Coastal Boy

Noah: Mom don't you wish we could spend every day at the beach?

Me:  That would be nice.  I am thankful that we get to come to the beach as often as we do.  Do you realize that there are some people who go their entire lives without seeing the beauty of the ocean?

Noah:  Man that would be horrible to never get to play in marsh mud!

Pure Joy

Get Ready...

Get Set...



Go...

   

Give Mom A Heart Attack!



Independence

Noah has finally mastered the art of tying his own shoes.  It has been a LONG time coming, and I was beginning to think that we were going to be shopping for velcro shoes until he was in college.  I am so proud of him for learning, and also relieved that I am now only responsible for tying six shoes instead of my usual eight.
However, I also can't help but feel a little sad as well. Everyday my children need me less and less.  For over seven years now my life has been consumed by the needs of my children and while I am sure that it will still be that way for many years to come, every milestone reminds me of the looming date in the future when they really don't need me at all.  I'm working myself out of a job!
What will I do with all my extra time when I no longer have to clip sixty extra finger and toe nails?  What will I do with all the extra space when I am no longer storing four seasons of clothes in every size?  What will I do with all the extra money I save on groceries?  Hmmm....that one may be kind of nice!
It just makes me think about life after kids.  I'm sure it will not be anything like life before kids.  While that was nice too, I didn't know how deep love really ran before I had kids.  Because of that love, my life has been changed forever...and I am so glad that it has!

Two Front Teeth

Guess what someone is getting for Christmas?

In The Name...

Of the Father...

And of the Son...

And of the Holy Spirit...

Noah's baptism was this morning at the end of our church service.  I don't think Joe and I could have been any prouder as we watched our first born make his outward profession of faith.  I thought I would cry, but I didn't.  As much as I don't like to see my children growing up and away from me, this is one area where I am thrilled to see growth.  What more could I ask for than for my children to be growing closer to God?

But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and for ever. Amen.       2 Peter 3:18

Baptism

As many of you already know, Noah accepted Christ as his Savior a couple of months ago. This week he decided that he was ready to be baptized. He spoke with our Pastor this past Sunday and the baptism will be performed at the end of our church service Sunday May 30th.
This is an important step for Noah and we look forward to celebrating with him as he continues his journey of Christian life. I am aware that many of you have your own church obligations on Sunday mornings, but if you do not, we would love to have you worship with us and be there to see Noah's baptism. Worship service starts at 11:00 am and usually lasts until noon. This Sunday may be a bit longer since we will be including a baptism at the end of the service.
If you have any questions or need directions, I can be reached at 909-0232. You can also visit the Rice Patch Church website.

Graduation Night

Noah graduated from Kindergarten last night.  He looked so cute in his cap and gown and we were all so very proud of him.  I managed to keep the tears (mostly) at bay.  Pomp and Circumstance almost did me in..but I held it together!

After graduation, the family (all 16 of us!) went out to eat at Cracker Barrel (Noah's choice).

We had good food, lots of laughs, and interesting conversations.

 This morning, we slept in until nearly 8:00! 

YAY SUMMER VACATION!!!

Slow Down

Thursday is Noah's last day of school and as much as I am longing for the care free days of summer to be here, I just want to scream for time to "SLOW DOWN!" This school year went by way to fast and I am not ready for him to graduate Kindergarten yet. My baby can not be that old already.

Where did the past six years go? It seems like only yesterday that Joe was handing me our precious baby boy.

Can it really have been that long since I saw this beautiful face for the first time?

What happened? How did I let time get away from me?

I remember leaving the hospital and thinking that the nurses were crazy. They were letting us leave and we had no idea what we were doing! I can still feel every bump from that first ride home. I was sure that Noah was going to break before we got him home.

Now we are facing Kindergarten graduation and although I am not afraid that every little bump will break him, I still think those nurses were crazy. We still don't know what we are doing. I am trying to hang on to that little baby for as long as I can while trying to prepare him for the day that I have to let him go.

10 Centimeters

My brother ad his wife came for a visit a couple of weeks ago. My boys L.O.V.E. love Uncle Tj and Aunt Holly and have a major case of hero worship when it comes to Uncle Tj. Everything Uncle Tj does is cool and has to be imitated. Take for example Noah's new buzz cut...he had to look like Uncle Tj.
This really does not bother me. I am not jealous of my brother's cool factor in the least. I am glad that my kids look up to him, I just wish that they would not repeat everything he says.
This time when my brother was home, he was privileged to be at the hospital when his sister-in-law gave birth to her first child. My brother was fascinated by the "board" on the wall that showed the progression of childbirth and was amazed that a woman's body was capable of doing such things. (I happen to think that ten centimeters is not large at all...have you seen the size of what has to come out of that ten centimeter opening?)
Unfortunately Noah was paying too close attention and now thinks it is appropriate to start a conversation with "Do you know how big ten centimeters is?" Of course my Mother-in-law happened to be the first one that he tried out his new line on. He even held out his fingers just like Uncle Tj had showed him to demonstrate the actual size of ten centimeters.
Thanks Tj....I owe you one.

Lovely Letter L

Noah has mastered saying the letter L!
He was born a little tongue tied and has had a little bit of trouble pronouncing certain letters. (I am slightly tongue tied as well. I never even knew it until a dentist pointed it out when I was a teen.) Noah's pediatrician suggested at birth that we wait and see if he would be able to adjust before we did any surgery. Up until this week he said wisten, wuv, and wost instead of listen, love, and lost. He has been working so hard to get it right and this week it finally clicked.
Six years ago, I never thought that I would possibly get excited over a simple letter of the alphabet. Now I can't seem to get enough of the letter L. Every time I hear it I get a smile on my face. Isn't it amazing the things that motherhood can do to you?

How Did You Get So Smart?

It seems like a lot of our teaching moments with Noah are while we are riding in a vehicle. I guess when you live as far out in the boondocks as we do you have to do a lot of driving. Anyway, the other day Joe and I were explaining to Noah the importance of observation. I tried to tell him that he always needs to listen to what is going on around him because one way that we learn new things is from other people's experiences.
For example, Joe does not have much in the way of a formal education, but he is one of the smartest men that I know. He can do or fix anything. A major part of his "education" was watching and listening.
That is the background, here is part of the conversation...

Me: Noah do you think your Daddy is smart?
Noah: Yes Mam!
Me: Now how do you think that he got so smart?


.....a long pause here....


Noah: By listening to YOU!!!

BAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

There you have it...from the mouths of babes. I'm telling you, that kid is a genius for sure! Of course Joe did not think that was the least bit funny. Perhaps he is not as smart as I thought he was. Needless to say I laughed so hard that I forgot all about the point I was trying to make. Oh well, I guess we will work on observation skills another day!

It's A Bad Sign...

...When the E.R. registrar knows your entire family by name and can recite all of your pertinent information just as well as you can.

Last Wednesday evening, Noah asked me if he could jump on the trampoline. Joe was already in the backyard and dinner was about five minutes away from being ready so I told him to go ahead, but make it quick because I was nearly ready to put dinner on the table. As I sat the dish of asparagus (Noah's favorite) on the table I heard the screams from out the back door. Noah had fallen wrong on the trampoline. Not off of the trampoline, just landed wrong when he was jumping. I have no idea how it happened since I did not see it and every time I ask, I get a different version.
I could tell his arm was starting to swell and he was really in a lot of pain, so I left dinner on the table and Joe taking care of the babies to rush Noah to the E.R. Turns out that his arm was broken just below the elbow and just above the wrist. They put on a temporary cast and he had to see the orthopedist the next day for his full cast. Poor guy is spending Spring break in a cast.
I asked for the darkest color they could find because I knew how it would look after just a few hours, not to mention a few weeks. Unfortunately they ran out of dark blue and had to use white! It is no longer white, but is now an awful shade of disgusting. He had a couple of rough nights at first, because he had a lot of swelling and it would make the cast tight in addition to the pain, but now he is doing great.
The doctor also reamed me out for letting my kid jump on a trampoline. We have not decided yet what we are going to do about the trampoline. Joe wants to get rid of it, but I feel like it was just a freak accident that could have happened walking down the steps. We are always very careful with the kids on the trampoline, they have to have an adult watching and only one can jump at a time. But as the Dr. so rudely told me, "There is no careful with a trampoline!" So what are your thoughts...freak accident or an accident waiting to happen?

Peaches

And yet another genius moment from Noah! Okay, so maybe he is not genius, but he just thinks so differently than I do. It amazes me how his mind works. I challenged him in the car with four items and he had to tell me which one did not belong. The items were: peaches, potatoes, carrots, and peanuts. Of course the answer I was looking for was carrots. It starts with a "C" whereas the others start with a "P". Noah's answer? PEACHES!!! I was almost afraid to ask why, but I did it anyway.
Potatoes, carrots, and peanuts all grow under the ground. Peaches grow on a tree.

Easter Eggs

Noah and a friend dyeing Easter eggs.

Some Things Never Change

This is what I heard from Noah last night as he chatted away.

Makenzie used to be faster than me. I would chase and chase and chase her and could never catch her, but either she is getting slower or I am getting faster because now I catch her every time I chase her. So you know what I am gonna do? I ain't gonna chase her no more. I'm gonna start chasing Bailey 'cause I haven't ever been able to catch her yet. But one day, Oh yeah...I will catch Bailey too, then I won't chase her no more either. It just isn't as much fun to chase girls when you know that you can catch them. Do you know what I mean Momma?

Yes Noah, I do know what you mean. Don't we all to an extent?

Soccer

I know I said that I would never let Noah play soccer again, but I have relented. He is playing this year and seems to be doing much better than he did two years ago.

Even though he is playing much better, that did not stop this little girl from beating the pants off of him last Saturday! If you get a chance over the next few weeks, come on out and see him play. All of the games are held on the soccer field directly behind the new Reid's in Hampton.

March 6th at 12:00

March 13th at 9:00 am

March 20th at 9:00 am

Assumptions

Late last night I heard Noah moaning and groaning in his sleep. I got up to check on him only to find him tossing and turning in bed saying that he did not feel good. I gave him a dose of Pepto and left to go get the thermometer. When I got back to check his temperature I asked him if he was feeling any better. His reply?

"Huh uh, my ears still hurt"

So the lesson for the day is two fold...don't assume you know what is wrong with your child without asking and Pepto does not work for an earache. At least I did not have to call poison control this time!

The Greatest Gift

♪♫•*¨*•♫♪Praise God from whom all blessings flow♪♫•*¨*•.¸¸

¸¸.•*¨*•♫♪Praise Him above ye heavenly hosts♪♫•*¨*•.

.•*¨*•♫♪Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost ♪♫•*¨*•.¸¸

¸.•*¨*•♫♪...♪A-men!!!.♫•*¨*•.¸.♪♫•*¨*•.¸¸

If you have not already heard the news...Noah asked Jesus into his heart today!!!!
We were on our way home from school, singing songs back and forth when Noah all of a sudden says, "Momma, I want to ask Jesus into my heart so that I can be a Christian." I asked him if he was sure and all of the other questions that let me know that he truly understood what he was doing. I did not want to have another juice and cookies conversion. After realizing that he truly was ready and understood what he wanted, I drove to Grammy and Pa's house so that we could all pray together.
I am brought to tears of joy to know that even through inevitable death, I will never be permanently separated from my child. Tonight I am full of peace, comfort, and unspeakable joy. All I can say is that God is good. Hallelujah!!!

Diets

We did not make a New Year's resolution to loose weight. Maybe we should have, but alas, we did not. We have however had a change in diet for the entire family that has resulted in a few shed pounds.
Jonah's new and very restrictive diet has changed the way that I cook, therefore changing the way that we eat, and helped Noah to lose six pounds in the past few weeks. (Yay Noah!!) Having to eliminate preservatives has forced us to eat at home and forced me to come up with creative ways to use fresh ingredients.
I just wish that the diet was doing Jonah some good as well. Unfortunately, he seems to be getting worse instead of better and we are going to have to see another gastroenterologist to have some more testing done. At this time, his symptoms seem to be pointing to Celiac Disease, but there are a whole host of other things that it could be as well. His pediatrician put him on another round of steroids this past week, and they seem to be helping his skin if nothing else.
Hopefully we will get an appointment with the specialist soon and get Jonah some much needed relief.

Birthday Trip

Noah opted for a birthday trip this year instead of a traditional birthday party. We all had so much fun that I think we will have to make it our new tradition. We started off at Grammy and Pa's house for birthday cake. I usually make birthday cakes for the kids, but we were in Wal-Mart and Noah found this cake that he wanted on the should have been sold last week rack clearance rack. I guess for $4.80 I can give up making a cake for one year!

From there we picked up Noah's friend Hunter and drove to Savannah to tour the Roundhouse Railroad Museum.

The kids posed for the obligatory pictures.

They got to go aboard an old rail car once used to haul very important people around. (I should know more about this but instead of listening to the tour guide I was trying to keep the boys from jumping on the antique furniture.)

Of course no trip to Savannah is complete without a trip to the Bass Pro Shop, so we had to stop by and visit the big fish tank.

After the Bass Pro Shop, Grammy and Pa dropped the rest of us off at the Amtrak station in Savannah where the boys got their tickets to ride the Amtrak back to Yemmasse.

Here they are with their matching trains, enjoying the ride. The reclining seats and tray tables were a big hit as well! The forty five minute train ride was just enough time for the kids to have a great experience without getting bored and restless.
As you can tell from Noah's grin in these pictures, the day was a fantastic start to year number six.