another break from the day-to-day posts

We had a fun night at Pier Park on Friday night, I think
(the days run together)

Nate was trying to get some loving from his new friend

Streed and Isaac wrestled the entire time

31 or 13

I am watching the MTV Movie Awards right now because I saw on Facebook today that I would see a sneak peek at the Twilight New Moon movie trailer. I mean come on. Am I 31 or 13?

And BTW, I am super excited about the new movie! The trailer looked great. Way better than the first. I am going to reread the book again real soon. As soon as I buy the entire saga off of Amazon.

I mean really, 31 or 13?

Day 5

SBP officially started today. We had a meal with everyone tonight at the church. This should be great...two meals provided a week. I mean, what mom wouldn't love that? Uhh, this one! It is just too much. Not too much work, just too much stress. There are 10 kids here right now and STREED is the oldest. All the kids sit (ha) in one corner. They sit for about two seconds and then the wrestling begins. Two drinks were knocked over. Ella almost broke a snare drum. Nate got tired of his high chair. I realize the beach project is not designed for families. I embrace that. I am going to do my own thing while I am here rather than try to fit my kids into the schedule. I do not know if that is the best attitude but I think it will help me to have a better attitude.

We are super excited that there are so many Southeastern students here! And there are several more overseas in Tailand.

Day 4

I was reading "Don't Make Me Count to Three" by Ginger Plowman. It is an awesome book with really practical advice for parenting. A particular scenario had to do with whining. What she did with her daughter was talk to her about how she did not speak with self-control. She made her wait 5 minutes and then try to ask again. I have tried to work on Ella's wording a lot lately. She just does not get it. I am constantly getting her to rephrase her beggings into more of a kind request..."May I..."

This happened twice today...no lie

Ella was whining about something.
I asked how do you need to ask me for something?
She said, "Please?"
I said, "No, put it in a full sentence."
PAUSE She was thinking
"Pwetty Pwetty Please?"

Day 3

I met our neighbor today. He walked out his door and asked me, "How do you put up with them?" I pretended I did not understand him. I asked, "How do I keep up with them?" He said, "No, put up with them." I told him I loved them. He said, "You have 3 of them. Hmmm. I am a W.C Fields guy. I hate kids and dogs."

This was the end of our conversation.

Day 2

This is supposed to go at the bottom of the post.

I am going to have to start dressing the kids before the morning escape. We will have to leave our room every morning for Nate's nap. It was hot and a tad boring. I should have taken a book with me. We stayed out there for a while but eventually had to wake him up. Streed was begging me saying, "please I am sweating!"


We ate lunch in another wife's room--6 kids, 3 moms and at one point 3 dads. It was a little much.

After nap activity!

After naps we went swimming. This was a highlight. I really enjoyed swimming that late in the day. It is a small pool but it is nice. The steps in the shallow end were big enough for all the kids to play on. This will be a daily activity I am sure. Streed got brave once he saw what his friends could do. Ella was still a little more careful. It really passes the time until dinner. The only thing I may add is walking when they/we get up from nap.

Dinner was great. Since we don't have a kitchen yet, we pitched in with the Baxters and ate delicious tacos. We ate at some picnic tables out near the pool in a big field. I know it sounds random but it was great. I told Kim I would be glad to have her cook and grocery shop all summer if I just had to pay her. She did not think that was a great idea. The field was great because the kids could play after they ate. (SEE FIRST PICTURE) The weather was awesome. I remembered that every year when we get here I am amazed at how great the air feels. Then a week later the heat sets in. So, we are going to enjoy our outside dining while we can. The rooms are really small so it is good to get out and be around people.

another day down. and now down we all go.

Day 1

Neil, Nate and Mama

The day started in Mobile with a half-way point stop at Aunt Robyn's. My mom and Neil came over to visit. Nate was quite taken by Neil. He basically sat in his lap the entire visit. We then loaded up and went on our merry way. The boys were with me and Ella was with Chip.

We are staying at a new facility this year. Correction, new to us. I had looked it up online a few days ago and was quite impressed. It seemed really nice considering some of the past establishments we have inhabited. I must say I was pleasantly surprised when I arrived. Our room was clean! That is a feat in itself. The tub seems new as does the bathroom tile. ALSO-we thought there were no adjoining rooms which meant we were going to have two separate rooms and that I would sleep with the kids each night. However, we have an adjoining room!!! This was sweet of the Lord considering it was not something I even prayed about. But, the 2nd room is not available until Sunday so we are all piling up in the KING SIZE bed for a few nights! Those who know us well know that is nothing new. Here are some pics from our room as we were settling in and getting ready for bed.

After all the staff got semi-settled (translation: cars unpacked and rooms coated with lysol) we all headed to Pineapple Willy's for dinner and play time. The outside dining deck sits out over the sand. So, while we waited for our food the kids were able to work off some energy that was pent up from traveling. The kids are always excited to see the other staff kids. They so look forward to their time at the beach project every year. Here are some of those pics. The cute little dark haired baby is a few weeks younger than Nate and I am in love with her.

Nate loved the sand

duane with most of the kids
sweet ella loved it too.

streed was too busy playing to get a pic of him

but here he is two years ago in the same shirt nate is wearing today

on the first day of beach project

It is only 9:35pm but I am quite weary from days of packing and traveling. And the family bed is calling my name. Everyone has finally passed out. Day 2 will begin quite soon. Night Night

The Chronicles of PCB--The Facility, the Family, and the Focus

I decided today that I will blog everyday while at the beach project. I know there will be many opportunities to share humorous stories as well as give insight into the project itself. The posts will center around the facility, our family, and the focus of the project. Enjoy...I know you will.

briefly with bushan

I met with my new doctor on Tues before heading out of town. He told me it is very common for people to have nodules in their necks. What was uncommon was the size of mine. At my ultrasound on May 5 it measured 1.6cm. Any nodule over 1.5cm requires a biopsy. Mine is scheduled for July 8. He did not seem that concerned about it. He said that 95% are benign. My prayer is that I am in that percentage. It already feels smaller to me and seems less noticable than it did at the beginning of the month.

Again, thanks for all the concern and prayers.

Miracle!

I was totally not expecting anything but the doctor's office called today. They tried to set me up an appt for June. I did not know if I would be back yet. I told them I was leaving tomorrow for 4 weeks. She called back and had me an appt for TOMORROW! We rearranged our travel plans in order to make it work. More info to come later.

I am thankful for what I am learning. I am thankful too that God had me wait till the last possible minute to get the appt. He promises to meet our NEEDS. He also cares greatly about our sanctification.

A song verse from back in the day--It's His kindness that leads to repentance, it's His love that brings forgiveness, it's His mercy that leads me here to His throne of grace.

i love my friends

thank you for all the advice, cares, prayers and laughs.

for my medical friends--one problem is i don't know anybody and they don't know me. therefore what i have learned is that translates to they don't care. there is one doc in my church but he is a surgeon. the nurse at the family clinic said she just had to fax my info because she did not have phone number for them. how convenient. i did try to call the family doc back but there were not in. i can try again today. that is a good idea.

i just realized last night that i have not prayed enough about specifics. for example praying repeatedly for them to call by a certain day, for the mass to go away, etc. i know God is sovereign regardless of my prayers but i also know i am called to pray.

going nowhere fast

by 10:30 they finally answered the phone. i was able to speak to some guy, i have no idea what his title is. he told me that the doctor had to review my file, yada yada, same thing i heard last week. i was in shock. i went to my calendar and told him when my chart was faxed over and what i was told last week. he told me that whomever i talked to should not have given me a day to be expecting a call. that the doctor reviews the files at his own discretion and they are scheduled appts in order of need. i understand that totally. somehow he said that you can only get in there by referral. i told him that was not true that i set myself up an appt for july and that i was hoping since i had a referral that i could get in sooner. he basically told me that i should be happy with my july appt. i basically told him that he could say that because he did not have a mass on his throat and that i have been trying for 5 weeks to see someone. i ended the phone call in tears. he ended the phone call saying he would look for my chart, see what needs to be done and personally call me tomorrow. right!

sheer frustration

i don't remember what all i said on my last post about my medical issues. but, i know that last tues my doctor's nurse faxed my info to an endocrine specialist. she told me to give them a day or so to call me back. i gave them till friday. they said the doctor had to review my chart and they would call my by wed. today is thurs. do you think i heard from them yesterday? every other word in my head is being edited for reading/holiness purposes. i have called them since 8am this morning and cannot even get a (edit) receptionist to answer the (edit) phone . all i know is if i finally get in there he better be the best (edit) doctor ever. ahhh! i also know that i am leaving next tues for 4 weeks. at this point it would be a miracle for me to talk to them actually call me back and get me in by then. i actually think when chip gets home i am going over there to speak in person to the receptionist. i have never in my life known an office to not answer the phone. what happens is you press 1 if you are calling about an appt for a referral or appt. so i press 1 and it rings and rings and rings for literally minutes. then you get a recording that says, "i am sorry. you may not leave a message for the receptionist desk." thank you if you have actually read this boring post that was written more for me to get it out than anything.

my monkey man

Whenever I see Nate crawling like this, in my head I hear Rosalie saying, "my monkey man". (this is from the movie TWILIGHT if you were wondering) Nate still prefers crawling to walking but he also prefers not scratching his knees on the concrete. So he is often bottom-up as he gets to the object of his desire. The other day he was loving bananas for the first time. I said to him that he was my monkey man.

disclaimer: those bruises on his thigh were from a fall that morning, not from a spanking. i realize it looks like fingers.

Parent/Baby Dedication

On Mother's Day we had both Ella and Nate dedicated at church. I have never really understood this concept. We had Streed baptized but have not been closely affiliated with a church that practices covenant theology since then. This just seemed like the right time to present them to the Lord as well as covenant with Him to parent them in a way that honors Him and encourages them towards God and His Word. It was sweet because we were able to do this along with several of our good friends and Chip's parents were here as well.

Mike the Tiger

Chip's parents visited last weekend. While they were here we took them to see LSU's tiger on campus. I had only been to see him once and it was in the middle of the day. We heard that evening was a good time to go because he would be more active. Oh my goodness it was amazing. I was like a little kid. He was walking all around, coming up to the fence, looking people in the face and just putting on a show. His home is awesome. It is wide open, lots of grass and foliage, a pool and a waterfall by the shady rock area. There are two sets of fences keeping the general population from him. However, you can get face to face with him at the glass wall by the pool.

Papa & LuLu's

A couple at our church invited us all the come swimming two Fridays ago. They have a daughter who had a daughter the age of Ella. They are getting to be big buddies. The kids all had a blast playing in the fountain and then in the grass after they ate good ole hot dogs. This was Nate's first time in the pool and he loved it. Bob & Lucy (aka Papa & LuLu) invited us all over again this past Friday afternoon. The daddies got to come this time. Again the kids had a blast, as did the adults. After the pool and pizza the kids played in the sand box and sang "The foolish man built his house upon the sand". It was really precious.

medical minute

Thanks for all the concern regarding the mysterious lump on my throat. I have not updated before now because there was nothing to report. After becoming a squeaky wheel I finally got some grease. The doctor himself called me back! He said my blood work looked normal but the ultrasound did reveal that the mass was attached to my thyroid. So, he is referring me to the doctor I have the appt with in July. This was exactly what I hoped was going to happen. Now I am just waiting for the endocrinologist to review my file and set up an appt. I called them this morning and they said I should hear from them by next Wed. Now, I am going to pray that I get an appt before we leave for the beach project on May 27!

my camera

people often ask about my camera. well, it was $88 and i got it two and a half years ago. it is your basic digital. i would absolutely LOVE a digital SLR but that will come later. it is all about getting on the kids level and filling the frame with them. and, it does have a "macro" setting that allows you to focus up close. that is what i had it set on for the pic of ella.

natural beauty

i love natural light photography. but, with kids it is hard to get them to sit still long enough for the shutter to capture the picture. however, i did get this one the other day of ella and i just love it.

saturday morning fun

My favorite picture from today

let the festivities begin

yesterday i got flowers from a sweet friend and today i got a gift card for coffee in the mail...(which translates to me a little two-hour getaway). so, since monday includes a trip to the doctor i am going to celebrate from here until monday. thanks for the early gifts!

almost

Nate is getting closer everyday to walking. He will take a few steps when coaxed. But, he is not really a big fan of it yet. He gets going good when he is pushing something. Here he is in one of Streed's old outfits. I want to go get some more of these from Carter's. Nate gets blazing hot outside so I figure these would be good summer attire.

our friday find

We went to Circa 1857 on Friday. It was a really neat store that I am sure I will go to again. (Hopefully when April comes and visits!) They have really pretty decor. Some of which is overpriced but some is not. It is one of those stores where you say, "I could make that". Anyway, we found a door that we plan to use as a headboard. I saw this on a show or in a magazine a long time ago. I went looking for wrought iron but it was way too expensive. The door has an outer layer of flaking paint but underneath that is a great already distressed door. It has original hardware that we are leaving on. Our plan is not to paint the door. I also plan to hang something from the door knob. If you are a visual processor you probably have no clue what I am talking about. But I am sure all of my do-it-yourselfers (aka: my poor friends) know what I am saying.

those kids today

I love some things my kids say, especially when it is so above their age. I am sure you can all relate.

A few weeks ago I was throwing the ball to Streed in the yard. I was also in the middle of a text-message conversation. So, I had to keep pausing our game. At one point Streed said, "If you would quit texting we could play."

Yesterday, out of the blue, Ella told one of our twenty-year old college friends, "I don't know how to play wii." We cracked up and told her we didn't either. A neighbor boy that Streed plays with has one and I guess she has heard them talk about it. It was just so funny to hear such a young girl say that.

Please share personal stories as your comments.