Extinct

We gather here today...just kidding. But Merrick's very favorite Dino, has bitten the dust. He was the location for many a wrestling match between my two wild men. *as you can see...*

They were having one such wrestling match Friday afternoon, when Dino started to look a little on the flat side.

Billy realized what had happened, as you can see from the classic *hand-on-the-forehead* pose...but all the super-glue in the house wasn't going to put Dino back together. *Yes, we tried super glue...any better ideas? :)* As you can see from Merrick's expression...we are rather sad to see Dino go.

We hope that one day soon we can find another one...but we got him last Christmas when the toy store in the mall was going out of business. Hopefully they can find another location, besides my bed, to wrestle in the meantime. :)

He Loves Me...

This week at I Heart Faces...the theme is "Blue".

I have lots of pictures of my two guys wrestling and rough-housing. But the other night I took this picture of Billy with his Tizzy-girl.

We *and especially Billy, who is Merrick's #1 wrestling partner* are learning how different it is to parent Tirzah as opposed to Merrick. Merrick likes anything rough and loud. Tirzah much prefers someone to stare adoringly into her baby blues and tell her just how gorgeous she is. Which, of course, Billy doesn't mind doing. She even tends to get irritated with his scruffy face if his kisses aren't careful enough. He's wrapped right around that chubby little finger. And from her grin...I'm pretty sure she's well aware. :)

Wolf Man

This was a video I took of  Merrick at the dinner table to other night. He has recently taken up the habit of growling. Not sure where he learned it. I know we are pretty crazy around here...but I don't usually growl at my kids. He growls when he's mad, when he's happy, or when someone just needs to be reminded that he is, apparently, being raised by a pack of wolves. ;)

Mr. Sniffles

Just a little video of one of our Wal-Mart trips. Merrick loves to blow his nose now...and takes it upon himself often to help himself to toilet paper, or wipes from his room to blow his nose. He doesn't get the reason why someone blows their nose, however, because at this point he is the picture of health. :)

What did you just call me?

Around here...we really don't go by our real names. No we're not in the witness protection program or anything, we just have a thing for nicknames. I think this started in my *Austin-Lee's* family. In this family our cell phone contact lists hold names like Pookey, Spanky, Twiggy, and Annamal. To look at it you'd have no idea who these people are, or if they are even people.

Some of these names can be kind of embarrassing. I was knows as Lou-La-Bell for awhile. One of my sisters is Helga. My brother? Well, he was Frank the Monster. There is no rhyme or reason...it just happens. There is even a Sweet Face and a Mookins among my cousins...whatever that means. :)

My mom's side of the family has always nicknamed everyone. The joke is you're officially welcomed into the family when you've got a ridiculous nickname that takes the place of your real name, and said nickname is written on your birthday gifts, Christmas presents, and your cup at Thanksgiving dinner.

So...the nicknaming has obviously passed on to our family. Billy has always called me Lea-Girl, or Shooter...and I have been calling him 'B' since we were both in high school. I usually call the kiddos the hooligans when I'm referring to the both of them. But they have a plethora of nicknames all to themselves.Merrick started out as Merrick the Terrible. He was so serious that we all lived in fear of his dirty looks. :) It changed into Chubba when he went through his chubby phase at about 4 months. There is also Wild, and Mick is what his cousin Leia calls him. Then for some reason we started calling him Boogie. That one has stuck for a long time, and we are still calling him by that name. I'm pretty sure he thinks it's his real name.

We also call him Choppers, for several pearly white reasons you can in these pictures. :)
Then...we have Tirzah, aka Tizzy, or the less popular (with her mother) Tizz-Bomb. *That's the kind of name only an uncle named Frank the Monster would give you* We also call her So Pretty Girl, and T. Merrick simply calls her Beebees. She is also lovingly dubbed Cheekies. Again, for obvious reasons pictured below. :)
I guess I need to make sure they know their real names before they get too confused. I know their real names are a little different anyway, but no one would believe the kids who claim to be named Cheekies and Choppers. :)

Not Around Here...

Recently my little hometown of Farmville has been on the news. We don't live there anymore...but I grew up there, met some of my best friends there, met my hubby there, graduated from high homeschool there. Farmville is a a quaint little place, without a mall or Target, where everyone knows everyone and you kinda think Mayberry.

So we were surprised Friday evening to here the first stirrings of news of a tragedy in our little home town. Stuff like that just doesn't happen around here, is what everyone keeps saying, while shaking their heads in disbelief. What DID happen? Here is a link to the news story.

A lot of times stories get twisted around by the gossip chain, and it kind of reminds you of a game of *telephone* from when you were a kid. This story is sad, and hits close to home, in any of the versions that I heard over the weekend. I think I wanted to write about this because it really has made me stop and think. It has bothered me, how things don't bother many of us, until it's right in our face.Things like a quadruple murder happen all the time, in other places. And they are easy to ignore, because of just that. But I am beginning to realize that no one is exempt from tragedies. That guy in the news stories is someone's little boy, who most likely ended the life of someone else's little girl, that little girl's parents, and a friend. I found myself wondering how someone gets to that point in their lives where they do something like this. Then I also began to realize how very blessed I have been. Sheltered even. I've been saved by God's grace, and given the promise of Him never leaving me...even if I'm in the middle of a tragedy.

I'm so grateful for this, and at the same time disappointed with myself for not realizing before a tragedy, how very much I have. God has given me so much. I have 2 hooligans, a great husband, surrounded by family and friends, and a safe home to sleep in every night. These two hooligans, and many other kids who we work with every weekend at church, need to learn the same lesson. They need to be invested in, and shown Who God is, so that their lives meet all the potential God has given to them.No, I'm not rolling in the dough, we could use an extra bedroom in our house, my kids need warmer clothes soon, we are way too busy sometimes, and diapers cost a fortune. BUT, as far as the things that really matter...I've got plenty. :) I hope that this lesson sticks with me for...well forever.

Candid is Our Middle Name

This week at I Heart Faces the theme is Candid...

I looked up the meaning in the dictionary, just for kicks: frank, outspoken, open and sincere, free from reservation, informal, unposed, the Barron family (esp. Merrick Wilder). Did they pick this theme for Merrick? :) All of my photos of my kids have to be candid. Because they won't sit still long enough to pose if I beg...which I have. :)

So we took Merrick to his first official playground trip yesterday after church, and I dragged along my extra appendage camera. It was a great trip, even with the classic *don't make me leave* tantrum at the end. ;)

But, in my opinion, candid is the best way to do it. :)

Seasoned

Recently I've noticed something in my house smells. Weird. *You have 2 hooligans under the age of 2, you say, of course your house smells weird.) But no, really, something smelled weird and I couldn't figure out what on earth it was. No matter where I stuck my nose and smelled *which I did, repeatedly, in every room and surface in the house* I couldn't figure it out, but I knew it was coming from somewhere in my kitchen. Billy has accused me of insanity, and an oversensitive sense of smell. But finally, today, vengeance was mine. OK, a little dramatic, but we finally figured out what the heck that smell was. :)

Yes, Merrick has developed a new flare for...my spice rack. Billy and I were minding our own business, obviously not a good idea around here, getting ready to go out to run some errands, when I hear from the kitchen: "You have GOT to see this." Those words usually mean Merrick has managed to scale something I previously thought was a safe zone. :)

Merrick had helped himself to the spices...this one in particular. *I guess it just must be the easiest one to get to.* And he used it to decorate my kitchen floor and his shoes. As soon as I walked into the kitchen...I knew what that smell had been. Obviously this wasn't the first time he had gotten into the spice rack, because I've been smelling it for about 2 weeks now. I was starting to go crazy wondering if I'd ever find out what it was.

But since he left evidence of his undercover seasoning activities this time...the mystery is finally solved. I'm just glad to know that I wasn't losing my mind, or my sense of smell.

Shout to the Lord

Who says church always has to be serious? This is a video of Merrick and a friend from church's little girl...she and Merrick were born 2 weeks apart, and have been nursery buddies since then. They decided to grace us with a screaming match in the birth-2yrs class last Sunday.

Hot Date at the Hospital

We've done alot of updating recently about little miss Tirzah being under the weather. Not like she looks sick here. :)We didn't realize until today just how "under the weather" she was. The Doctor finally *after too many co-pays and wasted visits* figured out that she has pertussis. Go ahead, ask me what pertussis is. *Everybody's doing it ;)* Its code for *worst cough ever*. Poor baby had been coughing until she was literally gagging and not breathing. Pretty scary stuff, especially when you only weight 12 lbs. So after finally diagnosing little lady, the doctor decided she needed to be admitted to the hospital for observation. *Gasp...more hospital bills??? Ugh, we haven't even payed for her delivery yet.* So to the hospital it was...
We were barely admitted *and I'd barely sent out a please pray for us tweet* when the Doctor came in to see her. She kept commenting on how good she looked. *Of course she is gorgeous ;)* And that she wasn't really sure she needed to stay. She went out of our room for a "conference" with the pediatrician who had said she needed to be hospitalized. After a few minutes *we've been in the hospital maybe an hour now...* the doctor came back and said that we could go home! As if that wasn't awesome enough...they said they were canceling the admission completely so that there would be no charge for our little expedition to the pediatric ward. Heck yeah. :) The nurse commented, upon seeing our McD's bag of food, that next time we wanted to go on a date we could probably find an easier way to do it. I agree.

Aside from our date to the hospital lobby McDonald's, we also got a good reminder of how well God is taking care of us. I was nearly having a panic attack at the thought of the new round of bills we couldn't afford. Oh me of little faith. We still have bills, *we might pay Tirzah off before she graduates ;)* but also a good reminder to put things in perspective and trust. And while Tirzah is still coughing (and could be for several weeks) we know that God loves her even more than we do, and she is safe in His hands. We would appreciate everyone's continued prayers for her, and for the rest of us not to get sick as well. Thanks for the prayers thus far!

Book Worm...Sort of.

I was trying to be all "sneaky sneaky" taking this picture of Merrick. I was afraid if he realized that I caught him reading a book it would be all over. He has actually been more interested in reading this past week. He even has this book about kids playing sports that he took to bed with him tonight. *WHAT? My child has been abducted by aliens...*

We used to always trade in his Chick-Fil-A kids meal books for a cup of ice cream, but the last time he decided he wanted to keep it! It had pictures of animals in it, that he was saying to himself while he "read" it. And no, there weren't hobbits in the book...that's code for hippo apparently.

Finally...

Everyone has things they are obsessed with. Me? Photography, running, and my hooligans to name a few. My hubby's obsession? Good food, Prison Break, and Shinedown. He is constantly listening to their music, and even follows them on Twitter. :) They were in the area last year, and he wasn't able to go to the concert. *He thought the world was coming to an end.* This year, however, we were able to finally see his favorite band in concert. I am not as big a fan, but tagged along because I wanted to take a shot at concert photography. I tried to read up on it a bit before I went to know what I was getting myself into. What could be so hard about low lighting, that's constantly changing, energetic subjects who are jumping around in said lighting, and a mass of people with their heads and limbs in-between me and the perfect shot? Uh, yeah...it was hard. But it was fun. :) This week at I Heart Faces the theme was "Contemplative".

While I'm not 100% what this guy was really thinking...

...I'm pretty sure Billy was thinking he wished he could get his camera-happy wife out of the mosh pit so he could enjoy the concert, and stop worrying about the mother of his children being crushed by over-enthusiastic Shinedown fans. ;)

If You Build It...

Merrick built this tower for himself earlier this evening while I was feeding Tirzah. I wasn't paying much attention, since he is always climbing up onto my trunk.
I just didnt realize he had taken it to a new level, until he yelled "cheese" at me. When it comes to the camera, I'm afraid I've created a monster. ;)

Hottie

Disclaimer: No I did not teach my son to call himself a hottie. That would be *cue scary music* The Aunties. :) But it was pretty funny...so I just had to reenact it ;)

Big Help

Merrick is really doing well with this big brother thing. *Other than a few over-affectionate incidents ;)* Here is a video of him helping Billy burp Tirzah:

Battle Scars

When you are a stunt man for a living...you're gonna end up with a few of these: Merrick is one tough guy. He has be proudly showing off his "boo-boo's" to anyone who will listen. *And no, I didnt include pictures of his semi-black eye...for fear people would think we were abusing him. Yes, those are all self-inflicted :)* But being a stunt man is a rough line of work...and apparently exhausting.

Back to School

It's that time of the year when everyone is going back to school. I am starting to feel like one of the only people I know who isn't going to school. All of our students at 180 are back to class, some of our graduates have been at college for weeks, even Billy has started back to his online classes at LU. This week at I Heart Faces the theme is actually Back to School...

...so here is a picture of my two guys hauling around Billy's 100 lb bag of books and having a tickle war.

Soon enough, though, Merrick and I will be going to school together. ;) We are planning on giving homeschooling a try...I was homeschooled and really loved it. Hopefully Merrick and Tirzah will be the same. I must admit, though, that I find myself cringing when I think of trying to get Merrick to stay still long enough to be "educated". I am really interested to hear what other people do for their curriculum...especially if they have rambunctious boys to educate...so feel free to leave me any suggestions or ideas. :)

5K Take 2

Yesterday was the 2nd time I've run the Powhatan Village 5K. The first time I ran it, with my sister Amanda, I placed 3rd in my age group. I won a cute little medal and everything.

This time, I am just gonna say...I finished. Don't want the entire world wide web knowing exactly how looong it took me to finish this year. Tirzah Shae did a number on my race times. ;) Billy ran it with me this year. Well, ran in it with me. I saw him when the gun went off, and then not again until I finished. Hubby finished 2nd in his age group. I was very proud, but just a bit jealous. Haha. He really hates running, and I love it. So it seemed extremely unfair to me that my running-hating hubby beat the pants off me in this race. Ahem, there's always next year, Love. ;)