September-you were a little packed

It's fall!! My favorite time of year~except that I have already had my 1st Zpack and Buddy is on his 2nd round of antibiodics. But, the one thing I always look forward to is Harvest Time! This year had a great corn crop!  Here is Sister showing us that she is tall, just like the corn stalks.

I shucked this corn and it looked like a flower

Riding the combine with Papa-we could do this all day!!

View from the combine

Jumping in the trailer of corn. I am not even going to tell you where we found corn this year, andI am still trying to figure out how it stayed in those places so long!

My little boy's dream~one day maybe he can drive one of Papa's big rigs.

 One night on the way to church, Sister asked me if she had to be a mommy to get her ears pierced. I said, no, you can do it now if you want. And she said, ok...so we scheduled it for that weekend. I thought I might want to jump on that while she was willing.

She cried for about 2 minutes after it was done. She said it hurt worse than a shot. Then she worried for about a day or 2 that the earrings would fall out. Other than that, it has been a non-issue and we don't even think about it that much. So glad we went ahead and got it over with before she chickened out 4 times and walked around with purple circles drawn on her ears (like someone else I know).

One Saturday morning, we headed over to the local airport to see the airplane show. There is a more official name for it, I just can't remember what it is. Buddy LOVED it! He basically walked around pointing the whole time!

And when his pointer finger got tired, he started using his pinkie!

They even got to sit in an airplane! The nice man was an Auburn fan of course! :)

Buddy loved that a fighter jet showed up and did a few loops over everyone!

The best part about all of these events is that WB got to go with us to each of them!

Sister had her first "real" field trip to a play at the high school, as well this month. She loved riding the bus and has begged to ride it just about every day since. The last thing I need is for this little 5 year old to be on a bus with 5th graders!!

WB was also gone for 8 days to North Carolina to work the Hurricane aftermath. I had a big surprise for him when he got back!!

My embroidery machine had been down for 6 weeks and while he was gone, they finally got it fixed! The kids had gone to the lake with my parents, so I was working like a crazy lady trying to get caught up. I got a little carried away with whatever I was doing and stuck my finger between the needle and the fabric. Not real smart!

Top is the brown thread, the bottom is the needle with the tip broken off, but still threaded. There were 3-4 different parts of the needle that broke, leaving just one part in my finger. My first thought was-that didn't hurt as bad as I was expecting! I actually continued sewing for another 2 hours.  And then, I realized that all of the neighbors were out of town! It was my right hand, so I knew I wouldn't be able to pull it out myself. My friend Joy came to my rescue and took me to her husband's fire station for him to yank on the needle.  It came out fine and didn't hurt that bad. I am very lucky that it didn't hit a bone!! 

I knew my time would come with this injury because it is common with us monogrammers! Maybe I won't do it again for another 2 years-or ever!

School-we were excited, then we weren't

Sister started Kindergarten this year! It is so hard to believe it is time for this HUGE step. She was so excited and so ready~talking about it all summer long, and not even caring when we found out none of her friends were in her class. She said she would be glad to make new friends! She couldn't wait to eat in the lunchroom and use her new napmat and backpack!

She didn't want me to walk her in on the first day because she 'knew' where she was going. She was too busy here writing her name on her paper for me to take her picture, but told me I could do it really fast.

Then, she came home...and her spirit had been broken.

It has been a tough road since, some days she can't wait to get there and some days she cries because she doesn't want to be away from home. Part of it is still the after effects from the first day and part is due to the whole transition of being at school for a whole day. It is a long day and a tough change because church preschool and public school are NOTHING alike.

We have come up with a morning routine that includes riding her bike before leaving for school and listening to Zack Brown and Taylor Swift on the i-pod on the way. And, I make sure not to get her there too early because she does not like sitting in the hallway before school.

We are taking it one day at a time and I have assured her that she can't go to 1st grade if she doesn't finish kindergarten. This too shall pass and one day she will love school. Hopefully. :)

Buddy also started preschool this year! He has been looking forward to this for so long! He goes 3 mornings a week to the preschool Sister went to these past two years.  The first week was awesome! He was thrilled everyday...then, day 6, he decided he didn't "wike" it. It took me a little bit, but I figured it out...he thought Sister would be with him at school. He didn't want to just go to school, he wanted to go to school with her. It is hard for the second child to do something on their own when they are use to having the oldest (and dominant) one with them. But, after a few weeks of seeing if he could get away with not "wiking" school, he has now claimed that he "woves" it and is actually missing this whole week due to croup. :)

There is a lot more that goes along with these first days of school that need no documentation because they are forever in my memory...One day, when they are having issues with their kids starting school, I will be able to say-let me tell you about your first days of school. Can't wait! :)

Crickets Chirping

It has been a while! Two and a half months to be exact. We are all alive and well, but exhausted and busy! I can't really tell you exactly what all has gone on since June 23 (my last post), but I will assure you that there hasn't been a lot of time for documentation, so I will be updating with the best this ol mommy can remember.  We did go to the beach this summer (more details below), have a 33rd birthday, and start kindergarten and preschool. The jury is still out on school-as in neither of them are sure they like it-as in their minds change every.single.second-especially when those seconds are really close to time to get in/out of the car in the mornings. Fun times. So, there are many, many days that I find myself wishing I was back on this trip to the beach.

We are not a big traveling family, just due to the fact that WB's busiest times with his job(s) are March-October, then comes my busiest time of November-December...and who wants to go to the beach in January or February? This year, we were bound and determined that no matter what, we were going on a family vaca since our kids were at the perfect ages (5 & 3.5) for a beach trip. And, it was the best trip ever!

First of all, God showed out for us! I think he knew we needed that trip to remind us we should take the time to bask in His beauty more often. We saw dolphins jumping and flipping every morning, brought home tons of shells from the ocean, caught a little crab, saw the end of a rainbow, swam with sharks (not on purpose), and just relaxed. I want to go back tomorrow!

The kids were great! Buddy loved the beach and Sister loved the pool. They did good at all of the long dinner waits (thanks to cars and search & find books). WB and I were able to get a little alone time one afternoon when it rained, and I even got to spend a little time shopping with my mom! WB and my daddy got naps and good dinners every day, so the trip was a success to them. :) We had a ton of laughs with (at) the kids~it was just an awesome getaway and totally worth the wait!

They were in a hole, although you can't really tell it was a hole.

The rainbow that ended in the sand. We wondered if we should get a shovel and see what we could find!

Mimae and Papa

Me and the Sis (& my hair right when I walked outside)

(my hair, after I had been outside for just 5 minutes. I forgot what the good ol humidity did to my naturally wavy hair.)

We waited til the last day to do the "family beach shots" which is why we didn't get any...it rained. But, this trip was the best vacation I have ever been on! It was so fun to see the kids experience the beach for the first time. I am glad we waited til they were big enough to be able to play and enjoy it. And, it was a much needed, long overdue rest for us!

On being an encourager

Encouragement is a kind word to a friend.
Encouragement is a hug when someone is going through a tough time.
Encouragement is a Bible verse taped to your mirror.
Encouragement is a reminder that you are loved.

Being an encourager doesn't take a lot of time or a lot of effort, but it can make a world of difference to the person on the receiving end! Just think about how good you feel when someone tells you that you are a good mom, or that they are praying for you, or that their child has had to be spanked in the church parking lot too. A lot of times it can make your whole day brighter!

Then, why don't we take the time to do it? Are we too busy? Do we just not think the person would care?

And, why don't we send cards anymore? Actually putting pen to paper is a dying art these days...but think of the response it would get! I mean, don't you go to the mailbox wondering if there is something in there other than the bills? And when there is, you just can't wait to open it! Then when you realize that someone actually took the time to write your name on a card with an actual pen, look up your address, then put a stamp on it and walk it to the mailbox...just for you! WOW! What a great feeling!

And by being an encourager, you have the ability to make someone smile without even seeing them! How rewarding to know that you could be a blessing to someone, just by taking 5 minutes out of your day to send them a little 'praying for you.' Because, we could all use an extra prayer, couldn't we? You don't have to write anything profound, or fix anything, or come up with the perfect verse that would make things seem better for them. Just a good old fashioned 'I said a prayer for you today!' can make all the difference.

Here are a few cards that I received to review from DaySpring recently.

And, when I opened them, I had a specific person in mind for each card! All of them have a fun spin on friendship and a special verse. Perfect for those of us (namely, me) who can't always write well, or at all, and always tries to make it sound great, only to see that what I write doesn't make sense! 

There are all kinds of different items available at DaySpring to make it easy to be a encouragement to others! Go check it out!
You can't put a price on making someone else smile~and more than likely, it will be an even bigger blessing to you!

**Yes, DaySpring sent the cards for me to review for free...but the opinions are all mine.**

Gone Fishin'

Sister LOVES to fish! And, when we go to the lake, that is ALL she wants to do! She will say, "I don't know anything else we should do but fish!"

This year, she has graduated up to an adult fishing pole, her own personal, Lucky #33, as she calls it. Back in April, we were at the lake for a few days and she went through 2 things of crook-its (crickets) and worms! I think we quit counting at 20 fish one day. That is not a fisherman's tale either.

She has an awesome cast~and will even reel them in by herself! We have considered putting her in a tournament. :) If only she could bait her own hook! She wears me out, I am constantly taking fish off the hook and baiting the hook again. We will be working on those skills this summer!!

Here she is with one if the first catfish from that weekend.

Buddy caught one too with the help of his Mimae.

Another little pumpkin fish as she says. She caught this one in the kisser and it didn't even get to eat the prize!

Buddy can cast by himself too. He just doesn't catch any. Evidently his arms were getting tired, so he found something to hold the rod for him! This was right before he dropped it in the water for the 50th time. The last time, it went to the bottom.

Sister caught a pregnant momma this time...we were guessing it weighed about 3 pounds. She reeled it in all by herself! Gymnastics must have helped with that arm strength! :)

Buddy was looking on from the deck. He was not allowed to come down to the dock anymore that day. That's what not listening will get you, hence the sad face.

This was the whopper of the weekend. Sister got it almost all in by herself, but needed a little help. We are guessing he was a 5 pounder, the Daddy fish. It was as long as her arm! She was so proud of herself!

One might assume that we were just in a good spot that weekend, but that is not the case! There are times (like Memorial Weekend) when she caught more fish than her cousins. Everyone thought this was funny except Jay. He didn't like the fact that his younger girl cousin was catching all the fish and he didn't get any. He would really get upset when she would try to critique his cast and tell him that he just needs to be patient!

Lucky #33 must really be lucky!!

It started out good...

Sister is 5! And, as normal, we celebrated for a week! Our first celebration was at the lake for Memorial weekend. My brother's family was in town so we were able to get in some cousin time!

The 3 Muskateers! Buddy is 10 months younger than Coco who is 10 months younger than Sis.

A family pic after 'Lake Church' (with no makeup)

Our annual Memorial Day pic of the kids.

On Sister's actual birthday, we met WB's family for dinner at our favorite Mexican restaurant. We went early to beat the Friday night crowd. They sat us in the back. The service was beyond slow. Therefore, we were stuck once the back room turned into a karaoke bar. Yes, a karaoke bar.  We didn't know this.
So, he asked for people to come up and sing. Sister walked up to him and asked him to sing Happy Birthday to her! WB and I were a little shocked. We would have never done that at 5, or any other age.
In normal karaoke bar fashion, EVERYBODY got involved. They announced it on the microphone, Sis stood up in a chair and the whole place sang to her! I could feel my cheeks turning red and I started sweating!! She just ate it up!

We thought it was over, but Oh No! Not quite! We had to continue to sit and sit and sit and listen and wish we had ear plugs and sit. They wouldn't let us leave because the Friday Night Karaoke Club had another trick up their sleeve!

Sister wasn't so sure about this! :) We were ready to get out of that joint!!

Sweet kids!

On Saturday, we had a busy day before Sister's Art Party. We started out with our last swim lesson, then we had to get plates, cookie cake, etc. On a quick run in Hobby Lobby to grab some fabric, Buddy declared he had to go potty real bad. So, I throw him in the buggy to make the long run to the back of the store. Sister was walking behind us and when I turned around to check on her, I saw her bouncing off one of the glass shelf things. Then I heard SCREAMING! And she was holding her eye. I didn't see any blood, but there was redness. Then Buddy decided she wasn't screaming loud enough and started screaming as well.  Fantastic. Long story short, Sister has a black eye.  

And no one at the Hob tried to help...they just stared at us. And, kept saying, you should put some ice on that. Really? Thanks for the advice.

Here we are at the art party~you can't really tell here, but it is a lot worse each day!

The girls painted sparklie fish!

 And all of their moms thanked me for having an indoor party. I don't know why they don't like my outside parties in June.

Here it is today. :( Needless to say, I canceled her pictures this week.

I always strive to make my kid's birthdays memorable.

This one was definitely a success!

Who else gets to go to a karaoke bar and get a black eye when they are five?

I know all of y'all are striving for that Mother of the Year trophy, but I think you better get to cracking. We've already had a broken collar bone and black eye this year...and it's only June.

One less day of rocks in my washer

Our first ever season of instructional t-ball is in the books! This will also be the only season Sister and Buddy could play on the same team! 

Here are a few things we learned this season~

How to hit the ball and run to first base.

And that Buddy is the.slowest.runner.EVER! This little boy has never been known to get in a hurry for anything and getting to first base obviously isn't that important either. I think he knew no one would be able to get him out anyway!

That they don't make helments small enough for Buddy's head

That Sister LOVES every single thing about t-ball!

That she hustles the whole game and will go after every ball that is even close to her 'position.'

And she is serious about her game. So serious that when the ball hit her in the head, she didn't cry! She just said "Hey momma! I stopped that ball with my head!"

That Buddy only cares about the rocks on the field. So much that he thanked God tonight for all the rocks hiding on the field that he could put in his pocket.

That trophies are a big deal!

And must be stared at, slept with, and taken everywhere with us!

We are so glad the kids were old enough to play this year! And that they were able to play together was even better! They both loved it so much and have already said they want to play again next year. Which is just fine with me because I love the ball field!