4th of july with uk and kansas

we have a boy scout that lives next door...so our street is lined with american flags

the perfect backdrop for our first 4th of july picture

uk and kansas brought pop pops, black cats, and sparklers

my young man is ready to play

i love when i get "that's so them" pictures
that's so chase!

sweet pea and her magic wand

due to a common spit up incident...puddie is out of her red, white, and blue...although still goes with our family color palate.

the sweetnesses with uk and kansas

sweet pea and puddin pie

annslee's 6 month picture

(actually taken closer to 7 months)

aiden's 5 year picture

sisters
(i had reservations about having their picture taken without the boys. however...i have one of the boys around the same ages that is similar that i love so much...so i decided that they could hang together and that it would be ok. and i think they will be glad they have it.)

i thought this shot was so sweet. they captured how annslee looks at her big sister with such aw and admiration...and how sweetly aiden looks at her little sister. i just love it.

*i do realize that taking pictures of pictures is kind of sketchy...but since we don't have the monetary funds to buy pictures for everyone...this is the best i can do. plus...who wouldn't want to see these sweet shots of our precious kittens?

*summer goal: get individuals of the boys and also brother shot and all four of them together. this my be more of a fall goal...shen chase turns 8 and annlsee is turning 1.

(that was more of a note to self.)

this week

it's been raining here for days. this hurricane alex fella is really making quite the impression. it directly hit mexico, and colton is quite confused on how we are getting so much rain from it. it's putting a kink in our summer schedule. we were supposed to be at the pool on tuesday...but it was cloudy and thundery. then we were supposed to be at the pool on wednesday...but it was rainy. then we were supposed to be at the pool this afternoon...but it was hurricane alexy from afar. so, i could tell the kids were getting bored when i saw colton and aiden this afternoon. i was sitting in the living room, talking to my brother on the phone when colton sneaks through...(unaware that i am even there)...in a white t-shirt, gray track pants, a black leather cowboy vest that he wore when he was 2, a blue indiana jonesish sun hat (gap; circa 1991), and a mickey mouse cell phone. i watched as he tip toed by and then did a double take when aiden shortly tip toed through after him with a kitty cat mask, black fluffy tail, while waving a sword.

i don't know.

i really wish i had it on video because it was one of those moments where i needed chad in the room so that i could ask him if i just saw that right. but...as it is, you will have to take my word for it.

speaking of video...if i could figure out how to get them to upload onto blogger (i tried multiple times earlier and i don't know why it's not working) you would see colton looking super cute in his new glasses! he just got them today and he keeps telling us what time it is. apparently, he couldn't see the clock before...something we obviously didn't know.

and lastly...but not leastly, chase learned how to ride his bike without training wheels!!!! that little love bug is pretty proud of himself. i'm not ready to turn him loose to the streets just yet. we still have to remind him to look where he's going instead of at our proud faces. :) and he really only likes to go in a straight line...so he's a one-way ride for now.

and that is this week, at a glance.

what? a peanut butter forward roll?

does anyone remember way back when i wrote about asking the kids if they wanted a peanut butter fold over and chase replying...very confusedly, "what? a peanut butter forward roll?"

well...if anyone does remember that, then you will be amused by his question to chad and i last night after chad asked him what he was learning in gymnastics:

"mommy! daddy! do you want to see me do a fold over?"

somewhat confused, we replied yes...and then watched him do a forward roll.

good grief.

on my mind on a tuesday night

the kids are back from camp. they actually came home friday afternoon after bible school. chad and i went over to my parent's house to visit at lunch time on thursday. some of the kids were getting a little home sick, so we decided to add a visit to them to our "day date." we got a flat tire the night before and our "day date" turned into "getting the truck outfitted with four new tires day" anyways. when we got there, we got to hear the cd of all the music that they had been learning all week at bible school. chase was super excited and said, "mommy!! my favorite song is let your raisins ring!!" it was really let your praises ring...but, i didn't have the heart to tell chase that he had been "accidentally" singing about raisins all week. then, they told us that they were supposed to be looking for "God sightings." (that is when they see someone showing God's love.) chase said, "remember when i was a little boy and i wanted more smoothie but there was none left, so you gave me your smoothie?" i said, "yeah. i do." then he said, "that was a God sighting." ahhhhh. it made me want to make sure they are sighting God in me more often. i mean, after all...they are looking for Him.

i've had some great expectations for the summer. one being to have friends over for supper every week. that's not happening. two being to make a double batch of dinner once a week and take dinner to someone else that night. that's not happening either. but what is happening is P90X. that's right! i am going strong and lovin it. my favorite workout, so far was today. it was an hour of kenpo. i didn't even know what kenpo was until today. it is a combination of boxing and martial arts if my calculations are correct. it was super fun...super fast...and made me feel like a super fighting stud! i'm up to 5-7 pull ups now too. (that's using a chair out in front of me to rest one foot on while doing them...which is supported by the crazy hulk man.)

yesterday was movie time monday and we watched toy story. we are gearing up for friday when we splurge and go see toy story 3 in the theater. speaking of splurge, i just ate the best piece of chocolate cake with chocolate icing with blue bell homemade vanilla ice cream. it was left over from father's day. and it was yum. and i feel ok about it because i spent an hour with the crazy hulk man today...and yesterday...and the day before...and the day before that...and will tomorrow...

well, actually tomorrow is my stretching day...and i welcome it with very sore...but opened arms.

he'll notice me. i'm sure of it.

the other night i watched the movie win a date with tad hamilton. i really watched it because it stared kate bosworth and she is one of my favie faves because of her roll in a little gem of a film called blue crush. i totally want to look like her. i think i've probably mentioned this must-see-movie-to-kick-off-the-summer before. i usually watch it at the beginning of the summer to get me in my "surfer girl" mind set...along with getting the beach blond highlights in my hair, pulling out the tank tops and mini skirts, and breaking out the beach boy's greatest hits. surfer girl, fun fun fun, surfin' safari, in my room and come go with me are my favorites...and surfin' u.s.a. is chase and aiden's. annslee loves to dance in the kitchen with me and colton moderately tolerates them...as discussed previously. :/ he does love it when i change the words to surfer girl to surfer boy and dedicate it to him and then sing totally over the top to him. at least i assume when he screams and runs away it means that he loves it.

anyway...i digress. i would like to go ahead and state here that my reason for landing on this movie had nothing to do with ole' what's-his-name...josh something or other......who is not cute at all. :)

so, as i was watching this...i was completely taken back to jr. high and early high school (i am well aware that i was a little dorky and did not grow out of the jr. high, unrealistic crush thing until a little later than most.) i was in. love. with joe mcintyre from new kids on the block. i went to every concert that they did in houston...including the one a couple of years ago...but we don't need to discuss that one. the point is that i truly thought that he was going to pick me out of the crowd and want to meet me...leading to an innocent dating relationship where he completely and hopelessly falls in love with me and wants to marry me where we live happily ever after. every concert i would get all ready, making sure my outfit, hair, and makeup was as perfect as it could be so that when he spotted me...it would be love at first sight. i don't think you understand that i really and truly thought that this scenario was a reality. well...win a date with tad hamilton would have only validated my cause had i seen it back then. i will spare you a summary.,..as it is a movie that plays out that ridiculously unrealistic scenario actually coming true for a small town girl. paaaa-leeeeeease! to think i could be so silly and naive.

my dream did end up coming true though. but instead of his name being joe, it was chad. and instead of him being on stage as a singer, he was on stage as the pastor. and instead of him picking me out of the crowd at a concert, he picked me out of the crowd at church. the similarities are astounding!!

CAMP GRAN

camp week is here! the three oldest went to camp gran this week. camp gran is a small, comfy, family camp...complete with beautiful southern lodging with great homemade meals, bible school mornings followed by special activities designed especially for colton, chase and aiden...late afternoon swimming with personal life guards, topped off with smores and home made ice cream. (doesn't it sound like a dreamy brochure that comes in the mail that you look at and think "if only..." but know that you don't have the money that it would take to actually make it there?) i know!!! so, where is this little, hidden gem of a camp, you ask???

it's a little place we like to call GRANNA and GRANDADDY'S house!! we really wanted the kids to go to vacation bible school this summer, but our church chooses to not have one. my brother and i grew up going to vbs every summer at our church and i remember it being a place where my foundation in Christ was built in a lot of ways. i still remember the sign language to the song i love you Lord that i learned at bible school in, like, 3rd grade. it typically lasts a week, and lasts until lunch time each day. you learn how to worship, bible verses and stories, make friends and crafts, and is one of the first times that i remember getting really fired up for God. we wanted our kids to have this experience this summer, so we signed them up to go at my parent's church this week. since their church is only a 2 minute drive from their house, and a 20 minute drive from ours, my mom suggested they stay the week there. when i told the kids, they immediately named the week "CAMP GRAN"...short for GRANna and GRANdaddy.

now, if any of you know my mom...you know she doesn't do anything half-way. this is one of the many things i love about her. she is the one who taught me, by example, to celebrate life and experiences in an extraordinary way...making memories that last a lifetime and making the kids feel as special as they are. so...needless to say, she has gone all out for camp gran. there are special activities planned every day, themes, special food and meaningful experiences designed especially for all three of them. we are talkin tents set up in the backyard, water guns, game days, homemade treats, movies, swimming, golf course cart riding, stories, and many more. if my experience as a kid is any indication at all...my mom and dad's presence, energy, hugs and snuggles, and ability to encourage and provide experiences is what will be most remembered from camp gran. i can't begin to thank my parents for the childhood they provided me, and the one that they are helping to provide for my kids! i'm secretly hoping to make this an annual event!!

just having puddie at home lends itself to quiet days for me, and my favorite suggestion by chad...being, "pick some restaurants that you want to go each night and take a break from making dinner." ummm...ok! i have a feeling one of them may be a little, quaint place called camp gran...where the food is great, but the company is the main attraction.

and furthermore...

so my sweety sweet friend, cara left a comment on the 9 going on 19 post that got me thinking more. (dangerous, i know...and a bummer for chad who has to entertain my rants concerning the subject when he gets home.)

maybe you didn't know that my 9 year old's favorite band is the black eyed peas. (what?? my favorite band at 9 was alvin and the chipmunks!) why, you might ask? it's a little song called boom boom pow and another called i got a feelin...and the fact that hip hop music was played all year long in his classroom at school. to his teacher's defense, i'm sure he was playing the "sensored" versions of these songs. (i think. i hope.) the last day of school, i witnessed the entire class get up and do the dance to "wobble"...which was both impressive, catchy, and a little...well...whoa-ish. colt and his friends were just kind of jumping around...and i was majorly glad that colt came out of his shell this year. (previously, he would have turned red, and hid in the corner if someone had suggested he dance.) and, i love a good hip hop dance...being on the dance team in college myself. BUT, when this promotes a love for the black eyed peas in a 9 year old boy...the red, warning light starts flashing! ummmm...no, we can't download the album for you to listen to in your room and you may absolutely NOT watch them perform on the grammys and i would be declared temporarily insane if i let you go to a concert! annnnnnd...if it comes on the radio, i will crank the volume for you and "car dance" with you, but be prepared for me to randomly turn the volume all the way down in the middle of the song and say, "oh...sorry...i thought your sister needed to tell me something."

yeah...i'm pretty sure my job as parent now includes "expert on lyrics and master of quick-as-a-cat volume control."

i'm trying to bring back the beach boys. but for my 9 going on 19 year old, they just can't compete with fergie.

*sigh*

9 is the new 19

childhood is not what it used to be. i was lucky enough to grow up in a cul-de-sac full of kids. we would play and play and play...all day and till the sun went down at night. i especially remember summers. i had to clean the kitchen after dinner and i remember thinking that i couldn't work fast enough to get back outside and join in the screams and laughter of the rest of the kids. all of the adults would bring their lawn chairs and iced teas to our driveway and sit out and talk and watch us play. we would spend the night at each other's houses sometimes. we would go to each other's houses all the time and talk and play for hours.

we don't live in a cul-de-sac filled with kids, or even on a street with a lot of kids that my kids play with. there are no kids colton or aiden's age. we do have a first grader and a fifth grader that come over regularly and i love that the kids have them to play with. i did have to have an uncomfortable conversation with the fifth grader today explaining that the conversation topics needed to stay "g" rated. i'll tell you somethin else....fifth grade ain't what it used to be either. that is one thing i've learned. today, i had to come inside to feed annslee and colton and the fifth grader were left outside on the porch swing talking. i just sat in the nursery, feeding a.j. and praying that God would protect colton's innocence and his little ears from hearing things that he wasn't ready for. i came to the realization that i can't be with him all the time shielding him and directing and steering the conversation to where i want it to go. although i would love to.

is anyone else wondering where childhood went? and how to get it back for our kids?

summer days

as i pondered how i wanted to take advantage of the sweet time with the darlins this summer, i realized that i had to take some action. my first goal is to successfully slow time down. colton is 9. that's 9. here are some stats for you. half of his time at home with us is gone. when annslee is his age, he will be driving. when aiden was annslee's age, he was 4. it feels like yesterday that i was walking chase to his first day of kindergarten. i will walk aiden to kindergarten in 2 1/2 short months. i will blink and she will be starting 2nd grade like chase and colt will be in jr. high. and so on...and so forth...

so...slowing down time is my only option. and since i am unable to do that fly-around-the-earth-backwards-superman thing, i feel that my best line of defense is to make each day count and to not pack them full of busy schedules and activities that don't build our relationships. i'm happy to not be taking jam packed trips and that things like facebook, e-mail, and the computer are an after-thought. here is a tentative plan that is on the fridge for our summer days. i am praying that it fosters growth of the spiritual, emotional, and camaraderie kind.

8:00 breakfast

followed by bible story and prayer together
chores
free time

12:00 lunch

followed by 30 minutes of reading

1:30 pool (t/w/th/f)
movie time monday (m)

3:00 snack

free time

6:00 dinner

8:00 talk time and journal

this is where chad and i will get to go room to room and spend time with them alone. tonight, for example i got to tell chase a story about a frog from when i was a little girl. he loved this. and so did i. i also got to read colt the story i wrote in my journal on his first day of kindergarten. i did this to show him how fun journaling can be when you get to look back at it years later and remember the details of what happen and how you felt. he had no idea how hard that day was because of how much i missed him. it made him feel good. i also got to read them some of my prayers from when aiden was a baby and i was praying for God to heal her reflux and they saw how He answered those prayers. it made them want to pray for God to heal annslee's reflux more.

and...possibly my favorite thing is that they each get to pick out a spiral notebook to be their journals. they will keep them in their nightstand drawers with a pencil and every night they will write in them about what they did that day, how they are feeling, or even a prayer. once a week, they will write a letter to chad or i in it and we will write them back on the back. i'm super excited about this new, little activity and really hope it sticks. can you imagine taking a box of old spiral notebooks with you to college that had entries dating all the way back to elementary school? love it.

and who better to hold me accountable to this slow paced summer day schedule other than you?

great. now i'm singing that cher song..."if i could turn back time"....in my head.

"hearing" God

today i took colton and aiden to the store with me. aiden had birthday money that she wanted to spend and on this particular day, colton needed to be anywhere that chase was not. they have been "relationally challenged" lately. and most of the time i can't pin-point who or what the problem is. i have somewhat successfully convinced myself that this is just a phase that will be outgrown as quickly as it came, but for now...separation seems to work.

aiden is starting kindergarten in the fall, so she has been promoted at church to the school age sunday school department. she gets to go in with her boys and we have been talking this up for the past several weeks. on the way home from our grocery day of separation and fun, i asked her about it. here is how the conversation went:

me: "so aiden......how did you like your new class this morning?"

aiden: "it was good. the teachers really love God."

me: "do you love God?"

aiden: "a little bit."

me: "what would make you love him more than a little bit?"

aiden: "if he would talk to me."

the conversation didn't end there, but i did appreciate her honesty. and i even wondered if sometimes i didn't feel the same.

P90crazy is what it is...

i want to work out. i really do.

i have never felt so weak and out of shape in all my life.

i know what you're going to say. "you're so skinny, mindy...you don't need to lose weight...if anything, you could stand to gain a few pounds." i have heard this time and time again. but the point is that i feel like i couldn't run down the street if someone was chasing me with a knife. my legs start burning when i carry annslee up stairs to her bed. (yes. you heard me right. puddie girl is sleeping in her bed. no applause necessary. well....if you want to clap for her, or ME...you can.) so, i just think that it's time to do something to take back my body. i have not worked out since before i was pregnant with colton. this was going on 10 years ago. i have been through 4 pregnancies, and a total of 17 weeks of bedrest (combining aiden and annslee.) so needless to say, i'm not the picture of physically fit. i think my stomach muscles left during the last pregnancy and decided to stay gone out of fear of me doing it to them a 5th time.

the other night, over a plate of fried pickles and fries, i told my family that it was time for me to start working out. my parents started with the "you-are-too-skinny-you-need-to-eat-better-and-gain-some-weight"...but when i explained myself, my dad said 6 works that have stuck with me ever since.

"you used to be so strong."

ok. i did used to be strong. i remember playing soccer, swimming competitively, and doing hours of gymnastics every week. and i remember hearing my dad tell my mom...almost in disbelief, "she's solid as a rock."

i want that again. i want to be tough. solid. strong physically. i want to think...yeah...i could pretty much pound you to the ground if you mess with me or my kid.

chad ordered P90X the other day for him. he's gonna get strong too. i decided that i would do it with him. i watched the first dvd the other night and there were all kinds of push ups and pull ups involved. the guy (who is totally hyper and annoying and hulk like) was saying "keep good form and don't worry if you can't do 30. just do what you can." i'm thinking...yeah...so what if you can only do 1/2 of 1? then what, mr. crazy man???

i answered myself. "then do 1/2."

look out people. once i can do a whole chin-up, you're not gonna want to mess with me.

you are not going to believe this...

this is one of those stories that you would only believe if you were actually there. and lucky me. i was.

lauren, one of chase's classmates, lives a couple of houses down from us. she has an older sister, alli. they come over to play in the backyard nearly every day after school. the other day, lauren and aiden found an orange, stray cat wandering around out front. aiden especially loves kitties, and it turned out that lauren was pretty enamoured by them as well. so, these two somehow coaxed it into our front yard and "mothered" it for a while. i would not let aiden do anything besides pet it's back. lauren, on the other hand was picking it up and trying to carry it everywhere with here. this is where i will tell you that i knew that this was not a good idea, but my gentle warnings were not really making any difference. the cat finally got tired of it and ran off. i had not thought about that cat again. until today.

all the kids were playing in out backyard this afternoon when lauren spotted the cat again. she came to me and asked if we could feed it. i told her that i didn't have any cat food and she said that she didn't either and that she only had dog food. i told her that maybe the cat would like her dog food. she ran home to get some and came back empty handed. "my mom said that i couldn't waste our dog food on a cat." i said, "ah...good point. maybe you could just give it some water." she said, "your water is closer than my water." aiden was begging me to come see the cat with her, so we all went to find him/her. colton and chad were at colt's baseball practice, so it was just me with the rest of the kids. chase, being allergic to cats and dogs sensed danger and immediately went inside. so, there we are...me holding annslee, lauren and aiden petting the cat, and alli and her friend watching, and chase standing in the dining room window peering at us over a small notebook with a pen in hand. the little girls really wanted to give the cat something to eat and kept asking what we could feed it. i asked our neighbor if the cat was theirs. he told me that it was not, but that it had come to their backdoor last night and they had given it some cat food. he said that his wife had checked it over and that it was declawed. that made me worry a little, because i knew that it could not protect itself without its claws and i started imagining it being lost and hungry. i turned around and looked at the dining room window and saw chase still standing there, shaking his head no...as if he already knew what i was thinking. alli's friend said that maybe her mom would let her keep it. so, i went and opened a can of tuna. the cat ate, and alli's friend called her mom. she told her she could keep it, but that she had to find a way to get it home. now, i am no cat expert, but i do know well enough to know not to put it in my car with my baby, my 5 yr old, my son...who is allergic, and the girl who's parents don't even know me. so, the girl asked alli if they had a leash. now, at this point, i did question the decision to put a cat on a leash, but this was her cat now and annslee was getting fussy and i needed to start dinner. alli came out with a huge dog leash and i watched as they tried to get it on the cat. i said, "so wait? are you gonna walk this cat home on a leash???" she said that she would try and if not, her mom would come get her. so i helped them get the leash on. this is where the story begins to take a nose dive. i say, "ok. this is your cat. congratulations. you are now in charge of it. i'm going in to start dinner." about 3 minutes later, the doorbell rings. aiden says it's lauren and i tell her to let her in. lauren is crying hysterically saying that the cat got away. i told her it was ok and that i was coming. i grabbed annslee and was followed outside by chase, aiden, lauren, alli, and alli's friend...the owner. that's when i am told that the cat started jumping all around and the new owner had let go of the leash. i said, "let me get this straight. there is a stray cat running around the neighborhood with a dog leash attached to it?" they said, "yes." i looked at the kids and thought, "ok...this is where i need to go get alli and lauren's mom. because, let's face it...clearly you need another adult to help in the decision making in this situation because the whole 'leash-on-a-cat' one was clearly a bad call." i recounted the story to their mom, and said that i thought a 'lost cat' sign would look pretty funny with a drawing of a cat with a leash hanging off of it and while doing so, it hit me. OH MY GOSH. IF THAT CAT TRIES TO JUMP A FENCE WITH THAT LEASH ON, IT COULD HANG ITSELF. we were standing there, trying to figure out what to do...annslee in my arms, aiden standing next to me, clearly worried and chase with his little notebook and pen while lauren, alli and the new owner were running through backyards trying to find it. that's when they ran to the front yard of the house where they last saw it and yelled, "IT'S STUCK ON A FENCE! IT'S STUCK ON A FENCE! IT'S HANGING ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE FENCE AND WE CAN'T GET TO IT!" we needed to act fast...i knew that much. we got there and the girls started to run around the block to get to the other side of the fence. i said, "someone needs to climb the fence." at that point, the lady who lived there came out and went back there to help them. i kept the little ones in the front and waited. she finally came out and handed us the leash. i said, "what happened." she said, "that cat was almost dead. i had to pull it up by the leash so i could reach it and i got the leash off it's neck. it took off. i don't know what those girls were trying to do to that cat, but they had a leash around it's neck." i had the quick thought, "this could go one of two ways. i could admit my involvement in the ridiculous leash debacle, or i could just nod in agreement." i mumbled something about being glad the cat was ok and thanked her for her help and decided that she was really only on a need to know basis.

as i told this story to chad tonight after he got home from colt's practice, he laughed and asked, "what was chase writing in the notebook?" i realized i had never looked but imagined it went something like this........

A RECORD OF POOR DECISIONS BY MOM

by: chase clarkson

1. she let aiden pet a stray cat.

2. she fed the cat.

3. she put a leash on the cat.

4. to be continued......

HAPPY 5th BIRTHDAY GUMDROP

5 year picture

hey sweet aiden annee-grace...you're a whole hand!

MOTHER'S DAY WEEKEND '10

a.j. "watching" her biggest brother's baseball game

colt...watching his double come at him

colt...on the mound

mommy and her loves

* after church on mother's day, we had my parents, honey, and uk over for a cookout. the boy's planned the meal, went to the grocery store, did the cooking, and the serving, and the clean-up. dad was in charge of the meat and the homemade ice cream. he brought turkey burgers and chicken to grill. kevin was in charge of the buns and the grilling. chad was in charge of the sides and he waaay out did himself. he spent the entire week researching and looking up recipes. he decided on a spinach salad with roasted walnuts and goat cheese with a homemade honey mustard dressing that was a-mazing. he also made a fruit salad with poppy seed dressing with pistachios. yum. then...his crowd pleasing mvp's were the grilled sweet potato fries with a maple syrup glaze. i gotta say...i love a man at the grill. especially when it's my man! then, the kids gave me the gift card to james avery so that i could get the 4 engravable disk charms with their names on them. per-fect. after all...i love them...i love james avery jewelry...and i love their names. it's a win-win.

* "i love my mom" an appropriate shirt for the occasion

* ok. so i have to say that i usually stay away from the "mom needs a pat on the back so she puts me in these outfits that give her crazy props when i'm too young to do anything about it" clothes, however i sort of viewed this one as a holiday outfit...which is totally acceptable when used appropriately.

one of my favorite memories as a child was the homemade ice cream that my mom and dad made on our back patio in the summers. i couldn't wait for them to bust out the one we gave them for christmas this year. aiden was excited to "crank".

this is going to get blown up and framed for her room. who doesn't love a girl with a hula hoop?

4 generations of ladies...

3 of them moms, 2 of them babies.

after the ice cream, and the golf tournament that was so rudely interrupting our mother's day festivities, we played a mean game of backyard wiffleball. it was colt, me, grandaddy, and aiden against chase, u.k., and chad. i'm somewhat ashamed to say the we got schooled. i do have an excuse though. i was so tired from all the eating and sitting around that i wasn't quite myself. chase and aiden, on the other hand, were surprising us all by whacking the ball every time. chad was struck out by colton and obviously blamed the "ball" that he swung at, but eventually hit a home run redeeming himself. dad had a great hit, but somehow managed to trip on his way to home...kind of falling into home plate. i asked him what he tripped over, and he pointed and laughed, "that blade of grass," and then mumbled something about being sore in the morning. (i had "master's pine straw" flashbacks where he and i both face planted trying to get up the hill after the par 3 tournament.) u.k. out shined us all, but did get out at 1st after a diving "peg" from dad that he unsuccessfully tried to hurdle. eventually, colton had enough of us losing, and thus declared that it was my fault because i wasn't playing well today and that i stunk. that was super thrilling and pretty much ended the game. he did apologize later and kiss my forehead like the oldest son that he is...turning my frown upside down. i did stink at wiffle ball today...and didn't get the hits that colton was used to me getting. but give a girl a break. i didn't have to cook or serve........i was all out of wack!

ONE FIELD DAY DOWN..........

we came out to watch chase...the man of the hour.

my littlest boy

all my boys

a.j.

*aiden was at granna's making chocolate covered strawberries for all of us. don't worry...she didn't feel left out. she's been through this drill before. she decided it was annslee's turn to represent the sisters!

..........AND ONE TO GO.

chase strikes again

i don't think i can adequately explain to you how sweet chase really is. i mean, he is not unlike most kids and does have his moments...but they are few and far between. tonight, i went from room to room, kissing foreheads and snuggling faces and whispering secrets. when i got to chase's doorway, i didn't see him in his bed. the reason for that??? he was hiding behind his door, waiting to scare me. it was me who ended up scaring him when i poked my head around the door. he jumped and then giggled...showing me those famous dimples. he ran and got in bed and then i had the bright idea to run and jump on top of him. only, this did not go as planned...due to him putting his knees up. my throat landed on his knees and i landed in a heap on top of him, grabbing my throat, saying "owww...owww...owww"...through laughter. (you know...when you still laugh, even though something hurts really bad?) he giggled too, but was so naturally sweet. he said calmly and almost like a parent, "are you alright?" i said, "that hurt." he said, "i know it did." then he said, "i'm sorry." and kissed my forehead and said, "i know that hurt."

his sweetness overwhelmed me. and my throat.

after a little while of giggling and talking, we had this conversation:

me: do you want to go swimming this weekend?

chase (very excited): in the big pool?!?!

me (eyes wide and smiling): YES!!!!

chase: no. never.

me (confused look and exaggerated): whhhhyyyy?

*when i said why, a little spit flew in his eye.

chase (grabbing his eye and laughing): you just said why in my eye!

both of us collapsed into a heap of hugs and laughed. and then we said goodnight.

**reminder and note to myself...don't rush bedtime. it's going to be some of your favorite memories.**

EXPECTATIONS...never a good idea

i have this thing that i do. i build moments up so that the expectations for the moment end up taking over the reality of the moment. i do this, at some point, every day. this thing that i do gets especially out of control during the different holidays. and i add pressure to myself by thinking that i have to capture these perfect, meaningful," thekidswillneverforgetthis" moments on camera. what is this really about? for now, i'm content to just tell the story.

after school yesterday, the kids and i gathered in the backyard to enjoy the perfect weather. this started out innocent enough. the older three were playing their various loves. colt with a ball and glove in hand, throwing off the house; chase tinkering and meandering and loving being chase; and aiden trying to keep up with her oldest brother in between the pull for her affections by the ds; and lastly, but not leastly...annslee in the excersauser...totally engrossed with her bee and flower that always magically flit around her while in this lovely, treasured seat. ahhhh...a peaceful afternoon to sit on the patio and read my new people magazine that has been anxiously awaiting my attention since i plucked her from the magazine rack in the target line that morning. i sit down, smile at annslee and her bee next to me and begin to thinklessly read about angelina and brad's brood. and then it happened. a little, neighbor girl from chase's class showed up with another little boy from chase's class and his twin sister. well...if the backyard is going to become non-peaceful...i might as well text my brother's love and the 2 girls she watches to come play too. (we had discussed getting together during pick up an hour earlier.) i begin to picture pottery barn kids backyard playtime, complete with lemonade, laughter and good conversation. i leave colton in charge of puddie while i go in to make a big pitcher of lemonade, (mistake #1 due to him getting sidetracked by the pitcher's mound) and pull out a tray and cups for everyone. kevin's love and i block annslee from getting pelted by a line drive, as baseball became the game of choice, and i pour the lemonade. at this point, my poor people magazine had been tossed to the ground...pages blowing in the wind...feeling totally neglected. instead of good conversation, we had colt bossing everyone around like they were members of his little league team, chase hitting colt with the plastic bat due to such bossing, lemonade spilling all over the patio, empty cups blowing down the driveway, sisters fighting, annslee spitting up, and other less than perfect situations that i have chosen to block from my memory. what just happened here? how did we go from pottery barn/lemonade fun to complete chaos and hysteria? c.c. took care of puddie while i tried to do my part and play on the little girl's, non-stacked team to help the goingdownhillfast situation...but we still ended up with kids stomping off the field (yard) and going home due to boredom (hurt feelings). after everyone is gone, i survey the damage, clean up the spilled lemonade...that no one said thank you for, by the way...and pick up plastic cups from all over the yard (front and back). the reality is that the kids did have fun. they did like the lemonade. i did get to enjoy the company of c.c. i did get to play ball with my kids. and the best part...they have never even seen the pottery barn kids catalog to know about backyard/lemonade perfect playtime, so they don't know that any expectations went unmet. and me...next time, i'll put out some water, smile at puddie and her bee next to me, flip the pages of my people to the sounds of fighting kids, and save the expectations for the next holiday.

saturday

things i am excited about today:

-aiden and chase wearing their blue baseball tee's for colton's game. (my goal was to buy iron on letters and put clarkson on their backs and colton's number, and then put "brother" on the front of chase's and "little sis" on aiden's and to get annslee a white onsie and put "littlest sis" on the front...but the whole plan is not happening. so, the baseball tees that are the right color will have to do for now. and annslee doesn't ever get out of her carrier anyway...and she would just spit up on it and need to be changed right away anyway.)
-the fact that i got to go to old navy...alone...and get shorts for the kids. they were on sale for $10.
-the fact that all 6 of our birthdays are on EVEN days. i've talked about this before, but it really excites me and something made me think about this today. when i was pregnant with colton, i hoped that he would be born on an even...because evens are my favorite and i hate odds. so, i am on the 24th and chad is on the 30th. colton was due on the 19th and came on the 14th. yay. then, when it was chase's turn, i really hoped he would be even too. he came on the 30th. double yay! so far, so good. when i was nearing my due date for aiden, i thought that i was probably due to have an odd one. i went into labor on the 11th but held out until the 12th...just after midnight. so, needless to say annslee HAD to be born on an even. and i was willing to do whatever it took. i went into labor on the 7th. my dr. got to the hospital that evening and at around 10:00, she said to start a small pitocin drip and that i would deliver quickly. i said, "wait! she has to wait until midnight. she has to be born on the 8th. she has to be an even!" everyone just looked at me kinda weird and then my dr. smiled and looked at the nurse and said, "start the drip at 11:45." (love her.) annslee was born after midnight on the 8th. yay! yay! yay! and bonus...8 is my very favorite number. it's important to finish well!

-it is beyond beautiful outside for colt's game this afternoon.

-aiden's hair.

things i am not excited about today:

-annslee cried for an hour and a half this morning trying to fall asleep in her bed. she finally fell asleep and only stayed asleep for 6 minutes or so.

-when colton went to put his uniform on a little bit ago, we realized it had not been washed since his last game. woops. nothin a little fabreeze won't fix.

-my hair.

in his world...everything's better

so chase is the man of the hour, as he has racked up enough hilarious quotes to deserve his own blog post. i do realize that all kids are funny in their own right, some with a sarcastic bent, like colton...and others because of how they truly see the world...like chase. i am beyond thrilled that i get to sometimes get a peek at life through the eyes of chase. in his world...everything's better.

here are some of his latest:

"when annslee becomes human, she is going to be on dancing with the stars." (he was totally serious.)

while he was in the tub the other night, i noticed i tiny scrape on his chest. i said, "goodness chase. how did you get that?" he looked down at it and said, "oh...i don't know. we need to get a band aide for that. call 911!!" (again...totally serious.)

we have been working on improving a little behavior lately and it is called, we don't put our hands on our siblings in anger. at different times, different ones tend to struggle with this. a while back, it was colt. right now, it is chase. after 1 warning last week, chase ended up having to write sentences for hitting his brother. the sentence was *i am sorry for hitting my brother.* he sat in the dining room to write his sentences and i sat down on the couch in the living room to talk to chad. about 10 minutes went by and chase walked in with his pencil and paper. he showed his paper to me and pointed at his sentences with his pencil and this is what i saw...

1 - 5 said i'm sorry for hitting my brother.
6 - 8 said i'm sorry for hitting.
9 - 25 said i'm sorry.

he explained that he "decided to only write the important part because his hand was tired."

i told him that was kind of the point.

several days later, i heard aiden start crying upstairs. she proceeded to cry all the was downstairs to where i was. she started to tell on chase and stopped as chase came up quickly behind her with a piece of paper and a pencil. before she could tell me what had happened, he looked at me and said, "i'm gonna go ahead and start my sentences." he makes parenting easy!

colton has been saving his money for a DSi. his old DS broke, so he has been helping around the house to earn money to add to what he already had saved up. he had a substantial sum in his wallet that he keeps in his nightstand drawer. he was almost there. some nights, before bed he would get it out and count it. we even did it together one night and i showed him how i like to keep all the like bills together and facing in the same direction in value order. (obviously the correct way! :) anyhow, a few nights ago, he went up with chad and was going to add some money that he had made to the money in his wallet. a few minutes later, he and chad came downstairs to where i was holding sleeping puddie. chad said that all the money in his wallet was missing. i thought they were kidding until i saw colton's face. i said i didn't know where it was and colton lost it. i said, "let me go talk to chase. maybe he and aiden knew something about it." while i was headed up after putting aj to bed, colt met me in the hallway with the stack of money. he said, rather agitated, "i found it under chase's bed." i walked into chase's room and he popped up in bed like he was expecting the visit and said, "what????" i sat down on his bed next to him and the following conversation took place:

me: "chase......did you take colton's money out of his wallet?"

chase: "no. i didn't. and i'm serious."

me: "chase......you need to tell me the truth."

chase (looking away): "no. i didn't take his money."

me (looking at him like he was not pulling anything over on me): "if you lie to me, you will be in more trouble than if you tell the truth."

chase (eyes wide, very dramatic, arms waving): "what happened was......i think colton's wallet opened......and the wind blew the money under my bed."

do you see how it is difficult to ever really get mad at chase?

sleep and trains

yesterday, puddie took an hour and a half morning nap. today, she took a 2o minute morning nap instead.

consistency is over-rated is what she said.

when i heard her crying...ready to get up, i looked at aiden. aiden looked at me and said, "she didn't EVEN take a nap!" to which i replied, "I KNOW!"

here is a little morsel of randomness this morning. i've been reading a smackeral of different things lately. a little about lukewarmness (which is just super at making you feel good about yourself) and a little about knowing your children's hearts (which also makes a mom feel like a winner) and a little about how "God does not deal with us according to our sins, nor does he repay us according to his iniquities." psalms 103 10-12 (which IS a "let out a grateful sigh" kind of verse.) due to all of these little nugget whisperings from God, i have scheduled a meeting with the husband. (literally. he put me in his iphone calendar this morning.) it's go time.

in talking things over with my experienced, truth telling, and loving mother at lunch yesterday, i came up with a little analogy of what is causing the restlessness inside. it is this:

you know how freight trains roll? you hear them slowly get started. then you hear the whistle warning people that it is getting ready to move. then you see the wheels start to turn and it slowly begins down the track. then, after a bit it starts moving a little quicker. (hear the sound of it slowly picking up speed?) then, it starts moving faster and faster...until it is going so fast that it is much too late to get on or off. well...my little, lovely family of 6 is on that train, and the train has been moving down the track pretty slowly up until about a year ago when it started picking up speed. now we are moving a little quicker and everything in me is screaming over the noise of the train that this is the time that we have to decide to stay on or get off...or it will be too late. the train will be moving too fast to get off without doing some real damage. i see how life can just sort of take over. school, activities, practices, games, meals, chores, babies, work, responsibilities, etc, etc, etc take up the day. and this goes on day, after day, after day. until annslee leaves for college and chad and i look at each other and wonder, "what on earth happened? where did that time go? and why didn't we stop and do it differently?" are we supposed to stay on the "live safely in the suburbs in a big house with big screen tvs and all the comforts that our little heart's desire, cross our fingers, and hope our kids make it through the public school system without some serious scars" train? OR, are we supposed to get off now, before it's too late? the trouble is, if we all grab hands and jump off, i don't know where we would land at this point. the ground doesn't seem to be there. i'm asking God to show me if he wants us to stay on this train, or not. and if not.....what are we supposed to jump to? i keep thinking that he usually asks his followers to live boldly, and radically. am i doing that? are we training our kids to do that? what does this feeling of discontentment mean? is it time to get off the train? i know we are supposed to do something differently, but i have no idea what. what i do know...is that the train is moving. and it's going to do nothing but move faster.

WE LOVE MASTER'S SUNDAY

thanks to grandaddy...we can all sport the infamous master's logo.

chronicals of easter

we start off the holiday with chase losing his first tooth on friday morning. followed by a tractor ride at uncle kevin's

then...annslee rolls over,

while colton announces that his favorite things to do are eating snacks, playing video

games, sports, and sleeping. (look how big he looks...yikes! 9 going on 19.)

chase...showing his "hole"

colton...ready for his game on saturday. and the egg hunt!

sweet pea

puddin pie and her grandaddy

puddy annslee james

grandaddy buys ice cream from the ice cream man. a must!

permission to kiss the dimples?

granna and honey sportin' kevin's fightwear hats at the game. this one's a keeper!

puddy in her u.k.'s furia hat

we miss daddy!

puddin and her mommy

my girls

happy easter