for the love of a little sis!

I can remember the day my sister was born. 23 years ago today! Am I really that old to remember something so long ago?! Yes, apparently so. I remember sitting in my 1st grade class of Social Studies. I didn't particularly care for my teacher, so I was ecstatic when I heard the secretary's voice come over the loud speaker in the room to say that I was being checked out early. I quickly scooped up my belongings and ran out of the room with a smile on my face. I dilly-dallied down the hallway...unaware of what was going on in my mother's world. Halfway to the office it clicked. I suddenly remembered that my mother was going to have a baby at any moment. This must be that moment! I ran the rest of the way to the office - forgetting that we werent' allowed to run the halls of the Elementary School! (I've always been a rule breaker.) My older sister arrived at the office at the same time as I. I don't remember a conversation, but I do remember a huge smile shared. We were ready to meet our baby.
We made it home to see mom before being sent to the living room. (The baby was born at home!) I remember waiting with my older sister and 18 mos old brother.
Finally, we were allowed back into the room. I was concerned for my mother - wanting to make sure she was okay. Then we each got to hold this sweet baby of our's. Our little sister. Our real-life baby doll.
Today I say thank you to my parents for giving me such joy. Thank you to my sweet Lord for giving me the love of a sister. I love this sweet sister so immensely. We've shared fights, love, laughs, chocolate, and tears. I'm beyond grateful that I can remember the day she was born. And I'm thankful that Kathryn is who she is - what a treat to watch her grow.

Melanie and I have always referred to Craig and Kathryn as "the kids"...I wonder if that will change now that they are both so grown up? Probably not. :)

the infomercial queen

I think I've mentioned before that Mackenzie is very into Infomercials. Last year, she asked for the bulbs that water your plants for you....I can't for the life of me remember the name. But, she would. She loves infomercials and gets stuck on them and tells us all about them later.

Recently, she's been captured by the "Teach your baby to read" infomercial. She's convinced that it works and that she could do it for Addelyn. (I suppose Nate is a lost cause) So, she made cards with words on them and sat down one day to teach Addelyn how to read. Sadly, it has not worked yet, but I imagine that if anyone can do it - Mackenzie and Addelyn can.

the trashcan

About a year ago, Nate had a thing with throwing things away. I'm sure we lost several things this way. Mostly things I don't miss. Or don't know about. There were a few things that disappeared that were a bit important, and we chalked that up to Nate's trashcan tendencies.

So, the other night Ryan pulled the Christmas wrapping paper container from the attic. I started digging through it, pulling out some paper.....when suddenly I gasped! There in the bottom was Mackenzie's digital camera, a sippy cup full of water, and Nate's baby hairbrush!

First of all, the impressive thing was that the sippy cup full of water held it's seal. That's right - it even smelled fresh!

Second of all, I felt really bad about M's digital camera. All year she's been searching for it! She's even shed a few tears over losing it. She's prayed to find that thing! And I definitely remember a few "mom talks" with the topic of putting important things in their place so we don't lose them. ;) I didn't even think that her sneaky little bro had "tossed" it into the paper box!

This is so typical Nate. It made me laugh! We looked deeper to see if anymore of our lost items were in there. But, alas, they were not.

Sleep Deprivation

I can't sleep. It's 4am and I'm blogging...that's pretty bad. Don't you hate it when you have so many things to do and you're so tired, but sleep won't come? I woke up at 3:15 out of a deep sleep and am now wide awake. I'm going to blame it on the fact that Addelyn has been sleeping through the night for a solid week and a half now! A wonderful celebration. But, maybe, just maybe, my body is revolting. For a year I received nothing but sleepless nights. After my mom advised me, I even quit adding up how many hours of sleep I actually got because it was so depressing. So, maybe my body is screaming for less sleep.

Sound like a possibility? I doubt it. Anyone that knows me well, knows that I was falling asleep by 10pm last night.

So, after checking my email. And my facebook. And my blog. And writing a new blog....maybe I'll be able to fall asleep now.

Happy Dreaming................

Advent

It's been a while since my last blog. Don't know why. I think I was a bit tired of talking to myself about things - or maybe that the only things I had to write about were my kids...again. Not that it's a bad topic, just the same topic!! My sweet cousin, Emily, reminded me that she wanted to know about my life these days. That's all the prompting I need, apparently, because here I am!

I simply love Christmas. It is so wonderful. This year, I really love Advent. The anticipation is so exciting to me this year! The knowledge that Christmas is COMING makes me giddy inside! What a wonderful time of year - the chance to celebrate the gift of Jesus! We've shared this Advent season with our kids in a new way this year. We've been using a devotional geared towards kids - and they've loved it. Begging to read it each day. My kids have always appreciated scheduled things - so I guess they love the repetition of this too!

I've barely started my Christmas shopping - but I don't even care. It will get done...probably. I'm trying to soak in this precious season. Loving each day as we get closer to the joyous birthday of our savior.

No pictures to go along with this post. But, don't worry, Emily, I'll be back soon.

A day full of FUN

Today was a blast. It was rainy, so I met this day with a bit of disdain. We've had so many rainy days this fall, and now that I have a 2 year old son I am desperate for sunny days. I notice a difference in him when he is cooped up in this space without the freedom to run and catch grasshoppers!

But I digress...Ryan and I decided to take a chance and take the kids to see "UP" at the Dollar Movie! We were a bit hesitant to take all 3 kids - Addelyn has never sat through a movie at the theater AND the movie started right at naptime for both Nate and Adds. This could spell disaster...but, the hubs and I trotted off anyway, desperate to find a little fun on a rainy day. The movie was good, a bit intense at times, but good. I actually even teared up at a few scenes and reminded myself to seek out adventure with Ryan. (if you've seen this movie, you understand. Basically, I don't want to die before I get to have all the adventures in life worth living!) Mackenzie and Nate saw the movie with their Grandparents in July, but it didn't seem to matter to them to see it again. They were excited at all the right moments and covered their eyes when the "scary" guys came on the screen. I lulled the baby to sleep in the hallway, then was able to join the others again and sit and hold my napping baby. peace and joy. Later on, Ryan had the babe in the back while I sat with my older two - a head on each shoulder. Nate looked up at me to whisper, "i really really really love you mommy!" peace and joy.

Oh! And before the movie, we carved pumpkins! (and when I say "we"...I mean "Ryan". Neither Mackenzie or I wanted to get our hands in that grimy stuff.) And Nate was oddly occupied with other things. Mackenzie did, however, sit by her Daddy's side and "coach" him. Pictures to come soon!

Then, this evening we had our favorite sitter come over for 2 hours - just long enough for Ryan and I to run out for a quick bite. We shared purposeful conversation that was rich and vital for our marriage. I'm thankful for those two hours of time.

We pulled into our drive and were greeted by happy cheers as we saw our kids. (and Ryan quickly snuck our McD's sundaes into the freezer for after bedtime) And just like that, we entered back into reality. 10 min later I was grabbing the first clean child out of the bathtub and the routine was in motion again.

Such a full day. I'm so thankful for Saturdays to get to do whatever we want to with them.

a full week

My "kid" sister, Kathryn, has spent the past week with me. A whole WEEK with her in my house! Having a best friend around 24/7 is like hot apple pie and Blue Bell vanilla ice cream. Like heaven on earth! I'm so glad that she stayed 4 days longer than she originally intended. We had so much fun together. Sadly, we didn't really do much - since we had 3 kiddos to wrangle each day. But, I enjoyed her constant companionship. What a sweetie my sis is.
She has to head south to GA tomorrow to start her first full-time job! Watch out world - here she comes!
The guest bed is now open folks...who's next?!