Tis the Season!!!

The kids and I officially got into the CHRISTmas spirit today! We decorated cookies this afternoon! I have to thank the wonderful people at Nestle for the pre-cut dough that I simply baked during nap time today! It made it a no fuss day as far as the baking part went. Then, I gave the boys a plate with icing and sprinkles and let them go to work. Now, for Nolan's, I just decorated the cookies ahead of time and gave him extra icing to work with. It worked out well, and the finished products are at the end of this post! Enjoy the pictures of our fun, festive time:

Silas hard at work!

Nolan mostly ate the icing off of the knife.

Avery was very strategic in his work.

Chaille was a perfect little helper, just playing in her high chair.

It got a little messy...

But it was so much fun!!!

Very intent.

Almost finished...

The mess wasn't too out of control. (Mommy was even folding laundry on the other end of the table!)

The finished product. Silas made the 4 cookies on top (he ate 3), I did the ones towards the middle, and Avery made the 7 on the bottom (he wouldn't eat any until daddy came home to see them!)

Wii have family fun!!!

We really enjoy our time together as a family. And, I rarely blog about the things we do at home. So, last night as we enjoyed a game of Wii bowling, I decided to take pictures of our family time at home. Here are some pictures of us bowling.

Friday night, after our Thanksgiving meal with Grandpa Bobby and Grandma Darlene, we came home and watched a movie as a family. We let the older two stay up a bit... This is what our little "night owl" looked like just before bed:

And our "early bird" sacked out on the couch with daddy! Just five minutes prior he had asked, "Don't you think it's time for bed?" Cute:

We spent Thanksgiving on Thursday @ both of Steve's grandparents' houses. We had lunch at his Grandma Shell's. His aunt Jenny took some pictures that she passed on. I thought I'd share:

Chaille with Uncle Doug.

Steve with his cousin Katie, sister Suzanne, and cousins Jared, Adam, and Ben (on the floor)

Chaille and I :o)

She can finally wear bows in her hair!

Two ornery boys smiling for Jenny!

The kids with cousin Hannah. We sure missed Megan! Thanksgiving would have been her 9th Birthday. Avery wanted to throw a party, but they chose not to this year. I'm sure Megan had quite a celebration in heaven!

Evelyn, Ben's daughter was being shy. We tried to get the great-grandchildren all together for a picture!

It was a wonderful thanksgiving. We have so many reasons to give thanks this year! God is good, and this family is wonderfully blessed!

A week, in pictures:

Let's see... It has been a week since I last "blogged." So, I've uploaded the pictures that I have taken in the last week. I'll try to fill you in on what has been going on:

Last Wednesday was Avery's first basketball practice at the YMCA. Although Silas is too young to be on the team, he has been allowed to practice with them. Here are some pictures of the boys at their first practice:

Team meeting before practice:

Avery dribbling through cones...

Silas shooting:

Thursday we had a rough day. Avery and Silas both had school, and my morning was a crazy mess. But, Steve made it better by taking us out for dinner (mexican, yum!) and to Rural King! It turned out to be a great evening!

Friday evening Avery had his Parade. The parade he was selected to be in because of his love for reading. We were surprised to find that we had to walk the parade instead of him being on a float. But it was a short one, and the weather was fairly nice for being the middle of November! I loved the time with him, one-on-one! It was special to both of us. Here are some pictures of Avery on his night:

Here he is at Pizza Hut enjoying his free "Book-it" pizza!

Decorating a cookie before the parade:

While we were gone that evening, Silas was able to go with Papaw Randy to a pacers game. Nolan and Chaille stayed with Daddy! Here is a picture Steve sent me of he and Nolan:

Saturday was busy, busy, busy for us. We had family pictures taken in Carmel at 10, Avery's first basketball game at 2, and then came home and put up Christmas lights outside. It was a great family day, for sure. Watch the blog for pictures from our "photo shoot" in the near future. (and the mail for Christmas cards too...) I didn't take pictures on Saturday (too busy), so I'll move on...

Sunday, the boys visited Grandma and Grandpa Frye and Chaille and I went shopping with my mom, dad, and brother. In the evening we had dinner at Randy and Deb's for Steve's Birthday. Here is a picture I took of Chaille while we were out shopping:

Monday was Steve's 31st Birthday. During the day, the boys decorated picture frames for him for his presents. Chaille "signed" his card from her with her hand/foot prints. We went out to dinner to the Pizza King Station with the Kelsheimer family plus Sarah Records. I took pictures of the kiddos making their gifts, but forgot the camera that evening:

Last night the boys had practice again, and Nolan and Chaille and I enjoyed a quiet evening at home. Here is a picture I took of Nolan talking on the phone to Grandma Darlene:

Wordless Wednesday... Pictures of what I am thankful for:

The Battle

Do you ever feel conflicted? Like part of you wants to be in one place and the other part of you wants to be in another? There are so many ways that I feel conflicted. I imagine that these are very similar in other mothers and women in similar life circumstances. I thought I'd share the "battles" that I fight within myself:

* I LOVE staying at home with my children and want to be content within the walls of my own home. But somedays I just WANT to get out. To be on the go. Out in the world with other adults...

* I want to make time for myself. To read, workout, relax, etc. But I as soon as I ask for that time, I immediately feel bad for "pawning" my children off so that I can be selfish for an hour, a morning, or a day. I want time for myself, but would rather put the rest of life on pause so that I can do it. I don't want to miss a minute of my childrens' lives either...

* I want to be vain, taking care of myself and my physical beauty. Then again, I want to live simply. I want to be one who is beautiful "naturally." I don't really have the money or the time to put into trends anyway. It's a struggle. And I struggle back and forth between feeling content in my own skin and being discontent in it. I guess I'm just a woman!

* I want to be the fun mother who has a blast playing with her children, who somehow "has it all together." I want to have unending stores of energy to clean while my children are sleeping so that I can give them all I have during their waking hours. But the reality is that when they are sleeping, I'm exhausted. I don't have what I need to be both the energetic mother and the "all together" housewife.

* I constantly want to be connected during my day. I'm social, it is just a part of me. But, I also sometimes wish to be less social. I want to be the mom who can go all day with the tv off, the phones off, the computer off, etc. But as soon as I try to do that, that urge for me to be connected socially comes rushing back. I struggle to balance being connected and taking time to be "disconnected" too. I sometimes wish I could change that part of myself. To find less of a need to socialize. Can you really change this about yourself?


These are just the few that come to mind today. I'm trying to start finding time to workout again, and these battles are the one that surfaced as I thought about how to rearrange my daily routine to make time for myself. I NEED to be healthy. But taking time for one more "thing" in my day means that some part of my routine gets cut short. If only I could put more hours into my day!!! Or maybe if I could just find that "pause" button. I could take time away without it affecting anything else! How wonderful would that be?

6 Months Old!

Can you believe that Chaille is already 6 months old??? I know that I can't!

She slept all night last night too! Yay! And by all night, I meant 9:00 until 5:30. I'll take it! She's changing at such a fast rate. She eats an entire container of baby food at lunch and supper. She practically inhales it at times. She is still exclusively nursing, and I pray that this will continue until we can wean onto whole milk. She sits and plays with toys and even kind of watches television. It's funny. She sits (supported with her hands) and loves to spin in circles while playing on her belly. She still plays with her own feet quite a bit too. It's so cute to watch.

Her smile is huge and she LOVES her brothers. She practically turns her head 180 degrees to look at them sometimes. I still think that she is one of the most easy-going, good natured babies I've ever met. She's so much fun to have around!!!

Happy 1/2 Birthday, Baby Girl!!! I can't believe that half a year has passed already. I LOVE having you in our family!

From the mouth of babes...

I'm all of the time telling stories about the funny things my children say. We've had several of these moments lately, so I thought I'd share a few:

First, Avery: Avery has a high school "cadet" teacher that comes every morning. Miss Heaven is her name. She drove by the house the other day and Avery was outside raking leaves with Steve. Miss Heaven said "Avery! Hey sweetheart!" Steve looked at Avery and said "What did she just call you?" Avery paused, thought, and then replied, "what are we talking about again, dad?" Very clever little boy, very clever!

And, Silas: Silas talks about girls A LOT! He points out girls that he finds to be pretty. He comes home from school talking about Shrader, who is a girl in his class. Out of the blue on Monday night, Silas asked Steve, "Dad, what does it taste like to kiss a girl?" Talk about floored!!! Steve and I exchanged glances and realized that we are going to have our hands full with this boy. He's infatuated already!!!

And Nolan: Nolan has been getting in trouble often for hitting and biting. Well, the other night I was nursing Chaille, and Nolan walked into the room. He pointed at his sister while she was nursing and said "Oh no! Sister BITING!!!" I quickly reassured him that she was just drinking her milk. Thankfully he accepted this excuse and then said "yummm.... yummy milk!" Whew!

And to add one from the past, that I always find funny (and Silas will kill me for this someday...) Over the summer, Silas had just woke up from a nap. He came down and was getting a snack, but couldn't stand still. He was dancing and holding himself, so I told him to go to the bathroom before his snack. He insisted that he didn't need to go, despite my constant pleading that, CLEARLY he did or he wouldn't be acting this way. Finally, Silas looked at me and said "I DON'T have to go to the bathroom! I'm just trying to get it to settle down!!!" Oops... Mommy was the naive one in this story. Poor boy, I had pushed him until he HAD to explain himself to me. I'll never question him again!

Stories like these happen DAILY at our house. I need to keep up with documenting them more, as they are very entertaining!

Happy Wednesday dear friends!

One of those days...

...where you wish you could just go back to bed and start over!!!! That is my day today!

Thankfully God has given me an extra dose of patience today, because I've needed it! I'm handling a day today, that I could have easily folded and given up long ago. Bare with me as I list to you the follies of my day:

1) Grocery shopping with an infant and a toddler. Cart isn't big enough, stuff falls out...
2) Headed to the van, pushing one cart pulling another, groceries start falling off as I try to cross traffic. Have to stop two carts rolling downhill to pick up spilled bags...
3) Rushing back to pick up Avery. Have 15 minutes to make it from Greensburg to Waldron... just so happens it takes EXACTLY 15 minutes (and praise God for a late dismissal today!)
4) Get back to Greensburg in time to get gas before picking up Silas, EXCEPT debit card is declined... then I remember something about a letter I got saying my card had been exposed to a security breech. They were supposed to mail me a new one! Never came.
5) Call Bank to be put on hold for approximately... TOO LONG with hungry, tired children asking questions all the while.
6) Bank mailed cards to old address because THEY couldn't find our new physical address (neither could Verizon, even though this house has been here for a LONG time...) Ugh...
7) New card will come in approximately 4 to 5 business days.... Praise God for checks and credit cards to help me get by!
8) Get home and start feeding children. Finally get Chaille out of her seat (which she was in from 8:30 until noon!!!) and find that she has had her Tuesday blow-out... fun stuff!
9) Things went smoothly after that until... a student loan company calls to tell me they haven't received payment (that I made online through prior mentioned BANK....) and if they don't receive payment by the weekend I will be turned into collections... WHAT???? So, not having a debit card, I made a credit card payment to cover a payment that I've ALREADY made!!! Nothing like Bank troubles. The good news is, that when both payments post, I'll be covered for that particular payment until March of 2010. In the meantime... goodness gracious!

Sometimes, I think that God gives us days like this to make us appreciate the days that go smoothly. And, I'm just praising Him for giving me this extra dose of patience. It's been a day unlike most others! I don't think I could handle stuff like this EVERY day!

On the bright side... we are stocked with groceries including diapers and baby food! The bank FINALLY corrected our address and hopefully these problems will cease. And, naptime was quiet enough that I could do some laundry, dishes, and tonight's meal prep. There is a bright side!!!

Hope your day has been much more smooth sailing than mine! If not, start looking for your bright side!!!

Just rambling...

No new pictures today, sorry! I'm at Grandma and Grandpa Frye's today. Steve and the big boys are out cutting and splitting wood (and playing in the creek.) Nolan and Chaille are having naps. Nolan is actually sleeping on Grandpa's lap, and Grandpa actually dozed off with him. It's the sweetest thing EVER (pictures to come later!) The boys are taking in the most beautiful fall day we've had. Sunny and mid 70's!!! I plan to get the little ones out too in a bit.

Lately I've been very reflective. I think some of it stems back to how the babysitting thing got me all "stirred" up emotionally. But I've also been going back into a phase where I'm trying to draw closer to God. I'm trying to refocus my priorities, and this happens often in my life. I'm wanting to be sure that I'm giving my children what they need as a firm spiritual background AND also wanting to live my life with no regrets. If I don't lay the foundation, I may regret not having done so... Who knew that the most difficult part of parenting would be leading them to Christ? Not I!

I've been looking at where I've put my time and my energy. It's very easy to do so on a day like today, where I am away from home and not staring my "work" in the face! I often "allow" myself to be distracted, even when the distractions are clearly not wholesome (phone calls that are unimportant, being online just "browsing," etc...) I'm trying to use more down-time to read the Bible, studying scripture and completing my Bible Study. I've even been reading aloud to Chaille while she is nursing. It's silly, but then again, I think it is great for the children to see Mommy in The Word! I've been trying to foster more positive friendships and not to fuel the ones that tend to get "gossip-y." (I think I just made up that word.) But gossip is a sin, and, while it is sometimes beneficial to be "in the know," I'd rather be "in with God!" I'm struggling to become a bit less social, as I like to be connected all the time. But I find that being more focused on God, I have found much more happiness and contentment even in the quiet!

So I guess by even sharing this, I'm allowing my friends and family to hold me accountable. Feel free to ask me how I'm doing. I won't lie. I know that this is going to be hard for me... and I'll probably catch myself trying to fall back into old habits. They die hard, you know? But I'm refocusing.... Getting back on track...

So, in other news... Avery was chosen this week to be the Kindergarten representative on a float in the Christmas Parade in Shelbyville. They are choosing one student from each grade to ride in a float. Avery was chosen because of his good behavior and his love for reading. He is excited beyond belief and so very honored to be chosen! Looks like we'll be braving the cold to go see him the evening of November 27th!

Not much else "new" is happening. I've been spending time contemplating my future after the kids are all in school. I've talked about Law School, and Steve is really supporting that idea... Wonder why? ha ha... I worry about the debt it will add, but he thinks longer term thinking early retirement. He figures he's supported me for the past 10 years, he'll support me through school and then he's DONE! We'll see. I'm thinking that I'm gonna start studying now for the LSAT's, and when Chaille turns 3 or 4, maybe I'll be ready to take them! I figure that those 3 years will fly by and I'll be faced with a big decision much sooner than I think it will be. Stay tuned (long term) for the results of this decision...

Catching up... Again!

It seems that I can't keep up with this blog lately. Every time I see a friend update their blog, I think, oh yeah, I need to update ours... So, here is my attempt to catch up from the last week! (By the way, thanks to Amanda this time for the update that sparked MY update!)

Such a smiley, happy girl!

We had dinner at Grandma Darlene's one night. Nolan LOVES that place. Here he is happily enjoying both daddy AND mamaw!

Chaille is starting to sit up. She needs those hands for support!

Dr. Avery and his best buddy from school, Caden!

Chaille is "sharing" the toys from her seat with Nolan.

Our little trick-or-treaters. Nolan as spiderman, Chaille as a flower, ER Dr. Avery, and Motocross racer, Silas!

The ONE game that they had at the church's harvest hoe-down. TARGET PRACTICE... The only thing I could think of here was Proverbs 22:6 "Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it..." Awful, I know. Steve's comment was from a country song "Praise the Lord and pass the ammunition!" Thankfully it shot corks at a large bulls-eye!

The kids each took a turn!

Even the little guy!

Mmm.... Cotton Candy!

Cute! He couldn't eat it all, but boy did he make a mess anyway!

One last thing I wanted to share in regards to pictures. I took video of Chaille giggling. We went shopping for a bit on Halloween with Leigh Anne. It was a fun girls day, and I greatly enjoy having my daughter along on these trips! Enjoy:

Things seem to be going so much more smoothly now that we are back into our own routine. Thankfully Steve's class has been less demanding this week. And we have had a chance to sort of ease back into the "normal" time, now that daylight savings time has ended.

We have all managed to stay mostly healthy, with just runny noses and stuffy heads. I pray over this daily and so far God has been faithful. We have chosen not to do the H1N1 vaccines, for two reasons. For one, they are in short supply anyway, so getting our hands on them so far has not been possible. And the other reason is that it would take 2 doses, 4 weeks apart for our children. With this flu having reached its peak, it is kind of silly for us to chase around a vaccine so late in the game! Plus, the controversy over it has made me just a little leery of trying it anyway.

We have had a fairly sunny week this week, which has made me in great spirits. I had Bible Study on Monday, and felt like Beth Moore was speaking directly to me! I love when Bible Study or sermons make you feel like the leader has been following you around all week! That is the best.

Well, this isn't the most thorough update, but the kiddos are waking from their naps. I'll be back soon!