She Turned 5

Yes I know I am almost 2 months late with this post but things are moving fast around here and keeping up with the blog is hard to do. However, I certainly don't want to miss Anna Grace's 5th birthday.

This year we did not have a party with friends but we celebrated from sun up to sun down. Neal took the day off so that he did not miss a minute.

We began the day with a trip to her favorite breakfast establishment...

Who in their right mind could resist these faces?

I think seeing the full outfit of our little show-stopper can't be missed... I am not sure Krispy Kreme was ready for us to come walking through the door.

Our day was filled with fun things - ballet, a visit to the toy store and plenty of play time. We ate Chinese for dinner at her request and then concluded our celebration with a trip to the ice cream shop and presents. We would have opened presents sooner but it was a rainy day and we needed the rain to stop for the optimum present experience.

When I see these pictures of you on your bike my heart saddens a little knowing that you are growing into such a big girl. Due to all of the excitement around here this past year has flown by for our whole family and you are a large part of that excitement - and drama. You certainly keep your daddy and me on our toes.

You love your family deeply. It is fun to watch you play with Dean and try to include Caleb. I am so thankful that you enjoy your brothers and look out for them. I know they both annoy you at times but it is obvious that Dean is your best friend. You are even excited about your little brother whom you have not met. I know you really wanted a little sister but you are as excited as you could be for a little brother to come instead. You pray for him to grow strong and for him to be healthy often; you also talk about how much fun it will be to be the big sister once again and hold the little baby.

Your passion for music, dance and art continues to grow every day. Your acceptance of others inspires me. Your heart for prayer - even though you are often praying for others' bad attitudes - convicts me. You maintain an eagerness to learn and are always looking for a way that you can help me around the house. Within in the past few months you have certainly come into your own around here desiring to lead the crew and willing to sass. A little difficult for me at times but I know that God is bending your will each day so that you can glorify Him throughout your life. This past fall you memorized Nahum 1:7, "God cares for those who trust in Him." The full verse is "The Lord is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble; he knows those who take refuge in him." I pray that you will always remember this verse and claim it throughout your life.

During this next year of your life I pray that in a special 5 year old way you will, "Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality." (Romans 12:9-13)

For whatever reason I went back a second ago and read your 4th birthday post. It is amazing that it seems like a year later of growing and maturing on your part and I am still saying the same things. It proves to me that God is developing you more and more each day - you still love the same things but probably even more now and you still have the same strengths but more pronounced.

I love you, my Sugar Bear!

Game Day Photos

On one of the game days this fall the children got fired up to be Auburn fans and play in the leaves. Thankfully we had the camera handy - actually Corey had her camera handy. Thanks, Coco!

Anna Grace struck her best cheerleading pose.

Dean and Caleb worked on their mean football faces.

The Past Few Weeks

I begin by asking the all important question:

So where is he going to fit another child?

Now on to other things. We are a little slow getting some trick or treating pictures up but finally here they are.

Our three...The Princess, The Prince (at the request of The Princess) and Trooper Taylor

I just love this picture of Caleb.
He had no clue what he was about to do.


The whole crew...
We went with the Clark family and had a blast.

Our family (sans Caleb) went to the Auburn Homecoming game. (side note: It was really cold.) It was Anna Grace and Dean's first trip to Auburn. They had a blast. Anna Grace pointed out not long into the game that our whole family was "Auburn" except me. What can is say, 23 weeks pregnant in orange just doesn't sound very flattering to me.

And finally, this whole time change crap has got to stop. It is obvious that the person who thought this up was NOT a parent of small children. Anna Grace and Dean are still waking up about an hour earlier than normal and going to bed at our usual time...which means we are getting an hour less sleep each day. There have been some moody days around here as of late. Like Monday when Dean decided he wanted to wait in the bathroom for Neal to get home. Don't ask me why. But he was foul so I did not want to argue with him about how it was a dumb idea since there was nothing to do in there. After a few minutes I went in there to check on him and this is how I found him, apparently he found something to do!

Procedure Checklist

While I am convinced this is not for everyone, a very intriguing concept this procedure checklist. I am seriously considering trying this for a week or so to see if it will help streamline life around here - goodness knows I can use any tool/help I can get to create order in our days and in our home. I think in my own type A style (sounds so much better than OCD or anal retentive) I would like a list for my daily stuff but also for the different aspects of cleaning (ie a bathroom cleaning list, a dusting list, etc).

If there is success here I will be sure and let you know in the event you may want to try it too.

two fun pictures from this month

Anna Grace and Dean enjoying the VeggieTales show.


Caleb pitching a fit...he stopped, started laughing and
ran to the camera to see himself as soon as Neal clicked the picture.

A Great Talk

This fall I am reading Feminine Appeal with my bible study group. Thus far it has been wonderful and timely. Our leader gave probably the best talk I have ever heard - if not ever heard certainly the best I have heard recently - on being a wife. I figure since it has been 3 weeks now and I am still thinking about it it is certainly worth sharing. Belinda did an excellent job reminding us of our appropriate order of priorities especially in this phase of life.

Click here if you would like to listen. Scroll to the bottom of the page to the "Seven Virtues of a Godly Wife & Mother" section then select "Sept 23." Hopefully it will work for you; as I said I thought it was wonderful.

If you ever forget to "stock" your diaper bag...

your child might end up coming home looking like this.


Not exactly the way I left him in the nursery this morning but I am glad they were able to find something in their stash to cover him (apparently he felt the need to involve someone's cup in his routine diaper change). Still a cutie, yes, but I did not know who this bright child was they where handing me when I walked up.

wow, what a day!

Today was a big day for our family. Now that all three are snuggled in their beds and down for the night let me recap.

It began with a "family" trip (sans Caleb, we figured he was not that interested in what all was really going on around here outside of the next meal and determining to destroy the house) to the doctor's office for the ultra-sound. Anna Grace has been very consistent to remind us all that she would like a baby sister and Dean declared last night during prayer time that he would like a baby brother...There was lots at stake. After what seemed like forever the nurse showed/told all four of us that we are indeed having a...boy. I was watching Anna Grace's face to see her response regardless. I thought she was going to burst into tears. She finally said, "I wanted a little sister." After a few minutes of shock and a special reminder that now she would always be our favorite girl she seemed to move on. By the time she called my mom to give her the news she was excited. I think the whole family - extended family included, with maybe Dean as the exception, wanted this child to be a girl mainly for Anna Grace but it is amazing how quickly God has changed her mind on the subject and she has embraced being the only girl around here and having 3 little brothers. As for me, well all I can say is, "Wow!" I told my mom today on the phone that my gears have switched and it sees a future of fighting with each other, wrestling for play that turns into fighting, and fighting over girls and sports in our future...3 boys with just under 4 years between the oldest and youngest! I decided about a month ago that this baby's hymn was I Need Thee Every Hour I am now wondering if this song is not so much for boy #3 as it is for me. I guess newest, Little Man, (we have not even considered names yet) I'm taking that song back and we will find you a new song.

After running our errands we return home to find the For Sale sign in the yard and the lock box on the door. Our sweet realtor came while we were gone this morning and put her sign in the yard. It was a little sad and a little exciting all at the same time.

So again I say, "Wow! Boy #3 on the way and house for sale!" We are blessed; can't wait to see what God has in store next.

exciting things going on outside

I captured Caleb a few minutes ago watching the garbage men outside. He is one who believes wholeheartedly where there is a will there is a way...will one day get him in great trouble I am sure but today it is cute.

First Day of School

Let me just say that a day at school for a boy is very different than for a girl. The real picture of the day - the one that tells the whole story - would be what he looked like when he came home. Of course I did not take that picture for whatever reason. The boy was filthy from head to toe front and back and that is not an exaggeration. I had never seen anything quite like it. In Anna Grace's two years of MDO she never came home even close to that dirty. He had dirt all over his knees, down one leg, on the seat of his shorts and on his face. He was a mess.

I was a little nervous for Dean since he is not a huge fan of change but he was a champ. Anna Grace helped out too by talking about how GREAT school was going to be and how he was going to just LOVE playing with his new friends and making things. He walked in the room without hesitation then turned back to me with the most nervous look on his face. I pointed out one of his friends who was already playing and off he went, never looking back.

When I picked him up he was ready to tell me all about it. He gave me a run down of the entire day's schedule, who he played with, reminded me his teachers' names, assured me that he made sure he ate all of his lunch, told me his Bible verse, sang the part of the turtle song that they sang in circle time and shared his most favorite part of the day - "going to the playground TWO TIMES!"

Unlike Anna Grace he was not at all concerned with what we did while he was in school. He was just happy to know that he got to go back in three days.

A Few Moments of Quiet

Neal took Anna Grace and Dean on a "daddy date" to get ice cream and Caleb is currently napping. It is not very often that the house is this quiet during the afternoon.

I don't exactly know where to begin it has been so long since I have blogged. Within the past month our family spent a week at the beach. Yes we had our video camera and our still camera but it is hard to find time to take pictures in that very uncontrolled environment called "the beach." We did take a couple of pictures but they are still on the camera and I always choose for Neal to get pictures off of the camera - lazy I know. It was a wonderful trip though; we were all sad (maybe not Caleb) to pack the car and return home. Anna Grace declared that we should just move there. When I asked about coming back to Birmingham to get Sam she said, "Mama, I think he would just run away down here so we don't have to go get him." I guess we now know were Sam the dog fits in Anna Grace's life!

Within this past month (or maybe a little longer but not much) we have also discovered that I am pregnant. It was a surprise to Neal and me to say the least. We are excited and are thankful that God continues to bless and grow our family. Anna Grace has probably been the most excited the whole time. She tells everyone she meets - or doesn't meet for that matter but allows her a few seconds of airtime to blurt it out - "Mama has a baby growing in her tummy. I can't wait to meet HER." She also went so far as to name this baby, Anna; she has given Dean the privilege of deciding her middle name. Now lets be very clear here - I am 14 weeks pregnant (have known since I was 10 weeks); we have no idea what the baby's sex is. That being said, I am praying like a crazy person that it is a girl for Anna Grace's sake. She has wanted a sister for some time now. Last fall she said on her "What I am thankful for" craft at Bible study "my little sister." At the time I laughed it off since there were no discussions of more children around here. Dean has not said much about it all which comes as no real surprise. He does say when he is particularly enjoying a meal - "My baby likes this food." Even though Anna Grace has made it very clear to him that boys cannot have babies but it is okay for him to pretend - she is such a little mama. As for me, I am making it. I have actually been a little less sick this go around but I think lots of it has been learning things in the past that work for me and God has been extremely gracious to our family. If this pregnancy stays the course of the others I should have about 4 or 5 more weeks of sickness before I start to feel well.

As for other news around here, Anna Grace has begun ballet. I am pretty sure she really likes it because she gets mad that her class doesn't last longer. She twirls around the house now perfecting her moves. I have asked her if she learned that at ballet and she assures me she did not it is just something she made up in her head.

Dean is starting "school" (MDO) on Tuesday and very excited. While at the beach he picked out a cool space/alien lunch bag. We shall see how the first day goes. I am pretty sure he is excited and feels like a big boy. He is growing up so fast it seems literally and figuratively; he is almost as tall as Anna Grace these days - not saying too much because she is still petite.

Not much has changed with Caleb. He is still a fireball and a handle. Neal and I laugh saying his hobbies are eating, carrying around the wii remote (one desperate afternoon he even napped with it) and terrorizing his brother and sister. He loves them so much and wants to have their attention. He will persistently pat them (sometimes it is more of a hit) until they stop doing what they are doing and acknowledge. Unfortunately for him their response at first is usually, "CALEB!!!" Needless to say, we spend a great deal of our time talking about loving behavior - loving responses and modeling loving behavior.

As for me, I have just reread Words that Hurt, Words that Heal. Just seeing the book on the bookshelf brings conviction so mustering up the courage to read it and examine my life (my speech in particular) is always hard. I am always thankful that I read it and finish it thinking I really should read it more. I find myself praying throughout the day, "'Set a guard, O Lord, over my mouth; keep watch over the door to my lips' (Psalm 141:3) that I may not sin against thee." This time however the conviction from reading that book hit a little closer to home. I want desperately to teach my children's speech to bring glory to God; however as I read and watched our family life I saw things in our children that I did not like (for example the major sass in Anna Grace; not mean or ugly but the way she get's Dean to do just about whatever she wants by the way she speaks to him) and knew that it was me they were learning from. I was teaching them the very things I myself am trying to eliminate from my life. It is hard for a child to learn when to speak and when to listen when it is not modeled before them. Having said all that, you are probably thinking "I don't want to read that" but I know at least for me it is a must read and read and read.

My quiet moment is over; they just came in the door and brought me some ice cream. Yeah!

So to sum it all up -
our three out of the womb are having a blast these days
#4 is on the way and trying to do me in
our blog name will have to change once again