Diet update, bowling, and big brothers.

January has been a good month so far. Steven and I have been dieting together, which is actually kinda fun. And this low carb business works! This is the first time, other than cutting out sweets for a month, that I've done an actual diet. The beauty of this is it doesn't retrict calories, so I really haven't been hungry! I've been sad, like when I was making homemade pancakes (see my little helper in the above picture) and I had to eat a lousy excuse of a pancake made out of soy flour an almond milk. Most of the recipes from the book are good but the pancakes were a flop. Steven has done awesome, and lost twice as much as I have, I think his body was like "what in the world is going on?" Steamed broccoli with cheddar cheese is like dessert to me. And spinach smoothies are my new treat. I cant get anyone in my family to try it, though! 

 Enough about the diet, thankfully it has not consumed our lives. While I have one or two kids that are becoming helpful around the house, I still have a lot of work with this one. One of her favorite activities is now unloading the dishwasher while I'm cleaning up the kitchen. Oh well, we wont kick her out just yet for not pulling her weight. 

Steven had two speaking engagements in Richmond, VA, so we had two little family weekends this month. The first one we left in time to make a matinee movie, but got up there to find the times had changed, so we went bowling instead. It was really cute!! The kids loved it. Sadie could do it all by herself, as could Eli. D needed a little help. 

We took turns helping him roll it, and each kid got a spare all on their own! (with bumpers, or course). 

The ball rolled so slowly but he intently watched it every time. 

Mary Jo was cute onlooker. 

Big brothers are the best. Thankfully, David has done a 180 with his attitude towards Mary Jo. He actually tries to pick her up (which is discouraged, of course), he keeps a lookout for when she is climbing the stairs, and he shares toys with her. The other day Steven was trying to train her not to climb the stairs and he hurt her feelings over it - but it just devastated D, he was crying more than she was. 

Eli, on the other hand, has always been sweet to her. He lights up when he sees her and talks to her in baby talk. Here they are at Chuck E Cheese, he's holding her tight on a ride. I pray both boys are always protective of her, guiding her in this crazy, sinful world. I really want my kids to be close, now and as adults. We had the privelege of spending one of the afternoons in Richmond with the Brown family of 13, the kids ranging from 3-23. Taking our kids somewhere for an entire afternoon is usually stressful - but not at this home. Their kids were great, not just to my kids but to each other. It was clear to see that they were close-knit, they truly cared about one another and worked together as a family. I think Sadie would have happily stayed - they had 3 little girls around her age. What a blessing they were to us, and an encouragement as we try to raise our little family so that our kids turn out like their young adults. The Lord knows what we need! Oh that note, He and I know I need to get some sleep, so I'm out! - 

We LOVE Christmas vacation!!

Merry Christmas from the Harrells! We decided to change things up a little this Christmas, mainly from a blog I read about how little time we have with our children, and making the most of it.  I bought an Advent devotional book for us and we made a Jesse tree. We also decided to break the news about Santa, which had been hard to keep up anyways. They promised not to tell because it was very important to me that my kids would not be those kids that told everyone at school. Although Eli "forgot," and did exactly that. Even after all that talk Sadie still wanted to leave out milk and cookies for Santa on Christmas Eve....which verifies my theory that kids are just hung up on Santa to make sure they get all their gifts. And they got plenty. David is clear on how cool Christmas is now, too, here he is with his beloved Grandpa after a chaotic but fun time opening gifts. 

 And here's my sweet boy the day after Christmas, quite exhausted. He got a new red Radio Flyer wagon, which has done about 1,000 laps around our house. He loves it. And he has no idea it's actually a gift for me. When I go to meet Sadie at the bus stop I'm usually carrying the baby and Sadie's bookbag while pushing David's bike. Now it's all going in the wagon!  

 The days around Christmas were great for me. I absolutely love not having to get up and get ready for school in the morning. I went 3 days without leaving the house! I actually entertained ideas of homeschool, although I don't think the motivation should be "I don't have to get out of bed as early." If the Lord does ever lead me to homeshool, however, I will not start our day at 7. Harrells (except Eli) just aren't morning people. 

 My lilttle caboose has not been doing much laying around, however, quite the opposite. She's getting more and more mobile and enjoys making as big a mess as possible. But oh so sweet. She even slept through the night on Christmas Eve! Merry Christmas, Mama! Too bad it hasn't contnued. 

Here's Eli trying to feed Mary Jo. Speaking of eating, there are some changes coming to our eating habits starting tomorrow. I rang in the New Year working a 24 so I went shopping today and am all geared up for Steven and I to start our "Belly Fat  Cure" diet tomorrow. I really am terrible at diets but unless I want to go out and buy more clothes something's gotta give. Including Steven's candy and soda addictions. I just loaded up on a bowl of ice cream, I kinda like to "prepare" for a diet. Wish me luck!

I've been thinking a lot about past Christmases, how it was when I was a child, then a young adult, and now as a wife and mother. As a child, Christmas mornings were counted down the entire year, I used to cry when I was out of presents. As a teenager and then when Steven and I dated - it was all about those his present. As awesome as my husband is, gift giving is not his specialty (however this year he did great. We got a new setting for my diamond and it's gorgeous!) As a mother, naturally, my focus has shifted, and watching the pure delight on their faces is the only present I need. The past few years I've enjoyed paying attention to the old Christmas hymns, the lyrics are awesome with so much depth. No matter what stage of life I'm in, it's always the sweet family time that's always the cherished memory, I am so blessed with my sweet hubby, these 4 little ones, our four wonderful parents, and most importantly the reality of Christmas - our Saviour coming to this earth to reconcile us to a holy God. My prayer for 2014 is that during busy times or slow times, happiness or trial, I will remember Him and grow closer to Him throughout the year. Happy New Year, everyone!

I am a bad driver, after all.

With Christmas fast approaching I feel the need to squeeze in one quick blog post. I start writing a blog in my head multiple times between the times I actually post, so forgive me if this is a little choppy. It's past my bedtime, and I'm actually just procrastinating finishing my Christmas cards. That's one thing I'm really good at - procrastination. I'm kind of a last minute gal. I'm learning the hard way that it's really a terrible trait. I thought I had plenty of time to get my cards done but turns out most people probably will not get their card from me until after Christmas. Oh well. On the topic of bad habits, I've discovered another one about me - I'm not a very good driver. I've been told that repeatedly over the years, silently with a "look" from my Dad, not so silently from my husband, but this weekend I finally accepted the fact. I really do try to be careful, after all I am often driving around 4 children, so it truly isn't intentional. I worked a 24 in Charlotte last Friday and the kids and I stayed to do Christmas-y things with my folks until Sunday morning. Steven was preaching outside of Winston-Salem so the kids and I drove straight there from Charlotte. After church we decided to go eat at our favorite Mexican restaurant before heading home. Eli got the special treat of riding with Daddy and I followed behind in our van. Not long into the drive we were making a right turn at a stoplight. I thought Steven had already turned so I quickly glanced to my left to see if I could make it and gunned it....only to quickly discover he was still sitting and waiting. I screamed and all three of the kids in my car started crying (Sadie not so kindly pointing out it was all my fault - like I was going to try and blame her or the baby). Thankfully Steven had just finished preaching so he couldn't get too mad at me. He pulled a little ways down the road  (the lady behind him was waving at him to get him to stop - unbeknownst to her the offender was married to him) and we checked out the damage - thankfully not nearly as bad as it had sounded. I am missing my lower lights on the right, but who needs those anyways? I was pretty humiliated about this whole experience, to say the least. I mean, who has a car accident with their husband?? Only me. As I told the kids in the car, we need to be thankful that no one was hurt, that it could have been worse. Steven most likely wont sue. It has actually been awhile since my last accident, but looking back at them all - there are all undeniably my fault. Although one of them in high school the stop sign was blocked by a tree - I swear. So, I admit it, I am not a good driver. I have tried hard to be cautious this week in the car, and I will continue to, but I'm 34 years old so I'm thinkin' I just might not get any better. Here's a disclaimer/warning if you pass my red minivan - drive defensively. And have a Merry Christmas!

Tweetsie and the Tooth Fairy from Canada

 A couple weeks ago we took our little family to Boone for the weekend for a wedding. We debated about taking the kids to Tweetsie (it's expensive, it was cold, we only had half a day), but we decided it was worth it so we went, and it was the right decision! Apparently Steven had a neighbor when they were kids that went to Tweetsie and he would come home telling stories about the train ride and the gunfights and whatnot, so as we were standing in line at the train Steven said he'd been waiting 34 years for this experience...I know it didn't disappoint our kids, unfortunately for him it was a bit of a letdown from how much he had built it up in his mind all those years. I was impressed that the politically correct forces of this world hadn't descended too hard on the train gig, they still painted their faces and shot guns at each other. I might have asked for a refund if there weren't any good fight scenes. 

 Mary Jo wasn't old enough to appreciate the train ride, but she looked cute on it!

 She did, however, enjoyed Tweetsie more than I thought she would. All 14 pounds of her rode the carousel, the ferris wheel (I made Steven take her on that and I took the boys,I would have gotten too nervous), 

the cars, and even the ski lift. If she was moving, she was happy!! 

 I think these might be the same horses I sat on as a kid. Other than some hair malfunction the kids enjoyed all the Wild West props, including the fake man in the jail cell - David was kind of obsessed with that guy. It was a fun day.

 Sweet Ei uses anything he can find as a sword, usually some kind of kitchen utensil. I didn't realize he had actually taken this from the kitchen for the car ride, but it worked out nicely to prop him up for a nap. Notice the sucker on his lap. Now that's what you called passed out!

  Poor D seems to be still struggling with his birth order change so we decided it might do him some good to go to Charlotte for a few days to spend some special one on one time with my parents. My kids are blessed to have 4 grandparents that dote on them often, and even though it was hard to leave him I think he really enjoyed himself and I know my parents enjoyed him. He's pretty good when he gets all the attention and his needs (and most of his wants) are met immediately. Aren't we all? Pictured above are the other 3 in his bed, missing him (I let Sadie and Eli have sleepovers as a consolation). While he was gone I got some stuff done that's so hard to do with a 2 year old. Poor Mary Jo, I think we made 6 stops one of the days. But it was great to get the little stinker back, and thankfully he was happy to come back! 

 Our next excitement was that Sadie finally lost her first tooth! And about a minute later she lost it, in the couch. We looked and looked and could not find that darn tooth. She and her Daddy took a special trip to the gas station for candy and lo and behold the Tooth Fairy came anyways, much to her excitement! My sweet husband decided to tell Sadie that the Tooth Fairy was from Canada, and sure enough under her pillow the next morning was a Canadian dollar. She was thrilled but I'm kind of thinking this was a bad idea, I mean, there are a lot more teeth, in her mouth alone, that we are going to give out money for - and I'm not loaded with Canadian cash.  I'll let her Daddy figure that out, I guess the Tooth Fairy can come back to the States, or if he has any other currency laying around she can move there! 

 Eli doesn't seem to struggle with the middle child thing. This is a good example. Sadie and David found the 2 kid chairs that we have and sat down to watch tv. No more chairs? I don't complain, says Eli, I just sit in the grocery cart. Sweet boy.

 And this guy's sweet too, he's so expressive right now and the stories he comes up with are hilarious. He found Eli's old snow boots in the closet and this is the best picture I could get. You can't make this child smile, eat, pee in the potty, or go to sleep....if he doesn't want to. Hoping that will work out in my favor with the whole peer pressure thing down the road. We'll see. 

And this little girl just thinks she's as big as they are. I kept telling Sadie she was waiting to get her first tooth until Sadie lost hers...but we're still waiting. She just likes to stay the baby longer, which I'm perfectly fine with. She is doing better with eating solids, and sleeping, so praise the Lord for that. In general, I just need to praise the Lord for a whole slew of things. I don't do the 30 days of Thankful that many of my friends do on Facebook, but I do like the concept and truly when I read other's posts it reminds me to always be thankful, too. Here's hoping you can find your own things to be thankful for today!

Halloween for toddlers

Oh, Halloween. Such fun memories I have from my childhood, and it's so fun to see my kids 

figuring it out. This year I took the youngest 3 to the annual Fall Festival at the preschool. D didn't quite get it that you had to play each game to get more candy, all he cared about was immediately eating the candy in his hand. 

He is pretty serious about candy. He's also decided he's done with naps, which is sad for me. Ideally he would sleep about an hour, but usually we spend that much time just trying to get him down. And if he sleeps too long he's like Sadie was, he can not go to sleep at night. So here we are at 5:45 on Halloween night, heading to Trunk or Treat at a nearby church. Bag in hand, dressed up, ready for candy, and sound asleep. 

 Thankfully he woke up, joined the bunny and the lion, and filled that bag with candy (minus the pieces he ate along the way).

 I can't leave out the adorable cow! This is the only costume I have actually bought, and every child has worn it. My kids don't know that you can actually request a certain costume, they just get whatever hand me downs we find in the closet or dress up bin, and so far it's worked out ok. 

 Sweet Mary Jo has no idea what's going on but she's a trooper, in it for the ride. 

 After the Trunk or Treat we went to a few neighbor's houses. David and Eli don't get it that you are supposed to trick or treat from the porch, they must think they've been invited for dinner with the requirement of wearing a costume, because they always just walk on in the houses, after they of course have peered in every window possible. No social etiquette in the young Harrell children, apparently. Sadie has finally learned to just get what she's given, David on the other hand will stand there and take as much candy as the person is willing to dish out. Several times he'd stop back by the bowl on his way out the door and grab a couple more pieces. No inhibitions. Tons of candy eaten. Hopefully no cavities as a result. Happy Halloween everyone! (a couple days late).

Movin' on up.

I have never claimed to be technologically advanced. I did take a typing class in high school, then practiced extensively through daily emails to my best friend during my freshmen year (she went to college in Iowa and this was before cell phones and texting so email was our only free communication), which helped me get pretty quick on the keyboard. And speaking of keyboards, I am actually typing on my new little fancy one that is "paired" up with my new tablet. Sounds fancy, huh? Well that's as good as it gets. But I guess I have come a long way from dial up and a "car phone" (literally the size of a regular phone, cord and zipper case included). It's funny that our kids wont even know the times before touch screens. I purposely have not downloaded any games on my tablet, it's been hard enough keeping my kids off my phone (even my 2 year old asks for "Angy Buds").

 David makes me laugh every day with his talking, he's not just repeating things now but he's making his own sentences, usually involving bears or candy. His tantrums have hit an all time high, I'm afriad to say, intense doesn't even touch it. I'm just praying that strong will can be used for the Lord one day. I don't know what got in to me, but I went shopping with all 4 kids two nights in a row. Steven was preaching Sunday night at a little meeting so I decided to have a traveling nursery and get my Walmart trip out of the way. It seemed like a good idea at the time, and I did get my shopping done, thankfully not losing any kids. The following night we were meeting Steven and his family for dinner and had a few minutes to spare on the way there. We stopped by the library to turn in a "lost" book, where for some reason D has the opposite behavior than is expected. I still had some time so I decided to "run in" Target and look for a couple birthday presents. By the time I got to the register Mary Jo was crying, D was screaming, and I'm not sure what the big 2 were doing. I picked up Mary Jo as I paid the bill and repeatedly had to turn around to shove D back into the cart he was feverishly trying to climb out of. We hit an all time low when the sympathetic casheir actually came around the register, picked up D, and walked me to my car. It was embarrasing but a couple kids ago I decided to never turn down help. I haven't been in a store with D since, if I could grocery shop on Amazon I think I would.
As for my little Eli, he's about as laid back as D is not. He's got his faults too, he hates to color, loves tv too much, and is really poky with getting his shoes on. The new favorite show in my house is "Peter Rabbit", which actually has 3 villians, all who try to eat Peter Rabbit in nearly every episode (well, I guess Mr. McGreggor doesn't actually want to eat Peter, just get him out of his garden, understandably). The other night Eli's wheels were turning and he said "Mommy, if there wasn't any food in the kitchen, and there wasn't any food at a restaurant, and there wasn't any food at the store.....would you eat me?" He also talks about his "old mom" a lot, one night at bedtime we were all praying and talking about different requests. Eli asked if we could pray for his old mom, because she died. Gotta love 4 year old minds.
I've gone on and on about my boys I don't have time to write about my girls, but Sadie is doing a little better in school, has mastered "Old McDonald" on the piano, and is as bossy as usual. As her teacher put it, she has "leadership skills", which in first grade just means you like to tell people what to do. Apparently when the teacher tells the class to turn to page 27 Sadie is too busy "helping" everyone else turn to the page that she doesn't do it herself. It's nice with Mary Jo being almost 6 years younger, for most of her life she will be fine with Sadie telling her what to do. Especially if her personality is anything like Eli!
Speaking of my sweet caboose, she's starting to crawl! Which means I should really be keeping the floor a little cleaner, a mobile baby is a dangerous thing around here. She's such a happy girl, growing at her own little slow pace, but getting sweeter every day.

I got to talk to a sweet, godly, lady the other night who encouraged me more than she'll ever know. She talked about how overwhelming it is to have young children, and shared with me some of her own struggles. I really believe the Lord sent her to me, that he even plans, in His sovereignty, our conversations for the encouragement that we need. I had been anxious, my mind constantly going with feelings of inadequacy, wondering if I'd remembered to pull socks out for Eli, and what side did the baby last nurse on, did I have any good excuses to go out over the weekend vs. eat in, how much sleep will I get if I fall asleep RIGHT NOW (not that I can ever count on that these days!), am I paying enough attention to my marriage, am I supposed to bring food to MOPS, etc.....I think just having someone validate my feelings, make me feel normal, not near crazy, was what I needed. I do NOT have it all together. I do eventually get the house cleaned up, even if it takes several days, but if I go to bed at night with toys on the floor, that's ok. I want to remember these years as good years, not as a rat race to be the best mom with the most organized house. With God's grace I am learning every day, simply surviving some days, but thankful most of all to get to be on this journey. One day I wont be escorted out of Target, I'll be able to shut the bathroom door, but I will miss my little people and their sweet snuggles. I'm going to go kiss them all but the baby (might wake her up!). Goodnight!

New school year and an education for Mama

I'm not really sure what I'm blogging about tonight, nearly 7 months of sleep deprivation has my brain functioning at a minimal level (I hope my co-workers aren't reading this). Thankfully, changing diapers, nursing babies, making sandwiches, and folding laundry, which seem to take up the majority of my life right now, doesn't take a lot of smarts. I can't believe it but I am now the mother of a first grader, pictured below, oh how old I feel! She was so excited to go back to school and for the most part seems to love her time there. This is the first week of homework, so hopefully we will continue to keep the same positive attitude. We have had some rough afternoons, I think I'm catching glimpses of why people say girls are harder to raise. After many tears one afternoon (from both of us) I realized I can not do this mothering alone, in fact I fail miserably at times. Those eye-opening moments are so good for me, when I'm knocked down from my pride, only to realize my dependence on the Lord in every aspect of my life. 

I wanted to show interest in her education so I dutifully (stupidly) packed up all 4 kids by myself and took them to a PTA meeting and Curriculum night. I get the wrong sensation sometimes at home that my children are actually manageable, when in reality, anywhere other than our home (and sometimes not even there) they are simply not, at least not when we are expected to sit, be quiet, and listen to a person talking. I should say that actually David was the only one tonight that I couldn't contain, the others were really good. He is soooooo 2.     

This is his level. At home, no shirt, super-hero cape on, playing with "E-i" . Why in the world did I think he would have any consideration to the PTA president and what she has to say? She's not talking about candy, bikes, or Diego. I wont forget again. I will find a babysitter or stay home.

As for D's buddy, he was all ready for school too. He's going to preschool 3 days a week and loves it. I also started him in a little gymnastics program at the school one day a week. It was like the excitement at Disney World when I picked him up yesterday, he was in his element. There he was actually encouraged to jump off things!

I finally decided it was time to put D in a big boy bed, and move Eli in with him. Other than his nursery Eli has been sleeping in a girly room, with no complaints, but he was pretty stoked about this move. So far they're doing pretty well, D does wake up earlier but usually they stay up there giggling and playing for a little while before they come downstairs. It's cute, I love watching their relationship develop. 

 I had so much fun with the boys room that naturally I was ready to get the girl's room looking right. I went ahead and set up Mary Jo's bed, even though she only naps in it. I mainly just set it up so I could enjoy it. :)

 As for my little buddy, I can't believe she's almost 7 months old! I took her last week for her appointment and she was a whopping 12 pounds, 14 ounces. Moved up to the 2nd percentile! I kind of like her being a squirt, she's definitely easier to carry around.

 My grandma Nash gave this swing to Sadie when she was a baby and I think about her every time we put a new kid in there. As the others did, MJ loves it too.

 Gotta love the sibling love. I'm sure MJ will drive her crazy one day so for now I'm cherishing these moments, while praying she doesn't drop her. When I was 16 I thought I knew it all, but now as the years go past I realize how much I truly have to learn. My education goals for the year are as follows:

Sadie - learn to read independently

Eli - learn his letters

D - learn to use the potty

MJ - learn to like food and sleeping through the night

Me- learn patience, true dependence on the Lord

Steven - learn to rest (he works so hard, for which I am truly thankful)....and maybe to cook a little. :)

Goodnight! Learn well, everyone.