I bet I peaked your interest with a title like that, huh? 

Last night was my sister-in-law’s senior recital.  She is about to graduate from college with a degree in Vocal Performance (I think that’s the degree?).  We were so glad to finally make it to one of her recitals and she did an amazing job. 

Jesse was very excited, can you tell?

I spent over half the night in the foyer and outside with the boys, but all in all, everything was great.  My other sis-in-law, her husband, and their daughter, Lucy, were there as well and it was wonderful to see them. 

Beautiful Lucy. She'll be two on Thanksgiving.

 My mother-in-law did an awesome job decorating for the reception and the food was fantastic.  I swear I’ve learned more from her about cooking, baking, and being a hostess, in eight years of marriage, than all my years of watching the Food Network and HGTV; she’s awesome. 

The boys really did do a great job behaving, using their manners, and obeying when we had to reign them in.  At 9:00pm, the night was almost over.  We were all full of finger foods, tired, and ready to get on the road for our two and a half hour drive home.  I was still sitting down when Owen walked over to me and put his head in my lap with his face straight toward my stomach.  When he lifted his head, I realized he had spit his carrots out all over my shirt.  Lovely. 

This face should have been my warning for what was to come!

I stood up to wipe the cud off my shirt…just in time to dodge the puke.  Yep, that’s right, Owen puked up carrots, grapes, and chocolate, all over the floor, RIGHT IN FRONT OF THE FOOD TABLE!!  Anyone want seconds?!?  I was mortified and began piling baby wipes on top of the puke.  Luckily it wasn’t all chunky and colorful like most puke, it was mostly water with a few grape skins and shreds of carrot, so it wasn’t all that obvious what had just happened.  In fact, I was trying to make it look like we had spilled something.  The horrid look on my face probably gave away my plan, but I tried.  HAHA!  Josh had taken Owen to the bathroom to clean him up and then came out of the bathroom with a half naked child.  Yes, by this time, everyone is staring and wondering why the rednecks took their child’s clothes off at this semi-formal reception. I just smiled and said, “Oh, he just had a little too much to eat and made a mess on his shirt.” I could have added, –”if you’d like to see exactly what he ate, you can take a peek under that pile of wipes over there!”–but I didn’t.

I know it looks like he's about to puke again, but he was just coughing.

We gave him a clean shirt in the car and headed home.  Thankfully, all of the boys slept the whole way and we made it home without hitting any deer or getting pulled over by the 246 policemen we passed on those back roads.  Unfortunately, Owen had a fever when we got home.  We’ll see how he’s doing this morning (he’s still asleep right now). 

I cannot believe it will be NOVEMBER in two days!!  This year has FLOWN by!

Have a great weekend!

~audrey

This just happens to be the title of the tenth chapter in my absolute favorite “marriage” book of all time, “Created To Be His Helpmeet.”  I was thinking about this title as I watched 18 Kids and Counting the other night.  As much as people like to make fun of the Duggars (the family from Arkansas with 18 children and one on the way), there really isn’t anything legitimate to criticize.  Most of all, I’m encouraged and inspired by the parents.  Michelle Duggar spoke a little the other night on what their goals are in their parenting.  She purposes to continually smile at her children.  She and her husband have committed to speaking calmly with love, not just to one another, but to their children as well.  Their reactions define them and that is clear in the fruit of their children.  Their children speak kindly to one another and it is obvious that speaking with soft words comes naturally in that family. 

Practice makes permanent.

A few years ago, my washing machine was over-flowing into my kitchen and I had a friend over.  As I heard the water pouring out from the dining room, I ran into the garage, jumped up on top of the washing machine, turned it off, and continued on with our conversation as I cleaned up the mess.  My friend said, “I don’t understand how you are so calm.  Nothing bothers you.”  I wish that were true, but I am thankful she saw that in me that day.  The thing is, I’ve learned through trial and error over the years, life is just too short to get all worked up about things you can’t control.  Just the other night, I was trying to carry too many things in one hand and Joshua’s plastic cup of water slipped out of my hand and splashed water ALL over the kitchen floor and cabinets and broke the cup completely in half.  I just died laughing!!  It was like something out of a funny movie, in slow motion as we watched that cup hit the floor, bust in half, and water bathed half the kitchen.  Joshua helped me wipe some of it up and I looked at him and said, “Well, thats a relief, now we don’t have to wipe these cabinets down next week!”  He just smiled.  I don’t want my kids growing up with the fear of making a little boo-boo like spilling their drink or breaking something by accident.  I love my father dearly and we’re still very close, but he had a bit of a temper when I was a child.  My brother and I would run for the hills in fear of Daddy’s wrath if we made a stupid mistake like spilling our drink or breaking something. 

Do I look at my children’s accidents or misbehavior as “interruptions” or as “opportunities” to train them?  This is the same in marriage and everday life.  Our reactions define us.  How we think about our circumstances always determines how well we react to them.  Also, what we fill or hearts and minds with will determine what comes out of our mouths when we are squeezed.

Lately, I’ve been trying to consciously keep a smile on my face, even when I don’t feel like it… ESPECIALLY when I don’t feel like it.  It’s amazing how your attitude changes when you have a smile on your face.  You can’t help it.  When my five year old is whining and I can’t get him to quit and he feels like he “can’t help it”, I try to make him smile.  If I can get him to crack a smile, the whining magically disappears.

So, think before you react today.  Try to keep a smile on your face and speak with love on your lips.  If you tend to raise your voice when you’re squeeze, *ahem*, like me, then purpose to speak softly today, no matter what!  Note how the people around you react.  When I speak calmly, with love, to my children, they tend to respond in the same manner.  It’s a miracle!!

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It’s Thankful Thursday, so remind yourself throughout the day, of all the many things for which you are thankful!  (that sentence originally ended with “…things you are thankful for!” but a friend reminded me in a blog post the other day that you are not suppose to end a sentence with a preposition.  If I weren’t homeschooling my children, I would have had NO IDEA that “for” is a preposition, but I do know now, so I changed that sentence for Kristy!  Thanks for keeping me on my toes!!)

Haha!

~audrey

You like that? 

I just wasn’t feeling like Wordless Wednesday, so I createdWordy Wednesday. 

Wow, the word “WORD” just turned into one of those words that looks like it’s misspelled because I looked at it and typed it so many times.  Thank goodness for dictionary.com!  HAHA!!

Well, after almost seven years and three kids, we’re just now experiencing our first case of croup.  Owen is the croupy one.  He woke up from his nap yesterday with a 103 fever and a nasty cough that he couldn’t control.  His voice was extremely horse and his breathing looked labored.  Thankfully, this happened about an hour before our pediatrician’s after hours clinic opened, so I called Josh, asked him to come home a little early, and I took Owen to the doctor.  Wouldn’t you know, OUR doctor just happened to be doing the clinic that night.  God is so good.  He took one listen to that cough and confirmed my wondering.  Being the ‘veggie juicing, anti-drugs, natural cures preferring’ mom that I am, I reluctantly took the prescription for oral steroids and left the office having no intention of filling it.  I did end up filling it and Josh picked it up for me, but I didn’t give Owen any last night.  It was a last resort if we had a bad night that I couldn’t handle and if Owen got worse.  My biggest fear was the unknown.  We’d never experienced croup before and I’d heard horror stories of trips to the ER in the middle of the night with blue-faced children that couldn’t breathe!  Thankfully, with a humidifier and prayers from Mommy, Daddy, Joshua, and Jesse, Owen slept through the night!  He still sounds pretty pitiful with his soft, raspy voice and he still woke up with a fever, but all in all, I’m glad I held off on the steroids.

My house is a wreck! The dishwasher is full of clean dishes, the sink is full of dirty dishes, there are dirty clothes in pretty much EVERY room of the house. The floors need to be mopped, the toilets need to be cleaned, laundry needs to be put away, and yesterday’s school work is still spread out all over the kitchen table (yes, we ate in the living room last night! *GASP*!
Now, I’m going to put a movie on for Joshua and Owen so I can clean this pig sty and watch it slowly transform back into my nice, tidy, good-smelling, everything-in-it’s-place, home sweet home. That’s going to take a lot of pine-sol and elbow grease. I better get a move on!

Have a WONDERFUL Wednesday!

P.S. Is it bad that I secretly leapt inside when the doctor said we HAD to stay home from church tonight?! More time for cleaning and cuddling!

~audrey

I’m sitting here with my jammies on.  My throat hurts, my glands are swollen, and if you saw my hair…well, you’d think I spent a lot of money on a scarey halloween wig!  I’m hoping a little blogging will be just what I need to give me that boost to get off my butt, get in the shower, and make it to the doctor on time this morning.   

I have been so incredibly inspired by Nesting Place as she is finishing up a series entitled “31 Days to a Better Dressed Nest.”  Each day she has encouraged and inspired me to make changes around my home.  Some big, some small, but ALL of them are reasonable and attainable changes with the purpose of making my home, or my ‘nest’ as she likes to call it, beautiful and personal.  I’m a “list-maker” and a “goal-setter”, but often I need an extra push to get the creative juices flowing and finally get the ball rolling to see these projects through to completion.  Here are some examples:

*I want to paint my old brown china hutch.  I want to paint it white and add beautiful clear knobs and pulls.  I want to fill the glass shelves with unique, colorful items that reflect ME and not just items that didn’t find a home anywhere else in my kitchen cabinets.

*I want to paint my master bedroom a lighter color and replace my old, hideous ceiling fan with an elegant and eclectic chandelier.

*I want to revamp ALL the closets in my house to reflect my love and passion for organization.  Don’t get me wrong, they’re all organized now, but it doesn’t take long for organization to start resembling chaos when ten other hands are constantly in and out of those closets! 

*I need to get back in the habit of continuously purging items in my home that no longer reflect the goals we have for our home.  Whether it be clothing, toys, furniture, dishes, etc.

*I have to take one project at a time and make sure it is realistic.  I have a bad habit of starting things and not finishing them because of time or money. 

 

So, all that said, I encourage you to go through your home and make a list of all the things you’d like to change, improve, add to, remove, etc.  Type your list and hang it somewhere so you’ll see it often.  Begin to tackle those items one by one until you’ve transformed your house into your dream home.  There is no reason what-so-ever that you can’t make the home you’re in now, your dream home.  When we bought THIS house, it was NOT my dream home.  It was anywhere but my in-law’s garage apartment and that made it PERFECT!  Slowly, we’ve made it our own.  I wish so badly that I had before pictures of every room in this house.  Oh well.  Even the front and back yards need to be made over occasionally.  Afterall, the front yard is the first thing anyone sees of your home!  It would be like losing a bunch of weight, getting a great new hair cut, and buying a new wardrobe….but never actually getting out of your sweats, putting make-up on, and doing your hair!  The outside DOES matter.  It’s amazing what a lawn mower, a weed eater, and a broom can do for the front of your house. 

Okay, that was just what I needed.  Thanks! 

 

Have a Terrific Tuesday!!

~audrey

Let’s begin with a random picture of me and my hottie 

 

I have a few random thoughts, but I think they could be very helpful.

I’ve been getting our fall clothes out and put away in drawers and closets over the last few weeks. As I unload rubbermaid bins, I figure out what is going to need to be purchased to complete an adequate winter wardrobe for each child. One of the things Jesse and Owen needed were more long sleeved t-shirts. My first thought was, “Oh, I’ll just pick up three or four for each of them at Walmart or Target.” Well, at Walmart, their long sleeved t-shirts range from $5+ and Target is about the same. However, Children’s Place (I shopped online) has their excellent, super soft, long sleeved t-shirts for only $6!! I ended up buying them four or five shirts each. I should get them in the mail today. My shipping was only $5, so I’m VERY pleased with this great deal. There are great sales going on right now. Stores are desperate to get us shopping again, so brand new fall wardrobes are already 40% off in many places. All it takes is a little searching online. Compare prices. Then enjoy your savings!

That leads me to my next random point. Every year I get stumped on what to buy the adults in our family for Christmas. However, this year I’ve been getting tons of catalogues in the mail. Lillian Vernon, ABC Distributing, and The Lakeside Collection to name a few. These, sometimes cheesey, catalogues have some really great gift ideas for even greater prices, so don’t be so hastey to throw them away. Keep an eye out for teachers’ gifts as well. Christmas is officially less than two months away!! AAAHHHHHH!!!!

And now my final random thought. I have been completely out of whack with Joshua’s school work lately. I just don’t have much accountability and sometimes he does a lot of school work at once and I let him slack for a few days, or even a week afterwards! While shopping at a cool local toy store called Learning Express, I found some wipe-off placemats with all sorts of info on each one. One of the mats was a list that could be personalized. It says, “Chores and Things To Do” and there is space for a list under every day of the week. For my homeschooler, the list has items like; chores, bible, reading, math, memory work, spelling/writing, etc… You can personalize it to best fit your child’s responsibilities. It could be an after school list: homework, set the table, bath, reading, brush teeth, clean up toys… My rule for Joshua is, if he completes an item well with no complaints, he gets a check. If he completes it sloppy or with an attitude, he gets an “X”. If he gets through all of his items with all checks, he gets one quarter. I’m not really someone who likes to reward things that are required and expected, but in this case, it is good responsibility and if he’s doing everything with a good attitude, then I want to reward that. This money is counted as his allowance since “Chores” is a daily item on his list. By the end of the week, he has the potential to make $1.75. Not too shabby for a six year old. The only problem: always having to have quarters on hand!

Hope this helped someone.
HAPPY MONDAY!

~audrey

~audrey

Dear Treadmill,

Please stop staring at me while I do my laundry. I know I haven’t had any interaction with you in a while, but it’s just rude to stare and it makes me self-conscious. I know my butt is bigger now than it’s ever been, but apparently that’s just not enough motivation for me. I mean, it’s not that I don’t like you anymore, I just like food a lot more. You see, I don’t have to take a shower after I eat…but I do after spending time with you. I can’t drive a car while I walk on your track, but I can bring food with me anywhere! Sure, you’ll make me look better and I’d have a LOT more clothes that fit me if we spent more time together, but you just haven’t been a priority lately! Sorry about the dust, I’ll clean you up every once in a while if it makes you feel better. I’ll even let your track down so you’re not all scrunched up against the shelves in the garage all the time. I’m thinking about getting you a friend! I like bikes. Bikes don’t hurt my back and I can go farther and faster on a bike, rather than walking.
Josh promises me we can move you inside once the addition is done, but THAT doesn’t seem to be a priority lately either! Don’t worry, you won’t be in the front yard at our next yard sale. I still love you. I promise I’ll do better with my part in our relationship, especially with the holidays approaching.
Is there any way you can fold my laundry if I pile it on top of you? I’d really use you a lot more if you could do that for me.

Well?

~audrey

What a great weekend. It was our first real fall weekend. Saturday was dreary, rainy, and cold, and today (Sunday) is absolutely gorgeous with a clear blue sky and a crisp breeze blowing through my house by way of open windows. We had a blast at Kackleberry Farm yesterday. Although the weather did NOT cooperate, we were so glad to spend time with my dad, a.k.a. Grandpa. The farm was a lot of fun and the rain and cold didn’t seem to bother the children one bit! In fact, we got lots of great ideas for when we finally buy some land and build a house. Hopefully we’ll be able to do it while the boys are still young and will enjoy some of these fun farm activities!

Joshua learning to milk a cow.

Jesse firing the "Corn Canon"

All three boys loved the Cow Train.

Even Grandpa joined in on the silliness!

 

There is nothing sweeter than family time and one of the things I love most is watching my husband be a dad. Josh is the best dad in the whole world and I love watching the boys’ faces light up as Josh makes them each feel special and assures them there is nothing he wouldn’t do for them.

 

Love it!

Daddy and Owen

 We were thrilled to have Josh’s sister, Erin, home for the weekend.  This is her last semester of college and we’re looking SO forward to having her back home for good!  We love you Erin!!

Aunt Erin and Owen sporting their argyle sweaters

And last but not least, a picture of Jesse’s healing mouth.  You can see how far the tooth was jerked up into his gums by how far the cut extends.  I keep telling him he might as well stop his whining all together, because I can no longer take him seriously with his sweet little hillbilly smile!  LOL! 

 

 

I hope you all had a great weekend!  I’m going to attack my messy, dirty house now in hopes that I can get everything done TODAY and not have to worry about laundry or house cleaning all week.  We can focus on school work and preparing for another week of waiting for our foster children. 

Bless you!

~audrey

As I posted a few weeks ago, my family decided to fast from TV, video games, and the computer for an entire week. We did this as an experiment really. I wanted to see how it would effect our every day life. Much to my surprise, we LOVED it!! Our days at home were calm and loving. Joshua did his school work with care because he wasn’t rushing to get to his DS or a cartoon. When Jesse got home from school each day, we played games, they went outside, and they helped me with dinner. At night, after we put the boys in bed, Josh and I would read, side by side in bed, or talk for an hour or two before going to sleep…MUCH earlier than normal. One of the neatest things I found, for myself, was that I was WAY more productive during the day. I had nothing to distract me. I wasn’t being pulled to the computer to check on facebook or read all of my favorite blogs. I wasn’t tempted to turn the TV on while I folded clothes, so I just moved on to the next thing when I finished folding the clothes on my bed. It was amazing to me how much I got done each and every day without TV and computer. Honestly, the boys never even asked about it after the first day. And now, when our day is going rough, or the boys aren’t getting along, I tell them, “Okay, TV and computer are going off for the rest of the day.” And it’s almost like a relief to them! They don’t complain or whine; they just accept it and move on to the next thing. I don’t have a clue why the television has an effect on how they behave toward one another, but for my kids, it does! For the most part, our TV stays off during the week, especially during the day. Josh and I usually watch about an hour or an hour and a half at night after the boys are in bed and our favorite shows come on, but for the most part, we’re trying to live without it.
If you’re struggling with your kids’ behavior, especially towards one another, give this a shot! You’ll be amazed at how their imaginations run wild and how well they can play together when they’re all they’ve got! Haha! Let me know if you try it and what you learn from it.

~audrey

This actually feels like Saturday to me, because yesterday started Fall Break for Jesse, so we have a four day weekend with him. Yesterday was busy with a parent/teacher conference, a surprise baby shower, a playdate in the park, and worship practice at church last night….no wonder I slept until 9:00am this morning!! The great thing is, the boys were exhausted too, so they slept until about 8:30am and then played sweetly until I got up and fixed three little cups of hot chocolate and one LARGE cup of coffee. We all started our day with a smile. We are going to a friend’s house tonight for soup and s’mores. They live on a huge piece of land with horses and a big pond and lots of space to sit around the campfire and enjoy laughs while sipping homemade soup and roasting marshmallows. I’m hoping to get some good pictures tonight.
I’m responsible for bringing potato soup, so I put that in the crock pot this morning and now I’m sitting at the computer in my pajamas with the windows open, listening to the boys playing outside (also in their pajamas!), trying to muster up the motivation to get in the shower and get moving. Afterall, it’s 11:30am!!!
I LOVE mornings like this, even if they are completely unproductive. We haven’t done much school this week because the anticipation of our foster children is about to kill all of us! Each morning the kids sit at the breakfast table and pray that today will be the day that we get the call.
Tomorrow we have another fun day planned. My dad is coming over in the morning and we’re heading to Kackleberry Farm. They have a pumpkin patch, corn maze, hay rides, farm animals, games, and all sorts of fun fall activities for the kids; they’re VERY excited about this! I should have a great post full of family pics by Monday morning.
Have I mentioned how excited I am to finally meet my friend Heather from ItsTwinsanity (www.itstwinsanity.com) We discovered that we lived in the same town right about the time that the military moved them away, so we never got to meet…but…they are on their way back RIGHT NOW and we’re looking forward to getting together with all of our kids next week! I told her, if we have our foster children by then, there will be ELEVEN children and TWO mommies at that playdate!!
Well, I really need to get in the shower now.

What are your plans for the weekend??

~audrey