In Case They Ever Wonder

Our kids had a great Thanksgiving. Sophie loved staying up late, being around family and eating sweets. Will loved eating - well, just about everything in sight. This year his favorites were turkey, corn, "snacks" (homemade chex mix), and "balls" (sandtarts). I am so thankful for my two precious turkeys.

The end of November just about ended me. If I was the sort of person who kept a calendar (or who wrote down anything at all other than what I write on this blog), I would have had "x" marks through every plan and appointment on my calendar page. We started the change-of-plans trend in early November by canceling a trip to Franklin to celebrate Matt's birthday two weekends in a row. Little did we know that an extended time at home with no travel craziness would be just what we needed to make it through the last half of the month. The major change of plans began on Saturday the 14th when we got the call that my Aunt Jan would probably not live more than a couple of days. Aunt Jan passed away on Sunday night, not long after my parents arrived to be with her. Though we were very sad for our loss, we are so thankful that she is no longer suffering, and we know that for her it was truly a homecoming. We left soon after for Birmingham, and thus the craziness began. The miles log...

Our bedtime blessings include: - the sweet smell of squeaky clean kiddos - a sister wanting to rock, but having to settle for reading to her brother - Will savoring his last sips of milk till morning - reading wonderful stories to Sophie, a different set each night - Will choosing his favorite books night after night, occasionally allowing me to throw in a new one - whispering heartfelt prayers with each child - singing soft songs and rocking with stars on Will's ceiling - when Sophie wants to sing "You Are My Sunshine" with me - Will saying "night-night" to all the animals on his wall and giving me a kiss before pointing to his bed - getting kisses, hugs, and mooga-moogas (rubbing noses) from Sophie - Will falling asleep with his hand on an Eric Carle book - Sophie reading late into the night with her flashlight, then falling asleep (hopefully before we do) surrounded by dollies - tired parents resting and relaxing (after a little working and clea...

Have a mentioned that my daughter is the biggest scaredy-cat on the face of the earth? I can't say much because at her age, I wasn't much better. (In fact, I'm not much better now...) But this year, she has had total nervous breakdowns in two Halloween specialty stores (both times looking for prop for school, with visits lasting less than 10 minutes), and I have no idea what Target offered for Halloween because we were never able to go anywhere near the aisles. I can't imagine how many people have commented under their breath about "what is wrong with that weird kid" or whispered "she must be home-schooled..." Sophie petrified of the bash site while it was under construction! No decorations or special effects up at this point! At any rate, the irony is that her dad is the least scared or scare-able person I've ever known. (Except for the one show about unplanned pregnancies, but I digress..) Matt, Justin, and their amazing team from Xroads plan...

We were so excited to have the kids' pictures made by a great photographer and a friend of ours from church, Hillary Holder . Hillary is so amazingly kind and patient, and she made the entire experience a pleasure (Very unusual since picture day is usually a day I break out in hives). And my children were very true to form on this particular day, acting like unruly beasts. I jokingly say I am cursed with kids that can be precious, but no one will ever know because they act like hellions whenever they see a camera. I can't think of a time, other than with Hillary, that our picture taking time didn't involve tears! At any rate, after spending the morning with Hillary and the beasts, I remember saying to Matt, "Poor Hillary worked so hard, and there is no way she got any decent shots!" Boy was I wron...

Here are a few of the latest blessings I'm counting about my boy. His favorite animal is currently a newt. (I just love that since he is the only reason I know what a newt is!) He is simultaneously the biggest thug and sweetest boy in the world. He loves his mama. His "lovey" is a coloring/sticker book. He says "shoo, shoo, shoo-ey" and then giggles when I change his diaper - even when it's just wet. He loves his bed and goes to sleep easily, and though not every night often asks me for "songs." His favorites were both written by me, "This Is the Boy That I Love" and "Wild Boy." He often sings along with "Wild Boy." He adores cars and trains. He has a near obsession with Eric Carle books. His favorites include Polar, Bear, Polar Bear , Brown Bear, Brown Bear , and Animals, Animals. Some of his other favorite books are Things That Go, The House That Jack Built, Charlie Parker Plays Be-Bob, I Love You Through and Throug...

Here are a few of the blessings I'm counting about Sophie. She has what must be one of the best giggles on earth. She is truly an amazing reader. She blows me away. As an added blessing, she is often willing to read to Will. She has a compulsion that I do not understand to create. Coloring, painting, gluing, glittering, cutting etc. Every day. She would way rather not eat than not have art time. She makes up beautiful songs and sing them loudly, without embarrassment. She is a wonderful big sister. She is funny, not just "kids say the darnedest things" funny, but actually funny. She is over-the-moon excited about having a baby sister. She talks to her nightly. She is passionate about her love of the color pink. She deeply feels all her feelings and shares them openly with us. She loves to plan parties, including themes, guest lists, activities, food etc. She appreciates a beautiful dress. She thinks in stories. She is my passionate, "little girl with a curl," an...

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama . You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week. Oh my, the pregnancy Not Me Mondays are taking an ugly turn... I am such a huge advocate of reading to children and I've prayed for both kids to love reading, so I would absolutely never hide from my precious son in order to avoid reading Polar Bear, Polar Bear for the fifth time before 10 a.m. I know that my children are watching me and taking their cues from me as they learn to deal with their own emotions, so I would never lose my temper in front of both kids and throw a salt shaker across the room, only to later apologize and hear my daughter say, "That's ok Mama, I sometimes throw things when I'm angry. (Yes, but you are five and we punish you for such behavior...) I know how busy my husband has been with the Halloween Bash, and I truly wanted to make him feel special on his birthday , so I ...

This Halloween did not go exactly as planned. We had lots of big plans and lots of excitement because we were looking forward to Aunt Pammie's visit! We knew that Daddy wouldn't be around as much as usual because of the Axis Halloween Bash, but we thought we had everything timed out so he could enjoy the neighborhood fall festival and trunk-or-treats, see the kiddos in their costumes, and maybe go trick-or-treating to a house or two. Unfortunately, the weather did not cooperate with our well-laid plans. The much-anticipated fall festival (so fun last year) and neighborhood trunk-or-treats were both cancelled due to weather, and though Daddy got to see the kids in their costumes, we were dealing with a precocious princess, a defiant dragon, and rotten weather when he had to leave for the bash! Sophie was going crazy due to the cancelled afternoon activities, so as soon as Will woke up from his nap, I began dressing him in his costume. Big mistake! While Will was wanting to en...