This cold...

This weather in Georgia is not fun.  We did the 'spring ahead' time change this weekend and then we woke up to the arctic on Sunday!  It has been below freezing and windy for the last 2-3 days.  Misery.

But all this cold weather reminds me that I have snuggly babies at home.

These two have so much fun snuggling together and watching songs together.  I love watching them play together and spend time being cozy.  

And here is a lineup of the whole crew.

Remind of their sweet goodness when I am crying about college later in life.  

There is nothing that warms my soul like these guys.  I cannot wait to add to our crew, one day.  

He's seven.

This kid of mine.

I posted this picture a few months back and I can't help but love it a lot this week.

He turned seven this month.

That is more than one hand...

It requires two hands to indicate his age now.

He lost 3 teeth in the month of January, technically one weekend.

He just got notice that he has tested INTO the gifted program in our schools.

He's a genius, no denying it now that we have proof.

I love watching his kindness on display for others.

He is cautious and calculated with every move he makes.

He follows the rules and is motivated to do all the things.

I love watching him with his sisters.

He wrestles tomorrow and I'm already a nervous wreck.

Seven years ago this month I was learning about love.

I had no idea what it was like to be a parent.

I was terrified and still am, most days.

But if he's the first edition, then we are doing alright.

He's my favorite boy in all the world.

The Boys

For the 50th day of school the boys all dressed alike.

I guess all of the parents plan the same...

I am not sure when my kid became a gangster, but here he is... in all his glory with his friends.

I just love them and the fun they have.

I hope that he maintains the same level of confidence forever.

Halloween 2k16

Spencer was thrilled to be Princess Elena of Avalor and she was even more pumped about that chocolate that Papa was holding... actually fixated would be a good word.

My Ariel was a pleasant fireball.  She was so excited that she ran from house to house as we trick or treated.  

Ant Man.  Did y'all know that Ant Man can be as small as an ant AND as big a building?  He can.  I learned that after Hayes decided he was going to be Ant Man for Halloween.  He's my rock star and I'm so grateful that he's the role model for my girls.  He is fantastic!

Part of the crew... we were still loading a few up on the trailer...

We did a little Halloween Pre-game on Sunday at the Ephesus Baptist Church Fall Festival.

They were really pumped to spend time running around and having a blast.

Spencer, errrrrrr, Princess Elena was super sassy in her ball gown and cranky when told no.  She was not a fan of waiting in line for the jumping things or the games.  Diva.

I call this, Daryk's child in a photo...

Elizabeth taking her imaginary plane ride very seriously.

Wolverine was SO pumped to cross the monkey bars ALL THE WAY on Sunday evening.

He had a few wardrobe changes for Halloween and that's something we are all ok with!

Tell me how your Halloween went?

Did you get lots of goodies to share with your people?

WES: year two.

Y'all.

I'm so grateful for those mommas who take '1st day of school pics' before school on the actual first day of school.  I get so many good ideas from them!  I'll be honest with you;  I take mine after school and usually just before bath time.  I can barely get myself up, dressed, out the door, etc. on time for school.  You can honestly forget adding photo time into that equation.  

So, here we go.

First grade with Mrs. Bragg and he's in LOVE with it.  His class is full of some of his very best buddies and some of the best kids I know.  I cannot wait to watch him grow and learn in the next 180 days.  I loved school and I love being a student.  I feel like he will be my studious child and for that, I'm grateful.

This girl started kindergarten with Mrs. Watkins.  She is thrilled with the aspect of social time every day.  She wants to wear a dress and a matching hairbow every day too!  She came home sweaty and so tired, but she loves every minute of it.  Her learning will be different and more challenging for all of us.  She tries hard and works every day at her homework with a gleeful attitude.

Daryk and I started our 11th year together as educators at the same school together this fall.  I know some people think it is crazy to work alongside your spouse, but I do enjoy working with him.  I like spending time with him and seeing his relationships with students.  He has a different crop of students than I do, and I so appreciate their interactions.  

Here's to a new year and some amazing kids, both at home and at school!

One of the D Days

Part 2. D 2.

We are about one week away from our next trip to Disney World.  I figure I should probably finish blogging about the last one before I forget...

Dumbo.

Always a big hit.

See?  Big hit!

They will look like giants compared to this trip.  And Libby's braids are twice as long...

Frozen Finale

I'm pretty sure we had our last gymnastics session with Hayes this spring.  He's too big and too old and too busy to be bothered with them now.  I'm not sure what we will do with him from here forward...

He tried soccer.

Loved it!

He is currently participating with wrestling and he loves it!

I'm curious to see what happens next!

First, you apologize.

On Saturday we had a rainy day at home.  We gathered ourselves up, went to run some errands, and spent time with Kitty.  We came home, had lunch, and cleaned the playroom.  Well, some of us cleaned the playroom.  Some of us argued with each other about it.  Somebody talked back to me and I lost it.  All the cool mom composure I had, it was gone.  Adios.  Bye.  BYE.

I yelled with enough frustration to scare someone.... myself and my son.  I absolutely had a come apart.  It was shameful.  I literally chased him to his bedroom and shut the door so I could gather my thoughts.   I gathered them quietly in my own room.  Prayers with tears and sad realizations that I need the Lord to guide me in all aspects.  All.  Aspects.  Parenting isn't excluded.  I am not an expert.

I went back to Hayes and asked him to sit with me on his bed and I apologized.  

"I didn't mean to yell at you like that and I'm very sorry.  I should have talked better to you and not yelled.  I just got really angry because you didn't do what I asked you to do and you talked back to me.  But I am sorry I yelled at you."

I am so thankful for the spirit of forgiveness.  I am thankful that my children embody the spirit of forgiveness and model that for me.  My mother displays the 'world's most forgiving' spirit possible.  I inherited that from her.  Hoping to pass that along to my sweet people as well.

Parenting is not for the faint of heart.  It is not for the weak or weary.  It is not easy and it is not always sunshine and rainbows.  I love that job even if I fail miserably.

NC 1

In honor of Buddy and LeLe coming to visit us this weekend, I thought I would FINALLY get around to writing about our journey to North Carolina back in June.

Oops.  

In June we spent a ridiculous amount of time in the car and drove to see my sister and brother in law.  We loaded up everything but the kitchen sink and traveled to the tiny town of New Bern NC for a few days.  On the way up there we stopped at CFA in some random spot in SC or NC and had dinner.  Our first stop was Charlotte and a visit with some dear friends who we used to babysit when they were MY kids' ages!  

My girls.

Morgan--who was barely a year old when we first met her.

So sad and so happy she's all grown up!

Our dear friend Brandon had QUITE a time with Spencer.  She is so friendly and he was happy to help entertain while she played!  He made us an awesome breakfast of s'mores french toast, bacon, eggs, coffee, etc.  It was FABULOUS!  Charlotte was our halfway point and we spent the night with the Hess crew before we made the rest of the journey to New Bern.

Clearly Elizabeth enjoyed herself...