For Good or For Awesome

Let the good times just keep rolling...

2012-01-09T16:46:00.000-05:00

I have fallen behind again. The holiday season will do that to you! So let me start off 2012 with one last whirlwind catch up of the final exciting days of 2011. Perhaps I will stay on top of things better this year. Only time will tell. Here goes...

We had a wonderful time celebrating Thanksgiving with my brother and sister-in-law, my niece Scout, and some of my sister-in-law's family. The girls are still talking about Nanny and Tigger and Alex (and of course Bubba and Ashley and Scout). It was fun getting lots of new family members this year!

Thanksgiving quickly gave way to Christmas. This was our first year celebrating Christmas at home. We loved it! And we weren't lonely at all because we had all of Ron's family here to celebrate with us! I was kinda lame at taking pictures of Christmas this year because I was making a conscious effort to stop taking them the moment I felt like it was diminishing my enjoyment of the actual moment at hand.

My Christmas present was our first trip away since our kids were born! We flew to Oklahoma City to see the Thunder beat the Mavs in a buzzer beater that we will never forget. We are in a limo in that first picture. Yes, sir, we are.

And then there was the most exciting part of this holiday season. We got to share with our families the biggest news of our year...

In August of 2012 our party of five will become a party of six! Let the good times just keep rolling...

It is a good thing we have to waiting room to ourselves ~ Our Story

2011-12-07T12:56:00.001-05:00

Every week Rosie and I have a about 45 minutes to kill while Sissy is in her ballet class. All the other moms go home and come back but it is too far for us to do that. It is a good thing we have to waiting room to ourselves because we usually spend that time doing embarrassing things. You know things like me catnapping on the surprisingly comfy catch while Rose tears up the room and then when she gets bored and wakes me up having an improptu iphone photo shoot. What a sweet little waiting room buddy she is!

And they LOVE, LOVE, LOVE their Daddy!

2011-12-06T14:27:00.001-05:00

What is the best thing about having a birthday the day after Halloween? Halloween candy on your birthday cake, of course! My girls come up with some pretty amazing ideas.

And they LOVE, LOVE, LOVE their Daddy!

As if it were your very first time. ~ Our Story

2011-12-05T13:44:00.001-05:00

This year was our first year to take the girls trick or treating. What took us so long? Mostly the fact that they were too little to know what it was and I never felt like going to the trouble of getting them costumes when they didn't even care about it yet anyway. I remember one year my mom asked me what they were going to be for Halloween and the conversation went on like this,

"Nothing."

"Oh, do you not believe in celebrating Halloween?"

"Nope, I believe in it. I am just a little cheap and a little lazy and a lot busy."

I have had moments of feeling bad that my little ones were missing out on fun even if they didn't realize it. I mean it is my responsibility to make sure they know about all the fun there is to have in the world, no? Most of my friends dress their kids up for Halloween as soon as they can. Baby elephants and lady bugs and pumpkins galore! Though, now that I think about it, none of those friends were already several weeks pregnant again by the time their oldest child reach its first Halloween, but I digress...

Anyway, we knew this was the year to get the Halloween party started. All the girls were old enough to really enjoy it now and make some special childhood memories. Our discussion of what they would be began in early fall was continued pretty much everyday from that moment on. They came up with some pretty crazy ideas like a birthday cake, and a lot of fun but more traditional ideas like a pirate, or a cowgirl, or a ballerina.

One night while we were eating dinner on our back deck Afton asked me what Rose should be for Halloween. I looked over at her. She was wearing just a diaper and had her dinner spread all over her body and throughout her unruly, one-year-old girl hair and said immediately,

"A mad scientist, of course!"

This would be the last year that I got to pick out what she would be and also because of my slackerish momness the first time I got to dress a defenseless little baby up as whatever I wanted. Rose's hair was in that crazy place between baby and little girl hair - perfect for a mad scientist! I told Ron that night that I was as excited about Rose's halloween costume as I had ever been about any of my own as a child.

She pulled it off perfectly! Her "what exactly is going on here" expression adds so much to the overall look. What a cutie! Afton's take on it was "Rose doesn't look pretty, but she looks awesome!"

You did look awesome, pretty Rose! Thanks for humoring me! Next year you can pick out whatever pretty little costume you want!

As for my other little girls, after a month of discussing costume options they settled on being....PRINCESSES! Yes, princesses. They same thing they dress up as EVERY SINGLE DAY. At first I thought it was crazy that they were passing up their chance to be something fun and new but I finally I agreed. They dress up as princesses everyday because that is what they love to pretend to be. When I thought about it that way I realized there couldn't have been a funner costume for them.

We fancied up their everyday princess dresses a bit. They got to put on some of Mommy's make up. I even agreed to straighten Afton's hair for the occasion (something she had been asking me to do for a long time). They were feeling and looking extra beautiful when we had our little pre-game photo shoot.

Two of the prettiest little treasures God has ever given me!

"Belle"

"Sleeping Beauty"

The trick or treating itself was a blast. Watching them run from house to house, their eyes wide with amazement that people were just giving them more candy than they had ever seen in their lives, as trite as it may sound, made me feel young again. One of the best things about having kids is the chance they give you to experience the wonderful, beautiful things of life once again as if it were your very first time.

Has There Ever Been A Sweeter Travel Buddy?

2011-11-30T14:12:00.001-05:00

Ponder and I went on a trip to visit Nana in Oklahoma last month. Both of the other girls had been on trips with just Mommy but this was Sissy's first time. She was very excited and feeling very big with her plane bag ready to go. She packed it herself.

Has there ever been a sweet travel buddy?

She had lots of fun on the plane mostly playing letter games on my iPad or "thing that looks like a phone but it's not called a phone and it is big."

Nana had her special baggy of toys ready and waiting when we got there.

Sissy even got to try rollers in her hair for the first time while Nana and Mommy watched the OU game.

Lots of other fun things happened like some garage sale shopping, a little Kohl's time, a yummy Mexican lunch out by Nana's request, some Muffin and Pizza time (the people not the foods) and the Cardinals winning the World Series! But sadly none of those moments were captured.

Ponder is fun to travel with and I hope this was just the first of many more Mommy and Sissy trips!

Meet Restaurant Rose ~ Our Story.

2011-11-29T15:01:00.001-05:00

Last month we had the very fun opportunity of visiting Great Wolf Lodge in Charlotte, NC. My Dad (or Grandpa as the little people around here call him) was there on a business trip so one day after school we drove up to see him. Great Wolf Lodge is a wonderful hotel with a full size indoor water park right on the premises. I am plotting a way to get back there again on a family vacay because in our one afternoon I don't think we took advantage of even half of the fun that that place has to offer. Plus fancy hotels are my weakness. I am a sucker for those joints!

After our little water park time Grandpa took us out to dinner at Texas Roadhouse. I worked at Texas Roadhouse throughout college. ("My belly's achin' my belt's too tight my booty's shakin from left to right say Texas Roadhouse"....wow.) Anyway, one of my biggest complaints, among many, about my customers through those years was how so many people would claim they "needed" more bread. I can't tell you how many times a night I was flagged down and told "Hey, we need more bread." or worse told "He's needs more bread." and directed to a child who clearly needed anything but more bread. I mean, sure, the bread at Texas Roadhouse is delicious. It is also free. You can have as much of it as you want. All I am asking is please don't say you need it. Just say "May I have some more bread?" or "I'd like some more bread." Because comfortable Americans chilling at Texas Roadhouse on Friday night may need a lot of things - a bit more exercise, some time away, a little peace and quiet, a check up from the neck up. One thing they don't need is MORE bread. You get four pieces the moment you come in the door for goodness sake! Texas Roadhouse bread is impossible to need. Or so I thought until that night.

Meet Restaurant Rose.

Restaurant Rose is nothing like the little angel baby we call Rosie Posie who lives with us and fills all of our hearts with joy and love. Rosie Posie is sweet and gentle and happy and loves giving hugs and kisses and smiles. She is nothing at all like Restaurant Rose. No, Restaurant Rose has been described as a psychopath, a maniac, a terrorist, a torture device. And that was just by her parents. There is no telling what she has been called by other restaurant goers unfortunate enough to have dined at an establishment at the same time as Restaurant Rose. Restaurant Rose regularly engages in activities including but not limited to scream-crying at the top of her lungs, writhing as if she is in unbearable pain, wretching her body around as if she is having a seizure, slapping people who try to give her food, gagging as if all food she is given has been poisoned (even when the food is something she eats all the time at home and EVEN if the food itself has been brought from home), trying to throw herself from the high chair as if it were a burning building, and throwing everything that is within her reach (on the night in question she threw a fork at another guest who no doubt needed more bread).

We don't get to see my dad often so I was hoping Restaurant Rose would not make an appearance that night. It was moments after we were seated that we both realized that Restaurant Rose was already with us. The only thing keeping her at bay were the yummy, and yes, legendary Texas Roadhouse Rolls. As she was finishing up the last one on our table (the moment pictured above) I looked at Ron and said much to my shame "I am about five seconds away from knowing what it feels like to NEED more bread!"

One of the ways God keeps me humble is the "Judge 'em Join 'em" policy He seems to have with me. It repeatedly happens that I find myself in the shoes of people I used to enjoy looking down on. So it turned out that a piece of humble pie was on the menu that night at my old stomping grounds with my good friend Restaurant Rose. A night to remember indeed.

Look, eleven blocks! ~ Our Story

2011-11-28T13:28:00.001-05:00

Okay, so I am far behind again and since the last post we have had some serious events like a Mommy and Sissy trip to Oklahoma, Halloween, Thanksgiving, and actually lots of other crazy stuff too. There is no possible way I can do a catch up post. So, I am going to do a bunch of catch up posts. All my pics are off of my phone and ready to be posted. I will do one story a day until I am caught up. Here goes:

Sissy built this while Afton was at school one day and asked me to take a picture of it so she could show Afton. She misses Afton a lot during school. We do a little homeschool together on Tuesdays and she loves it! She wants to save the papers that she does each day to show Afton when she gets home. It has been so fascinating seeing the way her mind works. She thinks very differently then I do. Her mind is drawn to numbers. If she's a picture of something her first instinct is to count how many there are. I think she may have a brilliant little science and math mind in there.

I look at this picture and think what an adorable little girl. Sissy would probably say, "Look, eleven blocks!" It is so beautiful how God makes everything so different even our individuals minds.

Sissy is a special little gift to our family and we ALL love her dearly!

Even The Kittens Look Like They Are In College ~ Our Story

2011-10-25T13:37:00.000-04:00

Well, I have fallen behind again so here we go with another whirlwind catch up!

New kittens were born beside my bed.

A new phone was delivered to my door.

Nothing new here. Just a couple of old friends.

The kittens are getting bigger everyday.

It's looking more and more like fall everyday too.

Had some birthday party fun!

Then some Chipotle picnic fun. That's a combo we should have come up with a long time ago!

My daughters are huge. They look like they are in college. What is going on here?

We Fell For Greenville. How could we help ourselves?

See, they look like they are a million years old!

A Grand TV Room Ball!

Fun with Maw Maw!

Looks like Rose had a little too much fun!

Sunday snuggles!

Outside snuggles.

Even the kittens look like they are in college!

Afton and Ponder have a new ride. Rose is still content with the old one that no longer actually moves.

Daddy ran his race and now he is home. Afton wants to be bike racer like Daddy. Daddy is a popular guy around here!

Maw Maw and these new princesses are also quite popular!

Pretty little snackers on a pretty fall day!

Princess Rose-a-Pose. She reigns supreme around here. At least she tries to as best she can.

I Think You Can See Why ~ Our Story

2011-10-11T14:22:00.000-04:00

How cute are all these See Ya At the Polers? Even cuter is that that morning Afton woke up early and was so excited to tell me, "Mommy, today we are all meeting at the North Pole!" (She's the third one from the left on the front row.)

I love these little feet!

Sweet little friends!

We must have a car nap shot every week because sleeping babies are so adorable they must be photographed.

Such a pretty big girl!

Afton and Ponder in their secret garden.

Muffin and Pizza came for a visit and put on quite the ballet show on the deck!

The Cozy Coupe has never been this fun. Thanks Pizza!

Sissy loves going to the doctor. What a silly billy! I love her happy face here.

Heart melting.

Even Cheerios can't stop Rose from car napping. Just means her tummy is nice and full for her little siesta!

I am dressing Rose as a Mad Scientist for Halloween. I think you can see why. With that kind of raw material I think it would be wrong not to!

It Will Not Always Be So ~ Our Story

2011-09-27T14:18:00.001-04:00

This week's Our Story is dedicated to things that won't aways be as they are now.

Newspapers won't always lay a trail for me to find my way from my kitchen to the living room. They often do nowadays and uncooly I often find it bothersome until by grace I remember that it will not always be so and then I can see just how precious these little paths really are.

Envelopes looking just like this one have been adding joy to our mailbox trips for more than six years now. Soon Netflix envelopes will change. I am not as sentimental as I was when I was younger but if you think I didn't save this envelope in my attic to remember the good old days you don't know me well at all.

My children won't always eagerly bring me handfulls of dead leaves as if they were flowers and insist that I display them prominently in our home, but I do pray that they will always find a similar delight in simple, predictable pleasures like the changing of the seasons.

Rose is a year and a half old now. By the time her sisters were her age one was already a big sister and the other was only weeks away from becoming one. They were big, big girls. No one around here is ready for "our special baby" to become a big girl yet. She has got four people living here who are more than happy to baby baby baby her. But even that is not keeping her a baby. She is growing up before our eyes whether any of us want to admit it or not. Baby Rose won't always be a baby, but she is our baby and that is something that won't ever change.

New Normal But Normal Just The Same ~ Our Story

2011-09-22T15:01:00.001-04:00

I love how when big changes come into life (in our case recently Afton starting school) and disrupt your normal, they inevitable leave a new normal in its place. I love how eventually the new normal starts to feel so normal that it is hard to believe it was ever new at all. We had a pretty normal week. New normal but normal just the same.

Long, but fun commute to school.

After school "activities". Call anything an activity and my kids will LOVE it.

Ballet. Even more fun when it is Bring A Friend Day! The most fun of all when the friend you bring is your cousin!

Just another coffee set up tweak. Definitely a part of all my normal weeks lately.

A little silly sister time.

Pretty little faces.

Princess time.

Napping in the car.

Party time!

But It's Not Today ~ Our Story

2011-09-13T13:58:00.000-04:00

Now that Afton goes to school and Rose is getting big enough to have some fun we have a burgeoning set of besties around here.

Priceless little faces.

The commute to school has been problematic in regard to Rose's nap. She snoozes in the car and then when it is actually nap time she is ready to party. If someone had told me ahead of time that this was how my baby would be spending the precious nap time hours I would have burst into tears. But actually she makes good company and I don't mind at all. First half hour or so she chills on the couch and watches Praise Baby.

She spends the next hour and a half getting into one-year-old mischief wherever she can find it! I have gone soft, but being a softy is kinda fun!

My adorable little school girl!

We went to Florida for a wedding this weekend. Florida's not too shabby. Marry someone from Florida and trips home can look like this!

The original Babington Besties. May this be the first of many coffee dates for these little friends.

On the drive back from Florida I downloaded Instagram. I can't stop myself now!

Rose's first "blood nose." She's a bruiser.

Our new water bottles. (Just another excuse to use Instagram. I need help.)

It is fun watching this little friendship blossom!

I am sure a day will come when I don't want to take of picture of her every single day before school, but it's not today and I don't think it is anytime soon.

Monday Best ~ Our Story

2011-09-06T14:02:00.000-04:00

I have fallen behind on my phone picture posts. I want to catch up so I am going to try to keep it to a couple of words a picture.

Morning naps are hard to leave behind!

Best totem pole I've ever seen!

First hair cute. She loved the pampering.

Sunday best.

Monday best.

It's official. I love Cattie, too.

One last full length feature film of summer.

Mommy is overcoming her fears.

Tomatillos. Who knew?

Shopping buddies.

Ballet girl!

My little heaven.

Sissy's little heaven.

School kid!!

Nap striker.

My beautiful helper!

Seven years, no itch!

Apple pickin'.

YUM!

Playroom picnic!

We've Come A Long Way, Baby. -- 70 for 7

2011-09-04T21:25:00.000-04:00

1. Every night during our first two weeks of marriage we would walk across busy 29N to buy Ramen Noodles from Kroger and then go back and cook them in our hotel microwave for dinner at our first home the Charlottesville Holiday Inn.

2. We spent many evenings during our first months of marriage watching Ken Burn's Civil War on our bed in our living room at our Barboursville apartment.

3. We watched all sorts of movies and ate dinner every night on our bed in our living room at our Barboursville apartment.

4. I especially remember that winter night when I was very sick and we watched "It's Wonderful Life". It was your first time seeing it. We watched To Kill A Mockingbird around that time too. Also your first time. You were such a movie virgin and it was fun seeing the classics through the eyes of someone who hadn't already seen them.

5. I wrecked our Civic into Toney Critzer's car on our one month anniversary. You were so nice about it but I cried when you told me to "Tighten up." What a lightweight I was!

6. Our first Christmas you worked a 12 hour shift at the hospital and I decorated our pathetic borrowed Christmas tree and cooked the fanciest thing I knew how to cook (crock pot roast). That night was one of the few nights we didn't eat on our bed. We got fancy and made a picnic on the floor. You surprised me with a ton of precious, thoughtful gifts. All I had for you was a cigar, cigar cutter, and a hard boiled egg timer. Wow, that was embarrassing to type. Sadly, that gift trend continues to this day. I think you like it that way, though, which is totally endearing.

7. Our first Valentine's Day as a married couple was a Candlelit Stuffed Crust Pizza and Tetris party. I am not sure we have been able to top that yet!

8. You were always so kind to linger and talk to Shirley every night on our back porch before we went in for the evening.

9. You would drive me into town in the morning to work at the Happy Cook while you stayed at the Barnes and Noble until catching the bus to the hospital later in the day. Then I would go home after work and do little wifely things like vacuum and call you a million times and finally go pick you up at 11:00. I was always so scared walking to my car, but loved to give a quick look up at beautiful country stars before I hopped in and locked the doors.

10. I unexpectedly cried like a baby the day we moved all of our stuff out of that impossibly small apartment. "The Snuggery" as we called it, was the cradle of our family. You just hugged me, but I could tell it was hard for you to say goodbye too. And, yeah, I teared up again just thinking about it.

11. We stopped at the gas station on Barracks on our way out of town just after Hurricane Katrina to take a picture of the $3+ gas prices. We had never seen anything like it.

12. We had so much fun painting and fixing up the house we rented from Alice. We loved hitting the estate sales and getting everything set up just right. I was so happy the day we brought home the orange love seat later known as "the crying couch". We felt like such big kids living in that house.

13. Then there was the day we came home and found an envelope taped to our door that said "Ron and wife (sorry I forgot your name)". Inside was the three page letter from our downstairs neighbor Jeremiah letting us know just how ridiculously loud we were. "Yes, it does sound ridiculous." But cut him some slack. I mean his whole body was shaking including his light fixtures.

14. Later that week Alice called us over to her house to talk about a problem and when we walked in we saw our new pastor sitting there. I remember thinking that we must be in big trouble and my mind was racing to figure out what we had done. Turned out there was no insulation in between our house and Jeremiah's basement apartment. The solution Alice came up with was for us to tiptoe. And we did. We walked on our tiptoes and asked our guests to as well 100% of the time we were home for the whole year we lived there. You were much more gracious about it than I was. That trend also continues to this day.

15. We spent many weekend evenings at the Barnes' movie nights. You always worked hard to make the discussion time profitable. I didn't realize how precious that was at the time but I do now.

16. Our first vacation was a surprise trip you planned for me to Gettysburg. We had so much fun! Our super cold bike tour was my favorite part even though the gears were messed up on my bike and I couldn't keep up. I also disctinctly remember the phone ringing on that Sunday morning. It was Vinnie. We had forgotten to tell him we wouldn't be picking him up for church. We gave each other pained, guilty looks and shrugged and then you did the only thing you could do. You silenced your phone.

17. The day you started your new job at SNL I busted my head open at the bank. I didn't know how to call you at work. I didn't know if we had insurance yet. I tried to refuse to go to the ER for stitches but J.B. made me. You were so surprised when you got home from work that night to find me laying on the couch with my head all stitched up. You new job was wonderful though. We felt so lucky.

18. I am back-tracking now, but we can't forget the night Toney came into our Barboursville apartment and hemmed and hawed around a bit, making us think we were in trouble, but then told us he felt God had told him to give us his truck. Goodness, that's a special memory.

19. Monday nights meant one thing - 24! First year at Nicole's house, next year at our house with Kristen and Page, last year before kids at Kristen and Page's house. Most memorable moments were, first, David Palmer taking a bullet through the throat in the opening seconds of the premier of season 5. We all weren't even sitting down yet and our minds were blown. And, second, the silent tick off after CTU was gassed and Edgar died. We were all silent too.

20. You walking into my hospital room in Italy is one of the most vivid memories of our marriage. You were wearing your plaid cowboy-ish shirt. I have never felt such a palpable sense of relief or been happier to see anyone in my entire life. You make good things better and you make bad things better for me too.

21. We named the baby we never got to meet Smidge.

22. When flying into Oklahoma a couple months later I got unusually sick on the landing. I remember telling you something was different because that wasn't normal. Later that week my mom's massage technician said she had a hunch from rubbing my feet and suggested I take a pregnancy test. I did and we found out just what that something different was -- it was a tiny little thing that we would one day know as our Sweet Afton.

23. I was sick as a dog and fast with that little sweetie growing inside of me. You signed us up for cable for the first time in our marriage so I would have something to do while lying miserably on the couch. That something was usually something worthless like Dancing With The Stars or Everybody Loves Raymond. You would also get me Sprite from the vending machine in the basement of our building and chips and salsa from the Guad whenever I asked. You would even call my boss on the mornings I was too sick to go to work. I owe you, don't I? Well, you did get a beautiful daughter, the apple of your eye, out of it so I guess we are even.

24. Bessiah. I don't know what else to say. I feel like I should say more for the sake of posterity, but what? Just Bessiah. That's all.

24. You were always so kind to Wayne our neighbor. Having him over for tea. Chatting with him in the elevator. Walking super slow with him downtown.

25. Remember the night we were awakened to loud crashes and screaming in the hallway? I almost walked right out there to see what was going on, but thankfully you held me back. We tried to watch the action from our peep hole. A jealous husband or boyfriend pounding on Ricardo's door was all we could see. In the morning there was blood smeared on the hallway wall. Probably the scariest night I've ever had, but also a good story to tell at work the next day.

26. Speaking of a good story to tell...how about horses loose on the highway? Driving home from our precious date to see Pride and Prejudice in Washington DC, right at the darkest and blackest point of Highway 29 (which we now happen to know is 37 miles north of Charlottesville) we came upon a horse farm whose horses had escaped and were roaming wild on the busy highway. Their owner, an old lady in pajamas, was trying desperately to catch them as fast moving cars slammed on their breaks and swerved off the road barely in time to miss them. You took it upon yourself to get out of the car and stand in road several yards ahead of where the horses were to flag down cars and give them a heads up to slow down. The horses were hard to see in the dark so they could have easily been hit. The only problem was you were wearing all black and cars could barely see you either. I am sure you gave them an awful fright standing in the street waving your arms. But they were all definitely more alert going a lot slower by the time they got to the horses. I honked the horn and cried and yelled at you to get out of the street. You finally yelled back at me that there was no way you were going to let those beautiful animals get hit. I both loved you and hated you for risking your life to save those stupid, stubborn horses.

27. There was that time we almost bought that old dirty house on Ridge Street where all the sex offenders live. And the day we spent touring Barracks West and the condo we thought of buying in Hessian Hills. Close ones all.

28. Every night in our first High Street apartment you would read my pregnancy journal aloud to us and we would write in all the answers to the questions about my weight gain and morning sickness and eagerness to me our baby.

29. After 29 harrowing hours of labor Afton's heart rate was plummeting. Dr. Montgomery, usually cool as a cuke, yelled frantically into hall "I need help in here NOW!" I was on my way to the O.R. in a flash. I burst into tears. I wasn't crying about the baby. I was crying because I felt certain that I was going to die and I was so sad that your last memory of me would be all my grumpy unfriendliness from the previous hours.

30. When Afton was born I was the first to catch sight of her across the room where the pediatricians were checking her out. I whispered to you, "Look, there she is!" She looked annoyed. We were never the same.

31. When Afton was two weeks old we took her to one of SNL's Happy Hours at McGrady's. We felt like pretty cool parents for not letting our new baby keep us from Happy Hour. You were so proud to show her off to all your co-workers and even picked out her pink and white striped onesie and hot pink knit pants. One of your friends called her a boy. I think you are still mad.

32. I was at Sam's when I got the call that my Aunt Debby was very sick and in the hospital. I called you and drove straight home. By the time I arrived you had bought me a plane ticket and were home from work to give me a hug and the directions to BWI you had printed out for me and the best pep talk ever given about travelling alone with a two month old. Like I said you make bad things better. What a priceless trait.

33. We enjoyed watching the Expedition Everest series in 2007. I laid on the couch by the window, you sat on the other couch facing the TV. You loved that show, but you put up with all my comments about how ridiculous climbing Mt. Everest seemed to me. During the commercials we would go into Afton's room and look at her in her crib and talk about how wonderful she was and how big she was getting and how we just couldn't believe every thing about her.

34. When we were putting Afton to bed the one of us who was holding her would ask the other for a "set-up". That meant taking her special blanket later known as "matesie" and laying it flat on the couch with the top corner turned down for a perfect swaddle.

35. One Sunday night after evening church I took a pregnancy test in our back bathroom. I had been feeling kinda funny for a couple of weeks but I was mostly just doing it for kicks and giggles. I mean there was no way I was pregnant. Afton was only seven months old for goodness sake. I don't think my eyes have ever been as bigger than they were when I saw that second line appear on the test. "Ronny, I think we need to have to talk." I called weakly into the living room. The "WHAT?!" I got in reply was something other than weak.

36. We called our unexpected little blessing Baby Somebody until we knew what flavor of name he or she would need. We both assumed Baby Somebody would need a boy name. That's what happens after you have girl, right? You have boy? Turns out Baby Somebody was nothing but surprises. That's another trend that continues to this day.

37. The night before we had our ultrasound we went on a walk downtown and talked about what we would name this baby if it happened to be a girl. We had wanted to name a daughter Ponder since before we were married. Now that there was an acutal baby in question I was worried that naming our child such an unusual name would bring the drama of unsolicited opinions and criticisms into our life and I wasn't sure I had the energy for all of that. You were adamant that it was an awesome name and it didn't matter what anyone else thought. Our baby would make her name what it became. I was right. The name drama started within minutes of us announcing it. Somehow rather than annoying me it just made me more happy and sure of the name we had chosen. You were right too. It is an awesome name and our Baby Somebody has made it beautiful.

38. When you found out that you would be travelling to Pakistan and India during the last few weeks of my pregnancy you worked really hard to have the house totally set up for the new baby and our family size car purchased before you left. It was a lot of work and caused us a good amount of strife but when we headed out for your trip everything was done. Now that I better understand your preference for "just in time logistics" I appreciate more that you did all of that just for my peace of mind. So let me take this moment now to give you the credit that I am sure I didn't give you back then. Thanks, baby. What a relief having all that squared away was to me!

39. At the airport on the way to Florida where I was going to stay while you were in the Eastern Hemisphere we came dangerously close to missing our flight. Rushing through the airport with a one year old and a nine months pregnant lady didn't go too well and we started getting short tempered with each other. This culminated in my accidentally dropping our empty stroller all the way down a tall airport escalator and you storming off with Afton in disgust. I barely caught up in time to board the plane and when I did I was livid. I was going off about how I could have been dragged down the escalator by that stroller and who leaves their pregnant wife alone to run to a plane and you just looked at me seriously and said "You are talking way too loud." I heard myself then and I wanted to laugh at the thought of a sweaty, breathless pregnant lady yelling at her husband on a plane but I wasn't ready to stop being mad yet so I wouldn't allow myself the giggle.

40. I tried to be brave while you were in Pakistan and India but I was so worried about you when I was supposed to be sleeping because I knew that was your day time. I slept with your computer in my bed and if I woke up worried I would look at your remote working site and see that you were emailing and doing your work and I would know that you were okay and go back to sleep.

41. Ponder entered the family with a roar! She cried all the time. She especially cried at night. Every night from 8-11. Without fail. You would walk her and walk her with your shooting range ear protectors on until she finally fell asleep. I guess you were honing what later became known as your "baby slayer" skills. My memories of those early colicky days are spliced with images from the 2008 Summer Olympics. One night I was holding her and she was finally asleep when Michael Phelps won an amazing race and I couldn't help cheering loud and jumping up and down a bit. You looked at me like I was crazy and then we both shrugged because we knew Michael Phelps was too awesome not to cheer for even with rare and precious silence on the line.

42. I think 2008 was the hardest year of our marriage so far. Work had gotten a lot more challenging and time consuming for you. Having a busy one year old and a colicky infant was more challenge than I had ever dreamed of and that is for sure. We still had a lot to learn to understand about each other but we no longer had all the time in the world to spend learning it. We loved each other but our heads started butting more frequently and most often they butted around dinner time. Unfortunately, this memory happened over and over again. I would email you at 5:00 and ask you what time you would be home. You had no idea but would guess and say 6:00. I would clean up the toys, change diapers, fix dinner. And wait and watch it all fall apart. You would come in at a quarter to 7:00 totally spent and ready to relax and find toys everywhere again, babies melting down, dinner cold and a frazzled wife furious that all her hard work had come to naught. And repeat, repeat, repeat. Somehow we made it over that mountain over the next year or two, but not without many tearful and frustrating conversations, lots of prayer, learning the sometimes miserable process of dying to ourselves, and heaps and heaps and heaps of the marvelous grace of God.

43. One of our most enduring joys and traditions became having a bowl of ice cream in the evening after the kids were in bed while watching a Netflix movie or a televised sporting event. You are usually the ice cream server and you always ask the same questions "What kind of bowl do you want?" and "Sauce or no sauce?" When I am serving up ice cream I never have to ask whether or not you want sauce. You do and you want a lot of it. In fact if any of the ice cream is showing that is not enough sauce for you.

44. I always hated watching football growing up. When you would watch it during the first few years of our marriage I still hated it. Sometime during the 2007-2008 NFL season that all changed. I think rooting against the Patriots during the their undefeated season kept me me coming back for more and somehow won me over. Watching the NFL and pretty much any sporting event together has become another one of the simple but delightful joys of our marriage.

45. When you would come home from work to our High Street apartment we could always hear your keys jingling in the hall. No matter where Afton was when she heard it she would come running to the door smiling ear to ear. She has always loved Daddy! You would scoop her up and do Bounce! Bounce! Bounce! down the hall with her. Such joy!

46. On the last day of 2008 you completed a huge project for work that you had been working on for months. At some point in that day it clicked with me what a big deal it was so I decided to make you a special celebration. I learned to pan fry steak and make sweet tea for the first time. I remember realizing and being surprised how touched you were by our little celebration that night. I was touched that something like that could mean so much to you. I think that night I began to understand you better in ways I am still just learning to flesh out.

47. We were late for church a lot. Some might say every Sunday. One Sunday we were so late that as we opened the door we heard that the sermon had already started. We took our kids and our "bring a pot dinner" back to the car and just drove home. Better luck next time.

48. I will never forget your face on that fateful trip down the slide that ended in Afton's broken leg. I didn't know what could have possibly happened but I knew it wasn't good by the panic and horror that washed over your face. I know you still haven't forgiven yourself, but I stand firm in my belief that she is much better off having her leg broken while playing with her Daddy than never getting hurt at all but having a Daddy that doesn't play with her.

49. This is another back track. While I was in Oklahoma with my Aunt Debby just before she died you had to move all our stuff to our new apartment without me. I came home late at night, exhausted, and expecting to find the house in the full disarray of a recent move. Instead I found the whole living room totally set up, books in bookshelves, electronics hooked up and operational, tastful lighting...I found a home. Possibly the best surprise you have ever given me, which is saying a lot.

50. You affectionately call the last apartment we lived in Charlottesville "Gran Torino". It was rough. Our first upstairs neighbors were especially rough. I think we realized Abbington Crossing wasn't the pleasant little community it seemed the night during our first couple of weeks there that there was the raucous, drunken party upstairs featuring excessively loud Michael Jackson tunes and culminating in our neighbor falling from his third story balcony. There are more stories too, and yet somehow that was my favorite place we lived the whole time we were in C-ville.

51. A few years into our marriage we decided to keep Sundays restful by having a frozen pizza for lunch each week. When the kids were still too little to eat pizza we had a routine we called the "23 Minute Drill". Our Digiorno pizzas from Sam's take 23 minutes to bake. When we got home from church I would pop one in the oven and whip up a kids lunch while you got the girl's out of they're Sunday clothes and into their napping clothes. The goal was to have them fed, changed, and in bed by the time our pizza was done so we could enjoy it in peace and quiet. We got to be a pretty efficient team at the 23 Minute Drill and are reward of a quiet easy Sunday lunch was always so sweet.

52. For our five year anniversary and you took the whole family to New York City or "York City" as Afton called it then. Lots of good memories but some of the stands outs are walking the girls to sleep in their stroller so we could leisurely tour the Met without worrying about them getting bored, Afton's face when we took her into what we called "Mickey Mouse's house" (the Manhattan Disney Store), and the last night trying to find a delicious Italian restaurant and instead ending up at a place with a bathroom so nasty I told Afton to go ahead and pee her pants. I also remember watching Talladega Nights in our Times Square apartment and even though we were trying not to wake the girl's up we couldn't help laughing out loud. That night on our bed we decided that if the new baby I was carrying was a girl we would name her Rose Virginia.

53. From the Fall of 2009 to the Spring of 2010 we were all sick one after another after another. It started with Afton having Hand, Foot, and Mouth in September and didn't stop until April. Ponder and I had the dreaded '09 Swine Flu which caused me to cough so hard that Rose's head hit up against my ribcage and cracked one of my ribs. You became very ill on New Year's Eve but wouldn't admit you were as sick as your were. I had to kidnap you from work to take you to Urgent Care where we found out you had pneumonia. The doctor said not worry there was only a 1 in 10 chance you would have died had you not sought medical attention. You took that as proof that you didn't actually need to come in, but I knew his point was quite to the contrary. He prescribed you the anti-biotic they use for Anthrax and as an afterthought gave us a coupon that made it free. It was a good thing too because it turned out that medicine cost nearly four hundred dollars. The coupon was good through that day 12/31/09.

54. Tim came to town one weekend for the express purpose of making an Amazing Race application video with you. I was the videographer and quite pregnant with Rose. You both gave me a hard time because my loud breathing could be heard throughout video. It was a fun and exciting weekend. I still think they may give you a call one day.

55. During the Winter of 2009 Virginia got the biggest snow storm it had ever gotten in the twelve years we lived there. We played with the girls in the snow. It was so deep they couldn't even stand in it without being completely consumed. You would take Afton and throw her into the snow banks. She giggled her heart out. Ponder wasn't too big a fan of the snow. She did love all the Lego "cackles" we built with her that weekend while we were warming up inside. When we lost power for a while you took the stuff out of our freezer and put it in one of your storage buckets and buried it in the snow. You were pretty proud of yourself. We found a very important glitch in our emergency supplies later when we went to make french press coffee and realized we had no way to grind the coffee beans. We take our coffee seriously around here so that problem was fixed the moment we could get stores again. The snow mountain made by the snow plows at Barracks Road Shopping dubbed Mt. Chipotle was still there when we moved away in June.

56. You came home from church one Sunday and told me that you had decided that we were going to move to Greenville, SC the following spring. We had been planning an eventual move there for a while but it always seemed way off in the foggy future. You said you had realized there was no compelling reason to stay in Charlottesville any longer when we had decided we wanted to settle in Greenville. No details were firm and we had a lot of unanswered questions about how it would work out but I could tell you were completely serious. I was excited and immediately started looking for places to live in Travelers Rest. Before long emails from a realtor named John Yukich started showing up in my inbox everyday.

57. By the time Rose came home from the hospital you had perfected your baby slaying skills. She was powerless against your swaddling, walking, and bouncing techniques. Babies under your spell will fall asleep whether they want to or not. I think we may have Ponder to thank for that.

58. I am remiss in failing to mention Chipotle until now. We ate there on a weekly if not semi-weekly basis from the moment it opened in March 2007. I remember once telling you during my pregnancy with Rose that Chipotle was so delicious, healthy, and affordable that it seemed crazy to ever eat anywhere else including our own home. I am pretty sure Rose was less than a week old when she made her first visit.

59. I was standing in White House Black Market when you called me to tell me your pitch to move to South Carolina and work from home was received very enthusiastically by your bosses. We were so excited. It was really happening. A few days later you bumped into your CEO in a coffee shop and found that you had the official green light. We were moving! Even though I had I always believed it would really happen I couldn't believe it was really happening!

60. A couple days later I got an email from the realtor in South Carolina. An off-white Cape Cod house was for sale in our price range and in the area we wanted. I had been getting emails like this for months but this house stood out. I loved it. I actually thought I loved it too much. I closed the site because I didn't want to look at it anymore. I knew I would get to attached to it and become unable to be objective. Who knew love at first sight can even happen between ladies and houses?

61. That off-white Cape Cod house was the second one we saw on the our house hunting trip to South Carolina. You gave me a pep talk on the drive over about keeping a poker face and not letting the realtor know how much I already loved it. I listened and was determined to comply, but before the realtor even got the door opened I snuck a quick picture of three week old Rose sleeping in her carrier in yard. I knew in my heart that this was where she would spend her childhood. I don't even think we had made it to the last bedroom before you told the realtor we were ready to go make an offer. My poker face must have been pretty good because he told you to check with me first. He didn't think I seemed too enthusiastic about the place. Joke was on him.

62. Before we moved we took a three week road trip vacation through the south. On the day we were supposed to drive back I woke up with a bad stomach bug. I felt bad that I wouldn't be able to help much with the driving, then I found out you had been up all night sick as well. The tummy bug extended our vacation by one day. We were sick in bed. My mom and Steve took care of the kids I guess. That is one day where I have absolutely know idea what our kids were doing!

63. It was on that trip that we perfected our outlet mall shopping with small children method. We spent the day at the Knoxville outlets. We kept a movie playing in the car while we took turns going into the stores. I can honestly say fun was had by all.

64. I am not exactly sure when Jelly Weekend started but by the time we were living here it was a well established tradition. On Saturday mornings you make breakfast. It is always toast with jelly that is stamped with a Mickey Mouse toast cutter. The girls watch all the kids shows they want. Simple, but it is no doubt the high point of there week and memory I am sure the will cherish fondly even when they are grown.

65. We were sitting in our TV room after a long Christmas trip to Oklahoma. You were trying to talk me into going to Florida for New Years Eve. All of a sudden you got at wild look in your eye and said "We could get crazy and go to Disney World too." Those were big guns. I had been dying to take the girls to Disney World while they were still little enough to believe it was all real and magical. Moments later we were emptying out piggy banks and deciding what attractions we wanted to see. We had a priceless, magical day at the Magic Kingdom. One that I know at least I will never forget.

66. Rose was diagnosed with torticollis when she was 10 months old. I was beside myself. A total basket case. You were so strong and committed to doing her stretches with her even though she screamed like you were killing her. You were just what she needed - a calm loving Daddy who was going to do whatever it took to help her no matter how hard it was. I have no words for how much that blessed my heart. Thank you.

67. A clean and friendly little kitten showed up in our yard in early Spring 2011 and wouldn't leave. She won the hearts of our girls right away. You and I were a little more hesitant. Our fate was sealed on night at dinner. The kitten later known as Cattie stood looking longingly into the picture window that faced our dining room table and 11 month old Rose who had yet to say any words reached up, touched the window, smiled and said "Cat." We exchanged looks questioning whether or not we had heard that correctly. We had and from that moment on Cattie was ours. There was no going back.

68. We spent the whole afternoon and evening on Easter Sunday 2011 planting our first garden. I remember noting how perfectly in your element you looked working hard in the dirt. I know you are less than pleased with the way our it turned out, but I have no doubt that my hunch was correct that day and someday you will make a fine gardener indeed.

69. We got off of a plane this summer in Tulsa, Oklahoma and it was 109 degrees outside. The first thing you did was stop for hot coffee. I have learned a lot about you in the past seven years, but I am content to know there are somethings I will never understand.

70. Seven years ago today I became your wife. I woke up this morning exponentially happier than I was back then which is saying a lot. We've come a long way, baby. May the Lord give us many, many, many more days together on this crazy, steep, winding, beautiful road. I love you so.

Baby Mine

2011-08-30T14:05:00.002-04:00

An Annoying Chore Just Got Easier.

2011-08-25T14:54:00.003-04:00

I have recently started doing two things that have made my job at home ever so slightly easier. I love little things that can lighten or add joy to the workload so I thought I would share:

First, I moved the girls toothbrushes to the kitchen. I made a little station for them in the cabinet near the sink. Now we can easily pull a chair right over there and do the needful. I don't know why having the toothbrushes in the kitchen makes getting the girls teeth brushed regularly SO MUCH easier, but it does. Maybe it's because we are a lot more likely to be hanging out in the kitchen than in the bathroom and I can just roll it up into the breakfast or goodnight milk process. Anyway, an annoying chore just got easier. I'll raise a glass to that.

Secondly, I started throwing away my to-do list at the end of the week. I never clear my whole to-do list in a week. I don't think I ever have. But now what I don't finish by Saturday goes into the trash. On Monday morning I have a clean slate. Anything that was important from the week before will come to mind and I can add it. But things that only seemed important might be forgotten. Oh well. Oh the freedom! I do what I can in a week and then I throw it away. I think somehow I am actually getting more things done now too. My to-do list feels like the tool it is and not a tyrant or a bully ninny ninny boo booing me about how I can never catch up. And I'll raise a glass to that.

Are there little things you do to make completing yours tasks easier or more enjoyable? Do tell.

They start saying everything right so fast.

2011-08-19T16:43:00.003-04:00

Wolves. My girls pronounce this word "wool fuss" and in their eyes there no fiend more foreboding or despicable. Just wanted to remember that. They start saying everything right so fast.

Such Is Life ~ Our Story

2011-08-18T13:25:00.003-04:00

I told you coffee stations make me happy. Well, this one makes me the happiest of all. Why? Because it is in my bedroom. Yes, it is right on top of my dresser.

A little eccentric I know, but this is something I have been concocting in my head for a while. Now I can very literally wake up and smell the coffee. Waking up to the sound and smell of coffee brewing instead of an alarm or a child screaming for juice or breakfast is maddeningly pleasant. I can enjoy a cup of joe and have my little quiet time right in my room before anyone even suspects that I am awake. The whole family is happier for it. Trust me.

And here are the rest of my little favorite things that make me happy:

(When I posted this last picture on Facebook a couple of people "busted" Afton for sucking her thumb. Yes, we have had some regression, but such is life. We are still working on it. Truth be told we are still working on a lot of things. But then again, such is life.)

I Look Happy.

2011-08-11T15:21:00.003-04:00

Something's been bothering me. A special, special memory I forgot to put on Sissy's birthday list. I can never let us forget it, so I better just do another post for it all to itself.

For several months during Ponder's two-year-old year she was in the habit of climbing up into one of our laps, wrapping her arms around our necks, giving her biggest smile and saying in her raspy little Sissy voice,

"I look happy."

Dramatic pause.

"Because I belong to you."

There. I feel better now.

I look happy too, Baby Sissy. Very, very happy.

Family Vacays Bring People Together! - Our Story

2011-08-09T13:45:00.010-04:00

Afton got her new backpack and water bottle for school this week. She is so excited about being a "school kid". Thanks Maw Maw!

Wow.

Sissy is potty trained! Wow, again!

I have a long ways to go in being the kind of mom I want to be. I have always wanted to be the kind of mom who builds living room forts for my kids. Building forts and letting them stay is definitely not one of my natural giftings, but this is a mighty fine fort if I do say so myself. Small victories. I'll take them where I can find them.

In fall of 2003 when Ron and I were just friends he took me to Florida in his Toyota Tacoma. This weekend we went to Florida to say goodbye to Yaya and Papa Steve's beach house. Since we were going to be bringing some stuff back with us we took the Tacoma again this time. It was like deja vu with a twist! I asked Ron what he would have thought if on our first trip to Florida all those years ago he could have looked into a magic future-telling rear view mirror and see this:

Playing in the yard and looking at "Crab Beach".

Dinner time at Land Sharks.

Meet Emma. She hung out with us all evening long. Her Mommy and Daddy are "inside". But don't worry she already had french fries and "lots of cokes" for dinner.

A little Aunt Ashley time!

A little Adam and Sarah time!

Some "Aunt Ashley that married Bubba" and Gracie time!

Family beach time!

Rose's first real experience at the beach.

She knows how to live the dream!

Once again our whole family "forcept" Cattie. Cattie misses all the fun.

Waiting and waiting for the realtor. The closest we got to a whole group shot.

Sissy didn't mind the wait. She used the time to glam up a bit!

Family vacays bring people together!

Bye bye sweet old house! You served us well!
First night home was a "spend over" with cousins. I think there will be many more to come.

Before we know it Rosie will be wanting to spend over herself!

Just a little coffee station that doesn't really go with the rest of the post. Coffee stations make me happy though, so it stays.

Mmm, a cup of coffee sounds great right now. I better get on it before nap time is gone!

Old Friends Celebrating New Beginnings -- Our Story

2011-08-02T13:31:00.008-04:00

The night before our big trip to Oklahoma for Muffin's wedding "the cousins" as they are called around here stopped by for a little while after dinner. I guess all the wedding talk had the girls hankering for weddings of their own so we had several impromptu backyard weddings that night.

First Ben and Afton...

Then Sissy and Sam...

Caroline and Uncle Ron...

And then Jack and Rose...yeah Jack and Rose just like Titanic and my goodness this picture is too precious. I love it so much I might marry it.

Hello again, dear old hometown. Oh, my that's a little much don't you think?

Stuffing little faces at Nana's house. "Mommy can you make all this?" Not like Nana can, baby. Not like Nana can.

Old friends celebrating new beginnings...

My beautiful friend on her big day...

I would never ask a bride about to walk down the aisle to stand up after she was comfortably seated -- not even so I don't look like a jolly giant in our newest BFF photos. These pictures are pretty silly looking, but not even close to the silliest ones we have together.

The Mansion was beautiful. I think we all look like we are on Clue in this picture. No, I'm not sad or sick, just super nervous about the speech I am about to give.

Two of the sweetest gifts God ever gave me...

Party time! I think the 90s dance mix was a hit. I know I had fun!

And what is an Oklahoma wedding with a little Boot Scootin' Boogie?

Look who just happened to be on our flight to Dallas on the way home! So much fun for the girls! Such a break for Mommy and Daddy!

Good airplane sleepers!

Home again! Home again!

My Special Babies ~ Our Story

2011-07-26T14:02:00.006-04:00

Rose is no longer content with her sippy cup during our little afternoon tea time. She insists on a teacup of her own just like the big girls.

We had a good purge!

Sissy met Missionary, an old family friend, at our yard sale. Not sure how he ended up out there. He is definitely NOT for sale!

Later that day was Sissy's third birthday party!

Baby Sissy is three?

A new playmate! "Mommy, Rose can walk and kind of talk! She's a kid. She's still our special baby though!"

Our special baby LOVED her first library story time!

After a particularly tough day with Sissy I found this special baby in her bed so well loved and sweetly cared for. She's a pistol, but goodness, she has a sweet, sweet heart.

Love their faces. They are all still my special babies!

"Our whole family...forcept Cattie!"

Rose's special baby.

I never tire of a good baby sleeping shot!

UPDATE: Afton completed her thumb sucking chart! "Mrs. Teapot" was her reward. "I promise to always share her, Mommy." She makes me so proud. I don't deserve her.

Winnie the Pooh and ice cream date. The first of what I hope will be many girls days out for me and my special babies!

A Queen Who Loves Jesus

2011-07-21T10:06:00.002-04:00

"When I'm a grown-up I'm not gonna have any babies because I'm gonna be a queen who loves Jesus."

~ Afton Adele Babington

age 4

Happy Birthday Baby Sissy

2011-07-11T07:29:00.002-04:00

1. She is our most independent, and yet our most affectionate child.

2. She loves all thing feminine.

3. She has loved books since she was a baby and it has not diminished. She can sit and look at or listen to books for hours.

4. She is almost always found wearing a princess dress and slippers

5. "Mommy, I have two things to tell you..."

6. Her smile is pure sunshine.

7. She is all girl.

8. She is tough as nails.

9. "Daddy, why you laughing..."

10. We love the way she says girl. It sounds like "gull". We ask her questions to get her to say it all the time. "Sissy, are you a boy or a girl? Is Afton a boy or a girl? Is Rose a boy or a girl? Is Mommy a boy or a girl?" She is not on to us yet.

11. When all five of us and Cattie are in one room she throws her arms up and proclaims "Our whole family!" with heart melting joy. Priceless.

12. She could play outside for hours. She is in her own world out there!

13. She is fearless.

14. Actually she has one fear. The Grinch Who Stole Christmas. We can't even mention him without her tearfully exclaiming "He make a mean face at me!" Then she will think for a minute smile up at me and say, "But he's nice at the end!"

15. Everyday at tea time when I ask her what she is grateful for she smiles and points at Afton.

16. She hasn't quite gotten her days figured out. When I ask her her favorite or saddest part of the day her answer is usually something that happened weeks ago.

17. For a long time the saddest part of her day everyday was when a little girl in the church nursery told her that she was two. "She said she's two and I'm not two! But I am two, Mommy, and that friend said I am not two!" I am not exaggerating when I say this took months for her to get over.

18. She prances everywhere she goes.

19. She has recently added a new move to her prancing where extends her arms as far as she can down her legs and stick her fingers out and twitters them around. Looks like some Broadway dance move.

20. She loves flowers and wants to pick every one she sees.

21. She is still tipping her car seat over.

22. She loves spelling her name only she spells it A-F-T-O-N.

23. There is no reasoning with her.

24. She stills needs a big after nap snuggle.

25. Sleeping Beauty is still her favorite princess.

26. Every night she insists I "cover her like Sleeping Beauty". That means all the bedcovers must look perfect like they do in the bed where Sleeping Beauty waits for her Prince.

27. She gets out of bed MANY times most nights and then cries and cries to be covered 'like Sleeping Beauty" again.

28. She likes for Daddy to "be" Prince Philip and pretend to "murry" her.

29. Instead of him she says hum. "Where's Daddy? I wanna murry hum!"

30. She does NOT like to be called silly.

31. She can be a touch moody and will say on those occasions "No one talk to me. I just wanna be quiet!"

32. She loves animals and loves the zoo.

33. She calls the cows who live at the edge of our neighborhood "farms" and waves hello and goodbye to the farms each time we pass. Please don't ever let her start calling them cows.

34. At the end of a story instead of saying "The End" she says "Good End."

35. Even though she is only two she regularly has discussions with her sister and friends about which movies are or are not available on Netflix Instant.

36. When she sees me cooking she smiles and says "What I can help with?"

37. Sometimes she plays with an imaginary friend named Nica (pronounced nice-uh). Nica has an arch enemy named Meanie.

38. Her other pretend friend is named Karecka (AKA Princess Karecka).

39. "Thas kooky!"

40. When she is trying to convince you of something she always says "No, I really remember!"

41. She likes to come in Mommy's bed and snuggle in the early morning hours. When she gets bored she just hops out of bed makes mischief in Mommy's room or Daddy's office.

42. She has loved snuggling for her whole life.

43. She has loved making mischief for her whole life.

44. She holds her dress out to the side like a princess everywhere she goes.

45. She loves the idea of being the smaller sister. "Afton's a big girl, but I'm small."

46. She prefers music CDs to story CDs and always asks "Can we do music like la la la?"

47. She loves dancing and can't wait to start ballet after her birthday.

48. She wants to do everything that Afton does, but is fine Afton doing things first because she is bigger. Like I said she relishes the idea of being small.

49. Jake and The Neverland Pirates is her favorite show right now. She loves to pretend she is Izzy.

50. She loves getting cards in the mail. She carries them around for days.

51. She is still working on potty training, but she is getting close.

52. She is very curious.

53. Her curiosity often gets the best of her judgment.

54. She is an emotional little girl.

55. She really wants to be in the same Sunday School class as Afton.

56. When somebody has something that is the same color as hers (shirt, cup, anything) she will exclaim "Look! You're twins as me!

57. She can jump a baby gate like it ain't no thang.

58. She keeps asking when it is going to be Christmas again.

59. She doesn't like "yucky 'mercials".

60. She loves Special Agent Oso and Digi-medals.

61. She loves for Daddy to give her a big sip from his water bottle and snuggle her for a little bit at bedtime.

62. She loves to sleep in Mommy's bed when Daddy is out of town.

63. She still doesn't like the part of waties where she actually gets washed.

63. She still loves the playing part of waties.

64. She loves going to the park.

65. Every time we pass the park near our house she shouts "I see our favorite park!"

66. She loves going to the mall playground.

67. "Can we play a lil bit?"

68. "Mommy, can I do that when I'm a Mommy?"

69. She really wants a trophy.

70. She loves to pretend that Daddy is her prince.

71. She loves to play wedding with Daddy.

72. She calls Rose "our special baby".

73. She is a pantry raider and car seat cheerio scavenger.

74. She finds a way.

75. She is Afton's best friend and Afton is her hero.

76. She doesn't like to feel left out.

77. She is an observer.

78. There is a lot going on in her tiny brain that she keeps just to herself.

79. When she is happy she glows.

80. We think she looks like a Tolkien elf.

81. When she sleeps she looks like an angel.

82. She can't wait to go back to Disney World someday.

83. She has a stubborn streak that is no joke.

84. She LOVES her family.

85. She always gets breathless when she tells a story.

86. "I went this way, this way, this way then I bonked off."

87. "I'm drinky."

88. Her genuine little laugh is one of the most delightful sounds I have ever heard.

89. She loves babies.

90. She is a thinker.

91. She is a tester.

92. She is a lover and a fighter.

93. She loves learning new songs at breakfast time. There Is A Redeemer has been her favorite this year.

94. She always chooses the yellow tea cup.

95. She still has an iron will.

96. She has a priceless heart of gold to go with it.

97. Three years ago today she exploded onto our scene like a fourth of July firecracker.

98. From that day on she has enriched each one of our lives immeasurably.

99. She's our little sunshine baby and she fills our home with light and warmth.

100. Happy Birthday Ponder Sissy! Your "whole family" loves you dearly and is so thankful you belong to us!

These Little Feet Are Keeping Us All On Our Toes - Our Story

2011-07-07T14:26:00.007-04:00

Lunch with cousins.

It's not exactly the Sandals Resort of my dreams, but it will do for now. Yes, my toenails need attention.

Chubby baby feet in brand new shoes. These chubby baby feet have been carrying baby to all sorts of places she need not be. They take her up all of the steep wooden stairs in a matter of seconds with no thought to an exit strategy once she gets there. They take her several times a day to the toilet for a little splash time. They take her from one date with mischief to another. When I notice she is out of my sight I have developed a habit of making big eyes and saying urgently "Where's Rose!" I realized this because my other girls have started doing it too. These little feet are keeping us all on our toes!

The first time Ponder rode in a shopping cart was at Sam's Club when she was about five months old. Ron snapped a picture of it with his phone and that picture of Baby Sissy barely able to sit up in the cart and one and half year old Afton proudly beaming beside her was his background for the entire time he had that phone. He started a tradition for a while of taking their picture in the cart again every time he took them to Sam's. It was fun to look at the pictures all in a row and see how they had grown. Once he got rid of that phone that tradition fizzled. Last weekend though we decided to do an update picture in a Sam's cart. We've come a long way, baby.

The orginal picture of Sissy and Afton never made it off the phone. I hate that, but it lives vividly in my mind. Afton was wearing a cotton white shirt with a frilly collar. She looked so excited to have her sister sitting next to her. Ponder was wearing jammies from a consignment sale that were adorably early 90s. She was looking nervous and wobbly and utterly precious. Here are those same two babies about two and a half years later.

Impromptu swim time = hilariously giant diaper!

Afton loves to strike a pose.

Pool noodle baseball? Why not!

Cutie!

Wee!

She carried that thing around the picnic site like it was the pearl of great price. She was very serious about it.

I went on a blind date with a boy who looked just like this about 9 years ago. I would say it went well.

Better luck next time attic! I guess we showed you who is boss! (Well, this is kinda deceiving because most of the stuff we took out of there is still sitting on our guest room bed. Won't be after our monster garage sale on Saturday though!)

My girls have a good daddy.

My shopping cart on the Fourth of July looked so decidedly American that I felt it needed to be photographed.

Also looking decidedly American!

Happy Birthday America!

"Mommy, Rose kinda looks like a Pharisee." ~ Our Story

2011-06-28T13:35:00.005-04:00

Sissy's new favorite thing is coming into our bed. She is really precious about it so we tell her to hop in. Unfortunately, she is not there to sleep. She is there to stare at us, breathe loud on our faces and, yes, sit on our heads. All very preciously, though.

Afton's new school uniforms came in. She is going to be so cute it might be against the law. Hope we don't get reported!

This is Rose's new favorite thing to do. She goes straight to this every time she is in the play room. Kinda reminds me of some magician act.

It was really dark and wintery looking one day last week so I decided to pretend like it really was winter and turn on Christmas music. One thing led to another and the next thing I knew I was baking snickerdoodles! It was the first time for me. Won't be the last!

Keeping It Real Part III ~ We have an ant problem exacerbated by a not quite empty sippy cups all over the place problem. These problems are making me crazy!

Saunders loves me though and always gives me a second chance. I love you, too, Saunders.
Beauty Shop!

Jelly weekend snuggles!

"Mommy, Rose kinda looks like a Pharisee."

Zoo time!

Afton built this. It is called a Sunnyside Show. She is precious.

Snack time straight from the garden!

Ronny pulled up the crazy island in front of our house. I am so happy! A yard that suits our lifestyle is on the way!

Thumb Suck Swan Song

2011-06-23T15:26:00.007-04:00

Afton searched for her thumb for several weeks. When she was about two months old she finally found it. The picture below was taken just moments after that discovery. The picture below shows the start of a beautiful friendship.

Afton was a thumbsucker from that day on. She even continued the same rough form from her first success -- thumb in the mouth, index finger hooked around the nose. She slept all night that night for the first time in her life. Her thumb had served her (and her tired mommy) well. Any hesitation I might have had about letting my child suck her thumb was obliterated by that night's sleep. My baby was a thumbsucker. When the time was right she wouldn't be anymore, but while she was little and could use the extra comfort and security it provided I was not going to stand in her way. Every now and then a nosy stranger or a well-meaning family member would pull her thumb out of her mouth and/or tell her not to suck her thumb. I would always quickly tell them that she was allowed to suck her thumb. (I didn't add "And mind your own business!" because that would take the kind of nerve I don't have.)

I had always had age five in my head as the cut off for thumb sucking. Age five seems a long, long way away to a first time mom with a two month old. Wow, do those years go fast! Afton turned four this Spring. She is not much of a baby anymore. She is pretty proud of that fact, though I am always sure to remind her that she will ALWAYS be my baby. She doesn't suck her thumb nearly as much as she used to but thumb sucking is definitely still a part of her life. I realize that stopping something that you have been doing for as long as you can remember is not an overnight process, so I decided that if our goal is no more thumb sucking by age five we needed to start having the conversation soon. Several weeks ago I broached the subject for the first time. I was surprised to find that it was met with big, honest, silent tears.

Afton loves a challenge. She loves feeling big and grown up. She loves doing things the way the big kids do. She has raced through milestones like becoming a big sister, moving to a big girl bed, using the big girl potty with great delight and enthusiasm. I figured when I mentioned to her that it was time to start thinking about not sucking her thumb anymore she would react in much the same way. So those big, heart breaking tears caught me by surprise.

Turns out I had taken her by surprise too. She had no idea that no longer sucking your thumb was part of growing up. She hadn't seen it coming. I told her not too worry about it. She was only four and she didn't need to stop and until she was five. I told her just to think about it and to let me know when she was ready to try.

She asked some questions about it the weeks since and we came up with a plan where I would make a chart for her and when she goes thirty days without sucking her thumb she can go pick out a toy. She was more interested with each conversation we had and but still wasn't quite ready to try.

This afternoon she asked me to make the chart. She said she is ready to stop sucking her thumb. I was excited and told her I would make it for her during her nap and that we could start working on it this evening. She was excited too. I was glad we had waited until it could be something she was excited about instead of something that made her sad.

When I sat down at the computer to print out the chart I was surprised by big tears again. This time they were mine. That little nose hook thumb suck has been such apart of our lives. The trademark of the joyous little baby girl that changed everything for us...

Who knew no more thumb sucking could be so heart wrenching? But it is hard to watch a baby that you love so much slowly fade away even when you know she is just growing into a little girl who you love even more.

Makers, Bathers, Besties, Growers - Our Story

2011-06-21T13:12:00.004-04:00

Makers...

Bathers (Rose's first time with a party watie. She loved it!) ....

Besties...

Growers (We have actual vegetables, people!)...

It Isn't Too Hard To See...

2011-06-18T21:23:00.003-04:00

Happy Father's Day to the best Daddy in the whole wide world! Raising these little girls with you is my own slice of heaven. Thank you for all you are to them and all you are to me. You mean the world to all your girls...especially the biggest one! I love you! Happy Father's Day!

Best Daddy Ever Video

Brace Yourself - Our Story

2011-06-14T13:54:00.013-04:00

Brace yourself. It's been an eventful while since my last Our Story post. Here we go:

I got these new lunch baskets and I am so excited about them! That's all.

After waiting all spring the time for Afton's "Big Performance" finally came. She got to stay up from nap on the day of the dress rehearsal so Mommy would have time to practice the required hair and makeup. A little over the top for a four year old but she loved the pampering. I tried to focus on how excited she was instead of thinking about how "Toddlers and Tiaras" I felt about the the whole thing.

Precious baby girl pooped out in the car on the way to rehearsal.

She was pretty much the tiniest one there. The place was out of control with preciousness.

The next day just two hours before the recital she spiked a high fever. So sad. She begged and begged me to let her go. The doctor said it was up to me. I wasn't sure what to do but Ron was. There was no he was going to make her miss the most anticipated event of her life so far!

The show must go on!

She performed through her illness like a true professional and was so proud of herself and even more proud of the little trophy she got at the end.

Next morning we had to leave for Bubba and Ashley's wedding at 4:15 AM. When we arrived at the airport it was apparent that Sissy had succumbed to the Great Summer Fever of 2011. So pitiful.

Security threat in Oklahoma City kept us in the terminal for an extra five hours. Yikes. Ron became somewhat of a hero when he busted out his lap top and turned on a movie for all the kids around us. Maybe people would have been less enthusiastic if they knew both of our kids had temperatures of 102. Or maybe not. Parents were getting pretty desperate.

One of our new terminal friends carrying Ponder out when we were finally released.

We finally made it to Holdenville, Oklahoma. What a lovely little town! The girls perked up when the saw the beautiful dresses they would be wearing in the wedding. They felt so special to be included. They have been excited about Ashley and Bubba's wedding for months now!

The were also delighted to be reunited with their cousin Scout. These three little ones used to spend every other weekend together. That was back when Scout was the size of Sissy in this picture and my girls were....well, babies. It kinda hit me that they aren't babies so much anymore when I saw these little cuties sitting on the couch together chatting like teenagers. I can still see all three of them running and giggling around my apartment together and it feels like yesterday.

Wedding day! It was a beautiful wedding. Exquisite really. A very touching ceremony. And the reception was a P-A-R-T-Y. Haven't had that much fun in a while. You will have to take my word for it though since the only pictures I have are of us waiting for it to start. I really need to work on that!

After the wedding we were off to Tulsa to spend sometime with Nana. She greeted us in classic Nana style!

It was fun to have time to sit and talk with Nana and Papa. I was really blessed in the grandparents department.

While we were there we tried out the new splash park in Skiatook. Nice job Skiatook!

Ronny being Ronny.

A last minute change of plans had us back in our old stomping ground Charlottesville, Virginia for a could of days.

Daddy was working, so the girls and I played. First our favorite old splash park.

Then lunch at our favorite Chipotle!

A romp around the playground at Fashion Square Mall.

Movie time in the hotel.

Next day I decided to take it up a level and take all three girls with me to a fancy salon I had always wanted to try. Word to the wise -- dragging multiple toddlers along with you on a trip to a salon is a really, really, really bad idea. It just hit me that the wise probably don't need that word. They probably already know that. I had to learn it the hard way. I will sum it up with two words: unspeakable humiliation. Another word that comes to mind is misery. Misery and salon really don't go together. Another word that comes to mind is babysitter. I like my haircut though, so I guess that is the silver lining.

Saw some old friends while we were there.

Then on to Richmond where we saw some more friends and had some more splash park fun. (Splash parks have to be one of the best inventions of our time!)

Finally, home sweet home. What greeted me but the first bloom from Saunders in years! Those of you who know Saunders know how special that is. To those of you who don't I will just say he is the most patient and forgiving, dearest houseplant in the whole wide world.

Also a big fat tomato in our garden. Be 'cited!

And back to normal life!

Pile of Sugar - Our Story

2011-05-31T14:13:00.003-04:00

My trusty ol' smart phone missed a lot of action this week, including the entire visit of Yaya and Papa Steve but I did manage to catch a sweet moment or two here and there...

Found this pile of sugar at the top of the stairs when we headed up to bed late one night last week...

My sweetheart and my sweetie pie...

Let summertime begin!

Time marches on. Now I have a wall in my house to remind me.

Totally Worth It - Our Story

2011-05-25T13:21:00.004-04:00

Ron loves gear lists. He works tirelessly on them. I had to take a picture of one of them. They are one many adorable things about my dear husband. This is his gear list for the three day bike trip he took last week. Seeing how excited he gets about planning for these kinds of outings makes the days of single parenting while he is gone totally worth it!

Who is this party animal toddler where my sweet baby girl used to be?

Next week this delightful little costume will be worn by our very own resident "ballet-er" in her long awaited "Big Performance." Sadly, she now prefers the term ballerina. Why is everyone growing up so fast around here?

We finally put our wonderful Christmas present of a zoo membership to use last week and the girls loved it so much I can tell we are going to be making up for lost time all summer long! Sissy was especially taken with the animals. She was glowing with love for them! She wanted to name each one. Her smile in the second picture melts my heart!

The kick me, steal my covers, toss and turn, drool on my pillow, breathe loud, sometimes even fall off of the bed and generally keep me awake all night long, but a day is coming when these chubby little cherubs will be young women and will no longer beg to sleep in Mommy's bed when Daddy is out of town, so until that day comes may no snuggles be left on the table and may I say yes every chance I get!

The Thunder are breaking my heart but I will stay up until midnight every time they play and I will cheer for them until the bitter end.

Piggies!!

There are no words...

Someday my coffee table won't be draped in a Disney Princess Snuggie everyday to be made into a "beautiful bed" for the likes of Tiny Sister, Buzz's head, Mulan, and Glow Baby but I hope that day is far, far away.

Love - Our Story

2011-05-11T13:21:00.003-04:00

Love this noble tree in my neighbors yard...

Love eating breakfast at restaurants...

Love how clean my girl's room is...Thanks Maw Maw!

Love all you can eat blueberries...

Love my new shower curtain...

Love how my wild child turns into an angel when she sleeps...

Love all these Mamas...

Love Booba...

Love a clean kitchen...

(I do realize that the fact that I feel compelled to photograph my kitchen when it is clean doesn't speak well to how often that occurs. Oh well.)

Our Story - 5.5.11

2011-05-05T15:08:00.008-04:00

There are times when life is really hard. Either annoying hard or really heartbreaking hard. Then there are times in life when the garden is planted, the baby's feeling better, spirits are high, loved ones are all around and life, while maybe not exactly easy, certainly leaves you with a smile on your face. We are fortunate to be in one of those times right now. Humbled by all my undeserved blessings and grateful for God's kind hand in my life through both good times and bad and enjoying the fact that He has seen fit to let the good times come to stay with us for a little while this Spring...

That was Ron's word in WWF. I will never have a word like that even in the best of times. Even in Heaven if WWF is in Heaven which of course it will be. But since he texted it to me and the picture was on my phone and I decided to live vicariously through him and post it on by blog about the good times rolling.

If instead of good times, sorrow like sea billows are rolling for you, take heart. Be strong and courageous. Now is not forever. You are not alone.

When you don't know what to do...

2011-05-04T14:19:00.004-04:00

...do the next right thing. Best advice I've heard in years. What's yours? I'd love to hear.

I'm not scared of storms...

2011-05-03T09:39:00.004-04:00

This morning at breakfast we were talking about Jesus being with us when we are afraid. I asked the girls what kinds of things make them afraid and Sissy could come up with nothing. I knew she wasn't bluffing, trying to be cute, or forgetting something. This child is fearless. She summed it up with the quote below and pretty much summed up her very self as well. Love, love, love my spunky little girl with a will of iron and heart of gold.

"I'm not scared of storms or spiders. I just love flowers and butterflies and lady bugs."

Ponder Deborah Babington
May 2011

Our Story - 4.29.11

2011-04-29T20:06:00.012-04:00

It is not often that the most exciting event of my week happens less than an hour into Monday morning but that is just the way it went this week. At 12:53 AM this Monday I had the honor and privilege of seeing this angelic little boy enter the world. Meet my newest little nephew:

I was smitten at first sight. I am pretty sure everyone else in the room felt the same. I know one little picture of this adorable child is not enough so you can find more here and then come back and hear about the rest of my week. Or don't. I assure you nothing else remotely that amazing happened. Let's see what did happen? Well...

Sissy continued to love Cattie with all her fiery little heart. Often a little too vigorously for Cattie's liking.
A castle or two was built then destroyed.

The yard was played in.

I arranged my iPhone apps.

We got new tires.

Sissy happened. She always does.

Ron enjoyed the Royal Wedding.

Our sweet baby Rose had her first real illness. Just a little bout with croup but still so sad for a Mommy.

Sweet tea was brewed. The least I can do for the man who does so much for me.

And the sand box was filled.

The week started out with a new life, the most wondrous everyday miracle of them all, and was filled with all the little sweet nothings that make life what it is. A precious, precious gift

Then What Are You Going To Celebrate?

2011-04-24T19:32:00.013-04:00

I love Easter. It's long been my favorite holiday. We haven't really put any umph into celebrating it since we got married and started our family. I'm not really sure why. I'm mean if you aren't going to celebrate the conquering of sin and death and the triumph of good over evil then what are you going to celebrate? Anyway, we decided this year that we had gone long enough without celebrating the greatest event in human history and it was time we did it up a little around here. So we put on our Sunday best, filled some baskets with delectable goodies and beloved little notions, threw a ham in oven and some other yummies on the stove top, hid some plastic eggs and gathered together with family to party like it was AD 33.

Of course no human party could ever be party enough to be worthy of what our Savior did for us on those blessed days so many years ago and what He is still doing all around us as He works so masterfully to make all things new in this broken world that He redeemed on that day. But He knows that. That is what is Easter is about partly...Jesus knowing what it means to be human. He knows that when we humans are happy about something we throw a party. I know Jesus enjoyed a good party.

We are really happy around here that God loved this world even though it was full of sin. That He loved us humans even though we hated him. We are happy that He sent His Son down here to live among us. To know what it is like to be frail and small and weak and surrounded by loud and fearsome temptation. We are happy that His blessed Son lived perfectly among us, knowing all of our temptations but never once giving in to them. We are so humbled and happy that this sinless Man, God's own Son, laid down and died at the hands of sinful men for the sin of the world. For our sin. For our sin upon sin. And we are really happy that this Prince of Life didn't stay dead, but rose from the dead three days after His beautiful sacrifice crushing the power that death and evil have over the world and that since we believe in him we are no longer subject to those terrible tyrannts. We have a new King. A good King. A King who is making all things new. We are really, really, really happy about that. So today we had a long overdue party to celebrate.

And for me it was my best Easter ever...

Well, except for maybe that one seven years ago when this man among men...

...took me to the top of a mountain at sunrise and gave me this:

Our Story - 4.20.11

2011-04-20T14:32:00.021-04:00

Afton and I got to go on a little big girl trip this weekend to attend a bridal shower for Ashley, my new sister-in-law. She has been so excited about going to "Ashley's party" since I told her about it several weeks ago. Even though we had to leave at 4:3o AM she was bright eyed and bushy tailed and ready for an adventure!

By the second flight all the excitement had taken its toll our our little traveler and she pooped out. When I woke her up to get off the plane she said "Why are we standing up?" I told that we where getting off the plane. She said "But we didn't even fly yet." I wish I could sleep that well on planes.

I didn't get any pictures at the actual event. I am notorious for only having pictures of the car ride when we go on trips and none of the actual trip. I guess I am just too busy having fun. If I had gotten pictures there you would have seen a radiant bride-to-be, a four year old in party dress more than excited to be at a fancy grown up lady party, and a whole bunch of yummy food and fun friends and family that I am looking forward to really partying with at the wedding this summer.

On the drive back to Skiatook I was reminded of my love of the Oklahoma country side. So stunning. So comforting to my soul in a way that only home can be.

One glass of wine on the back porch and I knew I couldn't leave my home state less than 24 hours after I arrived. I called Ron and asked if he minded if I switched to a later flight. Of course he didn't. He's such a sweetheart.

While we were outside taking in the beauty of God's country Afton was inside coloring. She wrote her name on this paper which was something I didn't even know she could do. So proud. It was also exciting because I could let her play inside while we were outside. I was able to give her so much freedom on this trip because she didn't have her little sisters in tow. It was a lot of fun giving her a little autonomy. She relished it.

Switching to the later flight meant we got to stop by and say hello to Nana and Papa. Papa and Afton really hit it off this time.
Afton was also able to do a little shopping for the people back home. This is what she picked out for Daddy because "he really like Jesus". Still cracking me up.
She also got to have a little spa time with Yaya before the big flight back!

We were only gone for a day and a half but the little girls grew up on us while we were away. Look at Rose chilling in the back seat of the van, facing forward like she is too cool for school.

Our little princesses got to hang out with the their favorite princes this week.
Hopefully the princess-ness does not rub off too much, though I commend Jack for his thoughtful use of the Piperlime Accessory Wall.
Don't worry, he's still a man's man.
A little pre-lunch Veggie Tales? Don't mind if they do.
A girl's night in Mommy's room while Daddy's in Virginia? Don't mind if we do.

Our Story - 4.15.11

2011-04-15T20:53:00.005-04:00

One of the two main reasons I keep this blog and allow myself to spend time on it is because I want my children to have something to look back on when they are grown and to remember these sweet days we had together. I want to be able to look back and remember too. So, this week I came up with an idea I am pretty excited about.

A little over a year ago Ron bought me a real fancy phone and since then it has been not only my phone but my go to camera. Any given day there are anywhere from 10 to 150 pictures on it. It is handy because my phone is usually with me and my actual camera usually is not. Anytime something precious or unbelievable happens I can quickly grab my phone and immortalize the moment. I have noticed that the pictures on my phone tend be a pretty good portrayal of exactly what is going on around here at a given moment. Those pictures tell our story quite well.

I have decided to take a little time and the end of every week or so and let the pictures on my phone do just that. Tell our story. The parts of story that I know I will forget unless I find a way to make sure I remember.

So here we go:

I have been pretty concerned about whether or not Rose is growing enough. She is such a scrawny little thing and anyone who knows our other girls knows we don't make scrawny babies. At her one year check up the doctor said she is doing fine. She is just 25 percentile weight and 75 percentile height. So no worries as long as she is eating and growing which she is. He said "You can always fatten em up later, but once the fat is there it is had to get rid of it." Don't I know it.

Speaking of Rose there's a new kid in town. Look who is too big for her britches standing up and snacking like her sisters!

She is still our little Baby Rose though too.

The Babingtons upgraded to the seven quart crock pot this week. We have five real eaters now!

My nine months pregnant sister in law graciously did a photo shoot of my girls last weekend. The pictures are glorious! I am going to cheat and post one here so you get the idea. This picture is obviously not from my phone but is just to prove the point. She is really quite talented.

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What is even more remarkable than how adorable Afton looks in those flowers is the lengths Judy Kay was willing to go to get shots like that from her three...shall we say... spirited models. Yes, at one point you see her pregnant belly (housing a full grown baby who could live outside the womb) practically resting on the sidewalk. And it wasn't all that cool outside that day, people. We often get strange looks when we say that we moved here for no good reason other than to be near Ron's sister and her family. Maybe if the people who think that is odd could see the pictures below the would begin to understand.

My mom stitched this picture when I was about 12 years old. She recently asked me if I wanted one of her old cross stitching pieces. Of course I did! I have such fond memories of watching my mom work through many such pictures. I finally got it hung in my bedroom and it warms my heart every time I see it.

Things have been moving at a pretty break neck pace for us since late February with no sign of stopping until the end of summer. I get overwhelmed easily. I am not an especially neat person but chaos really gets to me. Ron recently took all three girls to Afton's ballet class (no small feat) and then kept them out on errands for an additional two hours so I could catch up around here. I would thoroughly clean one room and then sit down and read a chapter of my book and repeat. It was so relaxing and rejuvenating. Not sure what this says about me but I enjoyed it about as much as I would have enjoyed a day at the spa. And I missed my girls. There is something good for your soul about having the opportunity to miss your children. By end of the evening I remember thinking someday (someday too soon) my house will be this clean all the time and then, oh, I will long for the days with my sweet baby girls.

My sweet baby girls (well, the two biggest ones) played an actual board game by themselves for the first time this week. They had a lot of fun and actually followed the rules of them game instead of just messing with the pieces. May seem like a small thing to you but it's quite huge really.

Oh and this little big girl had her first raisins this week. She was fan!

Just Keeping It Real -- Part 2

2011-04-07T12:28:00.005-04:00

These little preciouses (even, er, especially the little one) trampled my nerves today like a Walmart doormat on Black Friday. By the time lunch rolled around I could barely breathe. So, naturally, I took all the oxygen I could muster to throw my head back toward the ceiling and yell "AWWWWWW!" as loud as I could for a good seven to ten seconds without stopping.

Afton said, "Mommy, is that because you don't like whining?"

I will leave that to her and to ya'll to figure out.

I read this last night. That lady gets it. Guess I need to read it again.

Because of the great response to my last keeping it real post I did consider putting a picture of up of some of the "science experiments" I have in my fridge right now but, alas, my pride is too great. Don't worry though, I definitely have enough subject matter to keep this series going for a while.

God Makes People Mad All The Time.

2011-04-06T14:31:00.007-04:00

If you like making people mad this post is not for you. I know there are people in the world who do like making people mad and they need someone else to speak into their lives because all I would say would be "Hey, stop making people mad. It's making me feel uncomfortable." And really how helpful is that?

If, however, making people mad makes you miserable -- welcome to my world. I hate making people mad. I hate disappointing people. I hate burdening them or annoying them. These are some of the worst feelings I can think of and ones that I avoid at many costs. Earlier this week I realized this is something that I avoid at too many costs.

I was "playing" outside with my girls on a beautiful morning. Actually I was ignoring them and brushing off their excited comments so I could focus on doing something that was a total waste of time and that I wasn't even enjoying. Why? Because someone (who is not a regular reader of my blog nor a family member and so probably not you) had suggested it to me and I knew if I didn't finish by that afternoon they would find out and know I hadn't taken their suggestion.

All of a sudden (probably after shushing one of my kids or saying "Oh nice." and not even looking up at the dirt mound they had built) I asked myself. "Why the heck am I still doing this?" and before I had time to contrive a good reason I answered myself (Yes, that IS what crazy people do.) "So I won't make {REDACTED} mad."

Wow. And I had to admit that was the whole reason I was doing it. Not another reason at all was even contributing to it. Because I didn't want to risk disappointing someone I was neglecting the important for what in this case was utterly pointless. Ouch.

And then I had the most liberating thought I have had in a while. God makes people mad all the time. He is perfect and He is good and He is kind and He IS love and yet he manages to make millions of people angry every single day. I place a high value on how much what I do will please or displease others. It was huge epiphany for me to realize that in this way I was not sharing God's values. When Jesus was on Earth he made people angry too. He made them angry enough to kill him. I let whether or not something will anger or disappoint someone be the deciding factor in whether or not I do a lot. It wouldn't be too much of a stretch to say I do that all the time. That's not what Jesus did.

I thought I was thinking of others by not wanting to make them mad, but in reality I was thinking of myself. I wasn't trying to prevent the suffering of others I was trying to mitigate my own discomfort by making sure by whatever means I felt necessary people were rarely displeased with me. My avoidance of the anger of others is nothing like godliness. It is definitely not Christlike. At root it is selfishness and one thing I know about selfishness is that it makes everything worse.

So where do I go from here? Start making people mad on purpose? Stop considering at all how my actions will affect others? No, of course not. As Sissy would say, "Thas not kind!" As Afton would say, "Now you're just being wacky." I think I need to stop dressing up my own self-protective tendencies like they are sacrificial love and learn to really love sacrificially the way Jesus did. His unselfishness, love, and willingness to sacrifice are unmatched in history but he was not afraid of the anger of men. I think the more I grow to be like Him the less afraid of it I will be as well.

Just Keeping It Real

2011-03-30T15:20:00.002-04:00

Happy Birthday Baby Rose!

2011-03-26T20:25:00.006-04:00

Ron summed her up best when he said recently, "She's been sweet every day of her life."

He's right. All 365 of them.

Little Humans.

2011-03-24T15:15:00.006-04:00

Kids are little humans. One thing I love about little humans is that they haven't learned to hide some of the less pretty parts of humanity yet. My brother loves how kids often say "Look at me!" He says everyone is always thinking that but kids are the only ones who say it. I think he is right. That is why I love these pictures. Raw humanity. The part of humanity that is stingy and grabby by turns. The part of humanity I would like to think I have risen above, but then I look at these pictures and I can relate to every face both girls make in every frame. If you can't see yourself here too I'd be surprised. Nothing like kids to remind us who we are and how much we need a Savior.

Kinda Reminds Me Of Nap Time

2011-03-16T14:45:00.004-04:00

I am taking this year off from Facebook. Oh, I still check it every now and then and use it as a means of communicating with specific people. I am just taking this year off of posting things to it and feeling like I need to read every single update every single day. It became a lot of noise in my life. Its absence has been as refreshing as the moments after someone turns off a TV that has been left on but that no one is watching. Deep cleansing breath and "Why didn't I do that a while ago?"

I joined Facebook when Afton was three months old. I was three months into being home alone all day with someone who couldn't talk. My husband worked a lot back then. Leaving at 8:00ish and coming home at 7:00ish was normal. Facebook was a life preserver to me in what could have been a sea of loneliness. I don't hate Facebook. I think Facebook is pretty awesome.

This winter though I didn't update my status for about three weeks. I just didn't feel like it. It was so freeing. The longer I went without telling people what I was doing or thinking the less inclined I was to do so. I just felt like everyone I had ever known didn't need to know where I ate dinner. That was a feeling I hadn't had in a while. Facebook had become such a part of my life that I felt like each family outing, each cute or frustrating (depending on the day) thing my kids did, each original thought, each milestone, all my grievances, successes, questions had to be shared and shared with A LOT of people or it was almost like they didn't happen. I didn't realize I was under that kinda pressure until I just stopped posting and it didn't really matter.

During that three week break I realized I could have dinner at Chipotle with my family and my adorable children could say something cute or do something embarrassing and afterwards we could all go to the Ice Capades and when we get home there could be a brand new car in my drive way wrapped in bow with a card that reads "To my beautiful wife from your devoted husband!" and I could not tell everyone I had ever known and it would still be just as special. I can enjoy my life without making it into a documentary. (None of this happened by the way, just good old fashioned hyperbole. Well, actually, I am sure we did eat dinner at Chipotle. That place is delish.)

Sometime during those three weeks something else happened. I started realizing I don't really care where most of my "friends" eat dinner. I don't really care whether or not most of them went to the Ice Capades, etc. When I hear about those things I think I care, but when I don't hear about them I realize my life is still just as full and happy. Sometimes even more so because I have more mental energy to spend caring about those who are actually around me. Particularly a couple of very special little people who are always around me.

So I decided to take 2011 off from posting statuses and doing daily (at least) checks of everyone else statuses. I am three months in and I don't miss it. I am slowly leaving behind the habit of thinking in status updates. I am enjoying my life just as much as I did when everyone else was reading about it. I am still just as connected with life long friends and I may have a better awareness of who those people actually are. The break has been nice so far. Kinda reminds me of nap time. A big deep breath and some long absent silence.

Like I said I don't hate Facebook. I think it is one of the best ideas ever. I will probably be back in your face with as much of my business as you can handle as soon as the calendar changes to 2012. But until then I am enjoying my quiet. Because as we learn from nap time sometimes we need a break from even the very best things in life.

Happy Birthday Sweet Afton!

2011-03-09T14:32:00.014-05:00

1. She is very eager to please.
2. This year I think she has found a best friend for life in her cousin Ben. It is so fun watching them together.
3. She loves going to Sunday School.
4. She is a peacemaker. When Sissy is in trouble she always tries to explain it to me and help me see it from Sissy's side.
5. She gets overwhelmed easily but it is because she wants to do everything perfectly right.
6. She is a little planner.
7. She needs to know the logistics of all our family plans.
8. She loves playing outside.
9. She loves office time with Daddy.
10. She loves dancing and ballet.

11. She loves having her finger and toenails painted and took off her shoes to show her pretty toes to Cinderella at Disney World.
12. More than anything she wants a brother. She keeps asking me when we are going to get our boy.
13. She is always telling me how many babies she is going to have. It changes everyday. Sometimes she is going to have three boys and one girl. Other times it is going to be ten girls.
14. She loves playing games on Mommy's phone. It is pretty adorable watching her operate the touch screen.
15. She loves playing house and Toy Story and Sleeping Beauty.
16. She has a very sweet and yielding heart and will always agree to "be" the prince and let Sissy "be" the princess. Maybe this is why she wants a brother so much.
17. She did some homeschool preschool this year and had a lot of fun learning her letters. She had even more fun learning to serve others. She thinks of ways all the time for us to think of others. She also loves to make sure I notice times when she thinks of others.
18. When she asks me for something and I have to tell her no she ofter tells me "Mommy, you're not thinking of others."
19. She has also been learning decorum. She walks across the room, eyes on where she is headed, chin up, hands at her side. May sound pretty fancy but it is actually hilarious.
20. Sometimes when Sissy and I are going out for errands she asks to stay home and "take care of Daddy".

21. Here favorite thing of all is Jelly Weekend. Every Saturday when we all hang out in the den and watch kid shows and Daddy makes toast with jelly for breakfast. It is so precious how something so simple can fill her heart with joy.
22. She is really trying to figure out days of the week. Most mornings when she wakes up she asks me if it is Jelly Weekend. I will tell her what day it is and then she will ask what that day means. Do we go to church? Do we go to the library? Does Daddy get to stay down? Days when Daddy gets to "stay down" are her favorite days of all.
23. When she gets out of Sunday school and comes back into the church service she is always really excited to show me her craft and tell me what she learned. She is so happy and earnest about it I don't have the heart to tell her to be quiet because the service is still going on.
24. She has had a lot of fun making new friends since we moved.
25. She is a little too worried about who she is going to marry for my liking. I always tell her to let God worry about that and to ask him to send her someone just like Daddy.
26. She loves pretending to plant carrots in the backyard.
27. She loves pretending to play with maps.
28. She loves pretending.
29. She tries very hard to follow all the rules and gets really sad and upset when her sister or friends do not.
30. She still likes for Mommy to sing "If You Listen" to her at night.

31. She has overcome a lot of fears this year like doors being shut all the way and being alone.
32. She always wants to know if she is as big as Travis yet.
33. She is very concerned about where she and her husband will live after they are married. She doesn't want it to be far away from Mommy and Daddy. She is always coming up with scenarios that will work like building a house near us or us giving them this house. She spends time thinking about this problem everyday.
34. She is a little drama queen. She practices all her facial expression in the reflection of the window every night at dinner. It is amazing.
35. She loves Cattie. They have a very special relationship.
36. She is very sensitive.
37. She is very protective of Sissy.
38. She loves reminding people of things.
39. She is very detail oriented and wants to understand every aspect of everything we do and every decision we make.
40. She is very kind and loving to Rose.

41. Library Story Time is one of her favorite things. Her face lights up and she enjoys every moment of it.
42. She definitely knows how to enjoy life!
43. She has started adding a "T" sound to some of her words. Cousin Ben is "Bent". It is pretty adorable.
44. Her eyes are extremely sensitive to light.
45. She loves everyone in her family intensely. At the thought of any of them being hurt or separated from her her eyes instantly and very sincerely fill with tears.
46. She is rambunctious.
47. If she is awake she is probably talking.
48. She is very yielding.
49. She enjoys tea time with Mommy and Sissy everyday after nap.
50. She may not have a brother but she can definitely play like a boy. She has received this "compliment" from several little boys that she plays with.

51. She loves to color, draw, and make things.
52. Cleaning up big messes really overwhelms her. She doesn't know where to start so she usually starts with a lot of tears.
53. She experiences all of her emotions very fully. Happy and sad feelings go from 0 to 60 with her with amazing speed.
54. She can spin quite a creative tale at story time.
55. She needs everything to be just so.
56. She still sleeps with matesie every night.
57. She still sucks her thumb some but now it is only at night and when she is scared or worried or trying not to cry.
58. She loves "bike races" with Daddy.
59. It has been a joy to see her grow in her interest in and love for the things of God.
60. She is also fascinated with bad guys. "Mommy where do bad guys live? Mommy what do bad guys do at night? Mommy what do bad guys do in daytime?

61. She has left behind a lot of her childhood speech. Sleeping Beauty is no longer Sicka Booty and Adam and Eve are not Adam and Steve.
62. She is really looking forward to starting preschool this fall.
63. She is very creative. Her scribble pictures always amaze us in how much they look like real art.
64. She really thrives in group settings like Sunday school and library story time.
65. She enjoys doing "projects" with Miss April at the nursery during Mommy's Bible Study.
66. She and Sissy love putting on ballet shows for Mommy and Daddy at bedtime.
67. She loves to pick out her own pajamas.
68. She loves learning about and celebrating holidays.
69. She started helping Mommy feed Rose this year.
70. She is very concerned about the health and well being of all her families members. We told her Coke was bad to drink and that it makes people sick and she burst into tears the next time she saw Daddy drinking some.

71. She still loves eating at Chipotle and Chick fil A and still loves playing at the mall playground.
72. She has gotten a lot taller and slimmer in the past few months and looks like an little girl now. Our precious chubby toddler is gone.
73. She enjoys playing at the park and going down the big slide all by herself.
74. She likes going on nature walks and finding leaves and flowers and pine cones.
75. She enjoys watching her shows. Some of her favorites are Dora, Little Einsteins, and Special Agent Oso.
76. When shows that I have told her are yucky (mostly because they annoy me) come on she starts crying and saying "Turn it off! It's a yucky one."
77. I made the mistake of saying Wendy's was yucky restaurant one time because I didn't want to eat there. Now she can spot a Wendy's sign from yards a way and yells "Mommy I see the yucky restaurant! Are bad guys eating there?" I actually don't even think Wendy's is yucky. Guess I should watch what I say!
78. She loves community group and calls it memory group. Anytime we eat dinner at anyone else's house she thinks it is memory group.
79. Her conscience must be developing because anytime she does something wrong she comes and confesses. "Mommy remember how you told me not to touch Daddy's bike in the living room? I just touched it." Ummm....I'm not sure what to say to that.
80. She had a lot of fun meeting the princesses at Disney World this year and reminds me everyday that Belle told her that Gaston has been working on his manners.

81. She would really like to visit Paris one day only she calls it "the place where Madeline lives and has that tower."
82. She is a very good big sister. I wish I had a big sister like her.
83. I can trust her.
85. She is a great traveler which is good because we have been traveling non stop since she was born.
86. She loves games. If I make anything into a game she will think it is fun. The quiet game actually works on her.
87. It's a good thing too because she loves to hear her own voice.
88. She loves trying out adult phrases and will just randomly throw them into conversations where they don't belong. Sometimes for no reason she will say "Are you sure about this?"
89. She loves celebrating birthdays with others.
90. She can recognize almost all of her letters, can spell and recognize her name and can write the letter A.

91. She has the sweetest, purest heart. It is a gift that I treasure.
92. She loves having fun.
93. She loves loving people.
94. She wants everyone she loves to be with her and to be happy.
95. She was born with her eyes wide open and has been full speed ahead ever since.
96. She is growing in grace.
97. It is a honor and privilege to be her mom.
98. Four years ago today she made me a mother. I couldn't have asked for a better baby. There couldn't have been a more adorable toddler. I know there is no sweeter little girl.
99. I wouldn't change a thing about her.
100. I love her with all of my heart.

Happy Birthday Afton Adele!

One Job That Matters

2011-02-25T16:24:00.006-05:00

It took me three babies and four years of motherhood to learn that on days when my baby is sick I only have one job that matters.

And as you can see it is not personal grooming.

Flowering Weeds

2011-02-23T13:55:00.009-05:00

Two of my new friends here in South Carolina lost babies to miscarriages last week. Babies that they loved and were looking forward to meeting. Babies who would have loved the sweet mommies they were born to. These particular girls have been two of the friendliest and most welcoming people I have met in my new home. I am thankful for them and now I am deeply saddened that such a heartbreaking circumstance has befallen people who have been so kind to me. I have wept while writing this paragraph and it has taken me much longer to write it than it took for you to read it.

Five years ago we lost our first baby to a miscarriage. I didn't much feel like talking about it then and have very rarely talked about it since. When I do mention it it is always in an all business kind of way. I will state the fact that it happened and whatever details surrounding it that are pertinent to the conversation at hand. But I don't...go there. I don't open my heart to any feelings whatsoever surrounding the matter. It is a closed case. Miscarriages happen all the time and one happened to me. Done.

Or so I thought. But then when my friends started having experiences I knew too well those long ignored feelings made their presence known again. The feelings that start when you see blood where blood shouldn't be when you're pregnant. The feelings that grow when the bleeding doesn't stop even as you are trying to convince yourself that it is getting lighter. The feelings that crash down around you when some medical person tells that what you have feared and hoped against and prayed against has happened. Your baby is gone and you will not hold it until heaven. The feelings that sink in when you realize your baby will always be called it. Never him or her. Loud, ugly, painful feelings. Feelings that you don't want and don't know what to do with. Feelings you try to hide when someone asks you how you are. I hate those feelings. I hate that the commonness of miscarriages means that those awful feelings are common too. I hate that the commonness of such awful feelings doesn't make them any less awful. If anything it just makes them more infuriating. I hate all of that.

But in revisiting the emotions of losing a baby I reminded of another kind of feeling I had back then. A feeling that is beautiful and is odd in that it only accompanies the darkest and most terrible of feelings. The kind of peace and hope that only show up in the midst of real fear and despair. The supernatural assurance of God's goodness that is only relevant when everything in you wants to ask how He could be so cruel. The joy that God saves aside for only his children who are experiencing profound sorrow. It's a kind of feeling I can't explain. Supernatural is the best word I've got for it. I think it is commonly called grace.

My miscarriage took place in Italy. I spent a week in an Italian hospital. I had left my home at the end of winter. What was supposed to be a quick four day trip to welcome my brother back from Afghanistan turned into two weeks in a strange place going through the most excruciating experience of my life. While I was gone winter turned into early spring. When I stepped out of my car after the long flight and ride home my yard was covered in purple flowers. Weeds really, but they were flowering weeds, and they were where nothing but winter deadness had been when I left. They said to me in a way no human could have gotten away with "Life goes on." Not in a trite shruggy oh-well-better-luck-next-time kinda way. But in the resounding way of a trustworthy promise. LIFE - real life, the kinda life God makes - goes on and on and on even in this world so broken that an innocent baby isn't even safe in the womb of the mother who loves it. That is what those flowering weeds said to me. My yard wasn't covered in flowers my yard was covered in grace.

I was away this weekend while my friends were just beginning to grapple with their loss. In my prayers for them I kept coming back to those flowering weeds. I asked God to send them something like that. Some kind of visible, palpable grace that is louder than their pain and that is kinder than this world is cruel. I believe that He will.

When I arrived home on Monday my yard that I had left in the dead of winter just days before was full of those same purple flowers I first noticed all those years ago.

His mercy endures forever.

Does She Ever Answer The Phone?

2011-02-15T17:03:00.003-05:00

I love my phone. It is a handy camera and source of information and two words...bubble shooter. In a pinch it makes a mighty fine shopping list. It also means a lot to me because Ronny bought it for me because he wanted to. He's a keeper I tell you.

However, I hate the phone. I hate it. I hate talking on the phone. I hate calling people on the phone. I just do. I also hate the way the phone wants to rule over me like a despot. It is a despot I overthrew years ago. Now I think of it more as a pitiful servant. Because of that I spend good portions of everyday not knowing where my phone is. Because of that I am often asked "Why didn't you answer your phone?" or by the more persistent "Why don't you answer your phone?"

These questions aren't new to me. I wrote a post answering them years ago. They have been popping up with an increased frequency lately so I thought I would throw these answers back out again for any who may be wondering, "Does she ever answer the phone?"

The answer is I do. But I wouldn't count on it. For an answer somewhat dated but in greater detail see below:

FAQ: Why didn't/don't you answer your phone?

Ever.

2011-02-14T11:17:00.004-05:00

Today my house is full of people I love and it's the best St. Valentine's Day I have ever known.

Where I Am From

2011-01-28T16:54:00.003-05:00

My friend Martha made me do this. I wish I saw her more often so I could still call her Marth Brooks like I used to when we were young and we could still sing country songs super loud together. I could use some fun like that in my life. She has a precious blog called 50 Sticky Fingers which is the best blog name ever in my opinion. Anyway her post today told me to do this and I decided to listen to her. I will let her explain exactly what it is I am doing here. It was a pretty fun diversion. I hope you'll try it too and if you do I hope you will leave me a comment letting me know where I can read about where you are from.

Where I Am From

I am from a round dinette table and four chairs with white metal backs, from Kool Aid and love.

I am from the dark, cool living room with Little House on the Prairie turned on.

I am from an Aloe Vera plant making boo boos better and the morning after a storm.

I am from pizza on the coffee table and stubbornness, from McCoys and Andersons and Braggs.

I am from excitement first and thinking later and fierce loyalty and shyness.

From who loves you baby and accidents happen.

I am from the church altar and going forward at the invitation..

I'm from Oklahoma, fried Chicken and Wacky cake.

From Dad bringing me chocolate milk everyday after Kindergarten, playing at Mom's office while she worked, and Master Lee's Karate center.

I am from a park in Virginia, Make A Wish day, good grades are important but not as important as love.

From family being all that mattered.

Something Other Than God

2011-01-22T08:29:00.004-05:00

What Satan put into the heads of our remote ancestors was the idea that they could "be like gods" -- could set up on their own as if they had created themselves -- be their own masters -- invent some sort of happiness for themselves outside God, apart from God. And out of that hopeless attempt has come nearly all that we call human history -- money, poverty, ambition, war, prostitution, classes, empires, slavery -- the long terrible story of man trying to find something other than God which will make him happy.

C.S. Lewis

Mere Christianity

Like It Was Yesterday.

2011-01-19T13:51:00.007-05:00

This is Afton yesterday:

I distinctly remember taking this picture yesterday morning. She was having her first solid foods and loving it. No surprise. She loves loving things. I know it was just yesterday. Maybe the day before.

But then this morning this happened:

That same little baby that I had been feeding yesterday, with all her characteristic zeal, and as you can see, with no lack of panache or style, fed her sister breakfast while I made breakfast for everyone else. Well, while I made breakfast for everyone else, ran upstairs to tell her daddy to come down and see, took a million pictures, and rejoiced in the fact that I had a child old enough to help me. To actually help me.

But wait. When did my baby get old enough to feed babies? How did this happen?

Those old ladies in grocery stores and cheesy country songs aren't kidding around when they say stuff like:

"Don't blink."

"The days are long but the years are short."

"Enjoy them. They grow up so fast."

Because, boy, it really does feel like it was yesterday...

What Else I Get Wrong.

2011-01-15T13:54:00.006-05:00

I am often...often...overwhelmed by all I want to teach my children. How to use the potty, how to clean up after themselves, how to call 911, what it means to be kind, what it means to be brave, what kind of boys will be worth their time someday and what kind won't. I mean they came to me knowing nothing. It's a pretty big job.

It is even bigger when I consider that they learn mostly by example. Now I have not only what I want to teach them to worry about but all the things I don't want to teach them as well. How to lose your temper, how to make a mountain out of a molehill, how to be lazy ... impatient ... inflexible...unforgiving. How to give the silent treatment, how to cuss, how to worry and gossip instead of pray, how to hate, how to fear.

See, I am already feeling overwhelmed again. But I am realizing something lately. That if I can teach my children the spectacular truth you will hear about below...really teach it to them so that it takes on a life of its own inside their hearts...well, then it won't really matter what else I get wrong.

(WARNING: Mildly cheesy video. Just close your eyes and listen to the words.)

I Love That Story.

2011-01-14T12:39:00.007-05:00

Sissy loves telling stories. They all follow this exact formula:

Once upon a time there was beautiful (pronounced "byoo-ful") princess named {insert name here i.e. Ariel, Jasmine, Afton, Ponder, Jessie, Veggie Tales}. She was very beautiful but she was not mean or foolish. And you know what happened? I don't know! And that's the end.

I love that story. It never ever gets old.

Speaking of Veggies Tales Afton recently approached me about something I could tell she had been thinking about for a while. "Mommy, Larry and Bob kinda look like food. Is that crazy?"

I had to be honest and say "Yeah, it kinda is."

These girls make me laugh.

It's a lot of fun living in a castle full of byoo-ful princesses. And that's the end.

Remember Who You Wanted To Be

2011-01-05T14:04:00.006-05:00

Somehow I earlier this fall I happened upon Gretchen Rubin's Twelve Personal Commandments. The idea resounded with me. Calling them commandments felt icky to me but the idea was bewitching. It reminded me of another bewitching idea I had happened upon several falls ago.

I hate bumper stickers. I could rant your face off about that, but why? In the fall of 2004 I was a newlywed and living briefly in a Holiday Inn. I came home from work one day and in the Holiday Inn parking lot I saw an old beater with a bumper sticker on in that read "Remember Who You Wanted To Be." The idea resounded with me. It was the first bumper sticker I had ever seen that was worth the glue that held it to the bumper. It has haunted me ever since.

I have seen what it looks like when people forget who they wanted to be. It is sad. It musty and dank and depressing. It is everywhere. I knew the moment I read those words that I didn't want to forget who I wanted to be. What I have never been confident about was how I am supposed to make sure I remember.

I think that is why Gretchen's commandment idea was so poignant to me. What do I do in day to day life when I want to remember something? I make list. I write it down. That is what my personal commandments are - a list to help me remember who I wanted to me.

After I made my list I still grappled with my uneasiness with the word commandment. It is a loaded word. I toyed with other words like reminder or principle but they didn't capture the point of the exercise. Commandment is the only word...commanding...enough to express what I want to do with this list. I want to command myself to remember who I wanted to be.

Not in a biblical sense but in a military sense. My mission is remembering who I wanted to be and these are my marching orders.

Sir, yes, sir!

1. Be here now.

2. Give grace.

3. Laugh.

4. Let your smile make you happy.

5. Suffer long.

6. Don't assume another's neurosis.

7. Play along.

8. Empathize.

9. Go outside.

10. Say I'm sorry.

11. Care.

12. Choose and offer freedom.

But Seriously...YAY FOR OUTSIDE.

2010-11-10T14:02:00.006-05:00

We had some kind of lentil soup for lunch. It came from a can from Trader Joes. I realized pretty early on in soup season that making soup from scratch at lunch time was not the best use of my time. So cans it is. More important though is where we ate lunch. Right here:

Our brand new picnic table that Ron bought for us yesterday. I am so excited to eat outside with my family. I want to do it all time. Today after the girls finished their lunches they took their messy fingers and their messy selves to the yard and played. Ron and I just sat there and finished our lunches while watching the girls play and talking like grown-ups. Normally, when the girls are done we have to be done too because we immediately have to clean them up so they don't track even more yogurt and jelly and spaghetti sauce and yucky yucky all over the house. Not when we are outside. Yay for outside.

But seriously...YAY FOR OUTSIDE. It is glorious lately. Everywhere I look I see spectacular trees outside my windows. The air feels amazing. Afton asked me in the car today why God made fall and all I could say is that it was because He wanted to fill our hearts with wonder. Why else?

Anyway, I'm not sure what we are having for dinner tonight but I am pretty sure I know where we will eat it. God is showing off out there right now and I don't wanna miss it.

Happy Fall Ya'll

2010-10-27T13:07:00.007-04:00

Seasons change, children grow up, we grow older, the world stays on track, all things pass, time marches on. God is so good. He's so good to me.

Jesus I Come

2010-10-03T12:52:00.002-04:00

Out of my bondage, sorrow and night,
Jesus, I come, Jesus, I come;
Into Thy freedom, gladness, and light,
Jesus, I come to Thee;
Out of my sickness, into Thy health,
Out of my want and into Thy wealth,
Out of my sin and into Thyself,
Jesus, I come to Thee.

Out of my shameful failure and loss,
Jesus, I come, Jesus, I come;
Into the glorious gain of Thy cross,
Jesus, I come to Thee;
Out of earth’s sorrows, into Thy balm,
Out of life’s storms and into Thy calm,
Out of distress to jubilant psalm,
Jesus, I come to Thee.

Out of unrest and arrogant pride,
Jesus, I come, Jesus, I come;
Into Thy blessed will to abide,
Jesus, I come to Thee;
Out of myself to dwell in Thy love,
Out of despair, into raptures above,
Upward for aye on wings like a dove,
Jesus, I come to Thee.

Out of the fear and dread of the tomb,
Jesus, I come, Jesus, I come;
Into the joy and light of Thy home,
Jesus, I come to Thee;
Out of the depths of ruin untold,
Into the peace of Thy sheltering fold,
Ever Thy glorious face to behold,
Jesus, I come to Thee.

~ William Sleeper

Chances to buy back a bit of your childhood wonder don't come around everyday.

2010-09-27T15:05:00.002-04:00

This plate may not mean much to you. For me it is the joy of childhood. Being loved, belonging, the world being right.

My Nana had this china when I was a kid. I have eaten an untold number of Sunday dinners, Thanksgiving turkeys, and Christmas hams from plates that look just like these. Not the mention all the chocolate pie I have eaten off of this plate's baby brother. These dainty blue flowers bring with them a stampede of memories. My dad and Papa discussing theology and politics at the table. My brother saying "Nana, you really outdid yourself this time." and then looking anxiously around the table to see if he had used that phrase properly. My Papa giving my Aunt Debby a hard time "It's gravy night on Debby's shirt!" and Debby squealing at him and appealing to Nana, "Mom, make him stop!" We would eat and eat and eat until we were full and then we would have dessert. Nana would ask who wanted dessert and without fail Papa would say, "I don't ever remember turning it down except the one time I misunderstood the lady." When we were done my mom and Aunt Debby would fight over which one of them got to do the dishes for Nana. They both wanted to. From my childish point of view we were all unspeakably happy and this unspeakable happiness was all I knew for a long, long time.

In the years since big kid realities like disease and divorce have dismantled this happy scene. One by one those dainty blue flowered dishes all broke or were given away. Some perhaps were placed in storage and forgotten. My memories of those days were placed in storage and forgotten. New dishes replaced the old ones and my grown up reality replaced my childhood.

Until a couple of weeks ago when I was wandering aimlessly around my church garage sale. A pitcher caught my eye. Actually it was those dear blue flowers on the pitcher that caught my eye. The lady selling them must have seen it in my face...the look of seeing a long lost friend somewhere you would never have thought to look for her. She pulled the box out from under the table. A full set of the very same china my Nana had. She would sell it to me for fifty dollars. Chances to buy back a bit of your childhood wonder don't come around everyday. A quick trip to the ATM and they were mine.

Once they were home I left them on the counter like this for days. Every time I passed them feeling gleeful that they were mine to make glorious memories on with my children. Seeing my children celebrate with these loved old dishes and their big innocent eyes will be beautiful marriage of the past and present. An experience I am so thankful I will likely be able to have many times over in the coming years!

If you were just wondering where the best place to get boxes is... now I feel silly!

2010-09-15T14:11:00.005-04:00

A friend of mine recently asked me for moving advice. I moved a lot when I was a kid. I have had three major moves since I was an adult. Adults are a lot less adaptable than kids so I actually think in a way moving is harder for an adult than for a child. I feel like I have learned a few good lessons about moving the hard way and decided to share what I told my friend about them here to maybe save someone else a little trouble:

I have one big piece of advice about moving that I had to learn the hard way about three times before I finally figured it out. It may seem weird but here it is.....decide you are going to love it before you go and realize that just because you love where you came from doesn't mean you can't love where you are going. What I mean is for two of my three big moves as a grown up (one to Virginia from Oklahoma and one from one town in Virginia to another where I didn't know anyone) I was so busy thinking about the place I had come from and how awesome it was that I wouldn't let myself see all the good things around me in my new place. It was kinda like I was afraid to love the new place because I already loved the old place so much. So I spent a lot of time focusing on how much I missed the old place and no time enjoying the new place. Then after a lot of time had passed I would wake up and realize that this new place isn't bad at all and actually has a lot of good about it. I always regretted spending so much time being sad and miserable at the beginning of new place that I would eventually end up loving . Anyway so when we moved here I decided ahead of time that I was going to love it from the beginning. It didn't mean I wouldn't miss Virginia and all the memories I had there. It did mean I wouldn't set my new town up for failure by constantly comparing it to where I had come from. I would find things I liked about it right away and start enjoying them. More importantly, I would start treating it and thinking of it like home not some strange new place. Those are hard things to do for someone who is sentimental like me, but I made a decision to do it and this has by far been the best move ever. I have realized through all my moves that you can truly love more than one place with all your heart and that makes opening my heart to a new place much easier because I don't feel like I have to turn my back on other places. Places that in their own way are still very much home to me. I don't know if that makes sense but I hope so! Also, I hope that is the kind of advice you were looking for. If you were just wondering where the best place to get boxes is... now I feel silly!

One other thing I had to learn the hard way. Making new friends as an adult is a lot more challenging than it was when we were young. Adults have their own routines and ways of doing things. They aren't really worried about making new friends. They don't have to meet all new people every year in classes like kids do. So my advice for when you move is don't wait to start making friends. Jump right in. Find a church and maybe hobby or something and start meeting people. Don't wait for them to ask you over or out for dinner. You do it. The quicker you jump in and make it happen the quicker you will have friends and the quicker you have friends the quicker you will feel really at home. I didn't do this in my last move and I found it hard the entire time to make friends. I learned though from watching a few military families come in and out of town that when you are the new person the responsibility for making friends lies with you. If you put forth the effort people will happily open their hearts to you. You just have to jump in and do it. If you are shy like me that is hard but totally worth it.

One awesome thing about moving when you are our age is that you you get to take your best friends with you. Having Ron and my girls with me means home is anywhere I am!