It's About Time

Look who is sitting at the table now!

He has been waiting for a long time to be out of his high chair!

What's Happening?

First off, it has been a few days between posts....we have been busy busy busy here in the Carrington Family! Owen's dog bite is healing nicely! We got his stitches out last Sunday and everything looked normal and he is doing great. He is a little Skiddish with dogs, but that is expected!
Over the past week before Christmas, we did a lot of hanging around, preparing for the "big day". I love all the fun things we get to do in preparing for Christmas. It brings out the kids in me! I always love getting to hang out with my boys! Sometimes, I have to remind them that you don't run and jump on mommy's back unexpectedly--they can get pretty rough...that's boys!
We traveled to Atlanta on Monday to spend the week with my family! The kids had a great time and got to make a special birthday cake for Jesus with their Meme!

We also spend the day before Christmas with all of the cousins. We did Christmas crafts and opened "Cousin gifts". My kids always love spending time with the cousins---all 12 of them together!
Kate Loved her my little pony from Hannah and Caroline!
I was extra excited this year, because my little sister (next to me in the picture), got home from serving as a missionary in Venezuela! We are all so happy she is home and excited for her to continue her ministry here!
From Left to Right....Me, Morgan, Megan (due in less that 4 weeks!!!), McKenzie, and Mandi!
We drove home Christmas Eve and went to the awesome service at our church! It was amazing! Here is Gray enjoying the ride on the way home!
We woke up Christmas morning to lots of presents and lots of fun! We played.....
and played! What a wonderful Christmas!

On a sad note, Christmas Eve, after the kids were in bed, I took our sweet dog Sadie to the Vet to be put to sleep. After arriving back home from Atlanta, she had taken a turn for the worse. She was in bad bad shape. Sadie and I spent some quality time in the car as we drove to the vet and I let her go be with Jesus on His birthday. The kids said their good byes and understood that she would not be here in the morning. It was probably one of the hardest things I have had to do. I know it was what needed to be done because she was suffering so much, but it was hard for me. She was a wonderful dog and we will miss her so much---I will miss her very much.

Watch out!

Here you find 3 very sweet, innocent children, embarking on a joyous afternoon of Christmas cookie decorating. Mommy is snapping pictures, with Christmas music playing in the background! Mommy heads upstairs to tend to the baby whom has just woken up from a peaceful slumber. Much to my surprise, baby has had an explosion, so she is upstairs a little longer than planned.
Upon my return, I find these beautiful cookies waiting for me! This is an example of what unsupervised children are capable of when it comes to cookie decorating. Don't these look scrumptious? I know Santa will love finding these cookies waiting for him!

All I want for Christmas is....

A Mustache! Yes, you read right! My darling Owen has changed his #1 wish to his very own mustache. I tried to tell him that he told Santa something different, but he says "Santa knows everything" and he wants a silky soft stache that he can stick on. So now I am on the hunt to find a stick on mustache that Owen can enjoy for hours and hours on Christmas morning!

My First Baby

What a fun day! Owen and Kate had their Christmas Program at school and then their parties after. My parents were here to watch the program and they did so good!
Owen was a sheep in the play and had a blast at his class party!

Kate, in her P.J.'s, was one of the children listening to the Christmas Story in the program.
These pajamas I bought are so cute and feel so soft, and the best part....$9 at Wal-mart!

After the parties, I was able to go and help with crafts at Wills school. My parents were here to watch the kids, so it was a treat that I got to go help. I loved it. It brought back memories of teaching and how hard it is to be a teacher!! I did love it, but feel so blessed to be a stay at home mommy for now.

On a sad note, my dog Sadie is not doing too well. She has a malignant tumor on her leg that is getting larger daily and is prone to infection, which causes it to smell horrendous. She is on antibiotics right now, but is looking pretty weak and very thin these days. I am trying to feed her more. She will only eat canned food now, but that is fine with me, I am just happy to see her eating. I can tell that her spirits are down though. I am worried that we do not have much longer with her. She was my first baby, so it will be hard. Now that the smell of the tumor is not that bad, we can let her back in the house to rest on her dog bed and I know she loves that. The kids are so tender with her, even Gray! They were petting her so gently on her head and loving on her tonight. I am trying to prepare them that she might be going to Doggie Heaven real soon. We have read the book Dog Heaven, by Cynthia Rylant and it is a great book to read to kids about when dogs die. It is real sweet and actually was comforting to me too.
If you read Isaiah 65:25 it says this about animals in heaven...
Wolves and lambs will feed together, lions will eat straw like oxen, and dust will be food for snakes. "They will not hurt or destroy anyone anywhere on my holy mountain," says the LORD.
Wow! What an awesome God we have! If He spared His son in order for us to experience eternal happiness, you can be rest assured that He knows what He is doing. God cares for all His creation!

Bad Dog

I didn't get a picture until after it was bandaged up--I am not that quick with the camera. These are the 3 area that required stitches.

Today was an uneventful day until.....we took a walk up to the bus stop.
Backing up to earlier in the day, my parents had just arrived in town. Kate had a ballet recital tonight and the kids have their Christmas program tomorrow, so they came in to see the kids. We walked up the street to see Wills off the bus and on our way back home, Owen decided to play in the leaves in our neighbors yard. He was on his hands and knees, playing in the leaves when their dog (A Rottweiler mix), attacked him. I mean, this dog grabbed hold of his leg and didn't let go. It all happened so fast, but in slow motion at the same time! We got the dog off, but Owen was hysterical and he had some deep bite marks on his leg.
I called our pediatrician and she advised me to take him to the Emergency room. To be honest, I was not about to take Owen down to Children's for many reasons--one being it would cost $150.00 and another, we would be there for who knows how long.
We opted to go to American Family Care (our families new favorite spot) and they took good care of him. He ended up with stitches in 3 of the bites.
The whole experience was difficult for us both. Me, holding him down so they could give Owen the shots and then the stitches and Owen screaming at the top of his lungs and fighting me and the other 2 nurses that were helping to hold him down!
In the end, he is doing fine and is happy that he walked away with 4 balloons and some brand new blue latex gloves! The dog is quarantined at the vet for 3 days and we will have to see what happens next with that.
I am so thankful to God that the dog did not attack Owen on his torso or worse, his face. This could have been a very bad situation and I know God's hand and protection is upon our family because, although it was very scary, it ended up to be okay!

Cough in your elbow please....

I have heard myself say that at least 50 times over the last week. We began our weekend off to a sick start. Owen began his hacking cough last week, and as the week continued, it got worse. By Saturday, Kate and Gray began to have the same chesty cough and nighttime sleep became pretty non-existent for Gray and I on Saturday night! So, Sunday morning, going on little sleep, we ALL got in the car and were the first to arrive at American Family Care. To make a long story short, all 4 kids have bronchitis and Owen also has an ear infection. I am thankful that we went, but realize that for cost of living purposes...4 kids is just about all we can handle right now! Grateful for insurance, but am still feeling the punch of 4 co- pays and the enormously large drug bill! I had to make a dose/drug chart to make sure that I don't OD anyone~
Please take a look at this ridiculous display of medicine! A breathing machine, inhaler, 4 antibiotics, a steroid, cough medicine and eczema lotion. I am trying to look on the positive side; thankful that we all got the same thing at the same time, instead of dragging it out over the course of 4 weeks.
This brings me to our outing today---if you visited Bass Pro Shop today, please use your hand sanitizer....we just can't stay inside all day long--really, we'd go crazy! The kids were high on their cough medicine, so the excitement was through the roof, but at least the germs were not being spread through their cough (and if they did cough, you know what I said--see above title)! BTW--Bass Pro Shop is truly an awesome place to visit. My boys were in heaven. Kate went to the ballet with Nana, so it was just the boys being boys at the coolest store on earth. Here we have Wills and Owen getting some sugar from the bear.

We'll call this
SCARY

SCARIER

SCARIEST!

Just Another Day

My little man is getting so big! It makes me sad to think this is my baby. I really really love this age. It might be my favorite. He is so much fun right now and doing so many new things. He is very independent and is starting to try to say a few things that make sense. I think it is funny that one word he can say is "gum". You see, my kids LOVE to chew gum and he has learned to say "gum" every time the kids ask for it. His favorite time of day is by far, after his bath. He loves when I put lotion on him and he loves being naked...typical boy--the naked part.

Now, when you have a older sister, who really needs a younger sister, this is what happens. Kate just got a new nightgown and she decided Gray needed a little something special too.

She is so proud of her beautiful baby brother.

On a more serious note, nothing frustrates me more than having all this space in our house and outside of our house, and 4 little ones constantly at my feet. I love my kids more than anything, but sometimes I need some personal space...I mean not to do anything luxurious, just to maybe pay bills, use the bathroom, cook dinner, unload the dishwasher, etc. We have a playroom filled with more toys than we need and for some reason, my constant presence is more fun. Tonight after dinner, I was cleaning up the kitchen and we had about 20 minutes before I start our nightly "before bed" video, and I made them all go upstairs to play. I made it clear that if they came downstairs they would not watch the video tonight. All kids nodded in agreement, (although I am not sure Gray understood what was going on)!
As I was washing dishes, I hear "Mommy, look at this", "Mommy watch this", "Hey Mommy...Hey Mommy" "MOMMY!!"
Of course, I am a tad annoyed, so I round the corner to make my way upstairs, and here is what I see......
Yes, they are, in fact, upstairs, but still as close as they possibly can be to me, without disobeying. They were all sitting at the top of the stairs, just hanging out, waiting for their horrible 20 minutes of isolation to be over.

Can you smell them?

They sure turned out yummy. We baked quite a few,
and ate quite a few!

She even cracked the eggs all by herself. My little Martha!

Just so you know...I only bake cookies that are easy to make. I do not do the whole 10+ ingredient thing. I buy those already made at the store. To be honest, my kids are pretty easy to please when it comes to a cookie!

Are We Done Yet?

Anyone know the feeling? Oh, the pain you go through to get just ONE good one!

Not this one!

Pass on this one!

Profile pix

Not sure what this is?

Almost!

For those who know us personally, not in bloggerville, your card is coming in the mail--it is a LITTLE better than these! Merry Christmas!

What's for Dinner?

Now, I am not proud, but I am not ashamed either because sometimes you just do what you got to do to make it through the day. I figure, minus the 10+grams of sugar, it is fortified with some vitamins and minerals.
Gray even got in on the action. I will note that this would NEVER have happened with #1 or #2 child (not sure about #3) We actually just recently were introduced to the ever so tasty cereal, we like to call Chocolate puffs!
The one who ate 2 bowls full is also the one does not need the extra (sugar), I mean, energy! He was so excited...he couldn't stand to stop eating for the picture! I think he thought I would change my mind any minute.
I know I am not the only one out there who has done this....RIGHT?

We Saw Him!

Here we are, waiting! Only 3 in front of us. Here's a tip--go during the week! It was great. Notice Gray is just fine, not knowing what lies ahead.
Uh-Oh! Santa's lap. The older kids enjoyed it...Gray Gray, not so much! We did get to sit on his lap for awhile and tell him what we want for Christmas. Wills told him a hamster! Ummmmm...this is new to me! I had to inform Wills that our family has already met the maximum number of pets rule. We are not allowed to have any more. We need to give others the opportunity!

Everybody but Will is losing interest in St Nick!

The Elf Brothers!

Ice Cream-YUM!

We hit the Leggo Store (and lost a shoe)!

My little Engineer!

A great way to spend a rainy day. Every time we go to the mall (which is maybe three times a year), the kids think it is Disney World! All the lights, people, carousel, toy stores, ride on toys at the exit, etc... are right up my kids alley!

You are On The Porch!

On Saturday, our next door neighbor passed away. She was diagnosed with cancer exactly 6 months ago, and went home to be with the Lord over the weekend. Last night, there was a beautiful memorial service for her and, often times, in the midst of what might seem like a tragedy, God's glory is revealed to all who know Him and the hope of Jesus is shared for those who do not.
I have not attended many memorial services, this may have been my 2nd, and it was so touching and spoke to me, yet again, on how fleeting this life is...a vapor! The pastor said something that I want to forever keep in the forefront of my mind. He said,

We are all on the porch of eternity!

He followed it, later, by saying that what we already know, but sometimes need to hear again...

We will all leave this world the same way. No one can escape that eternity will come for you!

Those who know Christ will meet our Sovereign God, who will give us the Crown of Life (Rev. 2:10b). He will welcome us with open arms, and only then, will the real glory of our Savior in Heaven be revealed.
I am challenged by the above statement, that this life is but a vapor, a mist! What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. James 4:14b I cling to the above verse and pray that my life here on this earth will be a life that glorifies God. A life that can show the love of Jesus to those who so desperately need Him.
Romans 5:8 But God demonstrates His own love towards us, in that while we were sinners, Christ died for us.
If you want something wonderful to read today, read Psalms 31! It is so powerful! How can we be discouraged, in a world that is so lost, when we read something like this!? I am so thankful that the bible is so applicable still today! Isn't God amazing!

The Culprit

Who could have taken these wonderful pictures I found on my camera (that no child is allowed to play with)? If you know my family...you might have a pretty good guess.
Here is a beautiful crotch shot, complete with a Christmas ornament.
A close up of his best friend, his brother Wills!
After quite a few (uh-ummm...20 or so) random and VERY close up shots, that I won't bore you with, the last one says it all...The culprit!
While we are on the topic of Owen...tonight he came out of this bathroom with a sopping wet head. I might add that water was all over the floor, but he let me know, very proudly, that he didn't need a bath because he already washed his hair. Apparently, with the hand soap in our hall bathroom.
This is what it looks like when kids wash their own hair in the sink! Not sure that he took a towel to it, but hey...he seemed happy and was very proud.