Little Kicks

On Sunday I felt the baby move for the first time! I am 18 weeks so the first kicks are very faint and sometimes not very definite. But, I was sitting in service and the choir was singing, and she started moving! I am taking it that we are going to have another dancer! It is so sweet to feel the baby and life starting to take place! Thank you Lord so much for this little blessing. Thank you for entrusting Matt and I again with a precious life. Help us to raise her up to honor and follow you. We know you have big plans for her so mold her into the perfect person you desire her to be. Amen.

Drumroll Please

Last week, we went for the ultra sound! And we are having .............. A GIRL!! I really thought it was a boy, but, I am never right, so I should have assumed it would be a girl. The kids all thought it was a boy too. They said it was a pattern - girls, boy, girl, so it should be a boy. Now of course they are thrilled about another sister. Matt just laughed. I told Matt that now I don't feel so bad buying 2 of everything for the girls because one set will go to Finley and the other to this baby. Now yes, everyone's initial response is poor Harper, but come on!! In high school when these girls have friends over all the time, who wouldn't want to be Harper!! He will have a nice assortment of girls around at all times. :) I love this picture of the baby because it looks like she is either waving or getting ready to suck her thumb. It is amazing to see our sweet baby - she is the size of an orange here. Amazing - God's miracle of birth is spectacular. So to the 12% of you that voted girl (that was only 2 people and I know that Matt was one of them), you win!!! And no we do not have any names picked out - yet!!

Rectangle Fan

This post is out of order, but I had to document because it was funny. Tonight we tucked everyone in bed and when I walked past the thermostat, I looked and saw it was 78 in here!! We went the whole day with the air off and the windows closed. I didn't realize it was toasty in here, because I didn't leave the house! I told Matt to open the windows so it would cool down. Carly came out of her room about 10 minutes later and she said she was hot. I told her we were working on it and it would cool down in 10 minutes (just said something to get her back to bed). Then she looked at us and said, "Turn on my rectangle fan!" Matt and I were looking at her like she was crazy and told her they don't have a fan in their room. We said her window was open and to stay on top of her covers. She was adamit and kept telling us that she wanted that rectangle fan on. We had no clue what she was talking about and she described it for us. "The rectangle on top that blows - the FAN!!" AHHHH - the ac vent!!! Matt and I burst out laughing because we finally figured out what she was talking about. She wanted some AC!! We couldn't stop laughing. So we told her to stand in front of the window and she could feel the cool air. With a big smile, she retreated back to bed satisfied that she would cool off soon.

A day at the Beach

So 2 weeks ago, I texted Matt and said that he needed to have the next day off. He asked why and I told him that it was necessary that we go to the beach. With a new baby coming in March, we may not want to make a beach trip (I don't like babies and sand mixed together). So I told him we needed to have an overnighter in North Myrtle. He spoke to his boss and she let him have it off!! So I made some hotel reservations at 9:00 that night and the kids had no idea. We actually had hotel points so our room was free - even better! In the morning, we fed the kids and told them we were taking them on a surprise trip. I gave them clues once we got in the car about every 20 minutes. After a good hour and a half, gave them a big clue and they guessed the beach. They were so excited!! We got there around 11. I had packed a lunch and we went to see if our room was ready. It was, so we unloaded, fed them lunch, got suited up and hit the sand!!! It was beautiful! The wind was blowing there was no humidity, it was hot, but you couldn't tell - perfect weather!! This was the first time Finley had actually played in the sand and she liked it of course.
Here she is on some sort of mission. Notice her tongue handing out, so she probably is on her way to eat one of those shells - yes, she eats shells too. Matt had her stand up and he backed up a little bit and she took her first step!!! We were so excited. I quickly got out the camera and was able to record the second and third steps :) I was so happy that he was there to see her first steps. She was proud of herself too.

Here is Daddy teaching them how to make a pool. They ended up making about 4 of them, but they kept washing away because the tide was coming in. The hotel was actually on property of a time share place, so it had a nice water park as well. The kids absolutely LOVED the water slides. They could all go down together and I think they did about a million times. At the end, our poor Chloe got her finger all sliced up. She was bleeding all over and it was a pretty long cut. She was a trooper, but it was still very painful.

Finley decided to take a stab at building a sand castle. Don't worry, she didn't sit her long!

We got in from the beach/pool around 4:30ish and took showers and got ready for dinner. We took them to Red Robin, where Finley was quite excited to get a balloon. After dinner, I told Matt we needed to take Chloe back to the scary plane ride she was tortured by 2 years ago at Broadway. When we got there, they remembered where they were and were SO excited to ride the planes! Here is our Chloe proud as punch in her plane alone! Carly and Harper had a blast and had their planes going up and down. Chloe was still hesitant so she stayed low to the ground and her hands couldn't have been any further away from the controllers. But she was so proud she didn't cry and she conquered her fear. Her smile was spectacular.

As well as her first steps, Finley also had her first ice cream (despite what TJ did at Chic Fila - I don't want to know what happened)! She wasn't too thrilled with it. She ate it of course, but I think it was too cold. Of course it was Chocolate Peanut Butter - my favorite so I was glad to help her out (good old Ben and Jerry's).

As we were in line getting the ice cream, she riped her hair bow out, so we had to keep her upwind so her hair would blow out of her face for these pictures!! Got to love the hair!!

In the morning, I took the girls for a walk on the beach while the little 2 were still sleeping. It was so pretty out and the girls enjoyed picking up sea shells. Chloe had picked up one shell and Carly and I were walking looking for a good one. I looked in the water and saw a pretty good sized one (biggest I have seen at Myrtle) so by default Carly was the recipient of the big shell. Chloe just looked at it and said she was going to look for a big one. We looked and looked and finally Carly said, "here Chloe you can have this one!" It was so sweet. What a thoughtful thing to do for your sister. The smile on Chloe's face was priceless!!

After our walk, we went back to the room, ate breakfast, and got ready to hit the beach before we left. They played in the sand for a while building sand castles and then Chloe's finger started to really hurt so I told her I would take her and Finley to the pool so the salt and sand wouldn't bother her any more. We swam and then Carly, Harper, and Daddy met us and swam too. We then headed up to the room around 11 to take showers and pack up and we were checked out at 12:00 on the dot. We had some Wendy's and then buckled up and took naps (everyone except for Finley!!) Our little day trip hit the spot! It was so much fun and we enjoyed our family time!

Sweet Kids

Our backyard is torture for my sweet kids. It never fails, the second they go out, they get eaten alive!! Yesterday was no exception. I told them to go out and I would be out there shortly to spray them up. By the time I got out there - no more than 5 minutes - there were a total of at least 12 bug bites!!! 3 of them being on all their heads!! I thought it was funny that Carly got hers on her right side (she is right handed) and Chloe and Harper got theirs on their left side (the lefties). So now the cortizone is out and their legs look horrible, but soon it will be cold and I will be wishing for some warmth!

Another Proud Moment

Chloe decided to write her story today. I just showed her where the space bar and the back space keys were and she went to town. She did want her word cards to type the word like. She said she sounded it out and it didn't look right, so she needed to see her cards. I am very proud of my little bug spelling all those words right! Way to go Chloe!!

Story: Rat can pat rag cat (don't think the word cat is supposed to be there)

ben can rub the dog

I can woos (wash) rag

cat and rat like to run

pigwig likes to job

chloe riffle is 5

Smoothie

I got this receipe from a blog I read and it is quite yummy and seems kind of healthy. In a blender mix: 3 frozen bananas, 2 tbls. peanut butter, 2 cups chocolate milk. Blend and it turns out thick like a milk shake. Matt really enjoyed it the other night when I delivered it to him as he was plugging a hole in his tire. Try it out!

One proud girl

I was out shopping today with Chloe and Carly was home with Dad, Harper, and Finley. She told Matt she wanted to type. He said ok and opened up a blank document. She only asked where the space bar was. He came in to check on her and she was typing a story!!! She did a really good job spelling everything and had no assistance. Later on she added pictures to the paper and she has it all ready to read tonight before bed. I love when they are proud of their work and they do a really good job. Way to go CARLY!!!

Story Translation:

A cat run in to a big cat

A pig run in to a dog

Ajaff (giraffe) bup (bump)in to a big this (I don't think this was supposed to be in the story) sneck (snake - it originally didn't have the k and after I asked her what the word was she said she needed to add the k)

Carly Chloe

Meal Time

If you have ever dinned with small children, I am sure you have your handful of stories to go with meal time. This morning Harper said something funny and I realized I never post about what really goes on in this house 3 times a day. First the funny thing Harper said: I left his precious grits a little unattended while cooking them this morning (which he had his heart set on them when he woke up, because he came and asked me if I had time to make them with tears in his eyes because Dad filled his bowl with Cheerios - how could I say no to that!) So the cheese in them burnt a little bit, but when you stirred them up - know one could tell (so I thought). So the cute 3 year old was enjoy his coveted bowl of grits and he looks at Matt and says, "These grits have a lot of chicken in them!" At least he didn't complain that I messed them up! He just assumed the burnt parts were chicken - he is a hoot. Meal times.....the dreaded meal times!! First of all, we don't have enough chairs at our table!! That table was purchased way before there were 5 kids in the picture. So we have 4 chairs - Carly and Chloe have high riser things on the bottom of theirs so they can reach the table, Harper sits on a folding stool I used to use when I taught and Finley is in a high chair. Needless to say that will be the first thing we purchase when we get a new house - that and a KING size bed so snuggle time is actually doable. Back to meal time - There is always something funny or obnoxious taking place at any time. Then there are the incessant bathroom breaks! As soon as they sit down to eat, one is up to use the bathroom and then a line forms or they break and each kid mans their own restroom. Which of course results in every door knob being extremely sticky -gross!! And it never fails, as soon as I sit down, someone needs a refill on milk. Finley loves to squeeze the living day lights out of her fruit, which results in a severely sticky tray, arms that have fruit juice down to her elbows, clothes are wet and then stained, and lets not overlook the hair issue - she loves to mash food in it! So baths are a must because her hair always has something in it! Now, the floor. Remember all those bathroom breaks? Well they don't happen until they have shoved some food into their mouths, so when they stand up, all the food goes to the floor. My floors have an incredible amount of food on them. I have given up and just sweep once a day. Finley does a pretty good job eating all the big chunks off the floor once she is through eating :) (30 second rule is more like a 30 hour rule in our house) I just love the feeling of food sticking to my feet!! Then there is the gaging. My kids know that if you don't have a clean plate, you don't get anything extra - whether it be more food, fruit, or a dessert. Harper is one dedicated eater. He will eat it all! But if he doesn't like it he will shovel it in and gag. So attractive while eating. Now by the time I have all the food on the table, bathroom breaks are finished, the prayer has been said, they are all done and I have to leave my plate of hot dinner to wipe them all up, clean their place mats so that they can clean up after themselves. I feel like the Mom on A Christmas Story who will never get a hot meal!! I shouldn't say never, I will once they are all grown up and gone and then it will be very lonely and I will have really clean floors and that just doesn't sound fun to me at all!!! So I am thankful for my meal times, even though they are a lot of work, it is special time I get to spend with my favorite people!!

My Testimony

In church the other night, Pastor Kenn was speaking on Acts 22. This is where Paul shares his testimony. Pastor Kenn posed the question that if we were to have to stand up that night and share our testimony, would we be able to do it? It is kind of neat to hear about people who are older who got saved later on in life and they can remember everything about that life changing event. I wish I could remember everything about the day that I became saved and that it was such a profound experience that my life changed dramatically upon receiving the Grace of God with eternal salvation. But, I don't. I do remember that I was in VBS and I was sitting in a circle of chairs. And for the life of me I can't remember her name who lead me through the prayer, but I am sure my Mom remembers her name once I describe her, so I will add her name later. I was young, very young I do know that. I remember having such a secure feeling after that. That no matter what I did, I would be forgiven. So I could make my mistakes, pray for forgiveness, and continue on. But was that what it is all about? No way! I would say that being a born again Christian really didn't take any meaning to me until about 3 years ago. Then what in the world had I been doing for all those years? Well, riding the coattails of being a Christian of course! There was by no means any way someone would look at me and think, "Man, there is something different in her." On the contrary. I made many bad choices and there was no reflection of Jesus in my life. Why was the change only 3 years ago? It all finally clicked. What the point of being a follower of Jesus Christ was all about. What the point of all the Bible stories were. I am so thankful that this click happened while I am a stay at home Mom. Being new at something it doesn't take much for you to get knocked over! I am able to focus more and try to build a better foundation. Do I struggle? Daily. It is very hard to keep a Christ centered mind. It is hard to make time to read my Bible and to pray (and not to just pray words, but a meaningful prayer that is a conversation between me and God). But, I am aware of all my faults and how I am such a failure. It is fun to teach the kids as I am learning. I don't want to tell them Bible stories, I want them to know the point of each story and how to be a servant. There are so many teachable moments in a day to illustrate how to be more like Jesus. It is amazing to me how I have tried to rid myself of outside influences so that I can be totally focused on my walk and Satan just invades in another area! I am undeserving of God's amazing grace, but yet it was given to me, therefore it is my job to share that love to others. So there you have it. My testimony.

How is school?

We are in full swing of school and we are staying very busy! Each day we have to get ourselves moving so that we can get all our school work done. I figured I would post our day since everyone asks how it is going:
7:00 - girls are getting up and I shower
7:30 - Harper is getting up and I get breakfast ready
8:00 - breakfast
8-9 - I clean kitchen, do dishes, laundry, or any other household chore - I also get all the kids clothes out and toothbrushes and they get ready for the day.
9 - 9:30 - We start with calendar (Finley is in her cage by now and she watches a sing along video)
9:30 - 10:30 - Finley is taking a nap and we do school work - usually math and some type of project - I usually give Harper his own game or project to do during this time
10:30 - 11 - we finish up with our work and Harper goes and plays with Finley
11 - 11:30 - break to play and I get lunch ready
11:30 - lunch
(if we need to run out during the day, we leave after lunch and are out until 1:30)
11:30 - 12:30 - eat and clean up and play
12:30 - 1:30 Play time - this is when I do lots of Finley time
1:30 - 3:30 - naps for Harper and Finley (Harper sometimes goes to bed earlier depending on his level of happiness) - the girls and I then do reading time. I read with one while the other is doing some type of reading activity - game or computer game and then we switch
3:30 - 5:30 play time
5:30 - dinner
6:30 - showers or family play time
7:30 - bed for Finley and big kids go to my room for a story and prayers
8:00 - big kids are in bed

That is our day in a nut shell. Now it is ALWAYS subject to change! You never know when there is that random vomit that needs to be cleaned or when my eyes can no longer stay open and I let them stop and take a break. We also go outside and do things but that is always weather dependent when we go!!! And that is our schedule!

Field Trip

This week at Mommy school we went on a field trip to the Hemby Bridge Fire Department. We have been doing community helpers, so a trip to the fire station was a must. The girls were internally excited as usual, but Harper was beside himself. He asked the fire men all sorts of questions and was so interested. He was loving it!

Harper and Carly got into the fire truck, but Chloe opted out. She is always more hesitant than these 2, but that is just her personality.
Before we left they took a group shot on an engine. We sure did enjoy our field trip!

Matthews Alive

Yesterday we decided to take the kids to the Matthews Alive Parade and Festival. We got there about 10 minutes before it started and sat right down in the shade on a hill and had a great spot. The weather was ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL!!! It was so relaxing and the kids loved seeing the bands, cheerleaders, and fire/police men. After the parade we walked down through the craft tents and then through the ride section. The kids all wanted to go on a ride, but it was getting hot, the lines were really long since everyone was there because the parade was just over, and we were running into lunch time. So, I told them they had the afternoon to decide which ride they wanted to go on and we would come back. They were not allowed to choose the carousel or any of the baby rides. They could choose from the swings or the helicopters. (I am not wasting my money on them staying low to the ground and going in a circle!)

Harper and Finley watching the parade together. This boy adores this girl!
And they chose.......the helicopters!! We went back that night and spent $9 for them to ride this one ride! But it was nice and cool and no one was in line so they just walked right onto the ride. They were prepared and excited to go on a big kid ride (of course they all decided they would ride together - power in numbers)! They loved it and had a lot of fun! We were looking at the prices of the tickets and on Friday night they had a arm band you could buy for $15 and you would get unlimited rides. Sounds like a deal right? I sat there for a minute, looked at Matt and said, "Do you realize that in a couple years that would cost us $75 to take our kids to a little rinky dink fair?!" Absurd. So we are setting the standard low now! I told them we had a lot of fun. They got to ride 1 ride and the next fair we go to they can pick 1 ride to go on. That way they always know they only get to choose 1 ride! So sad to have to do that to them, but fair rides are ridiculously priced and I would much rather buy them a Carowinds pass or take them to Disney World again vs. flushing money at a fair. They completely understood, were grateful for their ride, and are looking forward to the next festival!

And every year we go and they always want their picture taken at this train. So for the scrapbook sake - here it is!