Friday, May 30, 2008

My New Creations

I know most of you could care less about seeing these pictures, but for my aunts and mother in law who give me the inspiration to sew, these are for you. My latest creations...










{sewing can be so inexpensive. I bought this cute retro and vintage-y looking chicken fabric for $1 and the shirt for $2.99}
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{my projects that await me}
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Wednesday, May 28, 2008

Last Dance

Gracie had her third and final dance recital of the year tonight. It was with Miss Charity's (her ballet teacher from Olivet Private School) Christian dance school "Beautiful Feet". The recital was like no other. All relating around faith and each dance was so meaningful. I don't think there was hardly a dry eye left when about 12 dads did a dance with their little ballerinas to the song "Butterfly Kisses". It truly was a beautiful recital and we again, were very proud.


{that's gracie in the middle}

Water Boy

Josh and I are dealing with a whole new parenting experience. Having a baby, okay toddler, who has absolutely no fear at all of the water. We went swimming in our neighbors pool this weekend and Fletch was crazy about the water. He always has loved the water, and has never been afraid of it, but as of this weekend, he has gotten a little too comfortable with it for my liking. Once he got the hang of jumping off the side of the pool and attempting to swim, he won't stop. All he does is jump in, whether any one's ready for him to or not. He swings his arms and says his version of 1,2,3 and then he jumps in! He gets out (with our help) and he's laughing, squealing and screaming in delight, then in the matter of seconds, he's back in again. Talk about exhausting for us! We had a couple moments of jumping in after him even after we said, "Fletch, No! Don't jump!". He completely understands us but swimming is more important to him than listening to us evidently. So, thankfully we have an awesome swim teacher in the family, Aunt Kelly, and Fletch is going to be spending some time with her very soon! I'll keep you posted on how he does. I don't plan on the screaming, choking and throwing up episodes that Gracie gave her swim teacher while she was learning. Teaching Colton and Gracie to swim was no fun at all, so hopefully this one won't make it so hard on us : )






Thursday, May 22, 2008

A Sad Day

This morning I shared with people nation wide the devastating reminder that over 100 children are killed each year and over 2400 children are treated in the hospital each year due to the "bye bye syndrome", which is when kids are accidentally run over while a car is backing up. The Chapman family whom I don't know personally but have loved, admired and adored for some time now experienced this tragedy just last night while celebrating their daughter's engagement and son's high school graduation. Their youngest child, adorable Maria Sue, who just turned 5 years old 10 days before, was the victim. She was accidently run over by her teenage brother.
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I'm sure most of you know of Stephen Curtis Chapman, who happens to be an amazing Grammy winning Christian singer/songwriter along with being an outstanding father. Stephen and his wife Mary Beth, who are the parents of six children, are long time adoption supporters having adopted their three youngest children from China.
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I was a little hesitant about posting this sad, sad news on the blog (not wanting to bring anyone down), but it has been on my mind constantly all day and I figured they could certainly use the extra prayers right now and we could all benefit from the reminder to keep an extra eye on our children when we are around vehicles. Better yet, keep an extra hand on them. Their little lives are just too precious not to.

You can read about the story here or visit the blog they created in her memory here.



sweet Maria

Over 60% of back over incidents involve a larger size vehicle, such as a truck, van or SUV, like the one Chapman's son was driving.

Kids and Cars' recommendations to keep children safe include:

• Walk around and behind a vehicle prior to moving it.

• Know where your kids are. Make children move away from your vehicle to a place where they are in full view before moving the car and know that another adult is properly supervising children before moving your vehicle.

• Teach children that "parked" vehicles might move. Let them know that they can see the vehicle; but the driver might not be able to see them.

• Consider installing cross view mirrors, audible collision detectors, rear view video camera and/or some type of back up detection device.

• Measure the size of your blind spot behind the vehicle(s) you drive. A 5-foot-1-inch driver in a pickup truck can have a rear blind zone of approximately 8 feet wide by 50 feet long.

• Be aware that steep inclines and large SUVs, vans and trucks add to the difficulty of seeing behind a vehicle.

• Hold children's hand when leaving the vehicle.

• Teach your children to never play in, around or behind a vehicle, and always set the emergency brake.

• Keep toys and other sports equipment off the driveway.

• Trim landscaping around the driveway to ensure they can see the sidewalk, street and pedestrians clearly when backing out of their driveway. Pedestrians also need to be able to see a vehicle pulling out of the driveway.

• Never leave children alone in or around cars; not even for a minute.

• Keep vehicles locked at all times; even in the garage or driveway and always set your parking brake.

• Keys and/or remote openers should never be left within reach of children.

• Make sure all child passengers have left the car after it is parked.

• Be especially careful about keeping children safe in and around cars during busy times, schedule changes and periods of crisis or holidays.

Our thoughts and prayers go out to the Chapman family in this difficult time.

"Cinderella" by Steven Curtis Chapman (video at the bottom - please watch and listen)

Here are some of the Lyrics:

She spins and she sways to whatever song plays,
Without a care in the world.
And I'm sittin' here wearin' the weight of the world on my shoulders.
It's been a long day and there's still work to do,
She's pulling at me saying "Dad I need you!
There's a ball at the castle and I've been invited and I need to practice my dancin'"
"Oh please, daddy, please!"

So I will dance with Cinderella
While she is here in my arms'
Cause I know something the prince never knew
Ohh-oh ohh-oh, I will dance with Cinderella
I don't wanna miss even one song,
Cuz all to soon the clock will strike midnight
And she'll be gone
She will be gone.

Steven Curtis Chapman Story Behind the Song

***Make sure to turn off my blog music first***

Cinderella by Steven Curtis Chapman

*** Make sure to turn off my blog music first***

2 Cool for School





These pictures say it all!
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Tuesday, May 20, 2008

20 Months

My "baby" is 20 months old today! Waaa!!! Even though it's exciting to see him growing up and learning so many new things, it saddens me to think we are stepping further and further away from the baby stage. All we have left of that are memories. To put it into perspective, Colton was 20 months old when we became pregnant with Gracie. When we think back to that time, Colton was our son. Our child. He was a big boy. In no way did we think of him as our baby.

Fletchy is still that rambunctious wild boy that everyone "warns" you about when they hear you're having a boy. The "watch out, you'll have your hands full" type of warnings. Well, we definitely have our hands full! He certainly is all boy, full of endless energy and covered with lots of bumps and bruises, but inside he is also so filled with love. I am always reminding myself that one day, this energy will pay off for him. I think he will be very motivated and energetic to accomplish all of his goals and dreams. A mom can only hope : )

He's not a big eater (takes after his brother) which explains why he weighs 22 pounds. He loves his sippy's though. Still is not our greatest sleeper. He was doing well, but now is back to his 2 or 3 am wake up calls which we're working on. He's still nursing three times a day, sometimes more, but honestly it hasn't begun to bother me yet except for those middle of the nighters. I have a feeling that it won't continue too much longer but for now, I believe he's benefiting from it so why force something away from him which God created to be perfect for him.


Here are some fun facts about Fletch:


He Loves...


Anything to do with music. He still plays his guitar every single day and can often be seen playing the air guitar or the stick guitar.


Jamming in his room with his big brother and Fletcher's rules are anyone involved must wear a hat and play an instrument.


Singing. His favorite song to sing is "I love You" by the famous Barney. Fletcher is probably Barney's #1 fan right now.


He's beginning to love counting. He likes me to count objects for him but just recently started attempting to count on his own.


Skateboards. Loves scooting around on them while sitting and loves for his Daddy to ride while holding him.


4-wheelers and the dirt bike. Can't ever get enough riding.


Again, Barney. He loves Barney! "Ba-eee"


Animals. All kinds but especially our dog Lucy.


Remote controls.


Turning the TV off right when we're watching the best part.


Anything to do with water. Swimming, bath time, sprinklers, kitchen sink, squirt bottles, and just a plain old hose. If I'm feeling exhausted, I'll take him outside to play with the hose. This keeps him busy for a long time!


Balloons, balloons and more balloons. He is always asking for a "bu-oon".


Balls, he can kick them and throw them all day. Most people are amazed with his ability to pitch long distances.


Did I say Barney? He LOVES Barney if you don't get the picture!


Playing with toy cars, trucks and motorcycles. Vroom, vroom!


Running, jumping and climbing all day long.


Books. He's really gotten into book time. Whenever I say "Fletch it's story time" he almost always goes and picks out one particular book, "Do Frogs Fly?". Those of you with children, I highly recommend it. It's a open the flap book and he loves it! He's also a big fan of Spot books.


I could go on and on all day but I'm sure I've lost half of you already. Overall, he brings us so much joy, laughter and love and our family has been so blessed because of his little spirit lighting up our lives!


It's seriously so hard to believe that in just a short 4 months, we'll be celebrating his 2nd birthday. It may even be harder to believe that on the same day, I'll be celebrating my 30th but I am completely ready for it. Most of my friends and fellow mom's that I am surrounded with are in their 30's. At times I am almost slightly embarrassed to admit that I'm still in my 20's but that's about to be over. It's been fun but I'm ready for my 30's. I believe they'll be some of the best years yet!


Here are some pictures of my big boy!






Check out his amazing eyes!

Monday, May 19, 2008

A Day at the Sandbar (click on the X at the top right to start the slideshow)

Sunday, May 18, 2008

A Beautiful Florida Weekend

What an awesome weekend we had! Despite the thick smoke in the air due to the wild fires, the weather was beautiful and we had an extra ordinary weekend. Friday we didn't do too much since Gracie had quite a cough but Saturday we woke up and headed out on the boat. We took Papa's boat (thanks Papa) since gas has become too expensive for us to take our boat out. Not long after arriving at the sandbar, we met up with a few families from church including Peter our Pastor and his family so this was a lot of fun! Honestly, I felt so relieved when I saw them because I knew it meant that Josh and I may actually get to relax. Peter and his wife Terry have two daughters, Taylor and Shelby who are so good with the kids and especially love Fletch since he's the baby. They also have a 13 year old son Andrew who is the son every parent dreams of. He instantly took Colton and away they went to go have fun. Sarah and Will also from church were also out there with their parents and they too made sure that the kids had a ton of fun. All five of these teens are truly amazing kids that we are so blessed to have be a part of our children's lives. We couldn't ask for better role models for our little followers. Then a little bit later, we ran into a family from our homeschooling group who we know well and who have two sons and a daughter who Colton happens to be good friends with. So now his day was better than perfect. One of their sons Lucas was one of the boys at Colton's birthday party and has become one of his best buddies. Then a little while later, we couldn't believe our eyes when we ran into the "famous" Crowder girls. I say famous because ever since they moved next door to us about four years ago, my kids have worshipped the ground they walk on. Colton and Abby have been saying for years that they are going to get married and it was so cute how while out on the sandbar, someone asked Colton where he will live when he gets older and he and Abby instantly both looked at each other. Aww, childhood love! I think they are getting a little bit more modest though because now when someone asks about their "relationship" they get embarrassed and won't talk so openly about their feelings. I couldn't believe it but we wound up being at the sandbar for 7 hours!!! It was a long but extremely fun day filled with lots of swimming, collecting crabs, and tons of fellowship with some great people. These are the days that get us through those tough and stressful days of business ownership and parenting so we are ever so grateful to have days like these. I prayed deeply before we left for things to go well for us throughout the day and God certainly didn't disappoint me. Even more specific things happened that I won't get into, but was the perfect evidence that God is listening!

On Sunday after church we went to visit my Grammy and Pop Pop. We had a really nice visit with them and were pleased to see how well they are doing now that Grammy is back home. The kids were on their best behavior which was a big plus because a lot of times they tend to get a little bored and find their way into trouble when we visit them. Thank goodness for the wheeled walker and the easy reach grabber tool that always seem to occupy them while they're not getting back scratches from Grammy. She always was the best back scratcher in the world and still is!

After running home to drop off Josh and Fletcher, I took Colton and Gracie to the Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory play put on by the students of Martin County High School. The very talented Jack from our church played Willy Wonka, and did an amazing job! All the students did. It really was a great play and a perfect ending to a great weekend!

Friday, May 16, 2008

Extreme Embarrassment

Okay, I cannot believe I am sharing this with you all, but after going through my day feeling like I have a major secret that I am keeping has made me convinced that if I get it off my chest (no pun intended) and share it with you, then I can move on.

Have you ever been so embarrassed that you cannot even believe that it actually happened? Where it feels too embarrassing to even possibly be real? Well I had that feeling this morning. First of all let me say, I take complete blame for it happening since I waited until the very last minute to get myself ready this morning. Our home AC has been acting up so Josh set up for someone to come and look at it at 10am this morning. So here I am, in my bathroom getting changed knowing that he will be here in just a few minutes. I had our dog Lucy in my room with me and the door shut so when he arrived I wouldn't have to deal with Lucy excitedly running around. Suddenly my bedroom door opens and Lucy goes barging out. So here I come bursting out of my bedroom with nothing but some capri pants on shouting "Colton get Lucy!" when what do I see? I'm standing face to face with the AC man. I froze! Then I quickly covered myself up with my arms and disappeared as fast as I possible could back into my bathroom. I stood there almost completely stunned! Did this really just happen? Could this possibly really have just happened to me! No, there's no way. Then Colton comes in. "Mom? (long pause) Are you embarrassed?" Okay, this did just happen! Aaahhh.....!!!! So once I realized that I was going to have to get myself dressed and face this man like an adult I went out to talk to him. We had some good laughs about it and exchanged apologies to one another. He explained that he knocked on the garage door (which leads into our laundry room) and Colton answered it and asked him to come in. At least Colton knew that this man was coming over so he knew he wasn't a complete stranger but after today he knows not to answer a door EVER, unless I ask him to do so. Well, we are strangers no more! I don't know if it makes me feel any better that Josh knows the guy or not. In a way it does, but in a way I almost wish he was a complete stranger who I never had to worry about seeing again. Oh well, what's done is done and I can't worry about it any more. Josh came home for lunch and Colton says, "Daddy, the AC man saw mommy's ninnies." Aaahhh... will this ever end! So now that I've gotten it off my chest (again, no pun intended) I think I'll move on.

It's Official

We now have a 2nd grader and a kindergartner in the house! Oh yea!!! Last night we attended a banquet with our homeschool group Sonshine Christian Academy and Colton and Gracie were given certificates of completion and asked a few questions up on stage. It was a nice ending to another awesome school year!


About 1/2 of the students from Sonshine attended this event


Gracie and two of her best friends from Sonshine

{this mornings bedhead}


Tuesday, May 13, 2008

Sweet Slumbers

Yay!!! I am so exited to share this with you all! For the first time in HISTORY?!?! (at least the first time that I can remember) Fletcher slept in his crib from bedtime until 8:15 this morning!!! Now he did wake up at his usual 3:00am and yell, sing, and call for DaaaEEE (Daddy) for about 5 minutes. He also was whistling for us by saying "Whoo Hoo" which is something cute he's done for a long time. Josh then brought him a sippy and then he began to scream for DaaEEE for probably another 2 minutes before giving up and drinking his sippy then going back to sleep. Then at 8:15... "DaaEEE". By the way, he usually uses DaaEEE for both Josh and I. He uses it mostly for Josh though, especially when he comes home from work, "DAAEEE!!!", but when he is looking for me or really needs something, he'll use it for me too. Every now and then he will remember to say Mama, but it's not too often.

So when I went to get him out of his crib, he was in the greatest mood EVER! He truly could not of been any happier. I went to the fridge and gave him a sippy and immediately he said "thank you" without even hesitating. He's been really good about his manners lately.

Such a sweetie! It's the moments / days like this that make all those hard days bearable!

Ballerina Beauty




We were such proud parents, tears and all, as we watched our little girl dance on stage at the Lyric Theatre Saturday. Her ballet school performed Coppelia and it was beautiful! They truly do an amazing job when it comes to putting on a performance. This was Gracie's second year of dancing at the Lyric and she absolutely loves it! She has no stage fright what so ever and would go back and do it again tomorrow if given the chance. I don't know where she gets it from because in all my years of dancing, I was completely nervous at each performance. I can still feel the butterflies but now I just get them for Gracie!


{just after the show had ended}


Gracie with one of her ballet teachers Miss Crystal, who was also in the performance.

Colton was a proud big brother watching his sister on stage!
Then... after rushing home from the performance and changing Gracie from one ballet outfit to another, we were off to their school's end of the year graduation. Neither Colton or Gracie were graduating (just K, 5th and 8th) but they both had a part in the evening. Colton had a line in a poem that his drama class read called "Little Lamb" and Gracie did a dance with her Olivet ballet class.
Colton is in the green all the way on the left. He was a little nervous but read his line perfectly!
{Gracie is right in the center}
The girls did a great job dancing to the beautiful song "When I grow up, I want to be like you". They will be doing their dance one more time at the end of May with their teacher's ballet school end of the year recital.
We were completely exhausted by the end of the day. Our morning started with Colton's end of the year testing from 8:00 - 9:30AM (which he did fantastic with by the way) so by the time we got home from graduation that night, we were all completely ready to fall over and pass out. I guess that's why I felt completely drained of my energy on Mother's Day!

Monday, May 12, 2008

Mother's Day

I hope all you mommies had a wonderful Mother's Day and were able to do something relaxing or enjoyable. I woke up early before the kids had woken (okay Fletch had been up and down several times throughout the night and morning but besides that) and I went on a nice long walk throughout the neighborhood. Usually I would walk / run but today felt different. I just enjoyed a nice quiet walk and used my time to be alone with God and reflect on my mother and all that she means to me. Although I wish so deeply that I could of spent the day with her, in this moment I felt really close and connected to her. So as I ended my walk I was greeted at the drive way with "MOMMY!!!" and "Happy Mother's Day!!!" I had that feeling that I love to feel, that being a mother is one of God's greatest gifts.


After having such an overly busy week leading up to Mother's Day, I was feeling pretty drained but we still managed to do a little something to make the day special. We were unable to make it to church due to both Fletch and Josh not feeling well but despite the fact that Fletcher was a complete handful, we were able to get out and enjoy a nice lunch with Josh's mom, grandmother, aunt and many of our other family members. Later that afternoon we took the kids to the park to play on the playground, do a little fishing, and go on a mini nature trail walk. Colton and Gracie seemed to be extra sweet to me all through the day and showered me with love and special attention which was the best Mother's Day gift of all. Fletcher on the other hand obviously had no idea what Mother's Day was all about because he managed to make himself as needy and as fussy as he could possibly be on this day of rest and relaxation for me. I knew he wasn't feeling well, he's getting his molars and has not had any sort of nap schedule lately due to our crazy schedule so I didn't take it personally ; ) Even though I ended the day feeling a bit overwhelmed due to the fact that my house has become once again deprived of my attention and the fact that I have a homeschool banquet on Thursday night that I'm in charge of all decorations and table settings which I have yet to make a single purchase for, I had a much needed reality check and realized all that I have to be thankful for.



Even though my life frequently looks like this (yes even on mother's day)...



In return I have this to be so ever grateful for...




Thank you Colton, Gracie and Fletcher for giving me more reasons to smile than I ever thought possible!


Gotta love hand picked flowers from the yard! These were waiting for me when I returned home from my walk.




A beautiful rose given to me by Katie and Austin

{at the park}
Even though this smile was a rare sight today, he still made sure to sneak one out a time or two to let me know how much he loves me!