I'm worn out just thinking about it!
A Day In Our Life from Stephanie Click on Vimeo.
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Showing posts with label family. Show all posts
Showing posts with label family. Show all posts
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
A Day In Our Life
I did a video for the Mommy Madness site about everywhere our car goes in a typical day.
I'm worn out just thinking about it!
I'm worn out just thinking about it!
Friday, March 20, 2009
Spring Break
We've had a busy week. I took a little blogging Spring Break ...
(1) My Aunt Tempa came to visit from Lexington. Everyone says I am more like Tempa than anyone else in the family. I hope that's true :) Well, we had a great time with her. The kids took to her immediately. Piper was INSEPARABLE from her.
We did several fun things. Saturday we went to the Museum of Natural Science. Dinosaurs, precious gyms, 3D IMAX movies, McDonalds, and a lot of exotic animals filled the day. We all really enjoyed it. Tempa's birthday was on Monday. What better way to spend the day in Texas than at the Rodeo. (I've still never seen an actual "Rodeo" and this was my third trip!) The kids had a ball looking at all the farm animals and riding rides. They LOVE the rodeo and we escaped without buying any western wear, so it was a full-on success.
Monday night, we treated Tempa to dinner at our favorite Tex-Mex restaurant "Ruthies". The picture here is just before they put whipped cream on her face. I totally would have opted to take her to someplace a little more civilized with the "celebration", but my mom (Tempa's older sister) insisted that she go there.
Tempa flew home on Tuesday. We were all sad to see her go and hope that she comes back to visit us soon. It was nice to visit with her and see my children loving her as much as I do.
(2) My mom has been here all week as well. She and Tempa flew in together last Friday. Mom has been keeping kids on opposite days this week. It works well for them. Each gets to have special time with her, but still go to school on the days that they do special projects. Avery's class went bowling one day this week and to a huge park on another day. Today Piper's class is doing Pajama Day - her favorite day of all time! The days that they've stayed with mom have been so pretty. They've walked up to the park and played outside a lot.
(3) Don has been home every night this week. With all the schools being on Spring Break, he's not been teaching. The kids have loved having him home as well. He's picked up whichever child from daycare and gotten a little alone time with them. For some reason, they love riding in his car. It's like an amusement park ride to them!
(4) The weather has been GORGEOUS. Since Monday, we've had temperatures in the mid-to-upper 70s every day. I'm glad that mom has had such good weather for her visit (last weekend was the pits), but boy has it given me Spring Fever! I'm ready to throw open the windows, do some spring cleaning, and start throwing stuff away!
For some reason, I get in a "throw stuff away" mood when the seasons change. It's a good thing :) I'm always amazed at how much C-R-A-P we have. Stuff we never use and just keep moving from house to house. It's insane.
I hope everyone has a great weekend. Enjoy your family and friends.
(1) My Aunt Tempa came to visit from Lexington. Everyone says I am more like Tempa than anyone else in the family. I hope that's true :) Well, we had a great time with her. The kids took to her immediately. Piper was INSEPARABLE from her. We did several fun things. Saturday we went to the Museum of Natural Science. Dinosaurs, precious gyms, 3D IMAX movies, McDonalds, and a lot of exotic animals filled the day. We all really enjoyed it. Tempa's birthday was on Monday. What better way to spend the day in Texas than at the Rodeo. (I've still never seen an actual "Rodeo" and this was my third trip!) The kids had a ball looking at all the farm animals and riding rides. They LOVE the rodeo and we escaped without buying any western wear, so it was a full-on success.
Monday night, we treated Tempa to dinner at our favorite Tex-Mex restaurant "Ruthies". The picture here is just before they put whipped cream on her face. I totally would have opted to take her to someplace a little more civilized with the "celebration", but my mom (Tempa's older sister) insisted that she go there.
Tempa flew home on Tuesday. We were all sad to see her go and hope that she comes back to visit us soon. It was nice to visit with her and see my children loving her as much as I do.
(2) My mom has been here all week as well. She and Tempa flew in together last Friday. Mom has been keeping kids on opposite days this week. It works well for them. Each gets to have special time with her, but still go to school on the days that they do special projects. Avery's class went bowling one day this week and to a huge park on another day. Today Piper's class is doing Pajama Day - her favorite day of all time! The days that they've stayed with mom have been so pretty. They've walked up to the park and played outside a lot.
(3) Don has been home every night this week. With all the schools being on Spring Break, he's not been teaching. The kids have loved having him home as well. He's picked up whichever child from daycare and gotten a little alone time with them. For some reason, they love riding in his car. It's like an amusement park ride to them!
(4) The weather has been GORGEOUS. Since Monday, we've had temperatures in the mid-to-upper 70s every day. I'm glad that mom has had such good weather for her visit (last weekend was the pits), but boy has it given me Spring Fever! I'm ready to throw open the windows, do some spring cleaning, and start throwing stuff away! For some reason, I get in a "throw stuff away" mood when the seasons change. It's a good thing :) I'm always amazed at how much C-R-A-P we have. Stuff we never use and just keep moving from house to house. It's insane.
I hope everyone has a great weekend. Enjoy your family and friends.
Monday, March 2, 2009
Sibling Fun
I'm lucky that on most days, my kids play well together. I think this has to do with three things:
(1) Boy/Girl
(2) Their close proximity in age
(3) Their personalities are SO different
But, they have figured out that nasty word "competition" this year. Everything is a competition between them. It's a race to get up the stairs, it's a race to get shoes on, if you compliment one - the other will immediately say something wonderful that they've done. We've been working hard on this. And, for the most part, we've gotten it under control. (I think the race up the stairs will live on regardless of what we say ...).
It's days like yesterday that make me love these kids even more, and KNOW that they love each other and are really the best of friends.
I bought each child a small sandcastle set at Hobby Lobby. They were only $1.99 a piece and it made not breaking anything in the store more of a reality to grab something off a shelf when we walked in. They were so excited to take them outside and play in the sandbox. They talked of all the amazing things they were going to do and I got to shop in relative peace.
Yesterday was a little cool and a whole lot windy, so Avery asked to take his out of the bag to play with in the kitchen. Before I knew it, he had a spoon and in the pail was mixing up a (pretend) cake for Piper's Birthday! I was completely unaware that it was her birthday, but she acted like it was completely planned. When the cake was done. He took her into the den. Lit the imaginary candle and proceeded to sing "Happy Birthday" to her. It was precious. Just him in his little 5 year old voice singing to his little sister that was thrilled to death to have his full attention.
Piper blew out the candle and they pretended to eat cake.
Then, she came in the kitchen and in the same pail, made him a birthday cake. She stirred and mixed the pretend batter so much that MY arm hurt! She baked it just right and even pretended to put frosting on :) Then, she "surprised" Avery for his birthday. With the same energy and pride, she sang "Happy Birthday" to him and he was so happy! She lit the candle on his cake, and he made a wish and blew it out. It was amazing.
I stood at the sink pretending I wasn't watching. (You parents know how kids will quit doing cute things if they know you're watching them!) I was so blessed to know that should anything ever happen to me that they have each other and that they will take care of each other.
After the parties concluded (there were 4 in all), it was medicine time. Avery took his medicine like a champ, but knew that Piper was dreading hers. She's still doing breathing treatments and she doesn't mind the treatment as much as the fact that she can't play while she's doing them. Since I couldn't take a picture of the "birthday parties", I did manage to get a picture of Avery being a great helper with the treatment. He knew she was sad, so he agreed to stay with her and be her helper.
Is Avery going to be a great husband or what? I love these precious kids.
(1) Boy/Girl
(2) Their close proximity in age
(3) Their personalities are SO different
But, they have figured out that nasty word "competition" this year. Everything is a competition between them. It's a race to get up the stairs, it's a race to get shoes on, if you compliment one - the other will immediately say something wonderful that they've done. We've been working hard on this. And, for the most part, we've gotten it under control. (I think the race up the stairs will live on regardless of what we say ...).
It's days like yesterday that make me love these kids even more, and KNOW that they love each other and are really the best of friends.
I bought each child a small sandcastle set at Hobby Lobby. They were only $1.99 a piece and it made not breaking anything in the store more of a reality to grab something off a shelf when we walked in. They were so excited to take them outside and play in the sandbox. They talked of all the amazing things they were going to do and I got to shop in relative peace.
Yesterday was a little cool and a whole lot windy, so Avery asked to take his out of the bag to play with in the kitchen. Before I knew it, he had a spoon and in the pail was mixing up a (pretend) cake for Piper's Birthday! I was completely unaware that it was her birthday, but she acted like it was completely planned. When the cake was done. He took her into the den. Lit the imaginary candle and proceeded to sing "Happy Birthday" to her. It was precious. Just him in his little 5 year old voice singing to his little sister that was thrilled to death to have his full attention.
Piper blew out the candle and they pretended to eat cake.
Then, she came in the kitchen and in the same pail, made him a birthday cake. She stirred and mixed the pretend batter so much that MY arm hurt! She baked it just right and even pretended to put frosting on :) Then, she "surprised" Avery for his birthday. With the same energy and pride, she sang "Happy Birthday" to him and he was so happy! She lit the candle on his cake, and he made a wish and blew it out. It was amazing.
I stood at the sink pretending I wasn't watching. (You parents know how kids will quit doing cute things if they know you're watching them!) I was so blessed to know that should anything ever happen to me that they have each other and that they will take care of each other.
After the parties concluded (there were 4 in all), it was medicine time. Avery took his medicine like a champ, but knew that Piper was dreading hers. She's still doing breathing treatments and she doesn't mind the treatment as much as the fact that she can't play while she's doing them. Since I couldn't take a picture of the "birthday parties", I did manage to get a picture of Avery being a great helper with the treatment. He knew she was sad, so he agreed to stay with her and be her helper.
Is Avery going to be a great husband or what? I love these precious kids.
Thursday, May 22, 2008
Maria Sue Chapman
Last night as we were laying in bed watching the news, a story ran that Stephen Curtis Chapman's five year old daughter, Maria, had been killed in an accident at their home. A pit just came into my stomach that hasn't left since I heard that news.
Stephen is originally from Paducah. So, having lived there for 8 years, you can't help but feel like you know him personally. But, my "relationship" with him officially began about 10 years before I ever thought about moving to Paducah. Stephen was a pace-setter in the Christian music industry when Contemporary music was just being formed in it's earliest state. He, Amy Grant, and Michael W. Smith were the first true pioneers in that genre, and I was a huge fan of all three! His music pulled me through some dark times in high school. I am such a fan of how he has represented his faith and himself. He's top of the list in my book!
More than my respect for him as a person, comes the fact that in just two weeks, I will also have a five year old child. I literally can not put into words how my life would break into pieces if I lost either of my children. I know that God's plan is perfect, and how much more joyous would it be for my children to live in heaven, instead of with me as a mom with all of my faults. But, my selfishness far outweighs what I could hold as "best for my child ... in God's perfect plan". I simply can not imagine the immense grief that their family is feeling on so many levels. They have lost a full-of-life little girl (watch the YouTube video tribute to her on Stephen's website!), and also have five other children to comfort and lead through this tragedy, too. One of those children - that is responsible for the accident - can you imagine the guilt that he must carry? How do you even begin to help him recover?
This is more than my heart and my mind can even begin to wrap itself around. I am praying for this family, and I hope that you will too. I am also praising God for blessing my family with healthy children and for the opportunity to hug and kiss and laugh and cuddle and celebrate with Avery and Piper for another day.
Stephen is originally from Paducah. So, having lived there for 8 years, you can't help but feel like you know him personally. But, my "relationship" with him officially began about 10 years before I ever thought about moving to Paducah. Stephen was a pace-setter in the Christian music industry when Contemporary music was just being formed in it's earliest state. He, Amy Grant, and Michael W. Smith were the first true pioneers in that genre, and I was a huge fan of all three! His music pulled me through some dark times in high school. I am such a fan of how he has represented his faith and himself. He's top of the list in my book!
More than my respect for him as a person, comes the fact that in just two weeks, I will also have a five year old child. I literally can not put into words how my life would break into pieces if I lost either of my children. I know that God's plan is perfect, and how much more joyous would it be for my children to live in heaven, instead of with me as a mom with all of my faults. But, my selfishness far outweighs what I could hold as "best for my child ... in God's perfect plan". I simply can not imagine the immense grief that their family is feeling on so many levels. They have lost a full-of-life little girl (watch the YouTube video tribute to her on Stephen's website!), and also have five other children to comfort and lead through this tragedy, too. One of those children - that is responsible for the accident - can you imagine the guilt that he must carry? How do you even begin to help him recover?
This is more than my heart and my mind can even begin to wrap itself around. I am praying for this family, and I hope that you will too. I am also praising God for blessing my family with healthy children and for the opportunity to hug and kiss and laugh and cuddle and celebrate with Avery and Piper for another day.
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Lucky Me
For some reason tonight, I've had on my mind how incredibly lucky I am to have my sweet little family.
Don is such an incredible husband. I can't even begin to name all of the wonderful things he does for us. His sacrifice is far beyond the call of husbandly duty - and all so that we can have and do fun, fun things and live the life that we always wanted. He is honest when I need it and comforting when I need it. He is my very best friend, my true love, and an example for me every day.
Avery ... sweet little Avery. He is such a compassionate child. He is kind and gentle, sweet and calm ... He is a light in my life. His personality is so much like mine as a child, I can identify with his tendencies and love him for his goodness. He is a little boy who loves to play with trucks and who has developed a love for the show "Dirty Jobs." He wants to be a train engineer, an ice truck driver, a monorail driver, and a drummer. I can't wait to see what he will become, but whatever it is, he will do it well. That's just Avery.
Piper is, well, I just laugh when I think about Piper. She is demanding and bossy, is obsessive about brushing her teeth and washing her hands, loves to dress up and talk about her boyfriend (Evan) - she is the perfect little girl and I love every inch of her. She is everything that I ever wanted to be but was too shy or too intimidated. She is my little best friend, as she rarely lives my side. She will be a blessing to many people and I can't wait to see all that she does.
I am so incredibly thankful and grateful for such a great family. I guess Valentine's Day has me considering these things. Looking at Don, Avery and Piper makes me appreciate all that God has done for me and how he has brought me through the fire and out safely on the other side!
My Valentines wish for every friend is that you will find the same love for the people in your life. If you don't have them in your life now - search until you find them. It is SO worth it ...
Happy Valentines Week :)
Don is such an incredible husband. I can't even begin to name all of the wonderful things he does for us. His sacrifice is far beyond the call of husbandly duty - and all so that we can have and do fun, fun things and live the life that we always wanted. He is honest when I need it and comforting when I need it. He is my very best friend, my true love, and an example for me every day.
Avery ... sweet little Avery. He is such a compassionate child. He is kind and gentle, sweet and calm ... He is a light in my life. His personality is so much like mine as a child, I can identify with his tendencies and love him for his goodness. He is a little boy who loves to play with trucks and who has developed a love for the show "Dirty Jobs." He wants to be a train engineer, an ice truck driver, a monorail driver, and a drummer. I can't wait to see what he will become, but whatever it is, he will do it well. That's just Avery.
Piper is, well, I just laugh when I think about Piper. She is demanding and bossy, is obsessive about brushing her teeth and washing her hands, loves to dress up and talk about her boyfriend (Evan) - she is the perfect little girl and I love every inch of her. She is everything that I ever wanted to be but was too shy or too intimidated. She is my little best friend, as she rarely lives my side. She will be a blessing to many people and I can't wait to see all that she does.
I am so incredibly thankful and grateful for such a great family. I guess Valentine's Day has me considering these things. Looking at Don, Avery and Piper makes me appreciate all that God has done for me and how he has brought me through the fire and out safely on the other side!
My Valentines wish for every friend is that you will find the same love for the people in your life. If you don't have them in your life now - search until you find them. It is SO worth it ...
Happy Valentines Week :)
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
Thank Goodness It Was Hump Day!
This week has been a blur. For many reasons, all of which are valid. It seems that at work, I don't even get a chance to catch my breath. I look up and it's 5:10PM!!! That's pretty much everyday! Then, at home, ... well, lets start with by the time I fight traffic and pick up the kids - we don't get home until 6:30. Then dinner must be made and kids entertained (thank goodness for the Disney channel and Toon Disney!). By the time the kids eat - usually 7:45 - 8:00PM, I'm too tired to eat. Put the kids to bed at 9:00 PM ... do whatever I have to do (only those things that are a necessity) and get in the sack around 11:00 PM.
I know that I'm not singing a new song. I'm fairly confident that most mom's feel like this, especially if they work outside of the home. And, I am OVERLY blessed with an extremely helpful husband .... but, it's marching band season so he's gone until November.
Literally.
Monday night - Don at random school #1 - home at 8:45pm
Tuesday night - Don at random school #2, then random school #3 - home at 10:00pm
Wednesday night - Don at random school #4 - home at 11:00pm
Thursday night - Don at random school #1 on "A" weeks, or random school #5 on "B" weeks - home at 8:45
Friday - Sunday - we get to have him at home while he prepares for these 5 school for the upcoming week :)
Don leaves for work at 5:45ish every morning. It is so far beyond me - who needs 10 hours of sleep a night - to know how he is making it! Truly by the grace of God is all I say.
I certainly appreciate his sacrifice. Sacrificing his sleep, sacrificing the time with his kids, or heck, just time to do little things like watch TV or lounge on the couch.
But, we get to go on our first family vacation in December. We usually vacation wherever some various marching band or drumline contest happens to be held and then we stay a day or two on the flip side! We've been to exotic destinations like Dayton, OH and New Albany, IN to name a few :)
I have a wonderful husband. I don't tell him enough ... he's very appreciated (and loved)!
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