My People

Olivia has been playing with a bowl full of plastic forks all week. She calls them her people (never mind the fact that we have a house full of dolls, Little People, Barbie Princesses, etc.). The spoons come in two colors, white and beige. The beige ones are all named Derek and the white ones are Erika. She talks to them and looks for them every morning. Who knows, maybe she will get a bag of spoons for Christmas!

Change is in the air!

I have not written in a couple of weeks, and what a couple of weeks it has been! Mark went for a job interview on September 17, and was offered a job (in Decatur, AL) the next day. We had been praying that God would make the decision very obvious, and He did! Mark really liked the job, and they gave him a good offer. When Mark called me with the news of the offer, I was really excited! He was excited, and I was very happy for him. Then, I was talking on the phone with a friend, telling her the news, and it hit me! We were really going to leave Baton Rouge! Before we were done talking, we were both crying! A few minutes later, another friend called to chat, and I was sobbing again. After that, I made the executive decision to email everyone else(besides our family)! I told Isaac and Bailey the news a few hours later, and they were heartbroken! Bailey cried for about thirty minutes, and Isaac kept lamenting all the things he would not be able to do again and all of the things he would miss.

When we moved here six years ago, I did not want to come! I did not want to move twelve hours away from my family. I did not want to leave the mountains! I did not want to leave my friends! I cried buckets and prayed a lot. I prayed for God to prepare a place for us, and He did. I would have never imagined that I would cry buckets when it was time to leave Baton Rouge! God really prepared a wonderful place for us! Now, here I am praying that same prayer about Huntsville, and trusting that He will be faithful to answer our prayers once again.

After the first two days, I was able to focus on the wonderful aspects of this move. We will be only 230 miles away from my parents (instead of 680). Mark will have the opportunity to try a job that is a little different from what he is doing now. He is really ready for the change of pace!He worked at this plant right after he graduated from collage, and he really liked the area. I am excited. I know that it will be hard when it comes time for us to actually move, but I am firmly convinced that the friends we have here are friends for life (we are making sure that are new house has a guest room).

We have been in a bit of a holding pattern for the last week. It is my nature to spring into action when change is in the air. When I hear that we are moving, I want to know what I need to do to get our house ready and to find a new house. The new company is taking good care of us (packing us, possibly buying our house, etc.), so there is not a lot for us to do. I have done some painting and cleaning. I have also been going through our stuff, looking for stuff we do not really need (my children are worried every time they see me with a trash bag). Right now we are waiting on the results of Mark's background check and drug test (we are not too concerned), and then things should happen quickly. I have been studying all of the houses available in the Decatur/Huntsville area on the Internet. I feel like I have memorized them enough that I could move up there and be a real estate agent! So, I am having to patient and work on the time frame laid out by the company (instead of the one in Kim's world).

Wow! That is probably enough rambling for this post. This is really an exciting/bittersweet time for us. I am thankful for the opportunities that lie ahead!

Blue Bayou

Splash!

Love that blue tongue!

Daddy's Girl!

Spider Girl?!?

Our much anticipated trip to Blue Bayou went very well! We arrived a few minutes before 10:00, and stayed until 5:15. That is an amazing amount of time for our four children family! Exxon really knows how to put on a picnic. We had a free lunch (barbecue chicken for Mark and me, and hot dogs and chips for the children). We also had snow cones, ice cream sandwiches and all of the soft drinks we wanted. They gave away door prizes each hour. Isaac won a ten dollar gift card to Toys R Us (He was thrilled!).

Bailey shocked Mark and me! She was the queen of adventure. She and Mark went on a roller coaster, two "grown-up" water slides, the swings, and the "Music Express" ride. She seemed to be fearless! Isaac put a lot of thought into the bigger rides and talked himself out of them all. He did have a blast going down the slides in Pirates Cove and relaxing on the lazy river. Olivia went down one of the smaller water slides in Pirates Cove face down (she has a nice bruise under her eye), and decided that was enough for her. The dry rides (merry-go-round, cars, planes, etc.) were her favorite. Anna Grace enjoyed splashing in the water and watching the older children be adventurous. I had a good time riding the swings. I could tell that I am getting older by the slightly yucky feeling in my stomach when I was done swinging. That feeling did not used to be there! Mark was a great dad! Thankfully, he was willing to go on all of those rides with Bailey.

What a wonderful day! There should be a lot of sleeping going on at our house tonight!

My favorite quotes of the day --

--Isaac said, "I wish this day could go on forever!"

--Bailey asked, "How many days until we can come again?" (365)

--When Mark asked Olivia if she would like to go down a water slide with him (after her face incident), she said, "I'll stay here and take care of Anna Grace!"

Tidbits from our Week

--We had Mommy & Me on Monday. My new friend Sara hosted us this week. For various reasons, we were the only ones that could make it, which gave the two of us lots of time to talk. I had a really nice time visiting with Sara. She, her husband and cute little one-year-old son just moved here. Her situation reminds me a lot of mine when we first moved here. I remember those first few weeks of missing my family and trying to make new friends. I vividly remember my first Sunday at our church. I was standing in the lobby (Isaac had gotten tired of the sermon) and everyone around me knew each other. I prayed that God would send someone to talk to me, and I was so thankful that He did! God really blessed me, and I pray that I can bless others in similar situations.

--Bailey started music class with Mrs. Judy on Monday evening. Isaac has been taking the class for a year now, and we are thrilled with all that he has learned. Bailey got up Tuesday morning and asked if she could go again. Mark is taking her to the class. It is a great chance for him to spend some quality time with his Bailey girl and learn some new things about music at the same time!

--Our school time went really well this week. We are starting to get used to our routine, and things are starting to go a little more smoothly.

--We had Kindergarten Club story time at the library on Thursday. I met several new homeschooling moms whom I enjoyed talking to. I am thankful to have company on this homeschooling journey!

--My favorite quote of the week comes from Olivia. I was putting Anna Grace down for a nap, and I turned the fan on. It started to make a squeaking sound (my $2 yard sale fan is high quality!). Olivia said, "Let me handle this." She went over and started to hit it. Her talents never end!

--Tomorrow is our much anticipated trip to Blue Bayou water park. Exxon is having their annual family picnic there, and the children have been asking about it since last September. It should be quite an adventure!

Some Pig! Terrific! Radiiant! Humble!

Tonight was our Charlotte's Web family night. I have been reading the book aloud to Isaac and Bailey as part of their homeschool. We finished it on Wednesday (it was suppose to take us another week, but we could not stop!). Isaac and I both cried at the end of the next to the last chapter (I have already ruined the ending of the book for my dear sweet friend Mela this week, so I will not write the ending here. I am really sorry Mela!), even though we had both seen the movie and I have read the book several times in my life. It is a really good story!

We had a special Charlotte's Web supper. We ate pigs in a blanket, Templeton (the rat) peaches, popcorn and spiders made from crackers, peanut butter and pretzels. We also made a Charlotte cake and some baby spider cupcakes. The children and I had a good time getting everything ready (and keeping it a secret from Daddy). We finished the night by watching the movie. Isaac was able to find quite a few (small) differences between the book and the movie. I think he and Bailey enjoyed the movie more now that they have read the book. We had a great night!

Our favorites:

--Isaac's favorite part of the movie was when they went to the fair. His least favorite part was the sad part that we will not mention!

--Bailey's favorite part was the last chapter.

--Olivia liked the part with the rotten goose egg.

--Anna liked looking at the pig on the television.

--My favorite scene from the movie is when Fern's mother goes to see the doctor to discuss her concerns that Fern is spending too much time with the animals in the barn and not enough time with other children. The doctor said, "There's a name for her condition, it is called a childhood phase. Sadly enough she'll grow out of it soon."

Happenings at Our House

Nanna and Grand-Bob (my parents) came for a visit over Labor Day weekend. It was really great to have them here. Mom and I were able to get in some shopping (love those summer clearance sales), and we did our normal outings with the children (Dollar Store, Sam's, and Chick-fila-A). Mom and Dad showed how much they love my children by eating lunch at McDonald's. It is most definitely not their favorite restaurant! It was hard to see them go. Isaac, especially, takes it very hard when they leave.

Olivia and Anna Grace started "school" this week. They are going to Mother's Day Out at a local church two days a week for four and a half hours a day. So far, they are doing very well. Earlier in the summer, I thought that I would be very sad when it came time to put them in. This week, I actually really enjoyed it! It was nice to have some time with just Isaac and Bailey. We were able to get some good school work accomplished and run some errands. I was really glad to see the little ones when it was time to pick them up. I am thankful for a great first week!

Anna Grace went "crib riding" two nights ago. She is usually very easy to put to bed. We put her in her bed and she typically looks at books until she is tired and then she goes to sleep. This particular night she was very restless. She started screaming, and I went to check on her. She had managed to put one leg over the crib rail and was perched up on top of the rail, riding it like a horse. She was terrified! We eventually got her to sleep, and she has not attempted it again. I am hoping it does not happen again -- I am not ready for her to move to a "big-girl" bed!

Mark and I went on a date last night. We had to get a baby sitter because we both had meetings at the same time, so we decided to take advantage of it and go out to eat afterwards. We had a yummy meal and a traditional stop at Starbucks on the way home. It is so good for us to have a little time away. The babysitter did a great job. My house was quite a bit cleaner than when I left. What a blessing!

I am heading up the Kindergarten Club for our local homeschool group this year. We were in it last year and really enjoyed it. We are having a mom's Coffee and Dessert night at La Madeline's restaurant tonight. Our other September activities are story time at the library and a tour of Papa John's (we also get to make our own pizza -- yummy!). So far, I have had about fourteen families join. I am looking forward to meeting the other moms.

It is funny how activities seem to come in waves. This has been a very busy week, and then the rest of September is pretty open. I am ready for a few more nights at home!