Operation Christmas Child

this and that

Here are some snipits of our recent days:

Molly and her Daddy had a photo shoot yesterday with Ms. Cindy at A Moment Captured. Molly was a cutie (and Daddy too!) but didn't do a whole lot of smiling. She studies everything in the studio...she is very serious! She peed on Ms. Cindy's floor while we were getting naked shots!


John let the kids watch one of the Star Wars movies on TV and John Daniel has been turned onto Star Wars now. He decided he wanted to be Darth Vader for Halloween. He wants his Daddy to be "Luke STAR-Walker" and Emily and John Daniel call Yoda "Yogurt."


I really want Molly to be a bumble bee for Halloween but the costume that I just fell in love with is at Gymboree and it is WAY more than what I should spend on a Halloween costume....I have some Gymbucks that I can spend on October 1st but her size will most likely be gone...UGH!


Molly loves bananas and cereal. Tried Avacado again and AGAIN she stayed up all night fussy. Think we will hold off on that for now. Tomorrow is SWEET POTATOES!

Emily is doing great in school and is writing up a storm. She has started writing her fiction story for the book that they will publish soon. It is about some silly farm animals. Sounds really cute!

John Daniel brought home the "A" bag yesterday that he had to fill with things that start with A. He decided to take an apron, an airplane, an ambulance, and some acorns. Great job J.D.!

I love the FALL! It puts me in a better mood and makes me want to enjoy all things FALL! I got married in October because it is my favorite month. I'm so glad I have a child with an October birthday and I love traveling in October! We have a great October planned starting off with a fun "camping" birthday party at "Nee Naw and Pop Pop's Campground" complete with roasting marshmallows and flashlight tag. We have a very exciting camping trip planned for October around our 10th Anniversary! I can't wait! I love all the fall school activities, the smell of cut grass, crisp leaves, and grilling on the grill! So excited! Now if our Seminoles would straighten up!!!!!

Emily, J.D. and I went for a bike ride today (well I ran/walk while they rode). J.D. is doing awesome. He said to me today, "Mommy, I need to work on starting off on my bike and going down tall hills!" He is so dang cute!

Emily is very much a mother hen and takes care of him and watches out for cars while we are riding. She is a great encourager to him! When he was learning she would cheer, "go J.D.!!!"

John and J.D. have been spending lots of boy time together. They have gone out on a friend's boat, gone to an FSU game together and have just chilled together. J.D. loves his Daddy! And I really think John likes having a little buddy around all the time that he can hang with. J.D. is so well behaved and so smart that he really is fun to be around!

Emily and I have a fun activity on Friday night. We will be LOCKED-IN at the church with 40 1st-5th graders for our annual GA lock-in all night! I have been talked in to doing a dance in front of the girls to Hannah Montana's Hoedown Throwdown. The 8 leaders for the GAs are doing this dance in costumes, we have learned all the steps to this VERY FAST song. I love it though...kind of fulfills my dream of being a dancer! I will be wearing an old-fashioned Nurse Costume and high heels! It is hard to explain but this does all fit into our Bible Lesson.... Believe it or not! We will have a mission project that all the girls are so excited about, devotion with journaling and prayer time, games, and lots of fun all focusing on Keeping our Eyes on Jesus as it says in Hebrews 12: 1-2. I have to say these moms at our church will do anything to teach the kids about a relationship with Christ. I have never met a group of leaders that work as hard as these parents do at putting it all on the table and doing it up big for our kids than the parents at BFBC! Every detail is planned in making it all come back to Jesus but making it fun and energetic. Hence.....learning a dance that will totally embarrass us in front of our children! Hopefully pictures will follow at some point.

John and I locked Molly in the van yesterday with it running. Somehow, when I got out to get J.D. at school I pushed the lock button. John was standing beside the car talking to his sister. Thank God the car was running. John rushed home with his sister and by the Grace of God found an open window in our house to get in and get the second set of car keys. Molly was crying but not screaming and thank God once again the AC was running!

I'm losing my mind!

In a matter of one week I have forgotten three appointments. The first one was a meeting with one of our pastor's wives at church to talk about missions for our little ones at church...I stood her up at Starbucks one morning. She told me it was totally fine and we rescheduled but I don't think I have ever just totally forgotten about a person like that. I blamed it on the kids being sick and my schedule being off. Well, it happen again yesterday...I forgot about an appointment I had at work with the infectious disease nurse to get my flu shot...totally missed the time! I didn't remember until my boss called and said that Nathalie was looking for me at CHP. Then, today I forgot it was picture day at John Daniel's school and sent him in clothes that he picked out himself! Oh well. I just don't do stuff like this!!! The crazy thing is...every single appointment was written down in my planner that I take everywhere with me and look at numerous times a day. I pride myself of having it all planned out, being on time, and being very orgainized. Even John noticed and said, "Wow, what's up with you?" I have no idea...OLD AGE MAYBE :)

Dancing with the Stars

As I type this, Emily and I are anxiously awaiting the second night of the season premier of Dancing with the Stars! Yes, I let my children watch Dancing with the Stars. Sometimes I question if I should....actually there is always at least one dance that is very questionable but I will be honest...I love it. Have I told you before that in my next life (ha ha) I want to be a back up dancer for a pop star! Anyways, I love dancing and love music. Most of you know I clogged as a kid and as an adult and I think that dancing is so much fun and great exercise. I love watching all the dancers on the show. It is so amazing to me...the routines, the athleticism, the music, the fun!!! Emily of course loves it and J.D. tolerates it as does John. Tonight after bath time, the kids come in all dressed up and want to show me their dance partners...They both have dressed a large stuffed animal in the other one's real clothes. They intend to use the animal as their partner! Not sure why they don't just dance together...I'm guessing its because neither wants to give up the lead! Note: Emily is also wearing one of my "old" lingerie nightgowns....not sure this is suitable either but what the heck!

Feed ME!

So I decided it was finally time to start feeding the little booger. I actually tried last week one time on a whim. The only thing I had in the house was an avocado so I smashed it up and fed it to her. She loved it but it gave her terrible gas, at least I think that is what kept her up all night...so I decided to try some rice cereal today and then we will start with the veggies next. She loved it and wanted to play in it. She would get the biggest grin on her face when the spoon would get close to her mouth. She did awesome with it and needed it thicker. She didn't have any trouble swallowing it.

Biking

John Daniel can ride his bike now without any training wheels!!! We started working on it on our camping trip and it only took two more sessions here at the house and he is zooming down the road now. He is so proud! I think 4 years old (almost 5) is pretty good to be riding a bike without training wheels...I think I was like 8. I know John is going to enjoy taking Emily and J.D. on bike rides around Tally and when we are camping. Bikes are such a great thing to have on a camping trip!

The Dentist, Ms. Heather, and 6 month check up!

All of the above happen in the span of a three hours for me this morning. What a busy start to the day we had. John got off work at 7 am and went to his dentist appt at 8 am. I dropped Emily off at school at 8 am (had already packed two lunches, done our quiet time, everyone was dressed, I was showered and dressed, shoes on, molly nursed), went and got me a coffee!!!, dropped John Daniel off at my friend Stephanie's house who lives about 5 minutes from me so she could take J.D. to school and met Ms Heather at the Circle K on Thomasville road all by 8:45! Ms. Heather then followed me to my dentist office so she could watch Molly for me while I got my teeth cleaned. I had already cancelled this appt once and it is a pain to get a time that works for all involved so I did all that just to go get my teeth cleaned. I passed John in the dentist hallway as he was leaving! Heather took Molly on a stroller ride around the complex and sat with her in the waiting room. When I was done, Molly and I went straight to her 6 month check up with Dr. Elzie. By the way, I love Ms Heather! She is so awesome and I secretly wish she was not getting married and moving to Montana in February! She has been babysitting for us since Emily was a tiny baby and I trust her so much. She is so easy going and my kids love her! I knew she would be fine to come to the dentist with me...she totally understood my reasoning and all the timing worked out perfectly! I am going to miss her dearly! I am using her as much as possible right now while she is still in town.

Molly got 4 shots :( but is growing like a weed and very healthy! She weighs 15 lbs 15 oz. I haven't started feeding her yet. I don't really know why. She is physically ready. She grabs at food, stares at it, even cries for it sometimes. I think I am simply just having a hard time with her growing up! She is sitting on her own really good now and yesterday tried pulling up on John when he was lying on the ground next to her. She is certainly trying to grow up fast and I am tyring to hold her down!!!

Homework

I will have to say that in thinking about homeschooling my kids one day (maybe for middle school), I get giggly at the thought of not having to do homework except I guess you are doing work with them for several hours, it just won't seem like the dreaded HOMEWORK...I don't know, just different I guess..homework just seems so difficult for youngsters. They are at school all day long and then you have to make them come home and sit still again and work on more work. I mean I see the reason for it but it is annoying all the same. Emily doesn't hate it but it is a process that we go through...finding a crayon, finding a pencil, sharpening a pencil, concentrating, reading the directions and so on. I get this great magazine called Family Fun magazine. It has great ideas for all kinds of things from recipes to crafts to presents etc. They had this "homework" station idea made out of science fair backboards. Everything is attached to the boards and easy to set up and then take down. I loved the idea and knew Emily would get into it. I made them as a surprise for the kids. They have their own stapler, tape, glue stick, markers, colored pencils, ruler, crayons, clips, push pins, calendar, pencils, etc. They love their space and boards. They have been playing "office" for two weeks now. They have them set up in the dining and living room with play phones and stuff. From what I gather, Emily owns an art shop where she makes custom made pieces and J.D. has a neighboring art store as well that makes "boy art." Their stores are called "Art Smile." I now have advertisements for "Art Smile" hanging on every wall and door knob in my home. I have been a customer at both stores now and purchased some beautiful pieces. Emily will also babysit my baby, Molly, at her store for me as long as the baby stays in the mega saucer and does not cry! You gotta love a kid's imagination! And yes, Emily does actually do her homework at her "office" and gives me less mouth about it.

Excursions

Our excursions while in Grayton Beach included a trip to Seaside and Destin. We had fun at the Bass Pro Shop where John Daniel got to shoot a paint ball gun and we bought hats for everyone! John got some ammo of course and the kids came away with giant fish bed pillows for their seaside rooms!

My Birthday!

A little late on this post but I wanted to share! I turned 33 last week. I don't want to complain or anything but I'm feeling old...I mean I remember when my own parents turned 40 and I am only getting closer and closer. Oh well, It was a great day! John and the kids made me feel very special all day long. John and I went camper/camping shopping that morning and then to lunch with Molly. Then I got to take a nap and when John picked up the kids from school we celebrated with Reese's peanut butter candy "birthday cake". John said he was not up for making my favorite cake (cheesecake) so he chose to serve me my favorite candy with candles in it! He is so cute! They all gave me my wonderful, very thoughtful presents. I got "Molly" added to my mother's bracelet and then John got me this beautiful beaded necklace from Blue Abaco. It is gorgeous and very stylish! John's mom brought me flowers and I got lots of cards. I had to teach at church that night and John had to go to work. The gals at church made me feel very special as well. They got me flowers, balloons, and a peanut butter banana bread cupcake from the cupcakery store. They had all the GA's and RA's sing Happy Birthday to me too. Then, I actually had a babysitter come over to put the kids to bed while I went to a dinner meeting with the gals from church at Chili's. While we were planning church stuff, they sang to me again and bought my dinner and dessert. Very sweet. I got lots of calls all day from friends and family. This past Sunday my mom and dad, brother, and grandparents took us out to celebrate mine and my brother's birthdays. It was a great week until everyone got ill :(

Activities at camp

Grayton Beach had tons of stuff to do around the campground which was really neat. Because it was at the beach, you had that aspect of course. We found shells, crab, fish, and built sandcastles. The water was so clear and the weather was perfect. At the campsite, the kids rode their bikes everywhere. Emily does great on her bike now and loved being a little independent. Because the bathroom was literally right behind our campsite, she would go by herself and there were pig trails all over in between and behind the campsite so they got to explore but stay close. They climbed trees and played in the dirt. John took his bike so he and I took turns riding around as well. The kids also enjoyed helping with campsite duties like sweeping, dish washing, and cooking. Molly hung out in the mega saucer, backpack, or stroller and did tummy time in the camper or her pack and play in the camper. We used the backpack for the first time with her there and she really liked it! One of the greatest things we did was to play some board games with the kids at night in the camper once Molly was asleep. We played Zingo and the old game Pictionary which was over the kids' head but so fun to play with them. They loved it because it was like nothing they have played before. John and John Daniel were on a team and Emily and I were a team. It was so hilarious watching them draw what their card said. Emily would put hair and a bow on her stick people forgetting it was a timed game and John Daniel's pictures were so cute. He was suppose to be drawing a crocodile for John to guess and he was concentrating so hard. All of the sudden he says looking at his own drawing, "that doesn't look like a crocodile, it looks like a bunny, a mad bunny!" It was so funny, we were all laughing so hard..guess you had to be there!

This week alone

This week alone Molly has decided to roll from back to tummy on her own, go from a tummy position to sitting position on her own, and has decided to pretty much crawl and go wherever she wants to get what she wants. I really am in shock b/c I think she is still just too young!!! She has already busted twice on the wood floor and knocked her head on the entertainment center! She is just getting so big and in such a rush to grow up! She is still slow at the crawling thing and is still figuring out the arm, leg coordination. I think she stuns herself when she gets to the sitting up position and is still wobbly but she is doing it all the same! I love her sweet attitude and her happiness in playing with her toys and being on the floor. I love watching her explore and reach for things with her chubby little hands. John said this week, " She is the most pleasant baby, I just can't get enough of her!" It made my heart smile!