Santa?...how did he.....?

*Daddy and his baby girl*
*the beginings of a messy room*
*we have this down pat now*
*Cool new stuff*
*How does this work?*
* Our Little Drummer boy*


Well last night we celebrated Christmas at our house. The kids and I made cookies yesterday afternoon and then piled some on a plate to put by the tree. We had to get the kids out of the house so we could get the presents under the tree. So we did what any family would do- we went to see Santa. Now you have to realize we have not taken the kids to see Santa before. I know, I know- you are sitting there with your mouth gaping opes, that we have never taken our 4 year old before. We were always going out of town or had a small infant with us, and really never wanted to try the whole screaming thing. Last night was great. There was a little line, but it moved pretty quickly (for a Santa line). The boys went right up and sat next to him, but Riley??? NOOOOO was her comment. It came more in the form of a terrified look on her face and a huge wail. So we have pictures of Santa and the boys. No need to torture the little girl. He was not a really good Santa, by the way. There was a better one there a few weekends ago. This one didn't really interact with the kids at all. He just sat there to pose for the pictures. I was kind of sad. While we looked at the toy train next to Santa's house, we got a phone call that someone had been in our house. So we head home to see what had happened. only to find presents under the tree and stockings all filled up. The boys ate the rest of the cookies Santa left behind and then dove into the presents. It was so much fun. The boys opened one gift after another and then settled on their music sets to play with. Riley had fun with Daddy opening her gifts. She actually started opening them herself. At her 1st birthday, she was unsure what to do. She has got it now! We really only got the kids one toy this year. I knew they would get some from the grandparents, so we got them books and clothing. But they love to get clothes! They will put all their new things on and have fun trying them on. Makes it easier on me! So now today I am doing laundry and packing for our Christmas up in Kentuckiana. From our family to yours- May you have a blessed time with family and friends, filled with love and laughter. Merry Christmas!!

This is what happens..

when mommy forgets to make sure the bathroom door is closed. I was loading the dishwasher and I hear the laugh, only to find my precious daughter on the floor pulling bandaids out of boxes and tossing them in the air. She was so upset when I cleaned up her artwork.

Family going on's

Well there have been a few interesting things happening around here. On Saturday morning, Caleb woke up at 6:30 and was whimpering as he came in our room. When I asked him what was wrong he said that Santa didn't come- there were no presents under the tree. I just looked at him and said -it's not time for Christmas presents yet. We still have a few days, Santa will come later, not today-don't worry. That seemed to make things better, but instead of going back to bed, we were up for the day (grr...). It really was a sweet moment, marred by the early morning rise. :)

Riley has begun saying more things. She says whats this or whats that. She can also say Christmas tree (ismus tee), snowman (sowmn), daddy, hie ya (think power rangers/martial arts), and bop. Unfortunately there is still no mama. One day I will be called by her. She loves to dance too! You put music on and she will find the rhythm and go to town. I will try to catch her on video to put on here. Once she and the boys see the camera it is all cheese and no play. :)

On the other hand the boys have begun calling me mom. How sad is that? A 4 and 2 1/2 year old saying mom instead of mommy. I am really not ready for that but sometimes it sounds pretty cute. The other day I told Caleb not to do something and his response was "Awww, mom!". Made me laugh. Now that Caleb is getting older, I am sure there will be may more changes.

We are having Christmas here tomorrow night, that way we can get our family presents done before heading up to Indiana. I think we will get the boys in the car for church and then put the presents under the tree so it looks like Santa came while we were at church. Then we will leave to Indiana on Thursday. I will post some pictures before we eave on Thursday of our cookie making time and then of our Christmas.

A Wonderful Visit

We were blessed to have our friends, The Noel's, stop and stay with us for a night on their way to Kentucky. The boys were so excited to see Claire and Emilyn. They had such a wonderful time playing together. We got to meet Allie Ann for the first time and as you can see in the pictures Caleb had fun playing with her and Ian helped to change her diaper and get her dressed. WE tried letting them sleep in the same room, but they were just to excited to be back together to even try and sleep. The boys were sad when they left this morning, but they perked up when we told them they would get to see Claire, Emi and Allie when we went to Grandmas house. So that made the goodbyes so much easier. We are so glad that we will still be able to see the Noel's often. IT may not be the same as it was before, but we will take it!

New Adventure

Nothing huge, but I gave all 3 kids a bath at the same time this morning. I did it in their tub, but from now on will do it in ours. It was a little tight. They had fun. The boys played like they always do and Riley either watched or read books. After I got the boys hair washed I did Riley's and for once she didn't fight me. I laid her back and she watched the boys as they talked to her. I got her hair rinsed and the only bad thing was when Ian splashed and it got on Riley's face. All in all it was pretty easy. So maybe we will do a 3 kid bath for a while, at least till Riley is old enough to notice there is something different about the boys. :) I didn't get to take any pictures of it. Our camera is draining batteries like crazy, so not sure what is wrong with it. Hopefully I can get it fixed and get some on here. Have a wonderful day everyone!

Caleb's Birthday Party

We celebrated Caleb's birthday on the 9th. Most of our families came down for the party and then a trip to Chuck E. Cheese. He made out like a bandit this year. He got cool stuff from everyone. He was so funny when opening presents. He would unwrap the gift, go "wow, that's cool- Thanks!" and then put them in a pile and move on. I think it really only took him maybe 10 min to open all the gifts. There was no admiring them or playing with them. He was on a mission. Then we had cake. He decided he wanted a Spider-man cake, so I attempted the craziness and it turned out pretty good. It takes a long time to decorate and your hand will get tired, so be prepared if you decide to make it! I got the candles on the cake and I put it down in front of him and he started singing Happy Birthday to himself, so we all joined in. I guess he thought we were taking to long. :)
There is a picture of him in his new bike/skateboard helmet and pads. He loves them and was so happy when he got them all scuffed up. I didn't get any pictures at Chuck E. Cheese, but they had a blast. They danced to the music and played tons of games. We still have plenty of tokens left over for the next trip. It turned out to be a great first TN birthday. Next year I am sure we will have tons of kids in the pictures too!

Blogger beta

well I have changed our site over to the beta version. So it may take me a little bit to see what I can do on here, near. There may be a few updates coming and some site changes in the near future. Since I have little time during the day to explore and experiment, it may be gradual! If you have changed over to the beta version, what is your favorite thing about it?

How do you..

get a clingy baby to uncling to you? This may sound like an odd question coming from a mom of 3, but the boys were pretty much independent and did their own thing. Little miss on the other hand...well- we are going nuts!! If I am not holding her, she is crying. If I leave the room, she is screaming and crying. When we drop her off for bible class, she is crying. Now I am not talking boo hoo hoo crying, I am talking full fledged screaming, red in the face, not going to stop till you cave in and hold me kind of crying. I love her to death and don't mind holding her, but there comes a time when Mommy needs a break and has to take care of the other kids. She gets so jealous when the boys give me a hug or come near me. So for all you other moms out there- if your child was a tad clingy, how did you deal?

Our home

* Kitchen*
*Master Bedroom*
*Family Room*
*Overstuffed Garage (empty and random boxes)*
* Kids Playroom*
*Boys Room*
*Riley's Room*
*Boys Room*
*Office/ Living Room*

I have gotten a few requests, so here are a few pictures of our home. We are still in the unpacking process and probably will be until the first of the year. It is harder to get things unpacked and put away with 3 kids. But we have our Christmas decorations up and the kids are enjoying them. We don't have any lights outside yet, and not sure if we will this year. It is a really steep room and we don't have a ladder tall enough to get the lights up. I'm not a crazy fan of Matt tying a rope around the chimney and himself to put them up. So maybe next year we will have some pictures of our home all light up.

We are really excited to have Tommy, Michelle, Claire, Emilyn and Allie Ann Noel stopping by on their way to and from KY. We also have the best opportunity to get together with them while we are all up there. I am so glad that Tom and Matt's family are good friends. Caleb and Ian will be so happy to see Claire and Emi. Then We have the Welches stopping by on their long drive back from Boston. So we will get to see Emma and Garrett too! Caleb, Ian and Riley get the best Christmas presents this year! So do Matt and I- getting to see some of our best friends. It is the little things that make us happy!

Pre-K Ho-Hum's

I had a disapointing day yesterday. TN has this great program that they are implementing across the state: They have public pre-k's at just about every elm school. That is accept for the elm school that our kids will go to! They are unsure when they will recieve the funding to get one, so I have begun researching to find a private pre-k place. Most have waiting lists so there is no gureentee that Caleb will be able to go in the fall. I haven't said anything to him yet as not to disapoint him since I am still looking. So far the prices are pretty reasonable for 2 or 3 days. I am now trying to decide if I can put Ian in a 2 year old program too. We had already planned on that before, when we thought we would be able to get free pre-k for Caleb. It will just be a ton of fun looing around trying to find a good place to put Caleb. The church we have been visiting has a 2year-kindergarten program, but a LONG waiting list so we will have to see how it all works out. Maybe Ian or Riley will get to take advantage of the free pre-k later on!

Things to Ponder

I just read two posts that left me, how should I say, amazed.

Jen always has a wonderful way of articulating her innermost feelings. But they also articulate the things I feel. Her insight and thoughts show me God in her. I know she is a huge blessing to those that know her. Jon is truly a lucky man to have such a wonderful wife! In her post she discusses how many times our sevice to God can "focus on the "what" of activities rather than the service of the Lord Jesus."

In another post that was linked on Indies blog, Jarred quotes a poem and then discusses it. It was a reminder to me that God is everywhere and in everything. In every person I see, god is there. God is in me, and I can be a reminder to someone else or the thing that shows God to them. He is a grad student at ACU.

Hope you enjoy these posts as much as I did. Maybe they will cause some thought processes among you! :)

Prayers

As you noticed, Caleb's birthday post was a tad late. I was laid up at mom and dads on some mighty strong muscle relaxers, pin meds, and something else. Aparently I lifted more than I should have and hurt my siatic nerve. It was quite funny actually- I was hobbled over like an older woman and couldn't stand up for a while. But I am better now and hoping not to do that again. I was worried about a slipped disc or something elase, so hopefully I can learn to not try and do everything and ask for help. Andrea Manor was wonderful and watched the kids for a long time so I could go to the ER. I was so thankful to have friends here to help me out! What a blessing Andrea and Abby were. Caleb can't stop talking about Mrs. Andrea and her Abby.


I have a special prayer request. Please keep the Welches in your prayers. Emma has been sick and Garrett has RSV. Marti is not getting much sleep and the kids are pretty fussy. To top it all off, Matt has not been feeling well either. I know it is tiring when your kids are ill and you don't get much sleep. Please pray for the kids to begin feeling better. Garrett has to do breating treatments, which for a 9 month old is not to easy. Pray for Marti's sanity as she is loosing sleep and is "on demand" every second, plus the worry for her children.

My grandpa is staying with my parents for a while as my grandma heals in NY. She had an infection and became altered so her daughter has Grandma living with her. Grandpa has trouble with his short term memory and has had some trouble adjusting to living with mom and dad for a month. I got to see him while I was there for my back and he is struggling and it is very hard for us all to see him like this. Please pray that he begins to adjust well and that what ever God has planned for him will come to pass in an easy manner.

The Mccord family. I never did an update, but Keith passed away and the memorial and funeral were this past week. I cannot even fathom what Stephanie is feeling or going through. Please pray that God will sustain her faith and strength through this time. Pray that she and Lincoln will find peace and comfort in God and strength in family and friends.

Caleb is 4!

4 years ago I was watching my first child so intently, making sure I did everything right and trying to be the perfect mommy. Who knew 4 years later I would have made several mistakes, faced several challenges and realized- there is no perfect mommy or child. Now I am a proud mommy of a pre-schooler. Caleb is such a joy, a challenge at times, and a wonderful big brother. I couldn't have asked God for a more perfect fit for our family. He is so much like Matt it cracks me up, yet he is just as stubborn as me. We are celebrating his birthday tomorrow with family. He decided on a Spider-man theme so I am making a Spider-man cake. Caleb, you are a pure blessing to our family and we all love you very much!

We're in

What a crazy week this has been! We are officially home owners again. It is nice to have a place to spread out in and call our own. Although the garage is full of boxes and trying to unpack with 3 little ones running around can be a tad insane, we are happy. The neighborhood is great and there are several kids the boys age around us.. Every place we would need to go is with in a 5-10 min drive. Riley has mastered going up the stairs- now only if she would let us teach her how to go down, I wouldn't be as worried. That is a long way to fall and wooden steps make some big bumps. The boys have been asking to get the tree and lights up so I think that will get done before the unpacking! They have been pretty disappointed that the weather has not been good enough to go play in the yard, but they have gotten to use their imaginations well since most of the toys are hidden somewhere in the garage. And let me tell you- Caleb has a good one and Ian is not far behind. Caleb is more of an intellectual imagination while Ian has more of the creative. The things they come up with crack me up.
Caleb is constantly trying to be the parent and tell Ian what to do. When Matt or I call him on it, he tells us that God told him to do it. This afternoon he was getting on to Ian and I asked him to be a good big brother and treat Ian with love and respect. He then tells me that last night God told him in a dream to be mean to Ian, and God wouldn't be happy if he didn't follow directions. :) I thought that was a good one and tried to explain that I was pretty sure that God didn't want him to treat his brother that way. He is turning 4 this week and I am wondering what is in store for the next year! Hope it is as much fun as this one! :)


Lisa has a "Quirk List" on her blog and even though I wasn't tagged I thought it would be neat to do that. I have to ask Matt what is quirky about me, though. I know a few so you will have to look at the next post to read them.

Moving Day

Well tomorrow is our closing for our home. We are really excited and cannot wait to get in there. The boys were a little sad today as we did the final walk through, but had to tell them that we couldn't stay tonight. But as we are doing the final "break-down" of things and finishing getting the apartment packed up, I am full of thanksgiving. Our Heavenly Father has blessed our move here, and given us a closer marriage, and a new place to call home with the ability to meet new people and make some friends. Nashville will finally start to feel like home tomorrow. Hopefully soon we will be able to find a church home too. We love going to Otter Creek but will be looking in the Hermitage/Mt. Juliet area for possible places to go. So as of tomorrow, our home is open to our friends! We may not have all the furniture in place or it all organized, but our home is your home!


There may not be too many updates till we are able to get internet hooked up, God bless and we will update as soon as we can!

Hunting Trip

As you can see from the pictures- Matt was successful in his quest for a deer! The boys were excited and had fun watching some of the processing stuff going on. She was a good size Doe, and gave us some good meat. We are getting some done up as pulled venison, some steaks and then ground. The boys were ready to eat the deer before we got it hung. So it will be fun to cook it with them. The kids also had a great time with Daddy on the 4 wheeler. Caleb had a blast and was sad when we had to stop. I think that is his favorite thing. Ian was pretty excited and kept smiling around the yard. Fun times with Daddy!

Thanksgiving

We were able to spend Thanksgiving with my family this year. Matt was able to hunt and the kids were able to spend some time with my parents and Aunt and Uncle. It is so nice to be able to be so close to my parents. They hadnever been able to come out to AR very much due to work and few vacation days. Now that we are closer we get to see them more often. It was such a blessing to live with them for a few months, and I know the kids will remember that for a while. We were all stuffed with the great food and deserts (yes in my family there they are divided into 2 catagories). Dad and Matt both took the kids out on the 4 wheeler. They had a blast and Caleb was sad when riding time was over. We hope everyone had a blessed Thanksgiving day!

Birthday Party

Here are a few pictures from Rileys 1st birthday party. It was a lot of fun. We were able to have many family members here. The kids great grandmas from Matts side were here and my Aunt, Uncle and cousin were also able to be here. She was showered with lots of love and gifts! Let me tell you too. My baby girl can EAT! She was diving into the cake before I even got the top snapped on. I don't think there were enough crumbs left to make a cookie! :)
Here are her stats:
18 1/2 lbs (9th %ile)
27 in long (11%ile)

She is still tiny and will probably continue to be. At least she will have 2 strapping brothers to watch out for her!

It's Official- She's One!!

It's happened...our baby girl is one. Doesn't seem that long ago that I was a mom of two. I remember my joy when Dr. Hubach told me she was really a girl AND she was small! At this exact moment a year ago I was sitting in a hospital bed holding her and marveling at her perfect fingers and toes, the way she smiled while she slept, how God created such a beautiful little baby. What a beautiful and exciting little lady she has become. Happy Birthday Riley- you are a sweet addition to our family! We love you

Mccord Family

The Mccord family is in need of your prayers right now. I did not know Keith and Stephanie while I was at HU but some of you might have. Keith is fighting cancer, and has recieved bad news in the last week. If you get the chance drop by their site and let them know they are in your thoughts and prayers- I am sure they would appreciate all the prayers they could get: http://mccordfamilytx.blogspot.com/

Realization

Wow. What a moment I have just had. In reading different sections of scripture and a few friends blogs, something has hit me. I know that my prayer life has been somewhat suffering lately and honestly through out my life has had it's up's and down's. But here is what I have come to realize: My God wants me to hash it out with him. He wants me to wrestle with him, to complain to him, to tell him of my anger and pain, to cry to him, to GIVE it to him. There are times I have done just that, but not to often. I know that prayer is our communication with God, and he yearns for us to talk to Him. But I think subconsciously, I have always tried to block those things from God, like he really didn't need to hear them or he had so many more important things to handle than my concerns. How untrue are those thoughts! My God does not have an answering machine for prayer requests. He doesnt leave me on hold, or tell me that I have to take a number and wait my turn. He hears my prayers right then and there- He knows them and has answered them before the words leave my mouth. He has given me comfort before my words of anger and pain leave my lips- If only I would tell him! How great is the faithfulness of our Father! If only I can keep my faith in Him strong and truly believe Him. To get my complacent self up and get to the grind for God. Only with His help can I change the things I need to change, and get my life on track (consistently) with His will for my life. Seasons of growth- all necessary, but sometimes quite painful.

I have a special request for everyone. Here lately I have been on the emotional side. I am not sure why but I am sure that my kids and hubby are hoping that it will end soon. I am usually not the emotional kind of person, but in the last few days I have been hurt by stupid things. I cried pretty much all day yesterday, because some college age girls were walking by the apartment and I heard them say some pretty negative things about me. I didn't know them and I usually would have just rolled my eyes and not thought a minute more about it. Please pray that I can get my sate of mind back and if this is a learning experience from God, that I will learn the lesson quickly. Thanks for your prayers!

Updates Galore

Well...I have several posts all at once. I finally was able to get the pictures to load! So hope you enjoyed the Halloween pictures. There is so much going on right now. I am in the process of starting to pack up our apartment since we are scheduled to close on our house on the 28th of November. I figured this way I have given myself plenty of time to get everything done before the Thanksgiving holidays. I'm getting pretty excited about the house. Espically since we have some friends staying with us on the way up north and possibly on the way back home. And hopefully it will work out that the Noels can stay with us on their way to or from KY. It will be nice to be able to really decorate for Christmas too.


Riley is now walking! She has taken several steps and has walked across the room to Daddy and her passy. I am pretty excited. She gets a little to excited in the middle and topples over. Caleb loves to cheer for her and have her walk to him. I think he has really been one of the biggest factors in getting her to walk. He would take her hands and help guide her to a certain spot and then would turn her around and bring her back. It was pretty neat to watch them have that fun time. I am sure by the time her birthday comes around (in 9 days she will be 1!) she will be walking like a pro. Now I just have to get a baby gate for the stairs... :)


They boys are doing real well. Caleb is Mommys little helper and Ian is Caleb's little helper. We have a lot of fun cooking and cleaning. We got a new game that the kids love. It is called Don't Spill the Beans. They have fun learning to take turns and tipping it over on the other persond tray. I am hoping to get more games for them so when the weather is bad we all don't go stir crazy!


I am considering looking for a few kids to watch once we get moved into our place. Aparently in Wilson county there are plenty of people needing childcare and not enough places. I haven't made up my mind. I think if I did I would only take kids that were Caleb and Ian's age. I wouldn't mind babies but the boys would enjoy that so much better. We shall see. I want to get in and settled before I even look at it!

Halloween Fun

Right before we went Trick or Treating at the Bellevue Mall, my parents came up to spend some time with the kids. My mom made them bat masks, which they had a ball with. They also got goodie bags with finger puppets, Scooby suckers and healthy snacks in them. (Riley got teddy grahms and animal cookies) We got the kids ready and took some pictures of them in their costumes with Grandma and Papa. Then we headed out to the mall. I wasn't sure how it worked but we went around to the stores and those that we doing the event handed out candy or toys. In the middle of the mall there is a play place and it was pretty neat to see all the costumed kids running around. It was pretty fun but we are excited to have a neighborhood to go out in next year.