The Movie Quote

You know that line from Bambi.... if you can't say anything nice don't say anything at all. That is kind of how I feel about this week. So I will just leave you with some pictures of what keeps me going. And going.

The Rest of the Week

The rest of the week we:

Basked in the sunlight.

Enjoyed each other's company.

Listed a bunch of stuff on Ebay to fund our trip to Kid's Market next weekend.

Acted as taste testers.
Jumped in the Jumperoo.
Watched a lot of basketball!
Made and ate St. Patrick's Day cupcakes.
Made a birthday banner for a friend and for pictures for my new Etsy site.
Played with this sweet girl.
Blew bubbles.
Had a mock Easter Egg hunt. You know for practice.
Just enjoyed being in God's beautiful world. We really love Spring. And we adore breaks.

The Spring Break Zoo Trip

This week was my Spring Break. We started it off bt taking both boys to Nana and Puddin's house. Adam and I had a date night and then spent Saturday CLEANING! I am pretty sure our house hasn't been so clean since we moved in! Sunday I went and picked up the boys and then went to visit with Mimi, Papa, Emy and Xander. Monday we spent an awesome day at the Birmingham Zoo! I was so excited. I know it is weird for an adult to have this much excitement over the zoo but I can't help it. I thought that the Trails of Africa exhibit had just held a sneak peek Friday -Sunday. I was thrilled to find it open and that I could see the two new elephants! Noah was excited that they both pooped and peepeed while we were there. He thought it was awesome. This was Miller's first trip to the zoo and I think he liked it. He did really well for missing a nap!


Mimi and Emy took Noah and Xander for a walkabout with the kangaroos and wallabies.





Thank you to all the grandparents for the weekend! It was great fun! And of course to Aunt Emy who is always ready to take on an adventure with her nephews. Noah and Xander are getting to be partners in crime!

The Seven Month Old

Last week Miller celebrated seven months of life. He is such a joy. He has really settled into a routine. And he is pretty happy. If he isn't it is time to eat or sleep. He is beautiful and I look forward to the day when He can express the sweetness I see in him everyday. Since last month he has become a sitter. He is really good at it except when he is reaching for things. He continues to adore Noah and Charlie. His appetite has fallen off a little but I suspect that it has something to do with the breathing issues he is facing. His asthma continues to give him problems. We are giving him two breathing treatments a day with both a prevent and treatment medicines. We just started to give him Zyrtec once a day hoping it will help the nasal congestion from irritating the asthma. Miller is very photogenic and is one of my favorite subjects when testing the new camera. Seven month is a relatively short amount of time. But I really cannot picture our family without Miller. Honestly. I know I say it so much but I just love him so very much. Seven things I hope for Miller's future:

- a love of things pure and holy

- a thankful heart

- a relationship with God that is firm

-joy

-fulfillment

-life long friendship with his brother

-that his life is light to others

Here are some picture of my seven month old:

The Quick Update

I am in the middle of Spring Break. We are most assuredly enjoying every second. I have a ton of pictures to share so far as well as a post about Miller turning seven moths old and about my new elephant friends but.... I don't have time to post it all right now. For Lent I really thought long and hard about what hinders my relationship with God. And it is being exhausted and hitting snooze on the alarm. So I decided that for lent on week nights I will unplug at nine thirty. That way I can have energy to get up and spend time with God and exercise and get ready to face my day. I have extended that an hour during Spring Break which leaves me about five minutes to share just a few pictures and a prayer request. Miller has some kind of allergies or cold that is irritating his asthma and causing a flare up. I have been really good about lifting this up to God and not worrying about it. But not this time. I am really struggling in letting go and trusting the doctor's regimen. I am really worried. So please keep him in your prayers. I am trying to soak up all his preciousness and thank God for every second he gives us together. As if the are limited. Which is a terribly scary feeling to have even if it is silly and irrational. Here is a little preview of the 900 pictures I have taken in the past few days.

The Adventure of Parenthood

Oh the joys.

After a crazy day at school (Spring Break is in the air!) I picked up my angels from school. We played cars. We made a clown. (It is circus week!) Then it was time to make dinner. Which always coincides with Miller's fussy time of day. Finally dinner is on the table we all have cheese and dressing and something to drink. Half of us have our dinner all over our faces.

All the sudden....Noah says "My tummy hurts."

Why did I naively think that just because it had been 36 hours since anyone in the house had thrown up that Noah had escaped???

Adam and I jumped into action. We asked if he was going to throw up. And he burst into tears. This sweet boy really hates throwing up. Really hates it. He ran into the bathroom and got his trashcan. Several minutes later he was still crying but throw up free. We set him up in a throw up safe zone. Adam was rubbing his back.

I went into the bathroom to give the baby a bath. He is kicking and laughing and then filling up the tub with poo. Yep. He's pooping in the bathtub. Ahh.... "Clean up on aisle 5. Back up requested in the bathroom." Adam comes in and we are laughing and laughing looking at the contaminated zone and all the bath toys. Oh but Miller wasn't done!

After we were sure he was finished. Adam says, "Well, what to you want the baby or the tub?"I offered to play him for it. You know rock paper scissors. The way all parents decide what dirty job they get. Adam said, "Well I'll take the bathtub. You take the baby." Because he is a prince. Really he is. Oh I love him. Even if he had taken the baby.

Then we attempted to make a Facebook surprise for Mimi's Birthday tomorrow. Didn't quite turn out the way I thought. Noah told me he really wished he had a Formula 1 Racecar. Hmm. Then he asked if I could look for a Robin car to go with Batman. Pow. Then he said "Holy Mammal". When asked about it he said, "You know from Batman." Who has been showing my baby Batman cartoons???? He is still a baby right?

Needless to say both my precious boys are in bed. Throw up free. And I love them. And I am so thankful for the adventure they make my life. How boring would it be without them.

The Weekend in Review

I got an unexpected three day weekend. Due the stomach flu. Again. Didn't we just have this? Prior to waking up at two am this morning to throw up and the fever, chills, and whooziness that followed we had a good low key Jones style weekend.

Friday night we played with Brooke a little bit. And Jennifer and I were catching up (because we hadn't seen each other in 36 hours.) ohhing over her 4D ultrasound pics of Cade. N and B were dancing in the living room to some music on J's iPhone, when the music ran out Noah said to keep dancing "cause I've got music in my mouth!" And then he started making his own music. I thought that was really cute. Music in my mouth.

Saturday we tiddied up, ran errands, and then I crafted. I made these really cute canvas signs for our little play area in the living room. I will have to post pictures later because the new camera and the laptop are not playing well together. I am really pleased with how cute they came out. Usually ideas in my head don't translate well to real life but these did. At least to me.

Sunday morning Miller Biller threw up. We weren't overly concerned because he was been randomly throwing up for several weeks every few days. We switched his formula to soy and we thought that fixed it. On Tuesday we began to reintroduce milk based formula. So Sunday we assumed it was just the formula thing. Adam stayed home from church with him.

I was super excited about being in worship Sunday morning. With all of our sickness and weekend trips to the Ham it has been well over a month since I have been in church. TERRIBLE. No amount of treadmill praise and worship or Bible Studies can replace what corporate worship does for my heart. The sermon was great, all about how the Church is not a building. We are the temple, the priests, and the sacrifices. And right there on the fourth row God spoke to my heart. I have been struggling lately and He basically told me, "It is not about you." Ouch. He is right. It is not about my feelings. My life is a living breathing sacrifice to Him. It is about being His vessel. His hands. Having His heart for others. Okay God I'm listening and processing. I'm now in that toddler stage where the ugly crying is over and they are shuddering a little. Still not happy about being forced to obey. But resigning to do it.

Noah made a side trip to Target where I used a gift card I had been hording to purchase Just Dance II for the Wii. Oh so much fun. I have been testing it out in the BHS Library during Teen Tech week. Even though I was told repeatedly that I have no rhythm by my students, I still think Adam and I will have a blast.

From that point I did lots of laundry, made lots of baby food, and got ready for the week. I also enjoyed a bubble bath, book, and glass of wine and was in bed by 9:30. Awesome cap to a good weekend.

Adam was feeling queasy Sunday and his tummy was a little upset but he did go to work. We didn't really think much of it. Until I woke at 2am and threw up. So I stayed home today. And Adam was Super Dad. Again. I am feeling better. Still weak and a little rumbly in the tummy but should be back at school to my student's dismay.

Tonight I was standing in the kitchen with Adam and Miller. And Miller flashed a big grin and reached out for me and leaned over to come to me. He buried his face in me and gave a big smile. Then he turned to Adam and did the same thing. He went back and forth between us several times completely enjoying his new game. Just soaking up his parents' love and attention.

Just before bed tonight Noah crawled into bed with me and watched race cars on my phone. He had a toy car in one hand and stroked it admiringly and said.."I like this car the best because there no other cars like it on the road." He was so sweet and genuine about his little hot wheel. Who would have thought race cars would melt my heart?

Apart from the sickness it was just one of those weekends where you stare at the ones God has blessed you with and think how amazing are these boys? All three of them. And Charlie too.

The Treadmill and Me

Since January I feel that the Lord has been working on my heart in a new way. I am participating in a Bible Study Wednesday nights at church that is really speaking to where I was at the moment called the Victoriously Frazzled Female. And I certainly am frazzled. I feel that Psalm 91:1 is truly the verse of my semester. "Those who dwell in the shelter of the Most High will remain stable and fixed. " Chaos and stress will rule my heart and life unless I dwell in the presence of the Lord. And except for a backslide in the past couple of weeks I feel that I have developed a habit or almost craving for that time with God. But in this backslide I am feeling like Noah at bed time sprawled out on the floor kicking and screaming. I feel like my heart is being poisoned. Like the negative attitudes and profanity and stress and apathy and disrespect and so on are killing my spirit everyday. And I am left questioning over and over:

WHY GOD?

WHY DO YOU WANT ME HERE?

WHY DO YOU WANT ME TO FACE THIS?

I DO NOT UNDERSTAND!

I am like a whiny toddler. Who obeys but in an ugly way. In the past week or so I have felt this tug to add exercise to my routine. So I joined Planet Fitness for ten bucks a month and I have been going in the morning and showering there and getting ready there. On the treadmill I am walking for two minutes and running for two minutes. And I am getting rid of stress. I am working things out on the treadmill. I am praying and pouring myself out. Singing praise and worship (in my head). This morning I was listening to this song, Broken by Lifehouse. The lyrics completely pierced my heart. My whiny toddler heart. My struggles are nothing in the grand scheme of things. But you know what? God cares. God wants to hear that I feel like I am barely keeping it together. And He wants me to hold onto Him and His Word. He wants me to find my way home again and again. So while I am running it out on the treadmill He wants me to lay my heart bare. Even though He already knows what is inside. And even though I am kicking and screaming on the inside, I am obeying. I am hanging on day by day and trying to show His light and glory to others. And it is honoring Him. And He loves me. Oh how He loves me. Here are the song lyrics just in case they might speak to you as they did to me.

The broken clock is a comfort, it helps me sleep tonight Maybe it can stop tomorrow from stealing all my time And I am here still waiting though I still have my doubts I am damaged at best, like you've already figured out  I'm falling apart, I'm barely breathing With a broken heart that's still beating In the pain there is healing In your name I find meaning  The broken locks were a warning you got inside my head I tried my best to be guarded, I'm an open book instead And I still see your reflection inside of my eyes That are looking for purpose, they're still looking for life  I'm falling apart, I'm barely breathing With a broken heart that's still beating In the pain (In the pain) there's the healing In your name (In your name) I find meaning So I'm holdin' on, (I'm still holdin') I'm holdin' on, (I'm still holdin') I'm holdin' on (I'm still holdin') I'm barely holdin' on to you  I'm hanging on another day Just to see what you will throw my way And I'm hanging on to the words you say You said that I would, would be ok  The broken lights on the freeway left me here alone I may have lost my way now, haven't forgotten my way home  I'm falling apart, I'm barely breathing With a broken heart that's still beating In the pain (In the pain) there is healing In your name (In your name) I find meaning So I'm holdin' on, (I'm still holdin) I'm holdin' on, (I'm still holdin') I'm holdin' on, (I'm still holdin') I'm barely holdin' on to you