2012

January.

Chris and I began our last half of School of Discipleship and later on that night, found out we were expecting again.  A few days later we began the annual Daniel Fast with our church which led to some of the most clearly conveyed instructions from God that I've ever experienced.  I developed a severe case of morning sickness that lasted all day, every day.  We began classes at our "new" co-op and made many dear friends.  My friend Kendra introduced me to The Hunger Games.  Jordan turned 6 years old.  

February.  

My uterus tore and I was put on bed rest.  We downsized and moved back into our first home.    I learned that it really is okay to ask for help.  We got a second car, thanks to my parents! We celebrated Shaun's 12th birthday.  

March.

I missed Jordan's first soccer practice due to bed rest.  The boys had an amazing combined birthday party.  Shaun sang onstage during a Kidpak service with the older members of Generation Praise.  Jordan had his first soccer game of the season.  Shaun joined a baseball team and even marched in a parade. My pregnancy progressed and we found out that our baby was a girl.

April.

We celebrated Easter.  God once again showed me just how He provides when our car broke down and our dryer quit...and we had the funds to repair both!

May.

Chris turned 34.  Boys finished up their seasons of soccer and baseball.  We began to get ready for summer.  After much debating, The Hubs and I decided that our daughter would be called Violet Victoria.

June.

We all attended Summer X-treme and grew closer to God.  My friends Kendra, Rachel, and I met Ted Dekker and Tosca Lee.  I sank into the worst bout of depression I've ever experienced.  Georgia sweated it's way through a major heat wave.  

July.

I Went up for prayer during an alter call at church and was delivered from depression once and for all in Jesus' name!  The next week really put my newfound freedom to the test when Chris lost his job.  We were humbled and learned the hard way to depend on God for everything.  The Lord continued to provide for us beyond our wildest dreams.  I was introduced to Duck Dynasty. 
The following week our hearts were broken when our Papaw passed away.  I saw my new OBGYN the day before his funeral and was sent for a 4D ultrasound.  The joy of seeing our healthy baby girl up close took a little of the sorrow away, but I still don't know how we made it through that week.  
We graduated from School of Discipleship and began to pray about what to do next.  Chris was blessed with another part time job as Chapel Pastor at Bethlehem Christian Academy.

August.
The boys and I began the new school year.  Grades 1 and 6!  We went on several "family dates" during our last days as a family of 4. My blood pressure made us worry a little.  I went to the hospital twice for pregnancy related issues. The kids and I went though the back to school prayer line at church and my pregnant stomach was blessed several times. Shaun joined the Kidpak Dancers at church.  Jordan joined Generation Praise.  It began to be a regular occurrence to be asked if I was having twins, and even triplets.  Lori, Kendra, Kelli, and Mandy threw me the most beautiful baby shower I've ever seen.  Chris and I had our 13th wedding anniversary.  Elissa came to visit.  Jordan began soccer practice for the fall season.  Violet was born. 

September.
Violet and I came home from the hospital.  Together, right on schedule.  I'm still thanking God for this.  I recovered from my c-section and we all struggled to adjust to having a baby in the house.  Shaun and Jordan fell head over heels in love with their sister, even though she cried and cried and hardly ever slept at night.  We were all loved on by our friends with meals, encouragement, prayers, and support.  
I made it to Jordan's first soccer game, just one week after having a baby.  I paid for it later-  it was too soon to be out- but it was worth it.  We had our first experience with horrible little league coaches who show favoritism.  

October.
Lots of Fall activities- hockey games, festivals, and Halloween.  I also started Weight Watchers and was able to fit into my pre-pregnancy jeans.  Shaun signed up for basketball. 

November.
Both boys were sick.  This is so rare, it sticks out in my memory.  They're hardly ever sick!  I saw both of my sons perform together for the first time with Generation Praise. My heart was heavy about the presidential election results.  Lori, Kelli, Ashley, Krista, and I attended a Twilight marathon and the premier of Breaking Dawn Part 2.  Violet was sick for the first time.  We began cloth diapering.  The boys began Christmas production rehearsals and we had our first Thanksgiving together as a family of 5.  

December.
Shaun and Jordan were in two Christmas productions.  Violet was sick again with another ear infection and croup.  I was sick, too.  The next week all 5 of us caught a stomach bug.  The week after that, Violet began her third round of antibiotics for a chronic ear infection.  Some friends and I celebrated Kendra's birthday.  The boys and I discovered our area's new community center.  We celebrated our first Christmas as a family of five .  Violet and I shared a birthday.   She turned 4 months old and I turned 32.  

Phew!  What a year it has been.  Full of ups and downs, but we've made it though with God's help.  May God continue to bless us all in 2013!

Just a couple of girls, out on the town...

Violet and I had a "girls day" last Saturday. We left the house at 1:30 and didn't get back until after 11:00.  She was so good.  Only cried a few times and has earned the title of "Best Behaved Baby". This is in addition to her title of "Best Dressed Baby".  :)

Our first "event" of the day was my friend Tonia's wedding shower.  She's getting married in December.  The day before my birthday, in fact, and I am so excited for her.  It was fun to get together with her, eat lunch, shower her with gifts, and wish her God's blessings. 

After the shower, I drove to my friend Kendra's house for her annual birthday tradition of going out to dinner and painting pottery.  We ate at a Greek restaurant that I've never been to before, and it was amazing.  I had a "Peasant Salad".  We had never heard of it before, but its just a Greek Salad without the lettuce.  Lots of peppers, onions, olives, cucumbers, and tomatoes.  And of course, the Feta cheese.  I also shared some pizza with my friend Jessica and it was delicious, too.  I just might have to go back there in a few weeks for my own birthday!

Here's the birthday girl.  My beautiful friend Kendra.  I am so thankful that God brought us together.  We share many of the same struggles and she also homeschools her three children.  She has always been an encouragement and a source of accountability to me and I love her so much!  I don't know if she'll ever read this, but if she does...I don't know what I'd do without you, Kendra!

After dinner we walked to the pottery store.  My friend Claire was nice enough to help me with Violet while I painted my ornament so that I wouldn't paint it upside down or anything.

I made an ornament with Violet's footprint on it to commemorate her first Christmas with us, and I think it's pretty safe to say that it was my best attempt yet.  I haven't seen the finished product yet, but it couldn't be worse than this one!

It was a really fun day and I enjoyed having my daughter with me.  Even though she cried her eyes out during the entire drive home!

Don't Touch Molly!

Elf on the Shelf.  My sister-in-law is doing it this year for her girls and they are having such a good time with it.  I've always thought the whole concept was creepy, but we might just have to try it for Violet (and maybe Jordan) next year- Emma and Hailey are enjoying it so much.

We were over at their house this afternoon and I noticed Molly the Elf on the kitchen counter in a Barbie convertible.  After dinner, Jordan noticed it too, and got the car down to roll it around.  My sister-in-law panicked and said, "Don't touch Molly!  She'll lose her magic!".

Jordan just looked at her like she'd lost her mind.  Apparently that's the way the game's played.  (I must read up on all the rules before we do it next year!)  

While Mandy was apologizing to Jordan for raising her voice, Shaun came into the kitchen and wanted to know what the big fuss was about.  My mother-in-law began to explain the whole "Elf on the Shelf" story and why no one was allowed to touch Molly the Elf.  Shaun just listened with a strange expression on his face.  Then his Nana asked him if it all made sense.  He just looked at her and said, "No.  Not really".  We all laughed and Uncle Rob said, "I don't know Nana... seems sort of far-fetched."

Shaun is so old and over the whole Santa thing, and it was sooo funny.  He thought that Nana was trying to convince him that the elf was real and he wasn't falling for it, but at the same time he didn't want to hurt her feelings.  

Ha ha!  We told him to just play along with his cousins.  Let's hope he's still willing to keep up the charade for Violet next year!

"Opera"

Today was one of those days for Jordan.  He had such a hard time concentrating and was pretty wild.  He needed to get a lot of energy out, so he played outside a lot.  It was also a school day, and he just wasn't feeling it.  Neither was I, honestly.  I'm sick today.  I picked a few battles in the name of math and writing, but I just didn't have it in me to fight with my youngest strong-willed boy over what he read today.  

Instead of using our reading curriculum I told him to go get a book from the library box.  He came back with a "Little Bill" book, which he chose from the library himself when he found out the Bill Cosby had written it.  We're HUGE Cosby fans in this house.  But.  Jordan still wouldn't read.  He could read it.  It wasn't too difficult.  He just didn't want to.  So, he sang it instead.  

Yup.

He sang the entirety of The Meanest Thing to Say, complete with flourishes and crescendos.  He also sang the answers to the questions I asked him. It was one of the funniest things I've heard in quite a while.  

If I Wanna Make 'Em Smile...

My kids have a new favorite meal.  They ask for it constantly.  The funny thing is that I came up with it for the first time a few months ago when I had to scrounge around for food in the pantry and fridge because we were completely out of groceries and I was too tired and stressed to go to the grocery store alone with all three kids.  

Here's what I did.

The night before I foresaw that a trip to Kroger would be necessary if we wanted to eat dinner.  I also knew that Chris would be working late and although I had began to drive again after my c-section, going to Kroger with all of my children was just not something I felt like I could do.  So, I rummaged around in the pantry and found a bag of dried black beans.  I'm not even sure when I had bought them, but the date on the bag was good so I scored!

The next morning I put the beans into the Crock Pot after boiling them for about 10 minutes to soften them up.  I added a little olive oil, onion, and some salt and pepper and then turned the heat on low.  The boys saw me doing this and immediately began complaining that they didn't like beans.  I told them to shut it.  In a nice way of course.  And we went on with our day.  

The beans cooked all day.  We went to co-op classes and were greeted with a heavenly smell when we came home.  The kids (the same boys who so rudely voiced their disdain for beans) wanted to know what that wonderful smell was.  

When dinner time rolled around I whipped up some instant rice.  I put some rice and beans into a bowl and topped it with grated sharp cheddar cheese, a little salsa, and a dollop of sour cream.  I called the boys to the table and braced myself for the complaining to begin.  

It did begin, but was silenced with the first mouthful of that tasty goodness.  I seriously could not believe the way the boys carried on.  Jordan wanted to know how I had made something so good.  Shaun said it was the best meal he'd ever had.  They both had second bowls and even thirds.  

I gave myself a little pat on the back for evading a trip to the grocery store and we even had enough left over for lunch the next day.  

I've made that meal three more times since and I still laugh at the way the kids carry on when they find out that beans are for supper. 

So easy, and so healthy.  

And it makes everybody smile.  

The Nutcracker

I have to post about this.  I just can't not write about it.  But be warned.  If you can't handle the possibility that my friends and I might be just a little bit immature and uncultured, read no further.  

...........

Okay, then.  This story really begins oh, maybe five years ago.  Approximately.  My mother decided that it would be fun for  my sister and I to take her daughters (she only had 2 of them back then!) to The Nutcracker.  Mom even bought our tickets for us.  Honestly, ballet is not my favorite thing in the world. But it was Christmas, and the tickets were free, and I even back then I loved spending time with my sister, so we went.  Somehow we wound up on the front row at Pearce Auditorium, just us two sisters and two small girls.  

The ballet began and everything was fine.  And then the male dancer came out.  I don't even know what the name of his character is...I told you ballet is not my favorite!  The main male dancer in The Nutcracker. He danced onto the stage and my eyes almost popped out of my head.  I glanced at my sister out of the corner of my eye and looked straight into her own wide eyes.  And it took everything we had not to giggle.  

That male dancer was not covered.  At all!  Skin tight pants (tights?  whatever they're called) and a short little shirt.  And his "business" was all up in our faces since we were on the front row.  Seriously, his outfit left nothing...nothing to the imagination.  I listened for other gasps of surprise and disbelief from other members of the audience, but apparently we were the only ones who noticed.  Or the only ones immature enough for this to be a distraction from the ballet.  

After the show, my nieces called my mom to tell her all about their first ballet experience.  My little niece Keri-lyn spoke first:  "We just went to see... the...the... The Nuts..."

And that was it.  My sister and I burst into peals of laughter that continued until our stomachs hurt.  Poor little thing was trying her hardest to remember the name of the ballet and we were not helping at all.  Ha ha ha!

I went home that night convinced that this was just normal ballet attire.  

The next year my sister-in-law won tickets to see The Atlanta Ballet's production of The Nutcracker at The Fox Theater.  The first thing I noticed was that the main male character kept  his private stuff private!  He still did the whole tights/pants thing but he also wore a long tunic-type shirt.  Nothing inappropriate or trashy here!  I went home that night convinced that the guy from last year's production back home in Gainesville had simply been the unfortunate victim of a wardrobe malfunction.  

Last week, we took a little homeschool field trip to Pearce Auditorium to see... yup.  You guessed it.  The Nutcracker.  One of our fellow homeschool kids was actually in this production, so we were really excited to go.  

Here's a shot of the kids before the show began. 

The ballet began, and everything was fine.  Until the main character came out.  My sister swears it was the same guy from our first Nutcracker experience.  And he was wearing the same outfit as before, only in white.  Once again, my eyes met those of my sister's and we muffled our snorts of laughter and tried to enjoy the show.  We didn't say anything to the kids about anyone's outfits and the kids didn't mention it to us, either.  

When we finally came home later that night, after having family pictures taken and Christmas play practice, The Hubs asked the boys how they liked the ballet.  

Jordan looked kind of funny and said, "Well.  There was this man.  And you could see his wiener.  And his butt, too".  

Chris just looked at me and I tried in vain not to burst into laughter again.  

Then Shaun spoke up:  "Oh yeah!  You could see everything.  And I was sitting beside my cousins.  And I was thinking, I can't believe that Jaycee is seeing this.  And Keri-lyn.  And LAYNA!!!"

Chris looked at me again and raised his eyebrows.  I admitted that maybe the guy should have had a little more clothing on.  And I felt bad and awkward that the only thing my kids took away from the ballet was an image of a scantily-clad man.  

Another group of friends were going to the same ballet the next day and I warned them!  They thought I was over-reacting at first but later on told me that they felt exactly the same way I did.  

Seriously?  Why'd the guy have to wear that?  Does he dance better with his stuff bouncing across the stage?  Us adults had some laughs but truthfully, a lot of our kids were uncomfortable.  

Some friends and I were talking at church yesterday (we were at Christmas rehearsal and had a ton of time to kill... lots of time to talk!)to a woman who's been involved in ballet for years and years.  She was shocked that any dancer would wear something like that, especially in white.  She even said that things like that were huge no-no's in her ballet circle.  And that we should send that ballet company a letter.  

What do you think?

First Sickness

So, Violet has been sick this week.  She started acting fussy and running a low fever last Monday, so we went to the doctor.  We were there three and a half hours.  We closed the place down!  She had a mild ear infection and because she's still so little the doctor ran a CBC.  That CBC set off alarms because her white blood cell count was high.  This led to Violet needing a blood culture and a urine culture.  

Ugh, ugh, ugh.

It was terrible.  

Violet met "The Pricker Lady"... that is, the woman who draws all the blood at the doctor's office.  Yes, my boys call her "The Pricker Lady" right to her face.  They've done it for years.  She swears she's been called worse.  She was so gentle with Violet.  Thankfully she was able to get what she needed with only one stick, despite the fact that Violet was a little dehydrated.  And the blood culture came back normal.  We still had to make two additional trips to the doctor for Rocephin shots.  She had three in all, and they turned her into one fussy baby.  This week has been a hard one for our baby girl.  :(

Thankfully, she seems to be feeling better today.  Less crying and more smiles, which is always a good thing.  We are all so glad she's feeling better and thankful that we all survived  Violet's First Sickness.  

Thankful

It hit me just the other day that at this time last year, The Hubs and I had decided that maybe we might possibly want another baby.  On the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, in fact, I sat with my sister in the Kroger Starbucks and told her my dream.  Truthfully, I didn't think it would happen, at least not for awhile.  It took months and months to get pregnant with Jordan, and that was six years ago.  Even when Chris and I prayed together about the future of our family, I had my doubts.  That was at Thanksgiving.  I became pregnant in December. We found out in January.  And now, 10 short months later, we have an almost-3-month-old daughter.  

Yes, God is faithful.  He heard the desires of our hearts and made it happen.  And He was quick about it, too!

True to the holiday, I've been counting my blessings this week. Just like the song my Mamaw used to sing... "Count your blessings!  Name them one by one.  Count your many blessings, see what God has done..."

I am thankful for all of the usual things... my family, our health, our home, etc.  But I'm especially thankful for God's unending faithfulness to us.  He has provided for us in the most amazing ways over the past few months.  Several times over the past year, He has taken away and we were left asking, "why!" only to see His plan work out later.  When we've had a need, He's met it.  More than once, He has supernaturally given us what we've needed.  Even with Chris being out of work, we haven't wanted for anything or had to go without.  Only God can work this stuff out!  

Do we deserve it?  No.  But somehow He sees fit to keep on blessing us, and we are eternally grateful.  

And so, on this Thanksgiving, I am thankful most of all for my loving, faithful, Heavenly Father.  

Many Thanksgiving blessings to you all!

Mom's DAY Out

Yesterday was Mom's DAY Out.  My friends and I decided months ago that we absolutely had to not only see Breaking Dawn Part 2 on opening night, but also attend the Twlight Marathon.  Surprisingly, our husbands were all very supportive and made arrangements to take off work and stay home with the kids.  I think they were all just relieved that Twlight will be officially over once we've seen BD2.  Ha ha!  They don't realize that Twilight will never be over for us!

I was a little nervous about leaving Violet for the whole day.  We left at 10:00 a.m. and didn't get home until 1:00 a.m.  It was a long day of Twlight, and we had such a good time.  Chris was a pro at taking care of all three kids.  I can speak from experience and say that it isn't easy, especially if you're not used to it.  The house even looked the same as it did when I left it, which means that they all picked up after themselves.  As far as I know, the only thing that went wrong was the misplacing of Violet's pacifier.  It went missing for a few hours.  I sent Chris a text asking if he had looked for it in the car and received this reply:  "It was right here and now its gone, just gone.  I can't find it!!!!!"

Ha ha ha!  Luckily it was found a few hours later and everything else went smoothly.  

We were all so thankful that we were able to go to the marathon.  It was so fun so see all of the movies on the Big Screen one more time, and Breaking Dawn Part 2 was absolutely amazing.  My heart is still pounding from that surprise ending!

The only person missing is Jody.  We missed her so!  It just wasn't the same without her.  

Are we a little sad that it's all over?  Yes. But as we like to say, Twilight will never be over as long as we keep it in our hearts.  

Young Poet's Society

Yesterday was the day.  My kids had been fearing this day for the past 10 weeks and honestly, so had I.  

The dreaded poetry recital at co-op.  

I've always been terrified of public speaking.  I'm not good at it.  I'm so self-concious and I hate being the center of attention.  I think it all stems from way back in seventh grade when I gave some kind of oral report in Mrs. Jarrard's science class.  My zipper was unzipped the entire time.  Fun.  I took the required "communications" course in college.  My instructor said everyone in her class would learn to love public speaking.  Wrong.  Somehow I made an A, even though I froze up on my last speech and completely forgot what I was supposed to talk about.  

Back to my kids.  They're so funny.  They don't mind singing in front of a crowd.  They do this all the time.  However, when I broke the news to Shaun that he was going to have to memorize a poem and a scripture to say aloud in front of our homeschool co-op, he freaked. And I secretly freaked with him.  I know how I would have felt about this in sixth grade.  Who are we kidding?  I would still feel the same way if I had to do it today!

I thought about not making him do it, but at the end of the day I decided to be responsible and parent-like.  I chose a four-line poem for him to memorize.  He picked his own scripture-  one that he had already memorized from church.  And we learned them.  

He was actually okay until the day of the recital.  He was so nervous yesterday!  The recital participants went on by grade, and then in alphabetical order, so he had a long time to wait!  The younger kids went first and said their poem as a class.  Here is a picture of Jordan with a few kids from his class, taken with my cell phone.  I can't find my camera anywhere!

This picture is deceiving.  He didn't say a word of his poem!  Afterward, he said he was just too nervous.  Stinker!

A bit later, it was Shaun's turn.  He had asked that I come and sit near the front so that I could cue him if he needed it.  My stomach was in knots as he made his way to the stage- I was so nervous for him.  And bless him...he froze.  Like mother, like son.  I whispered the first word to him and he remembered what he was supposed to say with a smile on his face, but he was so embarrassed and my heart hurt for him.  I was so, SO proud of him for staying up there and finishing even after he had a rocky start.

Of course, he wasn't the only one who messed up.  There were a lot of mistakes made by lots of other kids.  I reminded him of this when everything was over and he was saying that he sucked.  I also stressed how proud I was of him for sticking it out and finishing strong.  

At the end of the day, I was glad I made them do it.  Shaun lived through it, just like I knew he would.  The first time is always the hardest and we talked about how easy it would be next time since now he knows what to expect.  He just looked at me when I said that part.  Ha ha!

Violet's 2 Months Old!

Violet turned 2 months old last week.  She weighed 11 pounds at her doctor's appointment and is around the 50th percentile marks in height and weight.  She has been sleeping much better at night, as long as she sleeps in the bed with her parents!  

She still eats about 3-4 ounces but now she wants to eat it every 2-3 hours.  

Violet has been very busy this month:

She went to the nursery at church for the first times on Sunday and Wednesday service.

She also experienced her first Halloween, her first hay ride, her first "sickness", her first get-together with my Twilight friends,  and her first hockey game.  My friend Jessica commented a few weeks ago about all the life experiences Violet has had and she's not even 6 months old yet.  I guess she's right...we've always just taken her along wherever we go and she's a great sport about it!

I just know that there's lots more that happened this month, but my brain is tired and I'm not thinking clearly.  I'll have to add more "events" as I think of them!

In the meantime, here are some of my favorite shots from her 2 month photo shoot.  I'm blessed to have a BFF who is a photographer!

And, even though I feel silly posting this after these amazing pictures, here is Violet on her "actual" 2 month birthday.  

My Little Strong-Willed Scientist

In addition to loving art, Jordan has also really been interested in science lately.  One of his favorite things to do lately is to "make an experiment".  This usually entails wearing "science goggles" at the kitchen table and mixing up this and that in a graduated cylinder.  I try to throw some actual schoolwork in the mix.  I'll tell him to add 10 ml of water or 5 ml of salt.  Or something like that.  

Today, while I was reading with Shaun, Jordan announced that he was going to "do some science".  I told him to not use any food in his experiments.  Imagine my surprise when I walked into the dining room after Shaun's reading lesson to find lemon pepper seasoning all over the table.  As in, a whole container of lemon pepper seasoning.  On the table.  And the floor.  And in a graduated cylinder mixed with water and some red liquid.  And peanuts. He used peanuts too.  About half the peanuts in a large Planters container.  

So, we had a little talk about wasting food and disobedience.  I asked him what he thought his punishment should be for his crimes.  He suggested a time out.  I had something better in mind.  My little strong-willed scientist is going to have to do chores to buy me some more lemon pepper seasoning and peanuts.  He's also grounded from science for a few days.  

Grounded from science.  There's a sentence I never thought I'd hear myself say. 

Reading

The kids and I went to the library yesterday. Jordan picked out some "Magic Tree House" books for me to read aloud to him.  He has really taken off with his reading lately, but he still likes to be read to.  Who doesn't?  Before we started the book, I said to him "Just think Jordan...you're so smart and you've been working so hard on your reading.  One day soon, you'll be reading books like these to me!"  

He just kind of nodded and asked me to start reading.  So I did.  I was halfway through the first page and he nudged me out of the way...and began reading the book by himself.  

He finished chapter 1 with just a few prompts from me.  I bragged and bragged and asked him if he was tired of reading yet.  And he said no!  He read another chapter, again almost all by himself.  

How I wish I had been able to take a picture of the look on his face.  He was SO proud of himself, and of course I was SO proud of him, too!  He not only read, but he was enjoying himself.  Usually when we read he's ready to stop way before whatever we happen to be reading is even over.  

My dream is to pass on my love of reading to my children.  I know, I know.  My oldest kids are boys, and most boys just don't want to sit still long enough to enjoy a good book.  Shaun is just now beginning to tolerate reading.  He hated it before because he struggled with it so much.  Now he, too, is finally taking off with it.  It must be the year for books in our house, and I couldn't be happier.  

A Sunday Absurdity

After church today, I was holding Violet while waiting on the elevator.  A woman I've never seen before noticed my sweet little baby.  She's so adorable, this happens all the time.  A day doesn't go by without a random stranger telling me how beautiful she is.  I smiled politely at this stranger and thanked her for noticing my baby's beauty.  Then she asks if she can hold my beautiful baby.  

Really.  

A complete stranger.  

Wanted to hold my baby.  

My jaw hit the floor.  I just couldn't believe it.  Who does that?  I mean, Violet is irresistible and all, but please.  Just admire her from where you're standing!  Who asks to hold a stranger's baby? Well this lady does, apparently, because while I was staring at her dumbfounded, she asked again.  I picked my jaw up off the floor and said, "Well. I don't know you... so no. I'm sorry".  And of course this hurt her feelings.  But really.  Who asks to hold a stranger's baby?  

One of the things about going to a big church is that there's just no way to know everyone who goes to church with you.  And really, just because a person goes to church doesn't mean that person is good.  We have tried to train our kids to not talk to strangers.  This includes strangers at the mall, at Kroger, the library, and even at church.  Because you just don't know!

So really, this situation today was no different than a random lady walking up to me in the produce section at Kroger and asking to hold my baby.  

It wasn't gonna happen.  

Of course, at that moment the elevator decides to open and I'm forced to ride downstairs with this stranger that I've offended. Fun, fun times. 

Did I overreact?  I really don't think I was out of line.  One of my friends commented that perhaps I should have given her an excuse such as, "I'm sorry but I'm taking her to the bathroom for a diaper change right now".  I'm not quick enough on my feet to think of lies off the top of my head like that.  So I was just honest.  

I told The Hubs and he just shook his head.  When we were younger and stupider, he would have said I was overreacting.  But now we're grown up and oh-so-mature and he completely agreed with me that it's never okay to let a stranger hold any of our children.  She could have taken off with Violet, sprinted down the hallway, dashed down the stairs, and escaped with our precious daughter.  Never to be seen again.  Or, a more likely scenario, she could have spread some evil flu germs to our sweet baby girl.  

Neither are chances I was willing to take.  

Don't Forget to Vote!

Yesterday Shaun's volunteer group met to make posters reminding the community to vote.  We are so thankful for Mrs. Gigi, who put the group together and volunteers her time to work with our older homeschool kids.  

Working hard on their posters.

The group is really for middle and high schoolers, but they let Jordan make a poster, anyway.  :)

Most of the group.  Someone declined to be in the picture.  

The kids had a good time.  It was nice to get out of the house and do something different.  They discussed the importance of voting, and various aspects of "election etiquette".  

"Arting", Hearts, and The Art Club

Yesterday, Jordan suddenly decided that he's into art.  We came home from swimming and he immediately brought his pencil box full of markers and crayons to the table and began "arting".  

You've never heard the term "arting" before?  Well, it simply is "the act of making art".  

Jordan "arted" until it was time to go to a birthday party and then he scooped up his supplies to take with him so that he could "art" in the car.  We had many, many new pieces of art by Jordan by the end of the night.  

This morning, he was at it again.  Only instead of drawing pictures he was into writing notes.  I was in Heaven watching him sit still and work voluntarily.  Here are two samples of the many, many, many notes he wrote today.

"I love Mommy.  Jordan loves Mom. Jordan"

"I love Violet.  Jordan loves Violet."

I love all of the little hearts he drew for "love".

He also wrote notes for Pop, Susie, and his cousins.  Of course he had to run next door to deliver said notes.  When he came home he announced that he was having an "art club".  

And that's just what he did.  Teddy and Hippo came to the Art Club's first meeting.  They had Cheeze Its for snack.  "Arting" makes one extremely hungry. 

I've had the most fun watching him create today!

Halloween 2012

We had a relatively low-key Halloween.  As usual!  We just don't make a big deal out of it the way we used to.  The kids did get more use out of their costumes this year than they usually do.  I think they dressed up in their Halloween gear three times:  we did "Trick or Treat on the Trail" last weekend, a Fall Festival at our homeschool co-op on Monday, and the Fall Festival at church last night.  Halloween fell on a Wednesday this year, so we didn't even have to worry about Trick or Treating... which I loved!

My little family and I spent the day together.  We slept in a little bit and then just lazed around.  It was nice to not have to rush around for once.  We went out for a late lunch together and then I dropped Chris and the kids off at Party City because he didn't have his costume yet.  While they were in there, Violet and I went to vote early.  I decided that I love, LOVE, LOVE early voting.  We were in and out in about 15 minutes, including the long walk in and out of the building.  Before I became a SAHM, I worked in the new Hall County building.  It was weird being in there again even though everything inside was different.  

Like I said, there was no waiting time to vote, but apparently I wasn't fast enough because my three boys grew bored at Party City and decided to walk to Publix.  I found them at the corner of the Publix parking lot and the street, waving to cars in their costumes. It's never boring around here, folks.  

We went to church after that.  Here's a shot of the ninja and Darth Vader.

These two absolutely hate having their picture taken and I had to bribe them to get this one shot.  Jordan was originally going to Spiderman.  I bought the suit weeks ago.  When we were getting ready yesterday, he went out to the car and found this old Darth Vader outfit that used to be Shaun's.  And that's what he decided to be.  Even though the Darth Vader suit was super old and worn out and didn't have a mask.  I didn't say a word, just uttered a prayer of thanks that I found the Spiderman suit on sale and paid next to nothing for it.  

We didn't buy an official costume for Violet. I knew we weren't going Trick or Treating and she doesn't go to the nursery at church yet, so she didn't need a costume for the Fall Festival.  Call me cheap, but I just didn't want to spend money on something that she'd never get any more use out of. I think she looked pretty cute anyway, though.

My sister-in-law gave us the "My First Halloween" onesie and we had a black tutu. Add in the crocheted hat and a pair of baby tights and you have one adorable baby.  So that's what she was..."adorable" for Halloween!

We all had fun at the Fall Festival, except for Jordan.  He got too cold and talked his friend Tiffany into bringing him inside to me.  He helped us out in the preschool game room. Here he is getting ready to hand out balloons.  

This makes me smile.  I think he would have floated away if he had been outside.  Ha ha!

This picture was taken last weekend at a Pumpkin Carving party.  I was pretty impressed with all of these.  Chris carved the one on the upper left.  

And that was our Halloween 2012!

The Other Violet

Violet has thrush.  She's pretty pitiful.  Her little tongue is sore and it hurts her to eat and use her pacifier.  The doctor called in some medicine, but she was really fussy so I kept her home from church tonight.  

When I went to Kroger to pick up her medicine, they told me that there wasn't any.  Medicine for Violet, that is.  The pharmacy clerk said that nothing had been phoned in, faxed in, or emailed in.  That pretty much covered everything.  I was frustrated,  but I had to laugh.  I walked away to get a few items that we needed, and heard an announcement over the loudspeaker for "Violet Smith's mother to return to the pharmacy".  I went back and the pharmacy man told me that her medicine had been called in, but that they had accidentally filled it for another Violet Smith in their computer.  A "really old" Violet Smith, apparently.  

Ha!  

I love my little girl and her "old lady" name!

Weekend

Yes, two posts in one day.  I'm trying to get back in the habit of blogging.  I miss it, and I really do want to record what's going on in our little family.  

Here are some pictures of what we did this weekend. If I'm friends with you on Facebook, most are just a repeat of what you've already seen.  

Saturday:

We all went our separate ways in the morning- I took Jordan to his soccer game and Chris and Shaun went to church for the Man to Man breakfast.  Jordan, Violet, and I ran errands after the game and then went back home for a few hours.  

This picture of Violet cracks me up.  She looks so exasperated!

After Chris and Shaun came home, we headed out to our friend Ryan's birthday party.  He turned 21!  I've known Ryan since he was a little boy and the fact that he's 21 now makes me feel extremely old.  He had a costume party at the park.  Except we couldn't wear costumes because we were on the way to a hockey game afterward.  It was still a fun party, though, with lots of Halloween-type games.  

We had to leave the party a little bit early so we could make it to the game in time.  The boys got free Gladiators tickets through a reading program.  This was our third year doing the program, and we finally saw not one, but two fights!  Chis was really excited about that!

Pre-game goofiness:

This is what Violet did in during the game:

Ha!  She actually stayed awake about half the time.  She was so good.  Never made a peep.  

I hate pictures of myself lately, but my mother has convinced me that one day I'll be sad that I don't have more pictures of me with the kids.  So here's a shot of me with Violet at the game.

Today was a church day.  I had really been looking forward to today, because Bill Wiese was at Free Chapel!  He preached an unforgettable message about Hell and tons of people gave their hearts to the Lord.  It was one of the best services I've ever been in.  The boys had choir practice after service, and then it was (finally!) time for lunch.  We don't get out of church until after 2:00 when there's choir practice, so we're always really hungry.  Today we tried a new place.  Pastability.  It was so-so.  In my opinion, Panara Bread is better, but my Greek Salad was pretty tasty.  And Jordan learned to use chop sticks.  

After lunch, we split up again.  The boys went home and Violet and I ran some errands.  After I came home, we went to the track at my old elementary school and the boys and Chris played football.  

They played until it began to get dark and Violet and I walked a few laps around the track. Is it bad that every time I go to that track I have flash backs from 5th grade P.E.  I was always last in the mile run.  :(

When it was dark we came home and I washed bottles and got everything together for our school week while Chris and the kids watched The Walking Dead.  I have been trying to get in to this show for almost a year now.  I can't get past the first few episodes of season 1 and I don't want to watch season 3 until I know what's going on.  So I'll just wait for it on NetFlix.  

Now, all the kids are sleeping, The Hubs is gaming, and I'm going to sleep myself.  We were so busy this weekend. Sometimes I feel like we need another weekend to recovery from the weekend we just had!