Big Cedar & Labor Day Weekend

With the advent of Adam's new job with CARTI, and the workload that we anticipated would await him upon his start date, we decided to get away to Big Cedar for a quick, quiet weekend together.  It was a beautiful weekend with beautiful blue clear skies, lush green grass and picturesque walking trails with waterfalls to take in.

We enjoyed dinner at Top Of The Rock which has fabulous views of the golf course and Table Rock Lake while a Scottish bagpipe played in the background as the stunning sun went down.

Saturday morning we slept in for a bit and woke up to this beautiful scene, grabbed breakfast at Devil's Pool Restaurant then headed off on one of their walking trails.

We ended up taking one of their golf cart tours of the caverns and falls and it was a nice little ride.

On our way back home on Saturday afternoon we stopped along the Buffalo River and were able to enjoy the beauty of the moment and spent some time praying together--praising God for all He has done in our marriage as He is redeeming us and forgiving us when we hurt each other; in the lives of our kids, and with Adam's job transition.   We also spent time asking God to go behind and before us as we embark on this new journey and to protect our marriage with a hedge of protection around us as Adam's responsibilities increase, his time and calendar fills up and as we are pulled in multiple directions with our kids and their activities.

We have always tried to keep a running list of answered prayers and times we feel like God has gone before us and been our Jehovah Jireh-"our Provider".  We lovingly call it "polishing our memorial stones" so we spent some time along the river bank thanking and praising God for who He is and what He's done in and through us, then headed back to Little Rock.  

Getting away together was a real refresher and one night wasn't long enough, thankfully my parents said the kids could spend another night with them and we were able to extend the weekend with a date night dinner at Ocean's.

We had planned to spend one last time at the lake as summer drew to a close and the kids enjoyed taking one last turn on the wakeboard, knee board and of course the tube.  It was fun just being together.

On Monday, we spent time with some good friends and their kids.  The boys were eager to shoot their shotguns and hand guns, practicing skeet shooting and enjoying being out in nature.  Being with good friends and living life alongside one another is a real gift.  We are so thankful for the Liver's. 

High's and Low's of Late

Here's a few high's and lows over the last week, we've had some illnesses, we've had some crying, we've had homework frustration and been a tad overwhelmed by the after school activity schedule plus homework load.  There's been real highs and very low lows, here's a few as of late.

Low:  We have had our fair share of visits to the doctor's office over the past three weeks.  With everything from unknown white spots on the bottom of two kids feet (of which we now need to see a Pediatric dermatologist to determine what it is) to one child with Pneumonia and another with Strep.  I really love our Pediatrician, but I do not want to go see him again for some time.  (Visiting his office 1-2 times a week for the past three weeks has been plenty for us!)

And with five in tow, it is definitely not all that F-U-N to go multiple times a week for weeks on end, though I can be grateful for the fact that there was a pill or liquid medicine that I could run right to the pharmacy and pickup and within a few days, the kids were on the mend.  That, is truly something to be thankful for, so that is a high.

High: Peyton went fishing with Poppy and Grammy and the other kids and caught this nice size bass!  He was so proud and now has the itch for more!!

Low: The prongs on my center stone of my wedding ring were loose, so I'd put my rings in a ziplock bag to take to the jewelry store and had it sitting in the console of my car.  Adam saw some trash in the side of the door (which I lovingly use as my trash can) and he assumed that the ziplock bag (in the cupholder of my console) was also trash.  I was taking in groceries when he decided to "clean" out the car and I didn't realize he'd done this.  We jumped in the car to take the kids to baseball practice and got home late that evening.  I started looking for my ring bag and couldn't put my hands on it so I asked Adam if he'd seen it?  When he said he didn't know, but that he'd cleaned out the car, we had a little spat about him not cleaning out the car for me anymore (since I take it to the car wash and vacuum it out 1-2x per week) then I proceeded to start looking through the trashcans.  We COULD NOT find it in the dark.  The next day I literally put on work gloves and started tearing through ALL.THE.TRASHBAGS!!  One by one I rifled through three nasty bags when I finally found my rings!  I was thrilled and relieved and tears came to my eyes!  Phew, that was a close one.

High: Molly, my sister in law, teaches piano and Peyton is starting his sixth year of lessons with her.  We decided to try something new this year, with her coming to my house to give lessons to her son Jojo and my three boys while I watch her other kids.  So far, we've had only one totally successful lesson.  The second week Lawson had Pneumonia so her kids couldn't come and last week Emerson had Strep so we cancelled all together.  I'm hoping to get to spend more time with my nephews and niece this year so here's hoping we can hit a healthy streak for all the peeps!

Low: On top of all our visits to the pediatrician, pour Emerson ended up having to have 4, that's
F-O-U-R, teeth pulled at one time because his adult teeth were coming in and his baby teeth weren't even lose.  He was a trooper and did really well.  (You can't beat the movie playing in the ceiling; it sure made the procedure enjoyable!)

Here he is before.

And here he is afterward!  Yikes!  It looked so yucky, but thankfully his adult teeth (that were very far back, have already started moving forward and more into the proper place, so that's good!)  And he has this funny little lisp from the missing teeth that is super cute to listen to.

High: These sweet friends make me smile.  They have this sweet little friendship and I'm so thankful.  

Football Season Has Begun

Late this summer, Lawson asked if he could play flag football along with some of his little buddies, so Adam and I discussed it and decided that we would let him give it a go and we would, for the first time, have all the boys playing different sports, on different teams, at different times on all kinds of different days.  So this fall, as you can imagine, is shaping up to be quite interesting as far as the drop off and pickup schedules for each of the boys extra curricular activities (and we only let them pick one sport per semester).  It's extra interesting on days when Lawson and Emerson have practice at the same time in opposite directions of town.  Thankfully I have great friends on both teams and they've been able to help this Momma out!

Lawson is playing Life Champs Football and is excited to be on a team with many of his good friends and I am equally as thrilled to be able to sit in the stands with people I know and enjoy being around. Last Sunday was the Jamboree, where all the teams scrimmaged at War Memorial Stadium.  It was fun to watch them do their thing.  I was proud of them!

Don't these Patriots look fierce?

These sweet girls all have brothers playing and they enjoyed cheering for our Patriots!

And here was most of the Patriots fans watching intently as the boys played.  We look forward to getting to cheer them on all season long!

Solar Eclipse 2017

Unless you were living under a rock last week, you surely heard about the solar eclipse of 2017. Other then the media frenzy about it, I knew it was coming because my parents had planned a trip to Jackson Hole, WY to experience the totality of darkness that was expected and in fact did occur.    (How amazing is our God?)  They'd planned a ten day trip centered around this phenomenon of the moon and sun, but I'd not planned to really experience it for myself or for my kids. Their school was taking a conservative approach (which I greatly appreciated) and had covered all the windows in the school so as not to permanently harm any curious onlookers eyes.

On Sunday afternoon I was chatting with a friend who had decided to check her kids out of school so they could watch it with a group of our friends who homeschool. As she was talking I thought, ya know, I probably should check my kids out of school as well.  So I contacted my friend who was hosting this little shindig and asked if I could crash their party.  She said, sure, so I set to work trying to think of cute pinterest-y snacks that I could bring and settled on an assortment of cheeses (cause the moon is made of cheese, right?), as well as summer sausage (sliced round to be our "eclipse") as well as Moon Pie bites and bottles of Sunkist (cause they needed more sugar, not!) I think for a party put together fairly last minute we did an excellent job of prepping with our shared eclipse glasses that got passed around quite a bit.

God's handiwork is spectacular! The fact that He can control the sun, moon and earth as it spins on its axis, is truly unbelievable and yet so comforting at the same time The fact that He is such a big God who not only controls the sun and moon but who also cares for the intricate parts of my little life and offers me hope and comfort each and every time I need it is humbling and leaves me both grateful and thankful to know Him as my personal Lord and Savior.

I do have to say that here in Arkansas where we got a 90% eclipse, if felt a little bit anti climactic. Honestly, I wasn't sure what it would feel like when 90% of the sun was blocked by the moon. Truly, I thought it would get dim, and I even brought glow sticks for all the kids, but I was sorely mistaken.  Even with 90% of the sun hidden behind the moon, its powerful rays were strong.  If I hadn't known the eclipse was happening, I'd have made it through that entire day not realizing what had taken place.  But the kids enjoyed it and it gave them a reason to be checked out of school and for them, that was the best part!

And honestly, time with friends is always a joy.  I had fun hanging out with these ladies, just ignore me though, I literally couldn't see anything with those glasses on, so I look a little bit on the blind side here.  Ha!  I hear that in 2024, Little Rock will be in the path of totality, you can bet we'll be ready to experience it first hand!

First Day of School 2017-2018

I am gonna be real honest, I was not ready for the school craziness to arrive. I truly was enjoying summer days with the kids and could've gone a little while longer. Starting to prep for the first day of school, I'd planned a special back to school breakfast and gotten up in plenty of time to cook the casserole that I'd prepped the night before. All the kids clothes were laid out and ready to go, snacks were packed as were their water bottles. There really wasn't much to do but jump in said clothes, eat said casserole, do a little hygiene, grab the back packs and hop in the car, we even had time for a morning devotion.  (Ava Jane couldn't seem to smile without closing her eyes and Emerson couldn't stop talking long enough for me to get a picture without his mouth moving.)

But keeping it real, here on the blog, it took a little longer then usual to get the kids in their uniforms that were laid out for them; they ate a little slower then usual; and with my constant "c'mon guys", "put your belt on", "please put your other shoe on", then came the yelling..."come to the bathroom so I can do your hair", "did you brush your teeth?" All that to say, I was a little later then I should've been to leave the house. So, our morning had to skip the outdoor, front porch pictures until after school. Actually, I didn't take those front porch pictures until after dinner that evening, and better yet, I've not even posted said pictures until five days later, but who's counting?

But we got the pictures, we made it through the first days chaotic rush and we have officially begun a new year.  Where I have one child entering 5th grade, which means he is in the Middle School with a full on locker, an A/B schedule and a new teacher for each period (can someone please tell how in the world Peyton could possibly be starting his 6th year of school!?---I have no idea how this happened.) But he's turned into quite the responsible, thoughtful, kind hearted kid, of whom I am so truly proud of and look forward to watching him flourish this year as he takes on more responsibility and ownership of his classes.

I have three kiddos in the Elementary building and am excited that all of them are on the same hall.  In fact, Lawson and Ava Jane are right across the hall from each other, so big brother can walk her into school for me with no problem--- can I get a whoop-whoop?  We hit the jackpot with Mrs. Riding for Pre K4, Miss Crews for 1st grade and Miss Wilkie for 3rd.  I'm hoping and praying that this year holds great learning for each of them both educationally, physically and relationally.

This girl walked right into her classroom, straight to her chair and immediately sat down.  She is so super excited to be in Mrs. Ridings and Mrs. Cole's classroom.

It's gonna take a little getting used to, to get into our new routine where the elementary school lets out at 3:00 and the Middle School ends at 3:15, I spent the first day in carpool lines for both pickups where it took the better part of an hour (from entry to exit off campus)...which is not a welcomed event for Momma.  So we will try again and see if we can master the middle of the road pickup where Peyton walks down to the Elementary area and waits for me--fingers are crossed that we can time everything just right.

Hope each of your starts back to school have gone fairly smoothly, thankfully we had a weekend to recuperate a bit.  As we start this year with some uncertainty and angst, the verse that has stuck out to me is Lamentation 2:19 "Arise, cry out in the night, as the watches of the night begin; pour out your heart like water in the presence of the Lord.   Lift up your hands to him for the lives of your children."  Praying that the Lord teaches them new things about Himself and that they continue to grow in favor with God and man.