Young Family Chaos

Fun in the Leaves

2011-12-24T04:43:00.000-08:00

What fun is it to have a huge tree in your front yard if you can't jump into a big ol' pile of leaves?

Ella and Brett were so excited about the pile of leaves they swept (yes- they had a broom out there with them!) and came inside to get me and my camera demanding I take pictures. It was hilarious to watch them. It really doesn't take much to entertain kids. Just send them outside and let their imaginations run wild! Again, life in the country (or the Young house) is never dull!

Lots of catching up to do...

2011-12-23T14:37:00.000-08:00

Things have been really busy around here lately- it IS the holiday season. I finally wised up and decided it was not in anyone's best interest to continue with school during Christmas time so we have taken the month off. Yes, you read that correctly. THE. WHOLE. MONTH.
Instead of having my kids do history, science, language arts, etc. we have decided to occasionally do some math, do some reading, ALOT of baking and crafts and most importantly a little bit of mission work around town. The kids really enjoyed baking pumpkin chocolate chip muffins to take to our church, our library, our vet and the dance studio. I want my children to have a servant's heart and what better time to practice, right?
Here are a couple of pics to keep you up to date with some things happening around here..

Sophie is 2 1/2 months old already and growing like a weed! At her 2 month check up she was almost 14 pounds- what a chunk! She has her mommy and daddy wrapped around her little finger and we fall in love more and more every time we see her smile.
Michael has enjoyed taking turns taking the kids hunting. Well, he hasn't taken Luke yet but his time is coming. He and Ella recently killed this buck together.

The kids participated in the CHristmas play at our church. The sunday school class that Michael and I are a part of has been putting on the Christmas play for 3 years now. We weren't able to help out this time though since we had a newborn in the house. The kid did get to be a part of it though and they were super excited!

We decorated for Christmas, well...if I'm honest...Michael decorated for Christmas. We didn't host our sunday school Christmas party this year so we kept things very simple.

We took the kids to see Santa. Ella told him she wanted a new bike, another American Girl doll and a puppy (like we need another animal!). Brett told him he wanted a BeyBlade and Luke was insistent that he didn't know what he wanted, lol! Sophie slept through most of it.

I have a lot of pictures to still post...this is just the beginning. lol!

Fun with our Dogs

2011-12-09T11:37:00.000-08:00

I never know what I'm going to find when I walk outside and my kids have been playing. They love being outside, even though I sometimes have to kick them out of the house to remind them of that~ (wink, wink) I got so tickled several weeks ago when I walked outside to find Ella pulling Brett in our wagon. He was all covered up with a Clemson blanket and then I realized she had had 2 of our dogs in the wagon before Brett jumped in.

Our poor dogs put up with a lot from our kids and they seem to somewhat enjoy the punishment, ahem, training they receive.

Brett with his dog Maggie
Ella with her dog Molly

Maggie and Molly are part lab/part bird-dog

Life in the country is never dull...

Happy Halloween!

2011-11-01T11:32:00.000-07:00

We had a great time Trick-or-Treating with our Pop Star Country Singer, Superman, Ninja and pumpkin. We started off the night at Nana and Granddaddy's (also know as Michael's parents) house and then went to our old neighborhood to let the kids go door-to-door. They were so excited about going to different houses this year, lol!

Sweet little Sophie stayed in the car with me to keep out of the cold. I was the creepy adult driving very slowly down the street looking like I was scouting children. I kept having to yell something out the window at Michael so people wouldn't think I was a stalker!

Luke, aka ninja, was super excited about his sword. (It's really for a pirate costume, but shhhh! we won't tell him that!) He was convinced that this was his first year Trick-or-Treating for some reason. I guess he just doesn't remember last year.

Our Super Muscle-y Superman. He was ecstatic about his Superman belt that would light up. I love how the smallest things just fascinate them! Daddy even fixed his hair to look like Clark Kent's- complete with 1 curl hanging on his forhead.

Our sweet PopStar Country Singer. I think she chose this costume because of the horse on the front and like every other 8 year old girl, she is obsessed with horses right now. I have to admit, I loved the pink cowgirl hat!

So there you have it...4 sweet kids ready to go trick-or-treating....I just wish I had some pictures when we were done for the night and they were scouring through their candy buckets. Now, I just have to find somewhere to hide all this candy!

Family with Sophie and a Surprise!

2011-10-31T11:22:00.000-07:00

We have had lots of visitors since Sophie's arrival. It has been so much fun listening to everyone try to figure out who she looks like and what color her hair is going to be- red? blonde? brunette? auburn? Most recently, my father brought my grandparents and my aunt from GA down to visit. My sister and her hubby came the same day to meet Miss Sophie...

And we have one surprise! A typical day at our house is not without strange animals and critters, we do live in the country you know. Our latest find was a green snake. Michael brought him in to show him off to the kids. I wanted nothing to do with him- yuck! I hate snakes. But Brett, my favorite redhead, was a critter keeper. He thought the snake was great and even chased me around the kitchen with it while he giggles the whole time. ( Let me tell you, I was NOT giggling!) Everyday I see that he is more and more like his daddy- in every way possible!

NO FEAR!

Meeting Sophie

2011-10-21T12:27:00.000-07:00

This is probably one of my favorite pictures from the day Sophie was born. I wish I could've seen my kids sweet little faces as they were looking around the corner, waiting for Daddy to announce that Sophie was here and anticipating getting to meet their new little sister.
Daddy finally let them know their baby sister has arrived!

Loved my doctor! She was amazing! Sophie was born "sunny side-up" and my doctor stayed so calm and cool even though Sophie's little heartbeat kept having a lot of 'decels' and wasn't recovering. They used the vaccuum and got her out quickly.

Holy cow! I have 4 kids now!!

I wouldn't have it any other way. I love this little bundle of joy and can't believe God blessed me with 4 wonderful and healthy kids!

introducing Sophie Claire

2011-10-09T10:32:00.000-07:00

Oct. 6 at 2:06pm

7lbs. 14.7 oz.

21 1/2 inches long

Need a Laugh?

2011-09-21T09:56:00.000-07:00

Bwahahahaha!

I couldn't help myself. I found this picture of my sweet hubby from last Christmas while going through a gazillion pics on my computer. Brett had just gotten this Transformers Bumblebee talking mask and Michael just couldn't resist putting it on. Luckily, I had my dear old camera close by and snapped this pic. It definitely cheers me up. One that makes me laugh! I'm happy to know I married a man that doesn't take himself too seriously and that isn't ashamed to play with the kids toys!

Now...if I could only get him to use it as his profile pic on Facebook- THAT would be priceless!

The joys of having a big sister

2011-08-30T05:09:00.000-07:00

This is how far back my camera flash card went...our old house and Luke wasn't even 2 yet. Geesh- I have ALOT of pictures to share!

These are just absolutely hilarious...poor Luke. I'm sure he will not be very happy about these pictures when he's older, but being the great mom that I am, I will put them away and not pull them out again until his future bride wants baby pictures for a slide show at their rehearsal dinner. LOL!

So, this is what happens when you have a big sister. A big sister that's a dancer...

Getting suited up in ballet shoes
Success! Ella is so proud of herself. Even Brett is there to offer a brotherly laugh-in-your-face.

My poor little Luke...he had no idea what his big sister was trying to do to him!

Batting Practice

2011-08-29T04:45:00.000-07:00

While we were at the beach, we took the kids to the batting cages to have a little fun and get in some batting practice. They had a ball (lol!) and Michael even got in a few swings too- he's still got it! Here are our little ball players...

The Most Important Day of Her Life!

2011-08-28T06:49:00.000-07:00

Nothing could have made me happier than to here my daughter tell me she wanted to be baptized. We spoke with our preacher to make sure she understood what it meant and she understood completely. Wow- my 7 year old was going to be baptized!

The morning of her baptism I was shocked to learn that I was going to be able to get into the baptismal with her so that I could get some great pictures. It was really neat to be that close to her and see her every reaction to what our preacher was saying. What a memorable experience for this proud momma!

The pictures are backwards...of course. UGH!

Our preacher is such a great guy- he ran next door to his house and grabbed his hunting waders so that I could get into the baptismal without getting my dress soaking wet. Very fashionable!

Dance Rehearsals and Church

2011-08-26T12:03:00.000-07:00

I usually seem to forget my camera during rehearsals for Ella's dance recital, but I remembered thi year...only problem is that I only took 2 pictures, lol! That's what happens when your eyes are glued on 2 rambunctious boys and having to take one to a baseball game in the middle of rehearsals. Oh well, I did get 2 shots of my beautiful ballerina in my favorite costume for this year!

My ballerina.... every ballet piece she does on stage now just beings tears to my eyes. She is so graceful and poised and such a pleasure to watch on the stage, I can't wait to see how this group of girls does in dance competitions this year!

Ella with one of her good buddies from church/dance.
I'll just be honest, I can't remember what was going on at church when I took these pictures. That's what happens to your brain when you are pregnant with #4. Baby #3 pretty much takes your last brain cells and then #4 comes along just to make sure baby #3 did a good job cleaning you out.
I think this was the night the children's choirs sang. Luke isn't in the pics and he isn't in choir yet, so by process of elmination- we are going with that!

Take Me Out to the Ball Game

2011-08-25T04:23:00.000-07:00

Even though we are now in football season, and it kills me that I can't be at Brett's first practices to take pictures, I still have baseball pictures from spring to share. This was Brett's 3rd year playing and Luke's 1st.

There may be nothing cuter than a little boy all decked out in his uniform!
Running to 1st base

Luke spent most of the season just like this. In the sand with his best buddy. He was especially interested in the chalk on the field and played with it during every game.

My litte leaguer. It's amazing how much he improved in just one year! I was so shocked to see him fielding the ball and throwing to first to make an out. His coach was very impressive and Brett really seemed to take to the sport this year. I can't wait to see how he does next season...Michael wants to sign him up for coach's pitch.

This was his last game, getting his drink and his certificate. Baseball will definitely be around our home for years and years. (Thank goodness I LOVE baseball!)

Learning about Honeybees

2011-08-24T05:48:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite things about homeschooling is the field trips. I love to watch my kids have hands on experiences about things we have been studying at home. It's just invaluable-how many kids get to do this kind of stuff?

We studied honeybees not too long ago and my wonderful hubby hooked us up with an entomology professor at our old stomping grounds...Clemson! It was an amazing experience for them as well as us. I have never been so up close and personal with bees in my life and how often do you get your own private lesson from a university professor? So much fun, and we of course finished off the day with ice cream at the '55 Exchange. Ahh, it's all in a day's schoolwork.

My little ghost busters, er....Bee Keepers!
Honeycomb, we were even able to locate the queen bee.

The fam.

I theatened to put this on the front of our Christmas card and no one seemed to think that was as funny as me, oh well. ;-)

First and almost last day of school

2011-08-23T06:08:00.000-07:00

We started our new school year last Monday. I was so excited because I changed our curriculum this year and we had just organized our school room-thanks to my wonderful hubby for putting furniture together for me and my mother-in-law for helping me organize everything.

Our first day was almost our last too. We were able to do school the next morning, and then I was put in the hospital for preterm labor. My OB has told me NO school while I'm on bedrest. Not even with my laying in the bed. So, the great thing about homeschooling is flexability. Our school year will just have to continue later- no harm done. I did, however, get a picture of Brett and Ella on their first day!

Brett- 1st grade
Ella- 3rd grade

I also wanted to share a couple random pictures I found while downloading the gazillion pics on my card.

My pet lover...she loves our labs and our cats and our rabbit with her WHOLE heart. I love this about her!

This was taken in May right before her dance recital. This costume is for her mini company dance routine. She'll be competing for the first time with dance this year. I can't wait to see how they do- such a sweet group of girls!

The post can't be complete without a pic from my little man. Wild as ever- this little one loves to be outside all day, everyday. I can't believe how big he's getting and I pray he'll adjust easily when his baby sister makes her appearance.

So, I mentioned bedrest...

2011-08-22T05:14:00.000-07:00

These pictures were taken during our beach trip recently. I was 30 weeks and my best sis-in-law is right behind me at 28 weeks. I have several bech pictures to share, but wanted to share my bedrest story first....we hve nothing but time here people.
After a wonderful week at the beach, it was time to get back to my crazy and busy schedule here at home. We returned on a Sat and that Mon the kids and I were starting our new school year. Things went smoothly and we finished school early. I was really pleased because I was cooking dinner for my hubby's cousin and his wife who just had their first child. I was also cooking for another friend who just had her third baby and then of course, cooking our meal. That meant I was quadrupling my lasagna because one has to also go in the freezer, right?
To my shock, things were running like clockwork and everything was baked and ready to go at the right time- which was great because I also had to get the kids to a pool party after delivering supper.
I delivered supper and then drove to the pool party. We were a little late, but come on...who isn't always late when they have 3 kids and are pg? That's when it happened. I went to get out of my car, put my foot on the ground and the next thing I knew I was sitting on the ground. It happened so fast that I really don't even know how I fell. I knew I fell hard. I landed smack on my rear and sat there a moment in shock, then laughed like crazy because obviously I'm a klutz.
We went to the party and 30 minutes later I felt really nauseous and then the cramping set in. I feltbaad enough that I decided to load the kids up early and head home. A call to my doctor insured me that if the cramping didn't stop after an hour of resting and drinking lots of water, I was to go to the hospital.
Luckily, I felt better in an hour and went to bed. I had a regular OB appt the next day anyway. When I went to my appt, I was shocked to learn that I was 2cm dilated and 50% effaced- they were sending me straight to labor and delivery and I was told to not even go to the front desk to register.
Once I got there, I was given 3 different medications to stop my contractions and 1 to help mature the babies lungs in case of a premature delivery. I spent 2 nights in the hospital and left at a fingertip dilated and 50% effaced. I've been on strict bedrest since. Still in medicine to control my contractions. My OB wants me to make it to 35 weeks and then she will reassess my bedrest. It stinks because I am so dependent on everyone, and if you know me...you know this is NOT part of my personality. I do not like to depend on others for every little thing. I am sore from laying around all day and I wish I could sit up..she has me laying down as much as possible. I am allowed to get up to potty and shower-that's it.

I have a follow-up appt today so I'm excited because I get to leave the house. Heck, I'm excited because I get to leave my bedroom! I guess I will be updting later to share what happens and be prepared to get bombarded with pictures. I finally have the time to post them, lol!

All in day's work- my crazy 24 hours

2011-08-20T13:38:00.000-07:00

Well, alot has happened since I posted last and I've been so busy that I haven't had time to post lately. All of that has changed now- I have nothing but time on my hands these days- I am now on strict bedrest (more on that in a bit).

Let's flash back 11 weeks, shall we? My sis-in-law and I are moving along nicely with our pregnancies until I go in for an anatomy U/S and find out that our little boy is now a little girl. HUH? They were about 90% sure on the 1st U/S that it was a boy and then they suddenly don't see any little boy parts. Ok, we can handle another girl. I went home in shock and Ella couldn't stop smiling.

The next morning I load the kids up in the car in an attempt to actually get Ella to dance camp on time...WRONG. In my efforts to pull out of the driveway, I feel a horrible bump and know in the pit of my stomach that I had just run over 1 of our dogs. I hop out, and like any emotional pregnant woman, burst into tears as I see and hear our 14 year old chocolate lab behind my back tire. I know she has to get to the vet, but have a hard time heaving her 80 pound body into the back of my car. Then I silently say a prayer and thank God for Crossfit. Silly I know, but I don't think I could've picked her up pregnant without it.

At the vet, I find out that I have severely fractured her pelvis and she is going to have to stay at the vet's offcie for about a week because I can't pick her up and take her outside to potty. What a morning... I start thinking the past 12 hours have been interesting!

I HAD NO IDEA WHAT WAS ABOUT TO HAPPEN NEXT...

After the vet, and finally getting Ella to and from dance camp, we headed home for lunch and Luke's nap. It was around 2 that day when I thought we may lose our house. Our dream home that we spent years building.

Brett went outside to play and came inside to tell me he saw smoke. We had our huge field beside the house planted with wheat at the time and they were combining so I figured he must see dust coming off the combine. I didn't panic...until....I went outside and saw the black/gray smoke myself. I knew it wasn't normal so I ran inside to call Michael (maybe they were burning off the field? I was hoping and praying). In the time it took me to grab the phone and go upstairs to the playroom to get a better view of the field, the smoke had turned into a full fledged FIRE! I'm talking HUGE red and orange flames everywhere. All I could think of was how dry the field was and that it wouldn't even take a minute for the fire to engulf the whole field and destroy all the wheat. Then I realized how close the wheat came to our house and our house could be in jeopardy.

The next 45 minutes were somewhat of a blur. I was calling and texting people like crazy asking for prayers. We had 4 fire departments show up. Michael raced home to help fight the fire. All I could do is sit and watch everything unfold before me. I don't know if I've ever felt more helpless and more like a farmer's wife, lol! We were about to lose this whole crop! I was terrified as I watched Michael run in and out of the fire with the bulldozer. Praying for the fire to stop, praying for God to keep him safe, praying for the fire to stop and for our loss to be small.

The time it took for them to get the fire under control seemed like an eternity, but it was finally contained and died down. No one was hurt- praise God! The miracle of it all...we didn't lose any of our wheat crop. The fire burned where the wheat had already been combined but it stopped just short of the very tall and very dry wheat. (for your city folk that means FLAMABLE!!) It seems a spark from a rock off of the combine is what started this catastrophe...a simple little rock.

Needless to say, it took hours for me to calm down enough and really digest everything that had just happened in the past 24 hours- our baby boy was now a baby girl, I ran over Annie and our field caught on fire. Wow! That's alot to take in. I've also never been more sure that God still performs miracles!

RMSC Homeschool Day-Part 2

2011-07-29T04:32:00.000-07:00

Learning about human anatomy and how all of our organs fit in our bodies.
They has stuff there for children of all ages- the kids were never bored!

Ahhh- the importance of dental hygiene and learning all about 'sugar bugs'

Weather experiements

Luke couldn't quite hold the bottles upright to make a tornado, so he did his own experiment with the bottles held sideways.

Ella is just like most 8 year old girls...completely in love with horses. She was so excited to see a horse at RMSC and get to touch it!
On a side note (flash forward to the present)- she just finished a horse camp this week and is SOOO excited to be starting riding lessons in 3 weeks!

Brett's turn

Luke's turn

RMSC Homeschool Day-Part 1

2011-07-28T13:12:00.000-07:00

I cancelled our Friday plans one week during May and instead of 'doing school' at home, we took off to the Roper Mountain Science Center to enjoy their Homeschool Day. I had no idea what to expect because we had never been before, I had never heard of their homeschool day before and I found out about it the day before it was going to happen.

I'm so glad I took a leap of faith and took the kids. They had so many science programs/activites that we weren't able to do everything we wanted. There were so many options that all of the kids were interested. Things moved pretty fast paced and the 'classes' lasted anywhere from 10 min- 1 hour. We were able to have a picnic outside and just enjoy not being stuck in a schoolroom and mom enjoyed a fun day with the kids. We are definitely looking forward to going again!

LUNCH!

Ella and Brett were getting ready to taste some honey straight from a honeybee hive.

Luke was fascinated by the bugs and the bug pictures.

Learning about plants in the rain forest.

Interesting animals in the Rain Forest. My brave little kids held a tarantula!!!! Mommy was no so brave and didn't even want to touch it...yuck!

This was in the dinosaur room- by far the kids favorite and the one that kept them entertained for a very long time....I had to make them leave. They were able to sift through ocean sand to find fossils of shark teeth and other interesting fossils. Then they had to match the fossil to a sheet and determine what it was.

Ella was VERY in to this and took it seriously. She asked the lady that was working in the room several questions, several times. I just sat back and watched them play/learn. I had no idea that this little room at RMSC would provide so much conversation on the way home in the car.

Another shot of the Fossil Dig.

Stay Tuned for Part 2!

Mission Recognition Service

2011-07-28T12:41:00.000-07:00

Mission Recognition at church was in May, so....I'm just a teeny-weeny bit behind. Oops! Anyway, I did get a couple of quick shots of the kids receiving their little gifts for participating all year in various missions projects. The lighting in our church is never ideal for great pictures, so excuse the dark shots.

Luke's partner in crime aka best buddy is standing to the left of him.
Hiding his gift

Very proud of his chalk!

Ella's 2nd year in GA's. Last year she received a bracelet and a charm and this year she received another charm for her bracelet.

I was so proud of all of them. I pray that my children will all grow up with a servants heart and I love the mission work they do on Wednesday nights at our church. It helps teach them the importance of caring for others and sharing God's love.

School Day at the Zoo

2011-07-08T05:04:00.000-07:00

We decided to take advantage of the pretty weather and head to the zoo for school one day near the beginning of May. (Yes, that's how far behind I am with posting pictures on here!) The kids, needless to say, were super excited and in need of a fun field trip. Gotta love the flexibility of homeschooling!

After seeing all the animals and being completely enthralled by the monkeys, I let the kids play on the awesome playground outside the zoo. The kids again had a lot of fun and didn't want to leave. I think they could've stayed there for hours and I was willing to let them play for a long time except for when the 3 school buses showed up to drop off kids and then the playground was crowded, so we took off.

This is my favorite picture from them on the playground. I love the concentration on Luke's face, the bend in his legs and how he has his arms just-so in order to keep him from falling.

Planting Our Garden

2011-07-07T04:32:00.000-07:00

We planted our garden a long time ago. Well, not really, but it sure seems that way now looking back at these pictures. Luke was very excited to get to ride on the tractor with Daddy while he tilled the land. It makes his day (Luke) to just look outside our house on any given day and see tractors everywhere. Lately he's had an old combine to look at- I do believe we have a future farmer in the family.

Ella and Brett helping to plant row upon row of peas.

I love that my little girl doesn't mind being hot outside and getting dirty!

Showing off his missing tooth and very, very dirty little face. Country life is GOOD!

School with Daddy

2011-06-23T17:32:00.000-07:00

School happens at all times of the day around here and Daddy has an infinite amount of knowledge on all sorts of things that I don't, lol! So, it wasn't too out of the ordinary when Michael started talking about all of the cicadas that would be hatching this year. He talked to the kids about it and how long they have been in the ground. We found several to bring in and show the kids, but they hadn't natched completely. He decided it would be fun to put them in our cricket bucket (very scientific term) and see what would happen as they hatched. These pictures are out of order for some reason, but I'll try to recap for you...

Gathering around Daddy to check out these weird little bugs that haven't hatched yet. This discussion was complete with exo-skeleton talk, etc.
Trying to get a good picture

Another attempt at a close-up...

I have to admit that these little critters are pretty neat- aside from all the noise they make once they hatch. After the kids had gone to bed, Michael checked on our new little friends one more time and started calling for me to come to the kitchen. Mind you, I was already in the bed and had no interest whatsoever of going to look at the cicadas again.

I'm glad I did though, because they have hatcehd from their shells and were WHITE! Almost translucent. That's something most of us never get to see. By morning they had all of their color, but how neat to know that come out white before they even spread their wings!

This is what they looked like before we released them outside- complete color with freaky red eyes and all!

Just a couple random pictures...

2011-06-09T07:56:00.000-07:00

My one and only Easter picture of the kids, sad huh? So glad I remembered to grab the camera and snap this quick shot before we headed to church.
Easter wasn't complete without dyeing easter eggs. Excuse Luke is his undies, if you have a 3 year old boy- I'm sure you understand.

Learning all about plants with Daddy while planting flowers and our garden.

Brett has also lost his first tooth! Such a shock for me because Ella was much older before she lost her first one. He is very proud of this little gap in his mouth and was ecstatic about spending the money the tooth fairy brought him. He already has another tooth loose too! Our kids may just bankrupt the tooth fairy...

Don't drink the water...

2011-06-01T12:23:00.000-07:00

My sister-in-law and I have evidently been drinking the same water. You know the kind, the kind that gets you pregnant? lol! We are super excited that our due dates are only 2 1/2 weeks apart. This is the only pregnancy picture I've taken and I'm now 21 weeks along. This poor 4th child is already photographed less, lol! These pictures were taken after Easter dinner (we had obviously changed out of our church clothes) so it's been a couple of weeks. My belly has since 'popped' out. I'm happy to report that we are both having boys too! I can only imagine the trouble these 2 will get into together, lol!

One of Our Last Cooking Classes

2011-05-20T11:21:00.000-07:00

Homemade Pretzels

These were actually much easier than I thought they would be!
Of course we had to try several different shapes. Ella wanted a peace sign, Brett had to have a snake and baseball, and we made a Mickey Mouse pretzel for Luke.

Checking on them baking in the oven.

Playing Catch-Up

2011-05-17T09:53:00.000-07:00

I went for a while without posting because we downloaded Internet Explorer 9 on our computer and for some reason it doesn't get along well with Blogger. Through some fun technical difficulties, we decided to un-install the program and that has left me trying to play catch-up with a lot of pictures...enjoy!

Our church Easter Egg Hunt. It's usually outside, but due to the weather this year we had a change of plans and did the hunt inside.
Luke hunting down an egg.

Posing with the Bunny. Last year Luke freaked out so you can imagine my surprise when he willingly walked towards the bunny for a picture.

My favorite red-head graduated Kindergarten. I am SO proud of this little guy. He is way above his grade level and reads mostly beginner 2nd grade level books!

There's always a need for a field trip to the Strawberry Patch- especially if you just finished a unit on Peter rabbit and learned all about Mr. McGregor's garden.

The Joanna Festival

2011-05-16T08:53:00.000-07:00

In our pursuit of trying to find something fun to do with the kids on the weekend, we were led to the Joanna Festival. Ok- truth be told, we went for lunch and knew the kids would have a ball playing outside. The kids had a great time. They played in the jump houses, slid down inflatable slides, had their faces painted and yes my dear friends, we even participated in the "Chicken Drop". Only in SC will you be able to find a gambling game where the winner is determined by what number the chicken poops on...seriously. I can't make this stuff up!

And this.....this is Furball aka Bugs aka Thumper aka Easter Supper (that was the phrase coined by Michael). We were SO NOT planning on going to a festival and then coming home with yet one more four-legged animal to take care of and feed, but that's just the way it ended up. Ella cannot leave this cute little bunny alone. She can hardly walk by his cage without grabbing him out to love on him. Not a day goes by that I don't catch her with him in her lap while she's doing herr silent reading. He really isn't much trouble, but I could live without cleaning his cage so much. So, the bunny makes our 7th pet. (3 labs, 1 beagle, 2 cats and ol' Thumper). We are just your typical Funny Farm, I mean Animal Farm.

S.O.A.P.

2011-05-12T11:13:00.000-07:00

I follow a blog called Women Living Well and have seen her mention S.O.A.P. a couple of times during bible study. Trying to learn more about it, it led me to another site called Mom's Toolbox. You can learn more about S.O.A.P here. Here is the Cliffnotes version for you impatient people: Scripture, Observation, Application and Prayer. I am just starting to study the book of Titus and I thought what better time than now to give this a try. Anyway, it's good stuff. I thought I'd share with you what I learned.

S- "To the pure, all things are pure, but to those who are corrupted and do not believe, nothing is pure. In fact, both their minds and consciences are corrputed. They claim to know God, but by their actions they deny him. They are detestable, disobedient and unfit for doing anything good." -Titus 1:15-16

O- How are my actions? How am I viewed by others? While I am not suppose to care what others think, my actions are my witness to many- especially those that don't know me personally. How am I with my children? Do I exude Christ's patience? Do my children and on-lookers even see Christ in me at all? I fill my mind, at most times, with pure music, books, movies-but what about my thoughts and the deepest places of my heart? Too often I am too quick to judge or think badly. Although I don't verbalize my thoughts all the time, the Heavenly Father knows each and every one. Are they pleasing to Him?

A- It's time to not only think before I speak, but think before I think. My brain has been taught to think in this world. I need to retrain/reteach my brain and mind. While I am in this world, as a believer in Christ I am not of this world. There is a higher standard I've been called to and that higher standard applies AT ALL TIMES. Not just on my good days, not just when people are watching but even behind closed doors. For this is when my true character is revealed. It's time to stop and really think. My actions do speak louder than words. I'm just scared waht they might be saying to others, especially my children. I am one of the biggest influences in their lives. It is up to me to make it a positive, God-loving atmosphere in our home.

P- Father, I fall so short. I think horrible things and say horrible things. My words and my actions are noe always pleasing. My flesh and my soul are at war daily. I need your help Lord. Help me deal with the worldly ways with a heart and mind as pure as Christ. Let me be more aware of my actions and how they can directly and indirectly affect others. Help me exude your love and your patience. Thank you God for loving me even when I am not loveable. Amen.

Field Trip to the Horse Farm

2011-05-12T03:59:00.000-07:00

To say my little girl was excited about this field trip would be a HUGE understatement. Ella is just like most girls her age and 100% in love with horses right now. I thought this infatuation would pass, but she has been begging for riding lessons for ove a year now. Seeing as how I'm the fun mom that I am, (why are you laughing?) I decided we would do a unit study for school on horses. She eagerly participated every day which was wonderful. Brett and Luke enjoyed learning about horses, or neigh-neighs as Luke calls them, as well.

It only seemed fitting that after our study of horses we should visit a horse farm. I wanted the kids, especially Ella, to see just how much work is involved with caring for horses. (I get asked daily if we will buy her a horse) Luckily, we have a horse famr right across the street from our house and a guy that works with Michael and is a friend of ours, regularly helps feed the horses there. Long story short- we tagged along one afternoon to help out.
This girl is in her element.

Putting out the hay

Watching as one of the younger aka 'rowdier' horses is fed.

Again, in her element. Loving on a pretty horse.

This was a really fun and impromptu field trip. I had originally planned on driving about 45 minutes from our house to visit a farm that raises Arabians (one of the breeds we studied) but then when the opportunity presented itself (or more like I had a DUH- there is a horse farm across the street from our house moment!) we jumped on it and I'm so glad we did!

Ahhh, the many joys of spring

2011-05-04T14:00:00.001-07:00

My little slugger...

Springtime in our household means it's time to gear up for baseball....well, technically weeball, T-ball, and men's softball. It also means 6 games a week in addition to our already hectic schedule of homschool, girl scouts, church, choir, dance, gymnastics, etc, etc.
Brett has made such HUGE strides this year. We are so proud of him! It's amazing how much can happen/change in just 1 year with a little boy. I can remember this time last year when he was still pretty content to just play in the dirt in the outfield.

Not this year. He is all "game face ON" for every game. I love it! He has an awesome coach and has learned so much about the game it just blows me away. I love to see him so excited over sports.

This is their teams 'ritual,' the coach always has a little pow-wow with them after the game and reminds them how great they did and they will do even better next time. He also leads them in prayer before most games.

When the House Gets Quiet...

2011-05-04T14:00:00.000-07:00

I never know what my kids are up to when the house gets quiet. Sometimes I don't want to know- the couple minutes of peace and quiet can be worth whatever mess t hey are making. But, SHHHH- don't tell them I said that!

This is what I walked into not that long ago. All was quiet in the house except for the constant muffled giggling I ketp hearing. I had no idea they were turning themselves into robots.

Notice they are all in the pajamas. Mischief gets a hold of our house early in the morning!

Luke was very proud of his 'robot' outfit.

More school time

2011-04-22T04:23:00.000-07:00

Since I was a Spanish minor in college, it came naturally to teach the children Spanish during school. They seem to really like learning words in another language. I also teach Spanish at our homeschool Co-op, so they have to listen to me quite often. Bless 'em. Anyway, we have done MANY different things to learn spanish words and phrases. Our latest adventure is a program called Speekee. They are videos we watch online and have printable worksheets for the kids to do afterwards. They love the videos, although at first they weren't so sure about them. I hear them singing songs from Speekee all the time and it cracks me up. I also enjoy the 15 minutes of free time is gives me to do some work around the house!
Have I mentioned yet that we do a cooking class every Thursday? LOL! Here we are making Zuchinnin Muffins. It made me a little nervous to let Ella use the grater. If you've ever cut your finger on one of these things, you understand why.Always the class clown.

I bet you can't guess whose finger was all in the powdered sugar?!? These muffins turned out REALLY good. We all loved them and will definitely be making them again!

Valentine's Day Fun

2011-04-20T07:59:00.000-07:00

I'm so behind in posting some of these pictures but still wanted to share some of the fun things we did to celebrate Valentine's Day. (Take note: some of these pictures are before the kids got dressed for the day.) Valentine's Day was a good excuse to put away our regular school work and have a fun day of school- that, of course, included baking cupcakes! I can find ANY reason to bake some cupcakes.

Luke is putting stickers on his V is for Valentine's Day sheet. Looks simple and non- school related but this helps little ones learn how to hold a pencil by developing their "pincher grip"
Valentine's tic-tac-toe

Brett and Luke worked together on reading (Brett) the numbers (1-20) and then recognizing (Luke) the number on the mailboxes.

Graphing conversation hearts by color

Measuring with conversation hearts (way too easy for Ella, but she enjoyed it!

Graphing with conversation hearts

Now...on to the FUN stuff!

A few of their finished cupcakes...let's just say my kids are a little crazy about sprinkles!

We interrupt our regularly scheduled program...

2011-04-15T03:59:00.000-07:00

For an update and a quick rant by yours truly.

Yes, we are expecting baby #4 in October and Yes, it was planned. All of our pregnancies have been- why do I feel obligated to say that?

Now, to those of you that know me (and I mean REALLY know me) this news didn't come as a shock to you. You would know that Michael and I have always wanted a big family. You would also know that I've said from day 1 that I would love to have 3 or 4 kids, God willing.

It's funny that I feel the need to 'explain' wanting another child. We are not trying to top the Duggars or anything. I know several families that are members of the Quad Squad. I do feel like I should address a couple of the comments I seem to keep hearing because they are driving me NUTS! (Just trying to keep it real)

"Don't you know what causes that"-Ok, can I just say that I am SO OVER hearing this one.

"Better you than me"- Well, obviously so if this is your attitude. I would rather it be me than you if your view your children as a burden and inconvenience and not the blessing that God gifted you with.

"I just don't have the patience"- Really? Do you seriously think I do? Have you ever seen me in action with my kids? I lose it just like any other mom. We all do, whether we have 1 or 10.

"We are just so busy"- Don't get me started...You must not know me and you must not know my crazy life/schedule. Don't flame me here, but I don't get the break in the day from my kids by going to work or sending them to school. I have them home to homeschool them and this makes for an even crazier schedule. Not to mention that most people who seem to say this have 1 or 2 kids. Again, really? Could you even fathom what it's like to juggle 3 kids afternoon schedules BY YOURSELF because your hubby works late? I wouldn't have my life any other way, but it's break-neck speed all day everyday.

"Are you still going to homeschool them"- Why wouldn't I? I still feel strongly that this is where God wants us to be right now. Having a baby is not going to change that.

Whew! I feel better now. I will step off my soapbox and return to our regular posting.

And yet another cooking class...

2011-04-12T09:30:00.000-07:00

For some reason I feel like I should start this post by saying, we don't ONLY do cooking classes for school. I promise. We do A LOT of other things, I just seem to have a plethora of cooking pictures right now. Whew! There, now that we've gotten that out of the way.... I think I completely caught Brett off guard when I took this pic. His expression is hilarious!

Watching live instructions from our teacher via the internet. Ahhh, technology is a wonderful thing!

Beginnings of a Berry Parfait

We even made homemade whipped cream. Ok, can I just say YUMMMMM!

Testing out their 'creations' and the verdict was that they loved them!

Random pictures

2011-04-09T05:31:00.000-07:00

I found some of these pictures recently while looking through all of my saved pictures. They just make my heart smile so I thought I'd share them with you.

I wish this one wasn't turned the wrong way. Oh blogger- why do you do this to me with my pictures?!?! I found this outside when the kids were busy playing. Ella had drawn pictures all over our driveway, but this one caught my attention. I'm sure you cacn see why. This is what country-livin' is all about. Time to play outside and dig in the dirt!

Arts and crafts for school

The creative process- VERY messy!

Luke showing off his C is for Caterpillar worksheet. This little boy amazes me with his love for school, and his ability to color so well! lol!

Another cooking class and 1 sweet pic

2011-04-07T14:36:00.001-07:00

I absolutely love this picture of Ella reading to her brothers. I need to blow it up and hang it in the house somewhere so that when I'm having one of those REALLY stressful days I can look up and remember that this is why I homeschool my children. There are moments of peace in the house and the kids are each other's best friends-love that! We are still cooking every Thursday and the kids are really enjoying it. This was probably their least favorite item we've made so far. I think they like all the sweets and snacks better, wouldn't you?

The recipe was quinoa with vegetables, but we had to substitute rice for the quinoa.

End result- I thought it tasted pretty good!

Daddy's Little Helper

2011-04-06T13:07:00.000-07:00

Daddy's helper... Brett is always eager to go outside and help Micahel with most anything. Maybe it's because it gets him out of doing chores inside, hmmmm. Michael has such a special way of making him feel important and that he is being a HUGE help to him- love that!

Ella's first gym meet

2011-03-25T11:50:00.000-07:00

I am very late with posting these pictures, considering her first meet was in Feb. and competition season is now over, lol! Anyway, I still wanted to share these with you, enjoy!

Early in the morning, very early, getting ready to leave for her first meet and very excited!
With one of her teammates.

Mommy was so proud of my girl!

All the boys were there to cheer on their big sister too!

Great job Ella! We are so proud of all you've accomplished!

This little boy LOVES school

2011-02-28T05:21:00.000-08:00

When Luke wakes up in the morning, he usually walks into the kitchen rubbing his eyes and tells me, "I wanna do cool." Mind you, it's usually 6:15a.m. that he's telling me this, so I try to divert his attention as long as I can. At least until Mommy is ready to pull out his school stuff. He loves to be busy and do school work just like his big brother and big sister.

I found him on the floor in the morning sorting his bears. He has his own way of doing it. Sometimes I'll get him to sort them certain ways and other times I just let him go at it.

This is what he had done on his own- sorting by size. I wonder how long his fascination for school will last? hmmmm....

Our first cooking class

2011-02-24T06:54:00.000-08:00

I signed the kids up to take an online cooking class every week for the month of February. So far, they have LOVED it. I have too. It's during Luke's naptime so that helps as well. Our first class we made Awesome Applesauce.

Sibling love...is this a hug or a headlock? You decide!

Being silly in the kitchen- notice the aprons.

Ella is cutting apples- first time I've let her use a knife- kinda scary!

Brett is putting the apple chunks into the food processor.

Voila! Applesauce!

Tasting what they made. You had to peel the apples for this recipe and then we sprinkled sugar and cinnamon onto the apple skins- that's what's hanging out of Brett's mouth...BOYS!

Big accomplishment!

2011-02-23T11:13:00.000-08:00

My little red head has learned how to ride his bike without training wheels! He learned on the first try too! All it took was Daddy steadying him a little and then he was off. Now I'm a nervous wreck that he is going to crash hard. He turns the handles so fast when he turns that I just know he's going to flip off of that thing. So proud of my big boy for doing it on his own though!

Happy Birthday Lil Man!

2011-02-22T10:57:00.000-08:00

I can't believe my lil man is 3 years old today! Where does the time go? We celebrated with NO school- even though that is one of his favorite things to do. (His brother and sister were very happy though!) Instead, we went to Columbia. I took all the kids to Barnes and Nobles to get Luke's birthday treat and a new book, then we went to EdVenture to play. Mommy even treated them to lunch at McDonalds!

It seems like just yesterday that he was born, but it also seems like I've known that sweet little face forever. God has blessed me so!

We have been busy!

2011-02-21T10:54:00.000-08:00

We have been so busy lately that I haven't had time to download pictures onto the computer. So, I have a lot of catching up to do. Try not to be too overwhelmed. I'll do it slowly, lol!

One of Ella's Christmas presents from my parents was a butterfly garden and ladybug home. We got online and ordered our little ladybugs and caterpillars. The kids were so excited when they arrived. We waited until Luke was taking his nap (wink, wink- didn't want any of the creatures seeing an untimely death) and then we released them into their new homes.

The caterpillars came in a cup and we had to leave them in there so they would form their chrysallides. We were able to put the ladybugs in 'ladybug land' and watch them move all around.

The verdict-our ladybugs DIED! Explain to me how I can keep a million wild ladybugs alive in my home, but then once I have some in 'captivity' they die. Our caterpillars turned into beautiful butterflies and we released them off our back porch. I still need to upload those pictures.

Book Giveaway

2011-01-29T04:47:00.000-08:00

I entered a book giveaway on His Mercy Is New this morning. I was intrigued by the book Candace mentions about a homeschooling family. It sounds like a great read and I think I need to be reminded how wonderful it is to spend day-in and day-out with my children. To be their biggest influence and to be their teacher. I know I'll never get these years back and I want to make the most of them and not let them just pass me by in a blur of busyness.

Our Snowman

2011-01-14T07:15:00.000-08:00

Craft time

2011-01-11T16:44:00.001-08:00

Right after Christmas, the kids were more than eager to get into every new toy and craft they had received. So one day, I let them have at it. I think we did about 4 craft projects that day! It sure was great getting rid of all the boxes they came in though, lol! Here they are painting some Melissa & Doug sculptures that Santa brought them.

Note to all moms- this paint stains clothes! YIKES!

Concentratin on her horse- we are really into horses these days

Colorful dinosaurs

Very proud that he is the only one whose sculpture is also a 'piggy' bank.

It's SNOWING!

2011-01-10T10:39:00.000-08:00

My Wild Animals at Disney World

2010-12-31T11:27:00.000-08:00

It was so much fun to surprise the kids that we were going to Disney for a week. They had no clue and it turned out to be a wonderful Christmas gift! We had so much fun, despite the very cold weather. I don't know if the kids have ever been so bundled up, but we did have at least one day of warm weather.

Check out Michael with his full beard! lol- he shaved it off (except for his goatee of course) the last night we were there. More Disney picture to come!

Ella's Sewing!

2010-12-29T11:37:00.000-08:00

My big girl got her first sewing machine for Christmas and has been asking me EVERYDAY if we can open it. Well, I took the plunge today and we got started. She has seen me sew on a couple of occassions and has always been really interested in it, so I think/hope she'll like it.

Anyhoo- it took me a while to figure out how the machine works (their is NO bobbin) and we are still trying to get the tension right. Once I got it 'good enough' I let her go to town. She started sewing lines and circles and squares. She worked until her spool ran out of thread! She may be my accomplice on my next sewing project!

It's time to overload you with pictures and posts!

2010-12-29T11:01:00.000-08:00

Seeing as how I haven't uploaded any pictures or written any posts since before Thanksgiving, consider this your warning that you are about to be BOMBARDED by pictures and posts the next couple of days as I try to catch up. There, whew, you've been warned. Now, onto the pictures...

These pictures were taken at our church the night the children's choirs sang. Ella and Brett are in different choir classes, and each class sang a Christmas song. It was so sweet! It was on a Sunday night and we had had a whirl-wind of a weekend. I still can't believe we made it there, and on time too!

After the performace....don't they look angelic?!?!? lol!
Ella and one of her friends

Ella and her friend and one of our friends/neighbors being silly with the girls!

Waiting patiently with his class for their time to sing.

Ella and 2 of her buddies waiting to perform.

Clemson Game

2010-11-23T10:42:00.000-08:00

Michael and I were finally brave enough to take our 3 little hoodlums, ahem, children to a Clemson game. We braced ourselves for what promised to be an interesting day.

Tailgating with Aunt Ally
With Daddy...about to see the field for the first time. Can you see the excitement on Michael's face?

Poor Luke, he lasted until about the 3rd quarter. He did pretty good though- I didn't think he'd last that long. He was so funny- almost like a cat trying to settle down for a nap. He kept places coats all over the bleachers and then pushing at them with his lil hands to get them just right. He finally passed out in Aunt Ally's arms.

Me with my favorite girl!

Oh how we love Aunt Ally- can't wait til the next game!

Potty Training in the Country

2010-10-21T04:48:00.000-07:00

Don't judge me for this picture. I couldn't help myself. His little knees were bent, he was poking his belly out, trying to 'aim' of course and I just happened to have my camera in my hands. Potty training in the country is a little different than the city- thank goodness! Where else can you pee off your driveway with no one watching?!?!?

***Disclaimer- He does NOT walk around outside like this all the time. Sometimes, yes. But he is usually fully dressed when outside. Just thought I needed to add that in there.

Wild Little Indians!

2010-10-16T05:30:00.000-07:00

We have finished studying Colonial times and are now reading Little House on the Prairie and learning about Pioneers. We've come across Indians several times and so I decided it was time for a quick craft. The kids LOVED working with feathers. I didn't love it as much because they are all over my house. All. Over. My. House.

Beach Pictures

2010-10-03T11:57:00.000-07:00

My poor hubby would love to know that I'm starting off our beach pictures with him posing with a fanny-pack! How funny is that? I couldn't resist taking his picture with it when he started playing around in the store.

Brett on the bungee jump thing-a-ma-bobber
Ella's turn. She got really high in the air too. Made this momma a lil nervous! I suddenly wanted to tell my mom that I'm sorry for all of the wreckless things I did when I was younger.

Daddy and Luke playing in the arcade.

Game face on and ready to build some serious sand castles.

Serious surfer dude. He and Ella really enjoyed the boogie boards this year.

Ella showing everyone just how to do it

Ella's actual birthday

2010-10-02T04:39:00.000-07:00

Are you sick of hearing about birthdays yet? lol! It sure seems like August was a birthday month. Anyway, we were at the beach on Ella's actual birthday and we took her out to eat dinner at Creek Ratz. She loves a live band!

They sang Happy Birthday to my 7 year old angel. When did I become the mom of a 7 year old?
Brett and Luke being boys. They were entertaining themselves before we were seated at a table. They did happen to sit our obnoxious crowd far away from everyone else,hmmmm... I wonder why?

The Birthday Princess

As usual my pictures are not in order. This was the morning of her birthday. She is getting her birthday 'spanking' from Daddy.

This was a different night at the beach, but I just had to share Luke's new 'do. He can rock a mohawk like no other!

What we've been up to the past 3 weeks

2010-10-01T11:21:00.000-07:00

We have been studying Colonial Times in school for the past 3 weeks and it is finally coming to an end. The kids and I have had a lot of fun and done several crafts and cooking projects during the process. Here are just a few of them below..have no fear, there are more to come!

I don't know why this picture is turned this way...anyway, we made these orange peel citrus snacks one day. I can see how this could possibly be good, but let me tell ya...these were HORRIBLE! I don't know if we did something wrong or what but I do know that we will not be making them again!
They learned about 'hornbooks' which were the colonial kids first school books. We made our own and as usual, Brett is being goofy in front of the camera.

This picture has nothing to do with colonial times. A friend of mine had given the kids some fun science/art experiment stuff for their birthdays and we all had a lot of fun experimenting with colors.

Ella and Brett's Birthday Party

2010-09-25T07:11:00.000-07:00

I'm pretty late getting these pictures up, but better late than never, right? We had Ella and Brett's birthday at the dance studio where they could run and play in the gym. The kids LOVE to jump all around and be wild in there.

Poor hubby. I caught him eating cake. BUSTED!
Luke jumping out of the playhouse.

Aunt Ally being silly with Ella

Enjoying his ice cream

Really enjoying that ice cream

Happy birthday to my favorite red head!

I hate profile pictures. Never take my picture from the side, ok? Especially when I'm singing. We'll get along much better if you can just do me this favor. ;-)

Even Luke got a present!

Look at that face. So sweet! He looked like that for all of 30 seconds while I snapped the picture and then he was tearing into presents.

We have survived another birthday month. It's hard to have 2 kids birthdays only 5 days apart. I'm trying to enjoy the double birthday party thing while I can because I know there will come a day when they want their own parties.

Brett's Actual Birthday

2010-09-03T17:17:00.000-07:00

After my last super long post, would you believe I still have more birthday 'shtuff" to share with you? On Brett's actual birthday, I was determined my favorite red head was not going to go without a cake so I made a quick trip to the store and we had a small family birthday celebration.

Yet again, my pictures are backwards. Blogger why do you do this to me?

Don't you wonder just what a 5 year old boy wishes for? More transformers? Star wars? Legos?
I wish they could get along like this ALL. THE. TIME.

YUM, that's all I'm sayin'

Notice how dressed up I got for the occassion. Hair is lookin' good and my outfit is SLAMMIN. That's how I role peeps, what can I say?

Brett and Ella's Birthday Weekend

2010-08-31T14:25:00.000-07:00

Since Ella and Brett share a birthday month, they are used to having their birthday parties together. This year we decided to do something a little bit different though. Instead of buying any gifts for them ourselves, I borrowed an idea from a friend (thanks Jill!) and Michael and I decided to take them out of town on a trip and give them memories.

They had no idea where we were going the whole weekend and I loved keeping them in suspense. It was worth it to see their faces light up when we showed up at each 'destination' !

These pictures are all out of order so I'll do my best to put everything in order for you:

Friday night we left and drove to Atlanta. We went out to eat and then took Brett to the Lego store where he was able to pick out some legos.

Saturday we started our morning at the American Girl Bistro and store. Afterwards we took Brett to the Build a Bear store for a much 'needed' Star Wars outfit. Feeling a little bad for Luke, we let him ride on a train that circled the mall. He was so happy to be sitting in the caboose too.

Then it was off the the Aquarium, or so we thought. The line was unbelieveable and we decided to go to the Children's Museum first. The kids loved it!

Once we were done there, we tried the aquarium again and the line was much smaller. We enjoyed all the animals...especiall the Beluga whale!!! We ended the night at a water fountain that did 'shows' to music.

SO MUCH FUN! Enjoy the pictures!

Getting close to the end of the water fountain show- the um, ahem, police were there before we got there.
Why can't they be this sweet all the time?

I'm just wondering though- does anyone else see Brett's 'boy band' pose? Please tell me someone know what I'm talking about!!!

Inside the aquarium.. they had just finished checking out some hermit crabs with tiny anemones on their shells. This was really cool because we had just done a study on hermit crabs and the book was all about the hermit crab 'decorating' his shell with things from the ocean like...you guessed it, tiny anemones!

Ahhh, my favorite red head. Always silly and all boy!

At the children's museum, we sat to watch a skit on saving energy and things you can do to lower your energy consumption at home. Brett and Ella were chosen out of the crowd to help out with the demonstration.

Here we are on the red caboose of the train traveling around the mall and waving to everyone.

Brett walking in the mall with no idea that he is about to walk in front of the Lego store!Inside trying to make very hard and important decisions...star wars or toy story? Toy Story legos won!

Just to keep daddy happy, we also stopped at the Bass Pro Shop in the mall. We couldn't resist this hat on Luke. He loves it and wears it all the time. What's that song from the movie Sweet Home Alabama??? What this world needs is a few more rednecks...

Sorry, that's all I can think of when I see that picture!

Jamming with a mallard feed caller (thanks for the correct terminolgy my dear hubby)

What this world needs is a few more rednecks...

Oops- there I go again!
Just making sure you are still with me here, we are almost done with pictures.

These pictures are out of order. This is Ella leaving the AG store. She was all smiles.

Her Just Like Me doll had her hair done and her ears pierced while we were there.

Getting ready to go in. The look on her face and the excitement was priceless! She was so shocked when she found out that I had her Just Like Me doll, named Katelyn, in the car with us too. I chose here because she was the doll most in need of a hair 'fixin'.

WHEW- and that was birthday weekend 2010.

A woman in training

2010-08-26T06:41:00.000-07:00

One of Ella's biggest wishes for her 7th birthday was to get her nails done. I took her to get a mani and a pedi and she grinned the whole time- it was so cute! I wish I would've taken more pictures of her. Her nails were green and her toes were blue!

Our latest trip to Edventute- LOVE that place!

2010-08-25T14:48:00.000-07:00

Edventure is my go to place when we need a break from our normal routine. I always take the kids to the McDonalds for lunch and then it's play time for all! This time we were actually there when they were about to release butterflies, but....they didn't really have any to release. (just my luck) The kids had a lot of fun looking at the different butterflies and it was educational!

q11

Chocolate!

2010-08-23T15:57:00.000-07:00

We have been studying chocolate at our house this week...yep...CHOCOLATE! It's been alot of fun and although I've had several headaches with school stuff, the chocolate part has been fun. We've learned about Milton Hershey and Henri Nestle, sampled different kinds of chocolate, read Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and of course watched Willy Wonka. One morning we even made chocolate chip pancakes....the kids LOVED them, imagine that!

Yes, I cheated and used Bisquick for this...don't judge me!

Chocolate chip pancakes make for happy mornings in our house!

Yummy Dessert Pizza

2010-08-20T06:33:00.000-07:00

Notice the pretty black-eyed susans in the vase that my wonderful hubby picked for me!
Luke loves to get in on the action when we are cooking/baking.

All smiles

Our finished product- it was pretty good for our first one!

This is HILARIOUS!

2010-07-24T06:37:00.000-07:00

Dad Life from Church on the Move on Vimeo.

Pool Time

2010-07-23T04:50:00.000-07:00

It has been so stinkin' hot this summer in the wonderful south and we have really enjoyed swimming at Nannie and Papa's. It's amazing how far the kids have come with their swimming 'skills' since last summer. Ella is swimming without a life jacket and Brett is brave enough to jump off the diving board by himself- the little dare devil! Luke is quickly following in his big brother's footsteps and loves to jump into the pool and go down the slide. I can only imagine how much more they will progress next summer!

CrossFit Camp for Kids

2010-07-16T06:27:00.000-07:00

Hanging out with one of her buddies.

He looks so much like his daddy!

Listening to the train go by

Learning all about corn...

2010-07-08T17:04:00.000-07:00

Finger Painting at its Best!

2010-07-04T10:53:00.000-07:00

Strawberry Patch

2010-07-02T04:58:00.000-07:00

I can't remember if I've posted these pics or not, but I thought I'd share these from our last trip to the strawberry patch. We went a while back, in April I think. The kids seemed to eat more than they picked!

Beware of Pirates!

2010-06-25T04:44:00.000-07:00

One of our last units for the school year was on Pirates. The kids really got into learning all about pirates and their boats, flags, way of life, etc. It was a lot of fun and I have to say that I actually learned a lot too. We ended the unit with a trip to the State Museum to see the pirate exhibit. Loads of fun!

Daddy's Silly Shots

2010-06-23T04:10:00.000-07:00

Michael found the kids playing with my camera the other night and when I downloaded our most recent pics, I found these on there as well- shot at a very odd angle too.

Pizza Party!

2010-06-22T06:36:00.000-07:00

We had a pizza party at our house 2 weeks ago. We made pizza from scratch (um, well kind of- I bought the dough because I ran out of time to do that from scratch- it's the thought that counts though, right?). Ella invited a girlfriend over and I gave them and Brett a pizza crust to put sauce on and then they got to choose their toppings. I guess it shouldn't of surprised me that they all chose cheese and pepperoni. Luke wanted to get in on the action too so he ate some mozzerella while they prepared their pizzas.

Eating his cheese
Spreading the sauce

Notice the concentration

Ready to go in the oven

Voila! Our finished pizzas!

Gone Fishin'

2010-06-19T05:50:00.000-07:00

WARNING- Picture below contains blue "skittle" pants (as Michael calls them) that I've had since high school and are very unflattering! But come on, what are you gonna wear to go fishing, right?

Ok, now that that disclaimer is out of the way....

We took the kids fishing recently across the street from our new house. The lady who owns the horse farm there was kind enough to let us go fishing on their pond. The kids loved it. As soon as we pulled up we saw a family of turkeys. A momma and all her lil babies- too cute! The kids were fascinated! We saw several horses..we WERE on a horse farm. lol! And then there was the fishing...we had a ball despite the immense southern heat and humidity. Just look at these cute lil fishermen, abd women.

Life in the Country is Good!

2010-06-15T07:19:00.000-07:00

These pictures are what I see most days when the kids are outside playing. They always find something interesting in the ground to play with or some weird bugs to watch. I am so thankful that we are finally out in the country and they can spend as much time as they want outside playing-where kids should be.

This girl

2010-06-13T16:28:00.000-07:00

This silly and crazy little girl is going to be 7 in less than 2 months. This reality hit me just a couple of days. Holy cow- she's a 2nd grader! She's turning into a big girl, a little lady. She's way passed the baby stage, the toddler years are long gone. Where did my little girl go?

Church Choir

2010-06-12T11:23:00.000-07:00

I found a couple of pictures from the kids end of the year church choir performances. Brett is standing next to his best buddy. The two of them are double-trouble! I'm so glad he has a friend that is every bit as rough and tough as he is. The two of them together are just hilarious!

Miss Ella looking all sweet and innocent. She practiced her songs for what seemed like weeks.

Last Girl Scout Hoo-Rah for the year

2010-06-09T13:33:00.000-07:00

We are officially graduating from being a Daisy to a Brownie. Ella has had a ball this year keeping up with her friends during Girl Scouts. Two of my friends were brave enough to take on 10 6/7 year olds- pray for them! They did several crafts and I know Ella had a ball at each meeting. We had our last get together at a nearby park where the girls did a craft and got lots of play time.

Notice all the dirt?

Brett was there too, but I'm not sure why I don't have any pictures of him. Poor middle child thing I guess- kidding!!!

Goodbye AGR House

2010-05-30T16:58:00.000-07:00

Could there be anything more heart-wrenching then watching a place burn where you spent some of the best years of your life? This is exactly how I felt as I watched video of the AGR house in Clemson burn.

It was the place where I went for parties, it was where I made lifelong friends, it was where I learned about the the bonds of brotherhood, it was where I would laugh until I cried, it was where we created our own Clemson traditions, it was where I became a fraternity little sister and then later their sweetheart, it was where we all grew up together carefully navigating the waters of adulthood, it was where I learned what it was like to have an older brother (or 50) watch after you and protect you, it was a place I always felt safe, it was a second home, and most importantly it was where Michael and I fell in love.

Looking at the remains is horrible. It was as if someone had died. Like the end of an era was gone forever. The backhall will never be the same.

Watching grown men look at the place they called home for several years was so sad. No one really knew what to say. I had no idea how much that house meant to me until this.

A true sign that the fraternity will make it and recover from this horrible incident. Those letters are still hanging on.

113 Calhoun will come back better than ever I'm sure, but I know deep in my heart it just won't be the same. Michael and I will never be able to take our children to the place we met and spent so many good times with friends. Through all the sadness there is a silver lining- no one was hurt. I am so thankful to be going back to a burnt house than several funerals.

Dance Recital

2010-05-27T10:02:00.000-07:00

Ella did great in her 5th dance recital. She performed a ballet piece and it was beautiful. I had to fight back tears watching her. She has really turned into a beautiful ballerina! Her grace on stage is amazing. I'm in awe of her God-given talent.

She was very excited because she got a special 5 year trophy for completing..you guessed it... 5 years of dance. We are so proud of her and looking forward to next 5 years of dance!

Just to make you laugh

2010-05-11T04:39:00.000-07:00

This.....is what my dear red head lovingly describes as his 'vision'. It's simply him crossing his eyes, but come on- tell me that is not hilarious!

You asked for it...

2010-05-07T13:35:00.000-07:00

6th Annual St. Francis Mud Run

Posing... All nice and clean
Who knew cheerleading would pay off one day?

Swimming in the mud

Our attempt at mud wrestling

4 mile mud run, with obstacles, complete!

Awesome pictures of the boys!

2010-05-07T07:20:00.000-07:00

Ruth Rackley Photography

My friend Ruth took some pictures of the boys not too long ago and posted them on her photography blog. Take a look...she is a very talented photographer!

Oops- forgot about these pictures!

2010-04-29T04:05:00.000-07:00

I jsut found these picturs of the kids decorating Easter eggs. They had a great time- as expected. Anything that's messy is always fun for them. Luke was napping and missed out on the fun, but I'm sure he'll be a part of it next year.

Brett didn't want to wait on the dye to be ready, so he started decorating with markers first.
Showing off one of her eggs...can you see the 3 crosses?

Oops- messed up the egg...guess he's gotta eat it now!

Caught in the action

April is turkey time!

2010-04-20T03:54:00.000-07:00

Luke and Harley sitting outside checking out daddy's latest turkey.

This is the way we roll

2010-04-15T16:09:00.000-07:00

These pictures pretty much explain how things go down in our household. Lots of rough play and wrestling...what more can you expect from a home with 2 wild and rambunctious boys and 1 girl that's willing to prove she's the strongest one of all! (at least she is for now!)

Bring it on Mud Run!

2010-04-14T13:44:00.000-07:00

You probably don't know this, but I'm getting ready for a MUD RUN on May 1st! I am so excited!! It's going to be my first one and I hear they are addicting. I'm going to be on a 4 woman team with my oh-so-fab sister-in-law and 2 great girls from CrossFit864 where we workout. A friend posted this video of the run last year that they found on youtube. It looks like so much fun and now I am even more excited about this run, I just hope I can make the whole 4 miles! Check it out and see!

St. Francis Mud Run

Happy Birthday Papa!

2010-04-13T15:53:00.000-07:00

I know I'm really late posting this, but we celebrated my Dad's birthday not too long ago at our house. My parents, sister and brother-in-law came to the big town to celebrate.

My favorite red head with Papa
Notice all the drool...from Luke, not my Dad! ha!

OMG! Is that really my daughter? She looks so grown up these days!

This is the sign the kids made for Papa. It was hanging in a doorway but slowly fell down.

I haven't fallen off the face of the earth, promise!

2010-04-12T05:32:00.000-07:00

I know I haven't posted in a while, things around here are crazy as usual. Luke has had croup and now Ella is sick. We're praying that Brett isn't next on the list, or me! I have lots of pictures to share, but I thought I'd share our new mural with you and our baking day yesterday.

This is our mural that we have been waiting on. I LOVE it! Michael planned just about every single detail that you see. Down to a hidden deer and the types of flowers in it. Mimi Ross from TilesbyMimi did it for us and I highly recommend her! She did a fabulous job!
Before Ella got really sick, she helped mommy with some baking in the kitchen. She had a great time playing with the dough.

Kneading her bread

Helping mommy put butter on homemade rolls fresh from the ovenFrench bread

Butter rolls

I have to say that so far, my homemade 'breads' have turned out pretty good!

Ballerina Girl

2010-03-12T12:39:00.000-08:00

I love watching Ella dance. She has turned into such a beautiful ballerina. I am awed by her grace and poise as she does what her Aunt Allyson instructs her to do. I hope she will continue to love ballet as much as she does now.

Luke's 2nd Birthday Party!

2010-03-09T14:25:00.000-08:00

Fun at the Thornwell Farm

2010-03-02T10:25:00.000-08:00

This is Ella's girl scout troop. Recently, we went to the Thornwell farm to learn about some of the livestock they have there. The girls had a great time and siblings were invited too, so I had Brett and Luke in tow as well. They loved it and got into everything they possibly could. Each child was even allowed to bring home a chicken egg. This was their favorite part!

Valentine's Weekend at SnowShoe

2010-02-28T08:58:00.000-08:00

Well, it's been since our 5th anniversary (3 years ago) that Michael and I have been able to go skiing. We go every Valentine's weekend with first cousins in the family and always have a great time. We couldn't go 2 years ago because I was 9 months pregnant and wanted nothing more than to deliver little Luke. Last year we weren't able to go because Ella and Brett were both sick and my mothering side was not wanting to leave my babies behind while they weren't feeling well.

So, we finally made it this year! I had been looking forward to skiing for SO LONG! I love to ski...love it, love it, LOVED IT! Did I mention I love it?

We left Friday around 3:30/4:00 and 7 hours later we arrived. It was snowing most of the way there and traffic was slowed down to 30mph on the highway. We stayed in a great cabin and spent Friday night laughing until we cried.

Saturday it was on. I was ready..to..ski. We opted for twilight skiing (12-4:30 and then 6-10pm) I love to night ski also and couldn't wait to spend my whole day going down the slopes. Well....things just don't always go as planned, do they? Especially if you are me.

Valentine's weekend is always packed and we know that. We expect to wait in long lines for the lifts to go up to the top of the slopes. We also know it's going to be cold, but I had no idea just how cold I'd be going up those lifts. We were completely covered up. There was absolutely NO exposed skin. They had a frostbite warning posted and everything. It actually snowed almost the whole day which was great because I've never skiied while it was snowing. But the snow combined with the winds was more than I could bare. It was about 14 degrees on top of the mountain and that didn't include the wind chill factor. Needless to say, the girls lasted until 4:30 and we went back to the cabin. Only our brave and daring men stayed to night ski. If I could've felt my fingers I would've stayed but there were in need of some thawing out.

I got to do a few runs at least, but not nearly as much as I wanted. I did however have a great time with the girls. I can't wait to do it again!

Science and Valentine's Treats

2010-02-27T06:26:00.000-08:00

Tuesday is our science day which the kids absolutely LOVE. Anything to do with science gets them really excited. Our latest experiement was to see if we could make water go up. They enjoyed going back every 15 minutes to check and see if our colored water was 'climbing' up the paper towel.

Luke was in on the action to, as always, from his high chair.

After the science experiement, we decided to make some cupcakes for Ella's gymnastics coach, Ballet teacher (Aunt Allyson) and their tennis coach. Anything involving cupcakes gets the kids excited! Imagine that? ha!

Our finished Valentine's gifts. Don't you love these little boxes? I bought them last year...I wish I could remember where...

Happy Birthday Little Man!

2010-02-22T07:32:00.000-08:00

It's hard to believe my youngest is 2 today! WOW- where did the time go? Oddly enough, this is the first time I've had a child turn 2 while I'm NOT pregnant. Interesting, huh? lol! Happy Birthday little man, we love you!!!

McDonald's fun

2010-02-15T11:06:00.000-08:00

Since we were studying dinosaurs, I took the kids to the State Museum in Columbia to see the dinosaur exhibit there. These pictures were taken at the McDonalds right before we found out our day was going to change and things were not going to go as mommy had planned....more on that in a later post. Enjoy!

Making Valentines

2010-02-09T06:12:00.000-08:00

Clean Penny Experiment

2010-02-08T12:08:00.000-08:00

These pictures are in order backwards..sorry about that. This was a science experiment that we did to see if you can clean dirty pennies. We used vinegar and salt and our pennies came out shiny clean. The kids LOVE any type of science experiment we can do and this was a quick go-to to keep them happy one day! Enjoy...

Happy Birthday Mom!

2010-01-29T05:15:00.000-08:00

We went out last Saturday night to celebrate my mom's birthday. We ate at Justin's steakhouse and let me tell you...it was GOOD! The kids were great and actually behaved. As if it isn't hard enough to get 3 kids ready to go somewhere, along with my hubby and myself, we get a phone call that our house alarm had gone off and was set off by one of the glass break sensors. So we turned around and came back to see what was going on. Michael walked in and found a glass window had fallen and that's what set the sensor off. It wasn't one of our windows but a window Michael had brought in to hang as a decoration piece. (Let me just say that he thought this old timey looking window was great for the den and when he hung it on our wall, I thought otherwise. Long story short...my prayers were answered and it commited suicide right there on our den floor. wink! wink!)
So, we were about 30-45 minutes late for my mom's party. When we showed up we had to walk through a huge crowd celebrating a birthday as well. This crew came with a buffet table, cake table and a slide show. It was like a mini wedding reception. Then enters my family. Three wild kids ready to see Nannie and Papa and two exhausted parents. We squeeze through the crowd without bumping into too many people and once we reach our table, I realize Luke's diaper has leaked and his pants are soaking wet. So back through the crowd I go to change his diaper in the restroom only to find there isn't a changing table!!! I mean really, shouldn't all bathrooms have these by now?!?!
(And a little side note: when you see a mom walking through a crowd either carrying or dragging a child with them..MOVE! GET OUT OF OUR WAY! DON'T JUST STAND THERE! Really people, do you think we enjoy trying to squeeze around you. We are already trying not to smack you in the head with our diaper bags. Just move, ok? Or suffer the consequences of the diaper bag kissing your head! Whew, I feel better now!)
Then I had to change the poor guy standing up and put his soaking wet pants back on him, trudge through the big birthday party and put him in his high chair. Then I went back through the crowd, I think they were starting to think I was part of their party at this point, and out to the car to get an extra pair of pants. (let me stop now and say no I am not that super-woman think ahead mom that has extra pairs of clothes in the car, I have 3 kids remember! I am, however, the lazy mom that had left a pair of pants in the car on accident and was super happy they were still there so I could put them on my poor lil guy)
Again, back through the crowd I go finally ready to sit down, have a drink, enjoy dinner and then what happens? You guessed it. Ella has to go potty. This is my life people. It's all about fighting through crowds, trying to resist my urge to smack people with the diaper bag, just to have 1 minute to sit and relax.
Enjoy the pictures and please notice I'm not in any of them. ;-)

For those of you that are super observant, yes my mom just turned 10. Happy Birthday Mom!