Cold Spot

As we all know, Tripp sleeps on the couch in our room. Lately, he has been rolling off the couch onto the floor on a pretty regular basis. I'll be sound asleep and hear, "Momma...I'm on the floor again." I have to get up and get him situated on the couch again and he'll go right back to sleep. Night before last, he rolled off the couch twice. So, yesterday morning I asked him why he keeps rolling off the couch. He said:

"Momma, you know how, when I take a bath, I like the water really hot? (he's like his momma in that respect) Well, when I'm asleep, I like my pillow cold. So, when I go lookin for the cold spot on my pillow when I'm sleeping, I roll off the couch."

Well, okay then. Gotta love how he explains it!

Ok....

Carrie Beth....Just a few! Haha! You're right...gotta have them for that blog book Joey will make me at Christmas!!!

Acting like a gorilla!!

Isn't she looking so big?!?!

Lazy Way Out

We had a great time at the zoo on Tuesday. It was my first time going and I think I had as much fun as my kids. We went with Leah, her boys (Drew and Malcom), Amanda and Ruth Ann. I can't believe that Leah and I thought we would be able to do it by ourselves with 4 kids. Um...no. Thank heavens we had two extra sets of adult hands. They were much needed. The kids had a really, really good time and I loved seeing everything through their eyes. I think the kids were really well behaved too...Drew and Makinley are just at such a BUSY age. We had to do a couple of chases that's for sure. Tripp did really well until the end when he started getting tired and didn't want to walk anymore. I didn't take my double stroller, so the kids had to take turns riding. Worked out fine until the end. I can't wait to go back and take Joey with us. Every time we got to a new animal, Makinley would say, "What him name?" I would tell her whatever animal it was (like monkey, gorilla, lion, etc). She would say, "No. My know THAT. What him NAME?!?!" I would just laugh and tell her I didn't know his name, she would wave, and we would move on to the next exhibit. :-) Click here if you want to see my Facebook album....once again, too tired to upload all the pictures!

"Son"

I had to blog about this right now, before I forget, and it's too funny to forget. You'd have to hear her say it to fully appreciate it, but that's okay.

All day today, every time Tripp says something, and Makinley answers him, she calls him, "Son".

Tripp: Where is my Power Ranger?
Mak: It's right here, son.

Tripp: Mom, I want some goldfish.
Mak: You can't have those, son.

Tripp: I'm sorry, Makinley.
Mak: That's okay, son.

It is cracking me up. Apparently, I call Tripp "son" more than I realize and Makinley has picked up on it.

Oh wait a second, as I'm sitting here typing this, Makinley is combing my hair. She just mumbled under her breath (as she pulled my hair out at the roots), "It's okay, son, my not gonna hurt you".

Just a Preview....

of where we spent the day today! Bet you can't guess! Haha...more to come, so stay tuned!

I Wonder

I can go weeks and be okay, and then out of nowhere I will be hit with a wave of homesickness. It can take just the slightest thing to set it off. Unfortunately, once it sets in, it takes awhile for it to fade again.

The crazy part is that I can't actually imagine still living in Henry County anymore. Things would have been so different if we had stayed and in some ways I feel like we have been gone forever....not just two years. Maybe that's because Makinley was only 6 months old when we moved here, so she has done lots of growing since then.

I have a beautiful house here, yet sometimes I find myself missing my old house. I don't think it's the actual house I miss, it's what that house represents to me. My children being babies, my parents living right down the street, the covenience of places to shop.

I'm not gonna lie...I definitely wish I still lived 3 miles from my parents instead of 60. I realize that there are many, many people that would give their right arm to live 60 miles from their parents. I was one of those people for about 5-6 years. I know that I can now easily see them in a day's trip. However, what's not easy is being able to just call my mom up, tell her I'm at my wit's end, and her come to my rescue. My parents can't just stop by after work, and we can't just go grab a quick bite to eat during the week. I've had to "grow up" a lot over the last two years. Who knew I still had so much growing to do at 28 years old? But, I got really spoiled from the time Tripp was born until the time I moved here. I think it also makes it hard that Madison is such a small, family town. Lots and lots of the people that live here have tons of family that live here too. I am grateful that Linda lives here. She has been a huge help, especially through this time of getting my masters. However, we use her so much for that, it's hard to just call her up and ask her to come babysit because I need some "mommy" time or some "us" time.

Sometimes, I just feel like I'm on the outside looking in. This isn't because of ANYTHING anybody is doing/not doing to me/around me. I have some really good friends in Madison and I love them. They have just all (or at least most) lived here their whole life. There is something to be said of the bond that is established with the people that you have grown up your whole lives with. Makes a person like me (who moved countless numbers of times) feel a little like a fish out of water. I'm still trying to find my place.

However, through it all, I know that God has called me to be content. To be content no matter what my circumstances. He has me right where I'm supposed to be. So, when I'm homesick and wish that I could just jump in my car and be at Target in 10 minutes, I'm going to stop and remember that the trade off for that would be that Joey wouldn't have been able to go to EVERY single one of Tripp's class parties this year. I'm thinking that Tripp seeing his daddy's face is way more priceless than that new shirt any day.

Barrett's Coming

My best friend, Maria, is pregnant with her second son. Her oldest, Brody, will be three in June and Barrett is due to arrive in early May. The beginning of her pregnancy was ROUGH. Seriously rough. Home healthcare and six weeks out of work kinda rough. Luckily, once she hit about 4-5 months pregnant, she started feeling much better. In the beginning, she had her heart set on baby #2 being a girl. However, God had different plans for her and she is destined to be the mommy of boys! Anna and I decided to throw her a shower and it was a big success.

Anna did a great job on the set up. The colors-brown and turquoise-turned out terrific.

Gifts waiting to be opened!
Anna, Maria, Me

Barrett's Nursery! It turned out AWESOME. Looks like it should be in a Pottery Barn magazine. I wish I had gotten even more pictures of it. Maria and her mom did it all. Her mom even painted those canvases you can see over the crib. Really wish I had gotten a close up of the bedding.

Big Brother Bro's room! I couldn't leave him out...especially since his big boy room just got completed as well!

I love you, "Me-Ria" (as Makinley calls her), and can't wait for Barrett to get here!!!

I'm a Big Kid Now!

I haven't been stressing out over, or pushing, Makinley being potty trained. I mention it to her a lot, but I don't force it. I was actually dreading my spring break a little bit because I had decided that I would try to really get working on it then. Most of the time when I would ask her if she needed to go tee-tee on the potty, she would tell me, "My already tee-tee on the potty at my GiGi's house." Well, that was about 2 months ago! Something clicked with her this week. On Wednesday, she had a bowel movement in the potty at Mrs. Barbara's house. On Thursday, she tee-teed on the potty once at Mrs. Barbara's house. Then, all of the sudden, yesterday she went on the potty all day long! The only time she had an "accident" was when she was napping! I couldn't believe it. I guess she decided she was ready. Works for me...way less stressful! Today, we let her wear panties out in public, and that was a mistake. She started playing at CFA and she completely forgot and had a pretty big accident in her panties. Daddy had some cleaning up to do because Mommy wasn't around! Anyway, here's to saving money on diapers!
First thing this morning!

Um, mom, really?

NO More Shots!

I somehow neglected to post about Tripp's 4 year check up last week. Let's just say it wasn't the funnest experience I've ever had. I made Joey go with me as support because I knew Tripp had to have shots. Let's just say that I'm glad shots are behind us until MIDDLE SCHOOL!!! WooHoo! He had to have four and it was awful. The first one they gave him must not have hurt too bad because he barely batted an eye. The second on the other hand? It must have burned something awful because the tears started big time. Then, of course, he was terrified to get shots 3 and 4 so he fought us with all he was worth. It was no fun. He kept saying afterward, "Mommy, I don't want more shots. I'm scared of shots. Please, I don't want more shots." So, I told him that he wouldn't have to have shots anymore when he was 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, or 10. (Even though I think 10 might be when he actually does have to have them again). His legs were pretty sore afterwards and I didn't think he would play in his soccer game that night, but he did. And he even scored a goal! Anyway, here are his stats:



Height: 43 inches- just below 95% percentile (My boy is going to be big like his Poppa!)

Weight- 41 pounds- right around 75%



The next day when Grammie came over I heard Tripp tell her, "I don't have to have shots when I'm 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, or 10!" You're right, Bubba, you don't! Praise the Lord because I don't think I could do it again.

For Me

I read another girl's blog religiously. I absolutely love the way she writes and I have quoted her often. On Friday, she wrote an entry that literally stopped me in my tracks. There is no way I could have ever written it as beautifully as she did. However, I wanted to always remember it. So, I'm copying it and pasting it here. She has three earthly daughters and one heavenly one. But, this could apply to any parent who wants to raise Godly children, who understand that life can't be handed to you on a silver platter. Children who understand that you have to work hard to achieve things in life. Heaven knows that that is my heart's desire. Be prepared, it's long. But, I didn't want to leave out a single word of it. Remember, she is the mother of girls, so it's written to her daughters.

For every.single.speck. we see in someone else's eye, you bet your bottom dollar we have two logs in ours. So hear me when I say I am not sitting in judgment of anyone. I am simply making a list of things I never want you to be. Things I never want to model in front of you. Prints I never want to leave on either your hearts or your lives.

We dream of raising daughters who would stoop to help a small child, no matter how tall they stand. We dream of giving you all you need, then watching as you give it all away to those who need it more than you do. Poured out vessels, we hope you'll be! We dream of watching your countenance brighten as you learn of His truth for yourselves, then smiling as we watch you whisper into the ears of others who need their hope restored, too. Our lives are but vapors here on this earth, but they are vapors we want to make the most of.

You might be mad at me for this, but I don't want you to have all the latest clothes. I don't want you to have a wardrobe full of purple just because you snapped your fingers and said that's all you'd wear. I don't want you to have all the toys you long for either. Or channels on television. Or movies to watch. I want you to know what it is to long for, then to work for, something your heart desires. I never want to raise you in such a bubble that you become convinced this world was built around you, according to your preferences, to make you happy. Baby girls, this world is not about you at all. If you get frustrated because things don't go your way, I want you to know it is because your way is not the way you should go. (Oh, how this paragraph alone convicts my heart. Something I need to work on with my own children).

I can't speak for the rest of America, but your daddy and I would be living a lie if we tried to give you all those things. We cannot afford it. If we could, we wouldn't. Because, ladybugs, there are babies that go to bed every night with flies flying around them and bellies growling. And they don't all live halfway across the world. Some live halfway across town. I never want to blind your eyes to that. I never want to so seclude you from evil that you miss the Gospel. When Christ comes to dwell in your hearts, He'll want to touch those hearts with your very own hands. Don't be surprised (much less disgusted) when they get dirty.

We would do you such a disservice if we lead you to believe our primary goal in life is to care for you or make you happy. Sometimes it is, if I'm going to be honest. (And you know I'm always going to try my best to be!) We've felt such pain in this world and we're blessed people, spared from most of the horrors of this world, that we never want you to feel anything close. We want to spread ourselves over you in an effort to protect you from every pain and to keep you from every snare. But that's God's job. He's your real daddy. He's the one who knows the plan for your life, when push comes to shove. He's your protector, long after we breathe our last breaths. We can no more promise you we will be here in the morning than we could keep Miller Grace here for you when God called her home. We don't call the shots, babies. He does.

And that's why we can't ever let you think you do. Sometimes, you'll hope and you'll pray and you'll beg and you'll plead... and you might even work until your fingers bleed and plan until your eyes cross... and you still won't get that purple wardrobe. Because it's not what God had for you. Because He had something better. Something you never thought about. Something you might not like. Something you'll probably insist does not even fit. You'll get what He wants you to have. End of story. No arguments at the cash register will change His mind. No tantrums on the floor will sway His resolve. No high pitched scream will cause Him to cower, for He cares not what anyone else thinks. He knows what's best for you and that will be that, no matter how long it takes you to see He was right all along.

So, my darlings, that's why we do what we do. We love you with such a deep love that no words could ever explain it, but hopefully our actions over the course of your lives will tell the story. Every morning and night, we lay you at His feet. We started before we ever saw your faces or knew your names and we'll keep on until our time here is through. Before you were ours, you were His and long after we let you go, He'll hold you fast.

So the next time you cross your little arms and we see your little lips begin to quiver and the strings are on our hearts start feeling that old familiar tug, we'll pray for the strength to tell you, "No." When we start beating ourselves up because we can't be "those parents" and give you all "those kids" have, we will stop in our tracks and thank God. We are more than conquerors. You are more than conquerors. No treasures in this world can compare with those that await us in Heaven. We have a little while to spread the Good News, a little while to make a difference, a little while until all this fades away.

More than we want you to be doctors or lawyers or veterinarians, we want you to be faithful. More than we want you to listen to us and obey, we want you to listen for His still, small voice and run when He calls. More than we want you to have comfort, we pray for your peace. More than we want you near us, we want you near Him. More than we want you to look pretty on the outside, clothed in expensive garments, we want you to be clothed in garments of salvation and robes of righteousness. More than we want you to think you're beautiful to any man, we want you to know the King is enthralled with your beauty.

And we are, too.

Every time I read this, I get chills. Honestly, I plan on reading it often, because I want to remember it.

Preschool Sunday

This morning was Preschool Sunday
for Tripp. He did a really good job. I only got a couple of pictures of him actually performing. My mom, Trey, Jen and Linda were able to come and see him. My dad had to work- :-(. It was cute watching the kids. They sang two songs and then did this little aerobics like routine to music. One of the songs was called "God is bigger than the Boogie Man"! Haha!

Pretty darn cute kids if I do say so myself!

Me and my young 'uns!

A shot of Daddy too!

Can you find him?!?! Dead center, bottom row! He did so well. Sang every word and did every motion!

Two Budding Photographers

This is what we get when our kids get ahold of the camera. Tripp isn't half bad. Mak's got some work to do!

Little Lessons

The newest phrase that I hear the most from my daughter:

"My can do it.....watch me......almost."

I hear it for everything, but especially for getting herself dressed, putting on her shoes, and buckling her carseat. It is so hard not to help her, but she gets mad and will start completely over if I even touch her while she is concentrating so hard to accomplish her task. I have to remind myself that it's good for her to struggle. It teaches her determination in accomplishing a goal. I can't always do everything for my children; they have to learn to stand on their own two feet. So, while she is learning independence, I am learning to let go.

G-Day

We're training them early!

Wearing our sunglasses is our newest favorite thing to do. She actually keeps them on really well too.

Let me just say that I when I look at these next two pictures, one word comes into my head: "cow". I think I look huge. However, I have to post family pictures. Especially when the rest of my family looks so good! So, here they are!

We had a great time. It was exhausting with both kids, but it was still fun. Tripp loves him some GA football. But he was really confused as to why there wasn't a "bad guy" team today!

Addicted? Maybe.

If I told you that I've read 5 books in the last month, what would you say? Well, I know the first thing you would say. "When do you have time?!?!" I don't really know. But, if you know me, then you know how much I love to read. I got lucky this semester, and my readings for school have been easy, painless, and easily accomplished. So, I've actually been able to decompress at night by reading for a little while. I've also been able to read a good bit during the weekends. It has been SO nice. Anyway, I discovered a new author. Hence the slight addiction. Her name is Kristin Hannah and I highly recommend her to any book lovers out there. They are purely fiction. Nothing to really stimulate your brain. But they are all about family/friendship dynamics and I LOVE them. I'm going to list them below in the order from my favorite down. But, it's extremely hard to rank them because I have loved them all:

Winter Garden....unbelievable book. Really. Could very well be one of my all time favorite books (but NOTHING will ever top Redeeming Love as my #1).
True Colors....again, really, really good.
FireFly Lane....awesome.
The Things We do For Love....yep, again, super duper good.
Comfort and Joy.....not quite as good as the rest. Still good. But not the best.

Now, I'm reading Between Sisters. I made my mom stop whatever she was reading at the time and read Winter Garden as soon as I finished it. That's how much I loved it. I wanted someone else to read it quickly so I could see if they loved it as much, and she did. So, if you are looking for some summer reading, go pick up a Kristin Hannah book. I really don't think you'll be disappointed (but start with Winter Garden).

Nightmares

Do you ever have nightmares concerning your children? The kind that seem so real that all you want to do is cradle your baby close for hours? I had that kind of dream last night about Makinley. Not going to go into details about it, but it's made me want to just hold her all day long. Too bad I've been at work. Anyway, I hate dreams like that.

Speaking of nightmares. I've been meaning to blog about this for weeks and just kept forgetting. On the night of Tripp's birthday party he was exhausted to the point of being over tired. When Tripp is over tired, he generally does not sleep well. He wanted to sleep with GiGi and Poppa that night, so he was upstairs in the bonus room instead of in our room on the couch. Right before Joey and I fell asleep, I said to him, "I hope Tripp sleeps okay. You know what happens sometimes when he's too tired." Sure enough, about an hour later, I was woken up by his screaming. I went running upstairs and scooped him up off the couch. He was out of control. Screaming, crying, thrashing. The worst part? He was sound asleep and I COULD NOT get him to wake up. For almost 30 minutes (the longest thirty minutes ever) I held him while he screamed and cried. I tried everything I could think of to get him to wake up and nothing worked. It was AWFUL. He kept saying over and over again, "Mommy, I can see you." It was almost like he could see me, but he couldn't get to me. I finally sat down on the couch in our bedroom (which is where Tripp always sleeps), and just started praying out loud. I honestly didn't know what else to do, so I just started begging God out loud to give Tripp peace. Do you know that slowly, but surely, his little body began to calm? I know that God was listening to my cries and he settled my baby boy back down. It breaks my heart that he has night terrors like this sometimes because I hate feeling so helpless. The next day, he was drained. He almost walked around in a fog most of the morning. At about 1:15 I asked him if he wanted to go lay down with me and he immediately said yes. Tripp hasn't taken a nap at home in about 6-8 months. As soon as we laid down, he fell fast asleep and slept for almost 3 hours. His little body needed it! Most of the time, when I ask him about a bad dream he has had, he talks to me about it. But, every time I asked him about that dream, he would say "I'm not going to talk about that." That scared me even more. What in the world was my son dreaming about?! How in the world has something that "evil" or "scary" gotten inside his innocent mind? Scares the death out of me that Satan can attack even a 4 year old's thoughts and dreams and cause them fear. Now my nightly prayer is for peaceful dreams for my boy.

Final Egg Hunt...Finally.

I felt like I should do an egg hunt just for the kids at our house. I wanted to actually hide the eggs and not just have them laying out on the ground. I hid some in the grass, on their playset, near the fence, etc. The hunt still only lasted about 10 minutes, but the kids had fun.

And that wraps up all of the Easter festivities for the Lancasters! It's been a whirlwind few days!

Easter Morning Photo Shoot

I L.O.V.E.D. the kids Easter outfits this year. They are probably my favorite so far. Tripp looked so handsome and so grown up. It floored me a little when he came walking out of the room with his hair all combed and his brand new clothes and shoes. Of course, it's always fun to doll Makinley all up. She thinks any/every dress makes her a "princess", but this morning she new she looked especially pretty. For the first time ever, I bought clothes from one of those children's trunk shows (Orient Expressed). Probably spent way too much, but I think it was worth it. Makinley will be able to wear her dress for two seasons I know. Hoping I might be able to get two seasons out of Tripp's shirt too. Even if I don't, seeing them this morning just made my heart smile, so I'll suck up the cost for once.

Easter Baskets

We decided to not do the Easter Bunny. My kids are terrified of anything dressed up anyway, so I decided just to be honest with them and tell them that the baskets are from mommy and daddy (and GiGi, Poppa, and Grammie). We've been trying really hard to make sure that they understand the true meaning behind Easter. In their baskets, they had a little bit of candy, and a new bathing suit. Behind their baskets are their new beach/pool towels. They are hooded and have their names monogrammed on the back. Tripp's is UGA themed, and Mak's is just pink/brown. GiGi also got them the Jesus Storybook Bible and Joey and I are going to read to them from it each night before bed.

Community Egg Hunt

On Saturday morning, we headed to the Madison community wide egg hunt put on by the rec department. The kids were super excited that morning when we told them about it. I was anxious to see how Makinley would do because it was her first egg hunt. Tripp was an old pro by now!
Getting ready to go. Mak looks quite unhappy at having to wait! I was coaching Tripp. They had a lot of eggs right at the edge of the ball field. This particular hunt was really for kids 3 and under, but they let Tripp come in with us. I didn't want him to get all of the close up eggs and not leave some for the little kids, so I was telling him to straight for the back of the field near the fence.

About the only picture we got of Tripp. Once he heard "go", he was off! And he followed my directions and went straight for the back of the field!

I really like this picture of Makinley. I just think it shows how excited she was and how much fun she was having!

This isn't the most flattering picture of me, so I'm not sure why I included it, but I did.

Getting all the candy out of the eggs. Unfortunately, the eggs were filled with jaw breakers, now and laters, and other hard candy that I don't let our kids have (if you know me, then you know my fear of choking). The kids didn't seem to bothered by it though. They just had fun hunting!