Don't Say Butt

I was raised in a house where we weren't allowed to say *butt*, when in reference to your behind. :) That was one of the many things we weren't allowed to say. I won't get into all the other things we weren't allowed to say, except I did once nearly disown my brother, who tattled that I had called him dumb, which I definitely did, which is another don't you dare say it in my mom's house. *Sore subject, of course not. I've long since forgiven my tattling little brother. ;)*

I haven't really carried over the no-butt rule in our house, but maybe it's because they really aren't old enough to talk really well and worry me with what they are saying. It may also be because sometimes butt is the only word can think of, that I don't feel bad about saying, to describe how my kids are acting. :) *They are cute, and I love them dearly, but boy are they loud and opinionated. ;)*
Speaking of said hind parts...here's a shot of Merrick, in one of his calmer moments. It's of the back of his head, of course. I got lucky with the I Heart Faces theme this week...which was "Tooshies". I think even mom would approve of the word Tooshie. ;)

Wonderful Crazy

It's a wonderful crazy...

It's a beautiful out of control...

Kinda scary amazing...

But I don't really mind at all...

It's like I'm falling, flying, laughing, crying...

Hanging on and letting go...

Cause my life's so wonderful crazy, crazy.

-- Wonderful Crazy, Katelyn Tarver

Just a few photos from the wonderful crazy Thanksgiving we just had. Hope you're was just as great!

New 'Do

Some things never change. My hair was becoming one of those things. I don't think I'd cut it since...well I'd rather not get into that. Believe it or not, by the grace of God, I managed to not have any split ends...but it was getting a bit on the scraggly side. I was also at the "hormonal hair falling out" that comes with having a baby. Nice. So long prenatal vitamin-induced shampoo-commercial hair. ;)
Another perk of having my little sister home from school is free haircuts. She is pretty good at it, and likes to practice on us. Yes I know, sounds scary. But she's really good, and it's $20 I can spend somewhere else.
I was ready for a pretty drastic change...and something not so long. *Since Tirzah's latest hobby involves grabbing everything: my earrings, hair, face, skin, whatever she can get her little fingers on. So...I had her chop off um, alot, of hair.
Still getting used to it, but I think I like it. Billy really likes it, I think he was worried about what exactly I was going to do to my hair when I said something different. I'm sure that my mom is thinking...now if I can just convince her to cut Merrick's hair...nah. ;)

New Moon

Over this past weekend everyone was Facebooking and tweeting about going to see New Moon. I was really jealous, since I was waiting to see the movie on Monday when my sister got home for Thanksgiving break. I have read all the books *cough*twice*cough* and forced my hubby to watch the first movie with me. I was the biggest critic at first...totally making fun of the Twilight craziness. I thought it was pretty cheesy, but then I decided I shouldn't knock it till I read it. I read the first book and really enjoyed it, so I read the other three very quickly after. *I love reading, and try to read in my very spare time after the hooligans have finally called it a night.

Billy was very gracious about seeing the first movie, and didn't even make fun of it...much. ;) We both thought it was a pretty good movie, and were interested to see if the second movie was good also.

We went out for another one of my sisters' birthday dinner and then to the movie with a bunch of friends. I thought the second movie was great, minus a few cheesy parts that made Billy nauseous, and me throw him a dirty look or two. He was pretty well-behaved, for a man forced to watch a sappy vampire movie against his will.

My sisters and I were probably the ones not behaving. But that's nothing new...it's like reverting back to our childhood when we get together...joking and laughing and even embarrassing Billy because we are "so loud". Oops. And I tend to get a little excited when I can do something that doesn't require me to bring the diaper bag along. ;)

I definitely enjoyed the movie, and am interested to see how the 3rd one will turn out. It's also been fun having all the sisters *all 5 of us...yes, my poor brother ;)* together again for Thanksgiving. Hope everyone is enjoying the holiday!

Feed Me

Merrick is a man of few words. He didn't start really talking well until the end of this summer. He is finally now starting to string some words into sentences, and to start saying his words so that more than me and his dad can understand them. It's such a cute phase...and I find myself getting upset when he masters saying another word correctly. *Yeah yeah, I know...I shouldn't want my child to say his words incorrectly forever.* Anyway...he's taken to showing me, not telling me, when he is ready to eat. Sometimes he'll say "Mommy, hungey" (which means he's hungry) but several times lately I've heard him in the kitchen, climbing into his highchair, waiting for the food to appear.

I think he is of the mindset "if you build it sit in it, food will come."

No Shoes...

Lately, my sibs have been raving about these shoes called Toms.I was kinda not paying attention at first, and I kept hearing about these shoes that were for a good cause, were cute and really comfy. Zoned out, like I said, until Billy started looking at them online yesterday. (I've had other things on my mind...like trying to keep shoes on Merrick, for one thing.)
Traditionally...I think the female is supposed to be the shoe lover in the relationship. Us? Not so much. Billy is the one always wanting new shoes. Sure I like shoes...but when you are 5'9" and wear a size 9 you feel like you and your feet are long enough that you'd rather not draw any extra attention to them. Plus I usually invest my shoe money in things I can run in...which does not include heels. I'm not that coordinated. ;) Plus when you are already as tall as your husband, flats it is. I barely even wore shoes in my wedding...and usually avoid them if at all possible. :)

Anyway...looking over his shoulder I noticed how cute these shoes were. *in my opinion anyway...and they look comfy and flat. :)* Maybe my sisters were right...usually the cute shoes they are talking about don't look comfy, and would add unwanted many inches to my already really-tall-for-a-girl height.

As we browsed around we read up on the Toms movement, as they call it. *Click on the Toms picture above to check it out.* Every pair of these shoes that is sold, they send a pair of shoes to a child who needs them. They have lots of different colors and several different materials and styles. Just thought I'd share the info...I was really excited about the website and what they are doing.

I know I complain about Merrick constantly taking off his shoes, but looking at it from this perspective I'm glad we are blessed enough that we have shoes. This seemed like a pretty good excuse to buy some shoes to me. :)

Break it Down

We've always talked about how much Merrick loves to dance. Here is yet more cell phone evidence of his hobby of breakin it down. *This was while watching So You Think You Can Dance last week* :)

Toothless No More

Tirzah has been stringing us along for some time now. Kind of like when we were waiting for her to make her appearance. She waited until the last minute, and we were sure she was going to bypass her due date. She made it with 30 minutes to spare.
We've been doing the same thing waiting for her to get her first tooth. Yes, she's got her first tooth, and she's barely four months old. Some kids are nearly a year and aren't teething. How did we get so lucky? Well...our kids are just carnivorous like that I guess. Merrick had his first tooth a bit later, but he had all his teeth soon after, and got his molars without so much as a whimper. I just happened to notice them in his mouth one day when he was yelling. Go figure. :) Tirzah didn't teeth so silently, and has been whining, chewing her hands, and drooling us all into a puddle for what seems like 4 months. :)

*It's hard to tell from the picture...but it's finally broken through her gum. I'm sure there will be better tooth pictures to come as it keeps coming in. I never fail to document absolutely everything you know. ;)*

I barely recognize her without her whole fist stuffed into her mouth lately. She has even shoved it so far into her mouth that she gags. Merrick is all too happy to help with this, and has had to be reminded many times not to stick his fingers down his sisters throat. :) He's so helpful.

I'm glad for her sake it's finally broken through. I just hope our wardrobes survive the drool that's sure to come with the next teeth.

Vinegar and Socks

Alot of times we don't know what we've got till it's gone. Lately, it's been the sun. :) Ida sent it packing for what felt like a whole week. I'd forgotten what it was like to not be cooped up in the house with the hooligans. Believe me, being cooped up with these guys can also make you forget other things...like you're name, what day it is, what it feels like to have an adult conversation, etc. :)

We've been helping dry out my mom's basement for almost a week now after the flooding. *It currently smells like a mixture of vinegar and socks in her house...much worse than the frequent dirty diaper aroma we have around here. Never thought I'd here myself say that. :)*

But it has been nice to get out of the house, minus an umbrella and a boat. And to see some color back in the sky...

I took this picture at mom's...it doesn't smell so bad outside. ;) All kidding aside, I am grateful to see the sun again, and glad for the reminder about all the little blessings we overlook everyday.

You are sunrise

You are blue skies
How would I know the morning
If I knew not midnight?

- Nicole Nordeman, Sunrise

The theme at YouCapture this week was Sunrise/Sunset...check out their site for some great pictures!

Ida

We've always bugged my dad about putting a pool in at my parent's house. I guess we should be careful what we wish for.

These pictures are from my parents basement, and the site of our indoor pool. And yes, that is a 20 gallon shop vac. And goodness knows how many times I've filled/emptied it with the fury of Ida in the last 24 hours. Whoever did the rain dance is in big trouble. :)

There was water standing, and pretty much bubbling up before our eyes, in the basement. Merrick is pretty much the only person who thought that was funny. He squished around the basement in his bare feet for hours. I think I've been cured of ever-as-long-as-I-live wanting a basement. It kind of struck me as ironic that the bedroom in the basement is decorated in all manner of sea-creatures. :)
Thankfully our house, which I lovingly refer to as The Swamp, doesn't have a basement. We could, however, go surfing in my front yard. :) Billy is just glad that the rain finally knocked all those hanging-on-for-dear-life leaves out of the trees.
The only problem is they are soaking wet, and it seems to have given them some kind of super-human sticky powers to get stuck all over every surface in sight but the trees. Like my kitchen floor. :)

Also, I don't usually have my glamorous plastic deck furniture laying in the yard like that. But it was pretty windy too. The other chair was in a bush on the other side of the deck. I still can't figure out how we didn't lose the electricity...it seems to cut off every other weekend and holidays out here in the woods. :)
I'm really glad it wasn't worse than it was. We're still not sure what is going to happen with m parents' basement. But the vacuuming is to be continued...tomorrow morning and until the water stops coming in. Things already seem to be drying up a bit, I didn't even need my floaties to get to the car this morning.

Playing Favorites

Not talking about my kids...although I do have two favorites, but I'm not telling who is who. ;) And speaking of kiddos...Merrick and I had the chance to go play in the leaves in the backyard a few days ago. Fall is one of my favorite seasons...I have 3 favorite seasons: Spring, Summer and Fall. I just tolerate winter since it includes Christmas. ;) No seriously, I do love fall, and this fall has been really gorgeous. Merrick is so much fun to watch...everything is new and interesting to him: like dumping leaves on my head for example, which is what he most wanted to do while we were playing. I didn't mind, at least it kept him entertained enough to stay in the yard. I snuck in some pictures while we were playing, it's best if I keep my photography undercover around him...or I get the classic Merrick *back-of-the-head* shot. :)

This week at I Heart Faces the theme was Autumn Beauty. I think we caught the beauty part just in time, since Ida knocked all of our leaves out of the trees this weekend. :)

Fame

Sometimes, ok ok, alot of times, it seems like I am trying really hard to find my "niche". And I'm probably not alone in this either. *yesyouknowwhoyouare :)* I mean it seems like at times I look everywhere to find out who exactly I am and try to perfect that image. Seems like this is a common practice, too. Who hasn't taken one of those facebook quizzes we all love to hate, but love to take, telling you what color is your brain, or what do your eyes say about you, or what Twilight character is your soulmate? :)

I've tried all kinds of things, and who hasn't? No don't get me wrong, I really haven't tried anything off the wall or destructive, and other than diet Dr. Pepper *which is most likely running through my veins in place of blood as we speak* I haven't ever been addicted to anything. I was raised in a homeschool family, and loved it. Church was where my friends were, being a leader in my youth group was who I was for awhile, follow that up with a side of Sunday School teacher and prayer leader at Liberty University, and I was pretty sure I knew who I was.

There are times when I'm still pretty sure. Not that I'm the right kind of sure though. The sure that I am too often, is in myself. And it's pretty easy to get sidetracked around here. There's laundry up to my eyeballs, kids climbing on my head, paperwork and bills to pay, and tis the season for my kitchen floor to be covered in wet sticky leaves. Ugh. Not to mention the constant noise that is bouncing around in my skull -it often sounds like Tirzah who thinks she is perpetually starving to death, or Merrick knocking something he wasn't supposed to be climbing on into the floor.

I so often think I've figured it out. I've found a few things I'm good at and have decided to run with it. Being a mom, a wife, a runner, a photographer...This must be it.
But recently I'm being gently reminded, in some not-always-seemingly-gentle ways, that who I am has nothing in the world to do with what I do, or even what I think I do well. Simply Who I know, and Who loves me. There most likely will always be someone out there who is a better photographer, a better runner, a better blogger, wittier, less of an introvert, trendier, less lazy, etc. But there will also never be another me in God's eyes. There is a uniqueness in me that touches a part of Him in a way no other soul can. To quote The Shack, "He is especially fond of me". -Sidenote...everyone should read that book right now cuz it's wonderful, and I can't put it down, even though the dishes in my sink are about to grow legs and walk out of the house. Are you reading it yet?- He made me, not to fulfill Himself, because He is perfect without me. But He made me, because He wanted to know and love me, and to be loved by me. ME. Wha???
I came across a quote from another blog the other day, and it really reminded me that I don't have to spend all this time trying to find my 15 minutes of fame, perfecting my image, or work on being the big fish in the pond. *I hate fish anyway...so there.*

"I am fully known.
Real fame is a thing tucked deep in God's glory.
Knowing that, believing it, might just change my life."
--The Run-a-muck

I just have to be me...me being loved by God and loving Him back.

No autographs please. ;)

Where's the Beef?

This past week we started Tirzah on baby cereal. Little lady loves to eat, and the Doctor said she is pretty much eating all the formula one baby should be eating, and should move on to something a little more substantial that will scale back the formula-consumption just a bit. Seriously, we know those cheeks or hers aren't fooling anyone. ;) I have people tell me, literally everywhere I go, that they can tell I'm feeding her well. I decide to take it as a compliment. I can whip up a mean bottle-of-formula. ;)

I was thinking *piece of cake*. Merrick loved when we started feeding him cereal. First bite and he was hooked. He even grabbed the spoon and tried to put it in his own mouth, no kidding. Baby food green beans? Not a problem. Baby food beef? Yes, the kind that smells like cat food? He downed jars of that stuff. That kid ate everything I put in his mouth. And a few things I'd rather him not, like shopping cart handles and shoes, but we'll not get into that. :)

I was expecting, naively so, that Tirzah would handle it the same way. Oh, silly me...
She screamed. She gagged. She spit it back out at me. She turned beet red. She screamed some more. I called my mom.

She laughed when I told her my story of the crazy baby who wouldn't eat cereal. What was wrong with this kid? It turns out I think the more appropriate question is what is wrong with Merrick. :) Mom said all of her kids did the gagging/spitting/beet red/more screaming routine too. I just assumed kids liked this stuff. Like I said, silly me. During all this hysteria and flying cereal Merrick was calmly *yes, I did say calmly* playing with his toys on the table. *And yes, he plays on the table occasionally...but I try to pretend I don't see that. ;)* I think he was probably wondering what on earth is wrong with the women in this house, and if he could get some more of that great beef stuff in the jar. *gagging*

Finally we gave up on the cereal for the day...mostly because Tirzah's last ditch avoidance ploy was falling asleep in the middle of her breakfast. I am happy to report, however, that after days of practicing, and sneaking bites into her mouth around her bottle, she has decided that maybe this cereal stuff isn't so bad. I'm not looking forward to how my connoisseur of baby food handles green beans. Pretty sure we'll just skip the beef.

Welcome to My Life

But please, be warned...it doesn't usually look this peaceful. :) I had the very rare treat of getting to read with Merrick, and getting to photograph Merrick -minus constant motion- the other night. And yes, Mom, I know he needs a haircut. But I think the sheepdog look is cute on him. ;)

Nevermind that the book he chose makes lots of noise and lights up...he was actually sitting still and looking at the pages...and letting me take pictures that were not of the back of his head because he is running away from his paparazzi mother.
Definitely one of those times when I wanted to bite his little toes off he was so cute. Not that he's not always cute, of course, and not that I really would bite his toes off. Goodness knows where those things have been today. ;)


This week at You Capture the theme was Your Real Life. Check out the site for more great shots!

Delirious

Friends don't let friends go all day without napping...or this happens. ;)

This was in the car Sunday on the way home from church. Merrick had not napped all day, and was totally exhausted. I was just making a face at him and this is the reaction I got. Really, I'm not that funny. :)

Stuffed Animals Tractors

Most kids sleep with stuffed animals...I think that's pretty normal. Merrick started out with just a few of those. Most of them were gifts from people when I was pregnant with him, or brought to him in the hospital. There was even a special Sad Sam stuffed dog that was mine as a kid. It seems fitting that there are several wild jungle animal beanie babies thrown in from the aunties, as well. :)
However, as his love obsession with Tractors and anything with big wheels has grown, he insists that those be added to the giant mess that is his crib. Sometimes I can barely see the mattress for all the various items that he deems necessary to get a good nights sleep. Lately, he has even wanted to add a book or two, about tractors and trucks, of course, to his wooden-railed pile of stuff.

This is usually what he looks like when I leave for him to take a nap...driving a tractor along the rails, or the wall, that my bed is right on the other side of. *Often I'm rudely awakened by the the sound of his feet kicking the wall, or one of his many bed-ridden vehicles driving right next to my head.

I am glad that, at least, it keeps him quiet. He used to wake up screaming for me to get him out. Now that he has something to keep him busy I have a few minutes before the "MOMMY OUT!!!" starts. :) I have always heard the color green is peaceful...in our case it's John Deere green.

2 for 1 Deal

Earlier this week we took both the kiddos to have their well check-ups at the same time. When I had scheduled this 2-for-1 appointment a month ago it sounded like a good idea. One co-pay, one trip, one round of screaming at the scary old doctor, etc.

They really look harmless, right? :)

The closer I got to their appointment the more I realized I had lost my mind. Merrick by himself at the Doctor is insanity. He hates the pediatrician with a passion...I truly am embarrassed at how he acts in the doctors office. And if you know anything about Merrick you know that it probably takes a lot to embarrass me any more. ;)

I decided I needed to call in the back-up. I asked Billy to pretty please with cherries on top get off work a bit early and come help me. I admit it, I really didn't think I could handle these two, one big scary doctor, several torturous shots, a stethoscope, and a couple of tongue depressors by myself. This picture might clear up any confusion on why I didn't wanna go there. :)

They both actually did surprisingly well, though. Tirzah barely made a peep while she had her check-up, and while Merrick cried and looked like he had seen a big lab-coated ghost, he didn't display the theatrics I've seen at past visits. Whew. They even handled their shots relatively well. Merrick didn't cry at all, I think he was trying not to bread down in front of his baby sister. Tirzah did scream, just a little, ok hysterically, when she got her shots. It was very sad...as usual I cry too. So sad, but after the pertussis nightmare I didn't want to risk anymore contagious diseases at the moment.

After that little outing, we went to the store to pick up some cereal/baby food for Tirzah. The Dr said she obviously doesn't need to be eating more formula, and should try something more substantial so she isn't eating so often. I think she is just trying to make sure she doesn't lose her trademark "cheekies". :)

Then we rewarded ourselves for surviving, and went to Noodles and Company. *Any excuse to go to that place will work...I got up this morning, I deserve to go to Noodles and Company. ;)* Merrick made sure to make up for his good behavior at the Doctor's office by showing his "mac-cheese", as he called it, to all the other diners. At least they laughed. :)