1st Bunkbed Incident plus a LOT of discipline

Oh man, well the day started off pretty good, it was only 7:30 though, I was getting the boys dressed and Adam had headed out the door for work. I was tying Peyton's shoes sitting on the floor in front of their bunkbed when all of a sudden, "PLOP", there was Lawson in a crumpled heap laying on the floor. Well, it finally happened, they've been in bunk beds for over a year now and he finally fell off the top, the likely hood of that happening, while he was trying to carry a small Hoover vacuum up to the top bunk, is pretty high I guess. Though he had no cuts or scraps and seemed to be fine after some cuddling and back rubbing, I told him, "lets not try to vacuum up on the bed, its meant to be down on the carpet, ok Buddy?" To which he responded with a humble and understanding "ok Mom". We've talked about not standing up on the top bunk or even playing up there, its just a place to sleep and nap...but some lessons just have to be learned the hard way...and for some it takes longer to learn then others, which leads me to my next point of the day!


I only had Lawson and Emerson today because Peyton goes to school (Tues, Wed, Thurs). Anyway, so I've had a lot of time with the littlest ones, and I don't know if its just a phase, I sure hope so, or if this is an indication of how this whole year (of being 3) will be, but Lawson has been incredibly whinny today. Whinny about EVERYTHING. You know what its like, we're at Target trying to get a few things and every aisle its, "I want those Oreos", "I want that flashlight", "I want to go home", "I want to get out and walk"...blah, blah, blah. Thankfully God has given me the grace to be patient with it today but I have to say right now it's grating on my nerves! I feel like a broken record because all day, seriously, ALL DAY, I've been saying the same few lines and quoting the same scripture to him, asking him, "Lawson, how do you sound right now? The tone of your voice is very whinny, not a big boy voice. What does the Bible say about whining?" To which he knows the answer: "Do everything without grumbling and complaining, so you may become blameless and pure, children of God..." He certainly knows the answer, but we've still done lots of time out and he's had 3 good spankings so far, and its just 2:30 in the afternoon.

Some days are just hard, but all day long, as I've been teaching and disciplining, this thought keeps coming to my mind, that I'm showing him how to react, teaching him what is appropriate behavior and how to respond to things in a god pleasing manner. I want him (and all my kids) to learn self control, its something we all have to practice and exhibit our entire life, so they might as well go ahead and learn this lesson early! In order to not focus on just the negatives of today I decided to look for a few "happy face" pictures to leave you and myself with...I love these little faces and am so grateful that God has entrusted these precious little people to me! May God be glorified in my weaknesses as I try to do what He's called me to do each and every day, and until He returns, I'll be solely dependent on His grace, mercy, love and big doses of His patience!!

2 Showers and a Birthday Party

This has been a great weekend and this "people person" has gotten her "people fix" for sure! I got to see some of my best friends, some of my wonderful family and got to make really fun memories!

The fun weekend began on Saturday morning with a Baby Shower for my friend Christy, who's been a good friend of mine since first grade. We've walked through elementary together, jr. high and high school, cheered together, went to college together, have been in each others weddings and now we're gonna be raising kids together! I'm grateful for the deep and lasting friendship that God has given me in her!

Here are a few pics from that shower, I unfortunately didn't grab my camera when we took pictures of her with all the hostesses, so I don't have one of those! We had a great turn out and she got some sweet little things for Baby William, we can't wait to see and meet him!





After that shower we cleaned up and prepped for Lawson's 3rd Birthday Party! When I began thinking about what to do for him I asked, "what kind of party would you like to have?" His immediate response was "a Thomas the Train" party. So I set about planning a fun party, looking online for train activities and ideas. I found out about the possibility of renting a "trackless train" which is a train on tires (you often see them in malls) so I looked to see if there might be one in the state of Arkansas. I found one located in Bryant, AR (about 20 minutes from Little Rock) and they will bring the train to different locations for a small fee, so I contacted Mary's Place and their train was available. It was AMAZING, such a tremendous hit! The kids LOVED it and I would definitely use them again! The train conductor was such a kind little man and he did a great job of giving the kids (and adults I might add) a fun train ride!

Here are some pictures of his party! This was his invitaiton...



My Mom made labels for the water bottles that said Happy 3rd Birthday Lawson and included a cute picture of him...the party favors were a Thomas the train, Percy or James Pez dispenser with some refills of candy (as if they weren't sugared up enough?!) along with a Thomas the Train whistle.

For food I had popcorn, MnM's, cake and ice cream along with bottles of water, capri suns and sodas to drink.








Here, we're singing "Happy Birthday" to him...


Other activities included a coloring book of Thomas the Train coloring sheets from here along with a packet of crayons for each child. I also had two train table areas set up to play on...

...as well as a bounce house to get out some energy! Adam was helping kids in and out, controling the "organized chaos" of it all...and here's Olivia with her crazy static electricity hair!


The kids seemed to have fun! Lawson had a WONDERFUL time, he kept saying, "Mom, I want to have a birthday party again" after it was all over, I guess that's a good sign!

The third and final event of the weekend took place on Sunday afternoon and was a bridal shower for a friend of mine named Mandy. My sister and Mom helped host this one with me. We went with a vintage/shabby chic feel for the shower.










It was a fast and furious weekend with lots of set up and take down, but it was so fun to see everyone and get to catch up with so many people!

Happy Valentine's!

We had a great time celebrating Valentine's Day this year! We had several friends over for a little V-Day party and decorated heart shaped sugar cookies and then did a cute craft where the kids could make a lion, ladybug or bear plate, they turned out pretty cute. I must say it was definitely fun but a bit chaotic with 12 kids running around like crazy people. The part I enjoyed the most was being able to visit and catch up with the all the Mom's!





This year I did get a little crafty and decided that I'd try my hand at a few home made V-Day treats. Instead of buying candy I chose goldfish (for Emerson's baby class) and plastic bugs (for Lawson and Peyton's classes). I have to say I thought they turned out pretty cute! And it honestly didn't take too much time or prep either, which is a big plus and the cost was about the same as purchasing pre-printed cards and candy! I got the ideas from Here and Here at the wonderful world of Pinterest!


On Valentine's morning I got up and made strawberry and chocolate chip pancakes, the boys were over the moon about them! It was a definite score!


Here, they're calling Gigi to thank her for their V-Day treats that were waiting for them on the table that morning, they ABSOLUTETLY loved the MnM's and since it was a special morning I did let them eat the candy and they thought that was AWESOME!


We enjoyed a nice Italian meal which I so lovingly ordered from Olive Garden then went and picked up, that was such a treat for me (not having to cook). We all ate together with candle light to set the atmosphere and Adam liked reading over his little gift I put together for him (another idea from Pinterest!)


Hope y'all had a great V-Day!

Suprise! We're Having A....

Well, about 2 weeks ago we took the boys for a fun Friday night out at Chuck E. Cheese. It was loud and crowded and the pizza was honestly terrible, but the boys had fun! I didn't feel to great, but kinda chalked it up to bad pizza. Adam and I tried to watch a movie but I felt horrible, thinking "oh man, I'm getting the stomach bug again? Really?! This can't be happening 2 weeks in a row!" I slept with a trash can beside the bed and throughout the night kept waking up still feeling sick. The next morning Adam took the boys outside to play and he let me try to sleep a little more. And sleep I did, til 10 am to be exact, and I haven't done that in many many years! The day went by and I kept kinda of feeling nauseated off and on. Adam went to see a movie with a friend and I laid on the sofa while the boys napped, I ended up falling asleep again, which is COMPLETELY UNLIKE me! I never sleep late, I never take naps, so this was very abnormal. Adam called to check on me when he was headed home, I told him I still wasn't feeling good so he suggested that he could pick up a pregnancy test JUST TO RULE IT OUT! I said "ok" and he headed home. He came in and the boys started waking up so I started changing a diaper and taking Lawson to the potty, I came downstairs and there on the counter was the pregnancy test, I didn't even hesitate to pick it up and use it, I was CERTAIN there was NO WAY we were pregnant, we were just "ruling it out". I did the deal, and waited a few seconds and immediately a big bold "positive" mark pops up! I'm thinking, "this CANNOT be happening!" I sat on the potty for several minutes reeling from the very shocking news and I started to cry, overwhelmed with the sudden reality. I finally came down the stairs dazed by my news and just handed the test to Adam who looked at me with jaw dropped open, "how can this be?" We use several forms of birth control and we were definately NOT trying for a fourth, we weren't opposed to more kids, this was just not our timing at all!

After several days of struggling with the why's and how's in the midst of knowing that Adam's job isn't long term here in Birmingham and that most likely we'll be making another move sometime in the next year, coupled with the fact that I've already had to move once with a two week old to a completely new place, having to unpack boxes, learn a new town, find friends, a church etc, all while nursing a baby, potty training Emerson who'll be 21 months old, keeping up with my ever intense and active Lawson and getting Peyton started in Kindergarten, began to be a VERY overwhelming reality!

I immediately began "polishing my memorial stones" of God's provision and grace in order to combat the overwhelmed feelings that Satan was bombarding me with! God has ALWAYS provided for Adam and I, He's always brought good friends to me where ever I have been whether it was in Ft. Benning, Little Rock or now in Birmingham. He has made it ever so easy for Adam and I to have children which I don't take for granted when I hear and read how difficult it can be for some. As I remembered all that God has done for us, and recalled all the MANY answers to prayers I've prayed, I was overcome with an incredible sense of peace! God is in control, He obviously wanted us to have another precious little life and when I think about it from that perspective I'm filled with a "perfect peace". And yet again my life verse becomes so personal for me, Isaiah 26:3-4 "He will keep in perfect peace, Him whose mind is stayed on Thee because he trusts in Thee. The Lord, the Lord is the ROCK eternal!"

So today I introduce to you, Baby Head #4! He or She is set to arrive September 20, 2012! Thursday I had my first appointment and we were able to see that amazing little heart beating at a very strong 165 beats a minute. It still gets me how God can take something so tiny (just under 1 inch long) and create a precious little life! Today I'm 8 weeks along and other then a little nausea and fatigue, I'm feeling pretty good. So that's our big news, we'll keep you up to date.

Taste of Thai: Pad Thai

I absolutely LOVE Thai food, but I've never tried cooking it myself. My Mother in Law gave me a Thai cookbook so I decided to get brave and try out a few of the recipes. One of my favorite meals is Pad Thai, its a great noodle dish! I honestly was really impressed with how this turned out, Adam liked it (though he'd have enjoyed it better if it was spicey), and the boys enjoyed it too. It's pretty quick to put together and I just served it with some egg rolls and vegetable stir-fry...it was a score all the way around. So here's the recipe.


It serves 4
Ingredients Needed:
8oz thick dried rice noodles
2 Tbsp peanut oil
4 scallions, coarsely chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
2 fresh red chiles, seeded and sliced
8oz pork tenderloin, trimmed and thinly sliced
4oz cooked, peeled jumbo shrimp
juice of a lime
2 Tbsp Thai fish sauce (it is stinky!)
2 eggs, beaten
1/3 C fresh bean sprouts
handful of fresh cilantro, chopped
1/3 C unsalted peanuts, chopped

1.Cook the noodles according to the package directions, until just tender. Drain, then rinse under cold water and set aside.


2.Heat a wok over medium-high heat, then add the oil. Add the scallions, garlic and chiles and stir-fry 1-2 minutes. Add the pork and stir fry over high heat for 1-2 minutes or until browned all over.


3.Add the shrimp, lime juice fish sauce and eggs then stir-fry over medium heat for 2-3 minutes, or until the eggs have set and the shrimp are heated through.


4.Add the bean sprouts, most of the cilantro, the peanuts and the noodles and stir-fry for 30 seconds or til heated through. Serve immediately garnished with remaining cilantro.


Enjoy!