More catching up

In addition to Pre-K graduation, May included the closing celebration for T-ball. They had a huge ceremony complete with a juggler. The kids loved it! Our team had a pizza party to end the year and everyone got their trophy.

And even more exciting was my wonderful sister-in-law, Emily, taking me to see Bon Jovi and Daughtry. IT WAS THE BEST CONCERT I'VE EVER BEEN TO...and I've been to alot of concerts. We had so much fun!!!!

Oh yeah.....!

Pre-K Graduation

Since I took such a long break from blogging, I feel the need to catch you all up on what has happened. My sweet little girl is now a Pre-K graduate. She had the sweetest graduation ceremony. She recited her pledges and she performed songs with her class. Her school does such a great job. It is a real blessing to be able to drop the kids off each day with people who love them and take such good care of them. And for those of you who didn't know, my little angel decided to get a new "do". She had about 6 inches cut off her hair. It was her idea.

Precious Moments

I must be the biggest blogging slacker in the world. I know I've left you all hanging for nearly two months, but I have a good explanation. I'll share it with you on another day...it's lengthy.

There are some moments in your life that just can't be expressed into words. If one was to ask, "What might one of these moments be?", you may think back to the birth of a child, your wedding day, etc. Those are all wonderful moments but I submit to you that the most precious moments of our lives may not be monumental milestones but simple stops along the way. Case in point...we went to the Laser Show at Stone Mountain last night. It was great! We met Irwin's family there and had a huge picnic. Everyone had a ball. The funniest part of the night was Brooks twirlling his glo-necklace around and doing his best imitation of a tribal dance on speed. Hilarous! He partied like a Rock Star, as is his usual custom. So when darkness fell and the Laser Show began, he was pooped. He climbed up in my lap and settled in. He was exhausted but he sat in my lap and watched the whole thing. When the fireworks started, it scared him and he turned to me and said, "Home, Mamma, Home". I pulled him tighter and told him it would be ok and he accepted that and enjoyed the rest of the show. The precious moment for me was two-fold. First, I got to hold this non-stop, terribly terrific two year old in my lap and cuddle with him. Second, I realized that "Home" to him meant "Safe" and that at least for now as long as Mommy says it will be ok, he trusts in that. What a wonderful power. It is by this same power that I can kiss boo-boos and they no longer hurt anymore. God has granted me such a privilage. The Laser Show offered me the opportunity to stop...that's it...to stop. To be still and enjoy the moment. To be still and appreciate my gifts. To be still and know that He is God. I am trying to learn to be still. More on that to come.

A New Kind Of Family

I just checked out ABC Family's website. Their tagline is "A New Kind Of Family". Whooohoooo! I'm having a good chuckle out of that.

Just Say No!

So, again, I have left you all hanging for awhile. At some point in my life I am going to have to learn how to say "NO". I may need to take a class. My friends and family may need to have an intervention with me. To say that I am exhausted right now would be an understatement. Somewhere in my crazy mind I have gotten the idea that every second of every day should be filled up with something. I am going to work on this.

So..on to the gripe o' the day. Sunday night I'm watching a TV movie with my daughter on ABC Family Channel called Princess. She and I heard it advertised on the radio and thought it would be fun to watch together. The movie was terrible..plot, acting, you name it; but Nadia liked it. Here is my gripe. If you make a movie titled "Princess", who might your target audience be??? I'm thinking little girls, right? But yet they had a character who played the friend of the guy who was "woo-ing" the Princess who had dialogue like, "Oh, Lesbian love!". There was cussing and ALOT of sexual innuendo, which luckily was over my daughter's head. What the hey, ABC?? I thought this was a FAMILY SHOW! I guess they should have a disclaimer for whose family it is appropriate for. During the show they advertised another exciting series...GREEK, which is about college coeds frolicking through the fraternity and sorority system. Again, target audience??? Do college coeds watch ABC Family? Does my 5 year old daughter need to watch shows about drunk college kids doing keg stands? Your thoughts? Go ahead and comment. I'd like to hear where you guys stand.

Rant Of the Day

It's Spring Break in Henry County so it's been quiet this week. No T-Ball, no track, Dash is in PCB, so like I said...quiet. So because it's a slow news day and I'm experience extreme PMS, I'll share with you all what ticked me off last night. It's no secret that I love American Idol. I know it's cheesy but I can't help myself. So last night is the big hoo-rah, Idol Gives Back. Which is a joke anyway. Idol doesn't give SQUAT; the American people do. Fox's donation last year was a drop in the bucket compared to what AI brings in. But that isn't even what ticked me off. The show's finale last night was beautiful. The remaining contestants, dressed all in white, accompanied by a choir, sang one of my favorite songs; Shout to the Lord. I almost fell off of my sofa. A Christian song on FOX. Holy Cow, Batman! And this song is VERY Christian, not just a token Christian tune. They made me so proud! I even teared up. And then...they had to go and ruin it. The final scene was a comedy piece where Ben Stiller runs out onto an empty stage looking for everyone and realizes that the folks have pulled one over on him. His response..."F***in, Seacrest! I'll kick his f**** a**! Or something to that effect. I know he dropped the F bomb several times and though it was bleeped out, you could still read his lips. I just shook my head and went to bed. Leave it to the liberal media to go and ruin a good thing.

Streakin' at Stonecrest

I really wish I had a picture to put with this post but alas, I did not have my camera. So you'll have to use your imagination. We went to Stonecrest Mall on Saturday to have Irwin's family's picture made. They had them made at Picture People along with 150 other people that day; the mall was VERY crowded. While the kids and I were waiting for Irwin and his sisters to choose the ones they liked, I noticed that Brooks had a wet spot on his shirt so I took him to the bathroom to change. And low and behold his diaper had leaked...all over his shirt, jacket, and pants. And as would naturally be the case, I had no spare outfit. Now let's just pause to think about how ridiculous that is. I'm not a new mom, I've been through no less than 3 babies so one would think I had the good sense to ensure that I had a spare outfit at all times but no.... So there I was, in the bathroom at Picture People with no other option than to strip him down to his freshly changed diaper. I took him back out into the store and gave him to Irwin so I could rush down the mall to the closest children's clothing store to purchase a new outfit. So into A Children's Place I go. "Oh, look, a big sale. Great!". So I begin to furiously search through the sale racks for something to put on my precious naked son. I started with shorts....great, some blue ones....no 24 months. Oh, green ones, great! The right size. On to a shirt. This one matches...no 24 months. OK...I'll start with the shirt, here is one that fits. Alright, let's find some shorts that match...you guessed it...no 24 months. THERE WAS NOT A SINGLE PAIR OF CLOTHES THAT MATCHED IN THE RIGHT SIZE. So I hung my head in defeat and proceeded to break one of my personal 10 commandments. "Thou shalt not pay full price for anything." Thirty dollars later, my son was the proud owner of the latest Spring fashion. I made a mad dash for the register, pay and speed out of the store in a flash. Upon my return to the Picture People, what do my wondering eyes should appear...but a half naked baby, dressed in nothing but a diaper and a pair of tennis shoes, is pushing his stroller around a high speeds, partying like a rock star, and entertaining the patrons of Stonecrest Mall. At that point, all I could do was laugh. He was having the time of his life! I would give anything for a picture of that...it would definitely be a strong candidate for his senior yearbook.

Father Time is a Spry Old Guy

I can't believe it has been a month since my last post. Time passes so quickly. We have been pretty busy with track and T-ball...and other dramas. My aunt was in the hospital for a week and was diagnosed with colon cancer and my brother....well, I guess, that is his business, but he has been having a rough time, too. But God is good. My aunt had surgery to remove the tumor and will have to undergo a relatively short round of chemo and my brother is starting to come around a little more each day. On to happier notes. Tball is going great. The kids are having a ball. All but Nadia. Bless her heart, she has a very hard time sharing her Daddy. On game days she becomes very needy and wants to be right up under him while he's trying to coach the other kids. And the uniform is another story. Nadia feels that the Tball uniform is too masculine for her tastes. We have had meltdowns before both games due to the fact that her uniform was not "beautiful". Ahhh, the joys of raising a daughter. In spite of the fact that the uniform did not include a dress or skirt, I still think she looks fabulous.

We've also celebrated Easter during this blogging break. We went to 3 egg hunts. Brooks was a pro by the time Easter was actually here. We had the families over to our house after church on the big day. We had about 30 people over...it was a blast! And when it was over, Irwin and I crashed! We love entertaining but it wears me out. Happy Belated Easter!

The Thrilla in Manila

In this corner, weighing in at 29 pounds......Brooks, the Cannon, Coile!!!

In the far corner, standing 10 feet tall, The Dreaded Architectural Column!!!

ARE YOU READY TO RUMBLE?????????

Winner by TKO......Architectural Column!

You'll get him next time, Brooks!!

Busy Busy

I know Spring is here because we haven't been home except to shower and sleep lately. Since Wednesday, we have been to a track meet, seen Bill Cosby at the Fox, met up with an friend of mine from high school that I haven't seen in 10 years, ate dinner at my mom's house, went to church, went to a wedding shower in Newnan, and visited some friends of Irwin's in Sharpsburg. I'm exhausted and the week is about to start all over again. I need to back-up though.



Wednesday night I had one of those moments as a mother where your heart just overflows with joy. My precious son, Dash, ran in his very first track meet. He wasn't crazy about going out for the track team but I made him do it because it is something that he is good at and I wanted him to feel what if feels like to be part of a team and to work hard at something and reap the benefits of his hard work. We have fought tooth and nail over this track thing but on Wednesday night, Dash ran in the 800 meter race. It was a very proud moment for me and I think he actually enjoyed it. He didn't come in first place and he didn't come in last place. He came in somewhere in the middle of the pack. I couldn't have been happier if he had come in first. I was so happy to see him finish the race. I can't wait until this Wednesday to go watch him again.


I still can't believe my sweet little baby boy is a teenager. It blows my mind how quickly they grow up. It seems like just yesterday he was playing with his Godzilla toys and now he cracks me up when I catch him checking out a cute little blond in a Toyota. He will always be my sweet little boy and though he is a teenager now, and knows everything and thinks he doesn't need a mother to tell him what to do, I am thankful to God for these precious moments and glimpses of the man that he will become as he stands ready, with confidence to try something he has never done before and finishes the task.

The Great Warrior

The Great Warrior...that is our nickname for Brooks. Everything he does, he does big. He eats big, plays big, screams big..you get the idea. He throws EVERYTHING. We're hoping to develop his arm into something worthy of the Majors but in the mean time, we spend most of our time ducking to avoid injury. We've been bitten, hit, had our hair pulled..Irwin's been kicked in the twins more times than we can count. The big question in our family is not whether or not we will visit the emergency room, it's when and how frequently. So, I'm in Nadia's room with the door shut enjoying some sweet Mommy-Daughter time when I hear, "OWWW, Brooks." If you are familiar with our family then you know that I didn't exactly drop everything and run into the other room to get to the bottom of the screeches of pain. Those are pretty common in our house, especially from my accident prone husband (dislocated shoulder, anyone?). But tonight, we have reached a new milestone.

Yes, that red stuff is blood. Brooks whacked Irwin upside the head with a toy and drew blood. Fortunately, the wound did not require a trip to the ER, though we haven't been in the last month and they probably miss us. So in honor of tonight's milestone, I give you some Brooks highlights.

Look at that plate of food. Yes, he ate all of it.

MMM, I like cake.

Beauty Tip #12: If you run out of styling gel, mashed potatoes are a good alternative.

Favorite News Story of the Day

I heard the best news story today. No, not about Hillary and Obama. It appears the an 8th grade class at a middle school got upset that their lunch was getting cut short so they decided to get back at the administration by paying for their lunch in pennies. The school collected almost 6000 pennies that day. That is just awesome....you really have appreciate their creativity.

So we had our second Tball practice tonight. It went pretty well. Weeknights are really tough because it's so hard to pick the kids up, get them fed, and get to practice on time. It really takes an expert in logistics to work it all out. Tonight's highlights include Nadia spending half of practice wrapped around Irwin's legs as he's trying to coach because she doesn't like sharing her Daddy with the other kids, Brooks pitching numerous fits because I won't let him indiscriminately swing a metal bat around, Brooks tripping over Dash and face planting on the ground busting his lip, Dash getting his Ipod confiscated for giving me ugly looks, and Brooks having a meltdown because I wouldn't let him run to the car with a straw in his mouth. Ahhh, the joys parenting. It is not for the faint of heart.

Just to keep things in perspective, I included this picture with today's post to prove that the little turkeys can be sweet. Brooks has asthma so he has to take breathing treatments. His sweet big sis, Nadia, administered his treatment for him and he sat so still and quiet for her. It was the sweetest thing. These little Kodak moments make it all worth it!

Day 2 of the great back pain drama. Sleeping last night was a joke. After waking up last night in severe pain around 2 am, I finally decided to come downstairs and try to OD on Advil. Four seems to be the magic number. I feel totally crippled. I can't bend over, squat down, pick anything up...not that I would ever need to do any of those things with a toddler in the house. So enough whining.



Today our pastor preached a sermon on plugging in to the church and finding your place of service. We were all handed a puzzle piece as we entered the church. The gist of the message was that one piece of a puzzle by itself isn't very useful and the entire puzzle without all the pieces isn't very effective, either. It was a great illustration.

I can't explain the joy and fulfillment I get from serving in the church. I wish everyone would step out and experience it. I get so fired up when I'm talking to people about our Rec League, which is my particular area of service. Serving is really one of those enigmas where you get so much more than you give. I think I could preach a sermon on the joy I've found serving in the church. Sometimes I get so stirred up on Sundays listening to the sermon that I almost jump out of my seat and knock the preacher out of the way so I can finish up for him. I believe that one day I'll be called to speak to people about my experience as a Christian. It's not time yet but I truly believe the day will come and God is preparing me for it now. I've just started this excellent bible study called Experiencing God. I'm just through the first lesson and I'm already amazed at the truths that are being taught. More on that to come... So I leave you with this today, where are you serving? Don't just stand on the side line, get in the game!!! Will you put your piece of the puzzle into play or keep it to yourself? Many blessings to you as you begin your week!

Herding Chickens!

So here we are, the beginning of another season of T-Ball. Today was our first practice of the season. We couldn't have asked for a better day; sunny and 60 degrees. It was beautiful! Our church's Recreation League is something that Irwin and I are very passionate about. We are both very involved in the league and feel called to it as our mission field. There were around 230 children in the league last year and it more than doubled this year to 480. I thought the picture above was an excellent image of what makes our league different; time taken during practice to teach these little ones about Christ's love and to pray. How often do you see groups of children and grown men praying on a Saturday afternoon?

Our first practice went so well! Irwin and I are exhausted! Trying to teach 12 three to five year olds the game of baseball is somewhat akin to herding chickens, but sometime during the season, it will click and they will function like a well oiled machine. It is truly a thing of beauty! We had so much fun at practice today, we decided to come home and continue playing ball in the front yard....and that's when it happened. I pulled my back again. I'm too young for to be hobbling around like this. All I did was bend over to pick up a ball, it wasn't like I did it doing something glamorous like diving for a line drive. So now I'm sitting here with an ice pack on my back. It's just sad...