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Kaitlin skipped church today and went to see CATS with her Mama. I got to comfort a screaming baby in the church nursery who fell asleep on my chest. God knew what I needed and gave it to me. :) There is nothing more precious on this earth than a sleeping baby. I bonded with the little guy and I am hoping he will get use to me and not be so afraid next week. If not, atleast I get to hold him and love on him. He has no idea how much I loved our little hugfest.

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After a 2 hour end-of-the-first-week-cry-a-thon (complete with 2 sessions of mommy dearest freak outs and an embarrasing "do you know what my week has been like?" pity party in front of Eric), I got to end the longest week of my working life with fresh.blonde.highlights. I almost fell asleep in the chair to Lindsey's sweet voice telling me stories as she softly added honey streaks to my 3 inch roots. Thank you God for friends who will barter their services with you, and be there for you, and make you laugh when you want to cry. And thank you God for SATURDAYS!

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Thank you Lindsey. I haven't laughed that hard in weeks. "Air-body" be knowin' THAT!

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The lack of sleep and looooooong work days finally caught up with us. September can not get here fast enough. I have never liked August. The only thing good about this month are the people born in it. Everything else bites. It's 100 degrees. I work insane hours and my children suffer from the back to school syndrome. We eat poorly, sleep poorly, and miss our wonderful summer terribly. But come September/October.....my FAVORITE time of year begins.....and it makes living through August totally worth it.

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After 3 days of "24 Kindergarteners madness", they finally stayed quiet for 10.minutes.straight. Thank you God for giving me the idea to give them lollipops!!! I read a whole book from start to finish and no one said a word. Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. They are SO LOUD, but they are so cute. :) And they finally learned my name. No more Ms. Dark. No more Mrs. Sparks. No more "lady". They finally got it!

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1st week of school = 2 1/2 hours of filling out paperwork for the kids.

I'm crossed eyed and drooling on myself at this point. I wonder how much of what I just wrote is actually correct after a 2 consecutive 12 hour work days and 4 hours of sleep? And why is he smiling? This isn't fun!

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Kaitlin said her first day of school was boring, but she's excited for tomorrow because she gets to switch classes and turn in her locker paperwork. Jacks said he loves his teacher and his class. I say THANK YOU MOM....I could not have done it today without your help. I will never do the first day of school as a teacher without you again. :)

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New hair cut. New shoes. New bookbag. New school. New friends. New teachers. New world.

We love you Kaitlin!

May God bless you in abundance as you enter this uncharted territory. May he let you shine like a candle in the dark.....a city on a hill. May you influence others to choose good over bad, to love people for who they are, to defend those who are being hurt, to stand up for what is right, to say no to what is wrong, to be confident in who you are, to encourage others with kindness, to stand strong in the face of adversity, and to do your best and be your best....each and every day. You are wise beyond your years. Don't ever change who you are to blend in with your surroundings. You are so beautiful...inside and out. Good luck sweet girl! You will LOVE your new world!

BE the light.....BEEEEEEEEEEEEEE the light! (hehe....you know you are laughing!)

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We went to Kim and Richards tonight for a cookout. Kyle and Karen brought Mackenzie, and Cristy and Chris brought Chandler. Addie was there too...so the kids had plenty of playmates. Kaitlin was a great babysitter as usual. It was awesome to see everyone. We got a lot of cute pictures but I liked this one the best. I wish I wasn't in such a hurry. I could have some fun editing this one!

Kaitlin snapped this picture of Mackenzie. Beautiful.

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Snapped a shot with my camera phone of Kaitlin and Jenna at their middle school open house. Kaitlin got great teachers, is in homeroom with 9 other kids she knows well, and is ready for the first day. Can't believe it's here.

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Interesting that when I left school today and watched this crazy storm happen from a distance. This was the theme of my week. I watched storm after storm happen in my friends' lives, and it stunk. Although I was thankful that the storms weren't mine, it hurts to watch other people hurt. But that's life. And in all the suffering we experience- we grow, and it's worth it.

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Instead of working in my classroom today, the kids and I spent the day moving 3 teachers from our Kindergarten team to 3 new schools. It was a last minute. It was unexpexted. It was emotional. I am so incredibly proud of my kids for helping us move them, for riding around from school to school with no AC in our car, and for being nice to each other in such an emotional time so as to avoid stressing everyone out. They were so helpful. We are so tired. I am so thankful that I did not have to move. Counting my blessings.

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After a long and emotional day at work, it was refreshing to laugh at Eric's childhood class photos. The kids got the biggest kick out of their "little" dad.

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We had storms today, and the kids do NOT like them. I decided to tell funny stories while we waited on the basement stairs for it to pass. We had such a good time, laughed harder than we have laughed in a long time, and had quality time that we otherwise would not have had today. Funny how much joy we got out of such a scary storm. Very much how life works. God seems to always make beautiful music out of the scariest storms in our lives.

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We had a good day today. I started serving in the church nursery today and received years worth of therepy in one hour-long snuggle session with 7 adorable babies. I am so glad they had an opening in the baby room. It seriously warms my soul like a hot bowl of chilli in the middle of winter to snuggle and love on babies. I look so forward to sundays anyway because I love our new church, but now it is my favorite day of the week. I can't believe I get to do this every week! Oh they are so precious. I have to stop myself from eating their little cheeks. I don't want to scare their parents.

We learned a new game this afternoon. I think it' called the Mexican Train Game (using Dominoes). It is the perfect game for our family because everyone can play. Jack totally got it and won two rounds, fair and square. Sort of. He is finally old enough to play games with us, and he is GOOD! I had a sweet momma moment as I looked around the table and realized that we can do this now. Very cool.

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We had the garage sale today, and I got to spend the first 4 hours of it at Scott Kelby's Photo Walk with Angie, while Eric worked the sale in this crazy heat. What a good man, ha? Angie and I were feeling uninspired at the walk and ended up just walking and talking and stopping into a few stores for air conditioning breaks. We got all caught up and enjoyed a no-kid visit. She is starting the fund raising process for her 2nd adoption (4th child), so click HERE if you'd like to help bring baby #4 home!

Eric had a successful morning and we ended up making a great deal of money at the Garage Sale. We are going to have another one in the fall with everything that didn't sell. It was actually kind of fun to put it all together and just hang out with Eric and the kids all day (well, part of the day). The kids were extremely helpful in the whole process and so was Eric. Thank you again for all the donations moms and dad! We are blessed.

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I am exhausted, but feeling good. I worked in my classroom today and got the entire room unpacked and organized. Then I came home and started working on the garage sale with Eric. We got everything ready and are both extremely humbled and thankful by all the donations. I really can't believe what is in my garage. Craziness. What an awesome family we have!!! Thank you mom, dad, and Beth!

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Thursday nights at our house equals watching the show Wipe Out. Jack snuggles up in my lap. Kaitlin is on one side of me and Eric is on the other. Jack loves this show so much that he has a countdown every week. How many more days until Wipeout mommy? How many? How MANY?

Tonight he was so anxious for it to come on that we had to set the oven timer so he would stop asking how many more minutes. He sat in front of the oven for about 5 minutes counting the seconds with the timer and then got distracted. It's not my favorite show, but I do love watching Jack react to all the wipeouts. He loves physical comedy and sound effects, so this really is the perfect show for him. Plus, we can watch it as a family....which is nice. Most prime time shows these days are not okay for kids anymore. I love his little feets in between mine. He is getting so big.

ColbyJack

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We spent the day at the pool with the Vaughn kids. Kaitlin was with Mama all day, so the boys left Casryn out. I had big plans to finish my book, but ended up playing with Carsyn all afternoon. We talked about all kinda stuff, and got to see that sweetheart side of her that I rarely see because of her tough girl exterior. When you are giving her your full attention- she's quite a little doll. But then again, that's all kids really need right? Our undivided attention. I was glad I was able to give it to her today. We had some good times, and I learned a lot about her. I needed a day like today after yesterdays Target experience. So did Jack.

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This was such a perfect capture of our day. We shopped at Target for 2 hours. We were out of everything in the house, and we had needed to get school supplies, so we did it all in one torturous trip. 2 hours is just too long for Jack to be surrounded by stuff he wants to buy. He lost his mind by the time we got to the cash register, and it threw him over the edge when I wouldn't let him buy candy, so people stared. It didn't help that we all looked like we hadn't showered in weeks, and Jack was screaming to me that he wanted a new family....and it certainly didn't help that I asked a few strange women if they wanted to be his new mommy, but I was feeling weak, and tired, and I was in shock by how much money it costs to start a new school year. Everytime I heard the beep of another item being scanned, I cringed. Oh well. It's over.

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While Cristina and I sat and talked for 4 hours today, Colby and Jack played happily and Kaitlin and Katie made fancy chocolate milk. I am mourning the loss of summer. I can't believe how fast it goes by every year.

Thank you

I received some great advice and books on building self confidence in children. But my brother gave me the best advice of all. He told me that Jack is a boy, and boys gets their self confidence through personal acheivment. He told me that Eric and I can tell him how great he is all day long, but that is only part of the equation.....his personal accomplishments are the only way he will ever believe it. Girls get there security and self esteem from words of affirmation, love, feeling desirable and wanted, and personal relationships. I already know this because I am a girl, and I know that the love in my life is where I've gained my own confidence. But Joe brought me the male perspective on this very real issue. And I feel better. I now know my role in this, and I know what I need to do. I need to get off my lazy rear end, stop putting it off, and actively find an activity to sign Jack up for that will set him up for success. In time, and no one knows how long, he will acheive things little by little, and build up the confidence that he needs. Not because I tell him how good he did, but because of how good he is actually doing at a task. It must be earned for a man, or it's not real. And of course, prayer. The ultimate giver loves to give to His children! Thanks for the advice, and book suggestions. :)

Hide and Seek Cuteness

Jack followed me around the house for 2 hours the other day while I tried to do some house work. He told me stories and asked me a million question about "stuff". Finally he said he was bored and spent a half hour begging me to play with him. He said he wanted to play hide and seek, so I agreed. I looked and looked for him and couldn't find him anywhere. Since I had just cleaned my bathroom, I walked in and noticed that my dirty clothes hamper had a pile of clothes laying next to it. He didn't try to cover his tracks one bit. He threw those clothes on the floor and hopped in the hamper. When I found him, he asked me "How did you know where I was?" I told him the clothes on the floor were a dead giveaway. He looked at me with the cutest look and said, "Oh....I stand corrected," (with his finger pointed to the ceiling). :)

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funny story

Jack saw me editing this picture and said ,"You aren't going to put me on your blog like that, are you?" He then directed me to cover his dinosaur underwear with an object, and after much deliberation, he chose a sunshine." Too cute. I can't tell you how much this picture reminds me of Joe at this age. He use to run around in his He-Man underwear in the 80's....and he us to lay just like this when he watched T.V. I know dad, Jack needs a hair cut. We're getting there!

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Good times with the cousins (and neighbor Rick and Butler Jeff)).....baby Taylor is due to arrive in October and Aunt Jessica is going to spoil her rotten! So many good things happening in this family. The best part of the night? Kaitlin sat with all of us and played/sang 3 of her own songs. We all pitched in and paid her so she would do it. It was really powerful to sit and watch her read her own words from her song book and turn them into music, right before our eyes. I felt like I was sitting with Jewel. very cool. Thanks Kaitlin!!

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Kaitlin has been at performance camp all week and they had their final show tonight. She did amazing, but clearly my camera did not. She and Aspen got picked for the spotlight on Talent portion of the show and they sang/played a song they wrote earlier this week called "Is She Really Me?" Oh MY!!!! They were great! I've tried uploading the video but it won't upload to this site for some reason. Dad, I will just email you the video so you can show Yvette. I am pretty sure everyone else can see it on Facebook. If not, email me. :)

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We've been racking our brains to find something for Jack to get involved in. He's made it very clear that he's "just not a sports guy", but there are plenty of ways to stay active and busy without hitting a ball. The other day Jack and I were watching the Disney Channel together and a clip came up with young skaters showing off their moves. I thought of the brilliant idea to encourage him to give skateboarding a try. He doesn't like team sports because he hates to lose against the other team, so this would be perfect. No teams. No balls. No competetion. Just Jack and his skateboard. yay for me! I finally found something he might like to do! The next day Jack came running up to me going on and on about some "pwetend skatebowd" that you can practice on in your living room. He told me to go to the exact website to go to and order it. Low and behold he was right...there was a pretend skateboard called a "yobaby" that you can learn the basics of boarding on. So we ordered 2 for $19.99. (And the they make you pay another $19.99 in shipping...what a deal!) We got the yobaby in the mail today. Jack was flipping out with excitement to get started. We ripped the box open, popped in the instructional DVD, and started with the basics.

He was lovin it. He was turning and jumping and smiling from ear to ear. My heart was full. I was a genious! Why had I not thought of this before? Jack is a TOTAL skateboarding dude. This is perfect! And he's going to feel so good about himself!! I am a hero, right?

Wrong.

In a matter of 10 minutes.....he had his first fall, which quickly resulted in a tantrum to beat all tantrums (except for the one in the school parking lot when he was 2- that resulted in a 45 minute stand off, in which I won out of sheer anger and embarrasment that my toddler was challenging me over putting his shoes on) His tantrum was followed by the heartbreaking news that he hates skateboarding, he hates the yobaby, and he hates everything!!!!!! (I don't allow the kids to say the word hate, so he was really mad, and didn't care about the punishment) He ran to the trashcan and threw his $40.00 dollar yobabies away.....just like that. He broke into a strange and awful cry that reminded of the boy in the movie Parenting, starring Steve Martin, who lost his retainer in a trashcan and cried so hard over it that his poor father dug threw a dirty public trashcan with his bare hands.

really?

Is it that bad?

Yes. It is. In Jack's world, it is that bad to fail at something.

I don't relate to this. I had no words. I sat there in silence, holding this hysterical child, and I had no words. After a few minutes, I realized that I had said nothing, so pulled out the old "you can do anything you put your mind to" speech. It's true, you can, but I am not sure that is what he wanted to hear at the moment. I spent the next 30 minutes holding him and encouraging him...telling him how wonderful he is and how strong he is and how every skateboarder falls a million times before mastering a move. He didn't want to hear anything. After an hour of a crash course in Building Your Child's Self Confidence 101, I realized that this a tricky subject. I am in the middle of reading a book on defeating insecurity, and I'm also in the middle of a book called Bringing Up Girls. Looks like my next book needs to be titled "How to make your kids tough." Anyone have any suggestions? Be kind. I am opening up a can of worms I think. And I am sure that my kids lack of toughness is 100% Eric and I's fault, so I am asking for book suggestions...not ridicule on my failures as a parent. lol. All kidding aside, if you have any valuable advise on this topic, or book suggestions.....PLEASE share with me via EMAIL at suzyloohoo619@yahoo.com. Thank you!

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Jack waited patiently for Savannah and Addie's arrival at our new favorite burger joint. He's starting to get a few little freckles on his face. Can you see Eric in him or what?

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Clearly there is a difference between girls and boys.

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Kaitlin has been in drama camp all week. She seems to be enjoying it, and I am thrilled that she has something different to do. There is a big similarity between what they are doing at camp and the show Glee. We get to watch the final performance on Friday, and I am interested in seeing what these kids can do! I will not miss the early mornings and the commmute down the highway in traffic when it's over. I feel incredibly thankful that my daily commute to work is only 5 minutes. Can't imagine sitting in rush hour traffic everyday.

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We had an awesome day today. The Carley clan came to church with us this morning and had lunch at our house afterwards. We loved every minute of be-laxing (as Addie says) with our peeps while the kids played happily upstairs. After they left, we spent the afternoon with Lindsey and Skylar at the pool, and then grilled burgers for dinner. Angie snapped this adorable photo of Kaitlin and her main man, Silas. It was the perfect day.

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We stopped by a small petting zoo on the way home from Hilton Head. Jack was thrilled to feed the animals, but I think Eric enjoyed it the most. :)

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We took full advantage of our last day in Hilton Head. We swam in the pool, hung at the beach, had lunch in Harbor Town, cooked some shrimp with the family, and played in the back yard with the little ones. It was hard to go to sleep because I knew we would wake up and have to leave. I bet I didn't get but a few hours of rest because I was replaying all the good times in my head all night. I always drive away with a lump in my throat because I hate for the week to end. I have some adorable pictures to share in a slide show, but it will take me a few days to put it together in between entertaining the kids and unpacking. Hold on Beth....it's in the works!!! Thank you for such a fun week and for such great hospitality, and happy anniversary to you and Nick! 27 years? really? We love you guys....and we love our time in Hilton Head!

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Jack and Car Car have watched Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs many times this week. I am so glad I got a picture of it. This photo melts me. Carson has been copying Jack all week. It's the sweetest thing. Unfortunatley Jack is highly annoyed by all toddlers. He prefers older kids over younger ones, always has. He does loves Carson though -as long as he is not in his room messing with his stuff. :) I have loved every minute of Carson and Ashlyn this week. They crack me up! I can't believe we only have one more day. Gotta make it good!

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Kaitlin has been WONDERFUL with the little ones this week. Jennifer has joked that they owe her serious babysitting money. Carson loves her so much. He lights up around her. She is ready to start babysiting for real. She only has one more year to go before I'll let her do it alone, but she's ready today. :) I think she's trying to grow up too fast. Mama agrees, and got teary eyed when Kaitlin opted not to ride the trolley yo Harbor Town. NOT ride the trolley? Who is this child and where is Kaitlin? She use to beg to ride that thing everyday. The upside to her growing out of the trolley is that I now have a partner who will ride bikes to Harbor Town. I would rather ride bikes so I can squeeze in some calorie burning while taking in the real HH experience. We do all miss Jenna this year, but MaMa and I love having our girl all to ourselves. :)

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Lyle and Jennifer have some friends that come to Hilton Head during this week every year and stay near us. They have two little ones, Liney and Jessie (pictured aabove), who play really well with Ashlyn and Carson.  I wish Jack loved the beach as much as these little ones.....it's been hard getting him to stay down for longer than an hour. He is just not a beach person. He gets it from his MaMa. Thankfully she's willing to hang with Jack in the condo while we soak up the sun. I love how he's sucking in his belly in this picture......trying to make his chest look all buff! Too cute.

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This post was accidentally deleted. Don't feel like rewriting it.....blah blah blah

Happy 4th!

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We are here, and we are happy. This is coolest condo. Not only is it beautiful, but it has a yard! We are on the first floor, so we walk out of this amazing place and step onto soft, plush, green grass. And right behind that grass? The beach. Oh this is wonderful. I didn't take very many pictures yesterday, but this one made me laugh out loud. I laughed because I can't believe we are here in this awesome place, but also because of Kaitlin's long giraffe leg, right there in the front of the shot....dancing away, as it does so well. We call her tiny dancer, and sing Elton John's song to her all the time. She dances a lot. She dances in the kitchen. She dances in the living room. She dances in parking lots and in grocery stores. She's tall, but she's tiny.....and she loves to dance. And there she is, dancing right in the middle of the football game. I love her. I love all of them. And I love Hilton Head.   Happy 4th of July! I am pumped about fireworks tonight. Thank you to my awesome in laws for this trip!!!

Where's Kaitlin?

I was looking back over the last few weeks of our lives, and realized that I haven't posted very many pictures of Kaitlin. It's not that she's not here, it's just that none of the pictures I've taken of her have made the daily blog cuts. I don't put to much thought into making things "even" on the blog, so sometimes one of the kids makes a few more appearances that the other. So what have you been up to Ms. Kaitlin?

Well, for starters, she can always be found with a friend. She's had a friend over~ or at least seen one of her friends~ everyday since summer began. She can't go a single day without one. On this particular day, she had Sarah over...and they both fell in love with our neighbor's new puppy. Kaitlin is forever planning things to do. She's just like her Mama. They are women on the go....always planning the next fun thing to experience. I admire this quailty in both of them, but I am perfectly content just hanging around my house. I do not have an adventurous spirit, but I am raising a daughter with a BIG one, so I am learning to leave my house and have some fun.

She can also be found texting and talking on her cell phone, and telling Jack how annoying he is.

And this is a perfect picture of her new pre-teen world. There is no time for cleaning- there's too much to plan, to many people to text, too many dances to make up, too many shopping trips, too many friends to talk to, and too many songs to write. Keeping a clean room is no where near on her top 100 things to do list. So I have learned to shut the door. And that's Kaitlin's world. It's a whole new world for Eric and I, but we are adjusting the the new her. As long as she maintains her sweetness, her faith, and her innocent spirit, I can deal with the other stuff. I think.

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Hilton Head here we come!!!!! whoot whoot! Awwwwww yeah!

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I've been editing Jessica and Chad's pictures all day, while receiving a free therepy session from my husband....who patiently sat next to me while I went on and on about how frustrated I am with my photography skills. He was a huge help though. I had one day to get this done, but after a few hours of staring at the screen, my eyes started to lose their ability to see the real pictures, and I started to over-process the pictures, so Eric was my right hand man today. I have a real confidence issue when it comes to taking photos for other people. I know I can take a good picture, and I know I can edit a great picture, but I am by no means a great photographer. I know the great ones.....I stalk them, but I am not one of them....YET,so it's hard for me to take photos for other people because I know what I want the pictures to look like, but do not have the equipment or training to make them look that good, so I am always dissappointed in the final product. I compare myself to the "the great ones", and I get mad that I can't be that good, right this minute. On that note, I do LOVE about 10 of the final pictures, and I like about 20....which is better than my usual percentages. The bride and groom to be are adorable in every picture, but the quality of some of the pictures was less than thrilling to me. Oh well- I'll just focus on those 10 good ones and move on!

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Skylar spent some time with us today. Lindsey came over to cut Eric's hair and we got to catch up in each others busy lives. We were talking about how crazy it is that we've been friends for 6 years, and the kids have knonn each other since they were babies. Hopefully Lindsey won't move out of our town any time soon, because I'd really like to see these two stay friends all the way through school. Skylar will play Jack's toys with him and not miss a beat. She can switch from being totally girly to flying around pretending to be in Star Wars. I love this way this picture turned out. I only had one shot, so I had to get it right! As soon as Jack hears the click on my camera, he tells me he's all done.