caleb had his first soccer game last weekend, just before departing for Bartlesville (pics of that in the next post). he was excited. his daddy and i were Super excited! HA!
I love how big his backpack is on him... he keeps his soccer ball and water bottle in there, but there is also room for his little brother if he needed to shove him in too! :)
posing with coach daddy just before the game!
here is his proud strut when he found out that he would play goalie this game.
"THE SHARKS"... don't they look fierce?
caleb played hard and hustled after the ball (and check out coach in the background... he was into the game as well... hee,hee)
i would be lying to say that he stayed tuned into the game the whole time. in this pic caleb and one of his friends are doing who knows what while the game is going on! :) he also scored a goal at his first game... for the other team! oops! :) what can we say.... he's three!
lance is home from his trip and all is well in our world! HA! the kids went with me to the airport with their "welcome home, daddy" signs. allie teared up when she threw her arms around his neck.
this picture was taken when we got home... if you can't tell it was WAY past nap time and everyone was grumpy! good thing that daddy came bearing gifts! :)
allie got this adorable pink and white hammock that was promptly hung under her loft bed.
and caleb was pretty excited about his Guatemalan soccer jersey!
he brought momma a little something too... so thoughtful! i got some coffee (yummy), a way cute purse, and some candy. they really know how to make good candy!
but the best gift of all is being together! we missed you babe!
i love you tomorrow... you're only a day away! lance will have his feet in tyler by 1:00 tomorrow afternoon! yeah! i'm so excited i can not even stand it!
in the mean time... our letter this week is b and our verse is eph. 4:32 "be kind and compassionate to one another." today we cut pictures of things that began with the letter b. they were way better at this than i thought... if you will notice... allie found a bottom! HA!!!!once again they had a fun time... anything with a glue stick is fun!
and after a fun activity and a little nap my kiddos spent the evening with some friends so that i could have some down time!!! thank you to chris and sarah for a fun night away!
these are the girls from the small group that we are a part of. the ladies go out together once a month. tonight we went to Don Juan's for dollar taco night! it was yummy!
most of you are aware that lance has been gone for seven days. he won't return until Thursday, making his trip (drum roll please) ten days long. he is in Guatemala with a team of staff spreading God's goodness to Guatemalan children and equipping the men and women there for camp ministry. although his day to day has changed drastically, ours has been much the same... except we are missing a vital piece of our family. Allie said it best today when she said, "but, mom, i just miss daddy because he is my favorite and he loves me well!" those really were her words!
i put on a brave face the first few days, but inwardly wondered how i would ever survive. i can not fill the place of daddy in my children's hearts. on Wednesday night, i burst into tears to hear the sound of his voice on the phone. we didn't think we would get to talk and the surprise of that conversation sent me reeling. i didn't even know what to say to him... there was too much! and like a lunatic, (at 9:15pm) i woke up my children so that they could hear his voice as well. my mom came for days four through ten and that is just what i needed. she kept me focused on other things and on making things fun for the kids. i didn't really even have time to pout! THANKS MOM!!
i have to say that the craziest moment actually happened in Kohl's on Sunday. i was returning clothes at the customer service desk, the kids were looking at the toys on a near by aisle and my mom was strollering (i don't know if that is a word) Riley back and forth by that aisle. when i finished my transaction i walked to that aisle and told the kids it was time to go. in usual four year old style Allie began to complain. i had walked about 10 steps past the aisle and bent down to speak to her about her attitude. we finished our conversation and i hollered, "come on Caleb." no response. "Caleb, let's go!" no response. walk ten steps back.... no Caleb. glance around. look down the aisles on either side. look around the corner at customer service. spot the restroom. throw open the men's door. "Caleb" throw open the women's door. "Caleb" nothing. if you've been in a Kohl's you know it is in a square. my mind was spinning with movie type scenarios of what could have happened. i started shouting his name at the top of my lungs. women scattered all over the store. i ran down the aisle to the front of the store and my mom started toward the middle of the store when we heard Caleb screaming. i was still terrified wondering if he was screaming b/c someone had him. a man began yelling, "he's over here. a little blond boy? he's this way." but it wasn't until i wrapped my arms around him that i could breathe again...
it was a great reminder to me. I'm not guaranteed another minute with any of my children. they do not belong to me. they are Christ's and i have the amazing privilege of being there mommy while they are on earth. and i want to see it as such... a privilege... even on the hard, long days when daddy's gone and I'm tired! if one of my kiddos goes to be with Jesus before me, or (God forbid) is snatched up in a store, i want to know that i poured out all of the love, laughs, time, and energy that i could!
that's why -even though my mantel is covered in cars that caleb has had taken away for his disobedience this week- and even though allie crumbles into an emotional mess at the drop of a pin- even still....that's why tomorrow morning I will put my feet on the floor, drag my body to the kitchen, and be grateful that i have three beautiful children to feed breakfast. and we'll start our day and be GLAD in it!
**side note: we still have no idea how Caleb got so far away w/ out my mom or i seeing him. best guess is that he walked along the back wall and then into the main aisle. i think he may have been following someone that he thought was me?? he was freaked out when i got to him! :(**
For from HIM and through HIM and to HIM are all things. To HIM be glory forever! Amen! -Romans 11:36 we are going green this year and have decided to post our new year letter rather than print and mail it. our tradition is to give a review of all that has happened in the past year. for those of you that follow this blog continually, the following could bore you to tears, but for those that are stumbling upon it via our new year cards...hopefully you will find it slightly entertaining.
lance completed his fifth summer as the director of the ranch camp at pine cove. the Lord has used his job to encourage him, stretch him, bless him, and empower him. he is learning to balance the many roles that he has from day to day- most importantly husband and father. he had the opportunity to recruit at many schools in the fall, including schools in oklahoma, georgia, and alabama. at the beginning of the year he will make his first trip out of the country. you can be praying for him and his team as they do commission camping in Guatemala.
mandy is realizing that there is not enough time in the day to get everything done, but has adopted a new theme of "keep it easy" (hence the blog title). she continues to be the cook, maid, and memory keeper of the home and wife, mom, and nurse to the family. with the realization that allie will only be home for the next year and a half, mandy is inspired to be more intentional with her time with the kids.
allie is our independent leader! i guess that is what first born kids do. she loves being the mom any chance she gets, but is usually reminded that she is the sister! she has changed so much in one year. she can play the computer, loves to practice riding without training wheels, and get dressed without help. she still loves the color pink and "spinney dresses."
caleb is our sensitive child and has continued to also be our million dollar kid. in september he broke his leg and was in a non-walking cast for four weeks. it didn't slow him down for long and he is still a speed demon! he spends his days riding his bike, playing with his train set, or wielding his sword in hopes that dad will fight back.
riley was our new addition this year. he has been a dream come true as the parents of 3. there were days that he could easily be forgotten because he was so quiet and content. his little personality is beginning to show now and it seems he could be our risk taker. he has just turned ten months and is already walking and he can light up a room with his little four tooth smile!
we realize that this year has also had its fill of bumps, bruises, deaths, and tears, but we chose to focus on the blessings instead. we are completely undeserving of what we have been given, but also beyond thankful for God's goodness. rather than hoping for a wonderful 2010, we are simply asking the Lord to work in and through us for HIS glory! May his name be praised!
we just can't seem to stop celebrating! we made a very quick trip to simonton to have christmas with my side of the family. we tried to take a pic of the kids... thanks to grammie and poppy for all the new clothes!
it began with lots of food prep which allie loves to be a part of
caleb stayed well entertained with the christmas villiage that my mom always sets out.
they attacked my sweet grandmother when she arrived... it was such a blessing to see them excited to see her - if you are a parent of little ones, you know you have no control over their outward show of affection toward people!
look at this handsome guy!!! his eyes get more blue everyday!
all the girls... four generations!
riley got fireman boots to be a little like his older bro
aunt robin brought silly string... a family tradition.. this is mady and katy on the attack!
allie and the silly string
ready for fireworks... my mom is holding "baby jackie"... she's not so baby anymore!
my dad put on an amazing display of fireworks!!! caleb ran in circles and screamed the entire firework show! he loved it. i don't know if you recall our last time of seeing fireworks, but he ran up to me in the middle and said, "mommy, i'm not even throwing up!!!
a final merry christmas to all our friends and family! we'll be posting our new year's letter tomorrow night!
we finally got to head out of town and get our christmas vacation underway. i couldn't help but take this picture. after watching two movies the kids finally crashed... but only for 30 min.
soon after we arrived so did the snow!!! the kids were thrilled. i would have a fun pic of caleb in the snow, but just after this shot he got snow in his mittens and flipped out!!! it was cold!
we shared christmas eve with family at gg's house. lots of fun with food, cousins, and presents!
on christmas morning the kids were excited to see all the snow that they would get to play in!
we continued our christmas morning tradition of christmas tree cinnamon rolls.... Yummy!!
we opened gifts from grammie and poppy.... here is one of allie's most prized gifts... oooh, la, la!
then it was out to play in the snow.... it was too dry to build a snowman, but still perfect for snow angels. caleb still tried to throw snowballs much to his frustration!
i LOVE this picture!!! they are getting so big!
on christmas evening we had the opportunity to visit with our friends, shawn and rachel tate. here are all six of our kids... FIVE BOYS... poor allie!
we headed home the next day, braving the icy road conditions. it took us a little longer than normal, but at least the kids were in good humor. at one point, allie said, "mom, watch!" and did this:
she learned to cross her eyes this summer and thought we could all use a laugh after such a stressful drive....she just loves to keep us laughing! (**scroll down to see christmas at our house**)
the night before our trip to Bartlesville, we celebrated as an immediate family. we've combined traditions by wrapping most gifts, but leaving one gift unwrapped. lance got the tree all set up while i gave the kids their baths. we'll tell you each of their favorite gifts:
allie was thrilled with her baby bed and LOVED that it was pink... of course! i found this bed at an antique shop up the street. lance sanded it, gave it a new bottom, and painted it for her.
caleb couldn't wait to get the plastic off his fireman outfit. HE has not stopped being a fireman ever since!
riley had no clue what was happening this year, but he did get his first "lovey." it is a crocodile that we affectionately named "hatch." it had been his travel and sleeping buddy!
mayhem
bedlam
pandemonium
chaos
it doesn't matter... they all describe our morning! because december is an already packed month of events, i decided that all the kids' well check appointments with the pedi would be at the same time. allie had a four year check up, caleb had a three year check up, and riley was late for a 9 month check up. however, since i have not completely lost my mind, i made sure that lance could come with me. it began better than expected with both big kids enthusiastically being measured and weighed. we were largely impressed with their cooperation to this point. once we entered the room the nurse began the verifications and questions that come with each child while allie and caleb got far to familiar with their surroundings... turning the bed area into a balance beam and the drawers into drums. we graciously answered questions in between "stop that" and "sit down." allie did all the normal things: blood pressure, heart beat, lungs while caleb began to cower in the corner, arms folded whispering, "i'm not gonna do that!" while we coerced caleb to allow the nurse to do her job, allie began spinning on the doctor's chair and fighting an inward battle of playing with the nurse's laptop. once caleb had the litany of procedures done, it was riley's turn (sad when the nine month old is the easiest to deal with). all was fairly calm and i was relishing in the fact that this might actually turn out well when the doctor came in. we LOVE our pedi and he is truly gifted at what he does. we talked about allie and some concerns we have for her. she was super mature and let him check everything he needed to and would even spout off, "see, caleb, this doesn't hurt!" when caleb's turn arrived he fought everything on every front... he can not stand the tool that they look in his ears with and it sets him off every time! after doc. B determined that his ear infection was in fact gone (after three antibiotics), caleb simply could not recover! here is where it gets good... please picture it (so as to laugh along with me - not at me).
a very small room, two rambunctious toddlers, one infant, three adults, and a stroller. i'm holding riley with my back to lance, lance is holding a SCREAMING caleb, dr. b is attempting to talk to us about caleb's anger and response issues, allie is standing in the seat of the stroller that is parked in front of me. lance trys to make caleb laugh (b/c nothing else is working) by throwing his head back and lifting him up, throwing him back and lifting him up, throwing him back..... and b/c i've not seen any of this... i tell allie to get out of the stroller and i step backward as to move the stroller from allie's space... that is around the time that my elbow makes direct contact with caleb's two front teeth.
i know this story is long, but you're still with me, right? blood, screaming, screaming, and more screaming. his tooth was shoved up and a little back... dr. barrett steps out of the room to get caleb something... lance sits down w/ previously mentioned screaming child. riley is now crying and allie is asking 5-6 questions at a rate of 100 words a minute. i'm utterly embarrassed and ready to go. BUT IT GETS BETTER.... lance looks at me and says, "babe, you're going to have to take him." this is the first time that i realized that lance's face is ghostly white... i put down the crying baby, pick up the screaming toddler. allie picks up the crying baby and hands him to the nauseous daddy.... mom snaps at allie... allie puts baby down, dr. comes back in, sweating daddy lays down on floor, allie climbs on top of daddy, mom snaps again... leaving us with a total of three kids crying/screaming, daddy barely hanging in there, mom humiliated, and an always cool as a cucumber doctor... THANK GOD he is a chill man!
yep, i have never wanted to melt into the floor more than in this very moment! our story doesn't end there. there were still four shots and the exiting of the building, but that was all very trivial.
i'm currently praying that all parties will sleep and this will be funny in just a few days! in regards to my sweet husband: we don't know why that happened to him... he has made it through the birth of three kids just fine and, although he doesn't think he was helpful this morning... i'm so GLAD he was there!
just yesterday a friend described my life as a circus... point on!!!
i love decorating for Christmas. a day or two after thanksgiving it all comes out! although i wish a i could have all my friends and family over for a hot cup of cider, i know that is not possible so i will give a virtual tour for those that won't be in our home this season!
i have a thing for colored themed trees.... this year is blues and silver!
remember this little nook that i loved atthanksgiving? i made it into a spot for the kids to play with a nativity. OH, and my apologies to my dad for not mentioning it the first time.... he made this bench and I LOVE IT! i had it on my porch when i moved into my very first apartment post graduation. on the bottom it reads "who loves ya?" a famous daddy phrase! :)
our mantel: the small red scrapbook is a gift from my mom that captures the special moments of Christmas 2006 (aka: Christmas in the hospital) the ornament wreath looks purple for some reason... it is really silver! this was my first attempt at making a scrapbook paper tree.. i learned alot from the first one and i think i'll make a whole little forest! would you believe that it only took me four years to finally get my kids' stockings done. these are crazy quilted.... so easy, and so fun! this is my FAVORITE nativity!!! this is our Christmas countdown/advent. each envelope has a scripture to read and every once in awhile an envelope will have a Christmas carol to sing or a fun activity to do. activities include drinking hot chocolate, driving through Christmas lights, watching a Christmas video, wrapping gifts for others, or decorating cookies.
KIDS AND CHRISTMAS: this is elf on the shelf (can be found at hallmark)... he hides from the kids most days... today he was hiding in the tree! this is one of three nativities that our kids are allowed to play with. i think it is so important that they can use these to act out the story of Jesus... we want our children to know that THIS is Christmas! this book has been such a blessing during the holidays. it is full of ideas, stories, activities, and great explanations for the traditions of the season. (examples: baking reminds us of the bread of life, and the lights on our houses remind us of the light of the world). and, of course, my kids have their own little trees because i have theme issues. they love using these as nightlights. they decorate them all by themselves... check out the bottom left corner of this tree (which is allie's .... mostly PINK an purple)!
posing with coach daddy just before the game!
