2014 End Cap

And then, it was Christmas.

And I am feeling all nostalgic

And missing writing in this space.

So here's what our year's been like:

Hayley Marie

Hayley turned 6 in August and started first grade. She's really starting to look more like a big kid, although she STILL doesn't weigh 40 pounds and is among the smallest in her grade, and she certainly talks like a big kid! We can no longer use spelling aloud for secrets, and she is a super quick reader so don't think you are firing off a text or reading something on the computer with her prying eyes! Even if its not a secret! She has lost 3 teeth this year - and I am proud to say that I pulled them all (which were barely hanging on, she gets that from me)! We gave the first one to the Tooth Fairy in exchange for money, but she decided she didn't want to give her 2nd and 3rd ones away. She enjoys doing word puzzles, reading, and playing school or mama. She thinks she's in charge of all her cousins smaller than her.. or younger than her.. or sweet enough to follow her every beck and call. She still wants to grow her hair out like Rapunzel, and it is finally past her shoulders, but still baby thin. She is still terrified of all animals, refusing to pet even the smallest rabbit and will climb you like a spider monkey if she even hears a dog bark! (Yet, she asked Santa for a pony and pony food this year. In the spring she played T-ball for the first time and graduated from Kindergarten! We found out that she loves rides and is a "super rider" who will try almost any kind of ride - including the Tilt-a-Whirl at Miracle Strip in PCB! She enjoys writing notes and her own books.. most of her notes say "Dear _____, I like you. I love you. You are the best ever." She wrote two notes this week inviting people to play dates that we didn't have planned!! She loves to eat in a restaurant and "where are we going to eat?" is always her first question when we load up in the car! She's still SO very picky! She is very social and while she can be shy to adults at times, she's mostly fearless and curious when it comes to other kids. She is starting to ask hard questions, and we are starting to deal with "things I heard at school" or "things ____ said" and how those things do or do not apply in our family. 

Bowen Michelle

Bowen turned 4 in June and started Pre-K this fall! She has really come out of her shell since she started Pre-K and is much more vocal (when she wants to be) and affectionate towards other (when she wants to be). Her teacher told us the second week of school "She talks our ears off!" and we were SHOCKED! In the spring, she finished her K3 year and was still not talking to her teachers and while she played with the other students, wasn't very vocal with them either! We were so She has a love for reading and has memorized many books and knows many sight words of her own accord, and with Hayley's assistance! We really have to give the credit to Hayley for teaching her as much as she knows, they read together often and she helps her with her letters when they are writing and drawing. Bowen falls asleep each night with a book and her nightlight and wakes in the morning reading before she gets out of bed. She is still an early riser, who in recent weeks, finds herself a warm spot in our bed from 4-6. I am just glad she doesn't get UP and stay UP anymore, as those were her roaming hours in Spring. She wouldn't go back to bed!! She finished dance in the Spring and made it through the recital with no tears, she mostly loved the makeup sessions with Breezy! She wanted to try Karate this fall. Both she and Hayley started in October and she received her three stripes this past week when uniforms were distributed! She loves music and is often singing songs from school or church. She really is determined that there is NOTHING that Hayley can do, that she can't do! She is still our sweet little cuddler most of the time, and is so affectionate with us. Her grandmama is still her favorite person in the world. Over the summer, Grandmama broke her ankle, and Bowen wouldn't leave her side!

Adventures

This summer we spent 2 weeks traveling to South Dakota and back. We drove 2.5 days there and back and met Nana's family for the first time. It was a wonderful trip together with our family, we had lots of adventures, and have so many stories and memories from the trip. We also took SO MANY pictures that I can't even decide where to start on a photo book - you can browse at your own demise here: https://hifromsouthdakota2014.shutterfly.com/

And.. I'm out of time.. Maybe I'll be back... later.. to wrap this up in a tidy bow.

another good read

This just brought me to tears in the parking lot of school, awaiting pickup of my girls.

oh that we would be future-minded in raising our own... And diligent in prayer for those who are raising the future friends and relationships for our own.

a rambling

This post is probably going to be a hot mess. First, I am attempting to write and post from my phone which is probably not the wisest idea. Second, its not super late but I am super tied. And third, isn't this the worst opening paragraph ever?

I have missed being in the space and am trying to sort out what has kept me away for such a long time. Certainly there are funny stories with my family worth sharing. And we took a major vacation this year to South Dakota which would probably warrant multiple posts. God has also been revealing some good and powerful lessons to me which I should probably document so I don't forget, and so that if they are words that would speak to you, you would have the chance to read them.

but none of those things are happening right now. Unfortunately for you, you are losing more minutes lost in my rambling abyss of a non-update. My apologies.

I'd say now back to your regularly scheduled programming, but that was silence, so...

Books I'm Reading which are speaking to me:
where the river runs
doing church as a team
what women fear
(links hopefully coming later)


good night

New School Year

 

 

First Grade & Pre-K

 

The girls are loving their teachers and classes and so far, not total grumpy pants in the mornings when its time to get up and moving!

 

The biggest surprise so far: Bowen's teacher says that she is talking away!

New Blog Read: Maci Shingleton

No, I'm not back to blogging.. no, I don't have a good reason... but here's where I've been getting some good words from this past week: ... check her out!

http://macishingleton.wordpress.com/

She's straight talking through Christian culture.

Its good.

Milestone: First Lost Tooth

Let's just pretend I haven't been missing for months...

This. Just. Happened.

The first loose and pulled tooth in the life of Hayley.

And I didn't fall out.

Y'all, I don't do teeth. I didn't do my own teeth. They would have to basically fall completely out on their own. Not even exaggerating.

So she's been quite content to gross me out for almost a week since she figured out it would wiggle and I would gag. Disgusting.

But today, today when her daddy was far away with no cell phone... it decided it was coming out. (Obviously she's her mama's child in getting her money's worth of the loose-ness)

And I pulled it. And she didn't melt down. And I didn't throw up or faint or both.

So its a win-win all around.

Except... how did she get old enough for this?

As I looked at her new gap I saw that the next tooth over already has a permanent tooth breaking through the gums, so looks like we are in the teeth season for real.

How did this happen so quickly?

The Divine - Interrupted

This afternoon I decided to "cook up" some Dairy Queen for supper for our crew. After pickup, we had made a stop for an oil change at the dealership and then stopped at the playground for a play break. And with limited options in the kitchen and church at 6:30, DQ was the way to go for my own peace of mind.

After I ordered and pulled up to the window, I noticed that there was a police car in the line behind us. I felt like I was supposed to buy his supper, so I did - some call it the Drive Thru Difference, some call it Pay It Forward - whatever you call it, I just felt like I was supposed to do that. Well, it was taking a long time and the cashier opened the window to ask me to pull over and wait, and so I paid for the meal behind us and pulled over to wait.

Hayley said, why are we pulling over? We don't ever stop here! To which I replied that we had to wait for them to finish cooking our food, and we're getting out of the way for others to get their food.

Then Hayley, said, "Why did that lady just say she'd just give them a receipt?"

And I said, "because we paid for their meal" and begin to get all excited for a teachable moment. So she said, "Why did we do that?" and I got even more excited and said, "well, because it was a nice thing to do and I wanted to do that."

To which she replied, without missing a beat, "I bet they never will put you in jail now!"

#reality.

Who are we? -Saturday

This happened at our house on Saturday. That's right, we made flower beds... and when I say we, I mean Michael and a teenager from our church while I sat in my chair and napped in the sun... which, if you ask me, is the way for all yard work to go.

 

And this happened Saturday morning, that would be us volunteering to run... a mile... in the early morning... in public.

Hayley put in to run the Fun Run at Peanut Proud this year, and I told her I'd run with her - you know, because this mama can't let little bear take off totally on her own just yet - so then she told Breezy she was running and Breezy said she would run too. Then we talked to Court and she said she'd run too... so the Hayley-diva and her "security" team did the Fun Run.

And we didn't die, which is a win.

Done: Wild Animal Safari, Pine Mountain Georgia

For Presidents Day we loaded up our circus and headed north to the Wild Animal Safari! This was an all-in-one-day trip for us - and was just right for our kiddos - and was a good day for adults too.

The park has some regional animals - such as alligators, donkeys, deer, pigs - as well as exotic - such as zebras, giraffes, lions, bisons.

 The first portion is a drive through trail where you can "feed" the animals pellets out the windows of a moving vehicle. We highly suggest renting one of their safari vehicles because these animals KNOW what the food means... for example, these people didn't....

And there is half an animal in the lap of the passenger.

After the drive-thru portion, you can stop in their little store/concession stand, play skeeball or a few arcade games, and then move to the walk-through portion. The walk through portion accommodates strollers if you are a pusher, but is relatively small and our big kids walked it without any meltdowns or stress over the distance. Even with our circus, the walkthrough takes less than 30 minutes.

Overall, good trip - definitely a did this once and done stop, but an easy 1/2 day adventure!



Official Website: http://www.animalsafari.com/Georgia/
Time Frame: 4-6 hours
Pricing: Adult tickets are around $22, Children around $19, Under 2 free
Perfect Ages: 3+ , 5+ if your 3 year old isn't crazy about animals
Van Rental - based on the size of your group, either $18 or $20; and you definitely want to rent a vehicle

For more pictures,  our Full Photo Book can be found here: http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0GZN27VyyZsRO

Flashback: 2013: Bowen at the Painting Party

So, in my absence of posting last year we missed some fun times, so look for some "flashbacks" to things I missed blogging last year.

 

So Bowen's in her first year at "school" and so her new school friends have birthdays throughout the school year  - duh. So one of the first one's we went to was a "painting party" at a local art center.

 

Now look, I'm all about the idea of child prodigies... but let's think this through, there are 15 3 and 4 year olds at a PAINTING party... with paint, and canvas, and the whole nine yards.

 

But, to the party we went. Bowen was pumped!

 

Waiting on her paintbrush and canvas...

Here she is practicing before she gets her paint...

So happy she actually cheesed!

Here we are painting the first portion of the picture...

 

In case you wondered, this is the canvas that was the "inspiration" for everyone...

 .... and THIS was Bowen's version.

We think she takes after her Uncle Tim who does more "interpretative" painting than her Nana who paints with precision and real-life detailing.

And, we've got another one of these painting parties in 2 weeks, wonder what our inspiration will be?

Linked: The New Church Lady

Yes.

http://pearlsandgrace.blogspot.com/2014/01/the-new-church-lady.html?spref=fb&m=1

May we ever be mindful of who we are when we stand in God's house ...especially when His children who may not look, think or act like us, children who are looking for any reason to continue to run from God, and have experienced nothing but heartache when it comes to "religion" come in.

slacker. #nailedit

So, like I mentioned last week, I'm nothing but a realist when it comes to getting fit or healthy or anything that doesn't involve me sitting around, drinking Sunkist and eating Lays chips for the better part of my down-time.

You'll be proud to know, last week - I did a whole 2 days on the new machine.. for a grand total of 16 minutes. #winner #socommitted #kickofffail

Two days in a row mind you. Then 5 days of nothing. Where the only victories I could snake out were drinking half a bottle of water one day and eating strawberries instead of chips another.

But today, its Monday, and we're getting all recommitted for more than 2 days at a time - at least in theory - with a giant 10 minute, 100 calorie burn this morning.

Here's to seeing that repeat... at least more than just tomorrow... #aimhigh

In other news,
The great snowpocalypse which shut down the greater Northern part of Georgia was basically 3 really cold days with ice on the ground and being stuck inside. We did the awesome "throw boiling water and watch it instantly vaporize" trick, which was by far the most exciting venture into the outside. Except maybe when Hayley decided to crush a frozen puddle.. that was only frozen across the top. #whoops.

We took the girls back to the movies on Friday - with better results on the fear level - watching the movie The Nut Job. Truthfully, we're just trying to get our money's worth out of the annual popcorn bucket which we purchased at the first movie - and I think if we go back one more time - we have done that!! I give the movie a B overall - Hayley's favorite part is actually in the credits when SPOILER ALERT the Gangnam style guy in cartoon format comes out to dance with the characters. END SPOILER ALERT. The movie was cute, humorous, has some adult-level references, a few characters that are creepy but not over the top scary, and a simple premise.

ahem. getting started.

Well, first things first, the impending ICE APOCALYPSE of 2014 is looming for Tuesday evening/Wednesday night and evidently, that panic has already spread round enough to make me lose my mind (up in here, up in here). Sorry, I couldn't not go there.

SO. While this post will be a little haphazard, and definitely not as thought provoking as some of my recent link ups... here it is.

This is how out of the ordinary my day has gone - I think I may have lost myself.

First, I was up out of the bed, not voluntarily, but not grumpily either, by 6. I KNOW! I've got my third load of laundry washing, I took Bowen to school, got gas, and went to the store. I SCRUBBED A SHOWER. Yes, you read that correctly. I SCRUBBED A SHOWER.

And, I have done all of 3 minutes on this bad boy...

.. followed by eating 6 Chips Ahoy - because we're keeping it real here.

 

I am also going with that since I didn't buy this until mid-January that its not a New Year's Resolution to get fit - because I'll be destined to fail if I say that.

 

I'm also being totally realistic about my slacker tendencies. This has been in our house for 3 days, and between the three, I've put in about 10 minutes. I triumph that as "baby steps" and those are calories I wasn't burning last week - all 30 of them. SO. There's that. Nothing like starting small, reducing the odds of burnout.

 

My basic fitness goal is to get on this thing every day at least once, starting at around 5 minutes each go round - slacker y'all, I know.

 

My end goal: Not buying new clothes in sizes larger than what I already own.



Stepping Out, Well, Maybe Tiptoeing

I don't get really involved in public posting on political or highly sensitive matters. Its just not my thing. Doesn't mean I don't have opinions on it - but I have just seen so many with good opinions get into bad conversations or bad places and negativity result from them - that I usually just stay out of.

This week, if you are into News and Politics and all that kind of stuff, you'll know that its the annual Sanctity of Life - abortion - pro life v pro choice - hot spot week.

I combat the highly complicated discussions of rights with a simple question... or maybe a few simple questions.

Do you believe that God is a God of mistakes?

Do you believe that any baby is not known to him? Any event? Any life? Any consequence?

Do you believe that anything slips under his radar, behind his back or without his knowledge?

Do you believe that God ever looked down and said, "Wait, that baby, I didn't have a plan for their life. Go ahead, handle it yourself. My bad."

If we believe that God is fully in control... we must believe that is also true for every baby conceived. Regardless of circumstance. Regardless of the mother's personal belief, religion, non-religion. Whatever. Regardless of diagnosis, complication, projected life span. Regardless of any variety of justifications we can or they can or anyone can offer. Whatever it is.

Do you believe that God is a God of mistakes?



All that being said, if abortion has touched your life, or the life of one you know - the most important fact of any debate on morality or sin or not sin or whatever is this - God is a God of grace and mercy and love. He doesn't wish the stains of sin to separate anyone from His love and redemptive story for their life. He doesn't wish them to live in disgrace or be burdened with guilt. He doesn't want their choice to be the only thing they define their life with - regardless of how they feel afterwards.

God has proven over and over again, that regardless of our mistakes. He is a God of perfection.

Linked: How to Pray for Strong Willed Children

I found a lot of my same thoughts here, I particularly love the prayer at the end.

I want my girls to grow to be confident, compassionate leaders - not easily manipulated and willing to stand up for what's right. I see their determination to be themselves daily - I pray that I have the right words and actions to shape them into the women of God they were designed to be - while not breaking their spirit.

Read Kristen's post here: http://wearethatfamily.com/2014/01/how-to-pray-for-your-strong-willed-children/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+wearethatfamily%2FGaiB+%28We+are+THAT+Family%29

Done: First Trip to the Movies

Today we took the girls to the movie theater for the first time. They definitely loved the big popcorn bucket and candy, and once the movie was over, they said they loved it too.

We went to see Frozen. We actually usually never show the girls movies we haven't seen - and they've never been really big into movies with any kind of "scary" in them - this includes Finding Nemo, that's right, they find scary stuff in Finding Nemo.

But, we were around some other families last week who said the movie was really cute - and that their kids liked it (both have children younger than Hayley, one younger than Bowen) so we decided that based on the commercials we'd seen which looked humorous, and their endorsement that the movie would be a good "first movie experience" for the girls.

Well, that would be a bust.

The girls did make it through the movie and their behavior was exceptionally good. I was pleasantly shocked at how well they did.

However, this movie has some seriously intense moments - and both of them got scared multiple times... to the point of teary eyes for Bowen and a ducked head and covered ears for Hayley. Even Michael and I agreed afterwards that there is one particularly "scary" character that is really over the top for a movie geared at kids. But, probably just for young kids... or young kids who aren't exposed to a whole lot of "scary" like our girls.

The movie does end happily and have some funny moments throughout - but I'd say this movie is a little intense for kids under 7.

So, rounding it up.

First Movie Choice (all fault on parents): C
First Movie Experience for girls: B+

Next time, we're sticking to our rule about watching it first to decide if its right for our girls.

Linked: What to Do When Someone is Mean to Your Child

I'm linking up with a post I read today on dealing with "mean kids". The part I like most, isn't even how to deal with mean kids as a parent, but the speech she gives to empower her kids at the end.

And, I'm mostly posting this so when it comes time, and we already have had some of this speech, I can read this one, probably word for word!

Read it here: http://thescooponbalance.com/what-to-do-when-someone-is-mean-to-your-child/

Done: Atlanta Children's Museum

Ok, in the interest of trying to keep this blog up and running in 2014, I'm going to do a post every time we cross something off our 2014 Family Bucket List.

Today we had "adventure day" and make the drive to Atlanta to visit what I've always called, mostly because I didn't know it had a different name, the 'Atlanta Children's Museum' but its actually called "Imagine It! The Children's Museum of Atlanta."

The girls really enjoyed the Museum. In Hayley's words, "The museum is better than the auditorium" (we think she meant aquarium). The museum is completely interactive so kids can touch basically everything. Its split into different exhibits which let you either imagine or discover or some of both. There's painting on the walls, sand/clay tubs for molding, a stage for tapping or dancing, blocks, a ball machine, some money exhibits and several more sections. The girls couldn't tell us what they liked the most, other than that they got to touch everything.

 It was a great play day when its cold outside, or when you've got kids that are still too little to really like the walk through but don't touch type of places.

If you were considering this venue, here's the short story:

Ticket Price: 12.75+tax per person
Ease of Locating: Super easy. Take exit off interstate, drive 4 blocks, turn right, drive 2 blocks, turn left. Park. Walk less than a block.
Duration: 2-3 hours
Ideal Age: 3-6
Do Over: Nope, this is a one-hit wonder in my book.
Can You Combine With Another Visit: probably so, we considered doing the Coca-Cola museum or the Aquarium since they were right there, but the girls were fading fast once we rounded up to leave.
Special Parent Note: If you are a uber OCD parents about germs, toys going back in their place, and kids not being in each others faces, this is not the place for you... unless you take a deep breath and make a conscious choice to be low key for the day.
Recommend: Bring in your own food/drink (which is allowed) as the "vending area" is really only 4 vending machines. Bring in some hand sanitizer - there aren't handy dandy dispensers and you can't help but see germs everywhere!
Visit the official site here: http://www.childrensmuseumatlanta.org/

2014: Intentional

A word for 2014.

A few years back at a monthly Bible study, a guest leader talked to us about choosing a word for the new year. Or a thought. Or a concept. Something to theme your year around.

Not a goal.

Not a resolution.

A word, thought, phrase, purpose for the new year.

Something to center your year around.

I have other friends that do this. I think I've even read a few blogs on people's choices and what they plan for the next year.

As we finished out this year, we've spent the last few days at the lake house. Where its very quiet, with little interrupt, and very little technology. I mostly sat around and did puzzles because despite my inability to do math in my head, I love word games and number puzzles and have two of those giant compilation puzzle books that keep me sucked in while we are "on vacation." Michael teases me often that he's not sure why I really like it there since I'm content on the couch just looking at the lake over the edge of my puzzle book, instead of out in nature. It is what it is.

Anyway, at the end of that tangent, I've been thinking over this past year and trying to think about what to do different in the next one.

In a lot of ways, 2013 was a good year, maybe even great parts of it. But it also was a trying year for our family as we sorted out different aspects of who we are, what we do, where we are, what our goals are, how to get there, and how they all fit together... and all the hills and valleys of raising kids, being part of a bigger family, balancing family and life, life and church, church and family, and everything in between.

There are definitely some parts of 2013 that I'm hoping don't resurface in 2014... but I think that's probably the norm for everyone as they look forward.

So for this year, my word, my focus is : intentional.

I want to be more intentional.

More intentional with people. With my family. With my kids. More intentional about what I do each day. Intentional about decisions. Intentional about actions. Intentional.