As we moms know, mother’s day is around the corner, so with it, come those precious crafts from church and mother’s day out!
Parker completed a sheet about me, which was mostly accurate and still, eye opening!
She states:
My mom’s favorite color is red. Check. I love red, which is why you find it all over my house.

My mom loves to eat ham and cheese sandwiches. Check. Most of my family prefers pb&j, but I always opt for ham and cheese. She does notice what I am eating! Maybe this will help her try new things in the food department. After five years we have stopped being short order cooks for her and she has to eat what we eat. She gags most of the meal, but she is trying new things!

My mom has brown hair and greenish-brownish eyes. Check

My mom is 33 years old. Check. I was impressed with this one, but then again, she and I do share a birthday.

My mom is 10 feet tall and weighs 33 pounds. Can you imagine someone being 10 feet tall and weighing 33 pounds? It sounds like bamboo!! I love that she thinks I am taller than I actually am and weigh just a few pounds less!! Just kidding. I think I weighed 33 pounds at the age of 2.

My mom’s favorite tv show is ___________. She passed on this one, which goes to show that when we watch tv together it is usually a cooking show, American Idol or something in cartoon form! She told me later it was a cooking show.

My mom loves to clean the house. So not a check! I know she said this because I am always reminding the children to clean up and with 5 people in one house, I am cleaning up a great deal of the time! I hope as she gets older her answer will be different and that she does not remember me as the mom who was always cleaning. I pray she fills in the blank with my mom love Christ, His Word, my dad, and us kids. That, to me, is success as a mom.

My mom is best at cleaning the rug. Not check. I am probably the best at cleaning the rug, but again with the cleaning theme! We have rugs under the kitchen table and in the living room. Since I have a little man who eats like crazy and a lot of it ends up on the floor, I am vacuuming quite a bit, though not as much as I could!

It bugs my mom when I jump off of the table. Check. The girls have a table in our playroom that is behind the couch and she loves to launch from the table onto the couch. Her 13 month old brother is now mimicking her on this! Needless to say this is not allowed!

My mom is special because she loves me. You better believe it. Love does not seem adequate in describing how I feel about Parker, Emery and Bradley. I hope Parker feels special because of how I love her. I hope she feels confident, secure and strong in who she is becuase she knows whose she is-Jesus. He alone can feel the void we all have to belong, feel safe, loved and known. I will do all I know to do as a believer and as a mom to pass on a strong heritage of faith and family to her. You are special, Parker. You are loved. You are such a great little girl who is smart, funny, precise, authoritative, giving and loving. I am so blessed to be your mommy.

Thank you, Parker, for getting to know me. I pray through the years we will never stop discovering new things about each other.

We had a fun time at dinner tonight and so I thought I would share some pictures.

Bradley got to eat some yummy wheat and egg free pasta! Obviously, he enjoyed it!

This is Bradley signing for more!!

Emery has never met a party she did not like, so she joined in the fun!

Parker, the poser!

It took me 20 minutes to clean his highchair!!

This rainy Saturday morning our girls have experienced a rite of passage. They have been playing with a cardboard box!
It is now a castle for Princesses and no babies, aka Bradley, are allowed. This special castle has a garage door and they have stocked it with some of their favorite things such as puzzles, books, a tea set (after all they are princesses) and their blankets.
Not a bad way to spend a Saturday morning!

For all of you who are wondering what type of vehicle Jason got, it is a F-150. I will post a picture tomorrow.

The reason I was so distracted has to do with Bradley. He started with a fever on Thursday night. He seemed okay on Friday. Saturday night, his fever got up to 103 and he was really struggling to breath. I thought I was going to be making a visit to the ER. He kept choking when he would drink, he was wheezing, refusing food and just felt miserable.

Our pediatrician has office hours on Sunday so we went in and he has a double ear infection and Bronchitis. He received a steroid shot and didn’t even cry! He is such a trooper. So, we are having to use the breathing machine and he is on an antibiotic.

This is the third time in 3 months that we have had a major illness with Bradley. Hopefully, it is our last of the season.

Today was a good day!

Jason has driven his 1995 Pathfinder for a looong time! He has been perfectly content to drive the old thing and it has been a great vehicle for him. He has always made sure I have had the “better vehicle.” Poor guy has never had a cup holder though! Ever. In any car or truck he has had in his entire driving life has he had a simple thing like a cup holder. I have spilled many a drinks in the old Pathfinder!

Today, he finally got a cupholder!

I am so excited for him. He got a new to us truck that I personally can’t wait to drive.
I will warn you all before I set out in it because it is rather large.

So, J, after all these years, enjoy the cupholder and the new ride!

Jason and I both grew up playing sports. We have a huge love of being active and outside playing with our kids. We have had a lot of discussion about introducing our kids to organized sports such as at what age, which sport and to what extent. Leagues today seem a lot different than when we grew up. There are traveling teams and year round leagues, so we know that competition can be fierce. Our desire is for our kids to experience a lot of things, not just sports and see where thier passion lies. It could be basketball, dance, an instrument or cooking. This is an area where we know what we want, may not be what they want! We are very much at peace with that knowledge!

Yesterday, our oldest had her first soccer practice!!!!

Her daddy had decked her out with pink and black soccer cleats, a pink ball, blue shin guards, cool soccer socks and a pink and black addidas bag to put it all in! She was very excited to get her jersey! She did great and Jason was impressed with her coach. We are so excited about meeting new people and investing in her team. For us, this is a great way to be involved in our community.
Her first game is next week. Mia Hamm watch out!!!

Is another man’s art!!!

Emery has discovered how much she loves to use the scissors. I am constantly picking up scraps, I mean, works of art, that she has left on the floor, under the table, in her seat.. you get the picture!
Today, I drew some hearts for her to cut out, which she did a fabulous job at, I must brag. Later, we played outside and she picked the best our yard had to offer in the month of March.
And here was what she created, all by herself!!
It is amazing what they create with some scissors, glue and construction paper!

It is that time of year again! The time of year where the gleam enters my husband’s eye like no other time. A time that is honored each year by hours of devotion. What could it be?
MARCH MADNESS!!
Jason loves basketball, especially UT basketball, so the past two years have been kind to him! His alma mater, Belmont, is also in the big dance, so this translates to much excitement around our house. The Lady Vols are , of course, a #1 seed. SO, have you filled out a bracket, yet? Who do you think will be the big upset team this year? Who do you think will make it to the final four?
These are the burning questions being asked in our home? Along with did you brush your teeth and where are your shoes?
On a side note, Bradley’s birthday is this week and he is having a Bradley Madness Party! He is already bounce passing to his daddy and dribbling. I kid you not! It seems his love of a round bouncing ball is in his DNA.

My mom and dad are in for a quick visit this weekend. They are going to see my niece play in her basketball game tomorrow. They are staying with us tonight, bless their hearts. Dad is sleeping in Parker’s twin bed and Mom is in with the girls. I am not sure who got the better deal! The girls are so blessed to have grandparents close enough to visit them, especially ones who think they hung the moon!
Jason went to Knoxville this week for a night to go see the Tennessee/Florida game. He had a blast. It was a great game and an amazing atmosphere. He took the girls to his mom’s before the game and they stayed the night. I had Bradley with me, here at home, and I must admit, it was rather a fun night! I am rarely at home alone in my house since having kiddos. Bradley was here, but he went to sleep at 7:30, so I had an entire evening to do whatever I chose, which was pretty much, nothing! I then got to sleep in a little since I didn’t have to get up to take anyone to Mother’s Day Out! Bradley and I did a little shopping the next day and were ready for the family to return!
Sometimes, a little me time is nice!

What a week we have had at our house. Emery started running a fever on Monday and it last thru Tuesday. Wednesday she was fever free and did great, so I sent her to MDO on Thursday. She had started coughing the night before, but with her asthma issues, this is not unusual. Well, when I got her on Thursday, she had a fever, again. So off to the doctor that afternoon. When we got home, Parker is running a fever and at 3am Bradley began a fever as well. Great fun we have had the last few days. Yesterday the girls were fine, but B was still struggling, so we stayed home from church today, which makes me sad. I miss my church when I am not there. What a blessing to want to be at church, to anticipate going and to look forward to what God is going to do in our midst. It is such an answered prayer.
Many of the staff have started a blog. Jason just got the book, The Blogging Church.
Should be a fun read!