Tidbits and teething

I have been a total slacker lately, as far as blogging is concerned! Usually the only chance I get is when the girls are in bed, and I often use that time to check email, pack diaper bags, work on a quilt, write in my journal, etc.

Journaling is a biggie for me, I have kept one (one and off) since I was about 6 years old. The 6-year-old one is pretty hysterical. The handwriting is horrendous and the big news items are things like , "Joy pinched me today." (sorry Joy, but you were a pincher!) The high school journals are more interesting, and not quite as light of a read because high school was not the highlight of my existence to put it mildly! But it's interesting to look back and realize how much your perceptions of life and love have changed. And boy have mine changed...

My girls are doing great. Abbigail is crawling all over the place. Her form isn't quite perfect yet, sometimes she gets up on all fours and other times she uses an army-crawl that would do the special forces pround. She gets! She's also working on teeth numbers three and four, which I think is why she's been getting up like clockwork at around midnight and 4a.m. for several nights. It's like having a newborn again.

Arabella is pretty entertaining. She's discovered a flair for entertaining so in the evenings she gets on her "stage" and I have to say "Now presenting Bella!" and daddy has to say ,"The star of the show!" Once we have said these exact words with the proper accompanying hand gestures, Bella sings. Sometimes she makes something up, sometimes she sings a strange song called "Imagination!" that consists of repeating that word over and over. Sometimes she sings Victory in Jesus. She calls it "O Victory!"

By the way, that song was an important lesson for me on just how much kids pay attention to what we say! I happen to be a compulsive singer (not to be confused with a good singer!) so I sing around the house a lot. I was singing Victory in Jesus as I gave her bath one evening, not realizing she was listening to the words I was saying. Suddenly she looked up at me and said, "Why did Jesus plunge me in the flood?" (He plunged me to victory beneath the cleansing flood) So we talked about Jesus washing our sins away to help us be nice.

As for me and the hubby, we're just working along! He is counting down the days until our trip to Orlando in September and driving me crazy talking about the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. It's my fault, I got him hooked on the books!

I hate to admit it, but I am over this sweltering summer weather. I got my quilting things out a few nights ago to work on my Log Cabin quilt top. As I usually only quilt in the fall/winter, I was hoping to hint-hint mother nature into sending some cooler weather. Obviously she's ignoring me.

I did get a little Christmas in July, though. My sister recently got a Kindle. If you aren't familiar with these, they are wireless e-readers. The way it works is you go online via your computer or the Kindle itself, find a book you want, and it downloads to the Kindle and you can read it! The Kindle- depending on the version you get- stores over a thousand books. Anyway, once I saw hers I really really wanted one. However, I'm not the kind of person that goes out and drops $189 on electronics. Its thrifty, thank you very much! Anyway my dad said , "Maybe Santa will bring you one!"

But then I started thinking about those long drives we have coming up in September, because in addition to Orlando we are also going to Hilton Head Island. So I asked "Santa" (daddy!) if my Kindle could come early and what do you know, it did!

I love it! I loved it even more once I discovered that there are over 19,000 books that are available free! I think it has to do with a publication date before 1923 or something like that, so it's older books, but this includes Jane Austen (one of my favorites!), Alexandre Dumas, Lucy Maud Montgomery, etc. So I have five books already without paying a cent!

This concludes our advertisement for the Kindle e-reading device. For more information visit www.Amazon.com .

And now back to life. There is a pile of laundry to do, the beds need changing,.....and now I hear Abby crying so all that will have to wait!

Ready for my close up...

We recently had family pictures done in an outdoor session at the Laurels. I have been fortunate to have Rebecca Marr, a very talented local photographer, take pictures of our family since Bella was 3 months old. As you can see, she does a wonderful job. Here are a few of my faves from our shoot:


This is my absolute favorite. It's going on the living
room wall!

I adore this pictue of Abbigail. This captures her
little bright, sweet personality.



Arabella, all smiles!

God has blessed me with a wonderful family!

Now serving customer 972...

As you know, I've decided to homeschool Bella. To that end, I decided it would probably be better for both of us to ease into it and not wait until mandatory school age (which in TN is age 6) and then jump in headfirst with no clue what we were doing.

So I talked to lots of people and read books and looked at websites, etc. And one piece of advice that kept coming up was : find a support group! Turns out there are quite a few in this region. I sent some emails out and was kind of surprised that a lot of the groups didn't even respond. Which makes me think they aren't very well maintained and therefore couldn't offer much support, anyway!

But one group, TEACH, (Tri-Cities Education Association for Christian Homeschoolers) responded immediately, and I exchanged quite a few emails with different members. They seemed very helpful and encouraging, so I went to a meeting several weeks ago. I met some really nice moms.

So I joined TEACH. One of the things I like about it is that in the fall and spring semesters they operate a educational co-op at Boone Trail Baptist Church. They offer classes for each age group (Prek-12th) on Fridays. I thought that would be a great way to meet people, and also a good time for Bella to spend with kids her own age.

Thursday was registration for the fall semester. So me, Bella, and Abby went. I took the umbrella stroller for Abby, who has graduated from her carry-seat. After checking in there was a meeting to review rules, etc. Then registration began. You waited until they called your number, then signed your kid up for classes.

I have to add here that they put you in line to register based on the age of your oldest child. Which makes perfect sense, because you wouldn't want one kid to get in their classes (sizes are limited) and the other not.

It's just hard when your oldest child is three years old. And yes, in the entire co-op, I had the dubious distinction of having the youngest oldest child. I was the last person to register. Bella and Abby did very well waiting, although it got tiring for all of us. In addition, having an umbrella stroller in a church is no easy task when it comes to things like taking the older kid to the bathroom.

Anyway, everyone was very nice and helpful and in the end Bella got signed up for "Letter of the Week" at 9a.m. , "Before Five In A Row" at 10a.m. , and "Preschool Art" at 11a.m. One of the rules of co-op is that a parent has to contribute 2 hours to the co-op each week. So I will be helping in other classes part of the morning, then doing a "Homeschooling 101" moms class, which I am very excited about.

Next year I may make up a fictional 12th-grade son, and be first in line to register. just kidding.

I like to move it, move it...except now I'm too sore to!

So I recently realized that my recent diet plan wasn't working. Well, actually, it was working great, just in the wrong direction. Apparently an abundance of popcorn, Mountain Dew, Twix bars, and ice cream isn't that great for you.

Who knew?

I had to do something. My friend's sister, Heidi, has been trying to get me to try a Zumba class, and I finally caved in and went.

Now, if you've never seen Zumba, it's a form of exercise. Picture yourself trying to impersonate Shakira while doing step aerobics to Latin music. It's kind of like that. I used to do step aerobics so I figured I couldn't be too bad at Zumba.

I was wrong.

My friend Jessica was a great sport and went with me, because frankly it's always better to be in good company while making a fool of oneself. The idiocy began before we even got in the gym. We pulled in the parking lot and realized we'd come with no bottled water. So I drove like a maniac to a Walgreens on the corner and got two big bottles of water.

Zumba class costs $3. That's right, they charge you to look like drunken half-paralyzed Salsa dancer.

Anyhoo, we took up our places near the back of the gym and began. It was actually lots of fun, after you get past the first five minutes of realizing you have no idea what you are doing, and that you shouldn't have stood in the back because you can't see the teacher. You can only hear her say things like, "Okay! Now triple step, cha-cha-cha!". Which apparently means something to the other 62 women in the gym. The trick is, no matter what, don't stop moving! If you stop moving you stick out like a sore thumb! When in doubt, just jump around and wave your arms.

An hour later I was literally dripping with sweat. I have to admit it was fun, and I did my good deed for the day by providing the girl and her mother who stood behind me with 60 minutes of entertainment.

The Call of the Wild

We recently took the girls to Bays Mountain Park for the second time. Well, the first time Abby went she was in utero so I guess that doesn't count. If you don't know what in utero means, google it. For that matter, if you don't know what anything means, google it. I'm a big fan.

Anyway, we saw the deer and the bees. We didn't see the otter or the bobcat because they were in hiding. Or maybe they don't even have a bobcat. Maybe they just put up a fence and threw on a sign that said, "Bobcat Enclosure"....would anyone really know the difference? If you have actually seen the Bays Mountain Bobcat with your own eyes, please let me know.

Abby enjoyed the great outdoors to the extent it can be enjoyed while strapped in an umbrella stroller. She drooled a lot and chewed on things. I think she had fun.

Here is Bella looking at the wolves. The funny part was she
started yelling, "Come here, wolf!" in her little-girl voice, and one
of the wolves actually looked up and starting coming over to us.


We took a barge ride over the lake, which was nice, even though the end
result was a faint exhaust scent coming from everyone onboard. The park
ranger who was piloting it stopped by the wolf enclosure and had everyone
be very quiet so she could howl at the wolves. She howled and they
answered...so did Abby, who started making all kinds of noises.
Apparently my youngest is part wolf.

Ordinary Days

Okay, these are just a few pics of an ordinary summer day spent hanging out with my sis and her little girl. Ordinary, except that it was magical. Because already they have grown, and changed, and learned, and will never be the same.


Ashlyn and Bella in action.

This pic is so Ashlyn. Fearless and wild and full of

energy. That look of concentration on her face is not

derived from fear. She's trying to figure out how big

of a splash she can make.

I got these little paint kits for $3 apiece at Michaels

and turned the girls loose on them. The end results were

so typical of their personalities. If you ever want to

Rorschach your kid, give them a painting kit...

Wedding Bells and Ringlets

On May 15th, my brother in law Chris got married. Bella was a flower girl, the wedding was beautiful, then we came home.

If only it were that simple!

If you've ever traveled with small children you know what a chore it is to go anywhere overnight. Kenneth worked third Thursday night, and as soon as he got home Friday morning we loaded the car and headed to Raleigh. Friday night was the rehearsal, which went rather smoothly even though it took a little while to arrange everyone.

Saturday morning I made a Starbucks run with my other brother in law, Steven. When we got back to the hotel we noticed that one of the cousins' vehicles (which was parked right beside mine!) had been broken into. The window was smashed and some things were stolen from three cars in the parking lot Friday night! I felt bad for the victims, but at the same time grateful my car escaped!

The wedding was at three that afternoon, but we had to be at the church and ready for pictures hours before that. And getting five wiggly, giggly flower girls ready is no easy task! There is hair curling and hairbow hunting, finding socks and shoes, tying sashes, etc!

Thats right, I said FIVE.

And here they are, from right to left:
Kaley, age 22 months; Alexis age 3; Arabella age 3, Alyson age 4; and Emma age 5( I think).
Aren't they beautiful?


Here is my hubby all dressed up, he's so handsome!

My beautiful new sister, Joy, with all of her lovely attendants.

This one is kind of dark and far away, 'cause I was

sitting on the back row with Abby, but you can see the

stage was beautiful.

Had you asked me at 2:15, I would have guessed that Joy might end up with one or two flower girls onstage. Bella was worn out, and Kaley was laying on her mommy's lap half asleep. And being a flower girl in front of a large audience, well that's a lot of pressure for a little kid!

I was pleasantly surprised to see Bella got walking down the aisle, although I don't think she did any flower-dispensing! I was so proud to see her up there , I leaned over to the woman next to me and whispered, "That's my little girl, the second from the right!"

If you count carefully, you'll only see four flower girls on stage. My niece Alexis was absolutely exhausted from a long day and no nap, so she didn't quite make it down the aisle. She did go and sit with the other girls, and walked back up the aisle with them!

The wedding was so personal and so beautiful. There were several songs, including one that Joy's brother wrote especially for the ceremony. She surprised Chris by singing a chorus of it to them. They were married by Joy's father and Chris' grandfather, so that was special.

And it made quite an impact on Bella...she's still playing "get married"!