My Whoot Owl!

"Mommy says I frustrate......but I not....I not frustrate!"

Yes, this is what my 3 year old told her Sunday school teacher!  And yes, I am not embarrassed one bit that my girl ratted me out and told someone that she frustrates me.  Truth is - she does :)  This girl is so dynamic and full of life.  She has a personality that is huge.  She has a whine that is worse than nails on a chalkboard.  Why??  Because God gave me someone EXACTLY like myself so that I can see what I do to others and so that I can seek Him in helping me change.  I read once that what bothers us the most about our kids is when they are doing the things that are the most like us.  Isn't that the truth!!  Everyday I am challenged by Finley (not that the child is horrible - she isn't!!!  But she whines and cries all the time!  So she isn't being bad, she just isn't being quiet!  Hmmmmm - insert myself!)  There are days when my patience was chewed up and swallowed at breakfast.  Why?  So that I can depend on God to give me what I need.  There are days when I am sitting with my children trying to talk to them about their behavior, looking it up in the Bible, and explaining how they should repent, and then I end up apologizing, looking things up in the Bible for myself and seeking forgiveness!  I am learning so much from my little "frustrate" child and I thank God for giving her to me and all her loudness.  I heard on a podcast this morning that she is my heavenly sandpaper.  She rubs me in order to smooth me out.  He is using her in mighty ways to break me and shape me so that I can show my children that we all struggle with imperfection, but the only way to control our selves is to ask the Lord for help!  

Flashback

We go into our sweet 7 year old girls' room last night and we find them sleeping the exact same way, with the exact same tissue balled up on the night stand, with the same book out and we just smile.  We look at those big girls and we flash back to our precious newborn infants.  We see how that instant bond and love they have had from the start is still there, strong after 7 years.  They have always slept like this.  Always facing each other.  Twins absolutely fascinate me.  I am amazed at how close they are and how in sync they are.  They are so compatable.  Everytime I look at them playing with each other and interacting, I see Matt and myself.  Carly is my mini me and Chloe is mini Matt.  They just jive.  That is why God put us together.  Matt and I are so compatable and click in all the right places.  Where I am weak, he is strong and vice versa.  Same goes for the girls.  Carly is so strong willed and Chloe is not.  When Carly won't budge, Chloe folds with a smile on her face.  It is amazing to see the best friend bond that they have.  I am so glad they get to stay at home for school and get to work with each other.  When we were moving I actually called all the elementary schools in the districts of houses we liked to see their policy on twins.  MOST of them said they separate them.  They said they are individuals and shouldn't be kept together.  Some said if I put up enough fuss they would let me keep them together, but not in the upper grades.  Really?!  Why must they be punished for being best friends.  Yes, I do think they need alone time, and they do get that sometimes, but you are only young once and then you are forced to grow up.  Life will tear them apart eventually, but having a sister bond that is this thick is a treasure.  Not many get to have a twin, not many twins have a super tight bond, so I will foster this relationship as long as I can!

Finley's Trip to the Dr.

Last Sunday night Finley started complaining about her knee.  She started to say that it hurt and then she started saying she couldn't walk.  I gave her some Tylenol and put her to bed.  The next morning she woke up and slithered to our room crying because it hurt so bad.  She wouldn't go to the bathroom because she wouldn't put her foot down.  It was a lot of pain for her!  She was pitiful.  Now usually I don't run and take them to the Dr., but we were supposed to be going camping the next day and I wanted to make sure she was ok.  Well, she had an infection in her knee!  They had to rule out a bacterial infection that is stemmed from the hips so they took 2 tubes of blood.  She cried at first but she toughened up.  I couldn't believe how tough she was!  Then we had to go across the street to the hospital to get 4 xrays.  They hurt her poor knee, but she got through it and the technician said she was the toughest little 3 yr. old he has had in a long time.  Well, she got through the day and her infection was just viral, so Motrin was the miracle cure.  The Dr. said we would have to cancel the camping trip.....so of course we bought another backpack and said she could just ride on the back of someone because we were going!  By the next morning, she was feeling better and the Dr. said that I guess we could go (I told her we were already packed).  She did great and the knee healed by itself.  I hate seeing my babies in pain, especially when you have no clue why they are in pain!  But I did enjoy spending the day with her and carrying her around.  She is so sweet.  And now today I have hurt my back and she is taking such good care of me.  She rubs my back and gets me medicine and says prayers for me.  She is simply irresistible!

Campout 2012!

We went camping this week in Bervard (near Asheville) with our friends the Townsends (Courtney and JT and their 4 kids Sydnie, Emma, Joshua, and Mady).  We couldn't have asked for better weather - 74 during the day and a little chilly at night.  We had a heater in the tent so we were nice and toasty.  We only went for Tuesday - Thursday, but we had a blast.  We didn't get there until 3 on Tuesday (I will explain in a post after this) so we unpacked and set up camp.   

We had foil dinners and then Joshua and I were trying out a new recipe - campfire cones (they weren't great).  But we did have banana boats and smores and enjoyed sitting around the fire.

These 3 played so hard.  We didn't see too much of them as they were exploring with Emma and Joshua.  Sydnie loved taking care of Channing - and we loved her chasing her!!!

Good morning guys!!

On Wednesday we went hiking to look at some waterfalls.  (this is Carly)

 This waterfall was super close to the road.....Finley like this hike!

 The Dads!!!  These two are a great team!  We love hanging out with them.

 The 4 big girls!  Carly and Chloe look up to these two so much.  They love hanging out with older girls!

 My love and I - with a little spunk in the back!

 Some cool rocks the kids scaled!! 

 Yes, he is cute! :)

 Hang on Carly.....don't let go!!

 Sydnie hiked the entire way with Channing on her back on the long hike.  I took her back and I was hurting.  I have no idea how she did this up the mountain!!  Channing loves her Mimi (that's Channese for Sydnie).

 The scenery was beautiful.  The kids loved hiking together.

 This was a cool waterfall that they actually went around the fence and walked behind the waterfall.  Well worth the long hike!

 Everyone in the cove!  Channing and I opted not to climb for the fear of me sliding down the rocks!

 Channing fell asleep in her back pack.  She did really well in this pack!  It was a life saver.

 Tree hugger!!  She loves being outside ~ can you tell?!

 Racing in the leaves after lunch. 

 Breakfast time with 9 sweet kids!  We will definitely be making this an annual event.  We had so much fun!

 As soon as we got home, Matt opened the garage door and this snake slithered into the garage and into the wall!!!  Matt had to leave and take a shower and I was left to unpack the car with the lockness monster lurking about!!  I had Chloe empty the car and put the stuff in the garage.  Carly was in the house bringing everything into the living room and Harper stood and watched the hole for when the snake decided to come out!  He finally started coming out and I was hoping he would just slither out and leave me alone.  But nope!  He got all the way to the open garage door and then went back into the garage!!  I couldn't have an un manned snake in the garage - my luck he would end up in the house (I have had 2 nasty lizards in the house and I couldn't hand those - of course they were there when Matt was gone).  So Harper helped make noise to make him go one direction while I tried to catch him.  He was biting the soccer goal net and everything.....yes, I think he wanted to eat me!

 

But in the end, I won!!  I think I lost my voice from screaming, but I got that sucker's head in my clippers.  My boy protected me and helped me catch him.  I HATE snakes!!  This one was even worse because I had to kill him!!  I have had my fill of being brave and killing animals around here.  I have killed a mouse in the deep freezer(it jumped on the rim of the freezer when I had it open, so I slammed the lid down and ended up squishing the mess out of that nasty thing).  A snake in the garage and 2 lizards (I caught them). 

Some Randomness

 We don't get alone time too often with our kiddos, but when we do....we soak it up!  The girls were at Grandmas and Grandpas so Harper had a special night with us.  He picked out his own ice cream and entertained us with his incessent talking!  Yes, we loved every minute of it!

 So one day I was a little late to put Channing down for a nap.  I came upstairs to get her and this is how I find her.  The stage lights were on the spot light was on, the music was blaring.  She was so cute!

Can you believe how big she is getting?  She is so sweet and is such a little wild thing.  When Finley and Channing run around together I call them my thunder and lightning.  Finley is the thunder...she is so loud and Channing the lightning - she is silent and destructive!  I hate that time has to go so quickly......

Happy 3rd Birthday Finley

 Oh my sweet Finley Claire!!  You are one precious gift!  This girl came into our lives 3 years ago and our world hasn't been the same since.  She is so full of life, full of herself, and gives us such a full heart.  She is opinionated, compassionate, and knows exactly what she wants!  She knows how to get her voice heard (often with loud, obnoxious whines).  Her smile and her hippo cheeks melt my heart.  Her hair is still just as wild as the day she was born!  She loves the color purple and is the biggest girly girl I know!  She loves Tinker Bell, Strawberry Shortcake, high heels (if you ask her what part of her body her heel is called.....it is called your high heel), dancing, crafts, bracelets, absolutely LOVES chapstick (an unnatural obsession in my book), crowns, she may rot in Carly and Chloe's old purple dance costume, and My Little Pony.  I could go on and on about this special girl.  She touches everyone she comes in contact with with her dynamic personality.  You just can't help but want to squeeze her - and she is super squishy.  She loves to take care of little kids (even her friends that are older than her).  She will hold their hands and make sure everyone is ok.  Channing is so lucky to have her as a big sister.  She was so excited for her birthday party this year with all her friends.  She had Mady, Caroline, Little Chloe, and Claira.  They decorated wands and then played in the bubble machine. 

 They loved catching bubbles!

 This girl tests my patience on a regular basis but I wouldn't want her any other way.  She cracks me up and makes me smile every day! 

 She did a very good job singing Happy Birthday to herself!!  Of course she would sing the loudest at her own birthday party!

 All the little Tinker Bells!

 She was very into her gifts!

 When she woke up in the morning, the girls and I had decorated the kitchen.  She was so excited to see the decorations! 

Grandpa Eddie and Grandma Kay got her a car to drive around.  She is actually getting pretty good behind the wheel!  This car fits her and her personality perfectly!



School year 2012-2013

I can't believe the school year is here and we are starting 2nd grade for Carly and Chloe!!!  (Chloe is on the left and Carly is on the right)  I am so proud of all their hard work at school.  Homeschool is pretty tough when there are so many other little ones running around, but they are hard workers and they manage to get everything done!  I am ready for another year of fun and school with my girls!

 I'm bias, but they are pretty cute!

 Now my big boy gets to join the school crew!  He is more than ready to get this fun going.  He kind of already started school, but I always have to have an official first day of school!

 Yes, I make them all wear backpacks and get dressed up for the first day!  They get so excited for this day and join in on all my excitement.  I just don't want to deprive them of the first day excitement.  I asked Harper what he had in his back pack - he said his laptop and his Bible - a boy has got to be prepared.

 And.....I make them go down the street and run back to school!  They love going out and coming in knowing they are starting a new year. 

 I hope Carly always has this much excitement when she goes to school!

 And of course the Most Visited At (the) Principals would be Finley!  She was already starting off her school year with a bang!

 Preschool!!

 Harper has been dying to start school just so that he could get his cone!  He was so ready to get all his treats and prizes out.

 Carly's favorite part of back to school!

 Reading their notes from Mom and Dad.  We are so proud of them and love to show them!  We pray this school year blesses all of us!

 Harper and his teacher

The girls and their teacher - Mrs. Rifflay (I couldn't do that cute accent mark over the e, so I had to spell it phonetically)  I told them they were having a new teacher this year!!