Moment of Tranquility

I have had a great birthday!!Really the last two weeks have been great!Two weekends ago, I surprised Amy and showed up in Nashville. We had a great time. I had to meet her at her Mommy's group at a Mexican restaurant. That was an interesting experience. I am SO glad that I am not a freak out Mom. These girls had one kid and were are driving their pediatricians crazy I am sure!!One of them will not let her child touch grass!!Anyway, we went junk store shopping and ate at a great restaurant. They had the best scallops on polenta!! The next day, I worked the Franklin Farmer's Market with her. It was really fun and she had a great day of sales. I would be poor if I lived anywhere near that place!!Sunday, I slept until noon!! It was great! Probably the first time we have been alone since I was prego with Brayden! I drove home with a car load of fireworks (another story) and meet Townley for lunch. The next day, my parent and grandparents came for a visit. We went to the movies, ate out, went on a few boat rides, fished, ate a lot of ice cream and ended the weekend with brunch at the Renaissance. On that same Saturday, Rachael, one of my college roommates and her husband whom we meet briefly at the wedding came for a visit. We had a great time visiting and trying to throw them in the lake!!This week, we had Jamie and Bruce and Mark and Penny and all the kids spend the night. We had so much fun. I think the adults had as much fun as the kids!!Jamie and Penny cooked breakfast for my birthday. It was great, I felt spoiled. This afternoon, everyone from church came and we had a lake party! Once again, eat, eat , eat!!We had a great fireworks show using the fireworks mentioned above!!
The best thing hand down about the last two weeks is that Baylor is potty trained and no longer needs a paci!!So after almost 7 years of diapers, WE ARE FREE!!
So as I write this, my heart is happy, I am content. I have a great husband, wonderful kids, a fun family, friends I do not deserve and blessing for which I am not worthy!!!

I did not realize that it had been this long since an update. Our summer is going well. I have actually enjoyed my kids being home. I out a schedule into place on day one so I think that is helping. Brayden and Finley are easy. Baylor is having a little more trouble. We are doing little lessons everyday. Our first theme was beach. We read beach books, make a beach mural, made seashell boxes and then went to the beach. Our beach trip was really nice. The kids were great. It was the first time in a long time that I got to do the beach like I did before kids. Sit by the pool facing the view of the ocean and read books!!It was close to heaven! Sam watched the kids at the beach. I out a few times to take some pictures. But I really do not like sand. Especially sand put on me by kids. Sam had fun playing in the sand so it worked out fine. We stayed in a really nice place. We had three bedrooms and three bathrooms. My parents went with us so we were able to spread out. Mom stayed on the balcony most of the time reading. Since Dad is still recovering from his surgery, he stayed in the bed and read. We ate out every night. That was the best part!!
We came home to the lake, horrible I know. The kids have been swimming and skiing. Baylor skied for the first time Monday. He did really well. Better that me, I drove the boat with white knuckles worrying about him falling and getting run over by another boat!!Next week is swimming lessons and summer program. I think it is going to be a nice summer!

Since my only reader is complaining about lack of updates, here we go. We had a great Spring Break. We had a great 7 bedroom house in Gatlinburg. All my siblings came as well as my grandparents. We surprised my dad for his 60th birthday! The kids loved it. We went wading in the river, went to the aquarium, the science museum and on the ski-lift. Mainly, we stayed in our house and played games, watched movies and laughed!!!Because we were there on Easter week, the kids decorated easter cookies and had an Easter Egg hunt. The funniest thing about the week was my mother surprised us (big kids) with a hunt!!In 75 eggs, she had put $$$$$. You should have seen 7 adults running around a three story house looking for eggs. We are talking in the toilet tank not just sitting around. The competition was fierce. It is amazing how that can motivate!!We hunted for about an hour. There was even an injury!In our fury, we threw my grandmother off of the couch!!All that to say, Sam and I got $52 and we decided next year to do a spotlight hunt!!!
Dad had his surgery last Monday. It went better than we had expected. We were prepared for a week in the hospital and then rehab. Then several months of recovery at home. Thanks to massive prayers, he came home after two nights and is doing great! He said he should have done it sooner. Of course, if it had gone like this last time, we would not have been in this position!
School is winding down. Brayden was chosen Student of the Month for grades K-3. His teacher said he is the perfect student! So glad that he is starting his school career on this note. As a teacher, I know how your reputation precedes you. Sam told him how proud he was and asked him why he did not always act that way at home. Brayden responded without missing a beat, "Because it is more important to be good at school!!!" So true! Have a great week!!!

I love daffodils. I love when I am driving down the road and see the daffodils popping up. One reason, other than Christmas, I have no use for winter. So the flowers signal spring is near. Second, they remind me of my childhood. I especially love seeing them where it is obvious at one time, there was a home nearby. It just gets my imagination flowing. Thinking about the past, who planted them, what their life was like. My grandparents had a farm when I was growing up. There were a couple of these daffodil "lots" on the land. The homesteads would have been from the mid 1800. I would think about these people for hours.
Now, if you are planning on buying me flowers, you may have heard me say I love tulips. But they just don't have the history or the Southern roots that the daffodils possess. And actually, as I get older, I am thinking that it may just be daffodils now. Smelling them, can transport me back to a time with no worries or cares. I just smile when I see them. They make me happy.

It has been a while since I have updated. Nothing really spectacular has been happening. Just the day to day things. Sam and I met with Brayden's teacher yesterday just to check on his progress. We got a very good report on his academics. Better than that though, we got an excellent report on his behavior. That is much more important to us so we were thrilled. I have been up in the air about what to do with Finley Grace and Baylor next year. Finley has basically done preschool at her school. I am not going to do the three school thing again next year. So I have two options. Julie and Jamie are trying to convince me to do First Baptist in Wetumpka. It makes since if we stay at the lake. It is nine miles from here while Baylor's school is 22 miles. The down side for me is the hours. It is every day until 11:45. Baylor's school is MWF until 2. That is better for me. It allows me time to do errands, eat out lunch and even go to Birmingham if I want to. But the distance is a little much. Anyway, we are on the waiting list at First Baptist so it is God's hands.
I did register them all for the summer program at Baylor's school. It is two days a week. They have all sorts of fun things planned. It will give them something fun to do a few days. I will be able to go to the grocery store and do some other things that I might want to do. We are all excited about that.
Maybe something exciting will happen for me to write about soon!

It is snowing on Lake Jordan!!!

Today, Sister turned 4! We had a great family party last night. Finley Grace wanted to have spaghetti and macaroni. So I decided to make pasta and have different sauces, one being the cheese sauce. She seemed pleased. She had a great princess cake that was supposed to serve 35-40 people. Well, we may have had enough left for 5 more people!!Is that bad??? Today, she awoke to a decorated room. Sam was leaving on a duck hunt for a few days so he wanted to take everyone to school. Finley took cupcakes and little goodie bags, so I was glad that it was not my day. She thinks turning 4 makes you into a bigger person. She showed me several times today how big she was. Julie, our neighbor, asked Finley this afternoon if she wanted something to eat or drink. Finley Grace replied, "What do 4 year olds drink?" SO cute!!
We seem to be past the fits. Which by the way are HORRIBLE with girls. The attitude and spontaneity is insane. She has turned into little Miss Helpful. She loves cleaning and folding laundry. She makes her bed in the morning as soon as she gets up. She loves to help me cook. Our new little dog, Polo, could perhaps do without so much help but it is fun to watch. She loves to sing, perform, dance and do cheers. She will sit for an hour and draw or color. Everyone that got her presents were spot on. She has a cheerleading DVD, an art set, Barbies with horses, a necklace with her name, a Princess table and bookshelf, a mixer, coffee maker and blender and a jewelry box.
I am looking forward to this year. It is fun to have a little girl and especially one that suits my interests so well (omitting the cleaning though, it is does not make my interest list). I am going to really enjoy her! Happy Birthday Stinkerbelle!!!

Well, all the kiddies had a great morning. They are all cashed and asleep on this rainy afternoon. They must have all been good. At least by the look of all the trash sitting on the porch. Brayden got a Wii. I am not sure who is loving it more. We have had bowling tournaments, boxing matches, golf and even a dance revolution!!Maybe in a few days, Brayden will be able to play with his present from Santa. Finley Grace got her pink tractor!!It is so cute, hot pink at that. It was special ordered by Santa. She also got an Easy Bake Oven. WE had our first cake this morning for breakfast...YUM...Bay Bay got a regular tractor with a loader. He has been riding around in the house since it is not a great day outside! Our walls and pets are paying the price for that.
All in all, we had a great day. I hate that it is all over. We haven't had Christmas dinner yet, no one was hungry at lunch. So there will be more eating by all!!!

Brayden turned 6 yesterday. He woke up to a decorated room. He only reminded us about 7 times Thursday. This was Sam's week off so we both got to go on Brayden's field trip to the Polar Express. We enjoyed our day with him. We told him we could eat anywhere last night. He chose Subway! We are going to have to work on that. But I actually didn't mind because I was SO tired last night. Plus, it was cheap!!Today he had his first "real" party with friends. We did Pump It Up. We had a great time. I lost a race in the Obstacle Course and I do not think I could climb up the slide one more time! The kids loved it and the adults. I am not even sure what all Brayden received for presents. I will say that I loved having someone else in charge, clean up and handle all the food, etc...The stress level was way down!Brayden was so gracious opening his presents. I was a little worried about that. Of course everything he got he loved so it worked in my favor.
He is getting so big. I look at him and can't believe how he is growing. He has already lost a tooth. He is really a good kid. He has really been an easy kid to rear (after the colic stage). He has done really well in school. Math is going to be his thing. It seems to come easily to him. More than that though, he has not even gotten close to getting in trouble. Maybe it is the teacher in me but that is so important. I am real proud of his past year and the bigger boy he has become, Happy Birthday, Brayden!

Why is that in life there are things that you look forward to, but they don't turn out exactly how you played it out in your mind. More than that, there are people that know how things are going to turn out and are laughing in their heads when you are telling them how things are going to go. Take this school year for instance. All three kids are gone two days a week. In my mind, I was going to be home, relaxing, scrapbooking, catching up on TiVo. I even thought I could do lunch with friends and get pedicures on Fridays!!ENTER the TRUTH...For one, ROOM MOM...I have been on field trips, helped out in the classroom and been on the phone. Second, I have two other kids who have field trips and parties. I can't be in three different places at the same time. So the result is Baylor getting the shaft because I think maybe he is too small to recognize that his mom is not there. I would have rather cut my finger off than do that to Brayden (curse of child number 3). Worse than than the physical aspect, the mental part is draining me. I can't remember who is at a peanut free school, who has to wear tennis shoes, where is the Flip Factory T-shirt, who needs pizza money, who's nap mat is in the wash, did I put the ice packs in the lunchboxes, who needs money for t-shirts or who needs to take two white t-shirts, when is tuition due and which school, where do the eyeball cupcakes go and who needed goodie bags and is it my turn for Friday Treats? Add that to the fact that they are on three different school calendars. Bottom line, I have lost my mind on more than one occasion. I now understand why my mother displayed her Phi Beta Kappa certificate in her kitchen. It was more than letting others know that at one time she had brains and beauty, it was to remind herself!!!I remember thinking my mother was crazy. Why could she not remember things, how could you forget your kindergartner at school the first week (me)!!!!It is funny how maturity brings clarity to your past.
So here is how everyone is doing. Brayden is loving school. He has not gotten in trouble once. He is doing well with is work too but for some reason, I am more concerned with his behavior. Maybe because of all the discipline problems I had over the years. He is growing up quickly. He lost his first tooth last week. The Tooth Fairy was not prepared for this and had no idea what the going rate was these days. She decided on an amount but then left the tooth on the dresser!
Finley Grace is enjoying preschool. She is in the 4 year-old class this year. We are not sure what we are going to do with her next year. She LOVES, I mean LOVES, cheerleading, dance and gymnastics! Several of my friends tried to get me to sign up for dance this year. Since dancing was not something that was big where I grew up, I thought, "She is three!" I did not want to be tied down to having to be somewhere on a regular basis. So my solution was to sign her up for Flip Factory at school. It is portable gymnastics lessons. She is SERIOUS about it. We have to watch routines she makes up and if she is not performing, she is walking around on her tip toes or clapping cheers.
As for Baylor, he is the whatever child. He is loving Mom's Day Out? He asks me everyday if he is going to school? They have music which he loves. On Fridays, they order pizza, another highlight for him! The whole school spoils him and calls him, "Bay Bay". I am happy that he is in a place where he can get some attention that he lacks at home. He is so cute to me and I could kiss him all day if I had the time! When Brayden lost his tooth, I said to him, "Where did my baby go? " Baylor piped in with, " I am right here!!!" So cute...
We are redoing our kitchen in Millbrook, new cabinets and quartz counter tops! Unfortunately, I am not going to enjoy it. We are getting the house ready to rent. We are staying at the lake so much that we are going to rent it out rather than paying for two places. This way, when we tear the lake house down, we will be able to come back here while we build.
I guess that covers it for an update. I will TRY to do better but don't hold your breath!!!

Well, week one of Kindergarten has come to an end. Brayden is in a class with only 11 other kids. I am SO happy about that. He likes his teacher. We had an option of picking them up at 12:30 or 2:30 this week. I thought we would transition into "real" school by doing 12:30. So of course, each day at 12:30, I was greeted by, "Mom, why won't you let me stay until 2:30?" I hate it when they are so attached to me!!He behaved all week. He got a Friday Treat. This is a huge deal because the parents take turns sending them. It is not some dinky little things that are sent either! They are like gift bags for kids!
His teacher made Friendship Salad one day, he asked her for the recipe. That definitely shows he watches Food Network more than the average kid. Actually, he and Tryton may be tied!
Finley Grace went to school Monday without her parents. We had to go to school with Brayden so my mother had to take her. I felt bad that she got the shaft. BUT, she could have cared less. We went by after Brayden's orientation. She said, "Hey" and continued playing.
On Wednesday, I took Baylor to MDO. He was fine. We had been having Mommy issues all summer. That was one of the reasons I signed him up. He went right in and started playing. Around 10:30, I had two missed calls that said Glynwood Baptist. I thought, Oh, no! The director was only calling to tell me that Baylor was fine and that he was instructing the other children on the proper way to treat the Maltese puppy that was visiting the school!
Yes, I had Wednesday and Friday to MYSELF!!I have to admit, I was ready. Six years of sacrifice has taken it's toll. I think I have aged 10 years! The only fun thing I really did was get a pedicure. Next week, I will slip right into some "me time" now that I know everyone is happy and well cared for!!

Well, it has been two years since little Bay joined our family. Seems like that is not possible. He woke this morning to a decorated room. Brayden had to remind me yesterday, "Mom, we have to decorate his room tonight!!" So the tradition has taken hold. Bay has been our easiest baby. He is easy to get along with and goes with the flow. He can be bleeding with a huge knot on his head and he will still be smiling at you. He is our little charmer. All the old ladies love him at the grocery! The black hair he was born with has turned blond and he has the most beautiful big blue eyes! He loves construction equipment, airplanes, helicopters and trains. He has been the most fun to watch grow. Probably because his parents are more relaxed and let him go at his own pace. He loves the water and being outside. He is all boy!
Happy Birthday, our little caboose!!

Ok, I am a squatter. I refuse to sit on a public toilet. To be honest the whole time I am in a public bathroom, I am either in some sort of contortion trying to only use my feet and elbows or I am covered in toilet paper/paper towels. Here is the predicament: Yesterday, Sam and I celebrated our 9th anniversary. We went out to eat and then to... Walmart. I know you are thinking that the predicament was the fact that we went to Walmart on our anniversary. But no, it is the auto-flushers in the Walmart bathrooms. Now a germ a phob like me actually enjoys the concept of no touch flush but the considerate of others me can't get those things to flush. So I spend a lot of time doing a little dance trying to convince the toilet that I am done with my business. If anyone has a solution to this problem that does not require any health risk, let me know!
PS On my way to pick Sam up last night a work, another shoe on the road!!

We had a great weekend. Saturday, we had Sam's extended family over for the afternoon and dinner. We grilled out and played in the water. It was fun to see the kids with their first cousins and second cousin or first cousin once removed. However they are related.
Today, we went to church. I kept the nursery. I did not know how many people were in service. I only knew that I had 7 babies. We invited everyone to the lake afterward for a little going away party for the LaPierres. Well, we got to the lake and had 45 people and we were missing 10!!I needed Jamie to help me with the food. Of course, we had plenty but I was worried for a minute. All the "kids" played and will be hurting tomorrow. We had a baptism in the "Jordan" with Patti. That was awesome. The neighbors had the youth from their church so our cove was FULL of church people. We were having so much fun that the last to leave was at almost 8:00. So next time we are going to have a sign up for lunch and dinner!!!We will all sleep well tonight and the LaPierres were sent off with a bang or a few scratches and tightened muscles!

We just got word that an acquaintance of our that has been sick for over a year was bitten by a tick. He has some weird disease that only has a few cases documented. Why is this so scary? The best that they can tell is that the tick may have crawled off a person from another country and bitten him. Ticks in this country do not have that disease. SO, the tick found him in an airplane, hotel or other place that someone from one of the infected countries brought it!!This with the TB guy flying all over the world too! But like our pediatrician said, diseases that our country has eradicated are only a plane ride away. Plus, some that have been gone for years, are coming back. So I guess the best we can do is keep vaccinated and pray over ourselves and our children!
On a different note, I have a question. Does anybody else see random shoes in the road? It seems like I am always seeing a shoe in the road. Here is the real question? How does the shoe get in the road? Is the owner wearing it? Are they hanging one foot out the window? Do they get home and think, "I should drive around and see if I can find my shoe in the road?" Or maybe I am the only one and this is some kind of sign that I should be getting meaning from. I think I may have had too much sleep!!!Have a good day!

We have had a busy few weeks. And I thought things were going to slow down! We have spent most of our time at the lake. Brayden is our resident skier! He loves it. Well, not to let him outdo her, Finley Grace decided that she was going to ski! Well, she got right up and is a natural. It is so funny to watch. She is so small. The skis are bigger than she is. I will try to put some pictures on later. I guess we will wait for Baylor to turn 3 before we throw him in with the skis!
Sam and I went to the Family Life Marriage Conference this weekend. My parents sent us. They kept the kids and would not even answer the phone when I called. It was actually nice. The conference was really good. Basically, we had allowed our priorities to be upside down. One is God, two, marriage and then the kids. I know that Sam is supposed to be before the kids but if someone told me I had to choose who was going to die, bye-bye Sam! :)
There were several people there that we knew. Even some friends from Birmingham. Next year, we would love to go with some friends too. Saturday night was set aside for date night. So what did we do? Biscuits game! We took Bybo's box seats. It was so nice. One of the coolest things I ever saw was the "fly over" (that is an understatement because it was more like a fly through) after the National Anthem. I think they cooked the hotdogs with the heat of the engine. SO we watched the game! I did not have Dippin Dots dripped all over me, I did not have to take anyone to the bathroom and I actually knew who won the game!
We bought almost ever book that they sold. Sam told the cashier that we needed lots of help!! I wish we had stayed the rest of the week. I could have spent the whole time reading!
On our way home, we stopped to get the new addition to our family!!Yes, it is true, we got another dog! He is a Maltese named Polo. He is a little fluffy cutie. Brayden asked me if I thought he could teach Polo to hunt. So I for-see us getting another dog for him later. Polo is more of a Fin Fin dog if you know what I mean!

Well, Brayden "graduated" last night! Yes, cap and gown, even a class ring! I am not joking! Sam said that if he drops out of high school because graduation is no big deal, it is my fault because I allowed him to participate last night!It was cute though. Brayden was supposed to lead the Christian pledge I think but he turned it into the Pledge of Allegiance. He panicked and said he wanted to be a doctor, not an animal doctor. I asked him about it later and he said, "I was trying to figure how to say animal doctor and I just spit out doctor". He was so cute!
We had 18 T-ball games on the schedule and we are down to the last four. It has been very serious! Brayden has done well, he has three game balls. He has matured a lot and know what is going on during the game. I am not sure if we will continue next year. I would be happy if he was done. In two weeks, we will be through with all our obligations!

I am about to be in my late 30s and I feel like I have learned a lot over the past couple of years. I think I have probably grown up more in the past two that in the first 33. I have learned that life is not black and white. Instead, there is a lot more gray. Actually, most of life is gray. Nothing is as simple as one way or the other. I have always thought there were certain ways to do things, certain times to do them and if you chose to do it the other way, then you were wrong. I laugh now at some things I used to think. This was especially prevalent in my 20s at at a time when I thought I knew it all, mainly because I did everything the right way! :)I laugh now when I hear younger people's thoughts, mainly because I can SO see myself in them. I have three exceptions to my 20 somethings, you know who you are. You are mature beyond your years. I wish I had truly been so wise. I have a list of things I used to think that I may post later.
Just for my friends that can appreciate this:
One thing on my list is once you have kids, drive a Suburban or Denali. NEVER, a minivan...HA
You would think I would weigh more, all the words I have eaten!!

I am not sure what was put in my blood to ask for this type of church life. However, Sam and I are basically involved in our 4th one. Our first experience was starting a new contemporary service in a 100 year old church.This was by far the hardest. It is a lot like butting your head against a wall over and over. We had an amazing worship team. We had great synergy. Tons of ideas. We had a whole room devoted to worship planning. We spend MANY hours and long night planning and putting together the best worship service. Some awesome things come out of this time. One was Survivor on the Roof. A whole church effort with indescribable results and the other being that three of the six people on the worship planning team went on to seminary. Two of which are serving in churches now. Also, we found a great friend and Godfather to Brayden. This time was definitely a beginning our separation from the traditional church.
After the summer of moving to Millbrook and driving back each week to church in Birmingham, we found NorthRidge. We jumped in immediately. The minister there was launching a new Methodist Church. The Methodist had spent thousands of dollars in research to figure out that the fastest growing area was in Millbrook and Prattville. Sam and I joined the Praise Band and I spend every week planning with the minister using my experience with worship planning. The church grew quickly and was forced to move into a new building or go to two services. We became well versed in small groups and really saw them functioning well. The downfall came when the vision became compromised and we began trying to please the traditionalist with the contemporary. It ended up no one was happy. This church had a great women's ministry and I know all about doing a casserole ministry. We also meet Mark and Tara here and they became Godparents to Finley Grace.
Then we joined with Mark and Penny to start Silver Springs. At this point, we were ready to break away from the Methodist church. They were affiliated with Church of the Highlands and we know of that church living on Birmingham. Mark had a clear vision and church politics would not enter into the picture. Mark's theory of being joined by the big picture and not letting the petty things divide us was very attractive. It was the firtst time I think we truly felt that our energies could be used to create something that would be attractive to those not in church. Instead of fighting/pleasing those already in the church. Mark spent the summer casting the vision, building realtionships and putting us to work. I have to say, this was one of the most committed core teams in which we have been involved. We saw people doing jobs that were in no way among their spiritual gifts but they knew that they had to be done. People you did not have to call to remind them to do things, they were there. We all spend endless hours working because we believed in the vision. Many Sunday morning, I was not looking forward to the 7am drive to Montgomery with three babies dressed and ready to go. But when I got there and saw everyone else working, it inspired me again. Many had several jobs and never even attended a service in full. The Praise Team played, left after the set to help in children's church, the nursery or the coffee bar and then time to clean up. We meet some of our closest friends during this time and would do it all over again.
Now we are at CityChurch. It has been the easiest one of all. There are no power struggles, the nursery is easily rotated and their is NO set-up or break down. Did I say there was NO set up or break down? It has been a time of refreshing. Although, we long for some of our friends to still be with us, we are happy to still have a place that provides us with an opportunity to foster a church structure we believe others long for.
We have been asked by my parent's who are in the midst of planting a church and by a good friend that will be planting a church beginning in June to give some advice from our different experiences. So I am beginning to think it all through.
1. Create a CLEAR vision for the church. Do not compromise that vision. From what I have seen, those that try to change the vision end of leaving anyway and most of the time, it is a good thing they do. Spend time casting your vision. Make it clear that you will not be entertaining any changes.
2. Choose a core team carefully! Spend time developing relationships with the team. Be sure that these people buy into your vision 100%. These are the people you can lean on and that will have your back. Choose people that are spiritually mature. You do not need to pull them through the journey. Make sure they are dependable and committed. A good core team that can work together will not tire out as quickly as a couple of people. Choose people that want it to work as much as you do and will drive 30 minutes to Montgomery with three kids. Or in the first two years of SS, the people that drove the 30 minutes to Prattville at 7am. Be sure they are people who are willing to do things that are not exactly what they love doing but they see a need a fill it. These people also set the standard of what it means to be a servant. Church is not about sitting there. Like Blair said, " We can say we have served enough when we have bloody nails in our hands and feet!"New people and new Christians will look to these to learn how to "do" church.

I am by no way, an expert. Most of what I have said I have learned by watching other people. People that I admire. Ever step of my journey has been a lesson in growth and maturity. It it so clear to me at each step what God was teaching me. I will write more when a baseball game is not in an hour.

I experienced a small victory today. It was Easter picture day. I had already gotten coordinating outfits for Easter so they would have a great picture. So I got up extra early this morning to get them dressed and looking good. I had been concerned that I would not be able to handle a photo session with all three by myself. I figured someone would not cooperate. BUT, we walked right in, they all three patted the bunny and smiled. It was painless. It looked like the photographer got several good shots. We will see. I actually felt like I had it all together today, that I could handle it! :)
Yesterday, was a little different. After I heard schools were closing, I started watching the weather. We have no good place in this house to go in case of tornado. So I made the mistake of telling Brayden and Finley Grace to pack up some coloring books, books and toys in case we had to go to Daddy's clinic. This way we would be in a secure building and be with an automatic generator. They got so excited. I got everyone dressed and ready. I noticed Brayden was filling his pockets with change. Well, Daddy also has a vending machine so he was just packing the necessities. We keep waiting and waiting. Nothing. I kept Baylor from his nap so we could leave quickly. Brayden and Finley Grace asked me a thousand times when we were leaving. They were running around the house like crazy. Because I was so busy watching the news, they destroyed everything. Including a wall that Baylor decided to express himself creatively. About three times, I told them it looked like we might be going to the clinic and then nothing. I heard about the sirens going off in Montgomery so I told them to get their backpacks because we were leaving. They proceeded to go and wake up Baylor( I had given up and put him down). Then they said the storm was no where near the city of Montgomery. So now I have two kids who are mad because they can't get Doritos and Sunkist and one that is more irritable than before because he was awakened from his nap. So our day was LONG and anti-climatic.
I was thinking today though, how nice the innocence of childhood is. My children were not worried or upset. They were excited that they were going to go eat out of a vending machine. They have no reason to fear. They trust me and my decisions for them. When does that change? When do you learn that people die and things happen? That parents are just doing the best they can. Finley Grace's teacher is leaving unexpectedly. I thought she might be upset. She said, "Ms. Ashley is moving but Mrs. Susan is getting me a new teacher." So trusting and carefree. How nice it would be to feel that instead of realizing the heartbreak of kids dying, people loosing their homes, people sick, knowing people that are hurting.