Mother's Day

I will just start with most recent. Yesterday was Mother's Day and work my way back....it seems a little less overwhelming to do it that way.

So, Mother's Day....sadly, I am finding that my life has taken a turn to the point of non-stop bop. I am not sure if it was the 5th child entering our lives....the ages that they are all growing to be and all that comes with that such as school work, activities or just run of the mill daily happenings....and there are many of those....but, it seems that finding time just to turn around is challenging. So much so that I was faced with this weekend not even sure how or where to find the time to honor the Mother's in our lives and if I could get that figured out...would there be any time for me? Honestly, I do not worry much about finding time for me but, I did have the thought that I do want my children to realize the importance of honoring not just their Mother...but, lets face it...my boys will one day have wives and they will be my grand children's Mothers and along with that comes Mother in Law's....oh that's strange but, the point is that my prayer is that they have learned by us to honor them appropriately and adequately. While having these thoughts...it brought me back to my own Mother who always takes the focus off her and makes it easy on me....her response to what would you like to do on Mother's Day was..." It doesn't matter...we don't have to do anything....why don't you just enjoy YOUR day"......which to be honest...sounded heavenly...BUT, when the day rolled around and we were juggling sporting events and getting to this place and that....it just really seemed like.....we blew it off. All day that bothered me. It bothered me that even though my Mom was allowing me MY day...which often gets lost in the shuffle by the time we do something for Bo's Mom and my Mom...there is little time set apart to celebrate me being a Mother.....it just didn't seem right that the day would go without that special time for her. It seemed odd that my time with her all day was spent at Hunter's basketball game like many other hours on many other Sunday's.

We decided to dedicate another time to celebrate Mother's Day but, in the mean time....it only seems fair that she would at least get a blog entry. I suppose it means that even when your Daughter's a Mother...you are still making sacrafices and you are still concerned for her happiness above your own....

So, to my Mother.....thank you for always trying to ease my burden even when you might want to be selfish. Thank you for offering to celebrate me at the expense of us not getting together to celebrate you. For all the years of sacrifices and putting me first, many times doing so without even getting a thank you from me. I am thankful for that Motherly ability to know that your children are grateful, may have forgotten to say it....and most of the time...being okay with it. Thank you for the Motherly example that you have set for me so that I could be the Mother that I am to my children. It is my hope that I make you proud. For all the words of encouragement and praise you give me.....to let me know that I accomplish that hope. I hope you realize the blessing I consider you to be as my Mother and the Grandmother to our children. What an amazing women they have to look up to as they grow up......and how they enjoy every minute with you while they are young. The memories you have made with them and the things that you have taught them and the contributions that you have made in molding them to be better little people, I am thankful for everyday. The support and help that you have given me through the journey thus far of raising these 5 amazing children, ....I could not even begin to put into words the magnitude of appreciation and how I am abundantly blessed. I am not sure what makes me more proud....to call you my Mother or our children's Grandmother. How fortunate I am ....to be able to say both.

Please know that while it may be in the quiet when I lay my head down at night or in the chaos of my day....there are definite times that I stop to celebrate you and the fact that you are my Mother.

I love you Mom!

Love you all,
~J

I am baaaackkkk.....

Hello my patient blog readers. I am happy to say that I am back. Most of you that are local know that I have been tirelessly working on completing the Elementary School Yearbook. A huge undertaking that I take great pleasure in creating but, this year it consumed the last month of my life. It is done and published and I only hope it turns out showing the love and hours upon hours of effort I put into it. We shall see. The time I click publish and when it hits my hands is a wee bit nerve wracking...but, it is done...so no point in spending time worrying over it. I have been heard saying the last few days that I am awake from my Yearbook Coma....I literally have found that I have missed many things because of my tunnel vision. I must say...it is nice to be awake.

Alot has happened since I have been gone. I will work now to attempt to update you on all the important things happening with the children.

Looking forward to updating you all.

Love to all,
~J

Rewind! Daddy Night at School

Ughhh! I am behind...ya ya, I know...you are shocked! But, there have been so many good things going on...so, I have to rewind a bit.
So, I am going back to earlier last month...Faith had a special Dad Night at her preschool. A VERY big deal in the mind of an adoring 3yr old daughter. The invitation came home and as usual Bo and I try to sync our calendars as frequently as possible. So, I yell out to him details of the night along with the date. He frantically repeats the date followed with a "please don't tell me"....He then tells me that he has a huge meeting for work that he must attend to give a speech and present awards etc. In other words....something he cannot miss. There is a stand still of silence. Fortunately, Faith was preoccupied for that part and then just begins to ramble on about how ONLY her Daddy could come to her school. And that she had been practicing her songs over and over for over a week. Bo with a sick look on his face tells her....he cannot wait. Ughhh!
It did not take him long though to figure a way to do both. He and his office moved the dinner back to begin just a wee bit earlier, moved his speech up in the agenda and we then devised a plan that would hinge on things working out minute by minute in our favor....and hoped for the best!
The day I got Faith ready according to the plan, loaded her in the car, sneak picked up her corsage and delivered her to her school....and there her sweet Daddy waited...right on time....Faith was overflowing!
Faith has a very special place in her heart for Bo. They are very very close and it is hard to tell who is more smitten he with her...or she with him. I think it ends up being a very balanced head over heels for eachother.
However, having said that...Faith has gone through this little thing this year where when she has something out of the norm at school...she completely falls apart into a puddle of uncontrollable tears. It has happened at parties, programs, a change in the ciriculum....whatever. We are not really sure what it's about ....but, it's not really fun for any of us. I had this fear that although she was really excited to have Bo there....after we had jumped through the hoops we had....that she was going to fall apart and not participate in the program they had prepared for their Dads.
Fortunately, nothing could be further from the truth...she ran into school clinging tightly to his hand....pullled him down the hallway....and sang every song just as she had rehearsed!
They both had a wonderful night, which ended with a meal prepared to perfection...Chick Fil A! Faith's FAVORITE place!!!
As I tucked her into bed, with a little sweet smile on her face.....she says.."It was a perfect night to have my Daddy at school!"

Love to all,
J

And now little Miss Halle........

You would not believe how Halle has grown. I can hardly believe that she is approaching 6 months...but, on the other hand...it has been a rather....well, let's just say....it's been a tad trying at times. Her stomach is still somewhat of an issue but, SOOOO much better than it was. She actually can be put down...although she won't let you.....and she does cry...although...it is not because she is having gastric or pain from reflux....
It seems that after we have battled many of the upper GI issues....we have a serious case of SPOILED on our hands. And...a temper to boot! However, don't let me paint a terrible picture of this "little girl" (that's the only way Chandler refers to her)....she is a doll.....when you are doing what she wants. :)

To solve some of her tummy woe's we started giving her cereal in her bottle...she is doing much better with that....however, her weight is picking up rapidly on her current eating plan, and that has me a little worried. "Miss Chubbers" (as Hunter refers to her) is plumping up quite nicely. She takes a tablespoon per ounce ...4oz's at a time...and eats every 3hrs...on the minute! And just in case I am not paying attention....she lets me know right away.



In addition to her rigid meal plan...she sleeps only minutes during the day. Naps are not really her thing. She does make up for it at night though...as she sleeps from about 9pm to 8am! She (the 5th child) has decided that riding in the car and being strapped down into a carseat is NOT really her thing...and has no problem screaming from destination to destination until she either gets her point across or gives up and finds something nice to look at out the window. She will also quiet down if one of the boys or their friends hangs over the back of her seat (remember she is rear facing) and entertains her. But, even with that....she decides when and for how long that will appease her. Her preference IS to have company back there...as opposed to not!

We had a rough couple weeks that seemed frightenly deja vu-ish.....excessive crying, stomach pains...and very distrupted night time sleeping....which resulted last week in her first two teeth...right there smack in the center on the bottom! It didn't really catch me that off guard since Hunter got his at 92 days old! Some kind of freaky Feagin thing, I think!

She is still bald...although the hair is definitely coming...and Faith has had many many long talks with Halle about all the brushing, curling, braiding and washing of her soon to be long locks...."just like her big sister". OOOhhh boy! Good luck Halle! Actually, Faith is wonderful with Halle. She is loving, nurturing and consistant. By consistant I mean...consistant in her bossing...Halle gets the same bossing that the boys get! Faith gets very upset if Halle turns her attention off the pages of the book that she is reading to her. She also finds Halle bouncing in her jumpy chair a bit distracting and finds it "hard to believe that Halle is really looking at the pictures while jumping up and down." Faith sternly, but lovingly gets Halle back on track and encourages her to refocus until the story is over.





And in the end if Halle really starts to get bored with it and I pick her up.....well, Faith always has Mattie.




All of that is true...but, I will say that Faith is a wonderful big sister and a huge help! And if reading to a baby does make them smart...well, Halle will be a rocket scientist. Faith reads to Halle and shows her all the pictures every morning while I get ready. She takes her literacy job very seriously...she enriches Halle with fairytales, fiction and Bible stories....sometimes a little bit of all three. I overheard Faith telling her some story that told of Jesus walking on water and when he crossed over to land he told Snow White not to eat the yucky apple or she would have to sleep until she got a kiss. I have also heard a bit of one where Jesus took some fish and a loaf of bread and turned them into lots of pink cupcakes for everyone! Pinkalicious plays a very big role in the bible too. She sings every song she knows to her.....and Halle just grins until she'll bust at the sound of her voice. How blessed these two little girls are to have eachother!

Love to all,
J

Halle and her best trick......

Here is a little video of Halle. Thanks to her Dad, this is Halle's favorite thing to do and she does it ALL day long! Pretty cute though! You might want to pause the music to get the full effect of her talent.
Love to all, J

In other baby news.....

RELAX!!!!!...........it's not us!!! But, I bet I got you for a moment there! Didn't I? Oh well.....ya just never know! ;)

No, seriously! I have other happy baby news! Jackie (Ms.Beckmann) and her husband Tim are expecting their first baby in September! We are very excited about that...AND she has the same due date that I had with Halle...so that's kind of fun!

I am in the process of getting a blog started for her......all their family lives out of town...and for pete's sake...Tim is an only child...his Mom has been salivating over this moment since he and Jackie met. And poor Jackie's parents...well, they have plenty of kids....none of which have given their poor sweet parents a grand-baby to love. My kids better not do that to me! Anyway, her blog is coming...and I am pretty sure that I will have to write about and photograph this Brownlee baby ...but, hey....that's okay.....just another on to love!

I am really thrilled about this....I have loved Jackie since the day Hunter walked through her Kindergarten classroom door. She is a wonderful teacher...a wonderful friend...and will be an even better Mother. I think fatherhood scares the heck out of Tim but, little Faith wrapped him around her finger in about 30 seconds flat and I have no doubt this child will and has already! He is great with children too and one thing that I approve of for sure....is that Tim's child will NEVER have hair that is not fixed or gel'd! And I LOVE that!

Our kids are excited and have already begun talking about how "reaalllyyy this baby is sort of , pretty much their cousin". Sooo, cute!!

So, I will keep ya posted on this journey! It's gonna be fun!

Love to all,
J

Oh, how time flies.....

Okay, well I don't think the little video of Faith worked too well. Some days it did and others it didn't. I reset it about 40 times....it has some of the best pictures ever of her...but, I am kind of done with it. (Don't mean that rude, Dad...I have just tried and tried)

Anyway, of course....things have been busy...they always are...I am trying to think about what all has gone on.....

Oh! First things first! My sweet friend Tracy and her husband Brad welcomed their 3rd son on February 1st. His name is Knox. He is beautiful and perfect and healthy!! I went to visit Tracy the day after he was born and she looked wonderful and happy and peaceful. This sweet baby boy (which they did not know boy/girl) arrived with perfect timing. I saw Tracy the Friday before at school and she had thought that she might have some activity but, was anxious about that because her Dr. was off for the weekend. So, together we decided that she/he would just have to wait and that was that. I know from personal experience that you just don't really want to have to go down that labor road with anyone but your own Dr. and I could see this was true for Tracy....I wanted that for her. I wanted every comfort afforded her during this process. I wanted her to be as worry free as she possibly could. I left her that afternoon praying and praying that she would get to Sunday at midnight! I thought of her constantly over the weekend and texted her to keep up with her....and everytime she replied...I would release a sigh of relief....when I read...."nothing". And then...starting late Sunday night...and into Monday morning....and then he appeared! All in perfect timing.
Little Knox is a sweetie and has brought the purest of smiles to my friend and her sweet husbands faces....as only the miracle of a child can do....
I loved being there with them....I loved seeing the light that Tate has kept alive in their eyes...has become just a bit brighter.
Big brother Tate was very excited about their new addition....and somewhere up there...I know Nash is looking down feeling proud to be a big brother too!
I hope that this day is just the beginning of healing and dreams come true for their family........

Little Baby Knox!


love to all,
J

Sweet Video of Faith

*Before viewing this...over to the left is my music playlist. Click the pause button because my Dad already added music to the video and it doesn't line up right!*** This is a precious little video of some pictures my Dad took of Faith yesterday! I love that the photos capture so much of her true personality...even the one where she has this little stubborn sassy look on her face. And we alllll know she can be a little sassy and a little stubborn at times. But, she is a beautiful little thing, with a one of a kind personality....and these pictures show it! Love to all, J

A prayer for a friend........

This morning I write with a heavy heart.........I have spoke about my friend many times on my blog...you all should know her by now. My friend Tracy, who lost her baby a summer ago....Nash was 6 months old and died from an undiagnosed heart condition. Today Nash would have been two years old. Two years old.....somehow, someway....by God's grace alone...I am confident in assuming....my friend Tracy has gotten up each day and tried to live life without her baby. I know that her 3yr old son, Tate makes that feat a little easier but.....I am still in awe of her every single moment. The pain, the loss...the heartache and anger, sadness and confusion are unimaginable to me. I wrote her this morning to let her know that she was of course on my mind, in my thoughts and prayers today....everyday. Those words seem so inadequate to me....I sometimes don't know what to say...and even if I feel like I know what to say...its hard believing that it really makes a difference.

She continues to amaze me, inspire me and humble me. I sit with so many healthy babies .....I hope my life, my love and my parenting reflects how I cherish them and appreciate the gift of them.

Tracy is weeks away from welcoming her third child into the world and feeling a little anxious about this baby and his/her health. Everything is checking out fine but, having had 5 babies...I always find myself just a little anxious at the end as well. I would assume that with what she has experienced feeling even more than a little anxious is more than normal. I would ask you all a couple of things....to remember Nash today for my friend, even if its just for a moment. It is so very important to her to know that he is remembered by us. The second, is to please say a prayer for her to have some peace as she welcomes their new baby. I want her to be able to breathe and enjoy this new miracle without being anxious.
Thank you all, this means a great deal to me!

Love to all,
J