Stinkin' mouths

I know, I know. It's been forever since I've posted something. There's plenty to post: a great new addition to our house, a fabulous vacation, swimming lessons, Princess Camp, etc.

But I guess that means time is flying because we are definitely having so much fun.

With very little time tonight to get in bed, rest up and re-charge for another busy weekend, I leave you with some parting words from my beautiful daughter during tonight's night time exchange:

Me: Hey sweet pea. It's time to go to bed. I'm just gonna cuddle with you a little bit.

lots of cuddle time, looking into each others eyes, kisses, hugs, tickles with hair

Katherine: I brushed my teeth tonight

M: Good job sister. I haven't yet.

K: That must be what the stinky is.





Laughter ensued from both of us and as I was walking out the door she said...

K: Go brush your teeth, it's time!

A recommended read

In this blogging world, I've found that it's extremely easy to feel like I've "connected" with someone by reading their blog. Bloggers willingly open up their lives, pictures, families and inner-most thoughts for the world to see. After reading their musings for a while, I end up feeling like we're best buds, even though there's a really good chance we've never met or even talked at all.

A poor soul named Melissa writes a blog that I thoroughly enjoy. I consider her a poor soul because I feel I've somehow invaded her life. Her blog has caused me many times to cry with laughter so hard I ended up wiping my nose on my sleeve, the bottom of my shirt or whatever dry cloth object was closest because of my non-willingness to quit reading long enough to get up and actually go get a tissue.

Well, this mama Melissa has been an inspiration to me. She's a mom of two kiddos close to my kid's ages, she's a woman desiring God's will and last but certainly not least of all, she's hilarious. If you get a chance, check out her blog Stretch Marks. She is truly a talented writer.

I just finished reading a free eBook she posted and thought it worthy enough to share. It's an easy 20-minute read and is a compilation of her blog posts outlining her struggles with infertility. It also might be helpful to mention that this reading would be great for
a) a woman struggling with the same or
b) anyone feeling like they're stuck in a spiritual foxhole and can't see the light.

Have a look:

From Foxholes to Faith

And there's certainly one thing us bloggers love: COMMENTS!
Be sure to let her know what you think.

4th of July memories

As I was downloading and editing these pictures, all I could do was think of how many fond memories I pray we are creating for our little ones. These are such precious times and it may still be early for them to remember, but I'll never forget the mental images I've created of these get-togethers and the warm emotions they evoke.
At one point, these kids were surrounded by mommies, aunts and grandmothers swarming to take their pictures. It was too precious to pass up and they all handled it like paparazzi-stalked pros.
Bamah & Papa have done an excellent job of providing a kid-friendly, safe and roomy environment for these little ones to run, play and have fun. You know, makin-memories stuff.
We decided not to brave the lake this year and made a mini-water park in the back yard.
And what would the 4th be like without homemade ice-cream? Daddy and little man had some serious cupcake and ice cream bonding time.
The afternoon started to wind down with some good old fashion metal trucks and searching for snails fun.

Mer's 31st anniversary of her 29th birthday / NC Family visiting

In this house, we're all about looking for some excuse to make some type of sweets, and thankfully, since the good Lord decided to turn down my control-freakedness a notch or two, I'm a lot more comfortable with letting kiddos be more involved in the kitchen. It's rather cute and gives them a chance to practice and apply all those good skills like following directions, math, fine motor skills, blah blah blah. Mostly it's cute.
So, I put Little Lady in charge of decorating the cupcakes. She was good at it. I'm pretty sure most of the icing was applied to the cupcake for consumption by someone other than herself.
She thought I had lost it when I told her she could put the sprinkles on all by herself. (We've had those sprinkles for what seems like forever and I was ready to finish them off.)
And I apparently put the right gal in charge of that. She's rather meticulous for a 4-year-old, but can have a heavy hand.
And for any grains that might be left, she's got a plan for those too.
So a couple of days later when we decided to have the "formal" birthday party, we celebrated on the 4th of July.
The big birthday finale was sitting on the front porch, chatting, watching the fireworks being set off around our area and listening to Nathan exclaim, "Boom, boom!" every time one went off.
We had an extra special treat this year because we got to celebrate with my mom's brother and his family. I haven't seen them in two years. It's amazing how much kids/teenagers change in two years. Nathan was in utero last time they were here, Katherine was used to being the only child and the girls were starting college and high school. They are a kid-friendly family, which is so very helpful, and are good people. Even though it's not that often, I'm glad we get to see them.

Random pictures

This would be what happens when I opt out of putting shorts on the kid, take, oh, about 5 minutes to dry my hair and throw some make-up on and then realize that things are really, really quiet.


He's watching his truck video above and below. It is absolutely mesmerizing.

Here's another blonde cousin who is about to be a big brother. Hang in there Aunt J.

It's funny. I almost dislocated my back trying to drag this Little Tikes playhouse from the backyard to the front yard, clean it up and jam it through the front door (with the neighbor's help) because I was positive my husband would be totally against it. My reasoning was: it doesn't get played with out there anyway, so clean it up and bring it inside. His reasoning, I think, was that he didn't want another project to tackle when he got home. (That and he's related to the men who's heads only turn in two directions: left and right.) Well, lo and behold, wha-da-ya-know, since he's seen how much the little people have enjoyed playing with it, he has nothing but praises to say about it being inside. I declare, sometimes I do have good ideas. I'm just sayin'.

Sayonara swim lessons

Today was the last day of 8 for Katherine's swim lessons. She requested we arrive early so she could watch the other kids swimming. He was the one I was worried about. What am I going to do with him for 30 minutes each day to keep him happy and still watch her progression? Food, of course. As long as I had that in my hands so it wouldn't spill, and an ice-cold sippy cup of water, he was happy. Thank you Jesus for your divine-inspired insight.
The other hook for keeping his attention was the major construction site right next to the swimming pool. We'd get there early enough for her to watch the other kids swimming and him to watch the construction equipment. And today was the best day/best view/most-movement-by-a-piece-of-machinery day so far.
I must admit though, I'm struggling. Struggling with being proud of our daughter but not being prideful. She's good. She's got skills. Yes, I am saying that because I'm her mother but she really is a good swimmer. She's not so sure of herself though, so I'm constantly trying to build her up, praise her, prepare her and encourage her to accept challenges. All the cheering on my part is difficult to temper when she does walk through that door and I get to watch her talents from the sidelines. I swell with pride and here's where the vast desert of "grey" comes in: where does my God-given pride of and towards my child end and my ego-driven prideful-self begin? I don't brag (other than to the grandparents) because frankly she's good, but no Olympic-swimmer. But it certainly is something I wax and wane over. I want her to know that she's been blessed with certain gifts and talents. God has an awesome plan for her life and those talents are part of it. They are all used to his glory and that seems to be the fine black line that separates the grey. Period. What she has, what talents any of us have, are all to glorify God.
So swim your cute little blonde-haired self on across that pool, sweetie, cause God is waiting and has an ocean for you to cross. Good news is, he'll be there the whole way.