Cartersville Family

Every year at Thanksgiving, we have our family pictures taken. We like to include a current picture in our Christmas cards. I usually stress out trying to get everyone a matching outfit and the perfect location. My dad is a photographer, so we usually pick a place in Jacksonville, our home town. Anyway, this year, with three kids and my brother’s family in on the gig, I decided we should to to the beach. We all wore jeans and white shirts. Not original, I know. My baby boy and Emma, 2, have never been to the beach so they were so excited. Emma kept on commenting about the sand everywhere. To her, sand was contained in the sandbox in our back yard. Lauren couldn’t’ resist the call of the waves, so by the end of the session, she was drenched. She and Emma searched for shells while Matthew was trying to eat them. Oh, the pictures turned out great and I had a blast because I didn’t stress out about them.

I was able to go away for a girls trip this weekend. I had a great time shopping, talking, eating and hanging out with the other staff wives. We went here to relax and just get away. I was only able to do this because my husband stayed with the kids at home. I know it is hard to step in and do all the “mommy stuff” but he did great. All the kids were well and he even straightened the house and did the laundry! There were flowers on the counter and the kitchen was clean. It truly made my day to come home to that. I love you sweetie, you’re the best.

I know these books have probably been around for years, but I have just discovered them and I love them. We got a freebie book on cd from Wendy’s this summer and ever since then, my girls beg to listen to Junie B. Jones has a Monster Under her Bed. It is such a great story. The author hits the nail on the head when she delves into the mind of this little 5 year old. I can hear my own little girl in the stories. If you are looking for some great, well-written and imaginative stories for your girls, check them out. I just got 8 more books on cd for Lauren and Emma to listen to in the car. I find myself laughing out loud with the girls.

My friend Sunshine is one of those homeschooling, bread making kind of woman.  I kid her a lot about the making her own bread thing, but she know I love her.  She is always coming up with ways to get her kids to eat healthy foods without realizing it.  She makes fruit smoothies for her kids with veggies in it.  So i got her “recipe” and tried it on my own girls.  I put carrots, spinach and broccolli in the smoothies along with bananas, blueberries, strawberries, OJ, honey and vanilla yogurt.  You would think that all the good stuff would cover up the veggies.  Well, one sip and my 6 year old wasn’t fooled.  She made the YUCK face and wouldn’t drink it.  After a little encouragement about how healthy it was, she took a few sips and then gave it up.  My Emma, 2, also took one sip and made her YUCK face and said “I don’t like this”.  I must have really done it wrong.  I tasted it and I thought is was pretty good.  Sunshine says her kids beg for the smoothies.  Oh well, I guess I will just have to keep on trying to get them to eat their veggies.

I love being a mom.  My three little ones are such a blessing.  I know it sounds cliche but being a mom is really one of the hardest jobs there is.  I have been pondering lately about what makes it so hard.  I think it is hard to feed them well.  I get so tired of getting them to eat their veggies and fruit.  I can’t tell you how many times I just wanted to hand them the box of Lucky Charms and say, “enjoy!”.  But I know that they need good and nutritious food in their tummies.  It will pay off later when they know how to feed themselves with good food.  I think it is hard to teach them that the tv does not need to be on all the time. It would be so easy to turn it on and let them just “veg out”.  Putting my chores aside and playing with them is hard.  Encouraging them to play with each other and use their imagination will definately benefit them in the future.  It is hard to letting them do things on their own.  I could make the beds better, I could fold the clothes neater, I could prepare the food without the mess, I could carry them up the stairs faster, I could dress them in matching clothes, but I have realized that letting my kids do things on their own teaches them responsibility, self-worth, efficiency and that they can accomplish  a project.  This sounds much easier that it is!!  I do a lot of tongue biting!

I guess it is so hard because in a way, we die to ourselves and the people (our kids) we do it for don’t know the sacrifice until they are all grown up.

Michael and I are a part of a journey group that meets every Wednesday night. It is such a valuable part of our lives that we pay a babysitter each week so we can attend. I look forward to this time every week. Our journey group has such an amazing group of people. We share our lives together and grow together. It is not just a social group or a bible study group… it is a family. All of our family lives in Florida, so our journey group is our “cartersville family”. We can share our joys, defeats, triumphs and struggles; we talk about our kids, marriages, jobs, families; we vent our frustration, and we give praise where it is due; we do outreach to the community and we take care of our own as well. If you are not a part of a journey group or the like, then get plugged in somewhere. You are really missing out.

Thanks to my journey group for the birthday celebration. I loved my cake, balloons and card. You all really made it special! Love you guys

Recently my husband and I purchased mini soccer goals for Lauren’s birthday. She is really into soccer these days. I was outside putting them together along with my 2 year old Emma. The kit included metal stakes to secure the goal to the ground. They were in a little bag that I ended up sitting on while putting the goals together. Emma noticed this and exclaimed in her most dramatic voice, “Mommy get off the meat”. (I had told her a few minutes earlier what the metal spikes were called). I laughed so hard. I am so glad that my little ones make me laugh every day!

Well, I am the ripe old age of 31 today.  I really don’t “feel” like I am 31.  I guess it is like they all say, “you are as young as you feel”.  3 decades is a long time.  I guess the first one doesn’t really count becuase I can’t recall a lot of it.  The 2nd decade was great, but I wouldn’t go back to school if you paid me.  The 3rd decade was the best so far - graduated college, got married, had kids, moved a million times, met some lifelong friends, helped my husband plant a new church. I am sure the next decade will have lots of great memories consisting mostly of my great kids.

Anyway, as a grown up I have discovered that birthdays don’t really mean much anymore.  I mean, I had to do all my regular chores today like get all three kids ready for school, take them to school, go to the grocery store, pick up a gift for a new baby, pick up Emma from school, get lunch made and put the two little ones down for a nap.   I am not having a big party with balloons, presents and cake. I don’t get to wear a “happy birthday princess” crown on my head all day like my daughter Lauren did.  It’s okay though.  My little girls made me a handmade birthday card this morning and greeted me with the Happy Birthday song.  Having little kids sorta makes up for it.  They are my best accomplishment so far!

This time of year toy stores pull out all the stops to try and sell you their stuff. It can be quite daunting to find the perfect gifts for everyone. I have a few great websites for you to try. I actually have the catalogs at home, but you can shop online as well. They have great kid’s gifts for all ages at reasonable prices. Original and unique gifts for girls, boys, sons, daughters, nieces, nephews, cousins, friends, teachers, etc. Hearth Song and Lilly’s Kids have mostly kids’ stuff and Plow and Hearth has some great stuff for adults, teachers, coach’s etc. Happy shopping.

I love Halloween in a small town. My kids and everyone else around get so excited about the costumes, candy and festivities. I think my Lauren has been talking about her costume since last Halloween. This is the first year that Emma really knew what was going on. She is my little sugarholic. She loves anything sweet. Last year we hung out in downtown Cartersville and we had such a great time, that we made plans to attend again this year. All the local businesses on the square and main street stay open and hand out candy. There was music playing, a dance floor, bounce houses and lots of people. My kids had a blast. Emma and Lauren love saying trick or treat (and they even say thank you). Even my little Matthew had fun grinning and flirting with all the passerbys.

oh, and can’t we just call it “Halloween”, not “Fall Festival”. Everyone, know that you are going to give out candy.