Pappy's "Race Car"

Pappy came by for a visit today. He was in town getting his car detailed with his business logo. KK asked if Pappy was a real race car driver. :) My kids wouldn't pose for a picture, so I just got JC riding by the car on his bike.

Painting

I'm always hesitant to get paints out with my kiddos, but I really should do it more often because they love it! Even MG got in on the action, but she unfortunately had several meltdowns because she couldn't have all the paints and brushes and her own water dish!

Dessert for Dinner

My 5-year old and I had an interesting dinner last night. It consisted of:

1 bag of skittles
1 large Reese's cup (of course!)
1 pack of peanut butter cookies
1 bag of cheetos
1 bottle of water
1 blue Frost Gatorade

Our KK has had a belly ache for the past few days. We spent Friday night in the after-hours doctor's office where he was checked out. We were told it was most likely a stomach virus and we were told to call back if he started running a fever or his pain became worse. Yesterday he was rolling in the floor crying in pain with his tummy. He is our oldest child and has always had a high-pain threshold--at 15-months he was stung by a wasp and simply looked at his arm, said "oww" and toddled on playing without a single tear. So when he was screaming in pain, we knew something must be wrong! A call to the nurse resulted in us being sent to the ER to have him checked out.

After nearly 6 hours in the ER and different tests and x-rays, we were fortunate that his belly ache was chalked up to something simple. We were sent home with a prescription for a laxative, as he is apparently not very "regular!" The attending physician at Children's Hospital said yesterday was a pretty slow day because of the rain--kids were playing inside and less likely to be outdoors getting hurt, so I had to wonder how long our wait would have been if it had been a busy day!

The highlight of our visit was our dinner from a vending machine. KK said "Hey Mom, we're having dessert for dinner!" when we opened our skittles and Reese's cup. Daddy and the other kids stayed home and ordered pizza, so we knew we'd have a pizza party later when we got home. KK's excitement intensified when he realized we'd later have pizza--he said "We're having dessert for dinner and dinner for dessert!" Our "dessert" was at 11pm when we finally got home! Sadly he was too tired to really enjoy the pizza and only had one bite before going to bed.

Sitting in Children's Hospital ER really made me think about those families who practically live in a hospital with their sick children or other loved ones. How incredibly difficult their lives must be. With my brother's injury, my parents have had their share of living in and out of hospitals. We weren't able to help my parents as much as I'd have liked since we were 3 hours away when they were living in an apartment close to the hospital, but I remember the toll it took on them. The emotional toll was tremendous--hanging on the words of a doctor's diagnosis--all the while trying to choke down food and rest in an uncomfortable chairs with the constant interruptions from nurses. Not only that, but I can't imagine how incredibly draining it must have been living in a temporary apartment and separated from friends and family. I just can not imagine the heart ache so many families live on a daily basis. Sorry this has become a depressing post!

Baby River

I finally got to meet my new baby niece this morning! My sister had her baby on July 9th at 35 weeks pregnant. Due to being a preemie, baby River spent over a week in NICU. She's finally home and doing great. And, from the photos, you can tell she is absolutely beautiful!

A Pestilent Shirt and Heart

While perusing the internet last week, I came across some super cute shirts for my boys. As a homeschooling mom, I couldn't resist purchasing these precious shirts that read "Teacher's Pet" across the front. I imagined my boys frolicking around in their shirts as I stood by casually chuckling with friends over the cleverness of it all. Well, I got the shirts in the mail today and I was surprised that I'm apparently BLIND AS A BAT!!! Here is the shirt:


If you missed it like I did, the t-shirt reads "Teachers Pest." I quickly boxed these dandy little shirts back up to return them, but I had to wonder WHO would buy such a shirt for their child? It just confirms the way the world sees children--as a curse instead of a blessing. How sad that there will probably be some spunky little children donning such shirts to their first day of school! It is pitiful that such children would immediately wear the "Scarlett Letter" of being a PEST.

To delve into my own heart is just as disheartening. How quick I am to see my children as a pest and a nuisance to my daily agenda--not just in the way I lose my patience with them, but also the more subtle huffing and eye-rolling at their neediness. It is only in the arms of my Savior that I realize that I am better than that--not because of my effort, but because of His presence in me. He has given me a new heart and I can look to Him in hope for change and trust that He is at work. In spite of all the ugliness of my heart and how many times I see my children (and others) as a pest, HE is bigger than my sin. He is the cure to my own pestilent heart. Praise God for that!

Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. Rom 8:1

You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. Rom 8:9

Hanging Loose and Getting Down With the Monkeyball

We had a fun time with friends today. Kevin played in his first ever Monkeyball tournament and came in 2nd place! He was really excited! I missed most of the action since I was hanging in the backyard with the kids and then had to get everyone home for naps after lunch. We were excited that KK's best buddy got to come back home with us to play all afternoon. KK said he wanted Sam to stay at our house "forever and ever." They rode bikes outside, watched Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Batman movies, played with dinos, put together puzzles, and had about 3 snacks!

Kevin and Missy checking out their accuracy--not a single miss!

The boys were trying to make the "hang loose" sign that is on Sam's shirt--hilarious!!!

Playing dinos...

JC and Sam watching a movie--you can't see KK in the picture, but he was on the couch too--they all sat together!

"Holy long line Batman, I'm going to have a tantrum!"

Our local library had a visit from Batman today. The boys have been anticipating it all week and insisted on wearing their Batman and Robin 100% polyester costumes in spite of the 90 degree heat. We got there early, but the line was already pretty long. The boys had a good time running around playing while we waited and MG happily munched on some raisins in her stroller while I chatted with a friend. That was the first 20 minutes--pretty smooth, no meltdowns. The next 20 minutes were another story. MG started to fuss and wanted to get out of the stroller. I reluctantly let her down to run around. It was crowded and it was a challenge chasing after her. JC started searching the stroller for a snack. I hadn't anticipated such a long wait, so I left our lunch in the car for our ride home. JC started crying when I told him I didn't have any food. He started melting down falling on the floor crying for candy and goldfish crackers. KK was standing on a chair very excited that we were getting closer to Batman and he could now see him! I knew we had to stick it out and let KK meet his superhero. After a long ordeal of holding JC and MG with both of them falling apart, JC saw that Batman was giving out pieces of paper with his name on it (autographs), JC wiped the tears away to get back in line for his turn. Fortunately, we made it to see Batman and both boys posed for pics!

Heading into the library to see Batman

What long ears you have Batman!

Reorganized Schoolroom

I am learning more than just what I teach as we're going along on this homeschool adventure. Several months ago, we bought used desks for the kids for our schoolroom. Well, now that my 5-year old is learning to write, I've realized the desks are too big and his feet need to be touching the floor. So, we started looking for a child-sized table. I moved the desks to the basement and started looking online for a deal on a used table. I really loved one that I saw at Pottery Barn Kids, but it was too dang expensive. I decided to call their store today after a friend suggested it and they said they had a floor model that was marked down $70, plus matching chairs. I could barely contain myself to drive to their store and look! My kids needed a nap, so I decided we'd head up there after naptime. My sweet friend offered to meet us at the store to watch the kids in the car so I didn't have to drag them all inside on the venture. Of course, I loved the table when I saw it in person and purchased it. Because I'm a task-master, over-achiever kind of girl, I couldn't just bring in the table and 4 chairs and set it in the garage for Kevin to assemble tomorrow. Instead, I brought it all upstairs and used some sort of tool to put the screws in the 2 legs that the guy at the store so nicely removed for us to get the table home. And, then I moved our big, heavy computer armoire, big toy box, and shelves--totally rearranging our schoolromm. There was a book shelf in the basement that I really wanted to bring upstairs too. Kevin will be home tomorrow, but I couldn't wait. So, I heaved this big honking bookshelf up the stairs by myself--moaning and hollering as the boys watched! During the process of pulling and pushing it up the stairs, I wondered what would happen if the thing fell on top of me and I left 3 kids upstairs needing me to take care of them! Thankfully, me and the bookshelf made it to the top in one piece and I'm really excited about how our schoolroom is starting to come together! I know I will be very sore tomorrow though! Here are some pics.

Bribes and Bikes

We recently told JC that we'd get him a big boy bike if he started going potty ALL the time in the big potty. We knew he could do it and felt he needed a little incentive to encourage him. He's gone all week without any accidents and has talked non-stop about his big boy bike! Last night, Kevin told him he could go get his bike today if he'd stay in his bed all night long and not wake us up in the morning. Alas, we discovered he can control that too, as he stayed in his bed all night and went out to the den to play quietly with his brother this morning instead of jumping into our bed and waking us up! Can you hear us shouting with joy at our house!!!? It's nice to also know that our 3-year old can now be disciplined and rewarded with the give and take of privileges! Here's some pics of him riding with his big brother today!

Co-op

I'm way behind on posting our last co-op photos! In our last co-op, we continued with the treasure theme of Matthew 6:21. The kids learned about jewels, made jeweled crowns, and learned the songs "More Precious than Silver" and "Jesus Is My King." They had diamond-shaped cookies for their snack. These are the books they read.

Snack time!

Dino Party

We had a fun time at our friend Ben's 3-year old birthday party! The kids loved the pizza and dino cake and the adults enjoyed yummy "dirt cake!"

The kids enjoying their pizza and party blowers

Some of the kids sit down to read

Super Heroes!

Meet Jack Jack

A caped cruisader and two knights

Cousin Luke and Nana got to come over and play this week while Aunt Kim was in the hospital having baby River. The kids dressed up in costumes and MG wanted to put on the Incredible costume!

Gotta Make a Wife and Mom Proud!

Aren't they cute!!!???

A fun 4th of July..."I do have to say"

While we were visiting my parents, we braved the heavy traffic, mosquitoes, and unknown territory to take the boys over to the AL/GA state line to find a spot to see fireworks (MG slept back at the house with the grandparents). We parked in an empty parking lot across the street from the Piggly Wiggly, which apparently was "the" spot because it was packed. The boys had been bouncing off the walls with excitement all day and it was nearly impossible to navigate through the heavy traffic with their constant questions from the back seat! I don't think JC had much of a memory from last year, but KK surely remembered and was fired up--no pun intended! Once the fireworks started, we all started "oohhing" and "aahing"...JC piped up and said "I like fireworks! {pause} I do have to say!" It was such a funny comment that caught us off guard and we all got tickled laughing. It was a fun family time together!

Waiting...

More waiting...

Starting to get tired...

It was worth the wait!

I was trying to take a pic of the fireworks and this is what I got! It turned out pretty cool looking though!

Outside Fun

Here's some pics of the kids outside at Nana and Pappy's house. Nana always buys some fun toys for the kids to play with while they're there!

The boys playing with a cool giant airplane

This is a water propelled race car that was really cool! The kids pumped water in it (with help from Daddy) and the car would shoot several hundred feet down the driveway!

Daddy lending a hand

KK giving it a few pumps

We were so glad that we brought the boys' bikes. They had so much fun riding up and down the long driveway!


JC loved being a big boy and riding his bike! He's made car noises as he rode!

Mads is trying to blow bubbles even though you can't tell from this pic!

Fun at the Park

While we were at Nana's and Pappy's this past weekend, we took the kids to a park in GA one morning. The kids had a lot of fun and it was good to get them out of the house for a little while to play. It was SO hot, so we didn't get to stay as long as we wanted.

The Mads always enjoys swinging

Riding an alligator

Checking out all the playground equipment

Monkey #1

Monkey #2


Red cheeks!

KK befriended a little boy named Gary and his Dad. They had fun playing tag!

McWane Center

We had a fun trip to the McWane Center last week with some friends. I still have a lot of pics to upload from our trip on the 4th, but for now this will do!

The boys enjoying digging for dinosaur bones

Check out the huge dinosaur fish!

Having fun making impressions of their faces


Their faces!


KK playing music with Mrs. Missy on the piano

JC playing with the huge wall-sized lite brite

KK dressed up as an astronaut

Treasures

We had our co-op today and the kids enjoyed learning their colors in Spanish and doing some fun crafts! And they had smiley face apple snacks! Thanks Mrs. Missy for doing such a good job!

Fun Visit

Kevin's sister and her family came through from North Carolina Sunday and spent the night with us. Kevin's mom and brother drove up for dinner with us too and we had a lot of fun. I can't believe I'm saying this, but I can't wait until the pre-teen years! I'm not wishing away this sweet time with my kids, but I guess I've always dreaded the teen years. Julia and Jacob gave me a new perspective! They are 11 and 12-years old and such a blessing to hang out with! I can't believe it's been almost 4 years since I've seen them. Kevin has been able to visit on his business trips to NC, but me and the kids have missed out. Our kids had a blast playing games with them and chasing them around. We wish they lived closer so we could see them all the time! Jacob is a big skate boarder, so we went out Sunday night to a local park that is famous for skate boarders and ramps. He said he had fun and I was thankful he didn't fall and get hurt since it was my suggestion to go check out the ramps! It was a little strange to be out at a park with the kids at 8pm, but it was kind of nice because it wasn't as hot or crowded. But, it was challenging trying to keep up with them in the dark! We then went to Dairy Queen and had dessert. It was a fun night. We were sad to see them leave the next day! We love you guys and hope you come see us again soon! We want come for a visit and go tubing behind your boat next summer!

Julia playing Lucky Ducks game with the boys

Kevin's brother came up to visit too and Mads just loved sitting in his lap!!!

Julia and Mads at the park

The whole crew (thanks Margo for taking the pic!)