For the love of squishy

Jack loves everything squishy.  Mostly I'm talking about those gooey, squishy toys you buy that when flung they stick to the wall.  I have several grease spots on our walls to attest to this love (& if you ever want to buy something squishy for some little boy you love, avoid black bats.  For some reason they are extra awful on walls!!! HA!).  He carries them around in his pockets with him everywhere.  In fact, some of his Kindergarten homework is to bring one thing that tells about him-you've got to believe that he'll be taking something squishy.

Sometimes you take good pictures, sometimes you take stories.  This is a story picture, not my best!

The family all pitched in and spent our Sunday afternoon de-boning some chickens.  Jack took extra delight in the leftover, nasty, SQUISHY "stuff". The part labeled "disgusting" in my book.  He had a ball running it through his fingers, listening to the sounds, getting grease up to his elbows.

 He is such a boy.  Have to say I love it.

Melsey 2011

Our second annual Melsey Vaca...we went to the same little town that we love so much but stayed in a different cabin-declaring this one "THE ONE" for all times.  It was perfect for us-lots of room for the kids & for cooking & for running around.  We got to experience rain every afternoon & cool evenings.  We went for lots of walks, did some crafts (and moms got to sew), and even spent one afternoon in the neighboring town playing at the park.  We took a long drive up the side of a mountain to a lake that is so beautiful & calm...we were not.  It was so funny, here we all come, crashing through the trees and stumbling onto this serene lake with several fishermen.   We stayed a bit, threw lots of rocks in the water, took some pictures & played with a dead fish, then we let the fishermen get back to their fishing!

Rainy afternoons...

This is why we love the mountains in the summer!!  COOL weather!

Loving that pickle juice!

Probably the most exciting story this time was our encounter with a bear.  We enjoyed a big, huge, juicy watermelon out on the patio one evening (showing our true Texas nature) and never thought about rinsing off the deck.  Early in the morning (5:00am) we awoke to a strange sound...investigating it we learned that it was indeed a bear clawing through the kitchen window (that we had mistakenly left open-again, we are from Texas & don't remember things like bears come through open windows).  After recovering our wits we scared it off, got a good (yikes) laugh, went back to bed...then 15 minutes later did it all over again.  No harm except to the screen and no more visits from the bear.

 Ava loves to stuff everyone's pockets with rocks.

 Macy befriended a squirrel on one of our walks...if you look really closely you can see him!

 This is the juice that later attracted the big, hungry bear.

 One evening the kids all played charades...it was hilarious.

 The damage to the screen from the bear.

 These two are not shy around the camera...and full of poses!

project 52:34 - milk mustaches

Milk mustaches, sticky fingers, muddy toes, bed head, backwards clothes...none of it matters because a toddler has no inhibitions.  Life comes at this one full speed with no break pedal, she absorbs the sparkle and wonder of this world.  


To be like a little kid again...not that we should wear our clothes backwards but just to not care so much about what others might think!

project 52:33 - a rollercoaster ride

School started this week.  It is one of the many things that makes motherhood a roller coaster ride.  Up & down, around in circles...I am sad to see summer end & know that 2 of my kids will spend almost as much time away from me as they will at home but the arguing & fighting that have dominated the end of our summer make me shout a little "hooray".  It also means that we will be in a continuous loop of activities & schedules, saying good-bye to the freedom of summer days, but that can also be a good thing...maybe I'll be better at going to the grocery store?  (We can all hope!)


Macy was very excited to start school & she took it like a cool fourth grader would.  Not even those first day jitters bothered her.  She came home and professed that Mrs. R is going to be the best teacher ever...but that Mrs. N (last year's teacher) was too.  She was pumped that there were lots of pets & the best part-she has to have a binder & assignment notebook.  Oh, my...that's the big time.  Jack was like a little lost puppy and leaving those sad little eyes was one of the hardest things to do.  If I didn't already know that he has the most awesome, wonderful Kindergarten teacher, it would have been even more difficult.  He was a changed little boy at pick-up, professing that he really liked it (whew!) and his favorite part was decorating & eating a gingerbread man.  


Seems that one minute you are patting yourself on the back, thinking you have this gig figured out only to be humbled to your knees praying for help because you are at your wits end over some behavior or condition.  But, it's both the elation over a random stranger giving you the sweetest compliment at Chick-fil-a (excuse me, are you referring to MY children? Haha!) and it's the tears of frustration that we give to God...

Home alone

Today I am sitting in my house with just the dog for company.  This is weird!  All the kids got to go on a super-fantastic, totally-cool, no-parents-allowed, trip to see both sets of grandparents (very awesome benefit of marrying your high school sweetheart) and get spoiled as much as is possible in 3 days.  They were so pumped, they couldn't wait to get rid of me.

I miss the little twerps.

Since I had some time to think...I got caught up on my Project 52...if you are interested, make sure you scroll down because there are several entries.  I have been a little scarce on my blog...I'm needing rest more than usual.  And, summer is fading fast & it has been a flurry of activity before school starts-we've gone on a few more trips (pics soon), worked on a project for the school, and (very exciting) taken part in the grand opening of our precious friends' new Chick-fil-a!

It seems that every summer has a theme...one year all my memories are of us playing in the back yard, last year it was family bike rides.  This year, it has been "going"-we've "gone" a lot this summer, & while it has been a lot of fun, fun trips, I've kinda missed the bike rides and the back yard and the "home" things that usually make up summer.  As the weather cools off, I'm going to make it a priority to work these things into our evenings I think!

project 52:32 - pure joy

We are expecting a new baby in March!  Our house is growing again...and all of us are very excited.  The kids are unanimously hoping for a boy so that Jack will have a brother.  It's still very early, but we have a hard time not sharing such good news.  Prayers for me & this baby are greatly appreciated.  

project 52:31 - trusting

Recently, I've started letting Macy have a little bit more responsibility...leave my sight for just a minute.  But it takes trust-trust in her that she won't get lost or distracted & that she will act like a big sister (not a dictator momma), trust in the Lord that He will watch over them for me.  She's handling the responsibility beautifully...and it really helps me.  But, growing up isn't for sissies!  


(And I have to say...even as big as they are, I can still see how little they are.  It took having my fourth kid to realize that babies are still babies, even at two, despite how big you think they are getting & that a big old fourth grader is still a little kid that needs to sit in your lap sometimes.  I remind myself to not miss out on the little-ness that still is because you're so busy seeing the bigness that's just become!)

project 52:30 - restless

The minute you become a mom-before the baby even gets here-you start losing sleep.  Worry, stress, hormones, overactive bladder...then late night feedings, fussy tummies, lonely babies, bad dreams, a-nother drink, trips to the potty & potty accidents, fevers and sickness...and it all comes full circle with teens I hear (the worry, stress & hormones but theirs not yours!) waiting up for them to come home.


Eventually you get used to it & find you can operate on a lot less sleep than you thought you required.  I always have my book & my phone to keep me company when I can't sleep! 

project 52:29 - love you more

It's a favorite game around here..."I love you", "I love you MORE!"  Now Ava joins in.  


This is my most favorite job in the world.  

project 52:28 - saying yes

For Macy's birthday, her daddy & I finally decided it was time to get another dog.  She has wanted this and waited for this for many, many years but it just hasn't been right for our family until now. 


So much of parenthood involves saying "no"-no you can't go, no you can't have that toy, no you don't need another, no you can't hit your siblings.  It's so fun when you get to say "yes"!


So, this is Brooke...our new, sweet-as-can-be doggy.  She's the best kind-mixed, and has been the best dog we could ever hope for.