Halloween 2011

Avery decided she wanted to be an angel this year, and I actually had her outfit made about a month in advance. Braden was originally going to be a gladiator, but in the end he decided to go with Batman from last year. Still just as cute. Avery enjoyed her costume at school on
Friday, then they both got to wear costumes to the Fall Festival at church Sunday, then we went trick or treating with the Johnston's on Monday night. Full fun weekend!

Braden's Birthday

I can't believe my little man is 4 years old! He is still the loving, fun, energetic, active, happy little boy he has always been! We are so blessed that God chose our family to put him in. We love you little man. We had a smallish birthday party at the house for him, and we all enjoyed fun and time with friends.

Pumpkin Patch

Avery had her first field trip to the pumpkin patch this year. It was so much fun, and Braden had a ball joining right in with her class. They got to play on the playground, go through a corn maze, pick cotton, go on a hayride, pet animals, and pick a pumpkin. I enjoyed getting to know some of the other parents on the trip as well.

Avery-isms

Avery had been playing with my phone during Braden's soccer game and didn't know I had taken it back. I heard her realize, "oh no! Where is momma's phone!?" she gathered some friends for a search party under the bleachers. One friend pointed out a flower with which Avery responded adamantly, "I KNOW it's pretty, but DON'T look at it because we HAVE to find this PHONE!!"

Bradenism

This morning during breakfast Braden decides, "Momma, I'm don't like babies. I think I'm allergic to them."

Soccer 2011

Braden has started soccer for the first time this Fall. This will be his first organized activity to participate in, and he's loving it! I think his favorite part is his jersey because "it's sort of like the football boys' jerseys..."

He has had three games so far, and has scored two goals. One for his team and one for the other team! I love going to cheer him on each Saturday morning, and I can't help but imagine if this is a taste of things to come when he gets more grown up and plays other sports.

My Great Helper

The kids always enjoy helping out wherever they can around the house. Today was no different when Braden and I decided to paint the front porch railing. He did such a good job following directions, and I was pretty impressed with his skills!

My Little Tree Hugger

Avery has always been my little conscientious one regarding all things earth. Whether it's concerning recycling, not littering, or wasting natural resources, Avery will be the first to correct you.

(On a side note, I think her fabulous teacher, Mrs. Cummings, added even more brownie points in Avery's book yesterday when she told the class, "The Earth is NOT your trashcan..")

But I digress.

Today while on the way to school Avery told me of all the things she and her friends did at recess yesterday. During the part where they all gathered up rocks, sticks, etc, she remembered she found a humongous piece of bark. "Oh man!" She sputtered. "I should have saved that bark and given it to the paper makers to use since that tree was already cut apart. I really, really don't want them to have to cut down a whole other tree! Especially those trees because they are so beautiful!"

Buddies

Remember this? Well, this picture was taken, three years later, at another football game. Lucas and some other great kids from ACA came up from Harding to support Kenny's football team. I love that they still somehow have their little bond!

More Bradenisms

While watching the beginning of Tom and Jerry, where the lion roars, Braden states: "Momma, if that lion were here in the living room with us, I would.....I would....well, would you pick me up and run?!"

Braden-isms

Tonight Avery and I had such a good time having girl time getting her ready for bed, and we of course had to primp after her shower.

When we re-joined the boys, Avery told Braden we had been "primping."

Braden looked at me and questioned, Momma...do boys 'print' too?"

Catch up

As usual, I've let Facebook get in the way and haven't kept my journal up to date.

Grammy and Pop came to visit for my birthday. It was so much fun.

Braden has started soccer.

Avery starts gymnastics today.

Kenny has had two football games, and won both!

We are settling in to town now. It's fun that you can see people you know and wave now. We're not outsiders anymore.

Last night was our first small group meeting with a new group of friends. I look forward to building stronger relationships with each of them.

Jon and Stacy and the kids are coming this weekend for their last hurrah before moving to Honduras.

Sweet 6

One Year Old Avery

Two Year Old Avery

Three Year Old Avery

Four Year Old Avery

Five Year Old Avery

Happy Birthday 6 Year Old! My strong, determined, brilliant, quirky, lovable, kind, considerate, spunky, pleasing Avery. You have truly blessed the past 6 years of my life. I'm glad I get to be your momma.

Ode To Barlow

Barlow has been in our family for almost three years now. We used to have a Pekignese dog, and when he passed away we decided to wait on having another pet for a while.  When Braden was very small we could tell he was an animal lover, and Avery has a gentle spirit with animals too.  Enough time had passed for us to 'mourn' Curtis so we decided to visit the humane shelter to pick out our next family pet.  

We told the people there we wanted a dog who was already trained, but still young enough so he could grow up with our family.  I'll never forget the first time I saw Barlow when she brought him out.  He was so handsome, a great size, and a bit goofy.  The kids were immediately drawn to him, and loved chasing and playing with him in the 'meet and greet' yard.  We brought him home, and he has been part of our family ever since. 

Since Barlow was already trained, we could tell someone had spent a lot of time with him.  I've often wondered what his story was before he had us.  He walks excellently on a leash, even letting Avery walk him when she was only three years old.  Barlow has let Braden waller all over him from the beginning, and hasn't ever snapped at him.  He spends a lot of time inside with us, but also loves being in the yard.  Gladly he hasn't been a big barker, only warning us when people are approaching or another animal walks by.  In the evenings he likes to curl up beside me on the couch or the floor. 

It has been fun watching him grow with the kids.  He started in his chewing stage, but has since outgrown that.  He is still relatively young so he has his excited, hyper times of the day, but does calm down and sprawl out in the sunshine for naps.  He loves his time with the kids, but he also enjoys being alone when he needs to be outside.  When it's bedtime, he knows to go to his crate, and oftentimes we will find him in there before we even tell him it's time. 

Barlow has been a blessing for our family. 

I write all of this because unfortunately, situations have arisen where we will be moving soon.  Normally this wouldn't be a problem, but since we will be renting, the house we have found does not have a fenced yard, and the people have said no animals inside the house.  Barlow is truly a part of our family, and this seems to be a deal breaker for Avery.  She says she just doesn't want to go if Barlow can't come with us.  We've used this opportunity to teach her that sometimes situations arise and we just have to roll with the punches. We have also taught her that we did make a committment to take care of him as our pet, but we will continue to take care of him by finding him an excellent home. 

So, I write this to record our memories of him, and also send a plea to those out there who might be thinking about bringing a wonderful animal into their home to become part of their family.  Barlow needs to have a home where he will be given lots of attention since that is what he is used to, and since he is near and dear to our hearts, we will make sure that a good home is found. 

As much as I hate to think about saying the words, please contact me if you are interested, or if you know of someone who might be interested in welcoming this sweet dog into their hearts and home.        

The Perfect Storm

This week has been a little crazy. Avery has been throwing up for 24 hours straight, bless her little heart. Then last night a storm blew in, and anyone who knows Braden realizes he is terrified of rain. We knew there would be rain so we put a fan in his room in hopes that it would cover some of the noise. It turned out to be a big mac daddy of a storm with more lightning and thunder than I've seen in a long time. To our surprise, the fan seemed to be working...until the electricity went off. Nice. Avery slept through the biggest part. I ended up sleeping with Braden, on the two inches of bed he left me, in complete darkness until morning.

When I let Barlow into the backyard this morning, this is what welcomed me.

You can see where there is a trampoline in there somewhere...

At first I was sick to my stomach; then I realized it didn't hit the kids' swingset

Or the house.

Missed it by a hair. I'll take replacing the cheapest thing in our backyard. Sweet Avery told Braden, "We can use the money from our piggy bank to fix the trampoline!"

Mantel

I had a fun time decorating the mantel this year. I let the kids have at the tree, so I sort of took the mantel on as my adult space. Not that the tree looks bad at all, I just wanted to primp my own space.

There are always pictures that I see of spaces where I love the design, but I've never been able to put things together in just the right way. So, I guess you could say I did some "research" by blog-hopping to find different ideas I could steal. And let me tell you I stole some ideas!

Then I "shopped" my house. There were very few things I found that I wanted, so I "shopped" my friend, Amy's, house! I was very pleased with the treasures I borrowed.

I did end up picking up some pine greenery and ribbon from Big Lots, but other than that, no money! When I got home, I cut sprigs from the berry bush that seemed to have magically appeared in our yard.

So, here's my mantel and fireplace finished, with a grand total of only $12 spent. Not too shabby. (Kenny will be pleased!)

I also must add that it looks more magical with the big light off and the glitter lights glowing behind as well as the tea lights in the jars...oh well...I've never admitted to being a photographer!

My Troopers

This may be long and drawn out to some, but I wanted to document today's doctor appointments because I was sooo proud of how my kiddos did.

The last time I had to take Avery to the doctor for stomach issues, I was informed that she had never had her five year check up! What?! I filed that information away in my mind that sometimes like to retain information, and other times does not.

Fast forward to this week. I realized that I had yet to schedule Braden's three year doctor appointment. Double What?!

So, 6-ish months after Avery was supposed to have her appointment and one month after Braden was supposed to have his, I realized that I had to get on the ball..er, uh...phone to make appointments.

Guess who is out of the running for mother of the year, huh.

To my surprise, I was informed of an available appointment for the next day (today), and was eager to fill that spot since the next one wouldn't be until January. At that rate, I might as well save up until Avery's 6th birthday and make her have double the immunizations.

Let me fill in a little background. Braden doesn't mind so much about going to the doctor. Maybe because he was too little to remember the few times he's had minor issues, resulting in needle pricks everyday, or the dog bite. Avery, however, is a different story. She was a little older when she had her minor run ins...broken arm, urinary tract issues, stomach problem.

Kenny and I laugh now when we recall the day of the broken arm. The nurses were trying their best to get an IV in her arm. They resorted to her foot; it took four grown people to hold down one teeny little girl who screamed, "No ma'am! No ma'am!" all the while. Then there was the urinary tract issues. Luckily (for me) I was out of town, but my parents were the ones who had to endure that struggle. My heart broke just hearing about it. I'm not sure I would have made it through that one without tears of my own.

To make a long story a little shorter, Avery's not a fan.

After the appointment was made (both of them in one whammy), I asked Kenny if he would be able to leave work for a little bit and come help out. I had forgotten today and tomorrow was the day of the Super Six (football state playoffs), and he would be out of town. So. Alone I went. I had prayed hard all evening that things would go well.

I know Avery is the type who needs to know ahead of time what is going to happen, so I had to walk the fine line of telling her in enough time before we left, but not too soon so she wouldn't dwell on the inevitable.

Lots more praying took place this morning, then I presented the fact that we would be going for check ups. Braden asked and I explained what it would entail...looking in ears, eyes, throat, getting weighed, measured, etc. Avery was quiet all the while. Soon she asked, "what about shots momma?" I weasled my way out of that with an indirect, "well honey, if you guys do need shots, I know you will be brave." Followed closely with, "and when we're all done we can go to the store to pick out a treat because I know you will do so well."

That appeased her for about a second. Then more questions were hurled at me from both sides. Braden decided he didn't want a check up. So, I got out the doctor play stuff and we played doctor for a while. Of course I wasn't a serious doctor, I was the clown version, trying to make it as happy as possible.

By the time we finished, we decided we would take it one step at a time and that they both were going to stick their arms out and say, "Bring on the shots!" if they needed to.

I could tell Avery was apprehensive when we arrived, but they busied themselves with the blocks in the waiting room. Then after a good hand washing, we headed to get weighed.

Avery: 40.4 pounds.

Braden: 41.6 pounds.

Hilarious.

We played some more in the room while Miss Jessi asked them all the questions and checked their blood pressure. They were so good to take turns. Avery went first and asked Miss Jessi lots of questions. Braden was excited to climb up and get his blood pressure taken. When Miss Jessi left the room, he pranced around and said, "Thanks for squeezing my arm!"

The doctor came in and did the whole ear, eye, throat check. When it came time to turn out the lights Braden giggled the entire time. His facial expressions made me laugh the whole time. It was fun to watch him jump up and be excited to do whatever Avery had just done. When it was his turn for the eyes, he told the doctor, "OK! Time to turn off the lights!"

That time when he finished, he knew it was the last thing Avery had done, so he headed to the door to leave. Little did he know there was more in store.

Avery was told she would need two immunizations and Braden one. She was confused why he only had to get one, but after some explaining, she was ok. We were also happy to learn that she won't need any more immunizations until she's 11. After she found out that was another entire lifetime for her, literally, she was excited.

When it was her turn for her shots, she sat up like a big girl, and asked Miss Jessi questions. When the first needle went in, she said, "That didn't hurt really bad." Then the medicine went in and she felt a little burn. She didn't like that too much, but I could tell she was trying so hard not to cry. She told me later, "Momma, I was extra brave because you were standing right there beside me. If you hadn't been there, I would have been more nervous." Those are words every momma needs to hear. For her next shot she told Miss Jessi, "That one didn't hurt at all, and no burning either!" When she found out the measles and mumps immunization was the one that hurt, she said, "Mean measles!"

I can't begin to describe her sweet face during the process. It made me want to tear up because she wanted to cry so badly, but she held it in and was so brave.

Braden was watching the whole process. He could sense that Avery wasn't liking it even though she was hiding it well. He said once, "Don't do that to my sister!" They can fight and fight, but in the end they will always stand up for each other.

It was his turn, and he got his in his leg. The nurse held his legs down and I got his hands. It went quickly, and there were a few tears, but then he was pretty proud of his little bandaid.

Then they informed Avery she would have to get a needle stick in her finger to get a little blood. Bless her heart; she thought she was finished, and that threw her for a loop. She didn't cry or whine, but she did panic a little. We tried to tell her that the worst part was over, and the other wouldn't hurt badly, but she was still so nervous while we waited at the lab. Braden told everyone we saw about his bandaid and shot.

Avery asked the lab tech tons more questions about what it would feel like, would it be worse than the shots, etc. Finally the lab tech just took her hand and showed her. Avery said, "That wasn't bad at all!" Then she looked down and saw the blood and had to close her eyes. Such a weak little stomach. She talked the whole time with her eyes closed, and was very proud to earn her sticker when it was all over. Braden was also graced with a sticker as well.

We headed to the dollar store so they could pick out whatever they wanted for being so brave, and then we topped off the morning with lunch at Chic Fil A. Braden continued to tell everyone he saw about his shot and his bandaid. Avery joined in to tell of how brave they had been.

My little troopers.