A dream…

Last night I had a dream.  A disturbing, yet eye-opening dream.  I died.  Yes, I actually died in my dream and felt what it was like, or I guess what I think it would feel like.  I had something on me that someone put there and it made a big tumor like thing in my lower abdomen that grew over a 2 day period of time.  Kevin and I talked about it, I spent last moments with my kids and it was all too real for me, I woke up crying and so very sad that I hadn’t treasured my last day with my kids and my husband.  What if that really happened, what if I did die tonight, would I be satisfied with how I spent my last day?  We aren’t guaranteed tomorrow, it made me really look at the day, how I react to my kids and how I view life.  It was God’s reminder to me to treasure every moment, I have really gotten out of that the past two weeks while dealing with tantrums, babies fighting sleep, and just trying to do work while the kids are begging me to play with them and I just tell them one more minute over and over.  I need to encourage my kids and play with them, I want to leave marks on their hearts that will make them remember their childhood as warm, nurturing, and loving from their mom, whether I am 101 when I die, or 31.  I hope I am older and live to meet great grandkids, but everyday mothers all over the world die leaving young children to grow up without a mom, I have a huge fear of that.  I don’t know what I would do without my mom today, I don’t want to leave them too early.  That was a scary, scary dream that felt all too real.

A close Sunday School class

We had a Sunday School social today at David and Pam’s house, an Easter Egg hunt for the kids, pot luck appetizer dinner and lots of fun!  These 24 friends mean so much to me as an individual, a mom, and a wife.  I thank God for them all the time.  We have about 25 in our class and we have 23 kids and 2 on the way between all of us, most all have someone their age and they all get along so well.

John Howard and Delaney are only about a month apart in age and are both fearless and sweet to each other.

We had egg races and tosses and lots of fun together all afternoon.

A little more settled in

We really are getting settled in.  A friend of mine, Wendy Hunt, came by and helped with some finishing touches decorating, since I am not very good at placing stuff and now I really feel a little more settled.  Still a few more things to complete it, but it’s coming along pretty well!

The kitchen

The hooks in the hall with each of our initials on them (the calendar side will follow soon, it’s great!)

 

The bedroom retreat!  (Need something over the bed)

The Dining Room (still a lot to go here)

Control your kids…

I know there are plenty of days that I have no control over my kids, but I am having one of those days that I have to vent about a parent I see every Wednesday.  She and her 2.5 year old little girl (not in the pictures) are in gymnastics with us and she has a newborn either lying around on the floor, crying in the carrier, or strapped on her, and a 5 year old hanging around.  Today the 5 year old, who she homeschools, was doing her own gymnastics all around the room, which my kid were more interested in watching than participating.  The 2.5 year old is ALWAYS running around taking things off the shelves, dumping balls on the floor, running up and down the trampoline, doing her own thing and the mom hardly says a word.  Well, she says, “Come here, don’t do that”, but almost under her breath and with no meaning behind it, it’s the whole 45 minutes she runs around everywhere.  Now that my kids see hers getting away with it they are acting out the whole time and I’m constantly having to get on them, put them in time out, etc.  I hate it, we don’t enjoy gymnastics anymore like we used to, I don’t want to have to pull them out, but today I asked Blake if he had fun and he said he didn’t really want to go back.  I asked if it was because she was everywhere and he said yes.  He likes to follow directions and know what’s next, he never knows with her around.  I don’t know what to do.  Delaney really likes it, but is starting to act out a lot because of that other girl and they both are physically getting a lot out of it.

A trip to the neighbor’s house

All we have to do is walk over the bridge and through the beautiful woods to go visit Cousin Coalson in the afternoons.  We have really enjoyed having kids to play with in the afternoons since the move, there is always something going on in the neighborhood.  Coalson is glad to have Blake and Delaney there so he doesn’t have to play with 9 year olds all the time.  The static got to Delaney on the slide, this was just before she slide down the climbing wall.  Oops, I turned my head for 30 seconds.

St Patrick’s Day weekend

We had a fun St. Patrick’s Day weekend celebrating downtown Rock Hill on Thursday night with Granddad and Mama.  Mama had lots of fun green things for us to wear.  Delaney didn’t hold back on dressing up. 

Tracy and Riley met us out there and Riley loved the wig.  We also got to play with Jackson and Eliza for a few minutes before a City Club dinner Irish style with my parents and David’s family. 

On Saturday, officially St. Patrick’s Day we went out to eat with our friends from the QCP, the Casons, Fishers, Haynes, and Collins to Erin’s downtown Rock Hill and then were able to enjoy a wonderful evening all together back in the creek.  What a wonderful day!

All moved in and almost settled

I haven’t posted a picture of the outside of our house yet.  Here it is, filled with love and enjoying every minute as a family in it.  Now, we just need to find a buyer for our old house!

Staying connected with my kids

I love my children dearly!  I cherish them and they are the best things that have ever happened to Kevin and I, however I still find myself telling them I don’t have time, or wait until I finish this, or maybe tomorrow when they ask me to just spend time with them.  I am blessed to be home with them other than their 2 1/2 hour preschool class Mon-Thurs, yet, I still don’t find myself “being” with them like I should.  I work part time from home, so I seem to always have my email in my hand or laptop on my lap, this article I came across through I blog I love to read helped to remind me to stop and listen to them, be with them, other stuff will wait. 

Stay Connected with your Child

Kindermusik

We love Wednesday afternoons and nights, gymnastics, supper at church with friends, Kindermusik, and Mission Friends (Blake only goes to Mission Friends, and only if he takes a nap during the day because he has to stay up later).  Kindermusik is so much fun with all 4 of us in there singing, dancing, and playing with our friends.  Blake is so grown up now with his new haircut too.

More eggs…

We went on our weekly trip to get our fresh eggs, this time I snapped a few pictures.  They were VERY fresh this time, Mr. Clay had to move the hen to get the eggs that she just laid! 

The chickens were out of the pen, enjoying a little grass.  The chicks were outside too, we invested in a few of them this year, we hope to have 2 full grown chickens to get our own eggs from and take care of this year.  Nick is so kind to keep them at his house, out of a neighborhood, for us.  They have such a fun house, they are raising bees now too, fresh honey, yay! 

A nap to remember

I had all three kids, Blake, Delaney, and Cousin Coalson today for lunch and naptime, so I decided to let the boys attempt to sleep in the same room together.  We read some books, sang some songs, I got downstairs and I saw this on the monitor…all three sitting up and chatting…

Finally after about 20 minutes they fell asleep and then the boys started checking on each other again.  Coalson woke Blake up, then Blake finally went in, gave them a few books and then wouldn’t let Coalson go back to sleep, one thing after another.  Anyway, I saw this.  They sat quietly while Delaney slept and enjoyed each other for 30 minutes or so.  They love each other…

The beginning of the Garden

We planted our seeds that will later go in our garden today, the stuck the seeds in and pushed them in the dirt, Delaney liked getting dirty more than Blake.  Let’s hope this warm weather continues to get the seeds growing.

The new backyard

The porch is going to be the most used room in the new house, we have already spent hours on it.

During our 5th trip to Lowe’s this week the kids picked out some flowers to plant in the new yard, we’ll have to wait til the threat of frost is over, but they are pretty on the porch.

The deck usually has the basketball goal on it, but is also well used, I even took a little nap on it already, waiting on the grill to fire up.  The hummingbird feeder is up and ready for the birds, along with the 5 bird feeders my parents left for us, the kids are loving watching them already.  The back yard has a swing set already in it, a bridge, and lots of beautiful flowers and plants.  I added my grape vines, since I have to start from scratch and new blueberry bushes, which I don’t think made it, a few months ago, I can’t wait til year 3 again for them to start to produce.  I planted a new tree last year in my old yard that I loved and took forever to find, I just saw this one today and it’s the same kind, just bigger!  It doesn’t weep, but it’s the deep purple color I love.  Under the tree is where my cat, Snickers, was buried 7 years ago.  This backyard was also the location for our wedding pictures 7 years ago, what memories and how neat to live here now with those. 

The sandbox is full of sand now, Delaney was SUPER excited and the seeds are bought, ready to be planted in the new garden.

Our new house

We are moved in, not decorated, but settled.  Here are a few pictures.

The den gets beautiful sunlight in the mornings.

 

The family room is right now being used as a play area to keep most of the toys out of the main area.

The dining room, painted navy to match the rug has a 1912 mantle in it and our white dining room table along with all our pictures and decorations I need to get out.

The foyer color was the toughest part of the painting.  We finally found one that I really like, not blue, not green, just right.

The kitchen didn’t change much, just the charcoal paint color above the cabinets.

Playroom, kids’ rooms, master bedroom, etc. to come later.

The countdown to the family Disney trip begins…

…Delaney has already begun to act like a Princess.  She looks like Snow White (dress was her 2nd birthday gift) after a show or parade waving good-night to everyone.  I love this picture.  We are going to Disney in just 2 short months, we are getting so excited!