My Smart Boy!!

Yay for Brody! Let me just say that he has finally decided that he wants to learn...and he is doing great! It has been such a struggle for me - trying to teach him. He is just so different from my older two children - they were so eager to learn and so easy to teach. Brody, on the other hand, has such a short attention span and had no desire to sit still long enough to let me teach him anything. (But, let me add that he is a ball of fun & energy...24/7 entertainment for our family!)

Anyway, in the last couple of weeks, he has learned to recognize the letters of the alphabet and today, he wrote his whole name...all by himself! And, trust me, I have been trying to work with him for a while now. He is definitely self-motivated....what I mean by that is he learned it when he was good and ready...he just was not ready any earlier and so, when he felt like it was time, he learned all the info in like 2 weeks. I am a proud mommy!

But, trust me, learning is not all he has been doing - yesterday, I found him with a pillow on the floor at the bottom of the bunk beds trying to talk Kassidy into jumping from the top bunk. So, don't think for a minute we have lost our spunky, crazy Brody...he will just be a smarter ball of energy...I can't decide if that will be a good thing or a bad thing????

Happy Valentine's Day to me!!

Woo-hoo!!! I am super excited because I think I have sweet-talked Matt into a couple days at the beach for Valentine's Day!!! I LOVE the beach...I mean, I am passionate about the beach. I just smile when I think about being at the beach, digging my toes in the sand, going for a morning jog, watching my kids run around barefoot in the sand and scream whenever their toes touch the chilly ocean water, just sitting and listening to the sound of those awesome waves breaking....I could go on & on. One of my lifetime goals is to own a little place at the beach so we can go whenever we want...but, I don't know if Matt will go for that because he knows I would probably want to go every weekend. But, right now, I am just so happy that I get to go this weekend!!!! And, believe me, I know Matt is doing this for me because he loves me with all his heart...believe it or not, he does not like the beach - it still hurts me to say that out loud...how can anyone not like the beach??? Especially, my husband, the love of my life - I am bound and determined to bring him over to my side - the beach lovers club....Anyways, all I can say is - Beautiful Beach, Here I come....

There really is no place like home

So, Matt gets a call from the school on Wednesday that we need to come pick Kenzie up because she has been crying on & off for the past hour and she really wants to come home.....totally unlike Kenzie...but, the teacher proceeds to inform him that there was a "tornado drill" and Matt pretty much stopped her mid-sentence and said, "Say no more....I will come pick her up ASAP." You see, Kenzie has an unhealthy fear of anything related to a tornado....whether it be wind, heavy rain, dark clouds, or, as we just recently discovered, a tornado drill. She read a book once about a tornado and it told how many people died during the storm - ever since then, she has been scared to death of being invovled in a tornado.

Anyway, Matt went to the school and picked her up - with her big, swollen eyes and her tear-stained cheeks. She was still crying - very shaken and visibly upset. On the way home, she told Matt that she had missed the "drill" part of the whole announcement - you see, she thought it was an actual tornado & it scared the daylights out of her. I really did not know that there would be a tornado drill - I felt really bad for her - seriously, she was living out her worst nightmare....my poor baby!

So, it may take a few days (or few years) for her to recover from this experience, but at least she actually slept last night and seems to be getting back to her happy-go-lucky self.....And, just in case you were wondering - she WILL not be seeing the Wizard of Oz - EVER!!!!!!!!

What was that noise??

We had a meeting with Kenzie's teacher today....we took Brody & Kassidy with us because we knew we would only be there a few minutes. Remember, we are the only ones in the classroom with the teacher sitting rather closely to each other at a kid's desk in itty, bitty chairs.

Well, Kassidy sat on Matt's lap most of the meeting...which turned out to be quite unfortunate for him. You see, right in the middle of the meeting Kassidy decided to let out a huge poot on Matt's leg. Then she proceeded to laugh so hard....followed by those dreaded words, "I poot...I poot..." It was one of those moments where I heard it but I tried really hard to act like I did not hear it. I knew if I looked at Matt I would bust out laughing - I did see him out of the corner of my eye and his face was so red. The sound, the laughter, and the words that followed were never actually acknowledged by anyone. If the teacher heard it, she did a great job of "acting" like it never happened.

Talk about one of those little embarrassing moments...but, thinking back on it now, it was totally hilarious & only affirms why I love little kids so much - total honesty and no inhibitions at all!!

One of "those" moments as a mom

Man, I blew it today....that has got to be the worst feeling as a mom. When you are in a "heated" situation and you have a split second to choose whether you will rise to the occassion and be the mom you know you need to be or whether you will go down in flames. Well, today - unfortunately - I chose to burn, baby, burn!! I had a perfect opportunity to set an example of how to react when things don't go your way, how to not let anger get the best of you, how to keep your mouth shut so you don't regret what comes out.... But, I messed up....I let my frustration get the best of me and boy, did I set a bad example for my kiddos.

But, now it is time to learn from my mistake and resolve to make a much wiser decision next time. Because, believe me, there will be a next time...and, all I can hope & pray, is that each time I fail, I learn from the failure and I become a better mother!!

A verse that inspires

"She senses the worth for her work and is in no hurry to call it quits for the day!" Proverbs 31:18

I read this verse in The Message the other night during my quiet time. It really stuck with me. It made me think about my normal days and as a mom....how sometimes I feel like I have done absolutely nothing of any "worth" throughout the day and I am counting down the minutes until the kids are in bed and I can put on my pjs and just lay on the couch and do nothing. This verse made me realize that what I do is important and I need to open my eyes and see that it is worth something - it is worth a lot - especially to 4 little people who rely on me for pretty much everything. I am shaping & molding them each day into the big people that they will eventually become. They depend on me for love, attention, nourishment, discipline, guidance.....And to say what I do each day is worthless is really saying that how my children turn out, how they feel at the end of each day, how their needs were met was totally unimportant to me! Ouch!!!

This verse has kinda become my "motto" for my days as a stay at home mom. I want to see the worth in all I do and I don't want to long for the day to be over....I want to cherish every moment and end up wishing my days were longer so that I could do more for my kids and have more time to help mold them into the people that God wants them to become!

I'm Back (at least for now)

Ok...so it has been a while since I wrote on my blog - I have been drawn over to the dark side - FACEBOOK!! I feel like I am keeping in touch with everyone over there so now I don't really feel the need to update my blog. I am still debating on whether I will just dump the blog or try to get motivated to keep it going....

Anyway, I thought about updating my blog because my kids have been saying some of the funniest things lately. They have been keeping me busy (as usual) but also very entertained! Thought I would share some of their memorable "words of wisdom"...

1. We were sitting at the table as a family and we got on the topic of Heaven....Brody was saying how he was going to like Heaven but Kenzie shouted out, "No, Brody, you are going to hell...." Of course, we were shocked, and told her that was not a nice thing to say....Well, she went on to explain that Brody was not saved and he had not asked Jesus into his heart so he was going to hell. She was actually stating what she knew to be the truth (of course, she did not factor in that he is only 4)...but we got a kick out of her going ahead and sending Brody to hell!!

2. I went to eat at Ichiban's with some friends and Kenzie could not believe that I went to eat at "Itchy Bobs"....so just thought that was gross!!

3. Brody is obsessed with Barack Obama...he told me he wants a Barack Obama doll - he said he saw one for sale on tv.

4. Brody just learned the term "dating" so he has been telling us who he is "dating" lately....I guess I won't share his secret loves but he is currently "dating" 3 or 4 girls at once!!

5. Micah said the sweetest thing yesterday - We prayed for Kenzie while she was at the dentist getting her tooth pulled and after we finished praying, he said "Well, we have done our part (prayed) and I guess we will have to trust God and let him do the rest..." Pretty wise for a 9 year old!!

6. And, finally, yesterday in the car....I heard Brody singing, "Its too late to order fries..." I died laughing because the real song lyrics are "Its too late to apologize...." He says Micah taught him those words...but it was so funny to hear my four year old singing that loud and proud!