Another ALWAYS Tradition

We have a tradition.
If you've been around DRRF for very long, I know the thought of ME having a TRADITION comletely SHOCKS you (wink).
My general mantra is- If it was fun once, it will surely be more fun to do it every.single.year.  ALWAYS. 

We ALWAYS go to Chick Fil A on "Dress Like A Cow Day".  I ALWAYS go to Abilene alone in the fall.  We ALWAYS watch our wedding video on our anniversary.  We ALWAYS have our pumpkin patch pictures taken by the same sweet friends. 

AND we ALWAYS go to Ennis (the official bluebonnet capital) for the Annual Bluebonnet Festival.

Unless we don't. Because when you have many small children, sometimes you won't.  And sometimes even the most-tradition-loving-type-A-accountant-mom has to let go a little.  Which is why last year we went to Ennis, but not on festival weekend (which would have been a few days before C's due date). And why we didn't go the year before when our house was full of extra little ones. Which means, we've technically only been to the festival once before.  The year we started the tradition.

But this year.  We resumed this ALWAYS tradition. 
It didn't make a whole lot of sense because we've just been so stinkin busy.  It seemed silly to pack everyone up and head-out for a getaway that would be sandwiched between events.  I seriously debated the merit of it the night before.  But my sweet husband.  My sweet patient, hair-brained-idea-supporting husband.  He knows me so well.  He loves me.  He cares that I'm happy.   And he knows that this ALWAYS tradition is important to me.  He knows that there is an NPR-listening-piece-of-me, that fits in best with those that are about twice my own age.  Of which there is a PLETHORA in Ennis this time of year.  So maybe the sum of all of that is why he encouraged us to go.

I'm so glad we did.
Our adventures ALWAYS start with a quick stop to visit my precious friends at the garden club tent (who sweetly mark out the best routes to take for bluebonnet sightings while calling you "sugar" and "dear" to your heart's content).

And then we were off.  We had the very best time just being together,

laughing at our kiddos having fun at the carnival games

sharing sweet treats

and conquering their fears.

*I have pictures of both KJ and Cbug at the top of this giant rock-climbing wall.  But I love this one of KJ because he was so apprehensive.  And one point even "quit".  But after Cbug made it to the top, he decided to try again, kept going, and got to ring the buzzer at the summit.  I might have cried I was so proud of my little calculated non-risk-taker of an oldest child.

**And yes, Lou, who is afraid of small dogs to the point of ear piercing screams upon sight, rode a live pony.  Because "it has a purple tail".  And she loved it.  There are no words.

We browsed the craft fair, drove the country roads looking at the scenery,

and stayed in a hotel (why do kids think that is so cool?)

Did I mention that we got to take along some special guests, too? 

Or should I say, they took us along.  They always spoil us.  Like when Momma heard me jokingly tell RRL that I could definitely beat him if we raced in rock climbing.  And then she decided to "sponsor us" for an actual race.  Which he won.   There, Babe, I said it.  Without excuse.

And even that was fun.

I loved every minute of this trip.

Except.
I'm not gonna lie.

I always under-estimate the stress level of trying to get a good picture of my four kids. 

I mean, really.  Why would i think it would be easy? (mom, what were we thinking in this one)

or fun?  (yes, Baby C was crying)

I kept repeating "It's ok.  It doesn't matter.  It really doesn't matter." But still, I'm pretty sure mid-picture-taking my blood started to boil (and not from the sun, which you can tell by the brightness of these pictures, was super hot).  I'll admit that I nearly lost my patience on more than one occasion.

This one was an "almost".

But Lou's dress was stuck together with the syrup from her breakfast.

And I'm pretty sure Cbug's hand was down the back of his pants.

Or maybe I actually DID lose my patience, checked at the door with my sanity. 

I can't be quite sure.  I'm already a little fuzzy on the details.  Denial has begun in preparation for doing exactly the same thing next year.  When the tradition, whose sweetness far outweighed its sweatiness, will surely continue.  And when I'll once again declare
The Annual Bluebonnet Festival is my very favorite tradition of spring.

And these are my very favorite little people to see in the bluebonnets.

See you next year, sweet grey-haired-friends in Ennis.

Unless we don't.
Because sometimes when you have many small children, you won't.
But we'll call it an Always Tradition.  Anyway.

ABL

The victor and other miscellaneous

These days, our lives seem to be made up of a whole lot of random miscellaneous.  None of it, in and of itself, seems all that significant.  But then I think about the loss in our country this week.  Think about the family memories destroyed.  Pray for children that are living in horror after what they experienced.  And then, I cling to this miscellaneous, this ordinary.  My adorable munchkins, the funny things they say, the innocence of their childhood.  It becomes precious.  Suddenly I have just a smidge of insight into what is behind those eyes that watch us in the grocery store, or sit near us in a restaurant.  Faces filled with wrinkles, hair turned grey, and eyes that remember their own ordinary days from years ago.  Its no wonder they beg me to remember, treasure, enjoy these days of miscellaneous.

So, here is some of ours....

Madness update
I hoped if maybe I buried this deep in a sappy blog post, I wouldn't have to face it. 
But facts are facts.  And I feel it only fair to provide an update to our March Madness.
My child, who can barely read, who has no idea what NCAA stands for, who did bracket selection based on colors...beat me.  beat all of us.  Worst of all- he beat me by 1/2 a point.  One.half.of.one.single.point.  Ouch.  If you would like to take notes on how to win Cbug style- just know that he accurately selected the first round upsets of Harvard, La Salle and Florida Gulf Coast.  And had Michigan going deep.  How he knew?...colors.  So yeah, I've got nothing for you.

Here are the final totals:   Cbug 51.  ABL 50.5.  RRL 47.  Lou 47.  Baby C 42.  KJ 35.

Cbug's Numbers

Speaking of Cbug.  The kid is crazy about numbers.  Anyone watch the show TOUCH? If not, this will mean nothing to you.  But just in case.  This is what Cbug carried out of free-draw-time at preschool this week. 

Yeah, he's no Jake, but he does love him some numbers, dates, and patterns.

Case in point:  On Sunday we walked into church and Cbug got all excited.
C: "Mom, mom, did you see that lady?  Did you see who that was" 
A: "No, buddy, who was it?"
C: "Do you remember number 23 from the Lonestars (the team we played against in Saturday's soccer game)?  That was his mom!"
A: Um, no.  Actually, I do not remember who was number 23 on the Lonestars.

Not all of their Smarts are Safe

Together, the boys can really come up with some crazy stuff.  Like when they got this frisbee rung around a light.  Can you see in this picture how they were planning to get it down?  Luckily I caught them before they stacked enough puzzles.

KJ's Smarts

KJ has some different smarts.  Mostly in regards to safety and rules.  Recent examples:

"Mom, I don't think we are going to be able to work this one out on our own.  I took away Cbug's train privilege and he took away my Lego privilege.  But we are still arguing."

"Mom, you did a good job choosing the soap for the bathroom.  It kills 99% more germs than other soaps.  That was a healthy choice."

And finally, after getting hurt on the playground "Mom, if we have my birthday party at that park, I'm not sure where I'll stand.  But it'll be somewhere that I can remind kids to ask an adult for help if they can't reach."

Mom is not so smart
And its a good thing that a few members of our house are learning and getting smarter.  Because I'm pretty sure I'm getting dumber by the minute.
I tried to "spell check" Ricky- I was 100% convinced that he had misspelled hassle.  I corrected it hastle.  Because that's a word.  no.  no it isn't.

AND.  upon finding that some little friend left a nice wad of green gum stuck to a stone pillar on my back porch (note- my kids don't chew gum).  I decided to try to get it off...with peanut butter.  Hey, it works on hair.  Why wouldn't it work on stone?  Let me save you the trouble (or should I say hastle)- go straight for the Goo-Gone.  (Which is what my brilliant husband recommended when he saw me trying to lather our porch with pb.)

Little Bear = Baby C.  Who had an adventure.
You may remember that I committed to a blog name for baby brother- Little Bear.  But

I never use it.  It just doesn't flow off the finger tips, or work easily into my conversation-style-writing I tend to use on the 'ole blog.  So, back to the drawing board.  Because eventually it will not work to call him Baby C. He's getting so big.  So fast.  More coming soon about him- he'll be O-N-E in just another week.  One of his new favorite things is playing in the playroom like a big kid.

AND...Baby C had quite the adventure this week.  Ear infection resulted in sudden spike in fever. Resulted in Febrile Seizure.  Resulted in panicked parents who called 911.  Which resulted in paramedics showing up at our house in the middle of the night.  Just in time to tell us, that while it may have been terrifying (for us),  he was totally fine.  Great.  And we were about to write him off as the easy child.  Thanks, Baby C.

And not to be left out.  Princess Lou.

There are so many things about Lou that I want to remember right now (not including the drama she brings).  1) I love how she convinces the boys to play house with her on a regular basis.  And I love how when they are playing parents they call each other "Babe".  2) If she ev-uh adds huh "ahs" to wuhds, I'll be so sad.  3) I love that she calls sneezes "Bless Yous" and 4) I love how she crosses her legs, puts her hands on her knees, and gets a look in her eyes that almost convinces me she really is 25.  Like she thinks.

Sweet, friendly readers of DRRF-

  As I sort through some of our recent miscellaneous, I'm praying for yours.  May your days be filled with the blessings of the ordinary. May you think your own children are the most hilarious, most brilliant, most beautiful that you have ever encountered.  May you enjoy these glorious days made up of sometimes unenjoyable moments.  And may you treasure them- long before you are old enough to warn someone else that they should.

ABL

We're in it for the exercise- Seaside 2013

You might have noticed that I got my momentum back.  Maybe not all the way, but at least a bit of it.  I kicked off this blogging streak at the beginning of March.  There was a sudden flurry of DRRF activity with posts about Little Bear's baby blessing, our Christmas countdown, the kids telling their versions of the Christmas story, our new valentine traditions and Christopher growing up way too quickly- and you may ask,

What in the WORLD was the catalyst?

Welp, It looked a little something like this

(that would be deliciousness imported directly from Nashville- Purity lemonade and momma's homemade bread- and a couple of lovebirds who were enjoying the beach with only one child.  small tastes of heaven, i tell ya).

At the beginning of March, RRL and I left our 3 biggests at home (supervised, of course) to have tons of fun going to the science museum, TCBY, and all kinds of other rumpus with two of their favorite adults (THANKS C&H!!!!).

While we headed out on an adventure with baby C, his first time on an airplane.

We met my parents in Nashville first for coffee, conversation (crazy how much easier that is with 3 less kiddos),

and a show.

At this point I was seconds away from fighting back HUGE tears- we were surrounded by families enjoying Peter Pan with their children.  Not an awesome way to kick off my kid free weekend.  But we pressed on.  Cathy Rigby was incredible and the show was truly delightful. 

Bright and early the next morning, we loaded up and drove to our next destination- the sandy gulf beaches. 

Mom and I were running/walking a half marathon (she walked, I had to run to keep up) and Daddy, RRL and Little Bear came along to cheer. 

That's my baby inside a pillowcase.  It was unseasonally cold that morning (wind chill at 28 when we started the walk)

Seriously- 3 whole hours, just me and my Momma.  In a race which happened to be in Seaside.   And happened to be sponsored by Vera Bradly.

BUT WE WERE TOTALLY IN IT FOR THE EXERCISE.

We then proceeded to spend the rest of the weekend doing a whole lot of
absolutely.positively.glorious.NOTHING.

Except taking pictures of our family "of 3".

And walking on the beach.

And celebrating a couple of birthdays.

And blogging, reading (I actually finished a whole book), napping, eating, snacking, movie watching.
WITH my parents, my husband and my sweet baby boy.
It was miserable :)

While we were growing up, my mom used to remind us that a parent's primary job is NOT to be their kids' best friend.  And my parents were pretty true to that word- often making hard decisions that wouldn't win them a teen popularity contest.  There are few things I'd thank my parents more for.  And as a result, at 30 (something-ish-cough), I can honestly say that spending a weekend with my parents is one of my very favorite things.  Thanks for an awesome weekend!!!

ABL

What we didn't know

I didn't really think much about it when I printed a new picture of us to take to work. I just really liked the picture of the two of us and wanted to have it close.

But as I opened the frame on my desk, I noticed the yellowed edges of the picture it contained. The picture stuck a little to the glass it had been there so long. I had to scan it for this post because the idea of a digital copy barely even existed then. 

And then I realized.

I've had the same picture on my desk at work as long as I've had a (professional) desk to put one on. 

All those years, spanning hundreds of pictures, and this was the one of us that stayed.

Something about the beginning that it represented made it worth keeping close.

As I replaced the old with the new, I couldn't help but think about the faces in the photo.  I stared deeply into their eyes and thought about that day by a pond, taking fun pictures with the man I was going to marry.  (A lot more fun, now that I'd changed my "no" to a "yes") 

And I laughed a bit about how naive I was that day.  How naive WE were. 

There was so much we didn't know then.

We didn't know that for a while he'd do laundry, while I worked long hours.

We didn't know how much we'd both love his role working with teenagers.

We didn't know ministry could be filled with such joy. Or heart-ache.

We didn't know that I was just a few years away from a major surgery.

We didn't know that pregnancy didn't always come as easily as you hoped.

We didn't know we'd go on to have four beautiful children.
We didn't know that sometimes we'd have seven.
We didn't know that it would take us YEARS to build a community.
We didn't know that once we did, it would be with friends we love so deeply.
We didn't know about the homes we would create in our apartment or houses.
We didn't know that we STILL wouldn't be living in Nashville.
We didn't know about a Grand Canyon Backpacking trip or a week-away in NYC together.
We didn't know that our trip to England would still be a "someday"
We didn't know what tired REALLY meant.

We didn't know how hard we would have to work to find time to spend together.

We didn't know how much fun we could have when we found it.

We didn't know we couldn't WILL marriage to be easier.

We didn't know how cool it could be to really work as a team.

We didn't know that difficult could be so glorious.

We didn't know for better or worse. For richer or poorer. In sickness and in health.

There was so much we didn't know then.

And I guess that is why I was ready to change the picture.  I love who we are RIGHT.NOW. 

I love knowing what we've learned, and how it has shaped our relationship.  I think for the first time in 11(+) years I see more of the promises gained, the hope of future, the blessings of time, than I do the sacrifices made, the dreams changed or the disappointments of life.  And I love knowing that there is so much more to come.  As long as the Lord gives us, I am thrilled to be learning beside this man.

I'm keeping this one close.

ABL

Growing up is hard to do

Sure, growing up can be hard.
So can remembering the right words to classic songs (like the fact that AFTER I cleverly named this post, I remembered that the song is breaking up, not growing up.  awkward).

ANYWAY
This year, with KJ starting "big school" we've definitely experienced some of the hard parts of growing up.  Days when it just doesn't seem FAIR that he has to go to school while Cbug and Lou have fun at home together.  Days when he would really rather run and play than do homework.  Days when he's not so sure that "setting a good example" as the oldest kiddo is really a role he wanted to sign up for.

BUT

More than that- watching KJ grow up has been full of some super sweet moments lately.  He is learning so much, changing so much, making great choices for himself.  In short- I couldn't be prouder of him.

I've already talked about his new found freedom on two wheels.  Here are a few other "big" moments for him lately:

He read 100 books for school.  This was a huge accomplishment that he has been working on all school year.  5 books from 10 different categories had to be from "the list" and then 50 were "free choice".  His reading skills really have just exploded this year.  I'm amazed at what he can read.

He went roller skating for the first time.  If his confidence in his skating abilities could have carried him, he would practically be a professional.  Unfortunately, once he actually donned the wheels, gravity got the better of him.  He still had an awesome attitude, though, and was soon scooting around like a mad man, thanks to the help of the clever little walker-like-contraptions the rink offered.

He lost his first tooth (swallowed it, actually, in a rice krispie treat).  And then negotiated the price of the tooth (pretty sure he knows about the 'ole TF- he mentioned she has "brown hair"- but he's playing along).  I had no idea what the going rate was for a small front tooth, but after we bantered back and forth we determined that $0.50 for small teeth and $1.00 for the big ones seemed reasonable. 
(hey, his tooth fairy has four mouth fulls of these suckers to pay out on.  can't set the standard too high.  Especially when my kids are used to getting paid in nickles and pennies.)
It's a good thing I kept it reasonable, too, because just 3 days later he lost the second one.
AND he already has "adult teeth" growing.  I'm telling ya- he's big time.

He FINALLY got to fly his kite.  You know, the one he got for his birthday last May but just now got to take out of the package.  The one that stayed in the package so long he pretty much memorized the safety instructions on the back because he read them so many times.  Yeah, that one.  Once we got it out and put together, he mastered the flying of it quickly and actually was better than me at keeping it in the air.  And to make him EVEN MORE grown up, he taught his brother and sister how to "tug gently," too. I.LOVE.HIM.

He is always a helper.  At Easter hunts, he put eggs in littler kids baskets, he helps smaller kids in games even if it means he doesn't get to win, he is quick to sweetly include his tag-along- sister and he sits by his baby brother in the car and helps by entertaining him.

There may be some tough moments in this "growing up" business.  But I'm sure loving all of the milestones along the way.
Sure love this biggest boy of ours!
ABL