Thankfulness

This month I made a Thanksgiving Tree (beautifully constructed of autumn colored construction paper and perfectly taped to the wall).  There are 30 leaves on it that can be removed.  Each day, the kids get to pick a leaf and tell me what they are thankful for.  I write it on the leaf then tape it to the bottom of the tree.  They've really enjoyed it...correction, Riley has really enjoyed it and Jude really couldn't care less.

Here are some of the things they are thankful for:
Riley- All the leaves on the trees.  My Nona (two times). My Mom. My Daddy.  My Memaw. Minnie Mouse. Jessie.  Jude. My toy Mickey. For our friends, Millie, Sarah, and Caroline. For medicine. Minnie PJs.

Jude- Nothing. For Pepaw. For you, Mommy. For Riley. For Daddy.  For my pocket. Spiderman. Memaw. Batman. Toys. Toy Story 2. Nona.  For my friends, Millie, Sarah, and Caroline.

I love the way those little minds work.

Riley-isms TMI

Just a little warning, if you are a boy, stop reading as you will be embarrassed by this post.  I am sitting in my dining room blushing right now.

The other day, I was joined in the bathroom by Riley as even these private business moments are not done alone. One day I might miss the fact that I am never alone, even in the bathroom. Well, maybe not.  Anyway, I was putting a panty-liner in my undies (see boys? stop reading, you were warned) and Riley said with a frown, "When do I get stickers in my panties?" Oh dear.  And the hard questions have already begun.

Fall Fun!!!

It has become a tradition to go to one of the corn maze/ pumpkin patches in NWA with the Smiths each year.  We always have a fun time, and each year changes with the growing kids. This year we started our fun with pictures of the three kids...

Oh wait!!! Audrey is here too!!  She had to get into the picture!!!

In the corn maze as the sun was setting. Sounds fun, huh?  It really was, especially because the older kids chose each turn we took.  I estimate that we made about 4 circles in the maze, but we made it out alive!

Then it was on toward the animal farm.  The kids got to see, touch, and feed lambs, goats, and a calf!  Riley isn't too sure about being so close to the animals.

Millie got right into it!  Maybe she'll be a rancher one day. ;o)

But the best part?  The pile of mulch. I kid you not.  They had a large pile of mulch that got just as much attention from all kids there as the animals did. Riley got to choose her outfit that day, note to self; Do not let Riley wear flip flops next year as mulch shavings aren't friendly to bare feet.

The girls had a blast singing and putting on a show at the top of the pile.  I mean really, with a little imagination, you can make anything a stage.

Batman.  Oh wait, that isn't Batman!  That's just Jude sporting his current favorite superhero, even if he has never seen anything Batman....

Love this pic.  

Not sure why this picture was sent to the bottom of the page, but Jude was amazed by the calf. As always, we had so much fun with the Smith family!  

A couple of weeks later, our community group went to The Right Choices Corn Maze & pumpkin patch in Missouri.  We hadn't been before and were very excited to explore a new place.

First stop, the bouncy thing.  I'm still not sure what the official name of this was, but basically, it was an inflatable that was the size of a swimming pool and about 2 feet high.  The kids LOVED this.  One of Riley's favorite things is bouncing, she'll bounce on just about any surface (couch and bed included).  It took some bribing to get her off. 

Notice Jude's feet, they never left the surface.  But he'll tell you he had "So much fun" on the bouncy thing.  To the right is Kenslee.  She and Jude have a special friendship.  She loves to take care of him, and he loves her doting on him.

Next up were the slides.  Jude jumped right in and started sliding.  No fear, a gift from his Daddy who I might argue still lacks this brain synapse. 

Riley was not fast to join in and took about 4 of Jude's turns before she decided she was big enough for the slides.  Such simple slides provided SO much fun. Again, they were bribed with Kettlecorn to see what else there was to play with.

Oh Corn boxes.  Nope, not sandboxes, corn boxes.  That's right, boxes full of dried corn kernels.  Unlike sand, it doesn't show up in every crack and crevice at the end of play time, but it did still get into shoes... I'll take that trade off.

Our community group is made up of seven families. The kids all play well together, as well as the adults. :o) We have fun together and are sharpened by one another.  We've really grown to love and respect this amazing combination of people that we never would have met otherwise. Thankful.

"Watch me grow" Does it count if we took a similar picture at a different pumpkin patch last year?

And onto the Cow Train.  Our kids were a little leary about riding alone, so Kate took Riley.  Kate is a first grader and so sweet with Riley and Jude.  Kate and Kenslee are like little mamas to Riley and Jude and I love this, it makes my heart glow.

Jude refused to wear sunglasses, so he is squinting, but loved riding with Kenslee.  

I was most excited about the hay ride.  I don't know why, but I had high expectations for this to be the highlight of the trip.  Wrong. It was okay, we rode through a field, turned around and rode back.  Eeehhh.  Nothing cool to look at and not interactive in anyway. But still a nice chance to sit down for a few minutes.

Jude rode with Kenslee.  <3 p="p">

The "pumpkin patch" consisted of pumpkins lined up for pictures and purchasing.  This was overall my favorite corn maze/ pumpkin patch.  Lot of great activities, so much fun for the kids.  They played Christian music throughout the farm & people were just plain nice to each other. I am excited about going back next year, as are the kids.

Tailgating Fun

Okay, it's been a LONG time since I have posted anything.  So I am going to try to start from where we left off and cover all the fun things we've been up to for the past couple of months.  First, tailgating.  You know this is something we enjoy every year, this year has been no exception.  Rain or shine, hot or cold, we are there, enjoying fun with family and friends... and lots of great food. 

Here is dad making gumbo.  Oh how I love this gumbo.  I fought the TV from being a part of our tailgate for years and lost.  And as typical of most families, I find the ladies in the "kitchen" section of the awning and the guys under the awning with the TV.  But, lucky for us, the guys love to cook at the tailgates.  I enjoy this immensely.  Doesn't mean I sit and relax, but it does mean I am not cooking, and that in itself is a small vacation.

Jude and Riley love the attention they get from Nona. This can be evidenced by the constant calling of Nona's name.  "Nona! Nona!  Nona!  Nona!"

Riley loves the swirly skirts she gets to wear and the stickers that she can wear on her face. These stickers always make their appearance at church the next day and come off with sad tears on Sunday night.

The swirly skirt.  Oh and the pom pons.  Nona has tons of them. They are everything from a bird's nest to real pom pons to bubbles in a bath. I love watching the kids take random things and create such a cool world in their imaginations.  This might be my favorite part of this phase, watching those imaginations blossom.

Always present with tailgating:  FRIENDS!!  We love hanging out with the Mackey family for hours at a time. The kids get along so well and everyone enjoys each other's company. We are so blessed to have so many great friends.

LOVE this.

LOVE him.

Riley, Mallory, and Jude.  This is Riley's introduction to the Barbie Doll.  I don't think life will ever be the same.  And Jude has a boy to play with!  Sutton is 6 months older than Jude, Woody likes that he has a good guy influence rather than his sister who always ends up putting him in princess crowns and shoes.

The patriarchs of the tailgating.  None of this would happen without them!

Pre-Audrey Brooke!!  This woman was 9 full months pregnant and hung out at the tailgate all day.  That's pretty incredible.  Audrey was born on the following Thursday night. 

The Denali always becomes a playground for the kids.  I don't know how Dad feels about this, but I love that they are contained in one place and are sheltered from the wind and cold.  I love this picture, safety first.  Not sure how Jude got the privilege of riding shotgun since Millie is the one driving.  I imagine this will NOT be the case in 13 years.

Wishful thinking.  The girls wanted to lay down. I actually had a thought that they might actually rest for a few minutes...and then came Jude.

And then Riley got in on the tackling action.

This was several tailgates rolled into one post, told you, lots to cover.  Now on to the next thing...

Audrey Elouise Smith

On September 6, 2012, the Smith family welcomed Audrey into the world.

Brooke called to let me know she was being induced.  My role was to keep Millie.  I was so excited to serve my sweet friend in this way.  So we picked Millie up from Preschool for a surprise sleepover.  The girls (and Jude) were so excited about this.

After bedtime, I was able to go to the hospital and wait for the newest Smith lady.  I was so honored to be there for Audrey's arrival.  I have never seen a birth when I wasn't doing the birthing.  When giving birth, one is on a mission and extremely focused on pushing and breathing and pain.  But observing it is completely different.  What a miracle.  Absolutely nothing short of amazing awesomeness. I stood in awe of how God created our bodies to create and give life. It left me speechless. I still cannot find the words that properly explain.

Audrey, I am so excited that you are finally here.  God gave you to two of the best parents I've ever known. I watched them pray earnestly for you for over a year. I cannot wait to see what God has in store for your life.  And I am honored that my family gets to be a part of your life.  We love you so much Audrey!!

Potty Training, take 2

Because I am mostly crazy, I decided Jude was ready to start potty training just after we moved into a new house.  With new carpet.  He was showing signs that he was ready and after almost 4 years of diapers (for Riley and Jude), I am just done buying diapers!

So we set out armed with stickers, a sticker chart, and a grassy backyard.  The kids and I spent 2 days outside in our new backyard.  Jude started wearing the "Donald Duck outfit", only a shirt, no pants or undies.  The first day he had no clue when he was peeing.  The second day he started sitting on the Elmo potty when he needed to go.  The third, fourth, and fifth days, he only had 1 accident each day!!  Score!  He was the easiest kid to train.  And then the poop training came. Yes.  This is different from pee pee training.  Don't ask me why.  I have no clue.  Since it comes from the same region of the body, it should go hand-in-hand (no pun intended), right? Appparently not.  Riley had the hardest time with this, sometimes holding it in for almost a week!

While he has conquered the bigger ideas of potty training, there is still work to be done.  He's only had 2 successful poops in the potty.  Fortunately, he likes to play in our bathtub, which means he's pooped in it twice. Fairly easy to clean up, considering where it could have landed-that new carpet I mentioned above. The first time he pooped, he ran to find me and said, "Mommy!  I pee pee black!" After laughing until my guts hurt, I explained what it was, that is was brown not black (still working on those colors), and that it goes in the potty.  Now when he needs to go (or has already gone), he says "Mommy, it's brown stuff."  Only he pronounces the "R" as an "L", "Blown stuff".  It's hilarious. What would be even more hilarious is if he could actually put the "Blown stuff" in the potty. I'm holding out hope that this will happen soon and I can stop spending the diaper money on extra laundry detergent and the water bill.

Home New Home

We are home!  We are loving our new house.  We moved in on Saturday, August 11th with amazing help from our family and community group.  We started bright and early to beat the heat (which turned out to be a high of 85 in August, thank you Lord).  Mom took the kids to Chick-Fil-A for breakfast, then play time at the park while we did the moving.  By 10:30am, the large majority of stuff had been moved.  Told you, our community group and family are awesome.  By nap time (for the kids, as much as I wanted to nap, I wanted to unpack the kitchen more), all furniture was placed and set up.

During nap time, we got the kitchen and living rooms pretty much unpacked and organized. You know how I love to put things in their places.  But moving in presented a challenge I wasn't prepared for, TONS of decisions.  Typically I like to make decisions, but for some reason I could not tell people where I wanted plates, cups, utensils, odds and ends, pots and pans.  It could be that our new kitchen is smaller than our old one, so we had to get creative on where we put things.

One reason I married Woody was for his energy level.  It never seems to end.  Moving day was exceptional in that he truly did not sit down until 11pm. He worked moving boxes inside as I worked to unpack as much as possible.  Again, our support system helped me unpack the kitchen.  By then I was pretty out of energy. :-) That man worked until he could move both cars into the garage for the night.  I was speechless (which you KNOW doesn't happen often) and awed.

Over the next few days, we put everything in it's new spot.  Now we are settled and able to enjoy a beautiful home that is close to everything.  The Monday after we moved in, school started for Woody.  He was able to come home for lunch during the first week of inservice.  SO NICE. The kids' favorite part of the new house is the yard, level in front and back, with grass in it so they can run barefooted because they are truly children of Arkansas.

One of my favorites in the house if the central vac.  It's an upgrade that makes me feel rich and makes me want to clean. Granted that isn't much of a stretch since I love cleanliness and order, but now it's fun to vacuum, not like dragging around that Dyson that weighed like a thousand pounds. The kids favorite part of the central vac is the box.  In a matter of a few minutes it was an airplane, a fort, and a library...until it crashed and broke. You would have thought the kids had destroyed the only toy they had ever owned. 

Sorry for the lack of pictures.  We have been busy so far and I haven't even thought about taking pictures.  But I will.  Lots of them.