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?