Happy First Birthday, Brady!

We celebrated Brady's first birthday today with pizza & cake. I can't believe my baby's one!

Brady really enjoys his new farm set.



This is the cake I made for him. Thanks, Gina, for the instruction and encouragement!



Brady loves all his gifts, but the LeapPad is especially great because it makes all kinds of noise!



Here's the birthday boy sporting his John Deere t-shirt and 1st birthday bib & socks.



Brady wasn't very fond of the birthday hat.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Last year we decided to end the mandatory turkey feast. We grilled steaks and brats instead. This year we're joining a few friends for a traditional dinner, which is fine with us since we don't have to cook a turkey or deal with the moutainous leftovers.

Honestly, Thanksgiving Day in general annoys me. I don't enjoy football, and while I do enjoy eating, gorging myself isn't all that fun. I suppose the only good thing is being forced to verbalize my blessings. In my frantic day-to-day, stressed out life, I very often forget to stop and reflect. So what am I thankful for?

* Cable:
Without it, I wouldn't enjoy emailing (my main connection to the outside world) nor would I be able to use Kids on
Demand to entertain my children while emailing.

* My kids (even though chasing them is the main source of my exhaustion, I sure love 'em!):
Sydney--beautiful, intelligent, compassionate, loving--all this in spite of me.
Bryce--daring, creative, vibrant, sensitive-- just an all-around great kid.
Bryan--outspoken (with a limited English vocabulary), cuddly, independent, jovial--gotta love his hugs and his laughter.
Brady--not-so-innocent, trusting, energetic, bright--what a way to see the world!

* Tylenol, Ibuprofen & Caffeine:
How else do you cure migraines and total exhaustion without a prescription?

* My husband:
I couldn't ask for a better friend. He's honest and hard-working, and he puts up with my control-freak personality. Of
course that means I have to put up with his artist's temperament in return.

* A steady paycheck & insurance:
Things we didn't really have before Army life--and luxuries that keep us where we are. Especially with 4 kids who (with
their dad's help) consume about 20 boxes of cereal and 15 gallons of milk a month. Then we have those dreaded doctor's
visits, immunizations, eye exams, dental appointments, $600,000 hospital stays...

* Military communities:
You won't find a tighter-knit non-biological family anywhere. And no one understands the stresses being a military wife
brings better than another military wife.

* Spell check:
Love to write. Hate to spell.

* Nigel & Samwyze:
Probably two of the most useless guard dogs ever, but the kids love them. OK, so Sam's a full-bred lab--not a guardian
breed. But what's German-shepherd-mix Nigel's excuse? Oh well. What would I do with all the free time if I didn't have to
constantly mop up water, hair, and dirt?

* My family:
I am blessed with wonderful parents, parents-in-law, siblings, siblings-in-law, three nephews, and a niece. Not to mention all of the wonderful friends I have who are close enough to be family.

* Drive-thrus and pizza delivery:
I'm exhausted, remember?

* Swiffer Wet Jet, Mr. Clean's Magic Eraser, and Greased Lightning:
Remember the kids & dogs? Imagine them with crayons...

* Mercy:
I have learned that without God's love & grace, life would be miserable. I see His hand everywhere, even when I'm trying
to ignore it. His strength has given us hope during some incredible trials. His love has calmed us when we've wanted to
give up. And his grace has reminded us that no matter what, He's beside us, ready to help, forgive, and heal.

I truly hope you have (or had) a peaceful Thanksgiving, with or without turkey, taking time to reflect on your blessings. Maybe write yourself a note to do so more often during the year. I'm going to mark my calendar right now...

Weekend Projects

Barry finally got a 4-day weekend OFF! He spent most of his time catching up on his favorite on-line game and spending time with the kids. He even let me escape for a few hours with Rebecca! A few things around here needed to be done, and only he could do them. Like putting together an entertainment armoire for the living room (for which we've been waiting over a year--it took us that long to buy one!). And painting the old TV holder-upper (aka dresser) to go in the boys' room. We had a pretty good weekend!

As many of you know, Barry's brother, Bryan, is currently deployed to Iraq with his unit. If you'd like to send a care package to Bryan for his soldiers, email me saying you'd like his address. You can also visit the website that Mo set up for Maddy. Bryan's posted a few pictures of his new environment as well as a few updates. You can leave a comment for Bryan & Mo, too.

Thanks!




Boys! All 4 of them wanted to know what was inside the box. Later, Bryce said he just wanted the empty box to be his race car.





Bryan wants to do whatever Barry's doing. So while assembling the new entertainment center, Barry had to fight Bryan for the tools. Eventually we smartened up and gave Bryan the plastic kids' tools.





Barry took Syd & Bryce to the kids' workshop at Lowe's on Saturday. Bryce said he was going to show Barry the blow-up Jimmie Johnson car that has Santa & the elves working as a pit crew. Barry was able to talk Bryce into building something, though, and said both kids worked hard. They had a lot of fun!





Sydney and Bryce show off their Veterans' Day napkin holders. Great job!






With the new entertainment center housing the TV, Bryce finally gets his own dresser! Barry let him choose a race car design (the boys' room is decorated with NASCAR, of course), so Bryce decided on Jeff Gordon. The boys' other dresser is painted to look like a tool chest. Barry didn't want any help, but Bryan kept saying, "Pain', Da!" Who could resist that?

I'll post a picture of the finished product!

Broken Eggs, Not Broken Spirits

Life is more challenging than usual when Barry's gone. I find myself incredibly stressed out and exhausted from days with little adult conversation and even less help. Yesterday was one of those days (sorry for the cliche), and by bedtime, I was wondering why I had kids.

After dealing with the back talk and bad attitudes, I decided today would be different. I'd yelled more than I like to yesterday, so today would be a day of harsh action discipline. Time out. No TV. No sleepover. No fun.

Then Bryce ran into the living room in a panic. "Look what the babies are doing!" I followed him into the kitchen where I found Bryan and Brady happily crushing egg shells and playing in the goo. Lovely, I thought, egg yolk paintings. Haven't I talked myself out of harming my kids enough? Why does God torment me?

"Bryan!" I said firmly (not yelling, by the way). He and Brady both looked up with the goofiest grins. My heart didn't melt (yet another cliche), but any frustration I felt started fading.

I grabbed Brady (whose entire front was covered in egg gut) by the back of his sleeper and carried him to the bathroom. Bryan followed, and the two played in bubbles, probably thinking I was rewarding them for their kitchen creativity.

After the babies were rediapered, I returned to assess the damage in the kitchen. What I found surprised me: Syd was on her hands and knees, spoons in hand, scooping up egg shells and whatever yolk & white she could, then dumping the salmonella-carrying raw food into the sink.

Wow.

"It was mine and Brycey's plan," she said. "I wanted to help clean up the mess, even though I didn't make it. Bryce helped, too. I like to help you."

Again, wow.

I helped her finish then mopped the floor. "Thank you, Syd. I love you!" I hugged her then instructed her to wash her hands well. For once, she didn't argue.

God knew what I needed--a huge reminder that my kids are good kids. Now, if I could just get an 8-hour nap.....






Don't Bryan & Brady look so proud?



Sydney used spoons to pick up egg shells. She didn't want to touch anything gross.