january 2010
my last post was kind of heavy. a lot of people in my life have been dealing with very heavy things lately. infant death, a father on the verge of death, a grandmother in the hospital after an accidental fall, a mother who has been suffering from the effects of a stroke almost three years ago, job loss-the list could go on and on. a lot of my thoughts are pretty heavy. although, they are also very hopeful. hmmm.
so, to avoid more heaviness, i thought i’d sort of do a month in review via pictures. just random ‘life with our family’ stuff. i’ve been having big thoughts, big awakenings. posts for another day i guess.
so, here we are from january. the kids watching a tow truck pull the neighbor’s car out of the snow, playing with amelia’s microphone(notice her adjusting it for wilbur as if he couldn’t figure it out on his own), the gingerbread house the kids made with grammy and gramps(orville did not want to be in the picture), the gingerbread house after our dog got to it, me (with a bottle of coke!!!) at fondue night, finally remembering to get a Christmas tree bag(after forgetting for the past three years) and joking it was for the kids(which they thought was hilarious!), legos, legos everywhere!, having mother/daughter night & breakfast with amelia, playing with fruit by the foot at grammy’s, josh rummaging through the island drawer at grammy’s(something he’s known to do at least once a year), our trip(eating subway for lunch)to a somewhat local mall so i could go to a bareescentuals boutique, josh and the boys pretending to fall asleep while amelia and i were in the bathroom(men!).
i’ve been closely following my friend kate’s adoption journey. she shares an amazing story. she is a very gifted writer. she just adopted an adorable little boy. you should take a look. her heart is beautiful.
Filed under adoption, children, family, for fun, Jesus, my heart, parenting | Comment (0)so…i have been contemplating twitter for some time now. do i jump on the bandwagon? or stay off? i decided to jump on and i hope i don’t regret it. if you’re interested in following, you can head here.
you’ll notice a bird there just as you may have noticed a bird here. a few months ago josh and a co-worker of his pointed out that similarity and wondered if i’d want to change the look of my blog. i searched and searched for other options, but kept coming back to the bird. something about it spoke to me and now i have this strange connection to it. it’s my little bird.
recently while spending some time with the Christ-centered, wisdom filled lady i have mentioned, she told me i am too hard on myself. i am too critical of myself. i don’t take compliments very well. and i don’t let the positive things that happen in my life be positive things. i guess i tend to make them ho-hum instead of allowing them to be great.
she told me she likes to imagine a little bird sitting on her shoulder. the little bird sings her praises, gives her compliments, points out the good. and all of this is sent directly from the Lord. since He isn’t down here walking around with her, audibly cheering her on, He sends His cheers through people who are here, through situations she finds herself in, and through the little bird on her shoulder. should she shoo the bird away? or should she let it sing? then she said to me,
“you need to learn to let your little bird sing.”
hence the change in my tagline some time ago, from life, faith, & adoption to learning to let my little bird sing. i am trying to let my bird sing and praying it doesn’t fly away due to the years of neglect it’s seen while living on my shoulder. and i am trying to remember that the Lord does still speak. and i am trying to remember that i need to listen.
“and He said, “go forth, and stand upon the mount before the Lord.
and, behold, the Lord passed by,
and a great and strong wind rent the mountains,
and brake in pieces the rocks before the Lord;
but the Lord was not in the wind:
and after the wind an earthquake;
but the Lord was not in the earthquake:
and after the earthquake a fire;
but the Lord was not in the fire:
and after the fire
a still small voice.”
1 kings 19:11-12
kjv
…or a little bird singing on your shoulder.
memphis kiddie park
last Sunday we took advantage of the overcast, chilly weather and headed to memphis kiddie park. it’s a wonderful little amusement park made just for the kiddos. we’ve been here before, our first time in august of 2006. the kids had only been home for about 3 months. i looked through our pictures of that trip. i can’t believe how little the kids were. they really have grown so fast. here’s some pictures from last weekend and three years ago.
first ride, the roller coaster! it’s the oldest standing steel coaster in north america(just in case you can’t read that on its’ sign below).
josh was a trooper and rode with the kids so no one would have to ride alone. i can’t let that happen, at least not on the first ride of the day!
after the roller coaster it was time for “comets”.
then they were off to the boats.
we took a ride on the train. it circles the park. can’t believe i made it into a picture! well, i had to ask to make it in.
we saw snow white on our ride. never knew she lived in ohio.
next we were off to the merry~go~round.
amelia found a horse named arielle. only a princess horse will do for the princess.
then the kids took an airplane ride.
and enjoyed the ferris wheel.
next they took a leisurely drive.
then it was off to the horses.
with no one really in the mood for amusement park hot dogs for lunch, we went to taco bell with plans to return to memphis kiddie park after.
the kids wanted to ride the roller coaster again. this time they went by themselves.
then they rode the spinning cars which didn’t really spin very well.
with only enough tickets for one last ride each, they all three chose the roller coaster again.
i am glad we made the trip this year.
it looks like amelia will be too big for most of the rides by the time next summer comes, but she’ll still get to ride the roller coaster!
random
we’re busy. school activities are in full-swing. soccer practice has started. mid-week church starts next week. profound things are happening in my heart, but i can’t seem to find the time to sit down and write about them. someday. for now, there’s a picture update.
orville had his first soccer practice of the season last tuesday. he was so excited!
the three kids headed to the practice field. i love shots of them like this.
orville made egg soup the other day.
it consisted of eggs in yogurt containers. so cute.
no one knows how this tangled mess happened. no one.
i threw it all away without saying a word.
josh was playing with his food. with his scrabble crackers he was able to spell ‘yuk dookie’. so proud.
josh had last friday off so he and i took orville to chuck e. cheese’s.
the boys played some racing games together.
orville enjoyed the roller coaster simulator.
and the bob the builder ride.
josh and i played air hockey which i am 100% convinced he thought he’d win. he lost. which means, I WON!
after chuck’s we picked the big kids up from school and headed to the apple store. the kids took the opportunity to put on a show for us on the outdoor stage. they had so much fun performing and we had fun watching.
then we had chipotle for dinner, even though josh had it for lunch the day before. he LOVES it.
a very goofy picture of me, but josh insisted some be taken because i am always taking pictures of everyone else while they are eating.
sweson’s for dinner saturday night because i was organizing papers and COULD NOT make dinner. that happens sometimes, you know. there was just no possible way for me to cook that night.
Sunday for lunch josh had our leftover chipotle chips and guac. and, we found coca~cola from mexico at sam’s club. it’s made with real sugar, not high fructose corn syrup. so, we indulged and are througoughly enjoying.
until next time…
Filed under children, family, for fun | Comment (1)the many faces of wilbur
wilbur likes to have his picture taken. he loves to make silly faces when he’s getting his picture taken. during lunch yesterday i took lots of pictures of him.
reprimanding me for drinking from a bottle of coke.
i know, tisk, tisk.
doing an ‘evil’ laugh.
blowing kisses.
after school at the smith’s
last week we brought you 8am at the smith’s. this week i thought we’d switch it up a little by bringing you after school. the following took place thursday the 29th. it was pajama day at the boys preschool. this is a fun day for the kids, but i don’t like the idea of them sitting around school in their pajamas and shoes. pajamas getting dirty just doesn’t seem right. the boys put on clean pajamas before school and then had baths and clean pajamas before bed. here’s what they looked like before we left for school that afternoon. cute and goofy as usual, with wilbur being especially goofy.
and now for the after school part. the following took place between 3:45 and 4:15pm. orville came home in real pants, not pajama pants. he had a potty accident at school. of course i had to take his picture. he didn’t want me to. so he told me he couldn’t smile. he insisted his smile just wouldn’t come out.
i see it hiding in there at little. notice he has his arms crossed too.
wilbur wanted in on the picture taking action so he posed with larry boy.
amelia wanted in too so she chose to show off her fancy fingernails. she loves this multicolor look. i supposed it’s okay, for a 7 year old.
and who could go without doing the upside down fingernail shot?
finally, orville’s obsession with my feet continues. he had out his legos, put three lego guy heads together, put a helmet on them, and proceeded to “check” my feet.
nothin’ like some foot lovin’. if this kid doesn’t become a podiatrist, i’ll die from shock.
Filed under children, family, for fun, parenting | Comments (2)my new treasure
aren’t they beautiful? there are 24 here, plus a few more black ones. i let josh have one of those to take to work. i know, so generous of me. thank you sam’s club for carrying them. thank you josh for buying them. thank you wordpress for letting me blog about them. i’m in sharpie heaven.
Filed under for fun | Comments (2)