Public Service Announcement!

If you are out shopping with all 3 of your children and you have 2 in the back of the shopping cart and one in the front so as not to loose any of them ... make sure you check UNDER your cart when loading said children into your car. You just might leave that box of diapers that you went to get in the first place! And someone else just might help themselves to it. And you just might have to buy another box because it was your own fault.

Not that this happened to me today or anything.

A Diva!

She is already a Diva! She cracks me up so much! I caught this yesterday in the playroom. She crawled up on top of our toy chest with a maraca in hand and decided to make it her microphone. I have NO clue what she was singing but she was having the time of her life! This went on for about 5 minutes and then she decided to plop herself in the middle of the boys train table while they were racing their cars on it!

Never a dull moment around here!

A few 18 month shots

Here are just a few edited 18 month photos ... enjoy

18 Months

My baby girl is 18 months old ... It's hard to believe and at other times it seems like she should be older than she is. It's funny to see how in just the last month she has changed SOOOO much. She is talking ALL.THE.TIME now. We actually carry on small conversations. It's so odd to me because both of the boys were late talkers, so to have this little chatter box really amuses me :).

Her little personality is really blooming lately. She has an opinion about her clothes and is not afraid to share it with us. If we put something on her that she doesn't like/want ... she will tell us "off". If she doesn't have something on that she wants she will point and say "I have". She LOVES shoes! LOVES them. She will put on the boys shoes or our shoes or I will find her sitting playing with her shoes. I guess the apple didn't fall far from the tree.

When she wakes up in the morning before she can change her clothes or diaper, she will say "I hug" and she runs into her brothers room and hugs the boys and her daddy as they are getting dressed each morning.

I just love this little one. I wish that there was some way to slow down her growth. Since she is my last little one .. I just want to bottle up this goodness and make it last longer than it does. Our world is definitely filled with girlyness, pink, bows and baby dolls and I love it so much more than I ever thought I would.

I love you baby girl!!

HOLY POOP Batman!

I know not the most fun title ... but I'm sure I got your attention didn't I? I had grand plans for today. I was going to venture out to a store I really don't like with 2 of my 3 kids while Ryan was in school. After nap time yet before lunch time. I had lofty goals to get in and out and back home to feed before picking up R! They were lofty but they were met with a hurdle, no make that a mountain that I did not anticipate. If I had of had a camera close by I might have taken a picture but I was too grossed out to even think about a kodak moment! Even if I had of snapped a pic, I'm sure you wouldn't really want to see it anyway. Allow me to set the stage for you ...

Pace was downstairs putting on his shoes finishing up his snack. I am going to go upstairs to get Kennedy up early from her nap so we can get in and out of this store, with the things we need in a flash so we can eat lunch and pick up Ryan. I walk in the room to a daughter who is laying in POOP! Not only is she laying in it but she is COVERED in it. Not only is SHE covered in it but so is her Crib, blanket, paci, baby, bumper, did I mention the crib? Did I mention HER? Did I mention her PACI? Her mouth is also. Yes I know DISGUSTING!!!!! So I knew my lofty plans of getting in and out of this store was out the window. Now my daughter who apparently enjoyed her nap time today is crying because she has been found out ... either that or by this point she did not enjoy being in crusty poop.

Off to the bathroom we go ... oh why couldn't Jeremy be working at home today (GRIN)? I get her in the tub and her clothes off of her to hose her down and scrub her off! I get her clean and get her out of the tub only to have her PEE all over the floor and begin the crying again ... this time it could have been by both of us, could have, might have, ok we both cried. Seriously, though we go back into the tub and do a quick soap/rinse and get back out. Dry off and new clothes put on ...

Now it's on to how to tackle the mess. Part of me wanted to shut the door and pretend that it did not happen. This child has NEVER had any interest in her bodily functions, never. The Monet drawing on her crib was not exactly the creativity level I would want her to aspire to. I began to strip everything down and start the washer and then I began cleaning the crib itself.

Cleaning done ... turn around to my daughter who is standing watching me in her clean clothes ... who then says to me "hey, luv u".

Prayerfully we will have no more poop Monet in this house!

Date Night

Tuesday night we took advantage of a couple places who let kids eat free and took the kids out on dates. It's something we want to do every couple months with the kids. Jeremy took Kennedy out on a date and the boys took me out on a date.

Pace came downstairs and asked me out on a date, then asked me where I wanted to go. Jeremy put money in Ryan's pocket to pay for our evening and Ryan informed me that he would open the door, pull out my chair, order for me then follow it up by paying for my meal. So sweet! We had a great time at our restaurant. The place had a magician come by our table who did some really cool tricks for the boys then he made both of them animal creations out of balloons. The boys were amazed. Our conversation was ALL over the place. The restaurant had TV's hanging everywhere so the boys were glued to the Olympics .... we talked a lot about those but then there were other random things thrown in from time to time. These boys keep me on my toes and I love it. Just yesterday Ryan asked us at dinner if there would be snow in heaven. Love seeing his mind spin these days!

Jeremy enjoyed his meal out with Kennedy though I'm sure the conversation was lacking. In a few years though I'm sure she will talk his ear off! I love that my husband is taking my daughter out ... teaching her how precious she is and how to expect a man to treat her one day ... of course this dating thing will happen with daddy until she is at least 30 before another man can take his place :) Oh how I wish!

It's Lent ...

Stop. Take a deep breath. Reflect...it's Lent.

Our pastor has challenged us with this, this Lent season. It starts tomorrow.

"Lent is a season of fasting. As we prepare ourselves for the celebration of the Resurrection, prayerfully consider what you will give up during this time. What will you miss that will be a constant reminder to you that you are sacrificing your will for the sake of our Father who loves us and has something better for us. What will you deny yourself in order to gain a better life?"

I've learned that Lent is much more than a time to give up unhealthy foods or bad habits; it's an opportunity to unplug from our regular patterns, look truthfully at ourselves, and approach God with repentance and gratitude

Overheard This Weekend

This past weekend our friends were in town and they both have kids around the same ages as ours .... I loved hearing their conversations ... Here is just one snip it that I heard this weekend ...

Ryan: Emily how hold are you?

Emily: I'm 5 and a half (you know that half is SO important when you are 5!)

Ryan: Well, I'm five in a row

I just just loved hearing their conversations and watching them interact ....

A Wonderful Weekend!

What an awesome weekend!! Friday night Jeremy planned a date night for us. It was our first one in a while as we just haven't had anyone to watch the kids for us. So nice to get a meal out and time away without having to share anything or eat so fast that you didn't taste anything you ate :) We even got to have a real conversation :) What a concept!

Saturday one of my good friends came into town and we had an amazing time hanging out with them. I've known Karen for about 12 years. She is and has always been one of those friends that challenges me and speaks truth into my life. I love spending time with her ... I always walk away from our time or phone conversations a better person! Thanks for hanging out with us Karen! Love you guys!

Sunday we had more good friends in town that we haven't seen in forever. I've seen Terri a few times since we left Georgia 3 years ago but Ryan had not seen their son Chris and Jeremy had not seen Kip since we left. It was so fun to catch up and hang out with them. It was neat to see the boys play together. When we left GA Ryan had just turned 2 and Pace was 7 months old. They didn't remember each other but all 3 had so much fun playing together. Ryan even asked today when he could play with Chris again! I loved my conversations with Terri ... I left our time together with a full tank! Thanks for making time for us Terri!! Love you guys!

So thankful for friends we know will be lifelong, and that neither time nor distance affects the relationships! We are definitely blessed to have such wonderful friends in our lives. 2 moves have separated us but I love the fact that we can reconnect.

We have also been blessed to have met some WONDERFUL new friends here. When we moved here in September it just seemed like the clocked moved so slowly in the connecting part of our transition ... God has blessed us so much with some new friends that we know will be life long friends as well! Friends who spur us on in our walk with Christ, friends who challenge us and friends to walk with hand in hand. We are thankful!

A boy and his crush

Boy oh boy, are we dealing with a certain boy and his crush! Ryan has a huge crush on a little girl. She happens to be our Pastor's daughter. I'm pretty sure that she has the same crush on him that he has on her but this is his first ... his first crush on someone his age. Last night we had their family over for dinner and the kids were playing Wii while the adults talked. I overheard the following conversation take place:

Ryan:"C" ... I love you (blush)

C: I love you too Ryan (more blushing)

He's had several crushes on my friends and that was OK with me. Now that it is someone his age, we are asking ourselves how to handle this? We do not want to make more out of it than it is, yet we want to seize this opportunity to teach him as well! So do you have any advice for this momma who has never dealt with a son with a crush before? How do you teach them without making it more than it should be?

Randomness

I cannot believe what a slacker I have become when it comes to this blog o mine :) Life has been rather busy lately. We have been going non stop for what seems like a year but actually it's only been 2 weeks :)

Kennedy is keeping me on my toes lately! She LOVES SHOES! Apple did not fall far from the tree on this one. At any given moment in the day I can find her in someone's shoes. Never hers. We do not wear shoes in our house so she can always find shoes at the door and it never fails that she has a pair on. Most of the time she gets them on the right feet but in this picture she on Ryan's beautiful crocs. They go so great with her dress!!! :)

This weekend we are looking forward to visiting with some friends. Cannot wait! One of my bridesmaids will be in town on Saturday and Sunday and then a family that we haven't seen in a while will be here. I've seen the wife a few times since we left GA but Jeremy has not seen the husband since we left and I'm looking forward to hanging. Ryan hasn't seen Chris since he was 2 so it will be fun to watch them play together again.

Hope you all have a wonderful Valentines weekend!

R, P & K

Wow, we have been busy beavers lately. I thought I'd update you on each of my three as so much has been going on lately. Life has been insanely busy. It's a good thing though. We are beginning to find our place here in our new city and we couldn't be more excited about it! We are seeing the reasons behind our move, reasons that just 12 months ago we couldn't put our finger on ... now we see. It's cool!


Ryan, is doing great! He's growing too fast for this momma's heart though. He has discovered girls ... I think I may have already blogged about this a time or three but man I just did not expect it this early. He has a few girls his age and a couple married women who he blushes when he gets around. :) I still think girls should have cooties at this age!

Last week he got to play Jesus in chapel as his class told the story of the Woman at the well and he did a GREAT job. I know I'm biased and all but he did so good! His heart is so tender right now and I love it. He's absorbing so much of the needs of the world around him and he wants to do his part to meet them! I love it!


Pace is also doing really well. He is our funny boy! He constantly keeps us in stitches with the things he comes up with and the things he says. He has recently fallen in love with the Wii. We upgraded our Wii fit to the Wii fit plus and he is having a ball with all the different games on it. He also loves Mario Kart and we have fun playing with him. He has no sense of win or lose ... he just enjoys the time together. I love that about him. He and I have 2 hours 4 days a week where it's just the two of us (Ryan is at school and K is down for a nap). He eats it up and I do too. His heart is so tender and it's just so fun to watch him in this stage. He definitely keeps us on our toes and we never know what the day will bring!


Oh my little princess!! She is into so much these days. Her vocabulary is blossoming day by day. She loves all the things the boys love but she also loves all her babies. Which leads to interesting play times. She will walk around with a car in one hand and a baby in the other. She will get down and wrestle with us and then get up and make us all tea in her tea set. She still has some separation anxiety issues and she gets so jealous when we are hugging on the boys. She loves having hats on her head which is weird to us. The boys hated it. We have yet to put away her christmas hat because she wants it on all the time. She walks around patting her head until she finds it or the boys notice her and bring it to her. She definitely has them wrapped around her finger. She is growing up way to fast though. I cannot believe that next week she will be 18 months ... that doesn't sound so bad until you realize it means she will be 1 1/2. I mean seriously ... HOW did that happen so quickly?

Well, that's about all going on in our kids lives ... and I'm sure the only ones you are interested in :) Jeremy and I are doing well. He's settling in to his job and new responsibilities. We have jumped in with both feet to a church plant and are loving what God is doing there and in our lives. We have had several friends come through to visit and are looking forward to a few more in the next few weeks! It's so fun to see old friends and spend time together! If you are ever in our area ... let us know! We'd LOVE to see you!