Yay...it's working again!

Man...I haven't been able to log into my account for a couple of days.  It's made me crazy..but, finally it is working.  Naps are over, my chance is gone for the day.  I'm so happy to be logged in again.  I hope to have an update tomorrow.

The View From Here

Sunday nap for a princess

A boy....in a house full of girl things

As Nathan gets older, we have been trying to incorporate more "boy" toys into our mix.  Things like balls and trucks.  But, the pink still remains.  He came after two girls...and although we tried to keep things neutral from the very beginning....there are certainly some very girly and very pink things in our home.

This afternoon, after having a lunch picnic outside, the girls wanted to go on a bike ride. I decided to put Nate in the child seat on the back of Jeremy's bike...let Nicole ride her bike, and Hannah ride her scooter.  The only problem was....the only helmet we had was a pink helmet covered in Disney princesses.  I knew that if Jeremy pulled up for a surprise lunch and saw his son with a pink princess helmet on...there were be some "words" spoken.  Both of us refuse to let our son wear pink.  However...I wanted him to be safe, because I don't ride Jeremy's bike too often and I was afraid that I might topple over. 

So...what do you do with a pink princess helmet that needs to go on your son's head....

you cover it in blue painting tape of course! hahaha

Maybe this is what Nathan needs for Christmas....a helmet of his own.

Fooled?

Just in case I had you fooled into thinking I'm the perfect mom (which....I am so very very far away from)...Here is what Nicole prayed tonight as I put her to bed.

"Dear God, please help us to read your Word more, because we haven't read it in a long long time."

Guess what I did....I said goodnight and walked out.  Pretty lame, huh?  The right thing to do would have been to get the Bible out and read it...but I didn't.  I walked away. 

Our Christmas Tree

We finally purchased our Christmas tree on Saturday.  Grandma Mimi came with us, not to a tree farm....but to Home Depot.  yeah, that's the way we do it here in SW Florida.  One day perhaps I will be able to cut down my own tree...that would be awesome!  Until then...Home Depot will have to do.

 Untying the bundled tree.

It looks kind of "woodsy" doesn't it?

So...we found our tree, and to be perfectly honest...it's the most beautiful, uniformed, and full tree we have ever had.  It's perfect!

I felt like I needed a picture right here...and I thought this was a sweet picture of Hannah girl.  So...here ya go!

Last night, we decorated the tree (using small zip ties...perfect for keeping the ornaments on the tree when small fingers try to pull them off).  Last year, I got rid of most of our ornaments, because they were bought pre-kids...and were all glass.  After several breaking last year, I knew they had to go.  So, we bought some "shatterproof" ornaments at Sams...and they seem to be working great:-)

We had fun last night wrapping the lights around the tree (growing up, I always looked forward to helping my dad with that part...and now, Jeremy is doing it with his girls)

Hannah didn't want to be wrapped in lights this year, but Nicole did.

Then, we had decorated the tree with a whole bunch of ornaments.

Nathan had fun playing with the boxes.

Afterward, we sang a couple of Christmas carols and watched some old Christmas cartoons, made in the early 1950s.  They were a little cheesy, but it was really fun, and the girls enjoyed it.  That was Jeremy's idea, and I really liked it.  I'd like to watch a Christmas movie every year after trimming the tree. 

So, here is our masterpiece

 Nathan cried for much of our time last night...so, this picture sort of captures it all, haha

The dynamic duo.  btw...Nicole is showing off her "favorite" ornament.  The candy cane she made last year.

The View From Here

To the future Mrs. Nathan Rearden

Dear future Daughter-in-law,
I've been thinking about you a lot the past few days.  It probably sounds weird to most people that I am thinking about (and praying for) the girl my son will marry some day, but let me tell you why. 

I believe a big part of my job in raising Nathan is to teach him to be a Godly, strong, honorable man who portrays the characteristics and traits that a wife would want him to have one day.  This task is just beginning, and I hope that one day, when you meet, you will look at him and see a man that will provide and care for you, love you, treat you with respect, be your friend and partner. 

At this stage in the game, I am Nate's true love (haha)...and he gets fiercly jealous if someone else is around me, touch me or hugging me because he thinks that I am his...and no one elses:-)  Lately, I have watched him hit his sisters when they are near me.  Sometimes I am holding him, and they come over to give me a hug and he hits them upside the head.  Sometimes they are sitting on my lap listening to a story and he crawls over, for one reason....to hit them. 

So, lesson number one has begun for Nate, I will not allow him to hit another person...especially a girl.  That's where you came into my mind.  The other day, as I watched him crawl over to hit his sister, I thought of you.  I do not want to raise a son who thinks it is ok to hit a woman...or his wife....EVER!  Obviously he is a baby and simply hits because that's what baby's tend to do...but it does not make it ok.  He must learn self-control.  He must learn to treat others as he would want to be treated.  He must learn to be a gentleman.  He must learn to respect others, especially women.  And, that learning commenced this week. 

So, my dear future daughter-in-law, I hope that I am diligent in teaching him these things.  I hope that in 20 or 25 years, that you have a young man who loves the Lord, loves you, serves and protects you, respects you and treats you as a precious gift.  I will be thinking about you and praying for you over the years as I care for this sweet little baby boy and help to mold him  into the man who will one day will care for you. 

Thanksgiving in Tennessee

We were so excited to be invited to Thanksgiving in Tennessee with Jeremy's sister, Tiffany, and her family.  OK, to be honest...we were super excited about visiting them...but totally dreading the 14 hours car ride.  In fact, we were pretty sure it would take us more like 16-18 hours to drive there....and, in early November when we were making plans....it was torture to me to even think about it.  So, I didn't.  I didn't think about the travel (to much) and thought about the nice time we would have visiting instead.

We pulled out of our driveway on Tuesday around 12:30 pm.  This is what the kids looked like while we waited for lunch outside of Jason's Deli.

They were excited...and I began dreading the drive....for real!  The girls were excited because our sweet friends let us borrow their dual screen portable DVD player.  Yes, my friends...each girl had her own little TV screen right in front of her face and personal headphones.  What a luxury.  Really....I think this helped the drive go so well.  NOT because they watched it all the time (because they didn't)....but because they were so excited that they would be able to watch it when we gave the OK. 

Their eyes and ears are already glued to the screen!

Nathan was very happy to finally be turned around in his car seat and able to watch what really happens on the road.  Seriously...this kid didn't stop smiling  for a long time because he loved being turned around.  Every time I looked at him, he laughed.  He's very cool!

So....the drive...was it as horrible as I had imagined?  NOOOOOO.  Here's a quick rundown....we all ate lunch and then we told the girls that they had to take a nap before they would be allowed to watch a video.  They both took a good long nap, then we let them watch Charlotte's Web.  By this time, we were close to Valdosta, GA...we stopped at Chick-fil-a for a quick dinner (on the road) and drove....and drove...and drove.  We had FULL intentions of stopping somewhere around Macon or Atlanta to sleep for the night.  But, Jeremy was awake...the kids were asleep...and we kept driving.  We pulled into the Davis driveway at 2:30am on Wednesday morning (oh...by this time we were both struggling to stay awake...but got a burst of adrenaline when three dear jumped in front of our car about a half hour from their house)  We actually made it to their house in 14 hours...which is incredible time!

Looking out across their backyard.  This was the day the cold front was moving in.

 

Most of Wednesday we just relaxed...took naps...laid around and so forth.  I'll spare you the details...but most of us were sick.  Seth and Chris were getting over a stomach bug...and our family was getting the beginnings of sore throats and a cold :(  So, we all needed the rest.The kids just had fun playing together.  Seth is 3 (he'll be 4 in January), and Susie is almost 2.  Our kids played together so well the whole time...it was great.

By Thanksgiving...we were all feeling better, for the most part.  Tiff cooked us a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner including a Turkey (which she won in a raffle...how cool is that?), a ham, green bean casserole, sweet potato casserole, and corn bread dressing....I made the rolls and the gravy.

 I love this picture...she looks so excited, doesn't she? hehe

 I'm pretty sure Tiffy posed for this one ; )

 Our Thanksgiving Feast!

We had fun cooking together all day. 

 Nathan did NOT like his dinner.  Nope, not even a little bit...can't you tell?

After eating our delicious meal...we enjoyed the beautiful weather outside.  A very cold cold front was on it's way...so we wanted to play outside as much as we could before it actually arrived.

Playing ball in the backyard

I think this is a funny picture of Hannah...I had to share.

Little miss Suzie

And, pretty Nicki

And, this is handsome Seth.

The cold front brought in high temperatures in the low 40s and lows in the 20s I believe...maybe low 30s, I don't know.  Tiff and Chris have a wood burning oven that keeps their home warm...isn't that cool?  ...or hot??? 

One day, we went exploring in the creek behind the house.  Oh, it was so hard not to long for a place like this.  My girls LOVED playing with the rocks, on the trees and "exploring".

We basically just hung out together.  We didn't have any big agenda or To Do list.  We went out to dinner one night...they guys watched the Auburn/Alabama game (OK Greg...here it goes "War Eagle"  see....I'm not that bad, right?; ), Tiff and I did some Goodwill shopping, we went to church with them on Sunday and just had an all around nice time visiting. 

Nicole and Seth really became friends on this trip.  They had fun together.

The cousins....Nicole, Nathan, Susannah, Seth and Hannah

So...what do you think...do they look alike?  We think they do.

Oh, what's that?   You want to know about the ride home?  Was it as perfect as the ride up???  Um...No.  It took us almost 4 hours to get to Chattanooga, TN...it should have been 2 hours.  We were stuck in horrendous traffic (which we expected).  We barely made it south of Atlanta and called our sweet friend Mike and Patti and literally "dropped in" on them. We gave them an hour notice...at 9:30 at night that we wanted to come visit and spend the night.  They were so gracious.  We had big comfy warm beds...yummy food, and a great start for the long ride home the next day.  Yesterday's drive wasn't bad. Traffic was good.  The kids watch a lot more videos...we stopped a bit more often and I read an entire book out loud. 

By the way...you should read "Just Do Something" by Kevin DeYoung....really...you should.  Maybe I'll write more about that later ; )

We had a great time with Chris, Tiffany, Seth and Susannah.  We are Thankful that we could spend Thanksgiving with you!

Potty talk

Nicole has been talking to herself a lot lately.  Maybe not really talking to herself...just engaging more in imaginary play.  She makes up little scenarios and acts them out with her toys or doggies...or whatever she's playing with. 

Tonight, she took her normal mid-dinner potty break.  I heard her singing and peeped in to make sure she wasn't just singing and twirling and dancing around the bathroom to get out of dinner (she wasn't).  She was sitting on the potty singing "Old McDonald".  She sang her last verse, then said (to herself), "hmmm...I can't think of any more animals.  MOMMY...I'M DONE!"

I just thought it was funny that the end of the song determined when she was done going potty. 

Happy Birthday Nathan

Dear Nathan,
I simply can not believe that you are already one year old!  You little life has already gone so fast.  We are so thankful that the Lord chose us to be your parents.  As you stand by me right now, grabbing my arms, hitting my legs and smiling at me....I can not help but be in awe of your little personality.  You have made yourself a place in our family and it would be empty without you.  I am so thankful to have you as my son.

Nathan, you are a sweet and loving little boy...but you are also pretty tough too. You have learned to give kisses...or at least make kissing sounds.  You love to climb over anything you can.  I think you prefer to climb over your sister when they are lying down, and your daddy too.  If I'm sitting on the floor with my feet stretched out, you climb back and forth over my legs.  You have found Nicole's little wooden baby bed, and made it your own boat.  You like to take the long way to your destination, preferring to crawl through, under and around objects. 

Although you are still a baby, it is clear that you love your family.  You love me...and although I get a bit frustrated at times with you hanging onto my leg and crying because I want to walk away and you can't walk with me...I still love it.  I know that these times are so short and that very soon, you will be very independent of me...so I try to take every moment I can to soak you up as a baby.  You love your daddy and generally try to say "Dadda" when you see him.  You know that you can be rough with him and often go to him to throw a ball too or "hit on" when it's time to play.  You love your sisters (and they love you too).  Your favorite game with them is to chase them around they house.  They run around and scream and giggle while you try to keep up with their little legs. 

You also play well by yourself.  You love to sit in your ball pit and throw the balls out, or often times I catch you throwing a ball and then crawling after it...then throwing it again...then crawling after it...and so on.   You also love to play with helium balloons.  I think between a few balls and a balloon...you would be entertained for hours. 

You do some gross boys things too...like when I caught you playing in the toilet water (that was disgusting) or when you put your food on the floor and then lean over and lick it up (that's pretty gross too).  I love to watch your mind work as you try to figure out why things work. 

You are generally pretty happy if you are near someone you know loves you (and to be honest...if I'm around, that person usually has to be me).  You will often sit in the room I am in and play for a long time while I cook  (or type on the computer like right now).

We are looking forward to spending the rest of your life with you.  We hope we can teach you to be a man who love Jesus, a man who is kind and gentle, yet strong and firm, a man who respects women, who is compassionate and giving....a man who makes a difference and lives to bring Glory to God.

Nate...we love you so very much.  We are thankful to be your parents.  We have enjoyed our first year with you, and we are looking forward to many many more to come.  You are a blessing in our lives.

Happy First Birthday Son!