My Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

In short hand, b/c that's all I have left in me.

Ok. Daddy out of town. Out the door by 7:45 with all four kids, dressed and fed, with bags packed for a day trip to Bham. Dr's appointment for Addi. Drop off big boys by 8:20. Take Cullen and Addi to breakfast. come back to school for D's award ceremony at 10. hurry out when it's over to head to Bham for 12:30 appt. Car acts weird before we leave Mont. Decide to go anyways. this appointment has been rescheduled 3 times! 20 minutes from dr's office, car quits on interstate. As in turns off. no power. nothing. only brakes and steering. going 65 mph down I65. Call AAA. Nice man in tow truck comes. Call super awesome friend who has a super awesome aunt who comes to my rescue (on the side of the intestate with 2 small children and 2 large carseats). Dropped off at Ford dealership. Miss Dr's appt. ( again ). Husband calls to say his flight home is canceled. He will not be home tonight. ( this is the part where I burst into tears in Ford waiting room- 4 yr old asks why am I so sad! )
~4 hours later... car is fixed, minor repairs ( huge PRAISE! ) , we can leave. It's 4:55. Did I mention that I was in Bham? Promise 4 yr old a milkshake for excellent behavior ( truly, he was a trooper ). Stop for a quick dinner. Oh dear, no milkshakes here. Promise to keep looking.
Traffic. Baby falls asleep. 4 yr old talks incessantly about when, where and how we will be obtaining a milkshake. Momma stalls, doesn't want to risk stopping and waking sleeping baby. 4 yr old finally falls asleep. Mom turns on HER music and calls MIL. Baby wakes up. Mad. Not crying really, more like yelling, complaining. Mom throws things in general direction of car seat. Plastic drink lids, usually a big hit, not cutting it this time.
45 min later, baby still mad, brother still asleep, drive out to pick up big boys, it's 7:30. C wakes up and wants to know... where is the milkshake? Big boys haven't had supper. Head to drive thru ( after extensive discussions, debating and compromising about where to stop ) . On the way Cullen says to Dawson " Today was a super fun day. I got to go to Birmingham with Mom, and now we are getting a milkshake! "
Mom orders food and milkshakes.
" I'm sorry, we don't have anymore milkshakes. "
" excuse me??? "
" we are out of milk "
Seriously? 
Mom warns children in car that they are about to witness a nervous breakdown. Laughing now. What else can you do? Drive to  McDonalds. Wait a very long time for 3 milkshakes. It's after 8 now. We've been gone from home 12 hours. Mom offers reward to child who can get in bed quickest, extra back tickling, it works. Baby girl gladly goes to bed. Everyone down by 9, not too bad. Deep breath, count blessings.

Thank you Lord that no one was injured today as we coasted down the side of the interstate, that I have such good friends to count on in tough times,  that the two littles did amazingly well with the wait, that the car repairs were minor and not too costly, that I was able to have a good laugh with my sweet boys, that everyone is in their beds now and that Daddy will be home tomorrow !

The Firstborn

He doesn't get much blog time. My firstborn. Maybe b/c he's not at that ridiculously adorable stage anymore. But he still cracks me up. Everyday. In a roll your eyes-what on earth have we done to this poor child- first born of 2 firstborns kind of way. Examples from this week.

The air conditioner is broken on our family car. We tell the dealership that we have 4 kids so we need a big car. They give us a four door boat called a grand marquis or something. Not exactly what I had in mind, but who am I to complain? So I pick Owen up from school and tell him he's riding in the front seat. He freaks out. Goes on and on about breaking the law and "juvie" ( where did he learn that word? ) etc, until I convince him that I don't think it's a law that children under 12 ride in the back seat, just a recommendation.
The next morning on the way to school I pat his leg and say-
"It sure is weird having you up here with me"
to which he replies
" It sure is weird knowing that I am more likely to die if we have a car crash." 

Same week... I start to serve up dinner on some styrofoam plates that I found in the top of our pantry. He looks horrified.
" Mom, don't you know that these are bad for the environment?!"
" Yes, I do "
" So why are we using them? "
" Because your Dad is out of town, it is a very busy week, and I don't have anyone to help me with the dishes" 
" But, ( complain, complain, argue, criticize , etc )
" Owen! Are you offering to do the dishes tonight before bed?! "
Nothing, just silent disgust now.

Next night at dinner. I tell Addison " no, mam " as she does a back bend in her bumbo while eating a cracker. Owen looks shocked that I corrected her. He tells me " I'm afraid that you are going to have a hard time disciplining her, b/c you think she's so special "
I assure him that I think ALL my children are special and I don't like to discipline ANY of them , but I do because the Bible tells me that that's my job, and I want them to be kind, loving people.
Then I mumble  "anyways, it's your Dad you better be worried about!- sometimes Daddies have a hard time disciplining their little girls! "
And he says, (I kid you not) , " Yeah,  he can't even handle you "
????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

Owen came home from school last Friday with his "Friday t-shirt" signed by his friends in his class. The hilarious part to me is that 2 little girls added their phone numbers in sharpie next to their names. As if my son is going to whip that shirt out this summer, and dial up one of these girls. Cracks me up, where do little girls get these ideas? ( now Dawson on the other hand.... ) 

He will be 10 this Fall, hard to believe that I 've been a momma for a decade now. (It's all I ever truly wanted to be, I have to remind myself of that about 100 times a day.)  He acts like a preteen already. Alternating between extreme self confidence ( Mom, I don't think most 3rd graders can sing that type of song as well as I can) to self depricating misery ( Why can't I ever remember anything! )
Owen has been such a sweet help to me since his new sister came home. Head over heals for her. Toting her around. Rushing to meet her needs. Defending her. Declaring her a baby genius, convinced that she is saying "DaDa" and "All done" intentionally.
God has big plans for Owen. I know it. I just pray that he gives us the wisdom to shape this little (BIG ) personality for His glory.

Meet Super Guy

This is what Dawson ( age 7 ) brought home from school one day this week. He obviously had a little too much school is almost out for the year free time on his hands, because he drew an entire comic strip. This is the hero and in case you can't read his Super Guy costume it reads " I Love Ladies! " Oh. Dear.

Remembering

I didn't know before this year, but the Saturday before Mother's day is recognized as Birthmother's Day. One expert suggested using this day to encourage your child to celebrate and remember their first mother. That way, on Mother's Day, they don't feel conflicted, guilty and confused about which mother to celebrate. Since I was unsure of exactly how to go about celebrating Birthmother's Day with an eight month old,  I was excited when Agape announced their first Run for Mom race, scheduled for the Saturday before Mother's day.  Since the big boys had soccer games at the same time, Addison and I made plans for a special Momma/Daughter date at the race. ( yes, she looked forward to it for weeks )
Actually, I had to wake her up to leave, even though we skipped out on the 5K and just registered for the 1 mile Fun Run. We got to visit with several friends who came out for the race and were thrilled that KC and big sister Olivia came to keep us company! KC and JW are heading to Ethiopia in a matter of WEEKS to meet their new daughter!
Addison wore her birthmother's name on the back of her baby carrier ( yes, I packed 20 lbs on the Fun Run. Does that make up for the fact that we were smoked by a bunch of school aged kids and came in almost last?)

 I have visions of attending every year, maybe pushing a stroller next year, walking hand in hand the next , until the year that she can outrun me ( which should be... oh... around age 5 or so ).

 

Remembering, honoring, thanking, the Mother across the ocean who chose Life. Who nurtured a new  Life for seven days.Who made very sure that this little Life, would have a chance to thrive. Who traveled long distances, to the big city , to do everything within her power to secure a forever home for the child that she nurtured within her own body. There just aren't words.

Oh Happy Day!

 

 Addi says "Happy Mother's Days!"

Today I celebrated my first Mother's day as momma of FOUR! And my first Mother's day with my baby girl ( who is eating a stick in the picture above- Hey, you know what they say...you can dress them up but....)

But the sweetest gift of all was that my tenderhearted middle son chose this day to  put on Christ in baptism! To make a statement of faith before loved ones. Declaring his love for our Heavenly Father and His Son, our Saviour. Identifying himself as a follower of Christ. Expressing his desire to be obedient to the scriptures that he has been taught since birth. Convicted in his own heart, and not to be dissuaded. Not from fear of Hell, not pressured by teachers or parents, not caught in an emotional moment of teenage guilt. Just pure, childlike, untainted LOVE for his Father. 

Early this morning, May 8, 2011, among a small group of witnesses.

And now my son is my brother. Adopted by God, co-heirs with Christ. Oh Happy Day!

 

 Baptized by his Poppa, who spoke the sweetest words of encouragement.

Congratulated by Dad

 Celebrated by family..

 and friends.

My Mom- by Cullen, age 4

 as transcribed by the preschool teacher

My mom's Hair is black.

My mom's eyes are green.

My mom is 25 years old.

My mom is 5 feet tall.

My mom likes to cook.

I like to help my mom take care of my baby sister.

My Mom's favorite place to go is Target.

My Mom's favorite food is salad.

I want to tell my Mom that I want to give her a present.

I love my Mom because she's sweet.

Eight Months Old Today!

Counting down the months is so much more fun now that our little one is on THIS continent! It's hard to believe that our baby girl is eight months old, changing every day! This month she cut both of the her top two teeth, for a grand total of four. Those mean teeth, coupled with some "digestive" issues brought out the grouchy side of our normally smiley girl! ( not that I can blame her! )

This month she gave up that last middle of the night feeding and is sleeping from about 8 pm until 6 am ! (well, most nights- I guarantee you that since I actually put those words in print I just earned myself a midnight feeding! )

She is not officially crawling ( fine by us! ) but when she is on her stomach she scoots backwards, frustrating herself as she pushes further and further from the object of her desire. She is strangely flexible for such a little butterball, and cracks us up when she does the splits and then touches her nose to the ground. Owen says she's doing some sort of Yoga move.

After months of splash time in the tub, Addison was thrilled to be set into the pool twice in the past week. She is a water baby! I'm afraid that this momma won't be sipping on sweet tea in the pool chair this summer. Her love for the water combined with her inevitable gains in mobility are sure to keep me on my toes.

Just three days ago she started clapping her chubby little hand together, so sweet! She claps on demand for her brothers and is quite proud of her little trick.

We are all still just as smitten with her as the day we brought her home. Is this why the babies of the family are so rotten? (: Her brothers think that everything she does is noteworthy, and don't understand why everyone we meet is not enthralled with her latest trick.
I'm warning you, we're slightly obnoxious about this little one. Friday night we ordered a delivery pizza and Owen rushed over to where Addison was playing on the ground and kept saying in a loud voice " Say Hello to the pizza man Addi, say Hello" Over and over, seriously,  while watching out of the corner of his eye for the poor unsuspecting teenager to notice his sister. I imagine that her celebrity status will diminish the first time that she smashes someone's Lego creation to pieces, but for now this momma couldn't be happier of the brotherly love that's flowing for little sunshine!