Real Determination

Brody LOVES to work puzzles. For those of you that know Brody, it is very unusual for him to be still for more than 5 or 10 minutes. But, for some reason, he will sit still and work very patiently on a box of puzzles for a very long time. Recentlly, he got hurt and we took him to Target and told him he could pick out whatever he wanted in the toy section...he picked a $2 puzzle. Trust me, I am not complaining about his "cheap" choice, but it just proved to us that he really has a passion for working puzzles.

Today, he begged me to let him work a 100 piece puzzle. I knew it would be alittle too hard for him, but he was so set on doing it, that I gave it to him and told him to "go for it!" Well, he asked Micah & Kenzie to help, but they would not give him the time of day. So, after he shed a few tears, he got motivated and decided he would do it all by himself. After about thirty minutes (and only about 6 or 7 pieces successfully put together), he fell asleep at the kitchen table. He had worked so hard, that he fell asleep trying to figure it out. I was actually kinda proud - talk about some real determination. Way to go, Brody-man!!

My messy little munchkins

I have recently come to the conclusion that my house may never really be clean until all my kids are in college. It truly baffles me how it is nearly impossible to keep my house straightened up during the day. I seriously feel like I spend all day going from room to room picking up toys, clothes, books....I feel like I will spend an hour focusing on the living room and when I am finished and it looks all nice & clean, I will go to the kitchen and it looks like a tornado hit it!! So, I will spend an hour working on the kitchen, only to go back to the living room and find it totally trashed. It seriously feels like a never-ending battle.



Sometimes, I feel like I must just be lazy or so terribly unorganized, but even on the days when I feel like I give it my all, the housework still seems to get out of control. I just don't see how other moms do it. I hate to admit this, but I love to stop by someone's house and see that it is a little messy or cluttered....it makes me feel like maybe I am normal and not every mom is able to stay on top on all the things that need to be done each day.



I am constantly trying to tell myself that I need to just chill, and not always be focused on the mess. I need to enjoy my kids and let them be kids...which means there will be toys everywhere and crushed crackers all over my carpet. I know that one day I will have a very clean (and very quiet) house...but I will only be sad & lonely - totally wishing that my kids were still running around making the biggest mess ever!! So, hopefully, I can learn to relax a little more & try to find joy in the chaos. Kids will be kids and mine are awesome & I love them - mess and all!!

Family Portraits

Tonight we took our family portraits for the church directory. It went surprisingly well....I know I have blogged before about how I am really trying to "chill" when it comes to taking pictures. And I think that approach actually helped the situation tonight. I went into it not expecting anything....I just asked the kids to smile and stand still long enough for the guy to snap one or two pics and they did great.

It did get a little interesting when it was time to take the enitre Walls family portrait. I think there were like 16 of us (eight of those kids)....All I know is that I got my hair pulled two or three times and my necklace was almost ripped off my neck a couple times. It was funny because the guy snapped a pic and then said, "Well, that may have worked but the baby in the back had a handful of the lady in the middle's hair." And, at one point, Matt said, "What is this wet stuff all over my arms??".....I was like, "Who knows....Kassidy probably spit on you." A few minutes later, we came to the conclusion that she had went pee-pee on Matt during the photo shoot. I am glad he did not realize it until after the pics were done...he may have been too grossed out to keep smiling!!

What really stands out in my mind from the whole experience, is that by the time we left, the photographer knew Brody by his first name. You can probably figure out why. He kept hearing us say...."No, Brody, stand up straight...Put your hands by your side, Brody....Get your finger out of your nose, Brody" After about 3 minutes, the photographer just starting addressing Brody on a first name basis - he just took it upon himself to start trying to keep Brody focused and smiling. But, in the end, the pics were better than expected and I was actually impressed with how good Brody (and all the other kids) did tonight. But, I still hate taking "portraits" and I plan to continue to avoid picture studios for as long as I possibly can!

Well, my baby girl turns "1" tomorrow. I can hardly believe it. At this time last year, I was at the movies (Spiderman 3, to be exact) with my hubby and I kept telling him that I felt kinda weird and I was having a few contractions. Of course, he said the movie was just too intense for me and I should close my eyes during the scary parts. (Does that sound like a man or what?) Even on the way home from the movies, I told him that I really felt like it was time and he said I was just stressing out and to relax. For some reason, he just refused to believe that I could be in labor 11 days before my due date. He even went to bed when we got home and told me to wake him up if I needed him - but I think he said "Good night - see you in the morning, babe" - in other words, "You are a big faker and I know you are not really in labor."

He got to sleep for about 30 minutes and I woke him up with my bags packed and told him it was time to hit the road. We left the house and I asked him to swing by his parents to get their camcorder, but he said that if it ended up being "time" and they actually kept me at the hospital, he would run back out and get it. I think it was at that point that I gave him "the look" and he said "Well, I guess it wouldn't hurt to run by their house really quick..." He said he really did not believe it was for real until I started screaming & crying and the nurse confirmed that this was the "real thing." I still give him a hard time for not believing me - I mean, it was my fourth baby...did he honestly think that I still did not know what it feels like to be in labor?? Anyway, Kassidy Beth was born on June 11th at 4:02am and she was, and still is a sweet, gorgeous baby girl. She brings so much joy to us. We had never planned on having four kids, but now we could not even imagine our lives without her. She was a big surprise...but a huge blessing from God. I know that God knew exactly what would make our family complete...2 boys and 2 girls. Having a large family really is a blessing!!

My hometown visit

I am in VA visiting my family this week and I am having a really nice time. It is kinda nice to be back in the little town where I grew up. I lived here my whole life and my parents still live in the same house that I grew up in. That is what I think is so nice about living in a small town - it seems that everyone knows each other and people tend to stay put...to grow old in the same house with the same friends. I have gone running a couple times here in VA and each time, I have had to stop so that I could say hello and give someone I grew up with a big hug. That is pretty cool to me - that fact that I still know all these people in my old neighborhood and not much has changed in the last decade since I left. I really want that for my kids. I want them to grow up in the same house/same neighborhood and form relationships with people that will last a lifetime.

I was talking with my dad about how nice it was to be back here in Covington but told him I did not know if I could ever live here again for two very important reasons - there is no Target and there is no Chickfila. How could I possibly survive without these two staples in my life?? I told him I was just teasing and of course the positives of being with my family would far outweigh no Target clearance racks and no yummy Chickfila food. It would sure help my budget out not to have these two temptations anywhere near me!!

Oh well, it has been nice to be back "home" for a few days. I sure wish ten hours did not separate me from my family and my beautiful little hometown here in VA!!