Surprised by a Christmas kindness

This was a total surprise. My mom told me that her neighbor (long-time friends of our family) had brought by something for me. When she told me WHAT, I was moved almost to tears. And the more I think of it, the more it means to me.

A bit of background to give context: My grandmama died in 2004. Every year she (my grandmama) had given me a beautiful ornament at Christmastime. My tree is full of them and they are treasures to me that I enjoy year after year. After she passed away, they became that much more special to me. Their presence among my holiday decorations adds such happy memories....happy history, if you will. When I pull them out of the box of decorations each year, I can practically hear her exclaiming, as we grandkids teased her for her tacky Christmas decorations, "tacky's purdy!" :0) She LOVED the Christmas holidays and I remember hearing her bustle around the house humming carols. She loved taking us grandkids all over town to see Christmas lights. She really helped infuse my Christmases and my childhood in general with fun and joy..........I have so many memories of her.......

On to my Christmas surprise. Long-time friend and neighbor of my parents, Ms. Ann, had a gift for me: ornaments for the past few years. When Grandmama passed away, Ms. Ann had heard me mention how Grandmama had always given me an ornament at Christmas. And so each year since then she had bought and wrapped one for me. She hadn't had the opportunity to give them to me, so she brought them to my mom's house this week. Here they are, now hanging on my tree. She didn't have to do that. She must have listened to me (5 years ago now) and resolved in her heart to do that special thing for me. I don't know why. It was a kindness I didn't expect that is for some reason very moving.
Ms. Ann, if you read this, know that these ornaments will be treasured alongside my others, and will speak to me each year of your kindness and extraordinary thoughtfulness. Thank you.

Christmas in Georgia

Cold weather. Blazing fire. Hot coffee. Family that actually really likes each other. Babies cooing. Kids playing and laughing. New toys and gifts. Pound cake and orange sauce. Crab stew.............

We celebrated Christmas with my side of the family this weekend and it was a great time. I love being with the whole family! Below are a few highlights from the weekend.
There's my favorite Christmas gift for the year. No, not the hot guy---the camcorder in his hand! I'm so excited to finally have a nice camcorder to capture these days! Video coming soon!

I love the pictures below of me rocking Noah. It's not a sight you see often because at home I don't have a lot of time to sit and enjoy him. Moments like these are rare but incredibly sweet... And I love the above photo of Noah.....mainly because I can think of about a dozen possible captions as to what he's thinking!

Next: A highlight for the boys was this puppy named "Doc." He belongs to my Aunt Carol and Uncle H, and the boys just couldn't get enough of him! We even borrowed him one day and brought him to my parents' house for a playdate! The babies were a ton of fun this trip! Josie and Noah are both really sweet "good" babies. Both are so pleasant and content, and a joy to be around. They've become very interactive and smiley now, so we enjoyed their coos and laughs. It's so neat to see them together! A lot of fun awaits them (and us!) as they grow up together!

And hang onto your hats for the joy in this NEXT picture------------- Yeah, Merry Christmas. I realize they all look incredibly pained in this picture. Obviously they didn't appreciate us interrupting their play time to make them sit for a picture but a picture of the Magnificent 7 just had to be done.

So the first half of our Christmas is over now, and we are excited as the second half approaches! Thanks to our awesome family for the wonderful time together! We love you all!

I love Thursdays.

I do. I love Thursdays. We homeschool 4 days a week, and Thursday is our non-school day. We spend the morning at a community-wide Bible study, where the boys are enrolled in a homeschool program that is really fantastic. They learn so much, and they've made great friends. Their teachers are amazing and I'm so happy the boys can be part of this great program. And they LOVE it! Our dear friends, the Easons (who make it to my blog quite regularly!) are also involved in the Bible study alongside us, which makes it all the better. Most Thursdays we leave Bible study and spend several hours with them. Today we were at their home. The kids enjoyed their wonderful back yard all afternoon while we mom's sipped coffee and held the babies inside. It was really fun.
That's Lindsey. I could write volumes on this lady. I'm honored to run this race of life and navigate this season of life alongside this one. She is a woman with a noble, honorable heart.I really do love this about homeschooling: my boys are able to enjoy friendships in an atmosphere where there is freedom, but at the same time the gentle, watchful guidance of moms who are intent on training them to relate to others in healthy ways. It's really neat to be able to guide them in the often-complex and confusing social world, and to be able to correct and instruct them when they relate to others wrongly. That is a really great blessing. And what is even greater is that when we are with these friends, my training is doubly reinforced as they watch the mom of their friends training their friends in the same ways they are trained. That's a blessing beyond words. My boys are not outgoing socially and never have been (maybe a reflection of my personality), and that will never be a goal for me. But what IS a goal is that they learn to honor others above themselves, and relate to others in the ways that give pleasure to their Maker.
And this is why I love Thursdays. Their interactions at the Bible study and their playdates afterward enrich our lives in ways that go far beyond them being an outlet for mere entertainment and fun. They are training grounds. They are opportunities for them to grow in character and humility and love for others. They are practicing for their future roles as husbands, fathers, friends and leaders who will be like Christ in their relationships and all their decisions. So you see why Thursdays are precious days to me.

However, Thursdays are exhausting! Take a look at this guy at the end of our playdate:
Oh yeah. That's the cue to head home for a nap. Thus ends another near-perfect Thursday.

Things to do before you die....or not

Just thought I'd bring you along on one of my life's adventures: grocery-shopping with 4 small children. If you've never done this, you really should put it on that list everyone makes of "things to do before I die." It's not something you will ever forget.

First of all, from the time you pull up into the parking lot of a store and open the minivan doors, you will be gawked at by strangers just for the feat of having produced 4 children in a 6 year span of time--and all of them boys. (Apparantly that puts you in the "freak show" category.) And then at least one of those strangers will follow you into the store telling you over and over how cute they are but "MY, don't YOU have your hands full?" This is extremely distracting for the mom who is totally focused on the job/battle in front of her b/c I really don't have the extra energy to think of polite things to say. My job is not easy and I'm like a warrior prepared for battle. (This is how I carry the baby while shopping. Thanks Haylee for this picture!)I have a fussy baby strapped to my person, and have just lifted a 2 year old and a 4 year old up into the "car" shopping cart and am wondering how I'm gonna fit my week's worth of groceries into the cart if I place my gigantic mommy-bag in it....and I'm trying to keep the 6 year old out of people's way as strangers pass by staring. (Side note: the shear brute strength alone required for this particular job is worth mentioning....) Just as I get everyone settled and pull out my very long but very organized grocery list, the aforementioned baby (who has very rarely EVER spit up) suddenly spits up on the aforementioned grocery list. I mop it up and keep moving, wondering if the cup of coffee was a good idea. I need my wits as sharp as possible, but the irritability is not helpful....

So on we go with this mission. The 6 year old is asking question after question...."What kind of fruit is that one? Why does it have bumps on it? There's broccoli! Do we need some? Here! I'll put it in the basket for you! You know I don't like broccoli....." On and on it goes.... The 4 year old has pulled apart the bananas and is using them like telephones and the 2 year old is copying him until he sees balloons...at which time he begins shrieking for them---"MOONIES!!!!!!" he begs. The baby does not like all this so he's fussing and contorting his little body as I push what feels like several hundred pounds worth of kids and groceries up and down the aisles, carefully checking my list in fear of having to revisit multiple aisles over and over if I skip something (which is inevitable). I finally have to tell the 6 year old that I love him, but NOT to talk to me any more unless someone is bleeding because I can't answer his questions and accomplish this mission. The baby cries until he passes out (which brings the entire store relief), and the 2 year old has to be constantly told not to lean out of the cart. The 6 year old is constantly in front of the shopping cart so I am either reminding him to move or I'm bumping into him the whole time. And all the while I'm agreeing with strangers that YES, I KNOW I have my hands full......

I do want to mention that some strangers are heaven-sent, and will speak the most encouraging things to me. Today, one of the ladies who works at the store saw me several times throughout the ordeal. She told me over and over how well the boys were behaving, and after hearing yet another stranger remind me of my full hands, told me "you are so blessed!" And "you're doing a GREAT job!" Mostly strangers make comments that equal "I wouldn't want to be YOU, lady." But this one had eyes to see what really mattered in life I think, and she seemed to want to honor the choice I'd made to temporarily inconvenience my every waking moment and helplessly complicate my existence to the point of THIS. She seemed to really want to encourage me and tell me I'd made a good choice. I appreciated that.

So I made it through the store being under the microscope of gawking strangers, with my 4 small children, and accomplished a week's worth of shopping for a family of 6. I even remembered all my coupons (managed to save $34.52 on this trip) and with a little help got all 4 kids and a LOT of groceries loaded up without any major catasrophes. I made it home and with the help of 3 little boys got the groceries unloaded, nursed the baby a few minutes so I didn't have to hear him screaming while I put away all the groceries, and then made 4 lunches.

Deep sigh.

I survived. My kids survived. We have food and diapers now. Mission accomplished.

I'm guessing you probably won't put this at the top of your "things to do before I die" list.

But this one might make it....

Last night I stood outside the bedroom door of my sons as their dada put them to bed. I stood there holding a cooing baby and listened to my sons belly-laughing at their dada, over and over. The lights were dim, and the sweetness of that bedtime hour had settled on the house. And I just listened. It was worth more than any treasure you could tempt me with. If there's something worth doing before you die, it's this: stand outside the bedroom door of your 3 children as they laugh and giggle together at the end of the day. Hold your sweet baby close and kiss his fat cheeks as he snuggles into you.

That's really worth putting on your list........

12 week old Noah

As you can see from this little video, Noah is doing great. He's very sweet and very, very spoiled! He gets a big kick out of his brothers but most definitely knows and prefers his mama! I'm enjoying this little mama's-boy b/c I know how quickly these little guys become their daddy's shadow. So for now, these smiles and coos are (mostly) mine!

Thanksgiving

We spent most of Thanksgiving week at the farm. As always, we enjoyed the family, fun and food. I love fall at the farm!My creative husband found an old boat trailer and an old swing in the "ruins" (my dad's numerous junk piles) and constructed THIS new ride:(You might be a redneck if you ride in one of these.....) Later there were a few safety additions made to it that rendered it "mom-approved." It was a very big hit and we are thinking of patenting. I'm sure we will make millions. :0) Next you see a series of field trips for these homeschooled boys. The boys watched peanuts being harvested and went with my dad to the peanut market. (That's them sitting on top of the golf cart.)And now here they are playing in the peanuts. Jacob dumped out two boot-fulls of peanuts when he came in for dinner (or "supper," as it's called in GA).Next field trip: No, they are not making moon-shine. That's Georgia cane syrup being milled. And I just took this picture b/c the barn background caught my eye. Interesting to look at, huh?And another educational "field trip"--pun intended. Bailing peanut-hay.And then a flying lesson for Luke. Here's a bit of education for you: You really can't beat the sunsets on the farm. Just ask those three (Luke, Peyton and Jacob).

Simply breathtaking.

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. It never outranked Christmas for me as a kid (because there were no presents involved), but these days it stands solidly as my favorite. That might be because of the enormous pressure on a mom during the holidays to make Christmas "happen" for everybody in the world. Thanksgiving, on the other hand, is really a time to just gather and enjoy the ones you love. The feasting is out of this world, and everyone just spends time together for one day of the year. The men play "quarterback challenge," the kids romp and frolic, and the women and old folks sit and talk. I'm not going to pretend like it was a time of deep meditation and reflection on the blessings of my life because it wasn't. It was just fun to be with people I love. The reflection always comes later.

The day we came home, Jacob was uncharacteristically tired and was asleep at a time when he would normally be playing. Luke came over to me moping and I asked what was wrong. His heartfelt answer: "I just don't know what to do without Jacob to play with. I just don't know what to do." (Those two really enjoy a special bond.)

And sitting here this morning, I feel that way about my little family. I complain more than I should about the incredible pressures and the mountains of to-do's that never get done. But if all those little people who generate that mountain of to-do's were not here, I would most assuredly mope and not know WHAT to do with myself. And so, as I glance out the window past this computer screen and see three healthy little boys enjoying each other in my back yard, and think of the sweet lil baby I just put down for a nap, I am giving thanks with a quiet heart for the mountain of blessings. Thank you God for hands that are full, because certainly my heart is even more so.

The hills are alive..................

It's something every mom either has experienced or will experience: a BAD HAIRCUT on your kid. But let me back up....

My third son Joshy has hair we LOVE---soft, shiny and full of body. We have him wearing it long and honestly, everywhere I go I get comments on how adorable it is. (Seriously, Georgians, people down here really do like it!) And with his fun and spunky personality, it fits him so well. But I digress......

It was time for a haircut and I dreaded it because it's always a gamble. But alas, I forged ahead with the dreaded task anyway and let the hairdresser loose on all three. 2 out of 3 came back with really bad cuts, and I was pretty sick to my stomach on the way home as I'd occasionally glance at them in the rear view mirror. Luke's came out okay, but the middle boys didn't fare so well. And it was my darling Joshy who got the very worst of it.

Michael was the first to draw the parallel.

Julie Andrews, eat your heart out... I'm so sorry Joshy! At first I declared I would never take a picture of this awful cut so that it would be forever forgotten, but your dada convinced me we HAD to post this on the blog! You are still a doll-face, Joshy, and you can take this issue of posting your bad haircut up with him when you're bigger.

So, I've taken my scissors to it and cut some of the Julie out of it, but still, the damage is done and I will go buy some hats tomorrow. For now, let the sound of music play on.....