17 months tomorrow

A few kids back, I probably couldn't have imagined letting my 16 month old cruise up and down the stairs so freely.  But, then again, a few kids back, I didn't have a Nathan.

Stairs?  No problem.  Ladders at the park? Piece of cake. Rock wall? Puh-leeze. And his personal favorite mountain to climb?  The kitchen table, of course.  The boy is a climber.  And a grabber and a runner and a pull-things-out-and-throw-them-on-the-floorer.  Never in 5 children have I had one to keep me as busy as this guy does.  He has given me a whole new respect for the words "all boy".  

Thankfully, he's also a smiler and a laugher and a kisser and a hugger.  He really makes everyone's day so much brighter, and I couldn't even begin to imagine these 17 months without him.  

Nathan to some.  Nate to others.  His sisters call him Umi (oo-mee... and no, I don't know why) and I call him Sha-Nay-Nay... (In Living Color, anyone?   I know that's just wrong, but it just comes out).  

Anyway, he answers to it all and seems to know that it means that he's loved.  He really is a joy for all of us, and we just love him to pieces.  

calm in my chaos

Pity party is over and it's time to getting back to the business of making this place home.  This week has been better.  We're taking small steps, getting things done and slowly putting our home back together again.  Unpacking is reaching the final stages and next we'll move to the decorating phase.  That's always more fun than unpacking.  

However, in the midst of all this unpacking and busyness, I can't forget that there are still 5 wee ones who need lots of time and love and attention.  That has to be the priority, thus the boxes sometimes have to be put on the back burner.

In an effort to create a little order in my life this week and do something fun the kids would enjoy, here's what we did....

If you have more than a few small children in your house, you know the amount of cups you can go through in a day.  For every drink of water a new cup is needed.  No, it shouldn't be that way, but until now I haven't had the organizational skills needed to keep up with whose cup is whose and where it can can be found.

Soooo... here's my handy, dandy new system.  Each kid has their very own cup.  They all hang on the side of the fridge with a little adhesive hook.  When they want a drink, what do they do?  They grab their own cup, get their own water from the fridge and neatly hang their cup back on the fridge.  If, by chance, they forget to re-hang their cup, they will have no problem looking around and finding their very own cup because it has their name on it. [Side note.... I have not changed the name of my middle child.  Her first name wasn't available so she was more than happy to find a cup with her middle name.  It makes her cup even more special, she says.]

The kids love the new system and think it's so cool that they get to have their own cool cups.  I think it's so cool that I have saved at least 3 loads of dishes in the dishwasher this week by all the dirty cups we no longer have!

Of course this could be done with any old cup and a Sharpie, but this way it gets to be practical and pretty.  And, honestly, I'm more likely to use practical if it's pretty.  

It's the little things, you know.  The little things that add just a little bit of calm to our chaos.

settling in

We've been here in Virginia Beach for about a month now.  People keep asking if we're settling in okay.  Of course, I always say yes.  I mean, what choice do we have, really?

But the longer answer is... yes, we are settling in.  But it's a process.  

It's not really that I expected it to be quick and easy.  It's just that about a month after each move I remember how hard it really can be.  The new starts to wear off.  The boxes get unpacked.  Then we have the start the unexpectedly hard part of a move.... just living here.

Church today was a good example of this.  Last week we visited this same church.  Loved it.  Great PCA church, great people.  Kids did okay... little ones didn't want to leave my side, but that's okay because it was our first Sunday, right?

We go back this week.  To make a long story short, I wound up parading in and out of the sanctuary several times (when I would have preferred to be a wallflower), getting summonsed to the nursery, dealing with various melt-downs and, at one point, I even had 3 screaming children hanging off of my body at once.

Let's just say it wasn't a worshipful experience.

We left church after the service and I was in a funk, to say the least.  I really, really dislike having to find a new church, meet new friends.  I don't like being the new people and I really, really don't like being the new people with hyperventilating children hanging from every appendage.   I mean really.  We cause a scene on our best days.  Throw in a few tantrums, and we're a regular sideshow.

But the more I've thought about this today, the more I've come to understand where I am in this settling in process.  I'm realizing that this is going to be a marathon, not a sprint.

Our 8 year old has lived in 9 different houses.  This is the 6th duty station for our 7 year old.  Our 16 month old is already "settling in" at address #3.  And so on and so forth.  Is it really any wonder that we're dealing with some separation anxiety issues?  Can you blame them for being a little clingy in a new place?  Honestly, all things considered, I think they're handling things pretty well.  

Right now, I'm holding on to the fact that we are not merely nomads, though it sometimes feels that way.  God has called our family to this.  That is one thing I am sure of.  In the middle of a time when nothing seems steadfast, I know that He is my rock.  He will never change.  He will never leave me.  He is the same Father to me, be I on the west coast or the east coast or somewhere in the middle.  If my kids are afraid, He is their shield.  When my husband is gone, He is my fortress.

So, today I would say that settling in to our new home here is hard.  I'm overwhelmed, tired, lonely, bogged down and feeling less than joyful.  How's that for a pity-party?

However, I know that I can rest on the Rock of my salvation.  The One into whom I can settle and know that He is never changing.  Trusting Him to protect my children through all of this, and to somehow use it all for His glory.

I want to walk in this truth everyday, but honestly, I'm not there yet.  I wish I was.  But I am praying for these things and trusting God for a friend here to remind me of these truths.  I'm also praying for my sweet kids to find peace and joy here in the midst of everything new.  God led us here, I'm sure of that.  I know that He hears our prayers and will continue to guide us, just as He has before.

So, so very thankful that His mercies are new every morning.

hats off to reading

I have to say that I think Summer Reading Programs are awesome.

Giving little people everywhere extra incentive to sit quietly and read for hours.

Sure, it's educational and all.

But we all know that it was a Mom who came up with this idea.

Happy reading!

it's official

I just changed my blog to a private format.  So, welcome friends!  More to come......

this boy

How I love this boy.  

This boy who crawls ever so quietly down the stairs after naptime, so he can surprise me.  This boy who loves to hug his mama and fills my days with "I love you"s and kisses.  This boy who loves to laugh and make up jokes and giggle and dance.  This boy who spends his free time reading a dictionary and falls asleep at night flipping through a thesaurus.

This boy, whom I worried might never talk.  This boy who now tells me stories and always asks questions, so eager to learn.  This boy who marches to the beat of his own drum.  This boy, like no other that I've ever known.

And I wouldn't trade this boy for the world.

no place like home

A few weeks before we moved from Newport, I had the chance to go back home and visit with my family for a few days. Ken kept all the kids for a long weekend, and I had a vacation of sorts. He really is a rockstar Dad, and I am so thankful that he gave me a chance to get back "home" for a while. It had been over a year since I had been to Alabama and seen all of my family.


It was a nice visit and, of course, while I was there I took pictures. Because that's what I do. I took pictures of the things that I have seen at least 1000 times, yet somehow this time they looked more beautiful than I remembered. I think absence really does make the heart grow fonder.


Like the peanuts coming up in rows. Remembering the smell of the peanut fields, the dust in the air during the harvest. Sitting under the carport with my cousins picking fresh peanuts off the vine, just pulled up from the field next to the house. The smell of Mema cooking boiled peanuts.




The fields, the sunsets. Growing up in a place that a secret between "you, me and the fencepost" really meant something.



Aunt Molly's road. I never knew Aunt Molly. She was my Papa's cousin that died before I was born. But I remember her house that used to sit under the trees on this road. Any walk or bike ride generally was generally measured by it's proximity to Aunt Molly's. The old white, wooden house has been gone for years. But this is still Aunt Molly's road.



The clothesline where Mema hung her laundry. I remember as a little girl, reaching my hand up high into the calico cloth clothes-pin hanger that she slid along beside her as she hung out the laundry. She would patiently let me help as I lifted the wet sheets from the old, silver washpan. I still love the smell of clothes hung to dry.


The tree that still stands in the field behind my folks house. I remember my Papa telling me of how this tree was planted by his father, my great-grandfather... behind the house where my Papa was born, where my Mom grew up, where I grew up. The place that, 100 years after this tree was planted, is still home.


The driveway where I spent hours riding my big wheel. And then my bike. Going really fast then hitting the brakes to see how far the gravel would fly. The fun that can be had on a driveway that's not paved.


These pictures may not mean much if you've never been here. But something about being away from home for so long really helps me to appreciate the beauty that I'm sure I've sometimes overlooked.


Who says you can't go home?

things change

As much as I enjoy blogging and journaling and taking pictures for all the world to see, it's time for a change. I'm still planning on blogging and journaling and taking pictures.... just not for all the world to see. For a few reasons...5 to be exact... I'm going to be changing my blog to a private blog. I'd still love to take all of my friends and family on our bloggy adventures, but I want to do it in a way that puts our family a little less "out there".

So.... just comment or email me or message me and let me know your email address and I'll add you to my blog reader list. And in a few days, you'll be the only ones allowed to read all these crazy wonderful things that make up our life.

Now, won't you feel special?

Happy 4th!

Happy Birthday, America!!!  

beatin' the heat

When it's this hot....

there's only one thing to do.