January by the Numbers (and pictures)

50 (give or take)- laps on the go cart


3 - go kart repairs

1 - trip to the ER (unrelated to the go kart or snow)

7 - inches of snow



2 - new sleds



5 - extra days off from school

2 - days of playing in snow





6 - extra loads of laundry caused by snow

1 - car repair

2 - doctor visits

1 - kidney stone (passed, thank God)

2 - cases of the flu





60 - dollars worth of Tamiflu

0 - dollars left at the end of the month

48 - days until the official start of spring


But who's counting?

Did Ya Miss Me?

You probably didn't even notice I was gone, but I was. So here's the synopsis of our beginning of 2011.

To begin the new year, my pastor introduced the idea of a 21 day churchwide fast. It was up to each person if and how they participated. I would have considering fasting from food but the purpose behind the fast is to take our minds off food and focus on our relationship with the Lord. Considering the fact that I still have to feed 5 other people, I didn't feel like a food fast would be very effective for me. So I chose to fast from all things unnecessary on the computer - meaning no blog, no Facebook, no window shopping. Only bill paying and checking email every few days. I have to say that I was looking forward to it to have a chance to refocus and my time away provided me with just that. At lot of my devotional reading was centered around seeking God. Not by coincidence either. I needed to be reminded of that. I am reading a new book called Jesus Calling. It's a pretty neat devotional book if you're looking for one.

The kids 3 week break got extended to 4 weeks thanks to a monster snow and freezing weather. The day they were supposed to go back it snowed. I am as bad as a kid when it snows. I get giddy from the first mention of the word in the forecast. Corey had a short little emergency room visit during the snow for back pain. He'd been laying around not feeling really well all weekend and on Monday morning he woke us about 4 in bad pain. We thought maybe he had a kidney stone, it tends to run in the family. They checked him for that and appendicitis but thankfully he didn't have either. Turns out to be "digestive issues" and I think you all can read between the lines there. Thankfully he still got to play in the snow.

Jon Tyler has started an early intervention program for speech and will be evaluated by a speech therapist to see if he will need speech therapy to "catch up". He is speech delayed, which means basically not talking as much as he should be but there is no apparent cause (no hearing issues, autism, etc.). He has his first session on Tuesday morning which went well.

Other than that there is little to report on the homefront. While I was fasting, I thought of a hundred things I wanted to blog, but now I can remember them. Go figure. I'm hoping they might return to me and I'll post them. I know you can hardly wait...

Farewell 2010

I hope that those of you reading this blog have had a prosperous year and a blessed Holiday season. I stole an idea last year to recap 2009 and I like it so I'm doing it again.

January was cold, colder, and coldest. I don't remember it ever being so cold for so long. Our year started out inside, well most of it. Donnie and his brother did get to go see the Gamecocks play in a bowl game but they froze and the Cocks lost so I'm pretty sure that wasn't money well spent.

February was birthday month. Hannah entered the double digits and we were able to celebrate with friends and family. We also pulled off a surprise party for my mother in law who didn't expect everyone to be there for her. We also took a trip to see my dad and stepmom and were there for a wonderful snowstorm .

In March we completed a home improvement project that was long overdue and we have enjoyed that immensely. Hannah and Corey finished up the nine weeks with science projects and we enjoyed a nice 3 week break.

April brought Easter and a fun family gathering with an Easter egg hunt followed by an Easter egg fight and of course, singing. We sat around in my mother in law's front yard and enjoyed each other's company for hours. It was a beautiful, perfect afternoon. I will never forget that, because 2 weeks later we faced the tragedy of losing my brother in law. His death was hard on so many levels, to process that someone so full of life could be gone so quickly is still beyond my comprehension. I know many of you prayed for us through that and I realize more and more that prayer is no small task in a situation like that. For that I am grateful to you all.

May was a big month for Allie. She celebrated her 5th birthday and graduated from preschool in pirate fashion.

In June,Hannah and Corey finished up their school year. Hannah played the lead role as Stuart in Stuart Little in their school play. As soon as school was out we enjoyed a trip to Charleston with my inlaws (I think we actually squealed tires leaving car line that day). By the time we got home it was basically too hot to breathe, and I am thankful for year round school because we only had a few weeks of trying to find some cool entertainment.

In July the kids were back to school and Allie started with them. She was proud to start K5 and I managed not to cry as I left her - barely. I have enjoyed my time with Jon Tyler, but I'm not sure he enjoys playing with me as much as them. Corey celebrated turning 8 with a family party.

For August I have little to report. Hannah and Corey participated in the Little Theater's performance of a Kidsummer Night's Dream. It was a cute spin on Shakespeare's play. I was really proud of both of them. I was impressed that Corey stepped out and did something different.

September brought fall break for the kids and our trip to the beach. I absolutely loved the beach this time of year. It was perfect weather, not too hot, not too cold. We had some friends there at the same time we were there and we really enjoyed getting together with them and walking a mile down the beach to get ice cream. A whole mile. Really. The bright side is I'm sure I walked off all my ice cream. Jon Tyler also turned 2. We had a great time celebrating his and his papaw's birthday since they are a week apart.

In October Donnie and I celebrated our 14th anniversary. We had a nice date at Frankie's Fun Park, rode the go karts without having to figure out what kid was riding with which parent and played a round of put put. We also got the best present any parent could wish for when Hannah and Corey asked Jesus into their hearts and were baptized on Halloween. We had a great time celebrating that!

November began the typical holiday stuff, which I love. Donnie celebrated his birthday on Veteran's Day (which means he gets his birthday off). We enjoyed Thanksgiving at my sister in law's and followed up with some Black Friday shopping, of course. If anything else significant happened during November I have since forgotten it due to the whirlwind of the holidays.

This month has been a busy one as well. My father-in-law had aortic valve replacement on the 8th and is recovering well. He is ready to be "back at it" but isn't quite up for a marathon. Prior to surgery he was in excellent physical shape so I'm sure he will be up and about again soon. He was home in time for Christmas which was the best present any of us hoped for. Our kids had fun hosting a birthday party for Baby Jesus to celebrate with their friends the true meaning of Christmas, the birth of our Savior. We had our typical family celebration on Christmas Eve and enjoyed time with my family on Christmas day and the day after. It was a nice holiday season.

As for 2011, I pray that it will be a blessed year for you all. For those of you we see often, we treasure you and for those of you we haven't seen in years, we hope you know you are never far from our thoughts and our memories.

TV Timeout

For a while now, my children have been struggling with listening and I've felt like if my face had a screen on it, they might actually listen to me. Then about 2 weeks ago I was watching "19 Kids and Counting" and Michelle Duggar said something that really hit home. She was talking about the character qualities she tries to teach her children early on and one of them was attentiveness. It was a lightbulb moment for me. I really mulled that thought over all day the next day. I decided my kids needed screen restriction, meaning they had to give up anything that had a screen (TV, computer, DS...). Their inattentiveness is partly my fault for allowing them to use those things too much anyway, and this was a pretty big step considering how much time they spend watching TV and playing games. I have to say that we are making baby steps. Maybe I expect too much (although I don't really think so, I just said that in case you think I expect too much) but I see no reason why I should even have to tell an 8 and 10 year old to pick up their clothes and toys. I think they know I expect that and have chosen not to do it. I shouldn't come into their room in constant disarray. They keep asking when they will get the screens back and my thoughts are that I hope we will never go back to the way we were. They have been allowed special privileges, such as watching a movie or ballgame together and this weekend they were allowed some computer and TV time. I think it makes for more meaningful time if we all watch together and they aren't mindless surfing the web if they have to ask permission to use it. In the meantime, here are some things I have caught them doing instead.

Card making - Hannah did this one on her own.


Corey and Allie have traded their screen addiction for Lego addiction.


Corey has completed (almost) Diary of a Wimpy Kid Do-It-Yourself.


And most importantly, they are spending time together.

The List

About 2 weeks ago, Jon Tyler went for his 2 year old well child visit. Yes, I am little behind, but what's new? He weighed a whopping 24.6 pounds and is 33 3/4 inches tall and yes, he still has a big head. He is supposed to be speaking between 30 and 50 words, but with 5 other talkers in this house, he has trouble getting in any words. Plus we know what he wants so if he points and grunts, we get it for him. His pediatrician wants him up to 30 words within 2 months or they may consider starting him in speech therapy. I am not freaking out or anything because I feel pretty confident that he hears well since he does pretty much the opposite of what we tell him. ("Stand right here," and he takes off, etc.) Only kidding. He is actually pretty obedient and he follows directions without arguing, which is more than I can say for the rest of them. I have started a list and we're up to about 25 so I think 30 is a reachable goal. It's funny how much the older kids pay attention to when he says something now, though, so we can add words to the list. He's even thrown in a few 2 word phrases, "Go Cocks" and "Watch chugachoos." What more does he need in his life right now?

Confession

I have a confession to make. For years I've been a time change hater. I do NOT like it being dark by 6:00. Evening became my favorite time of day way back when I worked at Bonnie Doone as a camp counselor. My family and I spend lots of evenings outside playing or taking walks, so every year when the time changes, it depresses me. Until this year. I mastered the whole time change mental game. Instead of setting our clocks back at bedtime on Saturday, I waited until we were all up on Sunday morning. Then when Jon Tyler woke up and my clock said 7:00 instead of 6:00, I just wasn't as ill. Plus when I set the clocks back on Sunday morning, we had an extra hour to get ready for church. We still made it in the parking lot on 2 wheels at 10:28, but that is beside the point. I have noticed some nice benefits to the earlier time. For one, everyone seems to get up easier. For the past two mornings, the 3 school kids have been up when I got up. Another thing that is working really well is bedtime. It seems calmer because everyone has to stay in after supper. So we get homework done, get everyone bathed, and have time to sit down together. (OK,so watching Billy the Exterminator extract a dead and rotting cat doesn't exactly count as quality time, but we were together.) So even though I miss our nice "outside" time from April to October, I think we can have some nice "inside" time during this time change. I'm going to try to make the best of it anyway!

Of course, as my friend Margaret pointed out, I have missed 2 appointments in 2 days, so maybe this whole thing has adversely affected me more than I realize. But we'll see.

I am really ashamed that I have not posted this sooner because it is the most awesome thing a parent can hope for. Last Sunday Hannah & Corey both were baptized after asking Jesus into their heart on October 25, the Monday before. Several years ago our pastor started a really cool thing where he will allow other people to baptize besides himself so Donnie got to baptize his own children. I absolutely love that! My kids did too and were adamant that he get to do it. Here is the video of their baptism for you all to enjoy. You will probably have to turn the volume way up, but I just had to share this.

Hannah has been asking questions off and on for several years now about getting saved. We kept telling her that we wanted her to wait until she was a little older so we would know that she understood. (This, by the way, is a personal preference and is just what we felt was right.) Monday night she finally got to asking again and was insistent that she get to ask Jesus into her heart. We had a big evangelistic push this year for our Fall Festival and her words to us were, "How am I supposed to tell everyone how great it is if I haven't done it myself?" Yes, she blows us away sometimes. As we ask her about what it means to have that relationship, she answered our questions and as she was answering, so was Corey. We just really felt like he understood and was ready so we prayed with both of them. I have to say it was an incredible experience to watch my children being born into the kingom! What an amazing God we serve!