The Possum

A few weeks ago we were first introduced to our possum, the kids and I call her "Shirley". The first couple of times she came around we found her in the trash can in the little bathroom right outside our bedroom- both times in the middle of the night. The first time I didn't see it and Steven didn't get a good look so we thought (hoped) it was just a mouse. The second time as it ran scared to death around Steven's legs, out of the bathroom, and towards a screaming me, we got a good look and it was definitely a baby possum. A couple of days later I went to Charlotte for a sweet week with my folks- taking the big three to VBS at my parent's church every morning and getting to spend some time with my BFF from growing up. While gone Steven hired a "possum guy" who came, set out traps (all we caught were squirrels), but assured us a couple weeks ago that nothing else could get in. All is well, so we thought.
Tonight, after the kids were asleep, we were watching tv in the den and while fast forwarding (gotta love DVR) we both heard a noise. I fully expected to maybe just see a little mouse so I bravely walked in the pantry and flipped the light on. This is where my bravery ends. I looked at a spice jar knocked over and then eye to eye with a possum. Steven has been trying to get me to stop the reactionary noises (gasping, etc) over minute things, such as realizing I forgot the sugar or anything minor in the car. Tonight was an exception- he holds no hard feelings toward my screaming. He very bravely took that possum on, what a man. I assisted by grabbing an empty trash can, throwing it at him, then jumping on top of the washing machine while yelling that he should call our neighbor Patrick. He actually shut the pantry door behind him, and it was a scuffle I tell you. Amazingly, he captured the thing in between a bucket and trash can and threw all three things out the back door. As the little creature was running away I actually yelled "and don't come back!" I'm sure she'll take that to heart. Previously, I didn't really think Steven's bravery was much greater than mine but my opinion has changed tonight. I think he can do anything, now! Hopefully our possum days are behind us, though.
It's funny, we just spent an amazing week at Skyland Bible Conference. We go every year, but this year the speakers just really challenged me to live unconditionally for Christ. I was struggling a bit with the fears that come along in this life- maybe the Lord is trying to start small with me to show me that by His grace I can face scary things. On a serious note, He truly does equip us with what we need, when we need it, be it facing a possum or a true trial in life, suffering or persecution. I know I serve a mighty God and He is faithful, praise His name!

Soccer, Indian Mounds, and Things I Learned this Week

We finished soccer season with a bang, all three big kids played, making for busy Saturdays, but I was proud of my little soccer players as the ran their little hearts out each game. Sadie might be our most competitive of all.

Steven coached David this year - he says it's his last coaching season but we'll see.... David finally got to play and it seemed to live up to his dreams - most of the game he'd have a huge smile on his face. I absolutely love 4 year old soccer.  

Eli has come a long way from climbing the goals and trudging across the field after the ball like his feet weigh 15 pounds a piece. He really wanted to score a "hat trick" (3 goals in one game) and by the last game he met his goal. Here he is with 2 buddies and his "game face" on.  

After soccer we took a family "field trip" to the Town Creek Indian Mound. The kids were fascinated with the Native American history and after we'd watched a little video and were walking towards the mound David asked us "Are the Indians in there?" He was actually pretty brave if he thought we were really going to interact with the Indians.  

Mary Jo couldn't stop fixing her shoe to stand up for the picture. It's always someone that ruins it. 

However she made up for it in this one. 

I loved how excited my kid's were to learn new things at the Indian Mound. I really hope to instill in them a love of learning, and make it fun when at all possible. Eli really has a nice smile, I don't know why he refuses to show it in pictures. Not sure if he's just not photogenic or trying to be cool. Probably the latter.

I completed my latest project this week - painting the girl's room. It's been one of those "goal-oriented" weeks for me (I don't always operate that way) and I'm a little tired from all of it. Monday night I went to a freezer meal workshop and prepared 10 meals for our family - it was a fun night out but a lot of work. Mary Jo got sick Monday afternoon and throughout the week has continued to spike a fever off and on, had some vomiting early on, and has been pretty pitiful. Here are a few things I've learned - some the hard way.

-Little kids can paint. And take off wall plates. And help move furniture. I was literally on my bottom, pulling a chest of drawers through the hall, depending on Sadie pushing every time I pulled (she weights like 45 pounds and her arms are about an inch in diameter). Not sure why I couldn't have just waited for Steven to get home. I just couldn't. 

-Once kids are old enough and really asleep they will sleep through anything

-These 2 are buddies.

-You can be really cute without front teeth. 

And that's not all I learned.......

-Easy Mac will nearly catch on fire and possibly ruin your microwave  if you (or a 7 year old who will remain unnamed) put it in the microwave without adding water.

-Mary Jo will swing on the swing no matter what - even with a fever of 105.3. 

-Painting a bathroom is not easier than a bedroom, even if it's smaller. 

-A 6 year old boy is capable of fixing bowls of cereal and waffles. 

I know this post is kinda random, nothing deep...sometimes after a long week and some sleep deprivation that's the best I can do. I'll try to be a little more focused and eloquent next time. I'm finishing up my homeschool year so will try to give a recap. Until then, hug your loved ones and thank the Lord for another day to live in His grace. 

Tis so feet

The pastor of my parent's church has 6 kids and one of their traditions is to pick out a beloved hymn for each of their children to make their own. I decided it was a good idea so we've done the same for ours. For Mary Jo we chose "Tis So Sweet to Trust in Jesus" which I heard the story behind the writing of the hymn a few weeks ago at a baby shower and am even more glad we picked it now. Look it up, it's worth reading.
For the longest time "Jesus Loves Me" was what I sang to Mary Jo when I rocked her at night, it seemed to be the only one she liked, but in the last few months she's started requesting different ones. She also loves "Holy Holy Holy" which I thought was just from BSF, but apparently when she was a baby my mother-in-law would sing that to her and it was the only song that would get her to sleep. So this is usually how our bedtime routine goes with our now very vocal, opinionated 2 year old-
First we read her book of choice, her favorites right now are "Bow-wow Peep", "Siwwy monkeys" and "Doodnight moon." After we read I turn out the light and ask her what we should sing. She answers "Jesus wuvs me," ...so I begin. Just a few words into the song and she's requesting the next song "Ho-wy Ho-wy....sewafim" (her attempt at saying seraphim) and if I don't stop the current song to begin the next one she just gets more and more adamant in her request. The other night I was belly laughing as I was singing, determined to finish the first song before I started the next while she kept chanting "Ho-wy! Ho-wy!"  My favorite is how she asks for her hymn, she says it all together and it sounds like "Tis so feet". I have always prayed for her at night but just in the last week or two I've had her pray first and she loves it, like the other ones I've just taught her to say "Thank you God" to begin with but she takes it very seriously, bowing her head and folding her hands. I love that sweet time with my sweet girl.  My prayer for her is that one day she will know, for herself, just how sweet it is to trust in Jesus. Here's my favorite recent picture.....

She's 2, snow, skiing, and sickness.

Well, it happened. My baby girl turned 2. And for the first time, I don't have a newborn or a pregnant belly ready to pop! I would have kept her at 1 forever but we don't get that choice. The good Lord put time in motion and I'm just trying to enjoy it while it passes. Sweet little peanut (weighing in at a whopping 21 pounds!) didn't quite know what to do with her party. 

Maybe it was because there were so many little boys!

She liked the cake and the presents.

Here are the girls! It was a sweet time with family and friends, who doesn't want to to celebrate a 2 year old's birthday on Valentine's? 

The next excitement was the long awaited snow. Here we are when the first snow/ice started....Eli getting a lick of the road. Yuck. 

When you're the 4th kid in the family you're lucky to get any of the right colors for your gender. She doesn't mind.  

The kids discovered powdered sugar (or "power sugar" as Eli likes to call it, probably more appropriately) on their pancakes last year and I finally put a stop to it by telling them they could have it only when it snowed. I was hoping they'd forget. They didn't. Mary Jo figured it out, too, and was dipping her finger in it just like the rest of them. Thankfully my kids burn off that energy pretty well, they are in near constant motion. Our latest favorite family activity is playing tag, in the house, thanks to Steven. It seems that nothing is more fun that being chased by your Daddy. We got a little too into it the other night, I was trying to tag Sadie and we both crashed to the floor, then Steven was running through the house and his ego rose to "super-hero status" as he attempted to scale the loveseat. He failed, but thankfully no serious injuries resulted, other than his pride.  

Another first this year was my parents and I got to take the big kids skiing! I love ski trips and have so many great memories from them. Somehow I let Eli fall off the lift (right at the beginning, he didn't get hurt thank the Lord) but other than that it was a great day, the kids picked it up quickly and were racing down "the swopes" by the end. On the way home they were saying that they wanted to snowboard next time. I was trying to tell them that it's harder, they would have to start all over with the learning, etc (I'm terrible at snowboarding, my brother is great). Finally Eli said "It just looks cooler, Mom." I had no comeback for that one - he's absolutely right. But since I'm not that cool in real life anyways, I'll just stick to skiing.  

Our little 2 year old now thinks it's funny to take her jammies off, so Steven remembered his brilliant plan he came up with for Sadie - put them on backwards. She can't outsmart us....yet! 

The other morning was a sweet, rare moment of quiet playing, everyone getting along, no T.V. I just sat and basked in the glory, praising myself for raising such sweet kids, deciding to put off school until the afternoon. MISTAKE! Mornings are just their best time....so the wiser thing to do is just bribe them with fun activities or food to motivate them to work quickly in the morning, then have these sweet moments after school is done. I'm learning, slowly but surely. 

This girl is growing up super fast - here's her sassy new haircut. The bangs were her idea and I have to admit I like them.

Mary Jo got sick the other day, running a fever and threw up once. She was so pitiful, she slept on my chest on and off for 5 hours or more, and did not want me to put her down. I actually pulled out the Bjorn around suppertime so I could hold her and fix supper but thankfully my sweet mother-in-law came over and put some pizzas in the oven for us. She finally started feeling better that evening, enough to play with her baby dolls a little. It warmed my heart to see her holding her dolls close to her, just like I had done with my baby all day. As I rocked her to sleep that night I thought of how sweet it is to be needed by your littles, and of how our Heavenly Father holds us. I know we don't tangibly crawl up on His chest and wrap our arms around His neck - yet He provides the comforts we need when we're going through trials, through His Word, His Spirit, His saints. What a blessing it was for me to love and comfort my sweet girl, to look in her sleepy eyes and tell her she would feel better soon. But how superior is the Father's love for us, he cares for us, knows our burdens, and will one day wipe away every tear. Praise the Lord and goodnight!

Funny conversations

If a comedian wants good material he need only have a few young children - I feel like I'm in a comedy show most every day. Mary Jo makes me laugh with just about everything she says these days - if someone's having a brownie or has been asked a question she will quickly answer. She walked around the house singing a lot today, at one point it was "All About That Bass" and later tonight it was "Holy, Holy, Holy." (she doesn't listen to pop music, by the way, just heard her Daddy singing that on occasion, and of course she picked it up!). When playing with her siblings she has quickly changed from being a doormat to screaming, "No, Mine!!" She's become a little pistol, but is still a sweetheart.

David is currently asleep in his bed in a tank top, shorts, and soccer socks pulled up above his knees. Soccer season starts in just under 2 months and he is SO ready! The other night we were talking about what he and Eli were going to be when they grew up - Eli decided on a police officer and David was torn between "A policeman, a bad guy, a firefighter, and a power ranger." We need to work on the "bad guy" aspirations, although recently he's been telling me "I'm going to listen to you tomorrow!" 

Eli is starting to read! It's been so exciting and I've used lots of praise and encouragement (if it took me as long as it took him at first to sound out words I might just give up and be illiterate). Early on he was sounding out the word "pal" and was slowing saying each letter sound - as I was struggling to stay patient - he said "papapa aaaa alalalal....eloise!" Not sure where it came from but it provided the much needed comic relief in the school room. My Mom gave me some old phonics books from when she taught Kindergarten a few years ago. The first one is called Mac and Tab, and Eli has gotten pretty comfortable with reading it. I tried to introduce book #2, The Tin Man, the other day and he really protested, he said he only wanted to read the first one forever. I laughed at the thought of him in college curled up with a very beat up copy of Mac and Tab. :)

Sadie is my work in progress, we are deep in character training. She is a pendulum, having very sweet moments then some very challenging ones. Sometimes I question my decision to take her out of school, worrying that I've created a monster, but I really think the Lord's given me this time with her, much needed time, to re-establish her boundaries, her authority, and nurture her in the admonition of the Lord, as the Scriptures teach us. The other night we were doing her devotion and it was about staying on the right track, but if we fall, we can always call to the Lord and He will put us back on the right track. I looked at her, smiled, and said "Was this devotion written just for you?" She answered with "I know! I really needed to hear that!" 7 going on 25.  Below is her precious little self, sick, from earlier this week. Thankful for my 4 little blessings and treasuring every conversation we get to have. Goodnight!

Davidism and a December Wrap-up

Steven and I decided to go to Myrtle Beach for a few days the week before Christmas - with Steven's busy schedule it was so nice to get away for a few days with just our little family - plus our kids absolutely LOVE Myrtle Beach. David put on his bathing suit for our walk on the beach - I didn't fight the battle. 

Eli snuck on a swim shirt under his jacket, too....

This little one had a blast just walking around and playing in the sand. 

Maybe the highlight of the trip was our visit to Medieval Times - Steven went when he was little and was just as excited as the kids to watch the knights fight, again. And Mary Jo got the special rose from our knight. David still talks about watching the knights, although none of ours actually got up on the table to cheer the knight on (like their Daddy did when he was young, apparently...) And ours was the first one out, so maybe we should have!

I got home from the beach and realized how ill-prepared I was for Christmas. Add that to a work shift and some illness and I just couldn't get it all in. But that's ok - hopefully our neighbors had enough sugary treats without ours in the mix (our neighbors rock the baking!). And I'm sure the elderly folks I had planned to visit appreciated our not coming with sick germs. 

These little people surely didn't care about things being just right, Santa (who they know is not real) visited, Mary Jo was quite enthralled (or scared?), and even happier when Papa took the costume off. Kids on Christmas morning is so fun.  

The big gift this year was a zipline - thankfully my Dad and brother were both there and the beautiful day allowed for easy installation and hours of enjoyment. I think this was Steven's only ride, however. :)

We had a fun, crazy Harrell Christmas the following day (with this many kids how can it not be fun?). So thankful for family.

After we had a few days to recover we went to Roanoke for "2nd Christmas" (New Years Eve to normal people). We let the kids go to the dollar store and buy presents for each other, wrap them, then open them the next morning, at their Great Grandma's house. Steven thinks that's all we should spend on them is 20 bucks, but the toys themselves don't last 20 minutes.

The next day we went bowling - here is Mary Jo with David's bowling shoes on. Steven's 85 year old grandma decided to join in, she's competitive, but Steven can't even let her beat him. It's in the genes.

Sadie has lost a couple more teeth, unfortunately she didn't get any new ones for Christmas. She does like the song, though. :)

Eli is finding new things to climb....I used to do this too as a kid. 

David and Mary Jo are (finally!) starting to bond. She can say his name very clearly and I think she's going to love having not 1, but 2 big brothers to take care of her.

We're out of holiday mode and back to normal life, which includes 2 sports for Eli. He's playing indoor soccer and Upwards basketball and loves them both. 

School is going well....some days. Other days we find new ways to make it work. I just ordered some different curriculum so I guess I'm not planning on quitting - even the bad days we learn some things. Sadie has started doing a kid's devotion book every night, with her Daddy if he's home, and I think it's really been good for her. I don't know why that surprised me - when I'm daily in the Word of God I tend to have more peace, joy, and kindness - as well. This parenting thing is not easy, I'm finding out for myself, but God so graciously reminded me that if we ask for wisdom He will give it. What a blessing to have His Word to live by.

As for this guy - he's still loving his "up pants", although the cold finally got to him (and I finally succeeded in hiding the summer clothes) so now he's obsessed with pajamas. I'm not sure why, I think it has something to do with superheros. He passed a little gas today while he was talking to me about Spiderman (we have endless conversations about these things, one night last week we were talking about the Grinch being real at 4am), and he quickly said "Sometime Superheros have toots, especially if they're Davids". He's a mess, but I couldn't imagine life without him! Goodnight!

Sweet little sinners

I just got this picture back this week from an "Antiquities" photo shoot, a fund-raiser we did for MOPS. This free 10x13 was worth the $10 and thankfully the individual pictures weren't as good so I could turn down the expensive packages pretty easily. Eli shares his Dad's dislike of taking pictures, but even his gloomy face is cute in this. It's funny because he actually is a very happy kid, smiles all the time, we just can't capture it too well in pictures. He really is sweet, and just easy, maybe it's just compared to #1 and #3 that usually like to be difficult (the jury is still out on #4). I was putting the boys to bed the other night and I had prayed and sang with David first. He was not being quiet while I was with Eli so I threatened to discipline him if he talked while we were praying. I prayed first and noticed Eli prayed the quickest prayer he's ever done - and  then I realized he was doing that so David wouldn't get in trouble. He's not always winning the big brother award, though, after a scuffle the other day Eli was crying and saying he didn't want David to be his brother anymore. I asked him if he was always nice to David. He said "Yes, except maybe on Fridays." Even my sweet one has a little sinner's heart. It was quite obvious the other day when we were visiting my Mom. I wanted to take them shopping to get some things for the Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes - I let each one pack a box for a kid their age and gender. We watched a few videos so they would understand and hopefully be moved with compassion for those less fortunate. I personally can not watch those videos without crying. I looked at the kids and said, "Ok, who's ready to go? Remember we are not buying anything for ourselves on this trip, it's just for the shoeboxes," Eli looked up and said "But can I get just one thing for me?" FAIL! I got frustrated with his little self-centered heart, but then realized we are probably all that selfish, at least at times, we just learn as adults not to let people see it. As Scripture says in Jeremiah 17:9 "The heart is deceitful above all things, and deperately wicked, who can know it?" I've heard teaching recently that the common, popular advice to "follow your heart" is really terrible advice - if we followed our hearts we'd end up in trouble most every time. Thankfully we can follow the Lord, through His Word, and with the help of His Spirit. Hopefully I'm beginning to learn that for myself so I can teach it to my kids. Goodnight!