Wow!!! What an amazing last few weeks we have had...so much has happened and I can't pick out just a few pictures to post so I am going to tell stories in one post and then do pictures in another. Here we go.....
Shelby's Christmas program at school was so wonderful. It started out with the Elementary students singing a few songs and then playing "Joy to the World" on their flutaphones (not quite sure on the spelling of that one). Then they brought out the primary classes and Shelby looked so cute, so little, yet so big all at once up there on the stage. I am sure that I was literally radiating with love and joy over watching her sing. It makes me tear up when I think that next year she will be in kindergarten!!!
Christmas is always a very busy time of year for us and this year proved to be the norm, but we did enjoy a little more down time than usual because many of our friends were traveling and there also weren't the 600 parties to go to that we usually attend. The week of Christmas we drove down to see Dove Street lights and that trip rated right up there with the trip to Charleston two years ago to see the lights...it was, well, how can I put this a nice as possible...it was filled with lots of noisy, and not the pleasant kind of noise that makes you smile. At any rate, we survived and have decided that next year we are going to try to combine it with having dinner with my family or something.
We had a lovely Christmas Eve celebrating the birth of our Savior. We started out the day by taking the children to the movies with our neighbors. It was so much fun! This was only Shelby's second movie ever and JP's first. Pratt and I were a little skeptical about how they would do, but both of them sat through the entire movie and really enjoyed it. At 5:00 we went to the candlelight service at our church and it was by far one of the best ones they have had that I can remember. The church was almost full and the music was beautiful. We sang lots of traditional Christmas hymns and then there was a short sermon. After that we sang "Silent Night." They dimmed the lights and we all held lit candles. It was just beautiful. Shelby and JP looked like little angels holding their candles. After church we went to Papa and Grammie's house for a fun get together. Shelby was so excited to see Uncle Jake!! She latched onto him and didn't let go the entire night. It was so cute...I just love watching her! JP kind of wandered around the house and enjoyed all the attention he was getting. The Cranston family joined us and it was great to see them. Pastor Jeff was such a trooper. He preached 4 services by the time he got to the house. He looked a bit on the tired side when he walked in, but for some reason JP really took to him and it wasn't but 10 seconds that he sat down and then JP started whacking him with a pool noodle. Thankfully Pastor Jeff is a fun guy and before we knew it he had JP doing those deep belly laughs that got us all tickled. Dinner was sooooo good and what a feast!!! By the time we left and got home it was almost 9:00.
Traditionally we let the children open a small gift of Christmas pjs on Christmas Eve. Shelby called it out before she even opened hers. It was kind of funny, but also kind of sad to realize that she is getting so big now that her memory goes beyond what happened just a few minutes ago. We also gave them sleeping bags this year and told them that they could sleep in them together in Shelby's room. JP was all over that, but Shelby wasn't too sure. It didn't take her long to decide that she preferred the softness of her bed over the hardness of sleeping on the floor. JP lasted a little longer, but eventually (around 11:00) he ended up in his bed as well. We will try that again next year and maybe they will be able to handle sharing a bed together.
What a day Christmas Day was for us!!! We had the best time seeing all of our family and celebrating with everyone. Our day started at 7:30 with JP waking up so we went on ahead and got Shelby up. They had a wonderful time opening all their presents and with each gift JP got he would get more and more excited. At 9:00 we went to Aunt Suzy and Uncle Patricio's house to see them, baby Sebastian, Meme and Christina. Meme made her famous monkey bread and country ham biscuits. Again, the children had so much fun opening gifts and playing with their cousin. At 11:00 we packed up, made a quick stop at home to unload and get some things, then headed over to Papa and Grammie's. JP took one look at the tree and kind of just walked around all confused and excited about all the presents that were there. I mean, you could hardly walk into the living room because there was so much and he just stood there in awe. At one point he could hardly take it any more and after he had opened a tool set to go with his new tractor he just threw his hands up in the air in total disbelief that things just kept getting better and better. Once all the presents were open we sat down to eat lunch and relax for a bit. At 2:30 we came home for some rest! We were up and at 'em again at 5:00 and made the trip to the island to see my family. We opened presents with them, relaxed, enjoyed some dessert and played. Shelby and JP had such a good time all day and despite how tired they were and how much we dragged them around all day they were great little troopers and very well behaved the whole day!!!
Since then we have been trying to get things back to normal before our trip to Belize this weekend. The house looks like a toy bomb exploded and trying to find places to put everything is going to be a challenge....thank goodness we were proactive and did a sweep through all the toys before Christmas. We are also making an effort to get Shelby and JP to bed on time after a week of staying up late. Everynight we put them to bed JP says, "I want to hide." So we pull the covers up over his head and say good night. As we walk out the door he says, "Mommy, mommy, wait." And I turn around and say, "Yes buddy." Then he peeks his little head out of his covers and says, with the biggest smile, "Merry Christmas." It is so cute and makes me laugh every time.
Merry Christmas to all!!! We pray that you all will know the peace that comes with a personal relationship with Jesus Christ!!!!
The Reed Anytime Review
Monday, December 28, 2009
Thursday, December 17, 2009
So, what have we been doing?
Well, this blog is going to go in reverse chronological order....I never have been able to figure out how to arrange my pictures how I want...oh well!
This is my sweet Shelby sporting her new haircut from Daddy. After weeks and weeks of threatening her that we were going to cut it if she kept giving us a hard time about brushing it, we finally did it. We probably cut off about 3 inches or so and it made such a huge difference. She looks so much older and thankfully there aren't the knots to contend with each morning when we brush it. The next day at school one of her teachers told her that she really like her hair cut and Shelby said, "My daddy cut it, but it looks better when it is wet." I really have no idea where she came up with that one, but apparently she likes her hair better when it is wet!
On Tuesday JP had his little class Christmas performance at school. The children sang "Jingle Bells" and "10 Little Angels". As soon as JP walked out the door and saw all those parents he instantly became shy and stayed in his teachers arms the entire time. He didn't even mouth the words. After it was over and we started walking to the car he decided to sing. It was so cute!!! Since then he has been singing "10 Little Angels" all around the house. He usually skips from 3 little angels to 10 and then says, "wasn't that a band, Wissmus Morning...." I have a video so you can see!
One night after Thanksgiving we treated the children to come cookies since they had such a good day of making good choices. Shelby instantly wanted to put on her apron and she made Pratt put his on. Since JP doesn't have one we made one for him out of a dish towel and a chip clip. It was so much fun to see them so excited over their aprons. They ran around the house until bedtime with them on laughing and giggling!! Just love those two little sweets!!!
And a little bit before Thanksgiving...I know, that was a long time ago...JP sporting his Indian Headdress from his teachers at school. He was definitely attached to it for a while and wore it everywhere.
The weekend before Thanksgiving Pratt took over the children so that I could go with some girlfriends to Atlanta for a weekend of shopping and relaxing. I don't think I have ever laughed so hard and so much as I did on this trip!! We had the most wonderful time. We went to the North Georgia Premium Outlets, we saw the Rockettes Christmas Show in the Fox Theater and then we also had the pleasure of meeting Dante and his crew at Dante's Down the Hatch. I would love to be able to tell some stories so that you could understand just how bizarre this place was, but I have tried and no one quite gets it, so here is a picture (sorry it is a little blurry) of all of us at Dante's. I can't wait to see what happens on our next girls getaway!!!
JP singing "10 Little Angels".
This is my sweet Shelby sporting her new haircut from Daddy. After weeks and weeks of threatening her that we were going to cut it if she kept giving us a hard time about brushing it, we finally did it. We probably cut off about 3 inches or so and it made such a huge difference. She looks so much older and thankfully there aren't the knots to contend with each morning when we brush it. The next day at school one of her teachers told her that she really like her hair cut and Shelby said, "My daddy cut it, but it looks better when it is wet." I really have no idea where she came up with that one, but apparently she likes her hair better when it is wet!
On Tuesday JP had his little class Christmas performance at school. The children sang "Jingle Bells" and "10 Little Angels". As soon as JP walked out the door and saw all those parents he instantly became shy and stayed in his teachers arms the entire time. He didn't even mouth the words. After it was over and we started walking to the car he decided to sing. It was so cute!!! Since then he has been singing "10 Little Angels" all around the house. He usually skips from 3 little angels to 10 and then says, "wasn't that a band, Wissmus Morning...." I have a video so you can see!
One night after Thanksgiving we treated the children to come cookies since they had such a good day of making good choices. Shelby instantly wanted to put on her apron and she made Pratt put his on. Since JP doesn't have one we made one for him out of a dish towel and a chip clip. It was so much fun to see them so excited over their aprons. They ran around the house until bedtime with them on laughing and giggling!! Just love those two little sweets!!!
And a little bit before Thanksgiving...I know, that was a long time ago...JP sporting his Indian Headdress from his teachers at school. He was definitely attached to it for a while and wore it everywhere. 
The weekend before Thanksgiving Pratt took over the children so that I could go with some girlfriends to Atlanta for a weekend of shopping and relaxing. I don't think I have ever laughed so hard and so much as I did on this trip!! We had the most wonderful time. We went to the North Georgia Premium Outlets, we saw the Rockettes Christmas Show in the Fox Theater and then we also had the pleasure of meeting Dante and his crew at Dante's Down the Hatch. I would love to be able to tell some stories so that you could understand just how bizarre this place was, but I have tried and no one quite gets it, so here is a picture (sorry it is a little blurry) of all of us at Dante's. I can't wait to see what happens on our next girls getaway!!!
JP singing "10 Little Angels".Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Shelby says...
A conversation in the car after CBS today while on our way to Moes....
Shelby: "I am so tired. Today at nap time I am going to sleep."
Me: "Shelby, I am tired too. I think I am going to sleep during nap time."
Shelby: "No your not mom. You are going to do your job."
Shelby: "I am so tired. Today at nap time I am going to sleep."
Me: "Shelby, I am tired too. I think I am going to sleep during nap time."
Shelby: "No your not mom. You are going to do your job."
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Thursday, November 12, 2009
First Official Daddy/Daughter Date and other things
It seems like every time I catch myself thinking, "Gosh, life just can't get more busy than it is." the next thing I know we are more busy than we were when I thought that. No matter how hard I try to make lists and stay focused something always comes up, plans change and I find myself having to go with the flow. Oh well, I guess that our children will be very flexible adults:)
Last night was Shelby and Pratt's first official Daddy/Daughter date ever. It is hard to say who was more excited, Pratt or Shelby. Last week Pratt printed out a beautiful little invitation that he stuck in the door inviting Shelby to dinner and the Nutcracker. At first I could tell that she really didn't know what was going on, but as the time got closer and we talked more about it she got more and more excited. Last night when Pratt got home from work they got all dressed up and ready to go...a small miracle in itself that we didn't suffer through any pre-date melt downs as Shelby usually despises dressing up in anything more than a little cotton dress. I had been preparing myself all day for the battle that I was going to face getting her to put on a fancy dress, tights and pretty shoes. But God is faithful and gave us a wonderful evening of getting ready. Shelby got to pick where they went for dinner and at first she said that she wanted to go to Moe's (I know, no surprises there. That girl loves her Moe's), but I gentle reminded her that we already ate there for lunch (and not to mention that we ate there Sunday after church) and suggested that they go some place else. So she settled for Zaxby's, but Pratt said when they got in the car she pulled an audible and they ended up dinning at the ever fancy Chik-fil-A.
Once they got to the playhouse Shelby went through her normal, I don't want to....routine, but Pratt was able to coax her in. As the ballet started Shelby sat back in her chair with her hands in her hears, but as the performance went on she got more and more excited and by the end of the first act Pratt said she was standing up against the chair in front of her watching with every bit of her being.
Here are two pictures from the evening. I know that this is going to be something that Shelby looks forward to every year. Maybe I will let Pratt make a post from his perspective because I am sure that there are a lot of funny little details I am leaving out.
And the ladies added some fashion and beauty to the course.....
This is kind of in a random spot, but I am having a hard time figuring out how to move pictures around. I couldn't not include this picture from Sunday morning before church. JP looked so handsome, still baby, but also so grown up at the same time.
Saturday Pratt went to Clemson for the game (which, just in case you were wondering we knocked the socks off of Florida State!!!!!) so my mom and I took the children to see Nemo on Ice. JP was so excited he could hardly stand it. The whole week he walked around saying, "I go see Nemo on Ice." over and over again. He sat in my lap at full attention the whole show and barely moved except to eat his popcorn and flash his Nemo light. It was such a fun time and I love doing things like this with the children. Of course Shelby wasn't too thrilled at first, but she warmed up to in and by the end was clapping.
Last night was Shelby and Pratt's first official Daddy/Daughter date ever. It is hard to say who was more excited, Pratt or Shelby. Last week Pratt printed out a beautiful little invitation that he stuck in the door inviting Shelby to dinner and the Nutcracker. At first I could tell that she really didn't know what was going on, but as the time got closer and we talked more about it she got more and more excited. Last night when Pratt got home from work they got all dressed up and ready to go...a small miracle in itself that we didn't suffer through any pre-date melt downs as Shelby usually despises dressing up in anything more than a little cotton dress. I had been preparing myself all day for the battle that I was going to face getting her to put on a fancy dress, tights and pretty shoes. But God is faithful and gave us a wonderful evening of getting ready. Shelby got to pick where they went for dinner and at first she said that she wanted to go to Moe's (I know, no surprises there. That girl loves her Moe's), but I gentle reminded her that we already ate there for lunch (and not to mention that we ate there Sunday after church) and suggested that they go some place else. So she settled for Zaxby's, but Pratt said when they got in the car she pulled an audible and they ended up dinning at the ever fancy Chik-fil-A.
Once they got to the playhouse Shelby went through her normal, I don't want to....routine, but Pratt was able to coax her in. As the ballet started Shelby sat back in her chair with her hands in her hears, but as the performance went on she got more and more excited and by the end of the first act Pratt said she was standing up against the chair in front of her watching with every bit of her being.
Here are two pictures from the evening. I know that this is going to be something that Shelby looks forward to every year. Maybe I will let Pratt make a post from his perspective because I am sure that there are a lot of funny little details I am leaving out.
And on to other news.....on Sunday Pratt and I played our first ever golf round together in a little couples scramble. Since it had been probably close to 8 or 9 years since I really attempted to play golf I didn't have too high of expectation going into this. As we were warming up on the range I found that it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be and ended up getting pretty excited about having an afternoon out on the links with my hubby and dear friends/neighbors. We teamed up with Rob and Jessie to form "Team Sac." I have to say that we were a force to be reckoned with. Pratt and Jessie played golf in high school and Rob and I had some natural athletic ability to contribute and even though no one collected scores at the end of the day we knew that we won.
And real quick, I have to brag on myself, the last hole was a short little par 3 were you had to hit over some little marsh or something like that. Now, never ever in my very short golf career have I ever been able to get over the mental block of hitting over a hazard. Well, today was the day. I got up on the tee box, relaxed and hit that ball over the hazard, landed on the green and the ball rolled to about a 1 foot from the hole!!!! HOLY COW!!!!!!!!! I couldn't believe it and then I sank the putt for a true birdie!!! Watch out LPGA!!!! Here I come!!! Okay, maybe I should stick to my day job, but it really was so much fun and I can't wait to have an opportunity to play with Pratt again.
The men looking ever so intimidating....
And the ladies added some fashion and beauty to the course.....
This is kind of in a random spot, but I am having a hard time figuring out how to move pictures around. I couldn't not include this picture from Sunday morning before church. JP looked so handsome, still baby, but also so grown up at the same time.
Saturday Pratt went to Clemson for the game (which, just in case you were wondering we knocked the socks off of Florida State!!!!!) so my mom and I took the children to see Nemo on Ice. JP was so excited he could hardly stand it. The whole week he walked around saying, "I go see Nemo on Ice." over and over again. He sat in my lap at full attention the whole show and barely moved except to eat his popcorn and flash his Nemo light. It was such a fun time and I love doing things like this with the children. Of course Shelby wasn't too thrilled at first, but she warmed up to in and by the end was clapping.
Here they are in the car on the way home holding up their Nemo light toys....thanks so much Grandmother for such a fun day!!! JP is still talking about it.
(Thanks Erin for the super cool Clemson football outfit!!! I am sure that the reason Clemson beat FSU is because JP wore it on Saturday.)
(Thanks Erin for the super cool Clemson football outfit!!! I am sure that the reason Clemson beat FSU is because JP wore it on Saturday.)Tuesday, November 3, 2009
October
Wow!! Can it be?? Is it really possible?!?!? Certianly October isn't over yet?!?! Oh, but yes it is. I seriously can't believe that it is already November. My sweet children are growing older faster with each passing month and sometimes I just really want to stop time so that they can stay my babies for a little while longer. Anyway, since I was totally slack all month with posting anything, here is a quick picture overview of what we did......
In a first time for me, earlier in October we took Shelby and JP to Pinckney Island for a morning of roaming around. I really had no idea how incredibly big that place was. I thought that we would go walk around for a bit, find a nice place for a picnic, eat lunch and head home. Boy am I ever glad that at the last minute we decided to bring the stroller. It ends up, you have to walk almost a mile before you get to the first place of interest. Shelby and JP had a lot of fun and it was such a beautiful day. We didn't see too much wildlife, but it was really just nice being out as a family exploring and enjoying God's beautiful creation!!! Here is a picture of Shelby and JP looking at the water.
What October would be complete without shopping for Halloween costumes??? Well, ours was almost an October without them, but Meme made sure that we were taken care of. Since we had plans to be in Clemson for Halloween I had kind of decided not to buy costumes because we wouldn't be trick-or-treating, but Meme thought that it would be fun to have some anyway so she took me and the children to find some costumes. It was such a wonderful afternoon!!! Shelby had so much fun wandering down the aisle looking at all the different costumes and she found a butterfly fairy princess. JP was not so easy to find something for. We asked him if he wanted to be nearly everything had for his size and each time he said, "No." So we decided to head to another store and as we rounded the corner of the costume aisle he burst out with excitement, "I want to be a dinosaur!!!" The very first costume he saw in that store was the one he knew all along he wanted. Aren't they sooo cute?!?!?!
In a first time for me, earlier in October we took Shelby and JP to Pinckney Island for a morning of roaming around. I really had no idea how incredibly big that place was. I thought that we would go walk around for a bit, find a nice place for a picnic, eat lunch and head home. Boy am I ever glad that at the last minute we decided to bring the stroller. It ends up, you have to walk almost a mile before you get to the first place of interest. Shelby and JP had a lot of fun and it was such a beautiful day. We didn't see too much wildlife, but it was really just nice being out as a family exploring and enjoying God's beautiful creation!!! Here is a picture of Shelby and JP looking at the water.
What October would be complete without shopping for Halloween costumes??? Well, ours was almost an October without them, but Meme made sure that we were taken care of. Since we had plans to be in Clemson for Halloween I had kind of decided not to buy costumes because we wouldn't be trick-or-treating, but Meme thought that it would be fun to have some anyway so she took me and the children to find some costumes. It was such a wonderful afternoon!!! Shelby had so much fun wandering down the aisle looking at all the different costumes and she found a butterfly fairy princess. JP was not so easy to find something for. We asked him if he wanted to be nearly everything had for his size and each time he said, "No." So we decided to head to another store and as we rounded the corner of the costume aisle he burst out with excitement, "I want to be a dinosaur!!!" The very first costume he saw in that store was the one he knew all along he wanted. Aren't they sooo cute?!?!?!
One weekend several of our husbands were either working or out of town so some of us got together and drove over to Ridgeland to visit a pumpkin patch there. It was the craziest thing because you literally drive up and park in these people's yard, walk around to their backyard and they had it all set up. They had a bouncy house, cornhole, horseshoes, rope a calf, John Deere tricycle race track, a rubber duckie race track, a petting zoo, and tons of other stuff. Children were $6 each and adults were $7 for the hayride that took you to this little make shift pumpkin patch were you could pick out and take home whatever pumpkin you liked. Of course Shelby had to find one of the biggest ones there and JP found one that was just right for his size. It was a great time!!! Here is a quick picture of an attempt to get all the older children to sit down for a group shot.
The weekend before Halloween our church had their annual Fall Festival. It really was such a great time. They had all sorts of little games and activities for the children to play and a chili cook off for the adults to participate in. JP was so sick that weekend so he had to miss out; but thanks to Grammie and Papa for coming over to watch him, Pratt and I got to enjoy being there with Shelby.
And now on to last weekend!!! Clemson Homecoming!!! Wow! What a fun weekend for our family! My mom, dad, sister, brother, aunt, uncle, and a cousin all get together and just really have a great time. This was the first time that Shelby, JP and I would share a room together where we were all in beds. Shelby got to have her own bed and JP and I shared a bed. They slept a little and I didn't sleep at all, but it was all good because they really behaved very well the entire trip. Unfortunately the weather did not behave while we were there and we got really wet at the game on Saturday!!! But, once again, Shelby and JP were such troopers they sat through almost the entire first two quaters in the rain before they determined that enough fun had been had. We were soaked to the bone; well, they weren't that wet because they were covered up better than I, but anyway.
Shelby wore her Clemson jersey the night before. I was totally shocked when she put it on and then wore it the rest of the night. This girl has a mind of her own. I can't tell you how many times I have tried and tried to get her to wear it and then she just goes and does it. JP had on a super cute clemson football outfit, courtsey of my friend Erin, but of course I didn't get a single picture of him in it:(
Here is me, Matt and Lauren at the bottom of the hill waiting for the marching band to come. It was so much fun and I always love going to Clemson, but I have to say that I was really ready to get home and sleep in my own bed after this trip:)
And a random story to close....there was this sweet little black kitten that Pratt had been feeding at work for nearly a week now and he finally caught it. He brought it home in a little cage for the night so he could bring it to the humane society on Monday morning. JP and Shelby instantly fell in love with this cute little ball of fur. While they were in the laundry room looking at him JP told Pratt, "Kitty name is Swan." Who knows were that came from, but they really fell instantly in love with this cat. I so wish that we could have kept it just because it brought so much joy to my sweet children, but I am so allergic to cats that there was just no way. So Monday morning came and Pratt took the cat to the doctor and when JP came home from school that day he came running up to me and asked, "Mommy, where kitty baby kitty cat?" On man, it nearly killed me to tell him that the cat was at the doctor so that they could find a place for him to live.
The weekend before Halloween our church had their annual Fall Festival. It really was such a great time. They had all sorts of little games and activities for the children to play and a chili cook off for the adults to participate in. JP was so sick that weekend so he had to miss out; but thanks to Grammie and Papa for coming over to watch him, Pratt and I got to enjoy being there with Shelby.
And now on to last weekend!!! Clemson Homecoming!!! Wow! What a fun weekend for our family! My mom, dad, sister, brother, aunt, uncle, and a cousin all get together and just really have a great time. This was the first time that Shelby, JP and I would share a room together where we were all in beds. Shelby got to have her own bed and JP and I shared a bed. They slept a little and I didn't sleep at all, but it was all good because they really behaved very well the entire trip. Unfortunately the weather did not behave while we were there and we got really wet at the game on Saturday!!! But, once again, Shelby and JP were such troopers they sat through almost the entire first two quaters in the rain before they determined that enough fun had been had. We were soaked to the bone; well, they weren't that wet because they were covered up better than I, but anyway.
Shelby wore her Clemson jersey the night before. I was totally shocked when she put it on and then wore it the rest of the night. This girl has a mind of her own. I can't tell you how many times I have tried and tried to get her to wear it and then she just goes and does it. JP had on a super cute clemson football outfit, courtsey of my friend Erin, but of course I didn't get a single picture of him in it:(
Here is me, Matt and Lauren at the bottom of the hill waiting for the marching band to come. It was so much fun and I always love going to Clemson, but I have to say that I was really ready to get home and sleep in my own bed after this trip:)
And a random story to close....there was this sweet little black kitten that Pratt had been feeding at work for nearly a week now and he finally caught it. He brought it home in a little cage for the night so he could bring it to the humane society on Monday morning. JP and Shelby instantly fell in love with this cute little ball of fur. While they were in the laundry room looking at him JP told Pratt, "Kitty name is Swan." Who knows were that came from, but they really fell instantly in love with this cat. I so wish that we could have kept it just because it brought so much joy to my sweet children, but I am so allergic to cats that there was just no way. So Monday morning came and Pratt took the cat to the doctor and when JP came home from school that day he came running up to me and asked, "Mommy, where kitty baby kitty cat?" On man, it nearly killed me to tell him that the cat was at the doctor so that they could find a place for him to live.
Friday, October 23, 2009
What is a Christian?
Last night it was Pratt's turn to put Shelby to bed and as our routine goes, they brushed teeth, went potty, got dressed, read and did a little devotion. The special thing about last night came at the end of devotion time and the conversation went something like this...
Daddy: "God wants us to show love to our Christian brothers and sisters."
Shelby: "Daddy, what is a Christian?"
Daddy: "A Christian is someone who believes that Jesus is the son of God, sent to earth by God to die for our sins and was raised to life again by God."
Shelby: "I believe that. I want to be a Christian."
Daddy: "Okay, all you have to do is ask Jesus to come live in your heart."
At that Shelby folded her little hands, closed her little eyes and said, "Jesus, please come live in my heart. Amen."
Daddy: "God wants us to show love to our Christian brothers and sisters."
Shelby: "Daddy, what is a Christian?"
Daddy: "A Christian is someone who believes that Jesus is the son of God, sent to earth by God to die for our sins and was raised to life again by God."
Shelby: "I believe that. I want to be a Christian."
Daddy: "Okay, all you have to do is ask Jesus to come live in your heart."
At that Shelby folded her little hands, closed her little eyes and said, "Jesus, please come live in my heart. Amen."
Monday, September 21, 2009
Two Weeks in Review
I know, I know...it has been a while since we have talked and I am so sorry. Life just gets busy sometimes and let me tell you, we have had a lot going on. Shelby and JP had their first day of school, then we left for Tennessee for almost a week and then I had a lot to catch up on from being gone for so long. This blog may be long, but it won't be because of all that I have to say, it will mostly be because of the pictures.
Shelby and JP started school on September 8th. Late, I know. Their school always starts after Labor Day and since Labor Day was a little late this year so was their first day of school. We had such a fun morning getting ready for school that day. JP was on cloud nine since he got to go to school with Shelby this year. We let them pick out what they wanted for breakfast and they settled on cinnamon rolls and ham/egg/cheese sandwiches. This was their first experience with cinnamon rolls and they ate the mess out of them!!! Great job on us...hop them up on sugar and then send them off to school!!!
Here are two pictures from that day....we have tons of pictures and I tried to pick out two good ones...
Shelby and JP showing the love.
Shelby and JP sporting their awesome school bags.
Shelby and JP started school on September 8th. Late, I know. Their school always starts after Labor Day and since Labor Day was a little late this year so was their first day of school. We had such a fun morning getting ready for school that day. JP was on cloud nine since he got to go to school with Shelby this year. We let them pick out what they wanted for breakfast and they settled on cinnamon rolls and ham/egg/cheese sandwiches. This was their first experience with cinnamon rolls and they ate the mess out of them!!! Great job on us...hop them up on sugar and then send them off to school!!!
Here are two pictures from that day....we have tons of pictures and I tried to pick out two good ones...
Shelby and JP showing the love.
Shelby and JP sporting their awesome school bags.The children started school on Tuesday. We had CBS on Wednesday morning and then at 11:30 we met Pratt at home, loaded up the car and headed up the road to Tennessee. Grandmother hosts a golf tournament, The Katie P. Reed Classic, every year at the local course to raise money for her senior citizen center. This year, Pratt, John, Jake and Sandi teamed up to show all those people from TN how we play golf down here in the lowcountry. It was a wonderful trip!!! We had so much fun visiting with his family. Steve and Catherine were gracious to us and opened their home to us. It worked out great because Shelby and JP had a great time playing with Reed and Grant.
Pratt first meal at the adult table. On Thursday night Grandmother had everyone over for some her fabulous home cookin'. Let me tell you, this is some of the best food that will ever go in your mouth and what made it even better this time was that Pratt finally got to set at the adult table. I guess 9 years of marriage and two children was enough to move him on up.
I just love this picture of Granddaddy and JP, don't you!?!? JP was so excited to get to see Granddaddy's tractor and he even sat on it for a brief second.
Jake, Shelby, Papa, and Pratt....Saturday night, after the golf tournament, we all got together at Steve and Catherine's for a little grill-out and football. It was so much fun...there was target practice going on, the children running around, great weather, wonderful food, and some pretty good football that day. Shelby had a lot of fun that night playing with Uncle Jake and Papa. I just love it when she gets that belly laugh going and this night she really laughed a ton!!! 
After we got them down for the night Pratt and I had one of our in house date nights. We had made our own little "Corks" cheese trays complete with apples and honey for dipping, and a great bottle of wine. Since I was out on Thursday night for Dana's birthday we used this time to watch some of our Thursday night shows which we are so glad to have back on the air. The Office was a little disappointing I have to say, but that new show, Community, was so stinkin' funny!!!
Pratt first meal at the adult table. On Thursday night Grandmother had everyone over for some her fabulous home cookin'. Let me tell you, this is some of the best food that will ever go in your mouth and what made it even better this time was that Pratt finally got to set at the adult table. I guess 9 years of marriage and two children was enough to move him on up.
I just love this picture of Granddaddy and JP, don't you!?!? JP was so excited to get to see Granddaddy's tractor and he even sat on it for a brief second.
Jake, Shelby, Papa, and Pratt....Saturday night, after the golf tournament, we all got together at Steve and Catherine's for a little grill-out and football. It was so much fun...there was target practice going on, the children running around, great weather, wonderful food, and some pretty good football that day. Shelby had a lot of fun that night playing with Uncle Jake and Papa. I just love it when she gets that belly laugh going and this night she really laughed a ton!!!All good things must come to an end...so after church on Sunday and one more round of Grandmother's cream corn and mac-n-cheese it was time to load the car up and make the journey home. Shelby and JP really did a wonderful job in the car on the way there and on the way home. It was so much fun and I am really looking forward to the next time we can visit with our family up there again. Thanks to everyone for such a wonderful trip!!!
So, like I said, last week was spent catching up on all that there is when one has been away for so long...bills, laundry, grocery shopping, just getting back into the routine of life and getting rested from being off routine for so long. Shelby and JP jumped right back into school and are still working on catching up on sleep.
Friday night we made dinner early for the children and then had family movie night upstairs. We popped popcorn for them, sprinkled in some m&ms and watch Veggie Tales: Dave and the Giant Pickle. What a cute little movie!! I love all the Veggie Tales stuff. It is short, sweet, funny, and loaded with good lessons from the Bible. This is a picture of our little makeshift movie theater. Shelby and JP loved having their own bowl of popcorn and sat pretty well through the whole movie. They even laughed at the funny parts!!!
Friday night we made dinner early for the children and then had family movie night upstairs. We popped popcorn for them, sprinkled in some m&ms and watch Veggie Tales: Dave and the Giant Pickle. What a cute little movie!! I love all the Veggie Tales stuff. It is short, sweet, funny, and loaded with good lessons from the Bible. This is a picture of our little makeshift movie theater. Shelby and JP loved having their own bowl of popcorn and sat pretty well through the whole movie. They even laughed at the funny parts!!!
After we got them down for the night Pratt and I had one of our in house date nights. We had made our own little "Corks" cheese trays complete with apples and honey for dipping, and a great bottle of wine. Since I was out on Thursday night for Dana's birthday we used this time to watch some of our Thursday night shows which we are so glad to have back on the air. The Office was a little disappointing I have to say, but that new show, Community, was so stinkin' funny!!!This last picture was just too cute to not include. Shelby and JP got all cuddly in my bed on Saturday to watch cartoons while we watched some football. Pratt and I are so blessed with these two cuties!! They are great children and they love playing together. I could just sit and listen to them all day!!!
A potty training update-we have had a break through....if JP is naked he has no problem going potty on the potty, both number 1 and number 2; in fact, he goes all by himself and then yells at you from the bathroom that he went potty, but as soon as there is something on that little rear of his you can bet that he will make a mess of it...
The other day he called to me from the bathroom and said that he made a battleship (number 2) and so I came running to help him and when I got there he said, "I made three battleships! No, that one is a fishy, that one is a turtle and that one is the battleship."
Saturday, August 29, 2009
Practice School and Boiled Peanuts
This past week was "practice school" for Shelby and JP. They both loved it so much!!! Whew! I was a little concerned with how JP would handle it, but he hopped right out of the car the first day with Shelby and then never really wanted to come home....that's my boy, loving school so much that he doesn't want to come home!! Anyway, yesterday Shelby had practice school, but JP didn't so I left him at home with Pratt while I dropped her off. It is going to be a very interesting morning the first time I drop Shelby off and he has to stay in the car.
One of the neatest things for me was to look at Shelby's work that she brought home yesterday and compare it to what she brought home the first week of school last year. What an amazing transformation in it!!! It was just really cool to see all the progress that she has made from the last year and even over the summer while we were at home. One work that she did on the easel (which currently is her favorite thing to do, yes, she is also talking a little bit more after her day then she did last year!!!) was a picture of a stick person (a girl I believe as she had on a dress), a sunshine, some grass, and a flower. She also wrote her name, my name and JP's name; then she crossed them out because she didn't want to leave out her daddy and she couldn't remember how to write his name. When she was showing Pratt her work she said, "Daddy, are you sad that your name isn't on there because I couldn't remember how to write it?" Of course he said no and that he was proud of her work; but isn't that so sweet!!! It just melted my heart that she was that concerned over hurting her dad's feelings, maybe we are doing something right after all with her:)
These are just a few pictures from the last few weeks that I couldn't resist....this is JP walking around in his daddy's shoes. We are still potty training and having good days mixed with bad. Hopefully the good days will start to out weigh the bad soon.
Of course you know I can go on much longer without saying something about Clemson Football!!!! We are only a short 7 days away from kick-off!!!! Can you believe it? I know that you are all just as excited as I am!!! So in honor of our fun filled fall approaching, here is a picture of JP sporting his Clemson shirt. My family got it for him when they were visiting Matt this summer. It is kind of hard to read, but the shirt says, "Hold on Tigers....I'm coming." and it has a little tiger dressed up in a football uniform. I just love it, love it, love it!!!
And then, last but not least. Last spring we joined a CSA (community supported agriculture) Farm. It was great. Every Friday we would get a delivery of fresh, picked that morning fruits and vegetables from a farm in South Carolina. Let me tell you, those were some of the best fruits and vegetables I have ever eaten!!! The farm (Pinkney's Produce) breaks for the summer and yesterday we picked up our first delivery for the fall season. We got peanuts, zucchini, squash, corn, field peas, banana peppers, green peppers, etc. As soon as I brought that box in, Pratt started making some boiled peanuts with our peanuts. He let them boil for at least 2 hours and then soak for at least another hour after that. Once we got the children all bathed and ready for bed we sat down together on the couch and ate a bowl of boiled peanuts together. It was a great way to end a very busy week for us....just being together as a family. One of Shelby's favoritest things on earth is boiled peanuts and I think she ate the most out of all of us.
One of the neatest things for me was to look at Shelby's work that she brought home yesterday and compare it to what she brought home the first week of school last year. What an amazing transformation in it!!! It was just really cool to see all the progress that she has made from the last year and even over the summer while we were at home. One work that she did on the easel (which currently is her favorite thing to do, yes, she is also talking a little bit more after her day then she did last year!!!) was a picture of a stick person (a girl I believe as she had on a dress), a sunshine, some grass, and a flower. She also wrote her name, my name and JP's name; then she crossed them out because she didn't want to leave out her daddy and she couldn't remember how to write his name. When she was showing Pratt her work she said, "Daddy, are you sad that your name isn't on there because I couldn't remember how to write it?" Of course he said no and that he was proud of her work; but isn't that so sweet!!! It just melted my heart that she was that concerned over hurting her dad's feelings, maybe we are doing something right after all with her:)
These are just a few pictures from the last few weeks that I couldn't resist....this is JP walking around in his daddy's shoes. We are still potty training and having good days mixed with bad. Hopefully the good days will start to out weigh the bad soon.
Of course you know I can go on much longer without saying something about Clemson Football!!!! We are only a short 7 days away from kick-off!!!! Can you believe it? I know that you are all just as excited as I am!!! So in honor of our fun filled fall approaching, here is a picture of JP sporting his Clemson shirt. My family got it for him when they were visiting Matt this summer. It is kind of hard to read, but the shirt says, "Hold on Tigers....I'm coming." and it has a little tiger dressed up in a football uniform. I just love it, love it, love it!!!
And then, last but not least. Last spring we joined a CSA (community supported agriculture) Farm. It was great. Every Friday we would get a delivery of fresh, picked that morning fruits and vegetables from a farm in South Carolina. Let me tell you, those were some of the best fruits and vegetables I have ever eaten!!! The farm (Pinkney's Produce) breaks for the summer and yesterday we picked up our first delivery for the fall season. We got peanuts, zucchini, squash, corn, field peas, banana peppers, green peppers, etc. As soon as I brought that box in, Pratt started making some boiled peanuts with our peanuts. He let them boil for at least 2 hours and then soak for at least another hour after that. Once we got the children all bathed and ready for bed we sat down together on the couch and ate a bowl of boiled peanuts together. It was a great way to end a very busy week for us....just being together as a family. One of Shelby's favoritest things on earth is boiled peanuts and I think she ate the most out of all of us.
Friday, August 28, 2009
Apple Bottom Jeans
Last night when Pratt was putting Shelby to bed he asked her to put her pull-up on. As she was trying to get it on it got caught on her little hinny (I think that she has been blessed with the Harris hinny). She got a little frustrated and asked Pratt to help her and when he came out of the bathroom to help she started to shake her thing and sing, "Apple Bottom Jeans, Boots with the Fur." Pratt said it was so funny!! I so wish that we had gotten a video of it!!!!
Friday, August 21, 2009
Fashion Diva?
So this morning I told Shelby to go get her self dressed so we could be out of the house on time. After a few minutes Pratt went to check on her and she said, "Daddy, I picked out this shirt to wear because it matches my purse."
Hold up!!! What am I going to do with her? This is definitely uncharted waters for me. One day it is purses and shirts and the next day she is going to have to have everything matching down to the color of her nail polish. Yes, I need to start praying now!!!
Hold up!!! What am I going to do with her? This is definitely uncharted waters for me. One day it is purses and shirts and the next day she is going to have to have everything matching down to the color of her nail polish. Yes, I need to start praying now!!!
Thursday, August 13, 2009
Some Picture Fun
The gangs all here....JP, Ella Grace, Eliza, Lucy, Neely, and Shelby
JP playing in a hole that Neely dug. She did a great job digging a big and deep hole.
Shelby checking out the famous starfish. Only Ella Grace was brave enough to hold it.
These are just two pictures that I think are super cute of JP and Shelby. Don't you just love their smiles and that twinkle in their eye!!!!!
JP playing in a hole that Neely dug. She did a great job digging a big and deep hole.
Shelby checking out the famous starfish. Only Ella Grace was brave enough to hold it.
These are just two pictures that I think are super cute of JP and Shelby. Don't you just love their smiles and that twinkle in their eye!!!!!
New and Old
So, I am sorry once again about my lack of blogging lately. Due to the economic conditions I have had to take over cleaning the house by myself, and while this really isn't that big a deal, it does take a good bit of my time that I would otherwise spend on the internet.
Tomorrow I am leaving for a little girls' weekend to the lakehouse. I am super excited about going and having some time with some really great girls. It is going to be so much fun, but before I go I wanted to catch up on a few things that have been going on around here.
This week has been a pretty exciting week in the Reed house. We are in full potty training mode with JP and while he has already had more accidents in three weeks of training then Shelby has ever had, it is going more smoothly than I could have ever imagined. This week was huge because we had our first successful poop on the potty. It was just perfect timing really. I was calling JP to get dressed and when I found him he said, "No mommy, I still pooping." So I promptly grab him up, stripped him down and put him on the potty before he could finish. No more than 5 seconds later we had victory!!!! Shelby and I were so excited for him (actually she was excited for herself because she knew that she would get two m&ms out of the deal). Today we had another success and this time he told me that he had to go poopy on the potty, so, we are making progress; but of course in true JP fashion he did have two accidents today. I am grateful for the ease that we have experienced with him so far, but I really do hope that this accident thing passes quickly as I am getting a little tired of cleaning pee, poop and doing laundry everyday.
Last week we had great fun. On Thursday we went to the beach with some friends. It was the most perfect day for it. The sun wasn't too intense and it was warm enough, but not too hot. The children all had so much fun playing with each other and we found our first star fish on the beach. I think Eliza found it and all the children enjoyed looking at it and talking about it.
Some other minor details....Shelby and JP are really enjoying playing mommy and baby right now. I am sure that you can guess who takes which role. It is so amusing because half the time JP does baby talk, baby whine, and baby cry and the other half he is making sounds like a cat. Sometimes I am not sure which he is supposed to be until Shelby says, "Baby....." We have also rediscovered the Wiggles. A lot of adults find them somewhat annoying, but I kind of like them. Their songs are great and the children love dancing and singing along. I have tried desperately to sneak a video of Shelby dancing to "D-O-R-O-T-H-Y". It is so funny to see her copying the moves and hear her singing along. Hopefully soon I will have that for you because I know that you will enjoy it. We went shoe shopping this week and it truly hit me hard that my babies aren't babies anymore. I got their feet measured and of course, they grew. I knew that, but what I didn't realize until I held JP's little big foot in my hand to put some socks on how much his feet had changed. Yes, I do put his shoes on everyday, but for some reason this particular moment I took the time to examine his foot and see that it wasn't a baby foot anymore. Oh, forlorn!!!!! My heart breaks just thinking about it. Today I went through Shelby and JP's sock drawers to make way for new socks and I found so many of JP's socks from when he was an infant. It was just one of those things that really took me back and made me miss that stage of motherhood soooooooooo much.
Well, I think that is about it. 'Til next time...God bless!
Tomorrow I am leaving for a little girls' weekend to the lakehouse. I am super excited about going and having some time with some really great girls. It is going to be so much fun, but before I go I wanted to catch up on a few things that have been going on around here.
This week has been a pretty exciting week in the Reed house. We are in full potty training mode with JP and while he has already had more accidents in three weeks of training then Shelby has ever had, it is going more smoothly than I could have ever imagined. This week was huge because we had our first successful poop on the potty. It was just perfect timing really. I was calling JP to get dressed and when I found him he said, "No mommy, I still pooping." So I promptly grab him up, stripped him down and put him on the potty before he could finish. No more than 5 seconds later we had victory!!!! Shelby and I were so excited for him (actually she was excited for herself because she knew that she would get two m&ms out of the deal). Today we had another success and this time he told me that he had to go poopy on the potty, so, we are making progress; but of course in true JP fashion he did have two accidents today. I am grateful for the ease that we have experienced with him so far, but I really do hope that this accident thing passes quickly as I am getting a little tired of cleaning pee, poop and doing laundry everyday.
Last week we had great fun. On Thursday we went to the beach with some friends. It was the most perfect day for it. The sun wasn't too intense and it was warm enough, but not too hot. The children all had so much fun playing with each other and we found our first star fish on the beach. I think Eliza found it and all the children enjoyed looking at it and talking about it.
Some other minor details....Shelby and JP are really enjoying playing mommy and baby right now. I am sure that you can guess who takes which role. It is so amusing because half the time JP does baby talk, baby whine, and baby cry and the other half he is making sounds like a cat. Sometimes I am not sure which he is supposed to be until Shelby says, "Baby....." We have also rediscovered the Wiggles. A lot of adults find them somewhat annoying, but I kind of like them. Their songs are great and the children love dancing and singing along. I have tried desperately to sneak a video of Shelby dancing to "D-O-R-O-T-H-Y". It is so funny to see her copying the moves and hear her singing along. Hopefully soon I will have that for you because I know that you will enjoy it. We went shoe shopping this week and it truly hit me hard that my babies aren't babies anymore. I got their feet measured and of course, they grew. I knew that, but what I didn't realize until I held JP's little big foot in my hand to put some socks on how much his feet had changed. Yes, I do put his shoes on everyday, but for some reason this particular moment I took the time to examine his foot and see that it wasn't a baby foot anymore. Oh, forlorn!!!!! My heart breaks just thinking about it. Today I went through Shelby and JP's sock drawers to make way for new socks and I found so many of JP's socks from when he was an infant. It was just one of those things that really took me back and made me miss that stage of motherhood soooooooooo much.
Well, I think that is about it. 'Til next time...God bless!
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Potty Training and Play-dough
No, you aren't imaging things...I am actually posting another blog...2 blogs in 2 days! I am on a roll!!
Today has been such fun that I felt like documenting it now instead of relying on my not so good long term memory for later. This morning JP slept until 6:55!!!!! Isn't that awesome!?!?! And to make it even better, Pratt got up with him!!! Also, Shelby slept until almost 8:45!!! It is a Thursday morning miracle! We had a nice morning. Shelby woke up and when I got into her room she instantly started crying because she didn't want to go to the dentist. Reassuring her through the whole morning got old very fast and in an effort to distract for a few moments, we decided to try our hand at making our very own play dough. And it worked, Shelby didn't cry about the dentist for about 30 minutes and we had so much fun making play dough together. I was amazed at how easy it was and how much the children really enjoyed helping mixing the ingredients. Shelby got right to work with hers and made all sorts of shapes and she insisted that she get a picture of them. So here you can see she made a butterfly, ice cream cone (yummy!), star, and a circle.
JP just loved mashing his fingers in the dough and cutting it into tiny pieces with a little knife. They both really got excited about being able to pick which color they wanted and how much it made. I have to say, I was very shocked at how much one serving was. Hopefully it will last a long time before hardening.
Today has been such fun that I felt like documenting it now instead of relying on my not so good long term memory for later. This morning JP slept until 6:55!!!!! Isn't that awesome!?!?! And to make it even better, Pratt got up with him!!! Also, Shelby slept until almost 8:45!!! It is a Thursday morning miracle! We had a nice morning. Shelby woke up and when I got into her room she instantly started crying because she didn't want to go to the dentist. Reassuring her through the whole morning got old very fast and in an effort to distract for a few moments, we decided to try our hand at making our very own play dough. And it worked, Shelby didn't cry about the dentist for about 30 minutes and we had so much fun making play dough together. I was amazed at how easy it was and how much the children really enjoyed helping mixing the ingredients. Shelby got right to work with hers and made all sorts of shapes and she insisted that she get a picture of them. So here you can see she made a butterfly, ice cream cone (yummy!), star, and a circle.
JP just loved mashing his fingers in the dough and cutting it into tiny pieces with a little knife. They both really got excited about being able to pick which color they wanted and how much it made. I have to say, I was very shocked at how much one serving was. Hopefully it will last a long time before hardening.
The dentist went much better than expected. Last time Shelby cried and flailed about so much that I had to basically lay on top of her so that the hygentist could do her job and once we were finished she and I looked like we had just been in a fight. We were both covered in sweat and the chair was soaking from her sweating so much. This time I just had to hold her arms and we only had whining!! Score one for that!! In fact, it was such a peaceful experience from the last time that we attempted to get pictures of her teeth...that ended up not happening, but for one brief moment she was sitting in the chair with the apron on and actually held the film in her mouth, but not long enough for the picture...oh well, making progress!!!
Finally, Pratt and I have started the process of potty training JP. This is one chore I am not looking forward to. Shelby was so easy and in a sense pretty much potty trained herself, I think JP might not be so smooth. So far, he is doing pretty good. I haven't been forcing the issue and when we are home I have been letting him run around bottom bare. Yesterday he actually went the whole day with only one pull-up, but today, not so much. This morning we spent a considerable amount of time playing on the potty and I just couldn't resist taking some video of him singing along with is little potty. So I hope you enjoy this little show!
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
VBS and Family Night
Last week was such a fun filled week. Shelby went to Vacation Bible School at Church of the Cross every morning from 8:30-12:00. It is amazing what a huge chunk out of our day that took, but she had so much fun and really learned a lot. When we got home after her very first day she said, "Mommy, 'God loves us and calls us His children.' That is our memory verse." Wow!!! I was blown away that after just one morning she already knew her verse and I love that she learned how much God loves us and that He does call us His children!! Amen and Praise be to God our Father!! Everyday she came home more excited than the day before and once we got to the end she couldn't understand why she wouldn't be going back. We are still definitely working on the concept of time as measured in days and weeks:) There is just something that gets me everytime I hear her little voice talking about God's love and His promises to us!!!
Tuesday evening we went to Moe's (I know, surprise, surprise) with the Usserys for their family night. It ended up being a really great deal for us because the kids ate for free and we had $5 in Moe's bucks so we only ended up paying around $7.00 for our whole family to eat that night. After we were done with dinner we went down to the beach to enjoy the beautiful evening and to try our hands at flying kites. It was a perfect night for kite flying and all four children really enjoyed it. Here is an action picture of John and Pratt supervising the kite flying and offering a helping hand when needed. Once the kite flying lost its novelty we distracted the children as best we could from the water by suggesting a walk up the beach. They had so much fun running around, holding hands, and well, just being 2 and 4 year olds.
This is a picture post walk. I am actually a little shocked that (1) my children actually acted silly for the silly picture and (2) that Jack just stood there.
Friday Pratt, JP and I went to the closing ceremony for Vacation Bible School. It was so much fun to watch what Shelby had done all week and it was amazing to hear all those children (about 150) singing and to see them dancing to fun songs. Shelby got a CD with some of the songs on it and that is all we have been listening to and I get such a kick out of hearing her and JP sing the songs. I tried to take some pictures and get some video clips of Shelby on Friday, but none of them turned out that well, but here is a picture of her outside the church as we were leaving. Her new pose seems to be the hands behind the ear pose.
Pratt had last Saturday, Monday and yesterday off and we have really enjoyed having our fun daddy around. JP got his hair cut on Monday and he looks so handsome. Then yesterday Pratt was like a worker bee with all the stuff he got done around the house. I can't tell you how much I love that man and all he does for this family!!!
Tuesday evening we went to Moe's (I know, surprise, surprise) with the Usserys for their family night. It ended up being a really great deal for us because the kids ate for free and we had $5 in Moe's bucks so we only ended up paying around $7.00 for our whole family to eat that night. After we were done with dinner we went down to the beach to enjoy the beautiful evening and to try our hands at flying kites. It was a perfect night for kite flying and all four children really enjoyed it. Here is an action picture of John and Pratt supervising the kite flying and offering a helping hand when needed. Once the kite flying lost its novelty we distracted the children as best we could from the water by suggesting a walk up the beach. They had so much fun running around, holding hands, and well, just being 2 and 4 year olds.
This is a picture post walk. I am actually a little shocked that (1) my children actually acted silly for the silly picture and (2) that Jack just stood there.
Friday Pratt, JP and I went to the closing ceremony for Vacation Bible School. It was so much fun to watch what Shelby had done all week and it was amazing to hear all those children (about 150) singing and to see them dancing to fun songs. Shelby got a CD with some of the songs on it and that is all we have been listening to and I get such a kick out of hearing her and JP sing the songs. I tried to take some pictures and get some video clips of Shelby on Friday, but none of them turned out that well, but here is a picture of her outside the church as we were leaving. Her new pose seems to be the hands behind the ear pose.
Pratt had last Saturday, Monday and yesterday off and we have really enjoyed having our fun daddy around. JP got his hair cut on Monday and he looks so handsome. Then yesterday Pratt was like a worker bee with all the stuff he got done around the house. I can't tell you how much I love that man and all he does for this family!!!
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
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Monday, July 20, 2009
Pratt's Experience with Mike
This is an e-mail that Pratt wrote about an experience he had last Friday...
I wanted to take a minute and share with you a unique experience I had this past Friday, July 17th 2009. I don’t know if I can convey in words the emotions that where experienced, but I will do my best.
Tuesday night my great friend and neighbor, Gerrit Albert approached me about taking an old friend of ours from church to hit golf balls on Friday morning. I was very hesitant for 2 reasons, one is that I had promised my wife to spend my day off with the family but I knew she would be ok with this when she heard who I was taking. Which leads into the second reason for my apprehension, it was US Marine Fighter Pilot Capt. Mike Holmes. Mike was injured in a freak snowboarding accident in Utah while out there training about 18 months ago. He suffered a severe brain trauma, was in a comma for months and now is located in FL going through rehab. I don’t know why I was hesitant to do this, but it took me a day of thinking about it and my wife telling me I need to do this, until I was able to give Gerrit the yes.
We decided to take Mike to the Berkeley Hall learning center as that has the closest parking to any practice range around and we would be pushing Mike in a wheelchair. My stomach was in knots for the two days leading up to this, why I didn’t know but would find out soon enough.
Friday morning I met Gerrit at his office and we waited for Mike and his wife Meredith to show up and follow us back into Berkeley Hall. We all arrive at the practice facility, Gerrit and I get out of the car and we stand there uncomfortably, not knowing the words to speak or how to offer help as Meredith pulls the wheelchair from the car and sets it up for Mike. I start to watch this “dance” unfold, as Meredith sets the chair for Mike to pull himself out of the car, she leaning in to give a supportive foundation. I realize right then that Gerrit and I are the only two uncomfortable ones there. The “dance” that Mike and Meredith were performing was now their life and it is done over and over everyday for every task. There was no bitterness or anger from Mike about having to trade the cockpit of his fighter jet for a wheelchair. No sadness or frustration from Meredith that she now was the caregiver for her husband and possible could be for the rest of his life. They were simply just happy, happy to be together, happy to be going to hit balls, happy to see us even though due to Mike’s injury he didn’t remember me. And even in that moment when Meredith asked if he remembered me and he said no, I froze and didn’t know what to say. Meredith just looked at me, smiled, and shrugged as if to say “don’t take it personally, its normal.” She then proceeded to tell a funny story about the last time Mike and I were together at a Christmas party and Mike was wearing a hideous Christmas sweater. This was the norm for her, helping Mike recall his past and controlling the environment around them.
We stroll up to the range and find a spot under the covered hitting bay, out on the grass. I stand there for what seemed like minutes, but most likely was a few seconds wondering what to do next. As I assess the situation I see a bucket of balls, Gerrit’s golf bag and Mike sitting in a wheelchair, the question of what do I do now is screaming in my brain. Luckily Gerrit pipes up and ask the question. We get Mike lined up in his chair and give him the driver. He is gripping it with one hand, the right. The thought of where should we tee it up and how is he going to do this are racing through my mind, but before I could come up with the solution Mike speaks. It is muttered and soft so I miss it, but Meredith picks up on it. “Let me take a practice swing,” she repeats what he said. I got it then, that way we can see where the swing path was. Mike makes good contact the first swing, the balls goes 50 to 60 yards and I am in shock. After 5 or 6 more similar results I am questioning if I could do this one handed and from a seated position. Just then Mike “catches one,” if you are a golfer you know what I am talking about. The ball hits the sweet spot on the clubface and rockets effortlessly a good 90 yards in the air, his furthest shot so far. As we cheered, I looked at Mike and he was visibly excited, he felt that tuning fork go off when he struck the ball, it was true joy. A piece of dirt or something must have gotten in my eyes because they started to water. I knew that feeling of the tuning fork going off inside of you, the feeling of joy from the perfect shot. I don’t know why it struck me so deeply that we could share that same feeling of excitement together, but it was new connection he and I had. Please understand, Mike didn’t like golf before the accident and only has started to hit balls because it is one of the few things he can do. He is choosing to move forward, accepting what opportunities he has in front of him, it is his new life referred to as “after the little accident” by Mike and Meredith.
After a few more swings Mike tells us he is ready to play a few holes….WHAT!!! I am now in real shock, but that is what Mike wants to do so we wheel him over to the short game area and set up a few makeshift holes. The first is about 110 yards and I declare it to be a par 4. Mike reaches the green in two and then proceeds to 3 putt. “A bogie” he says quietly and then says “that just means there is room for improvement.” I love it! Mike is so competitive and driven that he is not limiting his ability by being tied to a wheelchair. I kind of felt bad for thinking that was the best he could do.
As we make our way to another hole, Meredith asked what that “ball picker upper thing” that Gerrit was using to push balls off the green was made out of. I told her it was PVC. Mike chirps up and asked “What is that, PVC?” I tell him it was invented by NASA and it a very lightweight plastic material that is very sturdy and I think it stands for poly something composite. He looked at me and said “Polyvinyl chloride, that’s what it is” and then looked away as if I should have known that. I smiled, but was sad to see a glimpse of Mike’s former self in his current state. This is Meredith’s life now; she enjoys everyday with Mike and relishes those flashes of his former self, with the hopes of more frequent flashes as time passes. Throughout each daily task they will continue to “dance,” facing the challenges of simple tasks in an embrace together.
I don’t imagine anyone reading this will get as much as Gerrit and I did out of it, but I am truly thankful for the experience. Meredith exemplifies the meaning of sacrificial love and to see if first hand was special. Mike served his country and now is fighting to heal, finding joy in new experiences and challenges every step of the way. Some will ask Mike and Meredith how they do it; I know their answer “in Christ alone.” They find peace in Him, the knowledge of victory over death, and the ultimate gift of eternal life with the Lord in heaven. If you don’t have this same peace, let me know and I will share how you can find it.
I wanted to take a minute and share with you a unique experience I had this past Friday, July 17th 2009. I don’t know if I can convey in words the emotions that where experienced, but I will do my best.
Tuesday night my great friend and neighbor, Gerrit Albert approached me about taking an old friend of ours from church to hit golf balls on Friday morning. I was very hesitant for 2 reasons, one is that I had promised my wife to spend my day off with the family but I knew she would be ok with this when she heard who I was taking. Which leads into the second reason for my apprehension, it was US Marine Fighter Pilot Capt. Mike Holmes. Mike was injured in a freak snowboarding accident in Utah while out there training about 18 months ago. He suffered a severe brain trauma, was in a comma for months and now is located in FL going through rehab. I don’t know why I was hesitant to do this, but it took me a day of thinking about it and my wife telling me I need to do this, until I was able to give Gerrit the yes.
We decided to take Mike to the Berkeley Hall learning center as that has the closest parking to any practice range around and we would be pushing Mike in a wheelchair. My stomach was in knots for the two days leading up to this, why I didn’t know but would find out soon enough.
Friday morning I met Gerrit at his office and we waited for Mike and his wife Meredith to show up and follow us back into Berkeley Hall. We all arrive at the practice facility, Gerrit and I get out of the car and we stand there uncomfortably, not knowing the words to speak or how to offer help as Meredith pulls the wheelchair from the car and sets it up for Mike. I start to watch this “dance” unfold, as Meredith sets the chair for Mike to pull himself out of the car, she leaning in to give a supportive foundation. I realize right then that Gerrit and I are the only two uncomfortable ones there. The “dance” that Mike and Meredith were performing was now their life and it is done over and over everyday for every task. There was no bitterness or anger from Mike about having to trade the cockpit of his fighter jet for a wheelchair. No sadness or frustration from Meredith that she now was the caregiver for her husband and possible could be for the rest of his life. They were simply just happy, happy to be together, happy to be going to hit balls, happy to see us even though due to Mike’s injury he didn’t remember me. And even in that moment when Meredith asked if he remembered me and he said no, I froze and didn’t know what to say. Meredith just looked at me, smiled, and shrugged as if to say “don’t take it personally, its normal.” She then proceeded to tell a funny story about the last time Mike and I were together at a Christmas party and Mike was wearing a hideous Christmas sweater. This was the norm for her, helping Mike recall his past and controlling the environment around them.
We stroll up to the range and find a spot under the covered hitting bay, out on the grass. I stand there for what seemed like minutes, but most likely was a few seconds wondering what to do next. As I assess the situation I see a bucket of balls, Gerrit’s golf bag and Mike sitting in a wheelchair, the question of what do I do now is screaming in my brain. Luckily Gerrit pipes up and ask the question. We get Mike lined up in his chair and give him the driver. He is gripping it with one hand, the right. The thought of where should we tee it up and how is he going to do this are racing through my mind, but before I could come up with the solution Mike speaks. It is muttered and soft so I miss it, but Meredith picks up on it. “Let me take a practice swing,” she repeats what he said. I got it then, that way we can see where the swing path was. Mike makes good contact the first swing, the balls goes 50 to 60 yards and I am in shock. After 5 or 6 more similar results I am questioning if I could do this one handed and from a seated position. Just then Mike “catches one,” if you are a golfer you know what I am talking about. The ball hits the sweet spot on the clubface and rockets effortlessly a good 90 yards in the air, his furthest shot so far. As we cheered, I looked at Mike and he was visibly excited, he felt that tuning fork go off when he struck the ball, it was true joy. A piece of dirt or something must have gotten in my eyes because they started to water. I knew that feeling of the tuning fork going off inside of you, the feeling of joy from the perfect shot. I don’t know why it struck me so deeply that we could share that same feeling of excitement together, but it was new connection he and I had. Please understand, Mike didn’t like golf before the accident and only has started to hit balls because it is one of the few things he can do. He is choosing to move forward, accepting what opportunities he has in front of him, it is his new life referred to as “after the little accident” by Mike and Meredith.
After a few more swings Mike tells us he is ready to play a few holes….WHAT!!! I am now in real shock, but that is what Mike wants to do so we wheel him over to the short game area and set up a few makeshift holes. The first is about 110 yards and I declare it to be a par 4. Mike reaches the green in two and then proceeds to 3 putt. “A bogie” he says quietly and then says “that just means there is room for improvement.” I love it! Mike is so competitive and driven that he is not limiting his ability by being tied to a wheelchair. I kind of felt bad for thinking that was the best he could do.
As we make our way to another hole, Meredith asked what that “ball picker upper thing” that Gerrit was using to push balls off the green was made out of. I told her it was PVC. Mike chirps up and asked “What is that, PVC?” I tell him it was invented by NASA and it a very lightweight plastic material that is very sturdy and I think it stands for poly something composite. He looked at me and said “Polyvinyl chloride, that’s what it is” and then looked away as if I should have known that. I smiled, but was sad to see a glimpse of Mike’s former self in his current state. This is Meredith’s life now; she enjoys everyday with Mike and relishes those flashes of his former self, with the hopes of more frequent flashes as time passes. Throughout each daily task they will continue to “dance,” facing the challenges of simple tasks in an embrace together.
I don’t imagine anyone reading this will get as much as Gerrit and I did out of it, but I am truly thankful for the experience. Meredith exemplifies the meaning of sacrificial love and to see if first hand was special. Mike served his country and now is fighting to heal, finding joy in new experiences and challenges every step of the way. Some will ask Mike and Meredith how they do it; I know their answer “in Christ alone.” They find peace in Him, the knowledge of victory over death, and the ultimate gift of eternal life with the Lord in heaven. If you don’t have this same peace, let me know and I will share how you can find it.
First Day of VBS
Today was Shelby's first day of Vacation Bible School at Church of the Cross. She wasn't exactly sure what to feel this morning as we were talking about it at breakfast and you could tell she was definitely getting nervous about it in the car. To tell the truth, I was getting a little nervous for her too. I am not exactly sure why...probably sympathy...yeah, that's it, it had nothing to do with the reliving of every moment I have ever gone into a new situation without knowing anyone. Anyway, when we pulled into the parking lot Shelby asked, "Is this Neely's school? This is Neely's school isn't it?" To which I replied, "Yes, this is where Neely goes to school." I was relieved at this thinking, "okay, maybe it won't be so hard to drop her off after all. Maybe since she recognizes that this is Neely's school she will somehow be okay with everything." All right, deep breath Kim, deep breath! So I turn the car off and ask Shelby to unbuckle herself and then she says, "Mommy, can we just think about this for a minute?" One of the hardest things about being a mom is "strongly encouraging" your children to do something because you know it will benefit them immensely, all the while, you just want to take them in your arms and keep them from doing anything that they don't want to do or are afraid to do. Anyway, we got in the building and I dropped her off in her room. Thankfully Mary Claire, a new little friend of hers, was in the same class and got there at the same time so she transitioned easily. She seemed to have a good time and even remember their verse of the day. Can't wait for tomorrow!! Friday they have a closing show for the parents and I really can't wait for that!!!
Last Friday we went to Third Friday in downtown Bluffton. Pratt was playing an evening round of 9 holes with a friend so the wives and children hit the town. It was a lot of fun. Shelby and JP were great and really enjoyed their Italian Ices. I did notice that as time went on the sky kept getting darker and darker, but it appeared that it was going to skirt us and so I just tried to keep a watchful eye, but carry on with the evening. Gradually the wind started to pick up and it got to blowing pretty steady. Chris looked to his wife Katie and said, "Katie, how long on we going to stand here and pretend that was is about to happen isn't going to happen?" I am telling you, that no sooner did he complete his thought that 3 big fat raindrops hit me and then the bottom fell out. The children thought it was great fun and enjoyed me pushing them in the stroller and running as fast as I could to the car. They stayed pretty dry, but me, oh no, I was soaked to the bone!!! As inconvenient as it was, I have to say that it really was a lot fun...running through the rain like a crazy lady. I think that I will start to play in the rain with the children from now on.
Last Friday we went to Third Friday in downtown Bluffton. Pratt was playing an evening round of 9 holes with a friend so the wives and children hit the town. It was a lot of fun. Shelby and JP were great and really enjoyed their Italian Ices. I did notice that as time went on the sky kept getting darker and darker, but it appeared that it was going to skirt us and so I just tried to keep a watchful eye, but carry on with the evening. Gradually the wind started to pick up and it got to blowing pretty steady. Chris looked to his wife Katie and said, "Katie, how long on we going to stand here and pretend that was is about to happen isn't going to happen?" I am telling you, that no sooner did he complete his thought that 3 big fat raindrops hit me and then the bottom fell out. The children thought it was great fun and enjoyed me pushing them in the stroller and running as fast as I could to the car. They stayed pretty dry, but me, oh no, I was soaked to the bone!!! As inconvenient as it was, I have to say that it really was a lot fun...running through the rain like a crazy lady. I think that I will start to play in the rain with the children from now on.
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Sleepwalker?!?!?!
Last night turned out to be quite the interesting night and I am really thankful that I decided to go to bed at 9:30 instead of staying up to read. I fell asleep quickly and was really enjoying a wonderful, peaceful, deep sleep. You know what kind of sleep I am talking about? The kind that when you wake up the next morning you feel more refreshed than any other morning you have ever had. Anyway, it was great sleep and it was deep, but during that sleep I thought I heard a little pitter-patter of feet on the wood floor, but couldn't really figure if it was a dream or real life. At 1:30am all the sudden I hear JP scream out my name in fear, "Mommy!!!!" It was too close to be coming from the monitor and I knew instantly that he was standing in the door to our room. It scared me so bad that I then let out a little scream which woke Pratt up. Clearly JP was confused and scared. The first thoughts that ran through my head when I heard my name was that someone was taking him or hurting him and I had to get him fast. Thankfully none of that was true, but my heart was racing nonetheless. After I scooped him up and he calmed down he asked if he could sleep in our bed as I brought him back to his room. I laid him back down, gave him some water, and rubbed his back. Once I got back to bed I started thinking about some of my sleepwalking escapades when I was little and remembered the time I tried to walk out of the house to go visit my dad at work. Fortunately my mom was up and told me to go back to bed; which being the obedient child that I was, even when I was sleeping, I promptly turned back up the stairs and went to bed. Well, it only took that memory to make me realize that JP could get out of the house, thus ended my night of sleep. I spent the rest of the night on the couch scrutinizing every noise that I heard. I put toys all around the door so if JP did sleepwalk again and tried to get out he wouldn't be able to get to the door without falling over some toys. Today Pratt went to Home Depot to get some hook latches to put up high on the door so that at night we will be able to sleep without the worry that JP might be wondering the streets somewhere.
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Lake Pictures and Staycation
Well, here are just a few of the "millions" of pictures that I took at the Lakehouse during Fourth of July weekend.
Shelby stole Papa's hat. She was so proud of herself.
The boys plus Shelby minus JP getting excited about the parade.
The girls plus JP ready for the parade to start! GO USA!!
JP showing off his flying squirrel. We gave him a perfect 10 for this one.
And now...introducing....shuserman (superman) and princess Shelby. JP really has no idea who superman is, but he loves to run around the house after bath time with his towel on his head and pretend he is shuserman. It is so fun to watch him and Shelby play together.
We had plans to go out of town this past weekend. We thought we would venture up to NC to the mountains, but after having so much fun at the lake the previous weekend we were kind of tired and decided to have a staycation. It was good old fashioned family time. Thursday we took the children to the aquarium. They had so much fun looking at all the sea life that was there. Friday we went to the pool and Saturday we went to the pool. After church on Sunday we spent the day at the house. It was great fun just being together, laughing together and playing together. Also, we saved a lot of money by staying here and eating at home, etc. I would highly recommend it to any family out there. There is more to do then you would think.
Shelby stole Papa's hat. She was so proud of herself.
The boys plus Shelby minus JP getting excited about the parade.
The girls plus JP ready for the parade to start! GO USA!!
JP showing off his flying squirrel. We gave him a perfect 10 for this one.
And now...introducing....shuserman (superman) and princess Shelby. JP really has no idea who superman is, but he loves to run around the house after bath time with his towel on his head and pretend he is shuserman. It is so fun to watch him and Shelby play together.
We had plans to go out of town this past weekend. We thought we would venture up to NC to the mountains, but after having so much fun at the lake the previous weekend we were kind of tired and decided to have a staycation. It was good old fashioned family time. Thursday we took the children to the aquarium. They had so much fun looking at all the sea life that was there. Friday we went to the pool and Saturday we went to the pool. After church on Sunday we spent the day at the house. It was great fun just being together, laughing together and playing together. Also, we saved a lot of money by staying here and eating at home, etc. I would highly recommend it to any family out there. There is more to do then you would think.
Now I leave you with a video clip of Shelby doing flips in the pool. Yesterday I met a friend and her children at the pool. They had so much fun playing together and it was great to be able to sit and catch up with my friend. All the sudden while I was talking I looked up and saw Shelby's little feet kicking at the surface and noticed her head was near the bottom of the pool and then all the sudden her head popped up and her feet were back at the bottom. I was absolutely amazed!!! So of course I grabbed the camera and made her do it again so that I could share it with you.
Monday, July 6, 2009
Happy 4th of July
Wow! What a great weekend. We had so much fun at the lakehouse and it was really nice that we had about a day to hang out, just the four of us. Of course, the party really got started when Grammie, Papa, Aunt Suzy, Uncle Patricio and Baby Sebastian arrived. I mean, the children thought that they were having fun with mom and dad, but once everyone else got there then they realized what fun really was.
We left for the lake on Thursday and got up there around 2:30/3:00. In a moment of weakness we let Shelby and JP go out back in their bathing suits to run in the sprinkler and play in the sand...boy did we pay for that later (no nap=no fun). Since the air conditioner wasn't working when we got there we quickly changed our plans to eat at the house and opted to find a/c at a restaurant. Mexican is always soooo good! Thankfully all was fixed when we got back and so we settled in for the night.
Friday morning we woke up, went to the Summerton Dinner for breakfast (they have the BEST buttermilk pancakes in the world, ever!!!!), and then back to the house for a day on, in, around, under the water. It was so much fun and easy!!! Shelby and JP basically put on their swim vests and then had a contest to see who could stay in the water the longest. For lunch we went to Goat Island by boat and by the time we got back it was definitely nap time. Shelby and JP were so excited to see the rest of the gang there when they woke up and quickly changed into their suits again and jumped in and you better believe that whoever wasn't in the water with them was quickly called out.
Saturday, Fourth of July!!!! What a perfect day to celebrate our country. It started with a community parade. It was great. They had a firetruck and then everyone else was either on riding lawnmowers, golf carts, or bikes. Some of the floats were pretty funny!!! The rest of the day was spent on the water again. We also had lunch at the Goat again. Shelby and JP really had a great time jumping off the back of the boat and it looked like so much fun that Pratt and I had to join in on the fun; and let me tell you, children know what they are doing...it was a blast. It is amazing that we adults are too serious about life sometimes. I think that I am definitely going to start jumping in with what the children are doing because they enjoy life way more and it makes you feel good. After we had a picnic dinner we did some sparklers and then loaded up the boat to see the fireworks. Now, most of you know about JP's aversion to loud noises and I have to say that I was cautiously optimistic about this whole endeavor, but thankfully all went great. It was so cute to see him, Shelby and Grammie all cuddled up together watching the fireworks, oohhing and aaahhhing and clapping. Something about little children clapping is just so sweet to me.
What a wonderful weekend!!! You loose all track of time being on the water like that which is good and bad. Shelby and JP were exhausted by the time Sunday morning rolled around...a combination of excitement and not being a "stick in the mud" led to them being able to stay up late every night and have shorter nap times, plus they just wouldn't sleep in-all you moms out there know that can be so disastrous. Needless to say, it was great to get home and get back on schedule with a nice, early bedtime to match the earliness with which my children get up in the morning. Now it is to playing catch up with all my house-mom duties. Hope you all had a wonderful Fourth and remember to never take for granted our freedoms!
(Will post pictures later)
We left for the lake on Thursday and got up there around 2:30/3:00. In a moment of weakness we let Shelby and JP go out back in their bathing suits to run in the sprinkler and play in the sand...boy did we pay for that later (no nap=no fun). Since the air conditioner wasn't working when we got there we quickly changed our plans to eat at the house and opted to find a/c at a restaurant. Mexican is always soooo good! Thankfully all was fixed when we got back and so we settled in for the night.
Friday morning we woke up, went to the Summerton Dinner for breakfast (they have the BEST buttermilk pancakes in the world, ever!!!!), and then back to the house for a day on, in, around, under the water. It was so much fun and easy!!! Shelby and JP basically put on their swim vests and then had a contest to see who could stay in the water the longest. For lunch we went to Goat Island by boat and by the time we got back it was definitely nap time. Shelby and JP were so excited to see the rest of the gang there when they woke up and quickly changed into their suits again and jumped in and you better believe that whoever wasn't in the water with them was quickly called out.
Saturday, Fourth of July!!!! What a perfect day to celebrate our country. It started with a community parade. It was great. They had a firetruck and then everyone else was either on riding lawnmowers, golf carts, or bikes. Some of the floats were pretty funny!!! The rest of the day was spent on the water again. We also had lunch at the Goat again. Shelby and JP really had a great time jumping off the back of the boat and it looked like so much fun that Pratt and I had to join in on the fun; and let me tell you, children know what they are doing...it was a blast. It is amazing that we adults are too serious about life sometimes. I think that I am definitely going to start jumping in with what the children are doing because they enjoy life way more and it makes you feel good. After we had a picnic dinner we did some sparklers and then loaded up the boat to see the fireworks. Now, most of you know about JP's aversion to loud noises and I have to say that I was cautiously optimistic about this whole endeavor, but thankfully all went great. It was so cute to see him, Shelby and Grammie all cuddled up together watching the fireworks, oohhing and aaahhhing and clapping. Something about little children clapping is just so sweet to me.
What a wonderful weekend!!! You loose all track of time being on the water like that which is good and bad. Shelby and JP were exhausted by the time Sunday morning rolled around...a combination of excitement and not being a "stick in the mud" led to them being able to stay up late every night and have shorter nap times, plus they just wouldn't sleep in-all you moms out there know that can be so disastrous. Needless to say, it was great to get home and get back on schedule with a nice, early bedtime to match the earliness with which my children get up in the morning. Now it is to playing catch up with all my house-mom duties. Hope you all had a wonderful Fourth and remember to never take for granted our freedoms!
(Will post pictures later)
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Every day has moments filled with pure love, joy and contentment and at the same time has moments filled with frustration, disaster and craziness. I think that is one of the greatest things about motherhood. You never know what moment you will get and most times when you feel at your wits end and that you have completely failed to accomplish anything, God blesses you with a moment of pure love, joy and contentment. Sometimes in these moments I watch Shelby and JP and wonder if there is anything more perfect in the world and then just as quickly that thought fades to wonder how in the world I am going to survive this day.
Thankfully most of today has been great. JP, of course, woke up with the sun and I tried to cuddle with him in his bed for a little bit, but he would have none it....kind of reminds me of a line from a song in The Sound of Music, "When you wake up, wake up. It's healthy."....so after much insistence from him that it was time to get up and get started, I rolled myself out of his bed and hit the floor running. Most of the morning the children were right behind me saying "mommy....." in that whinny voice that usually means we are going to have a llllllllloooooooonnnnnnngggggggggggg day and at that moment I decided that I would spend most of the morning driving around in the car making up things to do because a lot of times with this kind of morning the children respond quite nicely, and thankfully they did. The car ride is just what was needed because they have been great since then. Pratt came home for lunch and then while he was packing for his trip Shelby and JP played like they were best of friends. She was teaching him gymnastics and exercises. It was so cute to listen to her give instruction and see how JP did exactly what she said. JP has a pretty good attention span, but let's face it, you can only take instruction from your sister for so long. Once the novelty of that wore off I sat down with them and did some worksheets. For about 20 minutes Shelby worked in her workbook and JP worked in his, with my help...this was hugely gratifying for me because, well, you all know, I am a giant nerd at heart.....About the time JP started to wander from that it was nap time and he obediently went to his room and got in bed, with his cars, nemo and blankie of course. Once he was down Shelby followed and that was that. All in all it was a wonderful day and I can't wait to see what this afternoon holds.....(hopefully much of the same from this morning).
One quick note on JP (for me to remember)....any word that starts with the letter "r" he puts an f in front of....fraisins, froom, etc. It is just sooo cute...I wonder why he does that? Although it really doesn't matter why because one day he will stop and I probably won't even notice that it is gone:(
Thankfully most of today has been great. JP, of course, woke up with the sun and I tried to cuddle with him in his bed for a little bit, but he would have none it....kind of reminds me of a line from a song in The Sound of Music, "When you wake up, wake up. It's healthy."....so after much insistence from him that it was time to get up and get started, I rolled myself out of his bed and hit the floor running. Most of the morning the children were right behind me saying "mommy....." in that whinny voice that usually means we are going to have a llllllllloooooooonnnnnnngggggggggggg day and at that moment I decided that I would spend most of the morning driving around in the car making up things to do because a lot of times with this kind of morning the children respond quite nicely, and thankfully they did. The car ride is just what was needed because they have been great since then. Pratt came home for lunch and then while he was packing for his trip Shelby and JP played like they were best of friends. She was teaching him gymnastics and exercises. It was so cute to listen to her give instruction and see how JP did exactly what she said. JP has a pretty good attention span, but let's face it, you can only take instruction from your sister for so long. Once the novelty of that wore off I sat down with them and did some worksheets. For about 20 minutes Shelby worked in her workbook and JP worked in his, with my help...this was hugely gratifying for me because, well, you all know, I am a giant nerd at heart.....About the time JP started to wander from that it was nap time and he obediently went to his room and got in bed, with his cars, nemo and blankie of course. Once he was down Shelby followed and that was that. All in all it was a wonderful day and I can't wait to see what this afternoon holds.....(hopefully much of the same from this morning).
One quick note on JP (for me to remember)....any word that starts with the letter "r" he puts an f in front of....fraisins, froom, etc. It is just sooo cute...I wonder why he does that? Although it really doesn't matter why because one day he will stop and I probably won't even notice that it is gone:(
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Sing
Today JP and I were going to visit Grandpa and Uncle Matt at work. JP was particularly excited to see them because it was his request..."eat gee pa" that led to this visit. We picked up Moe's (our most favorite quick place to eat) and headed down to the marina. On the way I turned on the iPod and decided to listen to some music. We were listening and singing along when all the sudden JP says, "No sing mom, no sing!" Let me tell you, this was not a nice quiet request, but a loud demanding request, and every time I started to sing again he would shout out, "No sing mom, no sing." I am not so foolish to believe that I can get up in front of a group of people and sing, but I have always thought that I could carry a tune well enough that it would be okay in the confines of home and car....apparently JP doesn't agree with me. Well, thankfully he slept in the car all the way to pick Shelby up from camp; so guess what I did....I turned up the music and sang my little heart out.
Monday, June 22, 2009
Shelby Starts Camp
Today something struck me hard, something that is inevitable, but you just kind of ignore until it comes. This morning Shelby started camp at her school. Big whoop, you might say, but it triggered an avalanche of thoughts. As I was packing her lunch (this is a first as she has only ever gone away from me for a half day) I was thinking about how this is something new that I would do everyday next year for her. While I had all intention of packing her lunch last night before bed so I could be little miss organized mom this morning, I went to bed and didn't pack a lunch which left me to do it this morning. So, back to my original train of thought, this packing of her lunch and realizing that it is something I would be doing everyday coming up this fall reminded me that JP would also be attending school this fall. He is going to go two days a week. All the sudden it hit me like a ton of bricks........FOR TWO MORNINGS A WEEK I WILL HAVE NO CHILDREN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Holy Cow!!!! What in the world am I going to do with myself? I am so not ready to be alone!!!!!!! Even though there are times where one might believe that I live my life with the prospect of having some alone time, when it gets down to it, I don't want that. What am I going to do?!?!?!?! Well, I do what any self-respecting mom would do...I drop Shelby off at camp and head straight the to gym to my spin class because trying to stay focused on not falling off the bike got my mind off things long enough to avoid mental breakdown.
Anyway, Shelby had a great time at camp this morning and she is really excited about the Gymbus tomorrow. How do I know? Because for the first time in the history of her going to school she actually talked to me about it when I picked her up....I know, amazing isn't it!!!! JP and I had a nice morning. After the gym we went to the grocery to get milk and stuff; then came home for lunch, etc. He did very well considering I kept him up from nap so that he and Shelby could have some quiet time at the same time once we got home from picking her up.
When I asked Shelby if I could take her picture at first she was reluctant, which is a first, but I was able to get this picture of her in the car before she got out. I think she was more excited about her lunch box than anything else.
We have been fairly busy these last few days, but what else is new. I couldn't resist posting this picture of JP sitting at the window looking at Callie and Croix at Rob and Erik's house. As terrified as he can be of dogs sometimes I think in his heart he really loves them. He sat at the window for at least 10 minutes just looking at them. It was so cute!!!!
Anyway, Shelby had a great time at camp this morning and she is really excited about the Gymbus tomorrow. How do I know? Because for the first time in the history of her going to school she actually talked to me about it when I picked her up....I know, amazing isn't it!!!! JP and I had a nice morning. After the gym we went to the grocery to get milk and stuff; then came home for lunch, etc. He did very well considering I kept him up from nap so that he and Shelby could have some quiet time at the same time once we got home from picking her up.
When I asked Shelby if I could take her picture at first she was reluctant, which is a first, but I was able to get this picture of her in the car before she got out. I think she was more excited about her lunch box than anything else.
We have been fairly busy these last few days, but what else is new. I couldn't resist posting this picture of JP sitting at the window looking at Callie and Croix at Rob and Erik's house. As terrified as he can be of dogs sometimes I think in his heart he really loves them. He sat at the window for at least 10 minutes just looking at them. It was so cute!!!!
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Monday-Thursday in Review
At first I thought I would title this blog "Week in Review" and then realized that it is only Thursday and while I don't plan on doing much for the rest of the week, I didn't want to be miss leading....anyway...here goes.
We have had a week of jam packed fun. On Monday I went to the gym and then we did some other things, I am just sure of it, but I really can't remember anything else. Isn't that crazy!!! Wow!!! That is just so bizarre to me. I have absolutely no recollection of the rest of the day. Oh well, on to Tuesday.
Tuesday was so much fun. My friends Heather and Dana joined me for a morning at the beach with their sweet babies. Being able to accomplish a trip to the beach with the Shelby and JP without any extra help was monumental for me and now that I know for sure I can do it we will definitely be making that a weekly event this summer. Shelby and JP had a pretty good time. JP was a little clingy, well no, actually he was a lot clingy which wasn't that great since it was pretty warm out, but all in all it was a great time. Shelby was like a little mom with Callie (Heather's daughter). She held her hand everywhere. It was so cute. There were even times where Shelby would point to something and then, from a distance, it looked as if she was explaining to Callie what it was.
Here is Shelby showing Callie something in the water...
Wednesday was definitely a very busy day for us, and as a result I am paying for it a little bit today with the whiny factor from Shelby and JP. I had a wonderful class at the gym that totally kicked my tail and wiped me out. Then we went to the pool. We were their for about 2 1/2 hours and probably spent 2 hours and 15 minutes of that time in the pool. Shelby is getting so good at swimming. The hardest part is that she loves to be under the water. At one point she was jumping in the pool to swim to me and when she jumped in she wouldn't come back up because she was too busy looking around at the lights and people's legs (I guess). It was very stressful for me because I wasn't sure if I should grab her up or let her swim. Of course, she knew what she was doing and what she wanted to do. JP is also getting braver in the water. He is getting to where he will float without holding on to me when he is in his swim vest. He even jumped in the water prematurely at one point and went right under. He was definitely shocked when his little head popped back up. After nap time Shelby had her first day of gymnastics. I wish that I had some pictures of it, but it was quite a hectic afternoon to get her there and then I had to come home real quick to drop JP off with Pratt, at which point I got right back in the car to go back to her. At the end I could tell she was getting tired because she started to not listen and really just kind of wandered around while all the other little girls did their thing. Unfortunately when one doesn't listen one can get hurt and that is exactly what happened to her. So we left the gym crying and bleeding....but no worries, she is fine and can't wait to go back next week. We got home just after 6:45pm and joined our neighbors for our newly formed Cul de Sac family night. It was so much fun. Everyone cooked their own food and then we all ate outside together and let the kids play. The kids had a great time running around and doing all sorts of things. It was 8:15pm by the time we packed up and headed in. After a quick bath and speedy bedtime routine Shelby and JP were fast asleep.
Whew....just typing all that made me tired; and Shelby and JP are wiped out as well. This morning we hung around the house for a bit before running out for our day. Once again, I went to the gym and then we went to Moe's for lunch with Erin and the boys. It was great fun until the bottom fell out and clearly Shelby couldn't function anymore so we had to leave in a bit of a hurry and have some discipline moments. Hopefully they will both get good naps this afternoon and be back to my little angels this evening since Pratt won't be here.
Since I haven't been that great with pictures of fun happenings this week I thought I would include this picture from the bath on Monday. Happy Thursday everyone!
We have had a week of jam packed fun. On Monday I went to the gym and then we did some other things, I am just sure of it, but I really can't remember anything else. Isn't that crazy!!! Wow!!! That is just so bizarre to me. I have absolutely no recollection of the rest of the day. Oh well, on to Tuesday.
Tuesday was so much fun. My friends Heather and Dana joined me for a morning at the beach with their sweet babies. Being able to accomplish a trip to the beach with the Shelby and JP without any extra help was monumental for me and now that I know for sure I can do it we will definitely be making that a weekly event this summer. Shelby and JP had a pretty good time. JP was a little clingy, well no, actually he was a lot clingy which wasn't that great since it was pretty warm out, but all in all it was a great time. Shelby was like a little mom with Callie (Heather's daughter). She held her hand everywhere. It was so cute. There were even times where Shelby would point to something and then, from a distance, it looked as if she was explaining to Callie what it was.
Here is Shelby showing Callie something in the water...
Wednesday was definitely a very busy day for us, and as a result I am paying for it a little bit today with the whiny factor from Shelby and JP. I had a wonderful class at the gym that totally kicked my tail and wiped me out. Then we went to the pool. We were their for about 2 1/2 hours and probably spent 2 hours and 15 minutes of that time in the pool. Shelby is getting so good at swimming. The hardest part is that she loves to be under the water. At one point she was jumping in the pool to swim to me and when she jumped in she wouldn't come back up because she was too busy looking around at the lights and people's legs (I guess). It was very stressful for me because I wasn't sure if I should grab her up or let her swim. Of course, she knew what she was doing and what she wanted to do. JP is also getting braver in the water. He is getting to where he will float without holding on to me when he is in his swim vest. He even jumped in the water prematurely at one point and went right under. He was definitely shocked when his little head popped back up. After nap time Shelby had her first day of gymnastics. I wish that I had some pictures of it, but it was quite a hectic afternoon to get her there and then I had to come home real quick to drop JP off with Pratt, at which point I got right back in the car to go back to her. At the end I could tell she was getting tired because she started to not listen and really just kind of wandered around while all the other little girls did their thing. Unfortunately when one doesn't listen one can get hurt and that is exactly what happened to her. So we left the gym crying and bleeding....but no worries, she is fine and can't wait to go back next week. We got home just after 6:45pm and joined our neighbors for our newly formed Cul de Sac family night. It was so much fun. Everyone cooked their own food and then we all ate outside together and let the kids play. The kids had a great time running around and doing all sorts of things. It was 8:15pm by the time we packed up and headed in. After a quick bath and speedy bedtime routine Shelby and JP were fast asleep.Whew....just typing all that made me tired; and Shelby and JP are wiped out as well. This morning we hung around the house for a bit before running out for our day. Once again, I went to the gym and then we went to Moe's for lunch with Erin and the boys. It was great fun until the bottom fell out and clearly Shelby couldn't function anymore so we had to leave in a bit of a hurry and have some discipline moments. Hopefully they will both get good naps this afternoon and be back to my little angels this evening since Pratt won't be here.
Since I haven't been that great with pictures of fun happenings this week I thought I would include this picture from the bath on Monday. Happy Thursday everyone!
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