Whew....it's been a while!

Um, yes...I was going to update this thing daily. How did all of these months fly by?
The kids are now 7, 4, and 2 with minds and adventures all their own.
Joye is in the first grade being taught at Richmond elementary by Karen Cryer. She is awesome and Joye is having a great year. Sad at first to learn that her on-again off-again "boyfriend" Cooper Tanner moved to Perkins, she recovered nicely and is just making tons of friends and learning by leaps and bounds as usual. She and Hayden ride the bus to school together most mornings, I pick her up on Mondays and Wednesdays (my days off) and on Tuesdays and Thursdays she goes to the after school program at Richmond. Gurney picks her up on Fridays with the boys and they usually go get ice cream. :) And I wonder why they don't ever want to eat supper on Friday nights!
Griffin is my little thinking pot. He is always asking questions and coming up with funny stuff. We got he and Joye MP3 players for their birthdays this summer and I put one song by the Jonas brothers on his that has a particular line that says "it's like a poison in my brain." One day, Grif was going to the bathroom and I (as usual) needed to be IN the bathroom with him standing there keeping him company until he got done. He said, "Mom, can boys live in your brain?"
Um.....what?
"Can boys live in your brain? Like that song on my ipod about boys in your brain? I thought only God can live in your brain, and how does he get in there?"
Obviously, we need to practice our song lyrics. One of his favorite foods is cantaloupe, though when he says it, it's pronounced "can-a-ga-low."
Griffin goes to Sunnybrook preschool, where his teacher is Miss Gaye. He goes Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday mornings. We hang out on Mondays and I get to pick him up on Wednesdays. He goes to Miss Kim's on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons with Graham and to Gurney's on Fridays.
Graham is our strong willed child for SURE. He thinks he is 6...or sometimes 4, but NEVER 2. If you put him out about something he will straight up roll his eyes at you, and he introduces himself as "Grammers." Today he smashed a cookie with frosting between his fingers while sitting on the kitchen floor with me telling him no the entire time he did it. A spanking and a time-out later, he was right back at his tricks. I need a nap!
Graham's teachers at Sunnybrook Mom's Day Out are Miss Sarah and Miss Lynn and he goes on Tuesday and Thursday mornings. He loves it, and he and Miss Kim share a special relationship this year too. I think the poor kid just felt miserable all of last year with his stinkin ear problems! Thank you God for ear tubes and Dr. Crawley. :)
Well, I don't know when I will write in this again, but my intentions are INCREDIBLE!! Bye for now.

Summer is here!

So we just got back from Branson.....my FAVORITE vacation spot! I know....not exactly New York City, but we can actually afford to go and have a good time! We went with a family that is just full of our good friends! They live down the street from us, but sharing a 2 bedroom condo for 4 days is a whole new level of friendship. I considered the trip a huge success (hope they did too!).
Griffin came in last night when I was putting away some clothes and he said, "Guess what mom?"
Of course, I said, "What's up buddy?"
"Jesus is in my heart."
"Really? How did he get there?"
"He sneaked in."
"Grif, Jesus doesn't sneak in your heart. You ask him to come and live in you and share your life."
"Nuh-uh mom. I looked the other way and He just sneaked in there."
I couldn't argue.

Graham is just full of spunk and energy! He scares all the other kids his age and beyond. I hesitate to say that he's MEAN, but ornery is definitely an understatement. He is fearless in water, which scares me to death. Makes me sad for him too because he has to wear earplugs since his tube surgery which makes things not as fun! It seems like he is starting to get used to that though so I think maybe it won't be as hard at the lake this summer.

Joye has a loose tooth! She had to have her two bottom teeth pulled by the dentist ($250) because her permanent teeth were coming in behind them, so this is refreshing! She is scared to death to pull it though, and I can't figure out how to get a good hold of it when she isn't looking!
She is SO excited for summer! I can remember being about her age and just the excitement of school being out, sleeping in, later bedtimes, sleepovers on weeknights, and vacations. I love living it again through her! I have mostly given up on buying her clothes when she isn't with me, so we had some girl time in Branson and went to the Children's place---invested in some clothes that she loves and I have to admit, I can't argue with her taste. I really think she will do something with fashion when she's older. Maybe dress her mom!

We are so blessed. I just think about it all the time. What a cool world God gave us to enjoy. Coach and I are trying to do this business thing right now and I get so easily frustrated and confused with all of these terms and experiences I don't understand. I remember through it all though that God is still there and as long as we seek and do His will, we will be okay.

Lysol, anyone?

Last Saturday...Joye with strep
Monday....Graham got ear tubes
Tuesday....fever and puking, Graham with strep
On the mend????
Friday night...Griffin with fever and saying his stomach hurt.
Guess what? Three different antibiotics in the fridge! yay!

So glad it's Easter weekend. The sacrifice Jesus made for me makes everything else that I whine about look so stupid!

Joye and I went to see the new Hannah Montana movie today. I love to hang out with her! She is just a neat kid. She laughed out loud in all the right spots, though it was hard to hear her over my laughs. She's my daughter! We came home and looked up the Hoedown Throwdown dance that was in the movie so we could learn it. Hooray!

Griffin tonight--"Mom, we don't say damn."
Me--"Right Griffin. That's not a nice word."
Grif--"I know mom. Like dumb and stupid."

Graham's new favorite is shooting baskets in the little goal we have outside. The funny part is that he shoots with whatever he has! Footballs, soccer balls, Hot Wheels cars....it's great! (Until you get on the wrong end of the miss with the Hot Wheel) He yelled at Seth to "Get Up!!" tonight because he wanted him to play catch with the football and I guess you just can't do that sitting down!

Coach helped Joey with his shed some today. I don't think men really talk that much about super-meaningful stuff, but I think they did some bonding. :) I really love having our good friends right down the street. Makes this place feel more like a real neighborhood.

Soccer team won last night so the playoff dream is still alive! I want this so much for Seth and the boys, but I know it won't be easy! That's okay. Nothing really worth anything is easy. Thank you Jesus!

Funnies

Griffin--as he sits on the potty:
"Mom, I just love soccer. I would be so sad if I'm not playing soccer and soccer goals."

Graham is loving puzzles now! He always needs someone to do them with him though. Something about never having any personal space with all the people around him all the time I think! He got bit twice at mom's day out last week by the most precious little girl! She could be a future Mrs. Condley I think. She's already demonstrating her love with nibbles!

Joye and I made up another clap today when she started feeling better. My favorite I think!

Worst mom of the week?

So on Monday, I picked Joye up from school as usual and she says, "I got a new partner at school today. He came from a different class." I didn't think much about it...she just went on to say that he was her partner for the week and that was that.
Tuesday morning dawns, and she complains of a headache. "I don't want to go to school today mom. My head hurts."
"You're probably tired Joye--you'll be fine after you wake up a bit."
Wednesday morning was a repeat of Tuesday morning, and when I picked her up Wednesday afternoon, her teacher said she had a hard day and wasn't acting like herself. When I told her that she hadn't wanted to come to school since Tuesday morning, she said, "Oh I know the problem. Has she mentioned her partner?"
After that, I just assumed that she didn't want to be partners with that kid so badly that she was making herself sick about it! She kept complaining about her head hurting before school (so much that Gurney kept her out on Thursday) and I just figured that she would get over it. I talked to her teacher and e-mailed and got advice on how to handle the situation--after all, we all have to learn how to deal with difficult people eventually, right?
Friday was a struggle. She didn't want to go, but we all talked her into it. She called Gurney because she forgot her Teddy bear for the teddy bear picnic, but everything else seemed fine until she called me after lunch.
"Mom, my head still hurts and now my stomach, and when I bit into my potato at lunch my throat hurt." RIGHT.
I talked her into staying the rest of the day. She didn't have fever and I explained to her gently that she needed to be patient and loving to her classmates and just stick it out for a couple more hours. I got off of the phone so proud of our teachable moment!
After Gurney picked her up, I got the call. "Rachael, I think she has a fever." Great.
After ibuprofen, she perked up quite a bit, so I figured I would just wait it out through that night. I was alone with the kids after all, and a trip to the after hours clinic would just be too hard!
The night was rough. Raging fever, wanted to sleep in our bed, couldn't sleep, tossed and turned. FUN for everyone. This morning, puking along with everything else, so I had my answer. My baby had strep! AND, it was bad. The Dr. had to give her a shot because she couldn't hold anything down so I held my daughter on a table while a SLOW nurse gave her a fat shot. She screamed and screamed. After they left the room, she said, "I told you my head hurt."
No knowing she was sick all along makes me
1. Glad she isn't just that dramatic.
2. So sad that i let her suffer that long before I got something to help her!
That's me. Mom of the week.

Forget it!

I kept trying to have these little nicknames for the fam because of anonymity, and then I realized that our last name is in the blog title and my name is on as the author! So much for that. I will still call my husband "Coach" because that is who he is, but beyond that, the kids will now be known by their real names. SO much less confusing! :)

cracking me up!

Big G- "Mom, will you help me go potty?"
Me--"Sure!"
Big G--"Mom, did you HEAR those FIRTS?? I LOVE firts!"
Me--"We call them toots."
Big G--"But mom, I love those firts!"


My girl freaked out on Monday night, and therefore got grounded for a week, and couldn't watch TV for a night. She actually THREW herself on the ground because she couldn't wash her barbie's hair at 9 at night! AHH! After the initial ground throw, I heard the dramatic, "Why didn't someone else just ADOPT me?"
On an up note, I had a parent teacher conference with Mrs. S. today and my girl is doing SO great at school! She has already mastered most of the words on the 1st grade reading check (in Kindergarten) and is doing math and other skills like a champ. She got her accelerated reader certificate today and a reading medal. She is so smart. Hope she uses all of that energy for good!

Little G has been nicknamed "The Brut" by some of our friends, which at first kind of made me sad, but it's TRUE! He's such a bully! Last night I cut up 2 apples, one for the little and one for big. Little went and sat right by big on the floor and wouldn't eat ANY apples unless they came off of Big's plate! I honestly think he did it just to get a rise out of big....and he's only 19 months old! He actually got bitten on the arm by a girl in his mom's day out class the other day. Her mommy felt so bad, but I told her Little probably just did something right before the teachers looked!

My girl and Big G are both starting YMCA soccer soon...I fought and fought and fought having 2 kids in something at the same time. I'm just not ready! BUT, when Coach found out had bad she wanted to play, he couldn't say no! Before I knew it, she had shin guards and soccer socks. I give up!

Took a trip to visit the cousins over spring break. It was awesome! We went to Jumping Party(an inflatable play place), the Ft. Worth Zoo, and spent HOURS on their trampoline! My girl and Big G are the same age as their cousins, which means an instant buddy! Unfortunately, little is often left out of the mix, but that doesn't mean that he doesn't try to keep up! OR just terrorize whoever is leaving him out.

Latest cute kid stuff

Little G--loves to hit! Throws stuff off of the table when he's done with it, kicks the soccer ball non-stop, but says "kick" with a "d" at the first (nice), and since the Big 12 tourney started on tv, is now also trying to DRIBBLE the soccer ball with his hands. He's so confused! Eats most anything now, but will spit stuff out at the drop of a hat if he sees something else he wants to eat! LOVES apples and wants to eat them all the time, but has to have a spit bowl because he was just sucking out the juice and spitting the rest out all over our house! Now he will sit with a bowl in his lap and just go to town on an apple...HAS to have the whole thing, of course.
Middle G--constantly wants to make our living room a "movie veeter" to watch power rangers and/or "engine turtles" (ninja turtles). Loves any action figure and always has to wear "tiny shorts" under his pants to school. He is SO excited to start outdoor soccer with the YMCA! Sign-ups don't even end until next week, but he is already bugging me about it all the time! What color shirt do I get? What team am I on? Can we call the coach? Do I play tomorrow?
My Girl--is using the finger quotation marks when she talks about ANYTHING now, although when I read my stuff above about the boys it's not hard to see why! Wonder where she gets it? She is reading like a champ and loves the Junie B. Jones books...I read most of it to her right now, but soon she'll be on her own! She reads shorter books, and I hate to admit it, but I'm so impatient! By the time we settle down in her bedroom to read her book at night, I just want to do it FOR her so it will go faster! I've got to get better at that. We just got done with Upward cheer season and she did great! She has crazy rhythm (and I'm not just saying that because I'm her mom) and she loves to sing and sounds pretty stinkin' good for a 6-year-old! I think she will be a performer for sure. If she ever gets a taste for a stage where she has a bunch of people's undivided attention, I'll never get her away! She has started coming to KidsChurch (where I volunteer) every week even though it's a little early, but she is learning so much!

DANG

So obviously keeping up with this on a somewhat regular basis ISN'T going to happen. Good news is, I actually remembered my password since the last time I was on here! Yipee! Life has been weird lately....our sweet neighbors lost their daughter by their grandson's hand last week. Talk about something you just don't get over. They have an amazing faith that I know will guide them through, but what do you do just to get through the days? I went to check on THEM tonight and they made ME feel so much better! They miss their girl and always will until they get to the life beyond this, but they way they talked about how God has carried them through it all just made me feel so comforted. I love the Lord. My relationship with Jesus has grown so much over the past few years and I do call Him my Friend as well as my Savior......though I know I have such a long way to grow. I still wonder at times though if something THAT BAD happened to me, would I be faithful, like Job? (and my neighbors?) Or would I abandon my faith for bitterness? I want to believe that I would lean on what I know and not on my own understanding, but I still wonder. Life is hard and keeps getting harder. I find out and see things everyday that reflect how terrible people can be to each other and how bad our sinful natures can get. What I saw tonight made me believe that true faith is possible. They are in the middle of losing a child, and a grandchild in a way, but still celebrating how good God is in the middle of all of it. It's like that Natalie Grant song that I love..."Held." God's promise isn't that He will take away all the pain and experiences in life that will mold us, teach us to trust Him, and make us who we are. Instead, he will hold us through them, cry with us, hurt with us, and help us to heal. What a wonderful Father! My neighbor talked tonight about a verse in Isaiah...I couldn't find the exact one she mentioned, but I found a couple of great ones that I love, especially Isaiah 40:31..Yet those who wait for the Lord will gain new strength; They will mount up with wings like eagles, They will run and not get tired, They will walk and not become weary. YAY! As a mother of 3 I can get pretty excited about a day when I won't get tired! Really though, what a wonderful promise. Don't let the trials and sad news of the world get you down....just wait on the Lord.

Me? A Blog?

So I've always loved to write....actually started a couple of books even! I pride myself on my English grammer skills, even though I can't seem to EVER remember these days when to use effect and affect, then and than. Oh well! Now that the kids are 6, 3, and 1, I have actually given up on keeping up with the stinking baby books. My sister-in-law gave me a precious homemade notebook last mother's day so I thought, "I should just write everything in this!!" So, one entry and a year-and-a half later, I'm giving THIS a shot. The one entry was actually pretty good, but CRAP! There are things here that happen every day that I just pray I'll remember, which I most likely won't. LIKE, the way it feels to reach down and hug a tiny man that is up to a little higher than your knee, running around with his blonde mop like he owns the place...because he does. Or the belly laughs hubby and I share when middle G comes in for the 10th time after we tuck him in dressed head to toe in a Spiderman costume and claiming that he can't sleep because he is "scared of the dark and the light." OR, My Girl telling me that she wants to live in Guthrie when she grows up because it's SO much cooler there. I might not even share this with anyone....more for me then anyone else anyway, but it's worth it. I just love this phase of life and after the kids all get too busy with their own lives to hang out with me anymore, I'm sure Coach and I will have lots of laughs reading this in the RV while we go cross-country. :) God is good!