With a Grateful Heart,,,

We "celebrated" or ate our Thanksgiving meal last night because Sarah and Kate left today to go back to Auburn for the Iron Bowl. I'm afraid that game will not be something for Auburn fans to be thankful for. (Not trying to be negative, just realistic, although I would love to be wrong about this.)

Our meal truly was a feast enjoyed by all.

I have some more things to blog about involving Andrew's upcoming surgery. Nothing scary-they tell us it is a simple procedure. He has hypospadias. It has to do with his urethra not being fully developed. I will let you look that up for yourself if you like, but careful, you may pull up some pictures you don't want to see. The surgery will be very early Tuesday morning. We spent the better part of the last two days at the lab in Huntsville trying to get a urine sample from him. Not fun. Anyway, I will be back with lots more on this event.

As for today, it is Thanksgiving and God's Word tells us that in all things we are to give thanks. I pray that I will always have a grateful heart. For now, it seems to be fairly easy because the Lord has blessed me and my family so very abundantly. I pray that when the trials come, I may be found faithful in those.

Have you ever read Lincoln's Thanksgiving Proclamation? I heard part of it on Moody radio today. I looked it up. You should too. Right here. It's amazing. A sad reminder of how far our country has strayed from the ideals and values of the Godly men who once led this nation.

If I don't return before Tuesday, please say a prayer for my baby boy (and Steven and me). I'm sure he'll be fine, but I am not looking forward to them taking him away into surgery. :(

Christmas Wish List

I am not as on top of the game as my sister, who has had Ada's Christmas presents purchased for awhile now. Steven and I have been discussing it here and there. We absolutely refuse to purchase another cheap piece of plastic anything. There is nothing my children need. Well, Luke might could use another pair of warm pajamas. But other than that, really, they have everything and more. That is not to say they don't have a list a mile long that continues every time we see a toy at the store or advertised on TV. "I want that for Christmas"

I don't like this. Drives me crazy!

Sometimes I say "okay" without a thought. Sometimes I try to stop and explain how they have so many toys they don't even play with. Sometimes I make a rule they need to silently wish for it. Sometimes I make them tell me one thing they are thankful that God has already given them. And of course, I tell them there are lots of little boys and girls in this world who don't have anything, no bed, no toys, and sometimes not even a mom or dad. They have LOTS to be thankful for. But they just keep asking.

And before we usher in anything new at all, I would absolutely love to have an organized playroom. haha, right? God has blessed us with plenty of space for Ellie and Luke (and Andrew) to play. I want to utilize, utilize!! And I want it to be organized so that they can clean it up when I say time to clean up. Which also involves having children who obediently pick up when asked. (Are you laughing at me?) I am determined. Right now when it is time to pick up-Ellie can do a pretty good job. It's like pulling teeth for Luke. I pretty much have to take his hand and lead him. But I am convinced this will pay off in the long run. An organized playroom and children that will pick it up-that's what I want for Christmas.

So, I was doing a little researching on the internet and I found this playroom and this would definitely work. I'll take it! Do you see the racks with the little clothes on it? Do you think those are dress-up clothes or just clothes? I am at a loss for ideas on how to keep dress-up clothes and paraphanelia organized. Big bins? Hooks on the wall? Both?

I also ran across this website for the most unbelievable swingsets you have ever seen in your life. These make me want to start climbing. Check out the indoor ones. Can you imagine? Can you imagine having the space to put one?



What is everyone getting their munchkins? Really, I would love to hear.

Another Beautiful Saturday

Warning for all non-family: Lots of pictures in this post!!

Thank you all so much for the encouragement after my last post! It feels good to be real. And thank you for the advice regarding Andrew's weight. About that-I have some sad news(well, sad and glad)-I think he is weaning himself. He just will not eat during the day. He has too much to do to stop and nurse. And consequently I am super, uncomfortably full of milk. And he will now drink straight formula, so I'm thinking, I guess we should call it quits. On one hand, it makes me sad that it is coming to an end, on the other hand, think of the benefits. I won't go into all of them-but there are several.

Soooo...the last two Saturdays the weather has been too good to be true. I told you I might take some pictures and I definitely took some pictures. This will make up for the lack of in my last post. This day actually was a great example of how pictures can paint a picture that might not be necessarily true. If you just saw these pictures you might think we are always happy and frolick and play the days away. Not true. We did this because Friday we were at home all day and I didn't think I could do it all day again on Sat. And we were at the end of the pay period and trying to save money, so if you're going to eat pb&j, it's better to do it at the playground.

We did have a really good time, though. And everyone was good and ready for a nap when we got home.

See this girl? You know what she told me earlier in the day after I spanked her? That really didn't hurt. Whoa. What goes around comes around, I guess. I'm pretty sure I said that a time or two.




I wanted to get a picture with all three and it was pretty tricky. First they were running around me in circles, then Ellie tackled me. Oh well, I like these better than stiff, posed ones anyway.


Ever since Luke turned three, it seems like it is his "time of the month" all the time. He's an emotional basketcase. This face was because we stopped swinging him for just a little bit.

I was having flashbacks to a day at the playground when he was about one. He was devastated that we stopped him for a second to take a picture. What can I say? He loves to swing.

We have a pretty uneventful week ahead. Yea!!! Last week there were several doctors appts. and other scheduled things to be at. Sunday nights are one of my favorites. Steven is off the next day, and we usually let the kids sleep in the bed with us. Right now they are lying here watching Wizard of Oz. It's toward the end, the part where the group is trying to rescue Dorothy and get out of the Wicked witch of the west's castle. Ellie and Luke are both a little nervous and I keep asking if they would like to turn it off, but their eyes remain huge and glued to the screen as they shake their heads no. So, now the witch has melted and they're feeling better. Good thing they're in bed with us, I'm hoping we haven't caused any nightmares. Good night!

Just Bein' Honest

Not feeling very bloggish these last few days. Well, I'll be honest. I've been looking at a lot of blogs lately. I could spend hours upon hours blog-hopping. Not that I even begin to have the time to do that. (And even if I did, I'm pretty sure it would not be a wise or productive way to spend my time) But it can suck me in. And while I'm being honest-here is my struggle: It sometimes makes me feel a little overwhelmed. I always start believing (while I know that it is not true) that every other mom in this world is doing a better job than me at something...training and teaching their children, or this mom is always doing super-fun projects with her kids, or this one is an incredible photographer, this one can sew perfect outfits, etc., etc...it really could be anything.

This might make me sound like a competitive person...but I really do not think of myself as competitive at all. I am, however, kind of a perfectionist. And mainly whatever I am doing-I like to do it to the best of my ability. And I have never done anything more full-time than what I am doing right now-wife, mother, housekeeper, chef, as of next year...teacher, (in my dreams...seamstress)-you get the picture. So my flesh often runs away with all these thoughts. And sometimes (not always) entering the blogworld can feed this struggle.

Thankfully, God always gently and faithfully calls me back to Himself and His purpose for me. It brings me back to the question..."Lord, what is your purpose for me?" I want to be His servant. I want to be a joy and a blessing to my family (does not always happen-you can ask 'em) I want to grow in His Word and be changed by it. I so want to long for the things of God and be about advancing His kingdom. And if that means cooking a spectacular meal, or doing a cute craft with my kids, then wonderful. But if it means I haven't had a shower all day and the sink is overflowing with dishes because I have spent most of the day refereeing fights or cleaning up throw up, then may God be glorified in that.

I know I've shared this before, but it is so easy for me to think of a day as being successful if I have crossed off everything on my to do list. If laundry is put away, if toys are picked up, if I finished organizing a corner of the house. But was Jesus seen in me today? Was I a vessel for Him to work through?

Hopefully you understand I have no problem at all with posting cute, fun, creative things on your blog. (I would love to do more of it myself) I just am being honest about how I have to be careful and ask God to guide me in my priorities and how I spend my time.

Thanks for listening to all the serious talk.

For those of you (family members) who may be checking for updates on three small children, these two pictures are for you. Sorry-none of Ellie and Luke.

But here is 9 mo. Andrew, who according to my pediatrician's charts, is not even on them. Yes, like underweight. I'm not used to this since Ellie and Luke have always been at the top. So, we're trying to fatten him up a little bit. The doctor said to add some olive oil to his baby food. Had never heard of that, but it makes sense. I also bought some formula that I will mix in here and there as well.


He might not be gaining enough weight because I've been working him too hard around the house.

It's supposed to be a beautiful weekend-maybe I'll borrow mom's camera and get some pictures before the last of the leaves fall off :(

Trash to Treasure

My mom has been itching for me to post about this weekend. We had a yard sale at her house on Saturday. I know there are several people who read my mom's blog and my sister's blogs. Sometimes you get repeats. Sorry about that. It happened last weekend with Halloween and she decided she would give this one to me. It was kind of crazy and pretty blogworthy.

I have never had a yard sale before, but mom has had lots and always swears she will never do one again. She warned me it was a lot of work. Aren't moms usually right? She was this time, for sure! I don't recommend trying to get ready for one with young children running around. Some crying to be fed, others crying because they want their stuff back. There were a few moments of "is this even worth it?" Fortunately the weather last week was gorgeous, so for the most part we enjoyed the time outside.

The plan was for Steven to take Ellie and Luke from mom's house on Friday afternoon and have them until the following morning. I would stay with Andrew at mom's so we could get up before the crack of dawn to get started. [sidenote: That used to sound absolutely dreadful-to get up while it was still dark, but I have grown to look forward to that time of day. This is for several reasons, but mainly 1) because it gives me at least an hour of quite time without children and 2)coffee. Coffee and I started our love affair after Luke was born. I think I will definitely be one of those old people who go to bed when the sun goes down and is up before it rises.] Anyway, back to the yard sale.

So I managed to get in bed by about 9. Sooo sound asleep and mom comes in (who was in bed before I was) and wakes me saying, "Luke is throwing up" I was so disoriented. I could hardly figure out where I was, where Luke was and what I was supposed to do about it. I almost said "okay" and laid my head right back down.

Dad offered to drive me home. Sweet dad. And I have to brag on Steven. He had things very under control when I got there. Luke was bathed, laundry was going. Luke seemed to be doing okay, just very worn out. And Ellie seemed to be loving the drama at 11:00 at night. We made a quick plan B and brought Ellie with us and left Steven to tend to Luke.

I don't know about you, but when someone in our house throws up, my mind races to the worst. What are we in for? Everyone in the house is going to start throwing up within the hour. No one will get any sleep tonight. How am I going to take care of three children and a husband when I am throwing up myself?

Luke did throw up once more after we got back to mom's house. But I didn't hear from Steven again the rest of the night and I took that as a good sign. So after lots of sleeping rearrangements at mom's house (because I think I forgot to mention Ada and LB were there also), by about 11:30, I think the entire house was soundly sleeping again. A very short 4 1/2 hours later, mom and I were starting our day.

We kind of forgot to advertise, but it worked out so well, because apparently there were yardsales all over the place that day. We had a steady stream of shoppers from about 6 a.m. until 11:30 or so. While I really did not enjoy any of the setting up and taking down, I thoroughly enjoyed the actual sale. As you can imagine, after three babies, I am starting to accumulate a lot of baby stuff. Lots of clothes and I sold Ellie's crib bedding. It was hard. I literally watched the girl put it in her car and watched as she drove away. But I think it is in good hands. A first-time pregnant mom and she really, really loved it and seemed very excited to have it. Am I wierd or normal? I am okay giving most of my treasured stuff to others if I know they will love it or at least know that I loved it.

Ellie had a hard time letting go of some of her stuff too. Look at her face as she watches someone pick up something of hers and decide if they want it or not. She seemed to think that if they didn't want it, she could have it back. My rule was: if it's out here, it will never enter my house again.

Do you like her outfit? Pajama pants with a jacket, no brushed hair.

How do you like this contraption?

Ellie's baby clothes :( sniff, sniff.


Luke's bug hat.


Lots of coffee. Ellie included. I add about a tbsp. of coffee to their milk in the mornings. Call me crazy. But they love it! And personally, I think it's better than juice. Less sugar, anyway.

It was successful, I guess. I made about $250. Well, before I gave some to dad for a Taco Bell run. Mom took a picture of this guy at the end of the day. She said he looked sad, like nobody wanted him. Reminds me of the children's book Corduroy.

P.S.-I still have a great king size Pottery Barn duvet cover that I would love to sell. It is a neutral/cream/off-white color with a little embroidering around the edges. If you might be interested-let me know-annrbarber@hotmail.com.

There you go. I'm trying to recover. We stayed home from church today and Luke threw up again this morning. He was okay after that, he laid around a little more than normal, but other than that, has seemed pretty good. He's been telling people he "growed up" instead of "throwed up".

I'm wiped. Good-night!

Just a Few

I'm absolutely exhausted. No energy for a big 'ol post. But in case some grandparents in Albuquerque would like some Halloween pictures, I went over to Sarah's blog, and stole these few.

Who wouldn't want this mouse in their house?

He was supposed to be Ellie's Gus-gus from Cinderella, but Ellie decided to switch to a ballerina last week after mom made her this adorable tu-tu. No sewing involved!

And I think you all remember Dash. Here he is, hair gel and all. Doesn't he look so grown-up? :(

And last but certainly not least, Raggedy Ann. Laura Beth is assuming this is the last year she will be able to decide what Ada wears. This costume came off of an old doll. Mom had to take the outfit in and have the elastic put back in.

Will try to post more pictures from the weekend after I recuperate.

P.S. Do you like the new header? Can you read the font? Kate saved the day and figured it all out for me. Thank you, thank you , Kate!!! And thanks Sarah for the pictures.