A Day inthelifeofalott

A couple weeks ago now, President's Day to be exact, we were enjoying a day at home together since Makenna was off school.

We slept in (a must on a day off), ate breakfast, watched a cartoon, played together, read books . . .

. . . Makenna had a photoshoot with Madi as a subject (not sure Madi was as thrilled as Makenna) . . .

. . . played with the new "Shake 'n Go" cars Papaw bought them for Valentine's Day . . .

. . . turned on some Southern Gospel quartet music and danced with stuffed animals (ironically from Papaw) in the living room . . .

(Side Note: At this point my nerves were only slightly on edge. I'm not used to having all three of the kids home. Normally about late afternoon, my day intensifies with kids wanting snacks while I'm trying to make dinner, keeping Makenna on top of her homework, keeping the other kids out of the way and busy -- you get the idea.)

Unfortunately, I received a call that Rick's great-aunt Margie (who has become like a grandma to me) isn't doing very well and that her cancer is spreading quickly. Thankfully, the family has received some assurance that she is saved.

We were supposed to head to town, meet Rick and eat dinner at Olive Garden. But for numerous reasons, we didn't. So, off to the kitchen I go to find something for dinner. I remembered I took some meat out of the freezer to thaw and decided to use that for dinner. As I reached in the frig to take it out, I accidently knocked down an opened pudding one of my children put in there . . .

(in case you can't see -- it's everywhere! on the floor, on the wall up past the border, on me, on the underside of the shelves and any where else you can think of)

And while I'm standing there trying to keep Isaiah out of the kitchen and thinking of how I'm going to clean this up . . . Makenna yells from the kitchen "Mom, there are horses in our front yard!"

What?!?

Sure enough . . . as big as life, here they come up the driveway! What do you do with horses? Do I let them do whatever it is that they do when they wander around the neighborhood? Do I go shoo them away? Um, no! I'm honestly terrified that I'd be stomped to death in front of my kids -- not a pretty picture. I start thinking of how I can get my neighbor's number to let them know where there horses are. I tried calling a neighbor who goes to our church to get the number, but it went right to voice mail.

They made themselves at home.

To prove I have reason to be scared . . . the vehicle that they are dwarfing is 6 1/2 feet tall!!

They toured the back yard, ran around the swingset and through the woods. The neighbor did eventually find them, and I did go out and help corral them. In all my horse training (insert much laughter), I thought I could at least fill the gap, so they wouldn't head into the back yard. Picture Anne of Green Gables and the cow round-up. Now picture me slowly moving out of the way as a horse heads in my direction. HA!

Well, that's over . . . what's next? And it's not even dinnertime yet . . . some days you just need to do what's possible and let God perform the miracle!

Song Of Encouragement

Over the last few weeks, I've heard I'll Do The Miracle by Ivan Parker on Enlighten XM radio, and it has really ministered to me. The words posted in the header are from the chorus of the song. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to find a way to link it to the blog, but you can Google the title and find excerpts from the song. (FYI: the YouTube version isn't very good.)

Needless to say, I've had a few rough weeks . . . (see post, hopefully, coming soon) . . . So often we try to do everything in our power to make things work and get through on our own. Why torture ourselves?!? Give it to God and feel the burden of life lift off your chest. God only asks that we do our best and when that isn't enough to get the job done . . . you do what's possible, let Him do the miracle and don't forget to give Him the praise when the task is accomplished.

To quote one of my dad's favorite verses, Micah 6:8 ~ "He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?" May I encourage you (& myself) to have a close relationship with the Lord? I know in tough times, when I think I can't go on . . . if I am close to the Lord and I ask Him, He helps me through. Whether it is physical strength, emotional strength or the wisdom to set priorities we need to get things done. Don't fight and struggle to be in control. Life is so much more enjoyable when we give our daily lives to the Lord.

Give it a try!

Haircuts For All!

Since "Mommy the Hairdresser" isn't really working out, we decided to go visit Kiara (a young, budding stylist in our church).

Madi was thrilled they had a play area for kids.

Makenna's turn . . .

Isaiah's turn . . .

Trust me when I say, I did NOT put him up to this . . . he saw the broom and had to sweep! They offered him a job!

Madi's turn . . .

Here's the new little man or "baldy" as we call him. Decided to go short to see if we liked it. Hair grows right?!?


Madi's refined do . . . (yes, she's my current sickie)


Makenna isn't into pictures, so this is the best pic I have to show. She has nice long layers now, and this picture doesn't do her haircut justice.

The Sickie

Isaiah started getting sick on Friday morning and was miserable by the evening. He started with fevers on Saturday that reached over 102 degrees. He was very congested and had a bad cough. Usually I run the humidifier, give Tylenol, push the fluids . . . and let things take their course. We've made it through a lot this winter that way. Call it motherly instinct or whatever you want, but this "cold" wasn't sitting well with me. We took him to the pediatrician today and found out he has the startings of an ear infection and is between bronchitis and pneumonia!! Because he wasn't having any difficulties breathing, they only gave him a strong dose of antibiotics.

This was taken Sunday. He looks so sad.

+++++++++++++++++++++++

Today, I came across a disk that had pictures of when Isaiah first started walking (compliments of Heirloom Memories Photography). I'm glad I have pictures to capture a priceless time in his life.

Can you look at this picture without smiling??

It makes me smile with such pride. What you don't see here is his Daddy holding him up so he can reach the net. Things like this make me nervous when it's happening, but this picture makes me think of the joy he is experiencing and the faith he has in his hero.

What's New

Welcome to our little part of the world . . . The Great Thaw of 2009 that is our yard! While I am VERY thankful for the non-freezing temps, I am so much more thankful that our driveway is melting!! We had 2-3 inches of solid ice across our whole driveway which made getting wood and going to the vehicles almost impossible. This has been the scene for the last few days -- some foggier than others. Last night when I went out to teach piano lessons, I could only see a car length in front of me or less at times! All I could see of Makenna's bus from the house this morning was a lone blinking red light.

Our biggest family news is regarding Isaiah. He has "grown up" so much in the last couple weeks. He has really started trying to talk . . . baba (bottle), some strange gurgle in his throat for "stinky", and words only Momma can understand . . . bubbles, bath, more, juice, banana, etc.

He loves to feed himself. (An answer to prayer for me! I don't wish my kids' lives away, but I am always anxious and excited for them to learn to be independent of Momma.) Meal times are so much easier and enjoyable since I can give him his food and then eat mine!

He is so proud to have milk in his cereal like the big kids!

I think he needs some improvement on technique, but he gets it in there.

Last night we had broccoli & cheese with dinner. Broccoli isn't one of his favorites (come to think of it I don't know any veggie that he'll eat), but I at least attempt to give him veggies at dinner time. You would have thought I gave him candy! He scarfed it down and kept asking for more -- he thought the green swirl prints on this plate were broccoli and tried to eat them off too!

I know he looks like a baby with this bottle, but our silly or stubborn boy won't drink milk from a cup! We've talked with the pediatrican and decided to keep giving him milk in the bottle until he's two since he isn't attached to it and he needs the nutritional value. He takes a bottle at "quiet time" -- watching a TV show in the morning, reading books or playing in his bed in the afternoon . . . I'm going to miss seeing him lying there so sweetly enjoying his milk. (Since he's my last, I'm starting to realize these little things won't last forever, and I'm trying to capture them on camera bacause my memory is so awful.)

Just so you all know he does have a few non-girl toys . . . Daddy teases him for walking around burping a baby and for watching Dora . . . Isaiah received this remote-controlled Pluto for Christmas and he gets a kick out of playing with it. It always makes him laugh. (PS: A lady in our church just asked me on Sunday if we could use some boy toys!! Could we ever!! I'm excited to get them and fill his toy box with something besides stuffed animals and Little People. Thank the Lord!)

Can't leave out the girls! They were sitting on the couch Saturday watching TV, and Isaiah had to crawl up there and sit with them -- it was adorable. After many attempts, I could not get them all to look at me and smile. Oh well.

It's times like these that make me smile with joy over the blessing that my children are to me. On the otherhand, it also makes me think, "I have 3 children!?!" Maybe it's a weird quirk of mine or the fact that they are usually running around in different directions and they aren't always together, but I don't always realize I have 3 kids of my own. I guess I still feel younger than I am and need a dose of reality from time to time.

Madi's Big Day

To lessen the anxiety of Madi's doctor's appointment, we decided to make it a special day with just Madi, Mommy & Daddy.

Seeing as we live in the sticks, a mall with a food court is a novelty. We let her pick where she wanted to eat. She picked Chick-fil-A. She laughed at the cow with the signs and loved that she could pick fruit and milk with her meal.

Build-a-Bear: We had taken Makenna to Build-a-Bear when she was 3, so we figured this was a great opportunity to take Madison.

At first she wasn't sure what to do. After about 5 minutes, she picked Hello Kitty complete with matching Hello Kitty pjs and slippers. But then she changed her mind. . .

She ended up with the Spring Bear. Here she is warming the heart and giving it a kiss before placing it in her bear.

We created a birth certificate for "Baby Madison" -- what an original name, but they said that happens a lot!

Madi enjoyed spending the day with us. She is so sweet and has such an enjoyable personality when she is by herself. I wish we could spend time with her alone more often. I think she felt really special with all the attention on her.

We had a little extra time, so we went to the play area in the mall.

Off to Children's Hospital . . . they have so many things around that kids' enjoy. I don't think Madi remembers who this was, but she wanted her picture taken with Mushu. I think she liked him just because he was bigger than her.

The doctor decided to only do the EKG today. Madi did well. She was a little apprehensive and wanted to stay close to Momma. She was very well behaved and cooperated. She didn't want to talk but both girls tend to clam up when they are scared. The doctor still heard the mummer in her heart and felt the problematic valve was still opened, so he recommended not doing the echo just to prove it was still opened. This condition is called PDA (Patent Ductus Arteriosis). She has a small valve open that should have closed at birth. Eventually she will have to have a small surgical procedure to close the valve if it doesn't close on it's own, but because she is still little they will not do that for another year or two. We are praying the Lord will close it , so she doesn't need the surgery. The nurses were so happy that she did well, so they gave her a coloring book and crayons.

We praised Madi for doing such a great job today, and we ended our fun with an ice cream cone before picking up her siblings and heading back home.

Thanks for all your prayers and concerns!

Super Bowl XLIII, a few random pics and a recipe!

Yesterday was the Super Bowl . . . Steelers vs Cardinals. Now before I say anything I would like to say I would have been rooting for the Cardinals if they weren't playing the Steelers. I really like Kurt Warner and the Cardinals did amazing this year. I congratulate them on a great season and a great game Sunday! But we are, after all, STEELER FANS!

I didn't take too many pics, but here is Daddy in his Super Bowl tee from the last time the Steelers played in the Super Bowl.

The kids like to have Steeler/football desserts at our parties, so I opted for the easy way out with cupcakes this year.

Here is Makenna & Nana (this is Nana before her almost-heart attack after Fitzgerald caught the ball and scored in the 4th quarter)!

I was remembering back to the last Steeler Super Bowl party and thought I'd share -- Makenna was 4 and Madi was 14 months.

Isaiah is trying to change the battery in his Thomas Train. FYI: the C battery won't work Bud.

Insert funny story: Thomas is now gone forever. We have this small opening in the corner of the kitchen where the cupboards meet. A hole small enough for a bouncy ball, your arm or Thomas to fit through! Last week, Thomas took a ride down into the black hole, but Mommy was able to retrieve him. Yesterday, Isaiah decided to send Percy and Thomas on a ride down into the black hole. Well, Percy made it back out, but Thomas must have taken a right further down the tunnel. Needless to say, there was no retrieving Thomas. And as luck would have it, we had to listen to Thomas chug away until his little battery ran out (probably about 45 minutes -- God was really testing my patience as I had to type and do a mail merge while listening to that annoying noise). Daddy said we can't (won't) try to get it out. He just says whoever remodels the kitchen in 15 years will find him and make a lot of money on ebay selling him . . . can you feel the compassion?

The girls recently received matching pjs.

They were so cute I had to take a pic.

Last week we had a bad storm come our way. The snow stuck on the tree branches because there was a layer of ice already on them. So pretty!

I am making a recipe book for my sister that is getting married this year. I decided to start taking pictures of things I make so there will be pictures to accompany the recipes. (surprise Sis!) I've always liked having a picture to go with a recipe. I made this Reuben Dip for our party yesterday.

Recipe: Reuben Dip

8 oz. Shredded Swiss Cheese
8 oz. Sauerkraut
8 oz. Sour Cream
8 oz. Corned Beef
1 loaf cocktail rye bread

Chop up corned beef and sauerkraut into bite-size pieces. Mix all ingredients in an 7" x 11" baking pan (or medium-size casserole dish). Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 until cheese is melted and bubbly. Serve warm with cocktail rye bread.

Makes enough for one loaf of bread (45 slices).