A Beautiful Day for a Polo Match

Today I did a little bartending for a good friend at a charity event. It was family oriented (well, not the bar) so I took the whole clan. The kids got to bounce in bouncy houses and see horses and watch Polo. Mike enjoyed his first live polo match. I wasn't with them most of the time, so I didn't get many pictures but I had to have a least a few!

Another segment of Marci trying to get a good picture of all three kids in one frame...

This one would not have been horrible if you like side view and don't mind the faint beckoning of the port o lettes in the background.

They are all in this one, but the glare makes it almost hard to tell...

And finally we finish with beautiful shot of Dax with his finger up his noise... success I say!

Praises...

No rain for this event. Even though it rained all around it, which I'm sure kept many away, never a drop fell here.

A very slight breeze when I was working, which was an improvement over the earlier shift!

Getting to work with friends!

Enjoying meeting new people too!

The fact that no one asked me to make anything more difficult than a Margarita. (which was poured out of a bottle, so how hard can that be?)

My husband spending my two hour shift with my kids all by himself and never once complaining about it or the heat.

Stopping by Toys r Us afterwards and finding sand!! And seeing the new geotrax pieces...although this did cause a small tantrum.

Favorite moment while in toys r us... Dax really wanted to take home some new geotrax. We talked about putting them on his Christmas list, he said this was not a good idea. Once we'd stopped debating, and i thought he understood that we were not buying anything he simply picked up one of the boxes put it in the cart and said, "ok, lets go" and started walking. My ever constant little observer, Finn, was sitting in the cart. He reached out grabbed a little people item of some sort, tossed it in the back of the cart and nodded his head to say "ok, lets go". Poor guys, they didn't even see it coming when we got to the end of the isle and the cart was somehow miraculously empty!

The crying only lasted a minute.

Gymboree gave me my 30% even though I'd left all four of my friends and family coupons at home.

Lily got the footless tights she needed and as much as I wanted to buy some good bargains for next summer I refrained and only purchased what we came for. Mike was happy about this, but still perplexed on how 30 minutes in Gymboree can be called just "running in".

The amazing fact that even though I did not have the Gymboree coupon with me, I did have the Cold Stone Creamery gift card and stopping by for a special treat that cost $0.79 made it a great ending to the evening.

Even better ending, all three kids were asleep when we got home!

Praises...

Talking to lots of faraway people this week. It seems like since the big kiddo went back to school the phone has been a permanent fixture on my ear. This can have it's down falls like extra "Hi-5"'s on the On Demand, half the 14 framed photos I have being dropped behind the million pound piano, a certain 16 month old learning he can climb into the computer cabinet and toss out the monitor, not to mention pull all the thumb tacks out of the tack board in the back of the cabinet. Which leads to it's own special list of praises...

Having cable TV with a DVR for rerunning the same show as needed as well as noggin, discovery kids, and pbs sprout on Demand.

My piano weighing so much that there is no chance of it tipping over with a 3 year old and 16 month old sitting on top.

I did not hear any breaking glass, so I think all pictures behind piano are intact.

The fact that I mostly cleaned out the computer cabinet not so long ago so there wasn't as much to pick up off the floor as their once might have been. (although it's probably due to it's clean state that he thought he could climb in!)

The thumbtacks did not poke him before I was able to pry each one out of his tight little grip.

The computer monitor still works and is in one piece.

The boys have gotten along very well and have been so much quieter since school started, could be they are simply in stealth mode without the extra set of eyes present!

Finn took off his diaper before climbing into the damp sink to brush his teeth.

My boys have the cleanest teeth in town. They are averaging 3 to 8 brushings a day...is this a good obsession?

Lily has successfully ridden her bike back and forth to school this week. This is the first year we're letting her do this and I'm just a little nervous, but she seems to be doing well.

She is also enjoying fifth grade so far! Prayers that that is a year long thing!

Finn's amazing hugs..they make up for a multitudes of climbing adventures.

Dax explaining to me why every night he must climb on me and wiggle his way into the middle of mommy and daddy in bed. "it's warm and it's safe and I like to be in the middle of you twos."

An evening out with friends, both business and pleasure! I greatly enjoyed my evening out with grown up chatter!

Feeling a little freer after handing over some church duties that I have greatly enjoyed for the last two years to a good friend who so kindly stepped up to take a turn at the reigns. Thank you Nicole, Traci and I are loving you right now!

My kids friends. Lily got to go spend some time watching the big premier of Cheetah Girl's One World with her friend, Bayley. Dax got a sweet phone call from his buddy Max. I love that these friends are good kids with parents I like!

A 3 year old that loves his sister so much(at least tonight) that he tried to convince us not to "make her go to Bayley's" because "Lily doesn't want to go to Bayley's, she is scared of Bayley". Truth be told the kid wanted to watch the Cheetah girls with his sis. At least he didn't think it was as cool to watch it alone... good cover little guy! Is it sad to admit we watched it even though she wasn't here?

God is answering prayers through people who don't even know it. Now if I will only open myself up.

A husband I enjoy talking with anytime we have quiet moments where we can actually hear each other!

Another first week of school that has gone well. It's the beginning of fall, probably my favorite time of the year...the smells, the leaves crunching, the football games echoing from the High School, new shows coming back on, being able to where long sleeves, shorts sleeves or anything you want! I know this year fall is a little harder without my Dad, especially for my mom. I pray that the memories that circle around us will be good ones that make us laugh. I pray that my mom know just how grateful we are to have her in our lives and how much we miss being close enough to hug her.

I am so grateful for unlimited long distance and bloggy connections!

It was going to be...but it's not

It was going to be just a short post with a few words and two pictures. I think you've figured out by now that I have editing issues with both words and pictures. I've just uploaded 7 pictures instead of 2. I was simply going to state that today was Lily's first day of 5th grade. Fifth grade? That seems impossible. I was going to show you a picture of my shy little girl on her first day of preschool when she was three and follow it by a picture of this same girl this morning. But, well, on my way to find the preschool picture had to go through the album and the summer that led up to preschool and I couldn't stop myself...I had to share...it's a sickness really.

This was Lily's very favorite 3 year old dress. It actually had a name. It was two words like cha cha dress or something. I wish I could remember. It may not have been important at the time, but it seems like info I'd like to know! You mom's of little people, write this stuff down, you will care later! I remember it was some hoity toity European designer dress we bought on eBay and she wore it as often as I would let her! Notice I black & whited the first two so they wouldn't blind you, but it would be an injustice not to include at least one color picture!These are "boing boing" curls. They required a night of sleeping with her hair in rag rolls. She loved this! Somehow, I can't seem to get her to do this now!

It's hard to believe this cute little thing is the same child who at three put both hands on her hips one morning before preschool and told me in a very dramatic voice, "You just don't understand me! No one will ever understand me!!! Although that was a much more accurate prediction of what was to come than hats and boing boing curls!

So here they are the two pictures I've been getting to...

Look how terrified she was. She was so shy! I know if you know her now that is hard to believe, but she was. She used to clutch the back of my pants legs and hide behind me if anyone dared to say "hi" to her. People at our old church weren't even sure she spoke. People at our current church wonder if she ever stops! =) She was fine that day. Once she made it to school and saw her buddy, Joe, life was good. I cried a little, but not too much. I knew she was ready, and I knew it was good for her.

This morning her daddy dropped her off at the door early, before the doors even opened. She happily waited on her friends and loved socializing. She came out with a smile and tales of a wonderful day and wonderful days to come. I think i even had an outfit a bit similar to hers back in the '80s when I was in the 5th grade.

That first day and this day and every first day of school in between I picked her up, we went to lunch and then a movie. We threw in a bit of shopping for girl things that I couldn't even have imagined shopping for when she was three. I sat across the table from her at lunch and listened to her first day tales with the same intense curiosity as I did all those years ago. I found myself wondering when did she grow up so much?. All of the sudden this girl is talking about things I'm enjoying talking about, she's running out of the theater to get popcorn and soda refills without even a thought of shyness, she's reading my mind before the words can even come out when it comes to helping with her brothers. The past few years have been hard. For 7 years she was an only child of parents who wanted nothing more than to be her parents. The boys have changed things. They have made me less patient with her. They have made me expect more of her. They have taken away her spotlight. These things have their pros and cons. I think she will be a better person because of them, kinder, more responsible, but that doesn't mean I don't miss that little girl that she was. I value these girl moments, they don't come nearly as often as they once did. When did she get so beautiful? She was a beautiful baby and little girl, but it seems the last years are hazy for me. Today, for the first time in a long time I saw her. This incredibly beautiful girl who was once my baby and who will one day be my friend, but for the moment is just the child that God made her.

Sunday in the Parks with babes

This morning in church (at the park) I couldn't resist reaching into my bag for my camera during the service. I asked my husband if he could hear the shutter. He said yes, but "it wasn't obnoxious". I couldn't help documenting how my yard sale find was enhancing my boys church time...and how the sunlight was streaming so beautifully through the trees...

Who would have thought that a pop up table with drink holders would give me a good 10 extra minutes of quieter church moments. I then took this one so that I could remember to ask a question about fruit snacks... If Welsh's fruit snacks are made of real fruit and can be counted as a serving of fruit, if your child eats 6 bags a day, does this fulfill his fruit/veggie requirement? =)

At that point I was feeling guilty that I was taking pictures during the service and decided that parental voice inside my head that was tsk tsking and saying something like, "how disrespectful to be snapping kid pics during the service" got the better of me and I put away the camera. I did this just in time to hear the minister begin the sermon and my darling son say "Hey, can you wind this up?" I looked up, slightly horrified, to see the minister glance our way and Dax handing Mike a wind up car. At that moment I just prayed that no one else heard him, although it was quiet, and his voice wasn't so much. So if you were there, did you hear him?

So, I made it through the service. I actually got a lot out of the sermon after my kids went to Sunday School and Mike and Finn took a bit of a walk. I even thought how can I blog this. It was on God's timing, which I'm getting to be a big fan of, although I do still struggle with patience. Maybe one day I'll re listen to that sermon and write a little ditty on how great it was. I digress. Seems I'm standing all innocently during the benediction. Ok, not exactly standing, I was more perusing the grassy areas around us, searching for all the toys and garbage we had littered the land with, when my girlfriend came up behind me and pointed out a grand photo moment. How could I help at the prodding of friends, not get the camera right back out. At least the service was over when I took it out this time and took a few shots of my kids and hers playing in the dirt. Nothing says Sunday morning at church like burying your feet in the dirt!
She had to take her little people home for a bath I just took mine to a little dive/diner for breakfast. As my kids would say, "God made dirt, dirt don't hurt". They picked up that little piece of wisdom from their dad. It's a phrase he commonly uses it when he picks the pacifier up off the ground and sticks it right back in Finn's mouth. (If you're ewwing right now, come back after you have three kids and it won't bother you so much!)

Hey look, it's fruit of the day #2! The decor may not be much, but the food is good and the people are nice and don't mind our mess. We've been going here alot after church this summer. We fill everyone up then drive around till the little ones fall asleep so that we can all have Sunday afternoon naps. God did say Sundays were a day of rest, right?

After rest we headed out in search of sand to refill the sand box. Still a no go! My son is going to have convulsions if he doesn't get sand soon! So we got ice cream at Dairy Queen instead and headed to a local park. Ice cream seemed to divert Dax from a sand fit. In the four years since we've lived here my husband had never been to this park, he wasn't even sure how to get there! How sad!

Here is Finn coming down the slide on his own. This was the shot I got as he sped down. May not have been what I was after, but I love it!

I tried to get a nice picture of all three of my kids together. This really ought to be a regular segment of my blog until I get it right! Marci's attempt at three kids in one frame" If you look carefully, they are all there...

Ok, so maybe two out of three?

Or if all else fails, lets just do them one at a time... Just to answer your question, because I don't scrapbook and someday I will actually print this blog. When I post so many pics in one blog I can just hear the "why does she post so many huge pictures?? " And just so you know, since getting my new camera for Christmas I have taken more than 5000 pictures, so actually I'm sparing you quite a bit! 5000+ pictures and I have printed exactly 5. Does someone have some sort of print phobia help or advice? I'm in need!

Olympics, Praises, and Stinkin' Marshmallows...

So, tonight, once again I find myself watching the Olympics on the edge of my chair. Michael Phelps. His name is sort of a sentence all on it's own. It says strength, determination, faith. What struck me though, and I'm not sure if I'm totally alone in this thought, was what about his mom? There she was in the stands, you could see her beaming, her pride in her son just brimming over. I guess maybe because I'm a little too old and well, just not exactly constructed for Olympic competition that I wouldn't necessarily put myself in Michael's shoes. Maybe it's because I am the mother of three amazing kids who I think could do anything. That I could jump into hers.

Maybe I have an Emmy award winning actress, or, well, do they have Olympic medals for climbing? Maybe I have a Nobel peace prize winner or the inventor of something incredible. Maybe this is why I immediately identified with Michael's mother. Without her, would he be where he is? Without God would she be where she is? It is not just a work of coincidence or of nature. I can't for a minute believe it's a simple fluke. God sent this child to this mother and this mother saw his gift and gave him the tools and the love he needed to fulfill his gift. She had to have allowed God to work through him. She had to have faith to hand him over to the pool. I did a little Googling on Deborah Phelps and found this interesting article on what kind of kid Michael was. It wasn't what I expected. He was not a scholar, or a well behaved little child. He suffered from A.D.H.D. and he was not a favorite of his teachers. It wasn't till he was almost a tween till they discovered his gift. I guess what I'm slightly bummed about is that in my googling I could not find some wonderful interview in which Michael and/or Deborah Phelps give all the glory of Michel's amazing gifts to God, because in my mind, that is where they belong. I had to remind myself that he seems to be a pretty humble guy and it's really not my business to judge his faith based on results of Googling "Michael Phelps faith in God". That is between he and the big guy. Back to the mom thing..so here is my question, and maybe a bit my paranoia. What if each and everyone of our children has a gift like Phelps? What if each of our beautiful babies has the God given gift to do something of greatness? What if Deborah Phelps had listened to his teachers and just chalked him up to a kid with issues that would never be able to focus on anything? What if she'd never taken him to the pool?

What about my kids? How do I know what their gifts truly are? I know Dax and Lily have gifts with body art and sharpies. I know that Lily used to hoard all sorts of things I deemed garbage in order to create art with...what if deterring this hobby because it drove me nuts was derailing her gift? What if Dax's monkey like climbing and insane upper body strength are leading him to greatness? What if Finn's champion fine motor skills will create a fine surgeon. What if somewhere in Lily's incessant talking there is hidden the cure for cancer? Or if Dax's "secret" Bean Car is the answer to the alternative fuel quest? What if I'm squelching them? What if I'm annoyed by the very skills that could facilitate my kids 8 gold medals? Help!

I then found this quote from Debbie Phelps. "As I look back, one of the hardest things I had to do with raising my son and both my two daughters was to trust they would be okay without me always by their side as they grew older. Like all mothers, we just want our children to be happy, safe and to excel in what they enjoy most. And as a mom, we do everything we can to make that possible."

And I thought...ok, I'm right there with her. And, I'm open. I'm struggling hard to listen to God's voice, to open my eyes to his plan for not just me, but for them as well. I'm praying fervently and now I will add to that prayer not just for him to use them for his perfect works but to open my eyes to the great gifts he has instilled in them. I will continue to pray for the resources to help them to grow those gifts and his grace in not allowing my mistakes to derail his plans for them. I will mostly remind myself daily that his love for them is bigger than mine could ever be, than I could ever even fathom. They are not mine, they are his. He put them in my care because that was part of the master plan. these children are perfect for me. Michael was perfect for her. Even our failures will teach them, will be part of His great plan.

I would be so incredibly proud to be Michael's mother. Honestly though, I am more proud to be Lily, Dax, and Finn's mother, because they were formed by His hands to be pieces of my heart, and for that I give God all the glory!


Praises...

Another beautiful summer day.

A very handsome, healthy new life!

A baby with the best hugs ever and one new tooth!

A husband who will take two kids to the store and make dinner

God's way of keeping me here instead of driving all the way to Indiana just to get a horrible cold and not be able to hold that beautiful little boy!

Everyone in my house having pretty good attitudes even with all the sneezing a nose blowing going on here (sorry if that was too much info)

The delight kids get out of $10 inflatable swimming pools

Chatting with mom and her having such a pleasant night last night with my brother and sister in law

Getting my hands on the DVDs for our new Bible Study. I'm only partway into the first one, but I'm already amazed by how in depth it is! I've not done Beth Moore before...this ought to be a new world for me!

Making the time this summer to dive into His word and listen better. I pray i can keep going as school starts

Lily's incredible excitement about going back to school (even thought the discussion of it is endless!)

Being able to sit and watch the Olympics and enjoy the time with my husband (at least between interruptions from half sleeping children!)

Life. How it just keeps going and how it's filled with such beauty if you choose to open your eyes to it!

Dax quote of the day....

"I NEED ONE MORE STINKIN' MAR SH MEL LOW!!!

Please! Please! justonemorestinkingmarshmallow!

I just need another marshmallow, just one, please

snif snif, mumble in a whiny meek voice... "I just wanted one more marshmallow, just one stinking marshmallow"

Praises...

Wow, did you see the Olympics tonight? Isn't it amazing to live somewhere that we are free to choose to watch these amazing games? Isn't it a great thing to feel such pride in your athletes who are not doing it for the billions, but for the love of the sport. I love seeing people using the gifts God gave them and being able to say to my kids, "look at that! You can do anything you set your mind to as long as you have God with you!"

Healthy children with no broken bones. We had a bit of a scare this week with a possible broken arm and a trip to urgent care. Turned out Dax's arm was not broken. This was a good outcome for his sister, since she was just in a tad bit of trouble for grabbing his arm so hard during a wrestling match.

A little boy with the pain tolerance of a rock. My guy came to me and just said "I hurt, I hurt, I hurt". I picked him up, put an ice pack under his elbow and he sat on my lap and giggled until I tried to move his fingers which brought forth a bit of a shriek.

Doctors and nurses who are quick, efficient, and have a good bedside manor.

Xray techs who can pop a "nursemaid's elbow" also known as Radial head subluxation back into place without even trying, causing a 3 year old boy to feel oh so much better!

Seeing my guy bounce back and forgive the big sister who caused the injury. He knew I wasn't happy with Lily and after we returned home from the Doctors and a run through McDonald's (I know, healthy...) he followed me into his bedroom and said "mommy, when we were at McDonald's Lily said she was sorry and I told her it was ok."

A daughter who apologizes behind my back. I can think of worse things she could be doing behind my back.

Phone calls. the last few days I have enjoyed catching up with a few people I love I haven't talked to for a bit...there are still a few out there I need to track down!

The anticipation of new life. My friend Amy is having a baby tomorrow. She has posted a couple of posts that have made me a bit weepy remembering those feelings. I am blessed for knowing her family and even though they are far away my thoughts and prayers are with them even if I can't be!

Beautiful, not horribly hot and sticky August days. I love these sweet warm sunny days before school starts as the summer counts down.

Lots of journal writing, someday maybe I'll get as far as putting some of it into a blog, but for the moment I'm grateful for the time and hands to get it out!

My brother and sister in law for always being there to take care of things faraway.

Remembering my Dad. This week his golf league took time to remember him with a lilac bush and squirt bottles for everyone. They all took a turn spraying his tree and each other in remembrance of hot summer days when my dad would provide the bucket of squirt bottles and the beginnings of water fights and laughter. I only wish I could have witnessed one of these events!

Those boys, they are at it again...

They look innocent, don't they?

Last night Finn started shrieking while we were fixing dinner. I found him sitting in the bathroom sink holding all of our tooth brushes, "brushing his teeth".

I'm not sure what the shrieking was about. He didn't want out and he fought me tooth and nail for the toothbrushes. Man that boy is strong, just like another one I know...

He could be the reason the always closed bathroom door was open. He was put in time out in his room this morning, only for me to go three minutes later to release him to see him standing in his open doorway. We've been doing time out on his bed, but there have been a few moments like this morning where I was in the middle of something and he needed a time out so I set him on his bed and closed the door. His door is equiped with one of those handy dandy child proof door knob covers on the inside of it. This is supposed to keep him in, right? So if I can't stand beside him and restart the timer every time he climbs out of bed, he at least can't leave the room. Right... So he looks up at me with those big blue eyes and says "I not like that thing on my door, Mama. I take it off, it's under my bed, wanna see it?" He then climbs under and produces child proof handle which he has dismantled. I guess the praise would be that I'm blessed with a very intelligent problem solver who did not leave his room, but waited till his time was over to share his exciting stroke of genius with his mama.

We had some sweet moments as I was supposed to be cleaning up the living room. There were a set of white sheets I was taking downstairs when I noticed the amazing sunlight streaming in the living room window. So, instead of finishing with my chores (and I must tell you this is where the "cleaning the house" part of the week took a sharp turn down a deep slope) I spread out a sheet on the floor/rocker and offered to take the boys pictures while they played in the sheets.

They added the ducks...

They looked so cute and pleased with each other...

and then it took a turn for the worse. Notice the faces...

It's not often a mom can get this kind of escalation on film to share with the blog world!




Caught in the act! This may be my favorite picture of the day. I think Sophie would like to warn you that no matter how sweet and innocent these boys look it can change in an intant! Before you know it they will be poking your eye, pulling your ears, or shoving something in your nose, maybe even climbing on you or dressing you up in a silly costume, so run fast, or duck and cover!

Taking Pictures in the Park...

Are you tired of this pose yet?

Let me show you what comes after...

It's sweet and sour all at the same time, isn't it, Allie?


This was one of my favorites of the morning...

Someone should tell a wanna be photographer that the place to start is not with five young children! If you could only see all 70 some pictures I took out at the park after church, you too would laugh. I did manage to capture a bit of personality...

Was almost perfect, till I noticed the stroller in the back round!!

Then I made the mistake of saying that out loud. Everyone took notes. Finn thought he'd go move it. Mike got to make a cameo...

Then the boys staged a revolt. Or should I say Dax did and took Finn along for the ride. If you don't have boys, you are really missing out...

So, we may not have managed 5 sparkling smiles all facing the camera, but we have lots of shots of those moments in time that will make us giggle for years to come!