I've entered a new world.

I caved. I was a bit proud of the fact that we weren't pet owners....but things change. This was actually out of my control. I was at work in Charlotte a few Saturday's ago in Charlotte and my Mom took the kids to Southpark Mall to see "The Cat in the Hat," and somehow Eli won this fish. Sadie was immediately in love.

Since he survived in Charlotte a couple weeks I decided to bring him home the last time I was there. Sadie helped me wash out a bowl we had and at Walmart we bought some pretty "jewels" for it. She feeds him every afternoon. It doesn't make any noise, doesn't bark at me or jump on me, and doesn't stink up the house. I think I can handle it.

 In other news, I have survived one week without sweets, and have lost a couple pounds! Goes to show how much damage I can do with dessert! Eli looks so grown up to me in this picture. Steven's Mom was asking him the other day why he is so sweet and he said 'because my Mommy hugs me a lot." I was laying down with him the other day to get him to take a nap and he said "I love you every day....but I don't want to take a nap with you." Oh please stay this sweet forever! This age is priceless, they can communicate with you, they aren't sassy, and they love to just be with you (except when they figure out it's just for the purpose of sleep).

9 months is pretty precious too. Although they have to separate him from the other babies at KidKare (at the gym), apparently he likes to pull hair and hit. I guess it's from the constant defense he plays at home. He is loving his mobility, and getting into everything!! He and Eli have an interesting relationship. When he was first born Eli kissed him a million times a day. Now he touches his face, not sure why he switched but it's the same obsessive behavior as the kissing. Esther managed to capture it on her camera.

So one day they'll fight and wrestle, for now they just show lots of affection. I'll take it.

Goodnight!

27 days

I am in sweets rehab, motivated by my free "fit coach" session yesterday. I had to weigh and get my body fat measurements done, which showed me to be in the "high risk" zone. I think the main reason they do that is to get you to purchase training sessions...but instead of spending 500 bucks for 12 sessions I decided to go on another sweets fast. Whenever  I consider doing something like this I always make sure there's nothing that will be too tempting for me during the time frame, and I always set a time frame or I will fail immediately. We will be married 8 years on March 27th and I'm hoping we will dine out....Melting Pot, maybe?? I decided this last night, the last day of February, and then ate way too many oreos. Steven's giving up coke until the 27th, but he forgot and drank one at  lunch. Oh, and I am going to allow myself one dark chocolate nugget once a day (it's only 42 calories!). People who are good at losing weight are probably laughing at this right now, but like I've said before, I have to take baby steps.
Speaking of baby steps...D is trying to take his already! He pushes a little car all around the house (walking)  and thinks he is great stuff. Sadie walked at 9 1/2 months, Eli at 10 1/2, so I shouldn't be surprised I guess. But he's my baby! Today Steven popped his head around the corner and said "D!" David looked up, smiled, and said "Da!" So sweet. He sat in the baby swing at the park today for like 45 minutes, sometimes just sitting still, happy to be in the sunshine and watching the big kids play. 3rd kids are the best!
I can't think of anything else to say, I think it's the lack of dessert tonight. Goodnight!

Unpredictable

 How can the weather go from 60s to snow and back to the 70s in just a few days? Only in NC. I'm not complaning, we have been enjoying the beautiful warm winter days.

 Here is a picture Sadie took in our backyard. Budding photographer? She's learned how to get her finger out of the way, so she's making progress.

 And here we are a few days later in the snow!

 I was just excited we got to use our "no clothes" (as Eli calls them), this is the first year they both had clothes and shoes that wouldn't end up soaking wet.

 Clearly, it didn't last long, but it was fun to have a "snow day!" while it lasted!

 This is a picture of our busy little night owl. She broke records this week with the amount of stuff she was able to pile in the bed around her before she fell asleep. I had to take a picture. My apoligies if you saw this on facebook, but another Sadie funny this week was her telling Eli, "You must bow when speaking to me." His reply was the best, though, when he said, without hesitation, "well, i not speakin' to you." Neither one was offended at the other, the conversation continued on as normal.

Speaking of conversations, I took Sadie and her cousin, Bennett, to a movie tonight. Driving them home I was listening to their chatter (Bennett is 1 month older than Sadie) and they started talking about heaven and hell. They actually ended up in an eschatology debate, Sadie commented that "when the Lord Jesus retuns we will be with him here" and Bennett said "no, when the Lord Jesus returns He will take us to Heaven with Him." Don't ask me my opinion, even using the word eschatology makes me feel smarter than I actually am about such things. I'm just pleased to see my little girl and my nephew talking about the Lord.  

This one, on the other hand, may not be so bright. Or maybe a genius? I was taking just him to the doctor for a flu shot the other day and he was a little ticked that I put him in the car without feeding him first (I like to have a semi-hungry baby when he or she gets shots so I can comfort with nursing). He fussed a little bit then fell asleep, obviously after comforting himself with his own sock. Pretty cute he is, I must say. On that note, it is late, I worked last night....so off to bed it is. Goodnight!

Harrells are tough

 I was going to copy my friend's idea and post about a day in our life, but I keep waiting for a typical day to happen and we just don't seem to have many of those. So I apoligize, but this is probably just going to be a random post with a few scattered pictures. What's new, you ask? Above is an indoor "picnic" in their pjs, under my new old table. It's hodge podge...a table that was given to us from some of my parent's friends, 2 of my parent's old ladder-back chairs, 3 more ladder back chairs I bought off craigslist for 25 bucks that Steven's grandma stained to match, and a new bench (also found on Craigslist) that I paid 65 for. It's not perfect but it's big and looks kinda like an Amish farmhouse table...I love reading about Amish people and sometimes pretend I could actually live that way. Don't laugh, I'm serious. The kids love it, too, as they can slide up and down the bench during dinner. I doubt the Amish children do that.

 David is officially on the move...with a little help from his siblings. He loves to ride on this with Sadie and so far there have been no accidents. He does seem to get at least one minor injury per day, he is in the stage where he would be safest if I could lock him in a padded room without Sadie and Eli's toys. He is discovering his own ability to move and has led to many head bumps. But he is loving life.

 I just glanced at my title and it reminded me of what I was going to post about. Sorry if this is too much information but if I don't tell it the way it happened it's just not as funny. The other day Eli had tried to go potty (without success, although he is getting better), and Sadie decided to hop on and go. I don't usually watch her potty anymore but since we were all in there with Eli (it's a family affair right now) I noticed she had a rather large bowel movement. I said "Sadie, that's huge, did it hurt?" Without hesitation she said "Nah, Harrell's are tough". Trying not to laugh, I said "you are a good potty-er" and she replied "I think I should get some candy." She's an addict, I'm afraid, to anything sweet. As for the "Harrell's are tough" statement I'm afraid it's just something their Daddy has taught them to say. We actually are raising a bunch of scaredey cats in this house. Eli is currently obseesed with the old "Three Little Pigs" movie, but whenever the Big Bad Wolf makes his appearance he puts as much space between him and the tv as possible, still being able to see what happens. Bravery is not his strong suit, we'll work on that one.

That's enough rambling for one night. Oh, and Happy Valentine's Day! It was pretty much an ordinary day around here. Steven and I decided years ago to not put much time and money into Valentine's Day, instead we celebrate August 13th, which is the day, in 1999, that we started dating. Ask him what he's planning this year. It was fun to make Valentine's cookies with the kids and my sweet mother-in-law always gets us Valentines. For the kids it's just another day to rack up on some good candy. Hope your day was sweet, too!

Productivity

Another title I thought about for this post was "Quality and Quantity" but that reminded me too much of school so I chose the first one. I would like to think as I've gotten older that I've become a little more organized as a person, a little neater, maybe, than I was as a kid. If you knew me as a teenager I'm sure you would say that I couldn't have gotten any worse (rarely could you see the floor in my room), but compared to some people I know I'm still pretty disorganized and "messy." I don't know if I just didn't care or I didn't know how to keep a room picked up, but even when Steven and I were first married I only seemed to really clean the house well for company. Now I look back on that and think - what in the world did I do all the time? Did I really not have time to pick up my clothes off the floor? For some reason, with every child I have had the desire for my house to be clean has grown. As most of you know, those two things (children and cleanliness) do NOT go hand in hand. I have literally entered my just cleaned house (my wonderful husband lets me pay to have the house deep cleaned every 2-4 weeks) and as I carried the infant carrier through the house there was liquid poop seeping through the carseat and dripping onto the floor, to be discovered by Sadie walking in it and letting me know her foot had something on it. If it's not poop, some kind of red sauce inevitably spills on the kitchen floor, or the kids get cracker crumbs all in the carpet. And a vehicle that carries children? Don't even get me started on how dirty that can get....real quick. So why do I care now? Maybe it's simply wanting what you can't have, and right now...that's a perfectly kept house, and being supre-productive. But what I do have, I remind myself often, is a sweet husband (who does not share my affinity for clean, it seems), and 3 precious, dirty, children. So I try to keep a balance. I try to stay somewhat organized (at least know where my wallet, cell phone, lipstick, and children are at all times). Pick up the toys at night, except for all the ones Sadie gets out in secret and hides in her bed. But some nights, like the other day when I watched each one of my children fall asleep, it just doesn't happen. I know I could do better at running this ship, there are many better Moms out there that get so much more done than I. But I am improving on my productivity...and enjoying my "non-productive" time even more. Goodnight!

Resolutions

I know that people are all over the map about New Year's Resolutions. I have some friends that never make them, and other people that are revved up every year at the fresh new start they get on January 1. I like making resolutions, however, please don't check out my track record on how well I keep them. I guess I am the eternal optimist, thinking that this year will be different. I like being able to work toward a goal, even if that goal gets a little tweaked throughout the year. My resolutions for 2012 (and how they're going at 3 weeks in), are the following:
1. Read through the Bible in a year. I have attempted this before without success but this year am making this a priority, I will finish! I am using Tabletalk devotional as a guide and so far am keeping up.
2. Read a daily bible story to my kids. I am using Stepping Stones for this which is a little over Sadie's head and definitely over Eli's, but it's a great book that we will enjoy as they get older, especially.
3. Learn 26 verses as a family. I am using a template from icanteachmychild.com that I printed into notecards with a verse for each letter of the alphabet. I am trying to put them all to song (thanks, Mandy for that idea!) which helps tremendously! Even for me. :)
4. Lose 5 pounds. I weigh about 10 pounds more right now than I did when we got married. It's easy to think it's not a big deal but if I gain 10 pounds every 7 years it will not be pretty when I'm 60.

I think that's enough for one year. I have 3 kids, I can't set the bar too high or there's no way I'll make it. That's my advice to Moms when they have baby #2 or 3...lower your expectations of yourself. Sometimes Steven asks me "what do you have to do today?" I hate that question. This morning, for example, I had changed 4 poopy diapers by 8:30.
Speaking of poop (I'm sorry it gets mentioned so much in my blogging, surely that will come to an end soon). Eli pooped in his diaper tonight and Steven was talking to him about going in the potty, and he said "Eli, why did you poop in your diaper?" Eli looked at him for a minute and said "Because I said so." I assume he hears my answer when the kids are asking me "why?" and thought that was the standard reply. It's hard to convey just how cute he is when he walks in our room in the morning and says "Wake up Mommy, it's mor-ingtime!" Carolyn was laying down with him yesterday afternoon and finally gave up on getting him to sleep. She said they could go back downstairs and he said "Grandma, that was a dood (good) nap!"
Sadie has been questioning a lot lately about spiritual things, leading to a lot of interesting and sweet conversations. Apparently she's been listening. She wanted to stay in the nursery at my parent's church the other night and had not been listening very well to me during dinner. I asked her "Sadie, why should I believe you will listen any better to the nursery workers than you've been listening to me?" She quickly replied "I've been saving my good energy for them." A few nights later I was again, encouraging her behavior to improve, and she tried to reassure me by saying "I was just getting my sin out." She's a mess.
David is now officially on the go. He is crawling and pulling up on anything he can reach. He's also chanting "Dadada" which is really cute. Not as cute as "Mamama" would be, but I'll take it.

I remembered my last resolution.... it is to ENJOY my children. I was thinking about this at work yesterday, that we just love our children so much. I love all kids, always have, but there is just something different about your own. Every parent knows this to be true. I was thinking that the Lord has obviously created us to be this way, this indescribable adoration we have of our offspring, however they became ours.... then the thought struck me that we are HIS children, so how much does He love us? What a humbling thought! I know my kids are nothing special in the grand scheme of things, but they are to me, just as we are to our Heavenly Father. Pretty cool, to love mine and be loved by Him. Hopefully I'll do a good job of it this year.

Much belated Christmas post!

The holidays have taken their toll on me, as it has been a month and a half since I last blogged! This will be a quick post, to catch up on our month. It is actually harder to blog after it's been so long so I thought I would just use my favorite pictures from Christmas to help tell it. The picture above is our family on Christmas Eve at my parent's house. We had spent the day having our Harrell Christmas as Leslie's house. Eli was so sad to leave his cousins that he didn't even want Santa to come, he fell asleep shortly thereafter, in his "Eli the Incredible" cape made by Aunt Leslie. Unfortunately he couldn't take "Brave Bennett" or "Mighty Morris."

After the evening nap we managed to get the kids in their pjs, read the Christmas story, then leave cookies and milk for Santa.

The kids woke up the next morning ready to see what Santa brought, although Eli was actually expecting to SEE Santa and was quite disappointed when he couldn't find him anywhere downstairs. After Sadie opened her first couple of presents she deemed Santa a "good bringer!". Eli got so caught up in whatever present he received that he had to be reminded to open the next one....tip for next child - get a 2 year old 2 presents! We went to church with my parents then spent the afternoon getting ready for our trip to Cashiers. We drove up after what seemed like hours of windy roads to this beautiful place, and once we stepped inside it was all worth it! (I deleted this picture after what seems like hours tonight of trying to get it in the right place....sorry).

The next couple days we enjoyed a few games of Cornhole....





Esther had her first experience with roasting marshmellows.....

little buddies watched the snow fall.....

How we love our cousins!

Visiting a waterfall....

Hopefully we've started a family tradition with this trip, which we did in lieu of gifts this year. Making memories with the family is worth much more than present! After we left Cashier's we went to Franklin to visit some good friends from the Bible Conference. They have 5 children and one on the way and handled 6 overnight guests amazingly. We put the kids down and played games as long as we could keep our eyes open, it was great.

As for January news; D is crawling, Sadie is very interested in learning her letters, and Eli has made some small progress in potty training. More later....uploading pictures always leaves me frazzled so I hope they were enjoyed! Merry Christmas several weeks late.....