Our Wagonload of Love 2010

I'm a bit behind with the pictures as I've been without my computer for a few months. I have some sporadic access to my photos now that Daryl has it reconnected at his office, so I am taking advantage! Hopefully I'll have my computer back soon, but I'll make do in the mean time =).

This is our fourth year of the Wagonload shot. I took about 50 shots of the kids on the wagon this fall just before the weather went south. Here's a glimpse of what my 'photoshoot' was like with our four! Its a rough age bracket to get all of them looking at once, let alone with a smile. So, I enjoy these shots that capture the fun and some of their personalities as I know all too well that soon this time will be past and I can have all the professional poses that I want from them.

Makes me laugh just looking through them!

Giving thanks

"In EVERYTHING give thanks...", Paul wrote in the New Testament. From prison. While in chains. With no comforts of home. Or friends. Or family. I think on this quite often when I complain or feel sorry for myself for one reason or another. And four kids are calling my name. And trying to figure out what's for dinner. And attempting to model for my kids what Jesus modeled for us. And begging the Lord to give me that extra dose of grace in the midst of life.

And He does.

I have so very much for which to be thankful. In nurturing an attitude of gratitude in our little ones, I am constantly reminded of all the little blessings, the little whispers of God that fuel a fresh wind and fire through my soul. As the kids spend time each day and night telling us what they're thankful for I often find myself in tears. Their tender hearts don't miss a single thing for which to thank God! They rattle on and on and on. I smile as I think of our Lord listening to their ramblings of thankfulness: beds, blankets, pillows, jammies, grass, birds, trees, all the animals of the 'wheeled', horses, books, leaves, Daddy, Mommy, every family member by name (which I don't have the time to list!), sticks, Jesus dying on the cross, shoes, cheese, Clay (our dog), trumpets, church, clothes, food to eat, fans in their room, playgrounds, grass, cheese...you get the picture. Sometimes they each spend 10 minutes each listing all the things that come to their minds! I always laugh at how grass and cheese gets a few mentions--they really are BIG things in their lives! =)

But it always makes me stop and think of all the things I am blessed with each and every day. And its always the small things that come to mind, the very basics that so often get overlooked! Spending time in Central America has permanently altered my thankfulness for the little things!! Like turning on the faucet. And not only turning on the faucet, but to have clean water pouring out. A shower. Daily. A home with more space than we need (and we don't live in a large home by American standards). Hair that's not infested with lice and bellies not infested with worms. Food at our disposal. I know I could go on and on for paragraphs, but these are the things that I think of every day as I care for our family and home. What a blessing!!

As we travel this Thanksgiving to be with family, I pray that my mindset may be on all the littlest things and how greatly they bless my life. I do know that there are four little things running around my house every day that bless me so richly--even when I feel as though I may pull out my hair and change my name ;)  More importantly I pray that Paul's reminder of giving thanks in ALL THINGS resonates throughout every season of my life...not just in November.

Because...

Because I pray that their bond will only grow stronger as they, too, are growing.

Because I already miss these warm summer days and their little, dirty, bare feet!
Because they truly already are each other's fiercest enemy and fiercest ally.

Because this moment in time is so precious with them.

Because they are so girly...and bring out the girliness in me.

Because I have more pink piles of laundry than anything else.

Because they love their little sister and accessorize her to the max!

Because they know they are princesses with a love for the King.

Because they think their brother can rope the moon.

Because they love bows and bangles and beads and ballerinas.

Because they love frogs and froo-froo and frosting and Fancy Nancy.

Because they love their Daddy.

Because I never expected to have them!

Because I'm so thankful for all the pink in my life because of them.

Because they hold my heart in their sweet little hands.

Because I can't imagine my life without them.

Blog fallen prey to my OCD...maybe?

So I have an issue with posting regularly and keeping up with everyday life. I think that any one else reading this who happens to also blog at any point in their life is shouting, "Amen!". My problem is, I would love to do a daily post with a picture. Doesn't have to be amazing. Doesn't even have to have alot of my ramblings. But it does have to be just right.

But, for the moment that is not happening.

It's not for lack of wanting to do it. Oh, if only that were the reason! For me, its more of an OCD or perfectionist issue. Better yet, its a birth-order thing. That's what it boils down to. Yeah, that's it. Because I have all kinds of wonderfulness in my mind of what I'd like to do and how to do it....it is just the doing it part that I grossly fail at achieving.

So, now that I've complained and whined and blamed my lack of posts on something that at least sounds legit--I'm getting back to it. I MISS IT!! I read quite a few blogs almost daily--a little check-in to see how friends and family are doing. And I don't want to be the blah blog anymore with no updates! I've got lots of things to write about. Four kids will leave you with LOTS to share. =) And LOTS of humbling, too!

Lookout. I'm back. And I'm excited.

'Twas the Night Before First Grade

'Twas the night before first grade

and definately no tears.

My boy is too excited

to have any fears!

But Mom's another story

Her heart is so sad.

Sending her boy off for the day

just somehow seems bad!

But just as last year

we'll cover our boy in prayer.

And remind him of the importance

of the Full Armor to wear.

His pencils are sharpened

His clothes clean and pressed

In bed early tonight

For his much-needed rest.

The lunch is all packed

the thermos is chillin

'cause I need to ensure

that his belly gets a fillin'!

Met his new Teacher

Ms. Nava's her name.

Our impression is that

she'll be anything but lame!

She said bring an item

on the first day of school

to tell us something about you

and what makes you cool.

Planes and jets are his thing

So the collage is all packed

showing Brayden's day in Arkansas

with the Flying Razorbacks!

His desk is in front

and she showed us his "locker"

And, lo, what else??

Tomorrow also starts SOCCER!!

Its his first season playing

and we're really pumped.

Tonight we bought shin guards

to prevent any bumps!

Thanks to cousin, Leight

we have cleats looking like sharks.

We're hoping that  Brayden runs

so fast that there's sparks!

As you can rightly see

its a BIG day here.

You can be sure that for Mom

there will be a few tears.

Her boy's growing up

He'll be off to a good start.

And he'll never be further

than in Momma's heart.

"We love you, Brayden Boy!"

we'll yell as the bus pulls away.

And they'll be a pack of girls

waiting at the end of the day!

To see their big brother

and hear of new memories made

On his first day of school

in the First Grade!

9 MONTHS?!

Well, our sweet Ava Grace has now been outside the womb as long as she was inside...kinda, but a pregnancy is truly 40 weeks which amounts to TEN months blah, blah, blah. Sometimes the medical dorky side in me overrides--sorry! ANYWAYS, I'm sad. A good sad, I guess. But still sad nonetheless! She's a blessing. She has the best hair, 6 teeth and counting, jabbers incessantly, "sings" when she's sleepy, knows how to play on our emotions just right to get what she wants, has mastered crawling, has mastered pulling herself up on EVERYTHING in sight in the last three days, LOVES her brother and sisters, melts over her Daddy, and of course, thankfully still thinks her mom is THE BEST!! YES!!! Hey, I only have a few precious months until Daddy rules....so let me bask in the sun here for a few, okay?!

So, I celebrate another "season". I'm learning what it means to live out "...for everything there is a season, a time and purpose under Heaven..." This season of being a mom is often chaotic, mind-numbing, running-on-autopilot, sleepless, etc. But its never dull, never boring, and is exactly where I want to be. In the moment. In the middle of the hustle and bustle and activity and growing and learning and molding. Thank you, Jesus, for Ava Grace. For Brayden. For Savannah. For Sophia. For all the lessons I have learned, for all the things I would have missed had I not been chosen with the amazing, himbling role of being simply their "Momma"!

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Remember the Lasts

Brayden and his favorite: oaties. Every.single.morning.

So often in life we place emphasis on 'firsts': first smile, first steps, first food, first day of school,  first in the race, first car, first date---you get the point. And while I am not exempt from that, I have more recently begun to think about 'lasts'.

One week ago was Brayden's Last Day of Kindergarten. In a way I was more emotional about his last day than his first--not a big surprise, I know, but admittance is the first step in the recovery proces, right?! As Brayden ate his breakfast I thought about how much he's changed, how much he's stayed the same, the ridiculous amount that he's grown in all regards this past year, all that he has learned, and just how fast time slips by usually without us even realizing. 

I spent some time talking with a friend outside the school when the little celebration was over. Her son attended Preschool with Brayden and we have alot in common. Funny thing, she mentioned 'lasts' and how she has a little book for her boy about just that. We laughed together and fought back a few tears together talking about how much change we've seen in the last two years, not just in our kids, but in ourselves as well. We reminisced about the first vs. last day of school.  We talked about the upcoming first day of first grade and shed a few more tears. I found myself thinking about my own school experiences and friends I had made over the years. From Middle School onward, we always did something special on the last day of school. A group of us usually walked home and made and shared (while reliving) special memories, celebrations, and excitement for the upcoming summer.

While we tend to emphasize firsts, its often the 'lasts' which hold the lessons of life. The moment of reflection and pause allowing us to grasp how far we've come...and maybe how far we've yet to go.

Prepping for the Celebration Picnic with classmates!

Savannah & Sophia were invited to join the fun!

Savannah telling Brayden how much she loves him--great memory for this Momma =)

With his teacher, Mrs. Miller

More Piggies

I am in LOVE with this little girl--especially her pigtails! This is all of her original newborn hair (which never fell out). Ava Grace is watching her brother and sisters play on the merry-go-round at the park...probably feeling a bit left out for the moment ;) And, FYI, while her eyes appear dark, they are actually an amazing blue/green...love them!!

It has been a rough couple of days while she's in her second round of teething. What a complete difference from her siblings! We never knew the others were cutting teeth...other than the ridiculous amount of drool. No fever, no fussing, nothing.  Not this child. She's making up for all the others! Fussy, fever, crying, clingy. NO FUN. And it is so opposite of her norm that I, too, am struggling! She's so mild mannered and easy-going. Loves to just hang around with her siblings and Momma and Daddy. Often she just sits and babbles her pretty little head off while we laugh! Thankfully, her top left tooth popped through the gumline yesterday and the other is halfway through today. Almost there!! Poor thing, it does break my heart. I'm so thankful that there's tylenol to help a bit.

I'll do my best to get more photos up of all that's been happening around here. Our kids are growing up way.too.fast.  Lots of fun and laughter. Lots of family in to visit. Lots of travelling to visit family. And lots of pictures in attempt to capture a glimpse of this amazing time of life. What a blessing to be the mom of these four little people!

Pigtails preview:

Have to run off to work outside the home right now. Thought I'd give you a preview of what's to come on my next post:

Easter Celebrations 2010

This was an especially enjoyable Easter. We spent Saturday morning at the Vicksburg Church for the children's activities. To say the kids were excited would be an understatement! There was a craft, followed by an egg hunt (with real, hard-boiled eggs), a snack, then the Resurrection story told through a carton of eggs. If you've never seen the story told this way, you should. Its GREAT for little/young kids! Each egg has an object that ties into the story from Palm Sunday through Easter morning. Gramma and Aunt Jennifer did a great job organizing an running the morning! The morning was wrapped up by practicing the bells for Sunday morning service. Now that is a hoot! But the kids all do a great job and it sounds great, too! Here's some shots from Saturday:

Miss Phia doing her "princess smile"...don't ask. Its something she's just started doing.

Miss Savannah on a mission to find some eggs:

Brayden after he accidentally crunched an egg with his boot!

Gramma sharing the Resurrection Story through the eggs:

The group practicing bells for Sunday morning:

Now onto Sunday morning. Firstly, some loud "thank yous" to Granny, Pap, Tia, and my nieces for finding/purchasing the kids outfits for this year. They COULD NOT wait to wear them to church! They really looked adorable...as always in my opinion =)

Anyways, Easter Sunday always seems to be exhausting, but worth it! Daryl was up extra early for the sunrise service. He had to play the guitar. That's a whole other story in and of itself that I won't get into! We agreed I would stay home with the kids. Waking four little ones at 5:30am would not be fun for anyone involved...especially those who'd have to be around us for the next few hours. Kudos to all of those who took their little ones. I've done it before and I'll do it again, but not this year. We went to his Dad's church for service. Daryl was playing the trumpet during offertory, Mama was in visiting, and the kiddos were to play the bells and sing. GOOD TIMES!

Daryl did an amazing jod on the trumpet. Seriously, it gave me chills. The girls were so excited to be singing and playing the bells. Brayden wanted none of it...so he sat next to Mama for the duration. On a funny note, the girls were in the front ringing their little hearts out. Savannah was so thrilled that she forgot to watch for her colors and instead rang the living daylights out of her bells for the duration of the song! In the process, she clocked Phia in the side of her head with one of the bells. Phia starts wailing, Savannah is clueless and just keeps ringing the bells like a Salvation Army volunteer at Christmas! The pics below I snapped (thankfully) before the whack.

We managed to get some pictures at the end of church. I'm thankful for that because I'm usually the one behind the camera, so family shots are few and far between! We all ended up at our house for Easter dinner and enjoyed an afternoon with our entire family, Mama Yount, Krystal's mom, Carol, and Krystal's brother Tom, his wife, Jenny, and their four kids. In total we had 29 people--17 of them under 11 years of age. It really was a GREAT time!!

Phia waiting for her color, while Savannah shakes away:

Our four blessings:

Take two:

Take three:

Take four. By this time Brayden was saying, "I'm going to drop her, Mom!":

Sweet Sophia:

Handsome Brayden:

Sweet Savannah:

Our little family:

Blessings to you! He is risen! Yes, He is risen indeed!!

6 months

Whatchu talkin' 'bout, Willis?

Celebrating 6 months tonight after dinner!

Our family celebrating Ava!

Ava is 6 months today. The time is FLYING. The kids love birthdays in a HUGE way--so we celebrated with a DQ cake! Brayden had his "6" candle from his birthday and plopped it on the cake so we could sing. What a fun little memory. We also gave her a taste of the mashed potatoes at dinnertime.  She wasn;t impressed, but her brother and sisters sure thought it was funny! Ava celebrated by popping her first tooth through the gumline today. UGH. I don't want her growing anymore!! We're so thankful for healthy and mostly happy kiddos!

Good Friday?

Good Friday.

Its an oxymoron.

I think about this every time Easter comes around. Why in the world would someone ever call this day good? A day in which Jesus, the Only Son of God, hung on that tree for hours and eventually died while suffering the sins of the world--my sins. Why do we call any part of that good?

While I know the historical and theological explaination/importance of it, I also know my own personal explaination of why one would call it good.

For the exact same reasons that it was so bad.

It had to happen for me and you to have the privilege of coming to the foot of God's Throne. It had to happen to fulfill prophesy. It had to happen because God loves us that much! That alone leaves my head spinning.

 Especially now that I am a parent.

I would do anything for my children.  And I would do anything to insure their safety and security. I now know God's heart for His children on a whole new level. Thinking on the fact that He gave His Only Son to atone for the sins of all people leaves me in tears and on my knees in both humbleness and awe. I can understand His heartbreak at the sight of Jesus hanging on that cross--bleeding, dying, beaten beyond recognition, being mocked and spat upon. And I am humbled all over again because I think about the fact that I would not be able to do that with any of my kids. The anger and devastation I would feel would overwhelm me. I know it because I feel it just thinking about it! And yet God knew it had to be done and Jesus chose to allow it to happen...all because of me, and you, and every single person whom has ever lived or will live on Earth. A people who continually turn away, do their own thing, mock God and His infinite wisdom. A people that despite all of this, God wants not even one to suffer an eternity apart from Him.

Good Friday? Yes! Its a humbling reminder that I will never be good or better and definately not best. Merely forgiven because of the blood shed on that Friday.

But he was pierced for our transgressions,

he was crushed for our iniquities;

the punishment that brought us peace was upon him,

and by his wounds we are healed.

Isaiah 53:5 (NIV)

BUMP: March 29th

Our engagement story is probably still my favorite of all "our" stories. I love that it happened nearby; a place that I drive past at least once a week. I smile every time I see those two intermingled trees at the top of that field. I love that it occured on Good Friday. I love that it was unique and TOTALLY unexpected. I love that it had some funny elements, some unplanned occurances. I love that its uniquely ours alone. Daryl knew me well even then. He knows me even better now. And I still love every detail about that day. And I love him more than I can ever express.


I'm so thankful that some things never change.
 
 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Every couple has their story.

Every story is unique and special.

Ours is definately no exception.

March 29th is a very special date for us...it is the date on which:

Daryl drove me along a dirtroad on the back of his motorcycle

...and detoured through a field of soybeans.

He parked the bike

in the middle of a cornfield,

on top of a hill,

at the base of two special trees,

got down on one knee and spoke the words,

"Mandy, will you do me the honor of being my wife?"

To which I responded

"Of course!"...

...and, eight years later, my love for him has grown like those two special trees.

Bigger.

Stronger.

With roots intermingled in God's soil

Creating a firm foundation.

Weathering life's sun and storms

Together.

I can't imagine my life without him. Nor do I want to!

After all, one of my favorite places to be is driving along a dirtroad on the back of his motorcycle...