Thankful

Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. Psalms 100:4

We traveled to Atlanta on Tuesday night to spend an early Thanksgiving with my family. We have been celebrating Thanksgiving every year on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, so that we can all be together. Below is a picture of my sisters and mom, whom I am so thankful to get to spend time with. If you look closely, we are holding up a picture of our youngest sister, Morgan, who is about to come home in less than 4 weeks, from Venezuela. She has been there for 2 years, serving as a missionary. We cannot wait to have her home with us!

My sister and I took all the boy cousins hiking at Kennesaw Mountain on Wednesday afternoon! 6 wild boys running all over the trails. They had so much fun.

The girls minus Emerson...Meme must be holding her!!

My parents with all 12 grandkids! We had to try and get a picture before we started eating. It actually turned out great! #13 due in a few months!

Hannah blessing the food!

And now, on to the Carrington's house. A little (okay...a lot) quieter, but just as special. We got up on Thanksgiving morning, hopped in the car and headed back home. The car ride went quick because we watched fun Christmas movies the whole way!

Matt's parents with their grandkids!

On the way home...4:30...fast asleep...I put him straight in bed for the night at 4:45! I sure hope he sleeps until the morning. We all need it!

Code Words

My little Turkey...VERY fitting!

My "Dancing Flower"

We had the kid's program at school today and it was so cute, in fact, it was exactly the same as the last 4 years that we have seen it. No sense changing something that works, I guess.
Each child in Owen's class had put something they were thankful for on a piece of fruit and put it in a cornucopia. Well, all the thanksgivings were so sweet; my mom, God, Jesus, family, Nana, Dad....but then I saw Owens. His said...

Owen is thankful for the Zoo!

True! We are a family that loves animals, I will give him props on that, but I like to think in his mind, Zoo is code for Home and the people in it---because in all honesty, sometimes it is a zoo around here.
So, when I read this, I see the following!

Owen is thankful for his home and everyone that lives in it!

It's that time of year

Today, because I happen to have the time, I got out all our Christmas stuff and set it out (on our ping pong table), so that I would be ready to decorate on Black Friday. I hold firm to no decorating before Thanksgiving, but once the turkey is gone, I am in full Christmas mode. I love it. This year, to make things a little easier on me, my kids and I went through all the boxes to check out what we had and laid it all out. Now, all I need to do is put everything in it's place. I can't wait.

There is one more table in the basement garage filled with all our wreaths .

In one of the boxes, we found these new Christmas toys that I had bought last year after Christmas for 90% off. They make music and dance, and the kids have had fun with them all morning long. Note to self: after Christmas stock up on really annoying toys so that the kids will be entertained on the day that you decorate.

You can do it too!

My Three Boys
well, one is my neighbor, but he is with us a lot. Good thing he is a sweet boy!

This is where the Princess' hat sat because she didn't think her feathers looked right--can someone say DIVA? She did not make it outside with the boys.

Little Indian Boys..hi ya ya ya hi ya ya!

I love it when I can whip up a quick impromptu craft, using what we have around the house. It sure made the afternoon fly by today...well, maybe not FLY by, but it did hold their attention for a few hours.

Supply List
cardboard (I used a Diet Coke package from our recycling bin)
Tape
feathers
markers
paint

Cut cardboard into strips. Let kids decorate the unprinted side with markers. Let each child think of a name to put on the front. (Big Brown Bear, Mean Rhino, Pretty Kitty, Wolf Hunter) Tape feathers on the back side. You can glue them, but then you would have to wait for the glue to dry. Size it around their heads and tape (I used Duct tape) together the 2 sides. Easy as pie....an Indian headdress. I took some paint and gave them "markings " on their face. Now, send them outside with a sling-shot, or toy gun, or whatever you can find and tell them to go hunt something for dinner, in the woods. I made sure to tell them that Indians ran wherever they went thinking they would get rid of all their bottled up energy! Gray will be in there next year, I'm sure.

Mama in the house!

Proverbs 31 Her Children arise and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her. Many woman do noble things, but you surpass them all. Charm is deceptive and beauty is fleeting, but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised. Give her the reward she has earned, and let her works bring her praise at the city gate!

My sweet mom just left my house today. She spent a few nights with me while Matt was out of town, and now I have to do a little braggin on my mama! So here is a shout out to my mom and how blessed I am that God made you mine!
The only way I think I could ever truly appreciate all you did for our family (I mean you had FIVE girls), is by becoming a mother myself. And now I have the understanding of what a mother's love really is because I know how much love I have for my own family. I think I can now understand, in small ways and appreciate in big ways, what an amazing mom you were when I was young, and that you still are today. First off, I know you are a woman of prayer, and I am forever grateful that you have daily lifted me up in prayer. I am not sure how you did it when we were younger? I know you and Daddy lived in different places without family to help. In fact, I am in awe of how you came to be such an amazing mom, when you yourself, did not have your mother here on earth when you were young. It breaks my heart to think how difficult it was when you were little, but also how hard it must have been when you became a mom yourself. In short, I am not sure how I could get through these crazy, but precious, baby and toddler years without your help and guidance.
I have only wonderful memories of when I was little. Lots of laughter, chaos (in a fun way), fun trips and a mom and dad who loved me unconditionally. I never remember you "losing it" or stressing about all the things that "life" throws at you, and Lord knows you had a lot on your plate. I never remembering you complaining of washing and folding 5 girls clothes or fussing at us for using 2 new towels every time we showered. (2 X 5 = 10 towels a day to wash) You never tired of picking up after us and never made me feel like I couldn't be myself. You have always supported me and been my biggest cheerleader (and I had quite a few games to watch over the years)! You never tried to be too involved in my life when I was growing up...in a good way! You always gave me space, respected me, and were trustworthy. In turn, I can tell you anything and actually WANT to tell you everything.
I look at the love I have for my family, and can only now, truly appreciate the love of a mother...your love for me! You have shown each one of us your love in different ways because we are each our own unique person, but never one more than the other. My prayer is that I can do the same for my family, and that generations to come will be influenced by the love you have showered on me and the woman and mom you have helped me to become. I love you, Mom and thank you, from the bottom of my heart!

How sweet it is....

Who can resist a cute little naked baby?
NOT ME!!!
There is nothing sweeter than a little boy running around the house with just a diaper on.
And oh! how he loves it.
He has just discovered his belly button and it is so cute.
Of all my babies, Gray is the one who loves to be in his birthday suit the most.
Now that the weather is getting cooler, we say good bye to the days of playing outside in his birthday suit and hello to wearing nothin' but diapers inside the house!

Today I made a mental note to not have Santa deliver packages to my house early. He MUST send them to a neighbor's house or to Matt at work. You see, I do quite a bit of my Christmas shopping on the computer, and it is obviously not going to work out too well this year. One issue is that my kids WANT STUFF ALL THE TIME!!!! In turn, they see a box, a pretty envelope, a package, and they WILL get it open. Owen happened to go out to get the mail without my knowing and he came back holding Kate's new DVD that Santa was going to bring her! The amazing thing was HOW he got the package open. It kinda looks like a little rat gnawed on it.
Tis the season!

Just Plain Ole Fun!

What a wonderful last few days we have had! This past weekend, we had absolutely no commitments, and along with it, we had amazing weather. It was so nice to just spend time as a family and do lots of fun things together. Lately, it feels like the weekends have been packed with parties and places to be, so it was so refreshing to just hang out...and hang out we did. After a week of sickness, we welcomed it.
Matt and I went out on a date Friday night. We scored some Bruce Hornsby tickets, so we got a sitter and headed out for a "date night". The concert was great and we were lucky enough to grab dinner before. We ended up having to eat as fast as we do when we have the kids because we were running late, but it was still nice to not have to cut someone's food or threaten anybody at the table--well, besides our waiter, whom we politely asked to "make it quick, we had places to go".
On Saturday I was able to go for a nice long morning jog while Matt watched the kids, and then Matt got to do his thing...tennis! I am so glad he is finally back to playing. It is such a good stress reliever for him. That afternoon, we spent the day riding bikes, jumping on the trampoline, and playing in the yard. We headed out get Doodles (ice cream!) and tried out a new park that we have never been to. The kids had a blast. There were see-saws at this park and my kids were in heaven. That night, we headed to some friends to watch the Auburn game (sniff sniff)!
On Sunday morning, we headed to church! I am so blessed by what God is doing through our church. Each week I am challenged by the message and renewed by the powerful worship. I am so grateful that Church of the Highlands is in Birmingham and that our kids(and me) get to grow up in a life giving church that is not only fun to go to, but teaches about the hope and freedom that our Savior wants us each to experience.
We spent Sunday afternoon at yet another park and finished the day with a nice long walk on the trail around the park.
Matt travels this entire week, which is a good thing for him and his work, but not so good for me. I should be used to him traveling, but with the recession, he has not had to travel too much over the last year and I have loved it. I realize it is part of his job, and the fact that he is out of town on business again is a good sign, but it is no fun for me. I do just fine with taking care of the kids, it is the sleeping all alone in our house and the quiet nights after the kids are asleep in bed that gets lonely! I am usually lucky enough to have sweet Kate come into my bed around 3:00 a.m. When Matt is gone, I welcome it! Thankfully my sweet mom is coming on Wednesday to help me out. I love that I still need my mom and look forward to the day when my kids are "big" but still need their mommy too! (but please don't happen too fast--so not ready for them to grow up quite yet)
With Thanksgiving fast approaching, Owen has been learning some very familiar scripture verses at school. I decided that I would study the Psalm he is reading too, and to my surprise a very old and familiar verse has new meaning to me:
Psalm 100 talks about "giving thanks", but it is much more than that! It speaks about really, truly knowing God. Praising and worshipping Him with songs. Serving Him and Him alone. He made me, I am one of His sheep! When I come to Him in prayer, I must humble myself before my faithful Father in heaven. His love for me exceeds anything I can fathom. He wants only good for my life. I should shout it for all the world to hear that He is Lord! How thankful I am for so many things that God has blessed me with, but above all, I am thankful that I know Jesus. I am thankful for the hope he gives me, my family and everyone who knows Him!
Thanksgiving is always a great time to reflect on God's great love for us. We are heading into the Christmas season and my heart is full of THANKSGIVING as I think about our Savior, who came to this world wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger. How great and loving our Father in heaven is, to give the world, to give ME, His son!

Stars, Giving, and a Celebrity!

Yesterday we were outside playing around dusk and Gray discovered his first Star! He was looking straight up in the sky and pointing at it, trying to get me to look up too. It was so cute and such a sweet memory to know that today he "discovered" another amazing wonder in God's great universe! So, now my little boy loves his blanket, any ball he can find, and the stars in the sky!
Do everything without complaining or arguing so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like STARS in the universe! Phill. 2:14, 15)
This week we decided that, as a family, we were going to do the Christmas Shoebox outreach. It is a ministry in which you fill a shoebox with special items and gifts to send off to a little girl or boy who might not otherwise receive anything. As I look around at all our "stuff", I am always reminded of how blessed we are in a world where so many people are suffering. We daily take things like clean water, food on the table, comfortable shoes and a warm bed for granted. In a society that says more is better, I have to sit back and think, is it really? It is hard for me to grasp the concept of how truly needy some children are, much less my children to understand it! So in attempt to trying to teach them the gift of giving we decided to do this activity. We found shoe boxes, and the boys were in charge of filling it for a boy and Kate and I for a girl. We bought lots of items, small enough to fit in the shoebox and came home to pack them up. It was very hard for my kids to look at all the gifts they picked out and not want to keep some of it. Owen said, "Mom, can we just keep 1 thing?" The kids packed them up, made cards, and stuck a picture of our family in each box. We got on-line and I showed them some pictures of some of the poorest areas of Africa and Mexico. This seemed to help put a picture in their minds of how life is in other places.

Kate packing her box and making her card

the boys box

Wills made an alien card that said "If you see an alien, tell him Merry Christmas"???
I'm sure a young boy will love that!

Our Family

But just as you excel in everything---in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in complete earnestness and in your love for us---see that you also excel in this; grace of giving!
II Cor. 8:7

Now, onto something really exciting that happened to me!!!
Take a look at what I received in the mail yesterday!

Can you believe it...my new best friend! It ends up that Matt knows her husband..he just found this out! I am not sure how it did not come up before now, but somehow he discovered it when they met the other day for a business meeting. Matt knows that I really like to watch her at night. I love her passion for kids and her no nonsense attitude! So, this is what I get in the mail yesterday, and yes it is on my refrigerator. My kids are like, "Mommy who is the mad lady on the fridge?" lol

The List

First off, I will give myself a pat on the back for my obsessiveness about my children taking their vitamins everyday. Wills ended up having strep throat, but everyone else stayed healthy (and you know how contagious that is). The kids are always complaining about ALL the vitamins I make them take every morning, but it works. Lots of good sleep and vitamins are key to keeping your kiddos healthy. I usually add some food on their plates too though! LOL

Gray's First Dentist Visit

Wills Art he made from the "art box", and yes there was a VERY long puppet show to follow!

Creativity!

In place of boring you to death with the details of our last 3 days of no school...I will just give you a list of the places we have been and things we have accomplished over the course of Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. I might add that all 4 kids have been with me on all of these little adventures! The past few days have made me question how in the world I survive summer vacation?

Doctor's appt (Monday 2:00-4:00--yes.......2 hours in a small room with 4 kids!!!)
Pharmacy
Ballet for Kate
Gym
Dentist --The kids had 6 month check ups and Gray had his first appt.
Cleaned out the entire garage
Publix
Library
The Movie--we saw Astro Boy (Tuesdays at the Summit kids free and popcorn and drinks $1)
Chic-fil-a
Park
Played in the rain
Got out the good ole art box
Story time

It has been busy, but fun, and I think the kids have enjoyed hanging out with each other all day.
I must say that I have 2 backpacks fully loaded, sitting right by the door waiting to see 2 darling boys off tomorrow!

One thing that I have to write down so that I will forever remember it:
Wills was eating peanut M&M's and he came into the kitchen and was holding just the peanut in his hand. He had sucked off all the chocolate. I asked him what it was and he told me, with great excitement
"it's the seed from the inside of the M&M" and "that he was going to plant it so that we could have an M&M tree in our yard".

A Quiet Morning!

I am spending the morning at home with a sick child. Wills came down with a fever yesterday, and after good night's sleep, he still was running one this morning, so he got to stay home from school today. I gave him a dose of Mortin this morning, which basically masks the fever and makes him feel fine for about 3 hours, which in turn means running around the house playing with Owen, until he finally crashes and burns...which came right about the time I needed to take Owen and Kate to school. After carpool, we stopped by Publix to pick up some Vitamin C and immunity blend packets, headed to Panera to get some soup for lunch, and then back home to lay on the couch and watch TV all day!
I am actually enjoying this day. I had to put on hold all my other "errands" and I am able to just be at home and baby my 6 year old. He doesn't let me do it too often.

On another note, I happen to be reading the book of Jeremiah, and came upon a familiar verse in the very first chapter....

Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you,
before you were born I set you apart;
I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.

I have always loved the above verse; that God knew me, my husband, my children, YOU, before we were ever even conceived. He knew that we would be on this earth, in this city, at this very time. He set us apart to do great things for His kingdom before we were ever even born! Oh how I want to know Him more and experience the fullness of life that He promises to us if we seek Him with our whole heart. I do not want any hindrances to keep me from experiencing His great Power and what He can accomplish on this earth by using plain ole Me!
I want this for my family, for my children, for my children's children! Generations to come!

Another favorite and popular verse found in Jeremiah 29 that really goes along perfect with this verse, is

(v11) For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord,
plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

How GREAT is our God that not only did he know me before I was born and formed me in my mother's womb, but He also has a plan for my life! A perfect plan from a perfect father! It is hard to grasp that He cares so much for each of us that He has a perfect plan for all who know Him.
My prayer is that I throw off everything that hinders me and sin that so easily entangles, and that I run with perseverance the race marked out for me! (Heb 12:1b)

Isn't it awesome that God's word is powerful, is alive and is TRUTH!!!!
The word of God, even though written so long ago, is still applicable to my life. Think of how much the world has changed in thousands and thousands of years; the people, the technology, etc... but yet the word of God still holds the Truth and can teach us so much about living in today's world! I am so thankful to God that He has given us this tool to guide us, to help us, to use as a tool to know him more.
Psalms 119
(v97-98) Oh how I love your law! I meditate on it all day long. Your commands make me wiser than my enemies, for they are ever with me.
(v 105) Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.
(v130) The unfolding of your words gives light; it gives understanding to the simple (that's me!)
(v133) Direct my footsteps according to your word; let no sin rule over me.
(v160) All your words are true; all your righteous laws are eternal.

Night on the town and morning treasures!

Last night I took Kate to Disney On Ice at the BJCC. We went with a good friend of mine and her daughter. This was our special girl's night out and she probably asked me 20 times throughout the day when it would be time to go? We put on her fancy princess dress, did her hair...she insisted on pig-tails (as usual) and I even put some make-up on her. It was pretty funny that I was applying make-up because, to be honest, she probably could have done a better job than me! We were ready to go by 4:00, but not leaving until 6:15. She spent 2 hours prancing around the house reminding the boys that they were not allowed to come. Me and my little girl and yes this is wardrobe change #2 at 6:00. Luckily I packed some extra clothes because change #3 happened at intermission.

Kate and Mary Ellis!

The show was fabulous. Now, I am not much of an ice skating fan. I would much rather watch a ball game, but it really was great! I enjoyed it as much as the next child. The best part is, we got out of there spending $0 on the kids. They did not once ask for one of the hundreds of ridiculous souvenirs that Disney expects you to pay a small child for. We kept the girls occupied with a Sprite from home and lollipops from their Halloween stash!
Here is a picture of the grand finale!

On another note, I am a huge garage sale shopper. I find the BEST things at garage sales and the best time to hit one is on a Friday. Lucky me that I just have Gray on Fridays, so after dropping off Owen and Kate at school, I usually try to stop by a few on my way back home. We all know Christmas is right around the corner, as in less than 6 weeks! I found 3 awesome Christmas presents for my kids this morning. My biggest find was this:

Please wait

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I PAYED $10 for this Barbie Jeep! Can you believe it? I have already cleaned it up and it looks brand new! I am so excited. All it needs is a big pink bow and this will be under the tree on Christmas morning.

Look who visited us!

When you have these....

And they do this every time they come and go....

You get nice little visitors such as this....

And This!

I am thankful I did not find it here...

Or Here!

How many are your works, O Lord!
In Wisdom you made them all;
the earth is full of your creatures.
Psalms 104:24

Psams 104 is great to read to your kids! About God's amazing creation and how Great our God truly is.

Par-Tay with her Peeps!

Last week Kate had a "Princess Party" with the little girls in her class at school. It was perfect because there are 5 little girls in all, and that made for a very manageable party for me!
Kate has been wanting to have her friends over to play for weeks. You see, we live on a street of all boys, seriously like 20 boys! There are 3 other little girls that live on our street, but they are all in school, so she sees that the boys are always having their friends over and has really wanted "her friends" to come over too. We sent out a cute little E-vite and the girls came over dressed as princesses and we played, danced, had "tea", and painted pumpkins. It was so clam compared to what goes down when the boys have friends over. Nobody was jumping on the furniture or running through the house at full speed, or throwing toys around for no reason.
We had a little drama--as in, who sits next to who, but other than that--they were all prefect little princesses and had a ball!

Kate hanging with her Princess peeps!

Waiting patiently to paint pumpkins!

Tea Party Time!

Sugar and Spice

Boo!

Here are the boys (in the rain), soaking wet, in a mad dash down the street! I have never seen my boys move so fast. This year was definitely a different caliber of trick or treating. We actually hit 2 neighborhoods!
Below is a picture of the Star Wars Peeps!

After a hectic Friday of Halloween and Fall parties at the kids' schools, we headed to Atlanta for Emerson's (my nieces' 2nd birthday) and for trick or treating with the "cousins" (all 12 of them!)
The kids were thrilled to be able to spend Halloween with their cousins. It is a real treat to be with them, and holidays are extra fun. Especially when it involves dressing up and eating lots and lots of candy. The boy cousins were all Star Wars characters, along with Emerson who was the cutest Yoda ever! The girls were Dorothy, Tinker belle, Ariel, and Snow White (and Yoda)!
Gray was adorable as a Dinosaur and had so much fun just hanging with everyone.

Tinker belle and Ariel

The Cousins--12 in all. Ages 1-9 with a new baby girl due in January.

Candy!

Did I mention that we ate a lot of candy?