Monday, October 22, 2007
Saturday, October 20, 2007
Three
Three. He's three. I really can't believe it. I have a three year old. That sounds like an official child to me, not a baby. This puts me into pretty scary territory. I feel like I'm pretty good with babies and toddlers, but kids are a whole other ball game. They think a lot, and they talk even more. Discipline is becoming more and more about the heart and not just keeping him from hurting himself. He's spending time in the world without me, which means there are now hurt feelings and dissapointments I can't prepare him (or me) for. I feel pretty much unequipped to entertain, educate, challenge, shepard, and cope with a lot of these challenges. Add to the mix we're about to have A GIRL, which really makes me feel like a fish out of water, and I'm pretty much overwhelmed! On the up side as we've gotten closer to 3 and further from 2, the little guy has gotten so much sweeter. He regularly gives hugs and kisses and tells us that we're his best friends. He's making more and more discoveries and it's so fun to watch the world unfold in front of him and to listen to him tell his findings in his own words. He's loving school and sunday school and doing a great job sitting through the first half of "Big Church". He's really looking forward to his littler sister finally getting here- he pokes on her and tries to get her to play. He also will shake my tummy and ask it "are you getting big!?" It's with a little fear, much anticipation and total reliance upon the Lord that I look forward to what the next year holds for all of us. Happy Third Birthday, Wilson!! Daddy and I love you!
So here are some pictures of the day- thanks to everyone who made is so special!
So here are some pictures of the day- thanks to everyone who made is so special!
These were the pumpkin cookies Wilson took to school. We had a lot of fun making them- you spoon a few colors of glaze on & then finger paint!
The night before Wilson's birthday, Paw brought over some special Jack-O-Lanterns for Wilson's party
Opening his presents- he walked into the kitchen with me to get his breakfast and as I was pouring his milk he noticed all the packages sitting by the table- "hey, mom- who did that?! Are those for me, can I open them?"
Dressed, playing patiently with some of his new cars, and waiting on mom & dad to wake up enough to take the tricycle out for it's first spin around the block.
Riding with Dad
Putting up his new tent with Daddy
. . .
For his party we had a Halloween Carnival, everyone could wear their costumes. I woke him up from his nap about 5 minutes before his friends got here and about 5 minutes after all his great-grandparents and grandparents had already gotten here. Needless to say, he had quite the greeting committee. He was so overwhelmed that he never made it into his costume!
Here are some guests enjoying the beautiful day:
Wilson & Big Daddy testing out the tent
When it came time to sing and blow out candles, Wilson was again, a little shy about being in the spot light. Daddy joined him and then he was able to blow all the candles out!
Time to dig in!
Here's Wilson watching his friends open his presents. Again, not one for the spot light, he'd let them open, but then quickly stashed the loot under the table when they were finished!
Wilson and great granddaddy, Poppie
Wilson & Pat Pat
Our Three Year Old Family
Wilson, Daddy, & Granna putting together the neat garage that Pat Pat & Paw gave him
It was hard to go to bed after a day filled with so much excitement. So, he didn't. He and Daddy moved his tent into his room and had an indoor campout! . . .
On a side note, I checked the ticker to be sure that it had made it to "3" and noticed that the one under Miller said that I had 88 days left. Yea! Finally double digits- it sounds even better to say that I only have about 10 weeks to go. We had another sonogram Tuesday and everything looked great- she was laying crossways and face down so really all we saw was her back and that answered why I feel her all over. She's completely sprawled out and horizontal!
Friday, October 19, 2007
The Fair
Cows like carrots
Goats like to be scratched
Wilson's like to ride down BIG slids with their Daddies
Daddy & Wilson riding on the dragon roller coaster
There's nothing wrong with a couple of guys hanging out in their pink, sparkly Jeep
Milking a cowMonday, October 15, 2007
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
The Beans Have Been Spilled
On my last post, I casually mentioned that I needed to be packing, but gave little (ok- no explination). We are moving! The move date will be sometime in the middle of November. We have had the house for a little while now, we've just been waiting to make the official announcement until we had a closing date, which we are still waiting on- at least we're down to a definite week! Our family has been so blessed, thus far, at how simple & relatively easy this process has gone. We've had (and still have) so many friends that have had such a hard time either finding a house or selling one, that I really feel a little guilty telling the story, but for those of you who haven't heard- I'll give you a short version. The Lord has truly been gracious to us!
Early this summer our realtor called us to let us know that there was house for sale in an older neighborhood that we love (okay, stalk for available houses) in the city we currently live. She said she didn't know much about it but it was a good price for the square footage. We took a look and decided that while it would be quite the updating project, the space was perfect for us and too good of a deal to pass up. So, we made an offer and had a contract on the home. There were several things found in the home inspection that we felt needed to be repaired before we were willing to buy, but the owner was not willing to fix things. So, we let it go and decided this was just not the time for us to move- we hadn't really been looking anyway.
Well, a couple of months later I was looking at real estate online and saw that the house was still for sale and the price had been lowered considerably. We gave our realtor a call and she found out that they had done a lot of the repairs we wanted. So, we made another offer and the home owner accepted!
In the meantime, the realtor showing the house had a young couple looking for their first home who had had a hard time finding something they liked and deciding to make an offer before the house sold. So, she asked if she could show them our house before we put it on the market. We agreed, they liked it, and now it looks like we should all be playing trading spaces in a little over a month!
I wish I had a photo of the outside to post, but it has already been taken off the web. We'll definitely post some before & after's as we make progress on the renovations!
Early this summer our realtor called us to let us know that there was house for sale in an older neighborhood that we love (okay, stalk for available houses) in the city we currently live. She said she didn't know much about it but it was a good price for the square footage. We took a look and decided that while it would be quite the updating project, the space was perfect for us and too good of a deal to pass up. So, we made an offer and had a contract on the home. There were several things found in the home inspection that we felt needed to be repaired before we were willing to buy, but the owner was not willing to fix things. So, we let it go and decided this was just not the time for us to move- we hadn't really been looking anyway.
Well, a couple of months later I was looking at real estate online and saw that the house was still for sale and the price had been lowered considerably. We gave our realtor a call and she found out that they had done a lot of the repairs we wanted. So, we made another offer and the home owner accepted!
In the meantime, the realtor showing the house had a young couple looking for their first home who had had a hard time finding something they liked and deciding to make an offer before the house sold. So, she asked if she could show them our house before we put it on the market. We agreed, they liked it, and now it looks like we should all be playing trading spaces in a little over a month!
I wish I had a photo of the outside to post, but it has already been taken off the web. We'll definitely post some before & after's as we make progress on the renovations!
Tuesday, October 09, 2007
My Career Makeover
Every so often when I just really have nothing better to do (or am just procrastinating from finishing 3 of 4 paintings or say packing my entire house!), I check in with the people at Tickle Tests to see what they have enlightening to say about me through their little quizes. Today, I took the career makeover. Sometimes I agree with them, but today- I have to say the answer seems to be from somewhere in left field. I love that one of my career options is news anchor, when I answered the question "where would I go for news" with "I don't follow the news". Or that another option is socialite- is that even a career? I must have missed that in the college course catalog. How did that come up as an option- I put that Hollywood gossip was a waste of time!? However, I do like the way I look illustrated in a cruise director's uniform and might could put up with living in Oprah's shoes for a day or two- I am after all the "soul doctor to the world".
The Career Makeover
My Result: Cruise Director
Who's like you:
Oprah Winfrey
Likely careers:
Talk show host, HR director, news anchor, teacher, spiritual leader, socialite
Monday, October 01, 2007
First Day of October in Mississippi
I am wearing corduroy pants and a 3/4 length sleeve shirt, inside, perfectly comfortable. My son is playing in his swimming pool with his boats, outside, sweating to death in a swimsuit. Happy Deep South Fall, everyone!
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
Two Great Emails
I'm posting two of the greatest "mom emails" I've gotten in awhile. I always hate forwarding this kind of stuff, so here you're subjected to it under your on free will- if you'd like a copy, let me know.
The first is a great reminder of how important our work is not only to our children, but to us and our relationship with God. When you've dried your tears, watch the video. You'll probably cry again, but this time because you'll be laughing so hard at our day put to music.
Enjoy! :
I'm invisible.
It all began to make sense, the blank stares, the lack of response, the way one of the kids will walk into the room while I'm on the phone and ask to be taken to the store. Inside I'm thinking, "Can't you see I'm on the phone?"
Obviously not. No one can see if I'm on the phone, or cooking, or sweeping the floor, or even standing on my head in the corner, because no one can see me at all.
I'm invisible.
Some days I am only a pair of hands, nothing more: Can you fix this? Can you tie this? Can you open this? Some days I'm not a pair of hands; I'm not even a human being. I'm a clock to ask, "What time is it?" I'm a satellite guide to answer, "What number is the Disney Channel?" I'm a car to order, "Right around 5:30, please."
I was certain that these were the hands that once held books and the eyes that studied history and the mind that graduated summa cum laude - but now they had disappeared into the peanut butter, never to be seen again.
She's going - she's going - she's gone!
One night, a group of us were having dinner, celebrating the return of a friend from England. Janice had just gotten back from a fabulous trip, and she was going on and on about the hotel she stayed in. I was sitting there, looking around at the others all put together so well. It was hard not to compare and feel sorry for myself as I looked down at my out-of-style dress; it was the only thing I could find that was clean. My unwashed hair was pulled up in a banana clip and I was afraid I could actually smell peanut butter in it. I was feeling pretty pathetic, when Janice turned to me with a beautifully wrapped package, and said, "I brought you this."
It was a book on the great cathedrals of Europe. I wasn't exactly sure why she'd given it to me until I read her inscription: "To Charlotte, with admiration for the greatness of what you are building when no one sees."
In the days ahead I would read - no, devour - the book. And I would discover what would become for me, four life-changing truths, after which I could pattern my work:
* No one can say who built the great cathedrals - we have no record of their names.
* These builders gave their whole lives for a work they would never see finished.
* They made great sacrifices and expected no credit. The passion of their building was fueled by their faith that the eyes of God saw everything.
A legendary story in the book told of a rich man who came to visit the cathedral while it was being built, and he saw a workman carving a tiny bird on the inside of a beam. He was puzzled and asked the man, "Why are you spending so much time carving that bird into a beam that will be covered by the roof? No one will ever see it." And the workman replied, "Because God sees."
I closed the book, feeling the missing piece fall into place. It was almost as if I heard God whispering to me, "I see you, Charlotte. I see the sacrifices you make every day, even when no one around you does. No act of kindness you've done, no sequin you've sewn on, no cupcake you've baked, is too small for me to notice and smile over. You are building a great cathedral, but you can't see right now what it will become."
At times, my invisibility feels like an affliction. But it is not a disease that is erasing my life. It is the cure for the disease of my own self-centeredness. It is the antidote to my strong, stubborn pride. I keep the right perspective when I see myself as a great builder. As one of the people who show up at a job that they will never see finished, to work on something that their name will never be on. The writer of the book went so far as to say that no cathedrals could ever be built in our lifetime because there are so few people willing to sacrifice to that degree.
When I really think about it, I don't want my son to tell the friend he's bringing home from college for Thanksgiving, "My mom gets up at 4 in the morning and bakes homemade pies, and then she hand bastes a turkey for three hours and presses all the linens for the table." That would mean I'd built a shrine or a monument to myself. I just want him to want to come home. And then, if there is anything more to say to his friend, to add, "You're gonna love it there."
As mothers, we are building great cathedrals. We cannot be seen if we're doing it right. And one day, it is very possible that the world will marvel, not only at what we have built, but at the beauty that has been added to the world by the sacrifices of invisible women.
The underlined statement makes sense. When things are done wrong, everyone sees it.
"Therefore encourage one another, and let each one help to strengthen his friend, as in fact you do." 1 Thessalonians 5:11
The first is a great reminder of how important our work is not only to our children, but to us and our relationship with God. When you've dried your tears, watch the video. You'll probably cry again, but this time because you'll be laughing so hard at our day put to music.
Enjoy! :
I'm invisible.
It all began to make sense, the blank stares, the lack of response, the way one of the kids will walk into the room while I'm on the phone and ask to be taken to the store. Inside I'm thinking, "Can't you see I'm on the phone?"
Obviously not. No one can see if I'm on the phone, or cooking, or sweeping the floor, or even standing on my head in the corner, because no one can see me at all.
I'm invisible.
Some days I am only a pair of hands, nothing more: Can you fix this? Can you tie this? Can you open this? Some days I'm not a pair of hands; I'm not even a human being. I'm a clock to ask, "What time is it?" I'm a satellite guide to answer, "What number is the Disney Channel?" I'm a car to order, "Right around 5:30, please."
I was certain that these were the hands that once held books and the eyes that studied history and the mind that graduated summa cum laude - but now they had disappeared into the peanut butter, never to be seen again.
She's going - she's going - she's gone!
One night, a group of us were having dinner, celebrating the return of a friend from England. Janice had just gotten back from a fabulous trip, and she was going on and on about the hotel she stayed in. I was sitting there, looking around at the others all put together so well. It was hard not to compare and feel sorry for myself as I looked down at my out-of-style dress; it was the only thing I could find that was clean. My unwashed hair was pulled up in a banana clip and I was afraid I could actually smell peanut butter in it. I was feeling pretty pathetic, when Janice turned to me with a beautifully wrapped package, and said, "I brought you this."
It was a book on the great cathedrals of Europe. I wasn't exactly sure why she'd given it to me until I read her inscription: "To Charlotte, with admiration for the greatness of what you are building when no one sees."
In the days ahead I would read - no, devour - the book. And I would discover what would become for me, four life-changing truths, after which I could pattern my work:
* No one can say who built the great cathedrals - we have no record of their names.
* These builders gave their whole lives for a work they would never see finished.
* They made great sacrifices and expected no credit. The passion of their building was fueled by their faith that the eyes of God saw everything.
A legendary story in the book told of a rich man who came to visit the cathedral while it was being built, and he saw a workman carving a tiny bird on the inside of a beam. He was puzzled and asked the man, "Why are you spending so much time carving that bird into a beam that will be covered by the roof? No one will ever see it." And the workman replied, "Because God sees."
I closed the book, feeling the missing piece fall into place. It was almost as if I heard God whispering to me, "I see you, Charlotte. I see the sacrifices you make every day, even when no one around you does. No act of kindness you've done, no sequin you've sewn on, no cupcake you've baked, is too small for me to notice and smile over. You are building a great cathedral, but you can't see right now what it will become."
At times, my invisibility feels like an affliction. But it is not a disease that is erasing my life. It is the cure for the disease of my own self-centeredness. It is the antidote to my strong, stubborn pride. I keep the right perspective when I see myself as a great builder. As one of the people who show up at a job that they will never see finished, to work on something that their name will never be on. The writer of the book went so far as to say that no cathedrals could ever be built in our lifetime because there are so few people willing to sacrifice to that degree.
When I really think about it, I don't want my son to tell the friend he's bringing home from college for Thanksgiving, "My mom gets up at 4 in the morning and bakes homemade pies, and then she hand bastes a turkey for three hours and presses all the linens for the table." That would mean I'd built a shrine or a monument to myself. I just want him to want to come home. And then, if there is anything more to say to his friend, to add, "You're gonna love it there."
As mothers, we are building great cathedrals. We cannot be seen if we're doing it right. And one day, it is very possible that the world will marvel, not only at what we have built, but at the beauty that has been added to the world by the sacrifices of invisible women.
The underlined statement makes sense. When things are done wrong, everyone sees it.
"Therefore encourage one another, and let each one help to strengthen his friend, as in fact you do." 1 Thessalonians 5:11
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
Budding Artist
Since you don't all get the privilege of having Wilson jump in your car after school and yell, "Hey Mama, look what I made!", I thought I'd share some pictures of his creations from Big School.
This was the picture from the first day that we were completing at 8:00 that night because he didn't want to get his hands dirty at school.
Red Circle week 
Painting skills- each week they have a color and shape that they look for
The above 2 are from the "God bless my friends & family" week
This week is "I am special"
As you can see, I think it's time to get my camera serviced- sorry these are blurry. Guess we'll be having a field trip to De Ville Camera later!
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