Pictures of the Boys

Lorie's boyfriend, Justin, took these pictures a few weeks ago when he was in town. He is very talented and just has a knack for photography. Enjoy!

I am on a blogging kick. I was thinking about heading off to bed but thought I would write a little something about our weekend. Seth played in a baseball tournament with his brother in Georgia so we tagged along to visit the Harrison side of the family. We always have a great time down there. Caleb and Adam ADORE their cousins, Walker and Amy (Aaron too, but he is only 3 months old) and I like hanging out with Seth's sister, Angie. The kids play so well together and I barely see them most of the time a part from feeding them and getting them off to bed. Caleb and Walker usually pair off and then Amy and Adam play together. It is really sweet. Angie and I cleaned up her upstairs room and I scored some more stuff to use for our homeschooling. Angie has given me loads of curriculum for school. She has clothed my kids as well. Without her pass downs, my kids would be illiterate and naked. ............ As of now they are just illiterate. My point is that Angie is very generous and I appreciate all that she provides for us.


Speaking of homeschooling, it is going well. I am so blessed because everyone close to me is very supportive of our decision. Angie has been homeschooling now for 5 years and has been a wealth of information and encouragement to me. We sit down for "school" during Annabelle's morning nap, but mainly I am focusing on teaching throughout the day. I like that parenthood makes you view the world so differently. Who knew that I could ever get so excited about dirtbikes or tractors or guns? Seeing the world through the boys' eyes makes me realize how much there is out there to learn.

On the ride home, Seth and I entertained ourselves (when I wasn't turned around tending to Annabelle) by playing name that tune with the radio. Neither of us listen to the radio so we were not very good. I waxed him in the beginning because there are a lot of country stations near Atlanta. I don't really listen to much country but I can recognize voices well. He beat me when it came to classic rock though. We laughed a lot and entertained one another with it. I even got a rap song correct because I recognized it from my aerobics cd. Here is what I took from it all:
1. The Judds are/were so talented in their day. I like them so much and will have get one of my Dad's cds to burn. Did they write their own music? We heard them sing "Have Mercy".
2. If it is a "today's rock" station, a good guess is always "Nickelback"
3. Crosby Stills and Nash is good guess for lots of songs that sound a little familiar but I am not sure about.
4. Most music on the radio makes me want to puke.

Back to the weekend visit. Caleb and Adam cried and cried when we left. We will get back down soon.

Here are a few pictures from the last couple of months.

This is our cousin Amy.
We had Caleb's birthday at Uncle Johnny's sister's pool and "tiki bar". Aunt Carolyn and Uncle Larry came down to watch Grayson play on Heath's baseball team in a tournament. Jonathan and Seth played as well. It was so much fun to watch them all on the same team!

They are leading the kids in the "ha, ha" song . Adam was so cute playing the pegs. He was quite serious about it and had some really natural rhythm going on!

We had a "cupcake cake" and swam until late that night.





This is a picture from our Orlando trip in June.

I went back to the choir at church this week. It probably isn't what some would call "my season in life" for this, but I decided to try it anyways. It is really hard for me to leave three kids once a week in the evenings, but I think with a bit of planning, I can pull it off...... planning........ I am am not very good at that. We will see.........
My favorite part about coming to Trinity when I was 12, was hearing the choir every Sunday. I thought they were wonderful. Then I decided to join up about 3 years ago and had such an incredible time with it. The next year was more of a heart struggle to be there and then last year I had Annabelle. It was so great to be back sitting on the front row with the other 2nd sopranos this past Wednesday. I can't read music and I don't have much range in my voice, so I don't really add anything to the sound of the choir. I mainly just try to sing along and not mess anything up at this point. I just really love being in the middle of the beautiful sound of the folks around me.

Guess what!!!!!! We got an offer on our spec house this past Friday! We took it and should close sometime soon! We were set to show both houses that day around 1:00 so I while cleaned the house that morning, I went down my contact list in my phone calling everyone that I knew would pray for the showing to go well. Cell phones are so great for prayer chains. Then I loaded 4 kids (Kiah was with us) into my little Camry took off to a playground for the next hour. Caleb, Kiah and Adam all said the sweetest little prayers as we drove off asking God to please help the folks to like our house and want to buy it. Sure enough, we got a verbal offer within an hour or two.....the first offer in a year! Seth went ahead and countered the offer, and then they countered back, and we accepted. (I am not sure that is the exact "lingo" but you can get the gist). The point is that God answered our prayers! We have prayed all along for this to happen but we never went to this extent. So, it looks like we should be able to sell before our home equity line runs dry! We also should be able to start a personal house soon as well. Isn't that so exciting!



Smell ya later Yarrow Lane House! You have been a pain in our rears!!!!!!
By the way, Annabelle is walking now and can say: Moma, Dada, Adam, Bubba (Caleb), and hot. She also makes dirtbike noises as she plays with her brothers toys. Don't worry, I won't allow her to be a tomboy........I have taught her to put her baby dolls to bed and to feed them in their highchair. :) Just a few more weeks until she turns one!

In Defense of Homeschooling

Today was the first day of school for all of the public schools in our area so we got plenty of inquiries about the boys' education at the gym and around town this morning. I suppose that I should get used to defending my choice to homeschool since so many people want an explanation for it. I feel like I need a concise answer that is not too offensive for those who ask. I have been thinking of homeschooling for over 6 years and truly believe it is the best way to educate one's children when done properly. So here is my politically correct answer for folks:

We are homeschooling because it is more efficient time-wise. I can accomplish what a kindergarten teacher teaches her students in a day within 2-3 hours. I really believe that 8 hours of school for a 5 or 6 year old boy is too much. They need more physical activity and outdoor time. There is such a great network of homeschoolers in this area and many opportunities for my children as well.

I was going to list some of my other reasons that I probably won't discuss with my daily acquaintances but I don't have time and some are pretty offensive.

Here is a good link to some reasons instead:




I will probably just say:

I just want to shelter my children as much as possible from the "real" world so that they can grow up and be really weird.

How about this:

We really need our kids in working our home-based business.

Oh my goodness, I knew I was forgetting something. I had better sign them up for school asap!

I still nurse them all so they have to be homeschooled.

Adam

It has to be Adam's turn now! Adam will be 5 years old at the end of October but I always tend to think that he is older than that. He seems like he should be five already to me. I suppose it is because I always kind of lump him together with Caleb. I actually signed him up for the wrong class in Arts and Sports Camp (Trinity's Bible school) this summer. They changed it up and put him in his appropriate class for me. He couldn't be in kindergarten this year even if I wanted him to be. He is preschool age! How weird is that!

Any-who, Adam is still my little delightful man most of the time. I remember being amazed at how easily and how often he laughed as a baby. It hasn't changed; he is a comedian's dream because anything makes him laugh. He loves to be tickled which baffles me completely considering I want to scratch the eyes out of anyone who tickles me. I hate it. It is not funny.

Oh yes, back to Adam. He is accident prone which I think just comes along with the whole younger brother thing. I have to be very careful to watch what Caleb does because I know that Adam will try it next and will not have the control that his older brother possesses. Caleb has always been physically advanced (the whole "man-child" thing) and uses a lot of caution when jumping from the top of dressers to beds or riding his bike over homemade ramps. Adam, on the other hand, has no fear. You should see those two on our neighbor's trampoline!

Adam can be the sweetest little thing in the world, but also has a bit of a mean streak. Lately, he is in the habit of walking by Caleb and punching him for no reason or maybe kicking him in the shins. When they wrestle, Adam can pin Caleb. Weird, huh? We have also discovered that Adam is quite artsy. He loves music and to draw or color. BUT, you know what he loves more than that? DIRT BIKES! I think I already wrote about that earlier in another blog so I won't expand on it. It must be mentioned though.

Adam is that kid that is always saying really cute things too. He just recently began saying most of his R's correctly which made me want to cry. From now on when he says something cute, I will remember to blog it so I can remember it forever.

Caleb

I just asked Caleb what I should write about in my blog entry today and he replied, "me!" So here is a little bit about Caleb. Caleb just turned six years old 2 weeks ago. He was the ultimate hard-headed, cranky, strong-willed child until the age of 4 when he really turned a corner. I was driving down the road yesterday thinking, "Oh my goodness, Caleb is going to be one of those stories that parents tell about their kid being a monster........ I mean "strong-willed", and those listening will think, "what? Caleb?" wow. Caleb has learned to obey and is very helpful around the house. He LOVES working with Seth in the yard. I would say his favorite activity (a part from that) would be riding his bike. Grandaddy got him a new bike for his birthday that is quite big and for him to grow into, yet he has it mastered now and can maneuver it down our steep mulch hill in the front yard. He also loves weapons of any sort including guns, bows, swords and knives. Anytime the boys go to Walmart with grandparents to buy a prize, Caleb wants this $4.00 bow and arrow that usually lasts a week before it breaks. Lately he really likes to play video games on the computer. I try to limit his playing time though because he would rather play the corny online dirtbike games versus the learning games on PBS.com...... Of course.

Don't get me wrong. He still can be a challenge when it comes to eating or sleeping. He is a picky eater and still cries and/or flips out at bedtime. He is learning to get along with Adam and to think of others before himself. I do think that it is wonderful how closely Adam arrived after Caleb. They always have a playmate and are constantly learning to share and play nicely with one another. If you can get along with your brother, you can learn to get along with anyone. Well, that may not be the case always, but it is a good practice for life. However, to get along with your brother at this age (in my kid's case), it takes constant parental involvement. People always ask me if the boys get along and I say "about 75% of the time. They are either fighting like dogs or are best friends but they never choose to play alone. They always want to be together."

I will close with the sweetest thing about my Caleb. He loves his cousins with all of his heart! Lucie, Lanie, Kiah, Aaron, Amy and WALKER are his most favorite people. We babysat Lucie, who is 19 months old, overnight about a week ago and he played with her the entire time. She woke up during the night and couldn't get back to sleep so Caleb (who woke up after hearing us) played with her until she got sleepy while I laid on the floor beside them. They next day he cried so hard when she had to leave.

My sweet little Annabelle can say "Moma" now! Everytime she says it my eyes almost well up with tears of joy............or maybe a little sadness knowing that I will never hear another baby say Moma to me for the first time. I will just enjoy the sweetness of it now because I know soon enough I will hear it 324 times a day as another child summons me to their needs. I actually work very hard to not be their "Mommy-servant" and to teach them to take care of themselves......... and others for that matter. It surely doesn't come to them naturally.

I will take a moment to write a little about Annabelle as a nine month old. She is one active little gal! Sweet, but on the move constantly. She is very entertained by her brothers and follows them (as well as she can) wherever they go. We are all amazed at how often she smiles. And get this-she obeys me when I tell her no! The boys were a constant training session at nine months. They challenged me on everything, however it is not that way with Annabelle. One little smack on the hand and she knows not to do it anymore. She might cry a little, but she won't do it more than a couple of times before she gets the picture.


I will say that I am the busiest I have ever been in my life. I took 15-18 hours of classes in college every semester, waitressed part time and worked out obssessively everyday, which made me think I was busy then. Then I graduated and got a fulltime job where I worked 10 hour days, 6 days a week and thought I was busy again. None of that compares to mothering three kids, taking care of my household, homeschooling the boys, and trying to help out my hubby with the business. I think that showing the house is what is putting me over the top nowadays. Not that I am complaining.......I am just trying to explain how busy I am........as I sit here and write about it..........get up, get going...........Annabelle will be up from that nap soon. But now I will be able to look back at this and probably say to myself, "And I thought I was busy then!"

We took the kids to their first real music festival up in Boone in May. It was the Appalachian Roots Revival festival and was so much fun! Caleb, Adam and Kiah especaially enjoyed playing frisbee in the field with Uncle Jonathan and Justin while Annabelle and I hung out on a blanket and listened to some great "old time" Appalachian mountain music. Annie and Adam, some friends of ours from college, were there so they got to meet our little "Annie and Adam" (and Caleb, of course!) That night Justin's sisters watched the kids so we could go back and enjoy the Avett Brothers as they closed the show. What a great day!