babies have all teethed a little later than normal and I have had many months to enjoy the toothless grin. But I really love Katie’s new smile!

A Surprise Visitor

2010-12-14T12:11:00.000-06:00

Matt’s dad surprised us with a quick, afternoon visit after a meeting he had locally. What fun! After I picked him up, we went to get the Sam from school and then went to get Matt for lunch. We went to none other than Chick-fil-A. We dropped Matt off and headed home for nap time. David was clearly cranky (he had been home sick) so he went to sleep and Sam, Katie and Granddaddy had a fun visit around the Christmas tree. Granddaddy even helped Sam put the “tree” on top of the tree.

Thanks Granddaddy for making time to come see us! Maybe next time you can stay a little longer!

One Year Old!

2010-12-13T23:35:00.000-06:00

Sweet Katie,

Your first year went by so quickly! And while I haven’t been great about taking pictures of your precious face, you are becoming such a big girl!

Your favorite way to try to get something you want when you are being held is to dive right out of those arms holding you. It really is a miracle that you haven’t been dropped.

You love to throw your head back and smile. We still haven’t figured out if you are looking at what’s above or if you just like the motion. You also find it funny to head bonk. If we say “Bonk!”, you will bonk your head with ours with a big smile on your face. It provides you minutes of sheer enjoyment.

You are a little mischievous. You try to eat Koa’s food and are occasionally successful. You enjoy trying to crawl up the stairs when no one is looking and you giggle when you get caught.

You enjoy climbing. You always want to climb up the stairs and even try to dive out of our arms if we have the nerve to walk up the stairs carrying you. Although, you seem to like the climb more than the destination. When you get to the top of the stairs, you just stop and sit down (which is not very safe) and usually have to be helped up the last step so we can close the gate. I can always find you in the dishwasher when I am cleaning up after a meal, which is fine by me considering at least there I know you can’t get squished by one of your brothers. You are the only one allowed on the treadmill because it, too, keeps you entertained for a few minutes.

You are really grasping language this month! You have two new words, Koa and cracker. If we tell you it’s time to go upstairs, you head straight for the stairs.

You are full of joy! If I am carrying you when we go see if your brothers are awake, you start to kick your legs, bounce up and down and point to their door. You love them as evidenced by your not so gentle touching! You get excited when you hear music and start to bounce to the music. This is true even when we sing to you.

You are still our best sleeper by far. You take two naps but can function on one if there is something exciting going on, like the museum.

You are also our best eater. You like broccoli, eggplant, eggs, squash, cheese, turkey. You have adjusted well to milk but you don’t really like water.

To round out your twelfth month, you celebrated your first Thanksgiving and welcomed two new teeth.

I have loved watching your personality develop. I think one of my favorite things about you is how you express your emotions. When you are upset, or angry, you arch your back and try to become small, usually with a grunt thrown in for good measure. When you are excited, you sit straight up and bounce. So sweet!

We are so blessed to have been your family for a year. We pray the Lord has many more for you. We can’t wait to see how you will continue to change and grow .

Happy 1st Birthday, Katie Girl!

2010-12-13T23:09:00.000-06:00

Good morning, Birthday Girl!

Your day started out with a butterfly balloon, some Cheerios (which David happily helped you eat) and some oatmeal, of course.

Since Grandpa Brad had never been to our museum, we took him and Grandma for a visit. You had fun as always and even crawled through the tunnel at the construction site.

After we left the museum, we picked up some Chick-fil-A. You love fries!

Uncle Josh, Ms. Kellie and Uncle Stephen all came over to help celebrate your birthday.

We had roast, mashed potatoes, macaroni and cheese, rolls and salad. Yum!

Your birthday cupcakes were carrot cake made with three jars of baby food carrots. Sam helped me make them but decided he didn’t want any because he doesn’t eat baby food (even though it is the same recipe I have used for the other two first birthdays in our house). You were really interested in your cupcakes. You decided to touch them!

The carnage:

We sang happy birthday to you and you wanted the candle. Your brothers helped you blow it out.

You were so tired by the time we got to your cake, you weren’t that interested.

(As I washed that bib, I noticed it said “I’m a little Tiger, Class of 19__ . Ha ha! It belonged to Daddy! War Eagle.)

You received so many nice presents. And they were for girls! So nice to have some girls toys and more girl clothes in this house!

You weren’t all that interested in opening your presents but your brothers were happy to step in and help!

Here you are in your super cute outfit from Ms. Kellie. Look at those tired eyes!

Happy Birthday, Katie Girl. We love you!

Toothless

2010-12-08T15:13:00.000-06:00

Katie,

You are almost one year old and I haven’t yet updated about your eleventh month.

The most noticeable thing is you still have no teeth! You are working on them though as we feel about four!

You had two visitors this month. Ms. Shannon came to visit and she was so excited to see how big you have gotten. She went to the museum with us and loved you as a ladybug…

…about as much as you love the water table.

Mama Sue also came for a visit. We had a lot of fun with her at the arboretum and just hanging out. She thinks you are too cute! And she loves buying girl clothes!

And you enjoyed your first Halloween! There was much debate over just what you would be but your brothers finally decided you should be a banana.

You enjoyed the Halloween party in our town on Saturday night but were too tired to go Trick or Treating with your brothers on Halloween.

One of your favorite things to do this month is to dive out of Mommy and Daddy’s arms, making it hard to hold you. You learned to climb the stairs and you started walking holding on to your brothers’ lawnmower.

You have such a sweet personality. You are hardly ever upset and are easily calmed when you do get upset.

We love you, Katie Girl.

Food

2010-12-06T20:21:00.000-06:00

Over Thanksgiving, we had the following conversation with Sam:

Sam (at bedtime): I want a cookie.

Me: You may not have a cookie, it's time for bed.

Sam: When I have kids, I am going to let them eat whatever they want.

Tonight, we had the following conversation with Sam:

Sam: Ahhhh, I didn't want this for dinner. I wanted Chick-fil-A. I want Chick-fil-A every night.

Me: Well, maybe you should find a mommy and daddy who let their kids eat Chick-fil-A every night.*

Sam: What are their names?

*Yes, I realize, that was not a shining moment as a parent. While the response was funny, I pray I will never say something like that again. I am thankful that Sam is my son and I look forward to continuing to teach him the thankful way to respond to a dinner that looks less than appetizing (it did look less than appetizing, but it was healthy!).

Lights

2010-12-04T21:48:00.000-06:00

I have seen the lighting of the National Christmas tree. I have even seen the lighting of the U.S. Capitol Christmas tree. But nothing beats the lighting of the Farmers Branch Christmas tree.

It's big. TEXAS BIG: fireworks, Santa arriving by fire truck, hot chocolate and cookies.

And nothing is better than your four year old getting tired of watching the fireworks and asking for the hot chocolate he knows is nearby.

Or your almost three year old getting excited and asking "Is that another Jingle Bells song?" when he hears Jingle Bell Rock for the first time.

Or your almost one year old clapping and smiling at the fireworks and music.

Nothing.

Holiday Card 2010

2010-12-02T15:22:00.002-06:00

Pretty Poinsettia Print Christmas 5x7 folded card

Get custom photo Christmas cards online at Shutterfly.com.

View the entire collection of cards.

I love how easy it was to create this card on Shutterfly!

An Early Present

2010-12-01T15:45:00.000-06:00

We bought the kids a fort (or tree house or playground) for Christmas.

They LOVE it!

And I love it because I can open the back door and let them play outside while I work on dinner. However, I usually end up outside with Katie pushing her on the swing, which she loves! We are all thankful for this present!

Heart Broken

2010-11-29T20:57:00.001-06:00

Steve Catoe died last night.

You know, Steve. The guy with the Funky Heart.

I met Steve back in 2009 at Duke when he spoke at a symposium on congenital heart defects. Living life with tricuspid atresia, Steve was a champion for CHDers. His website is a goldmine of information on CHD research and living life with a CHD. I was moved by his story and his passion.

He wanted to encourage us as heart parents. He saw how his parents were dedicated to getting him the best care possible and encouraged us to never stop being an advocate for our Cardiac Kids. He wanted to be an example to heart parents, having lived 44 years with a very complex heart defect.

I was devastated when I read this morning that he had passed away. How could the one person who gave me hope for Sam to live a long, productive life be gone? Steve was supposed to live a long life and continue giving heart parents invaluable and well-researched information on CHDs. He was supposed to be around to answer questions on electronic medical records, finding a cardiologist for Sam when he is 18 and let us know more about the doctors who are responsible for medical breakthroughs in the CHD field. How could this happen? Why did this happen?

It was an ugly reminder that I can't live in this fantasy world where heart defects aren't serious. There is no such thing as the status quo when dealing with a heart defect. We have no idea what plans God has in store for Sam and how his heart will play into those plans. But I do know that I need to pray for him and his doctors and do my best to make sure Sam has the best medical care we can find. But despite yet another punch to the stomach by reality, there is much to be grateful for: Steve lived 44 years when doctors told his parents he probably wouldn't live one. He left a great resource in his blog.

He gave me hope.

Guest Blogger

2010-11-19T15:23:00.000-06:00

I feel like I have "arrived" as a blogger. Ha! My friend Shannon asked me to write a little something up and she posted it! You can read about it here.

More Arboretum

2010-11-19T15:11:00.000-06:00

Here are some pictures of a recent trip to the Arboretum.

Little Helper

2010-11-18T15:27:00.000-06:00

Sam thinks a fun way to spend a Thursday evening is to help me clean.

Sam washed the back door.

And then he ran over and washed the fireplace.

He didn’t mop the floor (darn!) so I am not sure why he had the mop and the broom. I love that Sam started to lean on his own. I need to learn how to make this a more frequent occurrence because I need all the help I can get!

Bunnies and Trains

2010-11-17T21:03:00.000-06:00

Me: What song do you want to sing?

David: The song about bears.

Me: I don't know that one. How does it go?

David: It has bunnies (as he jumps up and down on his bed)!

Me: Sing it for me.

David: (gobbledy gook...words we don't understand) choo choo (pause) (surprised look, stops jumping) oh! It has trains! (resumes jumping, more words we don't understand).

Man, I love that kid!

Boogies Anyone?

2010-11-13T20:40:00.002-06:00

Earlier this evening, this is what Sam had to share:

"I am picking my boogers. And then I am eating them. Do you want to try one?"

A Big Heart

2010-11-13T16:03:00.001-06:00

“He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.”
John 15:2 (NIV)

There are days when I think to myself, “This is a good day. The boys haven’t been fighting, everyone is being nice.” Then BAM! chaos breaks out. Sam starts whining, David sits on Katie and in a split second the entire day goes south. I like to think that God is gently (or not so gently, as the case may be) reminding me that it is not me who is in control, but Him.

This week the pruning wasn’t so gentle.

I tried so hard this year not to be anxious about Sam’s cardiology appointment. About a week before, it hit me. But I told myself that there has been no change in his activity level and there are no other symptoms that would indicate that there is something wrong, therefore nothing is wrong.

The appointment went very well. The clinic wasn’t too busy and Dr. Zellers had only ordered an EKG and an X-Ray. The nurse was really nice and she was able to get Sam’s blood pressure on the second try. I think the fact he was in my lap may have helped. She took a thorough history and answered some of our questions.

When Dr. Zellers walked in, the first thing he noticed was Matt’s Auburn hat. He apparently roots for the school that shall not be named. I thought we might have to find a new cardiologist.

War Eagle!

He told us that the EKG did not show any significant change from last year. He listened to Sam’s heart and said Dr. Bradley did right by Sam with the repair. Praise God! He didn’t hear any significant change in his heartbeat either. When we asked why no echo, he said he learned with a stethoscope and that he could learn all he needed by just listening.

He was patient with us as he answered our many questions (some because we are new to his practice and some to just confirm what previous doctors had told us). Overall, he confirmed everything that we had previously been told. He did add, however, that there may come a time that they could create a valve from Sam’s own DNA so his body wouldn’t reject it and theoretically it would grow with him!

Before we left, we headed down to the X-Ray lab to get a picture of Sam’s heart. He had a lot of questions about that and thankfully he didn’t ask to see the picture!

We left excited and reassured. We celebrated with lunch at the Purple Cow.

On Tuesday, the nurse called with the results of the X-Ray. I knew right away it wasn’t good. The X-Ray showed a minimally enlarged heart.

I felt like I had been punched in the stomach.

She said Dr. Zellers said it was nothing to worry about at this time and just to watch for things like fatigue, dizziness and fainting. Since Sam hadn’t had an X-Ray since his pre-op work-up, there is no way to tell when his heart began to change. Unless there are symptoms, he didn’t need to see Sam for another year.

After some research and messages to a group I am a member of, we feel a little more comfortable with this reality. Sam’s heart has to work a little harder so it is not unusual for TOFers to have enlarged hearts.

It took several days to shake off the feeling of helplessness and disappointment. It is so easy to dwell on the bad news instead of turning to God with thanksgiving for Sam’s life and doctors who know how to take care of him. It is hard to remember that Sam has not, does not and will not ever have a normal heart. Each TOF heart is different and no doctor can tell us exactly what to expect.

It has been a long time since we heard bad news, bad being relative. Probably not since his discharge from MUSC was delayed due to excess fluid around his heart.

Each time something like this happens, I am reminded of my initial thoughts driving to the hospital after my water broke with Sam: God already knew.

“…all the days ordained for me were written in your book
before one of them came to be.”
Psalm 139:16

It is not a surprise to God that Sam’s heart is enlarged. And He knows when and if Sam will need another intervention. He knows my son. He loves my son. As the song goes, “they are weak but He is strong. Yes, Jesus loves me.”

And most importantly, He doesn’t want me to worry.

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
Philippians 4:6-7

Do I like that God is teaching me this at my son’s expense? No. But I know this isn’t about me. It’s about glorifying Him. It’s about me looking outside of my expectations and desires and trusting Him with Sam’s life. It’s about helping Sam to know Jesus as his Savior and the plan He has for Sam’s life. After all, that is all that really matters.

Visitor From Durham

2010-11-07T21:53:00.001-06:00

Sweet Shannon came to spend a few days with us and it did my heart good. We had fun shopping (without kids, a first) and eating out (without kids, also a first!). So much fun that I forgot to take pictures. I did get a few of Katie at the museum.

That girl loves the water table (sorry about the focus!).

We painted pumpkins (the boys didn’t want to carve them) and we decorated sugar cookies. We dodged a possible tornado and got drenched enjoying IKEA. We had such a great time!

You can see the pictures Shannon took over on her blog here and here.

Thank you, Shannon, for taking the time to visit us. We have really missed you!

Smells

2010-11-07T21:43:00.001-06:00

I love the way a smell can take you back in time to (hopefully) wonderful memories. Twice this week I have been reminded by soap, of all things.

I bought some Dial soap for our Operation Christmas Child boxes. It is the same soap that my Grandma uses. Each time I walked by those boxes, I remembered my Grandpa. I miss him and I am thankful to have been reminded of him so often this week.

I think that every hospital must buy the same soap. The fragrance is unique and I have only smelled it in hospitals and the occasional doctor’s office. Each time I smell that smell, I am instantly transported back to a NICU, usually Sam’s because we had to stand there and scrub for 90 seconds each time we entered. I used to hate that smell. But now I find it somewhat comforting. My two favorite preemies are healthy and happy (most of the time) and I am thankful for the hospitals that protected their lives.

I would love to know what smells bring back memories for you!

Thankful Thursday

2010-11-04T15:22:00.001-05:00

MATT PASSED THE BAR!!!!

Halloween, A Reprise

2010-11-01T13:42:00.000-05:00

I asked the boys what they wanted to be for Halloween. Sam wanted to be a fireman again and David wanted to be Lightning McQueen. Ugh. How do you make that? I tried and tried to convince him to be something else. No luck. Until I got the costume bucket down to get Katie’s costume out. What a blessing!
Everyone’s costumes changed! They wanted Katie to be a banana. David wanted to be a duck but at the last minute changed his mind and wanted to be a giraffe. Sam wanted to be a bear so he used his monkey/bear costume from two years ago.

This was hands down the easiest Halloween for costumes yet. But then again, the costumes didn’t fit either! I don’t think it matters. All they wanted was the candy anyway!

We went to our town’s Halloween party at the Historical Park. It was crowded but fun. The boys loved the bounce house and getting lots of candy.
Matt was mostly happy about going. He missed part of the Auburn game but they did have the World Series on a gigantic screen. He argued it was the wrong game—they should have had Auburn on!

The boys had AWANA on Sunday night but they were able to dress in their costumes. And Sam played the part. He roared all night. He did it as soon as we walked in the door, apparently at completely random times during AWANA and as he received his patch. That’s my boy!

They got a late start Trick or Treating but they had a lot of fun. All David wanted to do when he got home was eat candy. I think I remember him screaming when we told him he couldn’t have any more.
We adults enjoyed some of the candy after they went to bed. It will be a sad day when they decide to hide their Halloween stash from us!

Halloween Treats

2010-10-29T15:41:00.000-05:00

The boys had Halloween parties at school and we were responsible for snacks. I enlisted the help of the boys and we came up with some kinda healthy snacks.

We made witch hats.

And chocolate covered pretzels. Yum!

We also sent apples. But you all know what an apple looks like. Right?

One little boy in Sam’s class told me they were his favorite snacks. I don’t know if that was completely true but I am glad they were enjoyed.

A Doll House

2010-10-27T15:49:00.000-05:00

Sam wanted to make Katie a doll house. He is so sweet with her.

State Fair

2010-10-18T14:46:00.001-05:00

An idea well planned is an idea well executed.

The fair was a disaster. I have learned. I will work toward being a much better planner.

1. We went on a Monday when we could use our free voucher from our membership at the museum. But I didn’t read the fine print that said it wasn’t valid on Columbus Day. And I didn’t think that everyone and their mother, father, uncle, aunt and second cousins would be at the fair on Columbus Day.

2. I didn’t figure out the best place to park. I did enough research to know that DART wouldn’t be a good choice with two strollers because we would have to change trains. But I thought all parking at the fair was equal. NOT! I had Matt turn left when we should have turned right and it all went downhill from there. We had to park about a mile away from the gates (see number 1 above).

3. I didn’t realize that there was more than one Fletcher’s Corny Dog stand and we almost had a mutiny getting there and while we waited in line (see number 1 above). But the few bites of that corny dog were worth the wait! And for those of you outside of Texas, no, it is NOT a corn dog!

4. It was hot and I dressed everyone in jeans. I had looked at the forecast but I think it got hotter earlier in the day than I was expecting. This is a valuable lesson. We should wear shorts and t-shirts in North Texas until well into November and just bring a jacket…it’s much easier to shed a jacket than jeans!

So, despite my inability to plan events, the kids did have a great time (and we spent a lot less than we planned because we didn’t want to wait in line!).

The boys both wanted to ride the Carousel. This is Sam.

This is David on the far left.

We also got to see a bucket fire truck (that was Sam’s favorite part of the fair) and some superheroes (David’s favorite part of the fair was Spiderman).

And Miss Katie finally rode in the stroller instead of in the carrier!

We saw a few horses and Big Tex but that is about it (see number 1 above).

My “plan” for next year is to try to find a nice county fair to go to.

It’s Been 10 Months

2010-10-18T14:19:00.001-05:00

Pretty Lady, you are 10 months old! How can that be?

You haven’t really learned anything new this month. You have started rubbing the back of your hand over your mouth as you say “ahhhhhhh”. Does it feel funny?

Mostly you have spent your month perfecting the things you learned last month. You crawl so fast I can’t figure out where you went. You LOVE to climb on anything: the scale, pillows your brothers have thrown on the floor, the mini-trampoline, the stool in the bathroom, the open dishwasher door. You try to climb in the tub and the toilet but thankfully, you are still too short. You have rolled off of several of those things, sometimes several times, but you get up and do it again. And you stand up any time you can.

Everything still goes straight to your mouth: mulch, rocks, shoes (those seem to be a favorite), crayons.

You have been spending our outside playtime in the wagon because (1) you put everything in your mouth and (2) you insist on chasing after David when he drives the car all over the driveway and I would like you (and your clothes) to maintain nice knees and toes.

You aren’t eating too many new things but you enjoy eggs, cheese and beans. You get mad when you see some pizza crust on the table and it isn’t also on your plate.

You have been kicked out of Mommy and Daddy’s room and you are sleeping just fine by yourself for around 12 hours each night in your own room. You still take two naps a day, for about an hour each most days. You sleep so much better than your brothers. You are the only baby we have had that we can put down and in less than 5 minutes you are asleep (most of the time…some nights you require a little extra mommy time).

You don’t have a goopy eye any more because we took you to the doctor and she fixed it. You didn’t really like it, but that’s ok because you only cried for a few minutes.

You are happy most of the time. If you start to fuss I know you need a clean diaper, you are hungry or you are tired. But there are those times when it’s just because David, or Sam, but usually David, has taken whatever you found on the ground to put in your mouth. Or one of them has decided you are a good seat.

We love you, little girl.

Links to Old Topics I Just Got Around to Posting

2010-10-02T22:57:00.000-05:00

Due to all of the crazing surrounding our lives since about March, some of the bigger and most important events of our life were not blogged about because they deserved more time and energy than I had at the time they occurred. So I have been working on getting all of those posts written and posted. In order to keep my sanity (it’s totally a Type-A thing), these posts will be posted based on the date of the event, not the date I finally got around to writing the post. If you subscribe to our blog via a reader, then you shouldn’t have any problem viewing the new posts as they are published. If, however, you just happen to stop by occasionally, I don’t want you to miss out on what has been going on. Below is a list of new posts I have recently published. Click the links and you can catch up on our crazy life!

April

Easter

A Trip to the Zoo

Yummy Cereal

An Afternoon in the Strawberry Patch

May

Meet The Machens

A May Wedding

Graduation

Reminiscing by a Law Student’s Wife

A Successful AWANA Year

June

Happy Birthday Daddy!

Life in a Hotel, Oh Sorry, Extended Stay

July

Happy Fourth of July!

Seven Months Already?!

Hello Katie, Meet Katie

August

Birthday Presents

Thankful Thursday

2010-09-30T20:25:00.001-05:00

I am thankful that these tasty things didn’t set off the smoke detector. Although, I wish they had…our house stinks! They were to be chocolate chip cookies, not charcoal chocolate chip cookies.

I am thankful that our electric bill is 1/3 less this month.

I am thankful that it is Fall for the following reasons (in no particular order): see above about the electric bill; crisp, cool mornings; the ability to open the windows without the fear of humidity overwhelming me; the changing leaves (the thing I will miss most about Durham).

Are you thankful for anything particular this fine Fall evening?

We Took the Long Way Home

2010-09-30T14:55:00.001-05:00

After tons of fun in North Carolina, we headed back West.

We took a detour when we got to Columbia, SC so Sam could see the hospital he was born at. He wasn’t that impressed. We also drove by Sam’s first home. That was a bad idea (it always is!). The yard was trashed, but thankfully all four trees my Dad bought for us as a wedding present were still there. I may never have forgiven myself for driving by if they had been cut down.

We spent the night in Sylacauga. It was strange to be there without Matt’s grandparents. Grandmama Vivian was kind enough to let us have some furniture and other household items. We are so blessed to have a new “big girl” bedroom set for Katie when she is old enough.

After we loaded our treasures the next day, we decided to drive to Meridian, MS rather than spend the night in Sylacauga as we had planned. We were road weary and just wanted to be home as quickly as possible.

We had a great trip and I am so glad we were able to do all that we did.

More Beach

2010-09-30T14:54:00.001-05:00

…Last Stop, Ocean Isle Beach

2010-09-30T14:52:00.001-05:00

I love, love, love the beach. So does Katie. As soon as we put her down on the sand, this is what she did (I had a great video but it seems to be lost so you are stuck with pictures), made a bee-line to the ocean.

But the boys loved it too. I think they could have played in the sand all day long. Katie just wanted to eat the sand. It made for some interesting diapers later.

They were intrigued slightly by the water.

I have no idea what fascinated them in the water for so long but they just sat and played for a long time. I think they were trying to find shells.

We went to the park one day. David loves to climb. I think it might be one of his favorite activities.

Sam enjoyed the slide.

Everyone had so much fun that no one slept very well and we left exhausted. But it was a GREAT kind of exhaustion.

Thanks for having us Mama Sue and Papa Jim. I can’t wait until next year!

…And On To RDU…

2010-09-30T14:47:00.001-05:00

After our time in Charlotte, we headed straight for Granddaddy’s house. What fun!

The boys enjoyed swimming in the pool, playing with all of the toys and this:

The boys loved it so much that we brought the mini-trampoline home from Mama Sue’s attic.

Thanks for having us over, Granddaddy!

A Little Fun in Charlotte…

2010-09-30T14:41:00.001-05:00

We recently took at trip “back East”. We stopped in Charlotte for a night on our way to visit Granny Kate and Matt’s aunt and uncle, who were kind enough to let us stay at their house. Brave souls. And we are eternally grateful. The breakfast Aunt Diane made hit the spot! She got a lot of toys out for the boys to play with. They loved it!

We were also able to spend some quality time for Granny Kate. She was so sweet to make us a super yummy dinner the night we arrived that we ate the next day for lunch too! We were so thankful to not be eating fast food.

Granny Kate bought the boys two fire helmets. They are very sturdy and it will take a lot of work for the boys to break them!

Granny Kate loves Katie and wanted to hold her. Too bad Katie didn’t want to be held!

These boys love to read and Granny Kate enjoyed reading to them. We are so thankful that we were able to spend some time with our Charlotte family!