We've been burning the roads up since school got out. 

Don't get me wrong, I've loved it but I'm also loving this first morning home. Still haven't gotten dressed, just now getting around to coffee.

My mind is spinning with all the things I want to get done during this reprieve from school. Body's not moving yet, but the mind is working. I'm a list girl. Gotta get it on paper first.

There are "problem areas" in the house that need re-structering and better organization. I've got to get photos ordered for the last two years for Emma's baby book. Embarrassingly enough, that's a leftover goal from last summer. oops. 

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I started this post a week ago and here I am to finish it....

 

I had a tomato sandwich for breakfast. With a garden fresh tomato, no less. Had one for dinner last night too.  

It's raining again and I'm loving every single minute of summer. Rain or shine. Makes no difference to me.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

And AGAIN! A week later and still trying to finish this post. It's a cryin' shame to be having so much fun that you can't seem to squeeze in 30 minutes at the computer!

 I've pretty much shut my brain off since school got out and the kids have done the same. 

Then I panicked, started making them read, bought each of them a Summer Bridge Book, and plan to get them working on those a few times a week. 

We've had lots of days with the water hose on the trampoline, which makes it wet, which catapults kids way higher than they should go. 

The neighborhood pool has already been used a LOT.

We squeezed in a wonderful beach trip thanks to the kind invitation from some great friends. 

Got to spend Memorial Day weekend in the mountains with my family. 

I've loved every minute of the laughter from the back yard, later than normal nights, and believe it or not, a little sleeping in! (Never thought I would call 8:00 sleeping in, but hey.....I'll take what I can get. 

I bought a bike, which has been more fun than I thought. The kids and I ride a lot. I feel like I'm in the 1950's riding my baby blue Schwinn. Just need capris, bobby socks, and a ribbon in my hair. 

 

My hard working Brad has been operating all morning....ready for him to get home. 

I'm about to boil some fresh corn on the cob. Need a shower desperately. Must finish laundry at some point today.  

Here are some shots from our summer thus far......pretty much dancing or water.....

 

     

 

   

 

 

   

 

    

 

  

 

 

 

~stacey

 

 

 

 

 

There's nothing like craving a ice cream, opening your freezer to get one, only to find a turkey sticking out of a garbage bag.

Turkey feet are not pretty as it is but seeing them, claws and all, sticking out of a bag, knowing there's a body attached to them is slightly disturbing. 

IN your freezer. Like where your ice cream and frozen pizzas are. 

Good thing I'm relatively laid back. 

 

It was a hairy, stressful week. Had a sick little Wall, school to make up, field days, photo session with a feisty two year old, dance recitals, and I'm sure I'm forgetting a few things. The last two years, the week before Mother's Day has been really challenging. I think I'll dub it "Survival Week". Because that's exactly where I've been.

Sleepless nights. Complete exhaustion. Frazzled emotions. Singing a LOT. (Now I understand why my Mom sang a lot.) ~hehe~

It's is a way to refuse to give in to the blah around you. Singing some faith filled song in the midst of turmoil is my own "Custer's Last Stand". ....somehow it works. 

Just the same, I think next year, we'll celebrate Mother's Day a week early....see if that changes things. 

 

I've decided that if you want to be upset about something, you can be.

If you're looking for the bad, you'll find it. 

If you want to worry about something or someone, not a problem. There's a list a mile long.

Those are also perfect ways to completely WASTE your life. 

Because at the same time:

If you want to be grateful, there are countless blessings in your life.

If you're looking for the good, it's everywhere.

If you trust God for grace in whatever you'll walk through, you can experience peace.

 

FOUR MORE DAYS OF SCHOOL.     can I get a witness?!!  

 

how bad is it that for Mother's Day, I wanted to spend an entire day in my room. ~alone.~  of course, I was mostly joking.....mostly. 

NO, I didn't spend an entire day holed up in my room. I figure those days will come soon enough. 

A quiet house.

No size 13 pink peace sign flip flops laying on the stairs.

No coloring books on the den floor.

No Lego people in the dining room.

The upstairs bathroom will be spotless because no one will be using it. 

No little voice calling to me from my bedroom,"More, Pig, Ma!" translation: "there are commercials on, please come fast forward Peppa Pig." 

I'm embracing the present crazy chaos and plan to enjoy the quiet when it comes. One season at a time.  

 

a few shots from Auburn's spring game....

  

 

 

 

 ~stacey

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"See, there are these two new girls at school. One of them is really pretty and the other one is not. And the pretty one. Well, everybody likes her and thinks she's good. But the other one, they make fun of her and whisper funny things about her. I felt so bad for her so I asked who wanted to play a math game with me and she said, 'I do.' So I told her, 'Okay!' So yeh, that's it."

 

So proud of my son.

So thankful for the evidence of compassion and God at work in His heart.

I'm enraged by mean, spiteful behavior. (Be it from children or grown ups.) There is no excuse for it and it brings out a crazed woman in me. 

Go out of your way to love the unlovely. 

Accept the ones who may not be widely accepted.

Value the humble.

Find beauty in imperfection.

And for heaven's sake, tell your kids to do the same.

They won't always do it right but live before them in compassion. Build them up. Hold them to a high standard. A standard of loving people. 

 

  

 

~stacey

 

 

 

Engaged. Fiance'. Getting married. He's the guy. Want to grow old with him. He's the father of my children. 

I remember like it was yesterday.

A million thoughts and emotions swirling around at once. 

It's pretty phenomenal, actually. 

Finding the person you are forever connecting yourself to. 

It's not perfect. It's not necessarily magical. At times, you'll want to hit him.

But it's so great. Commitment.

I've said it before. The single most attractive quality in a man. ~cOmMiTMenT~

I'll stick it out with you, baby. 

I'm not going anywhere.

Brad and I?

We love hard and we fight hard.

I'm stubborn. He's fiery. 

But he makes me feel like I'm 18. I make him laugh. We work together. Work, I said.

But he's not going anywhere and neither am I.

So, Abby and Cameron. Roll your sleeves up and get to it. It's a journey well worth it.

Congratulations!

 

~stacey

 

 

had a mommy/kids getaway this week. 

thank you, brad, for working hard while we played in the sand. 

and thank you, mom, for keeping little miss emma. i missed that baby of mine but i was SO glad she stayed behind.

 

 

   

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

if you haven't seen "Soul Surfer", you really should. these two were being Bethany all week. 

we finally had to tell them to stop pretending they had only one arm and to please stop stretching their shirts by putting one arm inside.

 

these girls and their kiddos have been the type of friends that can be hard to find.

~simple. easy to get along with. welcoming. warm. real. supportive.~

 

i'm in my pajamas, coffee in hand at 10:40 on this thursday morning. so thankful for spring break.

brad is off today and tomorrow. looking forward to a little more down time that includes him and maybe we can get just a couple  "honey do jobs" checked off the list. 

 

biggest news of the week so far is that my little sister got engaged yesterday! 

 couldn't be happier for them.

 

~stacey

 

 

 

came across this great thought today on a friend's blog, "only concern yourself with (pour yourself into/invest in) the people who are going to cry at your funeral."

you really should read here to get some great insight.

how awesome is that?! that's what, like twenty people?  at least half of those will be family, so they will cry no matter what. then there will be a handful of people who are just "criers", and will shed a tear no matter who you are or how you lived. when you boil it all down, you're left with just a few people you have to really worry about!   i like it. 

i challenge you to take inventory of where your focus is. where is most of your time and energy going? it never ceases to amaze me how frequently i get "derailed" and it's largely due to my thought process.

people fall prey to emotions and often buy into the lie of "i can't help it." grant it, there are instances where tough things happen that take time to adjust to and yes, emotions are a complex matter. however, 90% of the time our bad emotions are a direct result of negative thoughts.  and guess what?  {you choose how you think}      

control how you think and you have authority over how you feel. seems simple but it's absolutely true.

........which means i'm more responsible for my emotions that i would like to admit. it leaves me with no excuses. 

 

the days I love the most are when Avery looks at me first thing in the morning. after breakfast, when we're just sitting down at the table, starting school. if i'm being honest, i sometimes look a bit of a mess, Reese is a little less than thrilled, Jake is already thinking about what he wants to do after he's done but sweet Avery, who sometimes complains that she "dropped out" of school, says this to me: 

"mom. doing school at home is cozy." it starts my day off right. melts my heart, brings a smile to my face, and reminds me why I'm doing this.  if for no other reason than to have time with them......I'm glad. 

cozy. i agree. for the most part. trust. there are plenty of less than cozy moments but i love three mornings a week being a little slower, a little less hectic, with a little more time with my little chickens. 

 

anyhoo.....emma just ran in here, saw the fish coming out of the oven, jumped, and said, "YAY, MAMA!" and then started to frantically pull her clothes off. she knows she has to eat naked......way too messy. if she's eating, she's happy. 

                             

i promise Emma wears clothes more often than not. (although you'd never know it by our pictures) i think her fluffiness makes me want to get my camera..... they change too quickly.

the girl loves her head bands.

she took Reese's Bible, went on the deck, plopped herself down in a chair and opened the book like she knew what she was doing. 

 

~stacey

I've been waking up to birds chirping and lawn mowers rumbling. And I love it.

Spring is here and I couldn't be happier about it. 

Haven't blogged in ages.....

School is going well.  We finally get into a good rythym, then it's about time for summer. Figures.

And just when I'm certain I am scarring my kids for life, certain they think I'm crazy, they can't enough of me. Reese says, "Mom, I like it when you're here. Things are just better when you're here." And Jake. He's in the bathroom and cracks the door and starts a conversation with me. "Mom. You know that Valentine's Day card you wrote me? It made me cry. I mean, I got tears in my eyes. All those nice things you said about me. It was so sweet." 

All the time matters. All the sweat. All the tears. All the "I'm sorries". I won't regret a single minute of time with them.....

 

 

 

 

    

 

 

   

Avery is awfully proud of her recently aquired bike riding skills and new earrings.  

 

 

  

 

 

I do have a son and he is loved just as much as these three. He's just too busy to stop for pictures most of the time.

It's an overcast St. Patrick's Day. Coffee is brewing. Brad is rounding and running to Lowe's to get a screen door. I love the slap of a screen door and I need to be able to hear the kids without the flies coming in.

The kids are watching "Sky High".

Emma is eating Reese's Puff's in her gyro bowl. Speaking of which, that thing is amazing. Nothing spills. It's weird. Why couldn't I have thought of that??!

I'm thinking of doing a give away soon. Have never done it but think it would be fun. So stay tuned!

Happy Saturday!

~stacey 

 

 

 

 

.......Somebody turned 2!....... 

 

  

  

      

 

 

  

 

 

 

Just a few things I'm learning in life....

1. You have to be okay with being misunderstood, misrepresented, and misquoted.

2. People are complicated. If you have even just one or two friends who love you faults and all, if you can stomach their idiosyncrasies, if you can tolerate their junk and they can tolerate your junk, if they are loyal to you and you to them, you're blessed. People want to be loved-warts and all.

3. Your kids are going to struggle. Get used to the idea.

4. If you aren't really careful, you can stay so physically busy or mentally distracted, you miss hours of opportunity and countless teachable moments with your kids....even if you're with them all day. Don't do that. Colossal mistake.

5. There's no place like home. (Turns out, Dorothy had the right idea)

6. There's always more to do. More to get. More to learn. More to see. More to say. I think it's true, less really is more. Stop looking for more and appreciate what is. You miss the present looking for the future. Stop. Breathe.

7. Go to bed when you're tired. A little rest does a world of good for a tired Mama.

8. Band of Brothers is the best movie/mini series ever created. 

9. Don't waste time at 8:30 at night trying to create a 10 item list when you only have 8 things to say. Sitting at a computer can be a huge waste of time. Watch something on your dvr and fold some clothes. 

 

~stacey

 

I think there should be a rule. If you exercise your right to collect and use more than 20 coupons in a single shopping trip, you should be entitled to your very own check out aisle. 

It could be right there beside the "10 items or fewer" aisle.

"20+ coupons" aisle. Wouldn't that be nice?

There could be a handy little clerk who specializes in coupon rules and limits. He or she would be prepared to spend all the time in the world telling you why you can't purchase 27 cans of cat food because the coupon clearly states a limit of 26.

AND! The best part! I would NEVER be in that line.

So I would be able to get through my own "Spastic mothers with multiple children who just want to get the heck outta' here as soon as possible" line in a reasonable amount of time! 

I think that would make the world a better place. Minimalists have their line, extreme couponers have their line, and crazy but sweet Mamas have their line!  You can't argue with that, right?!

Ah-hem.

Very sorry about that.

I love couponers. Really. I wish I were that thrifty and that organized. I use a coupon here and there. Honestly. I just have really bad luck with the 2% of couponers who are giving the rest of you responsible, reasonable couponers a bad name. Love you all......don't mean to offend. 

 

Alright! Back to finish school. Today has been a bear. Nothing major.

Just one of those days, I wish I could open my kids' heads to take a quick peek just to make sure there actually IS a brain in there. Wow. 

My little kids are precious. We discussed yesterday, "Turning over a new leaf." THAT was a funny conversation, let me tell you.

But that's exactly what we're doing. School is hereby to be less stress, and more fun. They have to do the work, but I'm not going to get my panties in a wad if they forget a paper or forget that you have to find a common denominator BEFORE you borrow from a fraction, BEFORE you subtract, BEFORE you change the improper fraction, BEFORE you can reduce and get your final answer!!

I mean REALLY! My own brain is sweating. Bless his little 10 year old heart!!

Lighten up. It'll all be okay.

This was my comforting thought the other day.

Ready for it?

If I knew I had only one year left to live, I am doing exactly what I would want to be doing. I may not be able to say that every year, but right now I can and THAT, my friend, is a cool thought. 

Have a marvelous Wednesday!

 

 

 

~stacey

It's a beautiful dusk, this December 29th. 

Brad and the big kids are throwing a frisbee in the front yard. We all did it a couple hours ago but they can't get enough. And for some reason, in their minds, the front yard is way better for frisbee throwing than the back or side.

Emma is walking around in her Christmas gown that she all but refuses to take off, eating. Yes. I let her walk around and eat. It's a fourth child thing, I suppose. 

We undecorated today. It was fast and furious. I despise it, so the quicker we get it done, the better. I also bought groceries today and when I was asked, "Do you want your milk in a bag?" I smiled, almost laughed, and said, "YES, please!" It makes me laugh thinking about it...

I have had more than 7,000 pictures on my computer. That is beyond ridiculous, so I've been slowly going through them, deleting ones that don't scream, KEEP ME!! So far, I'm down to  roughly 6,800. LONG way to go. 

 

 

 

  

Such a neat gift. Organic pears from Harry and David. Thank you, James and Ashley Mitchell!

 

 

 

 

    

Their favorites.

 

 

Baseball was our game this year.  

 

 

                       

 

I am still enjoying our break from the norm but I feel ready. Ready for ballet to resume, ready to get Jake in guitar and back in golf lessons.

Not ready for school or early bedtimes though. 

 

*****Edit******

This post is so old but I just thought I'd make it public anyhow. 

Funny thing of the day. If you don't know my six year old, Avery, you really should.

She's a trip. Precioius. Hilarious. 17 stuck in the body of a 6 year old. Complex. Tender headed. Witty. Helpful. Dramatic. And just precious.

This morning, letting the big kids out of school. The back of the Suburban was open, she was crawling from the back to the front, still in her pajamas. 

As she's getting situated, before I pull off, she sighs, and almost under her breath, says,

"I don't want people to see my morning face. It does NOT look good."

LOL!!! I am seriously laughing out loud right now. I would give my right arm to have it on tape because it was so hilarious. 

I have NEVER thought, much less uttered the phrase, "morning face". Although, come to think of it, that's a perfect explanation. A little puffy, crud in the corner of your eye, messy hair. 

A Morning Face. Yep. I know that face, and Avery, baby, I don't always want people seeing my morning face either. But, darling, your morning face is beautiful.

 

~stacey