Finally, a new post!

I’ve been neglecting this blog page. Poor page! But even worse, I’ve been kicking myself for not keeping any sort of records of the cute things that our little angel is doing and saying! I don’t break out the video camera, I don’t journal, I haven’t blogged (obviously) any of it! And you know it changes like every day. I need to at least jot it down then compose it together on here so you can read it and I can have record of it. Here is what is what is either happening now, or what I can remember that has happened recently.
We will start with the belly button thing. Some kids have pacifiers still (Brielle is 17 months now), some blankies, some their thumbs, some maybe even still their bottles…Brielle has her belly button. She calles it Bopi. That is also the same word she uses when she wants to nurse, which also means belly button, meaning she wants my belly button or hers also, I never know which one she‘s going to use.
She just puts her finger to her belly button every time she feels scared, nervous, or uncertain. It’s adorable.
She’s saying many intelligible words and many that aren’t. I don’t worry or compare or even wonder at this age (or ever) because their abilities and learning environments are all so different! She does seem to us to be an absolute genius of course.
She climbs on everything. She will climb right up to standing on the table, on the backs of the couches, wherever. She is getting very good at it, I’m thinking about her career in wall scaling (in the future of course, not just yet).
Her hair is growing which makes me a little anxious if I think about it. I fear she is going to look like a rag top head girl because either I won’t know how to fix her hair right or she won’t let me! So, I’m especially hoping it stays just like it is, short and cute, curly in the back but not in her eyes in the front, for……ever. J
Well, now the that the month is nearing its end I am surprised at how much has actually happened that I knew would, but it seemed almost surreal. Kelly E. had her baby. A beautiful angel named Eliana. I held her. She is perfect. And she never made a sound the three hours we were there.
We drove to New Jersey and back. It took us 14 hours to get there. We stayed two days, then drove back 14 hours. Both times we drove overnight. The drive there didn’t work out so well, but everyone was tired on the way home (including us drivers, unfortunately) so they slept.
As for my garden: God is good! He grows. I just wait. I try to “tend” to it, but still am not sure what I’m really doing. I can’t wait to eat a tomato off the vine one day!!! Until then, there is always the Downtown Farmers’ Market!
Well, it turned out to a sunny Memorial Day after all. I had an overload of pictures to share, so here they are. I’m off to grill out burgers and wash the dishes. God bless all of you!

What she climbs onto on the front porch (no batteries yet):


Sing, Baby, Sing

This is a totally great CD that Brielle got from her PopPop (so great it put her to sleep!). I did NOT stage this photo!

Yes, this is the township of Brielle, NJ. We passed by that quaint little city on the water on our way to Point Pleasant, NJ.

Brielle, meet the Jersey Shore:

Well, it's not Florida, but hey, it is the OCEAN!

We stayed with Will's cousin, Ronica, the first night in NJ. She took us to Point Pleasant.

Brielle's first EVER ride on an amusement park vehicle! She cried at first! Then she realized she wasn't moving "away" from me but kept coming back around....then she loved it.

Then she became an amusement park pro:

At H&S Strawberry Farms back in Claksville:

How we went to Walmart:

Going for the belly button at cousin Cheyenne's fifth grade graduation:

Today on the front porch in her leotard/tutu (a gift from our new friend, Amelia)

Taken today...May 25, 2009

Our adventure in pictures

Okay, who can believe that when Will, Brielle, and I went camping we forgot our PILLOWS???? That was really ironic, since I was the LIST QUEEN. Ah, so much for that. Brielle LOVED camping!!!

She just kept wanting to explore:

My favorite picture:

The boys are back from Grandparents' house in Arkansas:

That was the end of Spring Break.

What I've been thinking about:

Well, I finally planted a few things in my garden, with the help of my good friend Tiffany. Fortunately she knows a lot about what to plant, when to plant it, and where to locate it in the garden arena. It was fun, very hands in the dirt, and gritty. I am excited, but skeptical still.
Our trip to Arkansas went well. We didn’t get to go camping there because of the weather conditions but I did have a great time seeing my friends there and visiting with my Gramma and my Grandma. I learn more about their histories and heritage every time I visit them and I find that to be both fascinating and important. Sometimes I have to admit more than I want to: the importance of an older mentor in my life is sorely lacking. I try to keep my antennas up for one of these ladies entering into my life (preferably she’d be local) but our society is just not set up this way, and many people just don’t really think about the idea. Sometimes I just want someone to show me how to cook something or how to crochet or whatever, but maybe I’m not being as open as I’d like to think and I know, I know…I am generally busy most of the time.
Which brings me to another theory I’ve been thinking on a lot lately: electronics. Televisions, computers, video games, music devices, cell phones, etc… they really get in the way. Oh we THINK we are better for them and couldn’t live without them and blah, blah, blah. But in all honesty some days I wish I could just trash them all. And then just get on with life in REAL TIME.
I finally finished The Shack. Great book. Read it if you haven’t. I am still thinking on the thoughts and ideas laid out in that book. Especially this one: If anything matters, it all matters. That’s deep! and yet, so simple.
As I type this I am sitting on my front porch tuning in to Spring arriving around me while Brielle sleeps away her afternoon nap in the car. Yes, I know, I’m typing on my laptop, the item I just said I want to junk sometimes. Hate it and love it, I do. Just another confusing topic, I suppose. If it weren’t for yours you wouldn’t be reading this either, I presume. But I’d sure appreciate sharing our lives together in other ways too, ya know. It’s just that society isn’t set up like that. How hard it must be to break through that when one becomes so used to it. Why can’t we all just live like the Amish (without their hardcore religious beliefs though)? I know, the grass is always greener.
Guess I’ll just have to make efforts where I can, and go CAMPING more often!!!

A few nice days

In March, who knew? Sometimes the high would be 35 and other times it would be 71. Who knew? So here are a few photos of those nicer days...in Tennessee:

In Arkansas:

If it grows...

Oh yeah I know I have little faith. But...if you'd killed as many houseplants as I-well, so would you too doubt that your garden could produce something worthy of eating. BUT since I have PEOPLE who know what they are doing, there is some sense of hope within. I may have the faith of a mustard seed, but that means this could be HUGE, right? :)

I'm ready:

This picture was taken when gardening seemed like a fun, easy thing to do. HAHAHAHAHA!!!! Try digging, shoveling, digging, and shoveling for HOURS and not even feeling like you'd accomplished much. Ah, well, the first year is probably the hardest, I guess. Next year maybe it will be easier. Here's hoping!

Homemade Bang

Photos

sweetheart

my three

waiting for Spring...

feeding baby:

knowing no limits:

Camping List

You may think I am crazy. But I am So ready for Spring!!!! I am so ready that I already have a camping PACKING list, reservations in Indiana, plans to camp in KY, TN, and maybe even AR this summer!!! I also have seeds to plant in my FIRST EVER GARDEN!!!
Don't get me wrong...I am still enjoying the cool fresh air, and even sometimes brisk and cold, but nevertheless refreshing wind on my face in in my lungs. But when I see the chance of buds on trees and birds exercising their vocals I get EXCITED! I am enjoying no bugs, no humidity, and less business right now....
but I'm still writing my packing lists!!
If you're excited, read on and ADD anything you think might help:

water shoes
rain ponchos
outdoor picnic-type blanket
sunscreen
bug spray
citronella candles
long lighter
lighter fluid (just in case)
newspaper to start fire (twigs are usually gathered around campsite)
firewood and ice can be bought at camp store
travel high chair
plastic baggies and a few clothes pins
fan
beach towels - 1 per person (use the same one 4 everything)
line - for towels/clothes
trash bags (2-3)
hammer
citronella candles
lantern, flashlights (with new batteries)
tarp (to go under tent)
pack-n-play, crib sheet, blankets
blow-up mattress
pool float for Brielle
sleeping bags, pillows, blankets
swimsuits, hats, a few swim toys, life jacket
1 basketball, 1 volleyball (large orange), 1 wiffle ball and bat
smallest hand pump ever
Frisbee, cards, dice
aluminum foil
cooking spray
can opener
skillet
sos pads
1 gallon of water
BBQ spatula and tongs
metal sticks for hotdogs/marshmallows
small pot for boiling water (4 coffee/cocoa, oatmeal)
1 roll of paper towels, 1 roll of toilet paper or box of tissues

When I taught her

This was the day I actually taught Brielle to feed herself. She did it the right way! Now, she no longer does it this way... she insists on holding the spoon from the tip top and dips. It's very messy her way.

30 things about me:

I am cheating...pulled this off of facebook for my blog...changed a few things though.

1. I took violin lessons in 4th and 5th grades.
2. I have lived in 4 states: AR, KS, MO, AR (again), and TN
3. All three of my children were born in different counties.
4. I love grilled cheese, potato chips, and strawberries!
5. Dolphins are my favorite animal.
6. My hobbies change frequently, but when I am “into” something I focus on it wholeheartedly.
7. I hate cleaning bathrooms.
8. The only video game I ever play is Dance Factory.
9. I can’t stand rejection.
10. For my 21st Birthday I got a dolphin tattoo.
11. I used to gasp that women would breastfeed their babies past the 12-month mark. Yet, at 14 months, we are still going strong.
12. It wasn’t until 6 years ago (when I was 26) that I began searching for The Way of Life in the Light.
13. That same year I got my eyebrow pierced, kept it in for almost a year and regret having took it out ever since, despite the ongoing infections. (that has nothing to do with #12 though)
14. I read 2-5 books simultaneously.
15. I never have the time to read anymore, so I rarely get through a book.
16. Softball is my favorite sport. I haven’t played in 14 years, but I did coach baseball three years in a row.
17. I ran a daycare out of my finished basement for five years, then taught preschool for another five.
18. The first and third times I got pregnant occurred while I was trying to work towards a bachelors degree in English, 1st at ASU-MH, then at APSU. I still hope to get a degree…in something…someday.
19. I got my first job at age 15, manually checking out groceries at Ozark Foods. I was paid 3.65 per hour. I never received a pay stub and despite the fact that I worked the same hours every week, my paycheck amount would often fluctuate. I never questioned this.
20. I love to bake. I bake cakes, cookies, and breads. In fact, most of my free time at home lately is spent in my kitchen trying new recipes.
21. A few years ago we discovered that our favorite family activity is CAMPING.
22. I avoid confrontational situations like the plague.
23. I really do clean dirty cloth diapers in the toilet and I wash my hands A LOT!
24. I love libraries and go to ours almost weekly.
25. House plants will generally not survive in my care.
26. I am rarely, if ever, bored.
27. Sometimes the highlight of my day is showering.
28. I am awakened 3-6 times (on average) every night.
29. Skee ball is my favorite carnival game.
30. My oldest child turns 13 next week!