Soon she won't be asking me to play Candy Land with her
Soon she'll be too big to want a piggy back ride
Soon she won't be grabbing my legs and holding on for dear life
Soon she'll want to be alone in her room, not wanting me to rub her back and sing to her
Soon she'll forget all about sitting in my lap or asking for "special Mommy time"
Soon other things will be far more interesting than my face, my smile, my laugh
God, give me wisdom to be a good mommy.
Thank you for the tremendous opportunity to be in their lives. I surely do not deserve them.
Remind me daily that giving of my time is more important than a clean house or a fancy dinner.
Help me to be a good example to them... help me be who You want me to be.
Saturday, August 29, 2009
I'm So Excited I Can't Stand It
We've had a couple of very exciting weeks around here. Last Tuesday, Angela, Cameron, and Caleb flew up to visit us for 5 days. The kids were SO excited that they could hardly stand it. We made a paper chain with links = number of days till The Day, and they were very diligent about making sure a link got taken off every morning until The Day. Josie actually jumped up and down and yelled, "I'm so excited I can't stand it!" Roy took me to the airport to pick them up (I still hate driving to the airport) and it was all very surreal when they got here... I don't know why. Angela thinks it's because we've always known each other (well, she's known me since she was 4 months old, and I've known her my entire life) and yet she was never an actual part of my life here - or at least she didn't know what my life was LIKE here. Anyway, the boys and girls got along famously from the very beginning... we were expecting that they'd get tired of each other, but nope. They played and played and played some more. On Wednesday, we had a beach day (which was also Adelaide's very first "play in the sand" at the beach day. She tried to eat some of it, but she mainly wanted to walk out in the water until it was up to her nose. That night, Jesse bravely babysat all 5 of them while Angela and I went out for sushi and a night on the town... it was the first time we'd been out ALONE for YEARS, and it was great. My favorite part was sitting in the cheapo massage chairs in the mall, watching people and making fun of ourselves and the pickle in the floor next to my seat.
On Thursday we went to the zoo with an entourage of people - Becky and her kids, Sarah, Aunt Cindy, Grandma, Melissa and Caroline, Jessica and Haley... the list kept growing and growing! But it was fun. Hard to stay together, but fun! The giraffes were a big hit (they came right up to the fence) and the dinosaurs were too (for all but Caleb - he was not impressed).
We took pictures of him with Ireson, and the similarity was AMAZING. I've been saying all along how much they look alike, but having them stand right next to each other was really weird! Later we went to the "Mariachi Band's House" for supper and then over to Mama's house. On Friday, we stayed home all day then went to the Village Market for facepainting (again, Caleb was not impressed - he got a balloon penguin instead... but I was called an Old Lady for the first time by a 7 year old) then we headed to Beth and Roy's house for Teagan's birthday party. Angela said that hanging out at their house was probably her favorite part of the trip - I think it's so cool that she likes my Ohio family so much. :)Saturday we left on a very long, somewhat eventful car ride... Caleb and Cameron got the carsick gene from their parents (Angela was AWFUL in the car when we were growing up... I still point out places on the side of the road when we're in NC - "Oh, hey... there's where Angela threw up once!") and we had one 'incident' on the WV Turnpike; of course, those curves could make anybody sick. Anyway, we stopped 4 times, we ate, we went to the bathroom, we cleaned up the car, we took our time. It took 11 hours to get home, but I used some meditation techniques and didn't get all freaked out. :) Plus, the kids really were very good for the most part and Angela and I got a lot of talking and "Millionaire" playing done.
The week in NC was fun... Chass and I had a birthday cookout, Grandma fed Adelaide so much that I found biscuit crumbs in her belly button, we got to swim in Papaw's pool, Mamaw told a gazillion stories to Sadie (Sadie just cannot get enough of her 
stories - Sylvia's going to have to write a book!), Adelaide was scared of Bayleigh at first but then Bayleigh gave her a toy and said, "Here go" and Adelaide said, "Taint Tu," and they were big buddies. Grandma took us out for a birthday lunch, we ate chicken and dumplins', played with Kimmie, Noah, Dalton, Hailey, and Lauren, went up the mountain and visited the cheese factory, Daddy worked on my car for me, and my Girls (not the kids...my grown up girls) took me out for my birthday, where I proceeded to get cake smashed in my face by a bunch of laughing Hispanic waiters. Ahh...good times.
Sunday, August 16, 2009
My Favorite Part was the Bus
Last weekend we went with a group of people from church for a 7 mile canoe trip. Sadie had been once before and loved it, and Josie was especially looking forward to her first time in a boat (and on a bus - they take you to a drop off spot in an old school bus). We were all looking forward to it, since it was supposed to be sunny and around 84 degrees. Weeelll... that did not happen. Dressed in our shorts, tank tops, and donning our bug spray and sunscreen, we were dismayed to be about 2 
minutes into our trip when the downpour came and proceeded to pelt us with water for the remaining 6 7/8 miles. Josie was pretty much freaked out the entire time. She was terrified of tipping over (she said, "I did not think it would be so tippy!"), even though the water was pretty shallow through most parts of the river (and by shallow, I mean we could use our paddles to push with instead of using them to row with). She cried because of the rain, because of the rocks, because she was cold... you get the idea. Here is a quote for you: "I do not like the rain! I do not like this boat! I do not like the cold! I do not like this water! I do not like this trip! I want to go to the party! How far is the party!? How many more minutes?!" And from Sadie, when Josie was whining and squealing from an 'almost tip' incident: "It's okay, Josie. Even if you fall in, you can stand up, and you can't get much wetter than you already are anyway!" Good point. She was so calm and helpful and great to have along!
Jesse decided to prolong our suffering by trying to FISH in the rain, and so we had to just float along instead of paddling as fast as we could and get it over with. Twice we had to turn around because he got his line snagged... Let me just say that he is lucky to come home with his poles intact. :) We passed the time by counting water lilies (we ended up with 61) and looking for snakes, muskrats, and cranes. FINALLY, we got to the dock area (about an hour behind everyone else) and ate the leftovers while we tried to dry out by the fire. Sadie had a good time burning sticks and leaves and everything else she could get her hands on while she thawed them out. On the way home we asked Josie if she liked the trip and she answered emphatically, "NO! My favorite part was the BUS!"
minutes into our trip when the downpour came and proceeded to pelt us with water for the remaining 6 7/8 miles. Josie was pretty much freaked out the entire time. She was terrified of tipping over (she said, "I did not think it would be so tippy!"), even though the water was pretty shallow through most parts of the river (and by shallow, I mean we could use our paddles to push with instead of using them to row with). She cried because of the rain, because of the rocks, because she was cold... you get the idea. Here is a quote for you: "I do not like the rain! I do not like this boat! I do not like the cold! I do not like this water! I do not like this trip! I want to go to the party! How far is the party!? How many more minutes?!" And from Sadie, when Josie was whining and squealing from an 'almost tip' incident: "It's okay, Josie. Even if you fall in, you can stand up, and you can't get much wetter than you already are anyway!" Good point. She was so calm and helpful and great to have along! Jesse decided to prolong our suffering by trying to FISH in the rain, and so we had to just float along instead of paddling as fast as we could and get it over with. Twice we had to turn around because he got his line snagged... Let me just say that he is lucky to come home with his poles intact. :) We passed the time by counting water lilies (we ended up with 61) and looking for snakes, muskrats, and cranes. FINALLY, we got to the dock area (about an hour behind everyone else) and ate the leftovers while we tried to dry out by the fire. Sadie had a good time burning sticks and leaves and everything else she could get her hands on while she thawed them out. On the way home we asked Josie if she liked the trip and she answered emphatically, "NO! My favorite part was the BUS!"
Jokers
Sadie: "Mommy, what do tweezers do?"
Josie: "Silly. They TWEEZE!"
Josie: "That lady had 3 babies in their, in their stroller. Three babies and they are all the same!"
Sadie: "Did she have a litter?"
Josie: "Silly. They TWEEZE!"
Josie: "That lady had 3 babies in their, in their stroller. Three babies and they are all the same!"
Sadie: "Did she have a litter?"
Monday, August 10, 2009
Doot!
Adelaide's favorite word (aside from the obvious, "Ma-ma, which she says at least 300 times a day) is "Doot." I'm not really sure exactly what it means, but it can be used as a noun, verb, exclamation, question... whatever she feels like using it for at the moment. You might hear her 
chanting "Doot, doot, doot," as she chugs down the hall on her chubby little legs, or yelling "DOOT!" at one of her sisters when they tick her off. Whatever it means, it is funny. I'm beginning to think of it like "smurf." You know, "A smurf in the hand is smurf two in the smurf."
A few weeks ago her inner clown came out when I was bending over next to her crib to turn on her CD player (she listens to a lullaby CD when she's napping). Already in her crib, she snuck up behind me and poked me on the butt as hard as she could. I said, "Whoo-hoo!" and she nearly fell over laughing at her own cleverness. Ever since that day, the poking has been a much-looked-forward-to part of her every day routine. Her other new thing is blowing raspberries on me wherever she can get her mouth on naked skin. This includes my arms, shoulders, chest, head, chin, wherever. Then she laughs and laughs and is thoroughly pleased with herself. So am I, for that matter - she's such a goof.
chanting "Doot, doot, doot," as she chugs down the hall on her chubby little legs, or yelling "DOOT!" at one of her sisters when they tick her off. Whatever it means, it is funny. I'm beginning to think of it like "smurf." You know, "A smurf in the hand is smurf two in the smurf." A few weeks ago her inner clown came out when I was bending over next to her crib to turn on her CD player (she listens to a lullaby CD when she's napping). Already in her crib, she snuck up behind me and poked me on the butt as hard as she could. I said, "Whoo-hoo!" and she nearly fell over laughing at her own cleverness. Ever since that day, the poking has been a much-looked-forward-to part of her every day routine. Her other new thing is blowing raspberries on me wherever she can get her mouth on naked skin. This includes my arms, shoulders, chest, head, chin, wherever. Then she laughs and laughs and is thoroughly pleased with herself. So am I, for that matter - she's such a goof.
Thursday, August 06, 2009
Splish Splash
We went with Jesse on a business trip Monday night and we ended up having a little impromptu mini-vacation. It was fun because with 3 little kids, you rarely do 
anything that's spontaneous! We stayed at a hotel with an indoor pool, then we visited a gigantic waterpark (I mean, GARGANTUAN) and the kids had a blast. Sadie was an inch too short to ride the big rides (I was a bit relieved, to be honest) but 
she went on EVERYTHING that they'd allow her on, and Jesse had fun taking her up the stairs and down the slides... she's not afraid of anything. I'm glad he took her, because I am and always have been PETRIFIED of water slides. Too much can go wrong, I always say! I remember getting flipped around and whacking my head on the side of one of those curly slides when I was a kid, and that was on dry ground! Josie was mad because she was still too short to go on many of the slides, but the ones she could get on, she loved. She didn't like wearing a life-jacket, though... and I didn't blame her because you had to hook the bottom strap between your legs and boy, did it look uncomfortable!! Adelaide had fun splashing around in the baby pools and play area, and we all liked the giant indoor wave pool. Jesse's favorite part was room service, I think :) Anyway, the kids were great in the car... it's so nice having kids that don't fight and yell "are we there yet?" the whole time you're on the road... I'm glad we started traveling with them early and training them well from the beginning!
anything that's spontaneous! We stayed at a hotel with an indoor pool, then we visited a gigantic waterpark (I mean, GARGANTUAN) and the kids had a blast. Sadie was an inch too short to ride the big rides (I was a bit relieved, to be honest) but 
she went on EVERYTHING that they'd allow her on, and Jesse had fun taking her up the stairs and down the slides... she's not afraid of anything. I'm glad he took her, because I am and always have been PETRIFIED of water slides. Too much can go wrong, I always say! I remember getting flipped around and whacking my head on the side of one of those curly slides when I was a kid, and that was on dry ground! Josie was mad because she was still too short to go on many of the slides, but the ones she could get on, she loved. She didn't like wearing a life-jacket, though... and I didn't blame her because you had to hook the bottom strap between your legs and boy, did it look uncomfortable!! Adelaide had fun splashing around in the baby pools and play area, and we all liked the giant indoor wave pool. Jesse's favorite part was room service, I think :) Anyway, the kids were great in the car... it's so nice having kids that don't fight and yell "are we there yet?" the whole time you're on the road... I'm glad we started traveling with them early and training them well from the beginning!
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