Thursday, June 18, 2009

Week in Review

I seem to be doing a lot of posts like this. It works well for me... though it makes for an extra long post. Mostly pictures... and totally random.
Monday
This is Abigail leaving for camp. We were so good the day before... getting everything packed. We even made a list to make sure we remembered everything and for her to check when she left camp. We had one thing to remember the next morning... her pillow. And we forgot. So I had to drop her off at church and run back home then meet the van on their way out of town with her pillow... and snap a quick picture.

This is Diesel, our neighbor's massive dog :) Elijah was a bit unsure about him.

but he really liked that big ol nose... and of course Diesel was just as gentle as ever.

We were planning on having Elijah's party today, but the church play area isn't ready so it has been moved to Monday. I bought Elijah a couple of presents... both are from the tonka 'wheel pals' line. I let him open one so maybe he'd be more excited when he opened the other that will go along with it.

He liked it a lot.

This is our beautiful playroom. I could put it on Kelly's "Show Us Where You Live" but there is nothing exciting about it. I know the mattresses stacked on top of each other make the room look like it jumped straight out of Martha Stewart Living. I had a daybed but the kids were slowly destroying it.

Did I tell you how much he loved it?

Tuesday
I made "baked eggs" again. I don't remember if I blogged about that before... but it is something I read about in a Beverly Lewis book and I thought I'd give it a shot. This time I put butter over the bread and scrambled the eggs. Last time I used milk (as stated in the book) and didn't scramble the eggs. One egg (I buy jumbo) was a bit too big for each muffin cup. Topped with cheese.


The kids love them.

Then Elijah got a hold of the camera. I thought he was just looking at the images on the screen. I didn't know he was actually taking pictures. There were about 6 like this:

And a few of the couch, the floor, the TV cabinet...
He's at the age that he loves to put on shoes. I thought he was in the playroom with his cars, but then he walked out oh so proud in Noah's cleats.

Do y'all freeze sandwiches? If not, you should. It saves so much time. I made an entire loaf of PB&J and froze them. During the school year I freeze them in sandwich bags, pack them frozen, and then by lunch time they are thawed and unsquooshed. This week I took out what I needed and microwaved them for a few seconds. Of course, even a full loaf only lasts a few days around here, but it is still faster than making them daily.

We went to Ouachita to see Abigail in the Talent Show. This is Abigail with her friends at dinner.

Grammommy and Papa came too. We had a while to hang out on campus after dinner, before the show.


Waiting for sissy to sing.



The singing did not go so well. Abigail had a sore throat. I didn't make much of it b/c she has sung an entire musical where she was one of the leads with a sore throat. But this time was different. Her voice cracked at the beginning when singing in unison with her friend Anna. Then she was supposed to sing the 1st verse by herself. I heard her trying to tell Anna to sing her part. No one sang when the 1st verse started. I thought maybe it was nerves (though she has never gotten nervous) and started singing the first part from the audience. Then she started crying (totally unlike her). At that moment the choir directer and momma converged and I ran up on stage to keep the song going. I asked Anna if she knew her verse and told her I'd sing it with her. Anna did know it so once we got going again with the piano, I stopped singing. I tried to calm Abigail down to get her to try to sing, but she wouldn't do it. After the 1st verse, Anna sings one thing and Abigail another (it was "Jesus Is the Answer/Seek Ye First"). I sang Abigail's part and the audience joined in with us. It was very sweet. After the key change, Anna sings harmony and Abigail sings the chorus. With the audience singing, it still worked.
Poor Abigail. She was really upset. I told her things like that happen when you sing. I knew SOMETHING would happen sooner or later. Thus far she has sung everything she's ever had to do and said all lines she's ever had with no problem. She acts like it is no big deal. I think it was the lack of sleep more than anything that threw her. At least, I think that is what caused her to get so upset. I told her sometimes you *are* sick and you may not do your very best in that case and your voice just might crack. It happens to me often. But that it isn't about you. You are singing for the Lord and you just got to keep going, let it crack, and move on. It happens. Hopefully it was a learning experience for her and it won't make her too nervous when she sings in the future. I do hate that they didn't get to sing it b/c they really did sound great together. I think they are going to sing it in church though. I hope so.
On the way home, all the boys conked out. It was after 10 before we left.



Wednesday
The boys had to get up and go to a D1 training center. David was checking it out mostly for Noah. Noah loved it. Isaac had fun, but he'd rather take guitar lessons. Each child gets to take some type of lesson thanks to Granddaddy and we're trying to figure out what would be best for them.

Thursday
We planned on heading back to OBU for the final JoyWorks concert, but ended up going down there first thing in the morning and coming right back with a sick Abigail. She took a turn for the worse during the night and really was not feeling well. Took her to the doctor that afternoon and discovered she had lots of fluid in her ears and lungs. Something triggered her asthma that she hasn't had to deal with in years.
Today
We were going to go to Ft Smith today and to the Johnson Co. Peach Festival tomorrow, but Abigail said she's not up for a car ride. She's afraid she'll get carsick. So, we're taking it easy today.
Hope y'all had a great week and pat yourself on the back if you actually got thru all this :) And leave a comment, especially if you never have. I wanna know who reads this stuff!

Mark Specials!

Click picture to view larger

Saturday, June 13, 2009

Week in Pictures

well, almost. Here is Noah and his buddy Issac at football camp.

This is Noah encouraging (he does that a lot) his friend Mason.

and taking off in a sprint...

running around a bat...


gotta love the headband


We showed up to watch the scrimmage, but found out the scrimmage was that morning. This is what happens when notes are given to daddy. We got there for the very brief award ceremony. Elijah was tired.

He had a great time.

Abigail and Elijah, pre-scalping.



Post-scalping. I'd gone out for the day to look for a prom location. Came home to a child with a lot less hair. I wasn't against it getting cut, but I sure didn't want it ALL cut off :( I like little tykes with hair.

I knew he'd look drastically older with less hair. I wasn't ready for that when I walked in the door. Of course, he's still cute.
And here is another cutie. Elijah has started doing this "shine" pose where he holds his hands out like this and says "shine." He just did it one day when watching Blue's Clues and got lots of laughter. So now he does it a lot. Abigail did it for the picture.

This is the tree we planted when we built the house. It has grown well. Wish the tree (tulip tree) in the backyard grew as well. We need shade back there and it has hardly done a thing.

Got my baby limelight hydrangeas in the ground finally. If they take off like the mother plant, I'll have them all along the side of the house in no time.
I feel the baby moving constantly now. I used to only feel it when I was still (not often). Now it doesn't matter what I'm doing, I feel the little fella squirming around in there. I feel pretty good for the most part, but am getting headaches every once in a while and heartburn almost every night. I had a bad headache Thursday for 7 hours. After dinner David took the kids out and I laid down to watch Gilmore Girls. Headache went away while I was laying down... but I got up after that to clean up the kitchen and it returned. It stayed til I went to bed. I hope I don't get too many more like that one. I don't like to take anything when pregnant. I know tylenol is supposedly safe, but it doesn't do squat on a headache, so I don't see the point in even taking that.
I need to know the secret to getting people out of lurkdom. If y'all read this, say howdy :)

Monday, June 8, 2009

Pool Fun (click on pictures to view larger)

This is Elijah's 'flirt face.' It started about this time last year at church when I gave him his first popsicle. They served it as dessert for the Wednesday evening meal. I gave him a lick, and this face followed. The entire table was roaring in laughter. He knew it, and he knew he'd get more licks if he kept making it. He's continued to make it when he knew he was cute.






I've said Elijah doesn't like the pool much... and he doesn't. He mostly hangs out on the swingset while the others are in the pool. But he did enjoy being pulled around in his new fish... for a little while.

Same photo, uncropped.

Isaac found a baby praying mantis on the side of the pool. Tiny tiny little guy.

same photo, uncropped.

Sunday, June 7, 2009

Belly Shot etc

I thought I'd finally upload a belly picture. Found some others on the camera that I assume David took. This is Isaac and Elijah with the neighbor boys, Sayid and Shi Shi (not sure how to spell that one.

Shi Shi is one year older than Elijah.

Background story on this one... yes, Isaac still wears pull ups at night. We've tried everything, so we're assuming he inherited David's childhood problem. I went to Kroger today and found Goodnights on the clearance shelf for $4.50. I gobbled up every package. Of course, they were pink. Why would a girl want boxers? Apparently they don't. So... Isaac is wearing pink shorts to bed. He thinks it is funny. We wish he was bothered about the fact that he still wears a diaper at night, but we're very glad he has confidence to not let pink shorts bother him.

And here is my 4.5 months belly shot.

This past weekend we went to Ft Smith again. Spent several hours at the pool on Friday and Saturday. I stayed in the shade as much as I could, but still got burned. I guess I was in the sun more than I realized.
Elijah is not a water baby. He has fun at the pool... throwing things in the water. He's not real interested in getting in though. Too cold for him. He did, however, want to go down the slide. The fact that he would go under when he hit the water didn't stop him from climbing up that ladder. I jumped in the water (didn't want to, it was too cold for me too!) to catch him, but once at the top of the ladder (Abigail was behind him to keep him from falling back) he changed his mind... did that three times.
When the older three were his age, they were all jumping off the diving board. They would do anything. Going under didn't phase them. Maybe he'll be more of a daredevil when the water warms up.

Monday, June 1, 2009


I am enjoying peace for the moment due to Elijah taking a nap and the other three playing in the easy set pool that I got for a STEAL last year at Toys R Us for $40. It says it retails for $99 but is on sale now for $89. I'm so proud of my find... and it was a find. I was looking at them and noticed one in a much older box, but it had not been opened. I did a price check on it just out of curiosity and sure enough... it was a LOT cheaper than the others.
I wasn't going to set it up this year for fear Elijah would get out in the backyard and get in the pool, but with the kids going insane, I decided to go ahead and set it up, still unsure if it will stay up. So far it hasn't been a problem. As long as I remove the ladder, he can't get in. The top of the pool is taller than he is. We already keep the doors locked and thank goodness... he hasn't figured out how to unlock the door. Have to watch him like a hawk regardless. He WILL find something to get into.
So for now, I'm enjoying the peace :)