Wednesday, January 30, 2008

Boys will be boys

Well, both of my boys have black eyes right now. I promise I'm not a bad mom!!! Isaiah fell on his face onto the hardwood floor. Palmer got knocked in the eye by the see-saw at the YMCA. They look like they've been punching each other (and they do that also, but they don't leave black eyes). Anyway, I grew up with just one sister -- no brothers, so it's taking me while to get used to all the wildness. I try to instill love into them and we constantly talk about how God wants us to treat others. I know they understand this, BUT they LOVE to talk about fighting and killing the bad guys ( I suggest jail rather than death), shooting the bad animals, smashing the bad bugs, etc. Is this normal? They've never seen violence on TV -- we don't even get real TV -- and they watch Veggie Tales and other sweet cartoons. So where does it come from? Palmer's teacher said she was telling the "fishes and loaves" story at school and Palmer asked "how did they kill the fish? Did they smash em? " I'm not truly worried, because I think this is normal behavior -- according to Wild At Heart, but still it's hard for my female mind to comprehend. So, anyway that's what's going on around here. Any advice from moms with boys?

Monday, January 21, 2008

The joys of childhood.

Well, it's been a very entertaining long weekend. We celebrated Palmer's 3rd birthday on Sunday, were visited by Christian soldiers and Spidermen, and taught Lenna how to use a sword. The fun never stops! Isn't childhood wonderful?


Sunday morning Palmer and Isaiah came down for breakfast dressed in their Christian soldier armor (a present from Grandmommy) -- it's really cool -- comes with the Bible description of all of the armor of the Lord.
More cake!
MMMM!!!! It's chocolate ... sugar and caffeine ... way to go Mom!
I'm three today!
Welcome back Scotty and Don (the 3 year old twins I keep during the week)
Scotty wants Isaiah to be Spiderman All day -- every day

Of course, Lenna wants in on the action. We need another girl, Lenna!



Wednesday, January 16, 2008

More about my amazing sister

Sorry, but I couldn't resist the opportunity to brag on my little sis. Also, sorry for SOOO many pictures of my children. What can I say? I'm a proud Mommy!









To answer Amanda's question (and anyone else who wants great kid pictures) my sister IS a professional photographer. She and her husband (Brian) both take wonderful pictures. She's just starting out, but as I've mentioned . . . She's AMAZING!
My husband and I both dislike going to portrait studios with the kids. With Bridget, it's such a wonderfully different experience because she follows the kids around and takes pictures of them in their own home or outside -- where they are comfortable and having fun. The pictures turn out awesome and the kids love it
Bridget lives in Augusta, GA but will travel. So that's my plug for the best photographer we know. (Oh, and I'm really not biased or anything.)

Here's the link:









Tuesday, January 15, 2008

Pictures from my amazing sister!





Thank you, Bridget. I love them!

All is well!

Well, the excitement is over. Unfortunately, yes, it was a squirrel. But it was not under the stove. He was under the trash compactor/ cabinet. Thank God for small favors -- he was quickly removed. RIP Mr. Squirrel!

Monday, January 14, 2008

What's that smell coming from the kitchen?

I know . . . maybe it's a dead squirrel? It may seem far-fetched, but I am SURE that's it! I KNOW it's a squirrel, because he was our last animal visitor. Those of you who know me well know that I traded life in the big town (Fort Mill that is )for life in a log cabin in the woods. It has been a true adventure. I love the beautiful woods that surround our home. My boys love climbing the trees. We get to see hawks right in our yard! We never see or hear our neighbors. . . our people neighbors. However, in the 18 months we have lived in our home in the woods we have had 2 snakes, 2 lizards, 2 bats, and 2 squirrels come inside to visit us (it's like Noah's Ark!) Our last visitor was a squirrel -- not a very bright squirrel who came to our house while we were out of town during the holidays. I saw him standing in front of the Christmas tree on Christmas Eve. I handled it really well because I am now used to these strange sightings. I grabbed Lenna and put her in the highchair, whispered "JASON" -- trying not to alert the squirrel. Palmer was sleeping in the car and Isaiah was trailing me -- begging to get to help chase "this one" out. As I said, this was not a very smart squirrel. . . The 3 of us (Jason, Isaiah, and I) tried for 15 minutes to shoo him out of the house. We opened all of the doors for an easy exit. We guarded the stairs and the baby chair, we tried as hard as we could to get him to run out of any of the doors. . . but he just kept running back and forth oblivious to the open doorways. Finally, he opted for hiding under the stove. So we got out our flashlights and looked under the stove, under the cabinets, in every hole we could fine. He must have found a way out (our house of logs obviously isn't airtight). We kept our ears open, knowing from past experience that a trapped squirrel is VERY loud. All was quiet. We were alone again. . . or so we thought.

3 weeks later. . . What is that smell coming from under the stove? Jason will have to find out tonight! Keep you posted!

Sunday, January 13, 2008

Pictues from Lenna's first birthday

the birthday girl with grandmommy Johns
the birthday girl being serenaded by granddaddy

look . . . CAKE!!!


my tongue



my cake


how much can I fit into my mouth?


I like mine with ice cream

You guys are crazy

Happy Birthday to me!









Saturday, January 12, 2008

Ski Trip Pictures

Lenna's birthday party
Lenna and Mommy in the snow

in the hot tub with Aunt Emily


Can I ride on your shoulders?

here we go face first!

Isaiah on his sled


Palmer getting ready to throw a snowball


sledding with Daddy








Friday, January 4, 2008

Are we there yet?

In preparation, for our "vacation," I meticulously packed the van with fun stuff for the boys to play with, I spent four hours cleaning the house, I made up travel games to play on the way to the mountains. I had planned to wake up singing and smiling my way through this day.
Needless to say, my boys decided to bring me back to reality. They have spent the morning fighting and crying, they dumped most of the toys on the floor of the van, they destsroyed every room I cleaned, and just for laughs -- Palmer dumped a bowl of spaghetti on his head during lunch. It's now time to take a 9 hour trip with these WILD boys.
I could cry... I've already yelled... Now, I think I'll just RELAX and thank God my children are normal, energetic, and healthy preschoolers (and thankfully, they're not always like this!)
So, here we go... this WILL be fun (because I said so!)

Wednesday, January 2, 2008

West Virginia here we come!

Only 2 more days until our ski trip!!! The boys (especially Jason) are so excited about the snow. Jason wakes up every morning to check the weather.... in West Virginia. They got 9.5 inches of snow yesterday---Yay! Palmer asks every hour or so, when we are going on the "Key Trip." He's so cute!!! So, Friday we embark on a 9 hour (or 10, 11, 12 hour) trip with a 4 year old, 2 year old , and almost 1 year old. Pray for us!!! Seriously, we are so thankful for the opportunity to spend time making such special memories with our family and get to show our kid's how awesome and beautiful God's world is. Also, there's something about the excitement of children that makes you feel like a kid again. Reliving the excitement of childhood is truly one of the greatest blessings of parenthood! I can't wait!

Tuesday, January 1, 2008

This is the most recent picture I have of Lenna on the computer... I have 8 rolls of film waiting to be developed...(Yes, I know I should finally break down and get a digital camera)... And I have only gotten as far as week 2 in Lenna's scrapbook. So how can I ever get caught up??? Oh well, eventually it will all get done. In the meantime, this IS a precious picture even if it is eight months old. As soon as my soon-to-be famous photographer sister sends me some more photos, I'll post them. Until then, you'll have to enjoy old pictures. It's a good reminder of how fast our little ones grow and change.