Merry Christmas

"Blessed is she who believed that what the Lord has said to her will be accomplished". Luke 1:45

Oh Yes I Did.....

In the last week I have made (from scratch):

Homemade biscuits
Homemade doughnuts (with leftover biscuit dough)
Homemade peanut butter fudge
Homemade sugar cookies with homemade icing

(As I was typing this it occurred to me how funny this is in light of my last post?!?!?!)

A Few Kind Words

I love my grandaddy! I have so many wonderful memories of him.....riding his motorcycle as a little girl, tennis trips, endless hours of studying and doing laundry during college, golf lessons, and so much more. He is precious to me and every time I see him now tears well up in my eyes. The last two times I have been with him (Gatlinburg and yesterday for Thanksgiving) he shared some kind words with me. Here is what he said, "Shannon, I am so proud of you. You are to be commended. (I was melting at this point) I often brag on you to my friends. I tell them that you have four children, (and here is the best part), and you are not fat?!?!?" No, I am not kidding, that is what he said. And he was dead serious! He went on to say that he and his friends set at Kroger drinking coffee and talk about all of the fat women that walk thru pushing their carts. I was speechless the first time he told me. "Thanks, Grandaddy" was about all I could say. When he repeated this to me again yesterday, all that would come out was "Thanks". Tell me, what do you say to that?

More Gatlinburg

Gatlinburg

We had such a great time in Gatlinburg! This trip never disappoints. We had a ping pong tournament, ice skating, alpine slide races, shopping downtown, a hike up Laurel Falls (in the rain), a visit from a grizzly bear, lots of great food and fun! The weather was beautiful......look at the trees through the window in the picture of Harper. What a blessing to have grandaddy with us also! We were exhausted when we came home but I wouldn't have traded one single moment. (More pictures to come!)

We have a little work to do....

This is what I got when I asked Hudson to hang up his shirt??!! He really had no idea what the problem was?

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

"Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth. Worship the LORD with gladness; come before him with joyful songs. Know that the LORD is God. It is He who made us,and we are HIS; we are His people, the sheep of His pasture. Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise; give thanks to Him and praise His name. For the LORD is good and His love endures forever; His faithfulness continues through all generations."
Psalm 100:1-5

Happy Happy

There is nothing that makes me more happy than spending $652 on repairs for a 10 year old truck that most days sets behind our garage! Do you know what I could do with $652? (I am having visions of a new hutch for our dining room right before my eyes.) This is the same truck that has a dented bed because of a tree falling on it during an ice storm and the bottom of the passenger door is torn up because someone (of course not me) ran over a large stump!!

But you know what makes me even happier (the real down deep in your heart happy).....having a REALLY cute husband that REALLY likes his truck!! He is a "truck" kind of man!! I should mention that this "truck" kind of man is also willing to drive a 11 year old van so that our family is not stuck with a car payment and we can use the money to do lots of fun, family stuff. Yep that's what I love........that's what makes me happy!!!!!

These Days....

Doctor's office, pharmacy, two sick kids, one sick mom, Tylenol, Ammoxicillan, more Tylenol.......

Summer Hightlights Part 2

Luvin' our Cousins (and those aunts aren't to bad)





No golf course is big enough for this crew......








Hudson looses his first tooth

Summer Highlights

Happy Birthday Ninny!!





FUN AT THE BEACH







"I'm getting the hang of this walking business"

All Good Things Must Come to an End

Well, summer break is officially over! We are back to school and have hit the ground running! As usual, this time of the year brings mixed emotions for me. I am sad that the "care-free" days of staying up late, sleeping in, swimming, bike rides, and just being together are over. I love not having a schedule....for a while, but then as August draws near I can feel the kids, and myself, growing antsy. They are anxious to start their new classes and see their friends and I am ready for some order (if that is really possible)?!? It seems that as summer comes to an end they bicker and fuss with each other more and I spend way to much time playing referee!

I truly believe that Harper is glad to have mommy back all to herself! She just walks around the house smiling, laughing, and babbling. We have rocked, read many books, and I am treasuring the one on one time with her that I haven't had all summer. If she could talk I believe she would say "Whoopee they're gone......" Deep, deep down in her heart I know she misses them???

So the past few days I have been catching up on laundry and housecleaning! Harper and I have visited the kids at school for lunch and taken some long walks in the morning. As I think about these things I am reminded of why I titled this blog "For This Season", in this life things don't ever stay the same. The kids are growing and changing! They are different than they were this time last year, physically, emotionally, and spiritually. My role as their mom is ever changing with them. As much as I may want to hold on to where we were I must let go and embrace where we are......"There is a time for everything and a season for every activity under heaven."

"The Coma"

Ok, I know I said I was not posting anything until after school started, but this was to funny to pass up. Following is the conversation Hudson and I had yesterday:

Me-"Hudson, are you ready for school to start"
Him-"No, tell them I am sick"
Me-"Well buddy are you going to be sick all year?"
Him (very nonchalantly)-"Yeah, tell them I have 'the coma' and I can't come"

I will return....

Be back August 12th......(after school starts)!!!

Weekend of Firsts

This was Harper's weekend of firsts:

First time "swimming" in the pool
First haircut
First sucker (good distraction for above haircut)
First time climbing stairs (I'm getting a gate TODAY)
First taste of dog food....sorry Murray?!

"Making the decision to have a child is momentous. It is to decide forever to have your heart go walking around outside your body."-Elizabeth Stone

We Are Alive!!

Summer Break is here!! We kicked things off with a trip to the lake and an afternoon at the movies. We saw "Prince Caspian" (not as good as "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe"), but we had a great time nonetheless. We have been in a flurry of activity ever since then. We have made a few trips to the pool, the library, and hope to hit Venture River sometime this week!! Everyday the kids wake up with an expectation of how I am going to entertain them that day. Imagine their surprise on days like yesterday when they got to clean their rooms, give the dog a bath, sweep the porch, and help me put away laundry?!?

I love the simplicity of summer. Staying up late (this is a killer for daddy who still has to go to work), sleeping in, making big breakfasts, playing outside, riding bikes, and of course their favorite....swimming! No worries of homework, school uniforms, or what they want in their lunchboxes for the next day!!

Now that we have settled into this "season" I hope to find plenty of time to blog and read. I am doing a "Your Girl-Raising a Godly Daughter in an Un-Godly World" study at church and also participating in a "Shepherding a Child's Heart" class. We are looking forward to our beach trip in a few weeks and Miss Sydney's birthday. Carson is off to visit our "far away" family soon and Hudson starts golf lessons. Harper is taking her first steps and babbles constantly!.....Did I mention how much I LOVE SUMMER BREAK!!!!

Gone Fishing....

Like father like son........

A Girl's Best Friend

My mom bought Harper this monkey last Christmas. She loves it! It sits on the floor in her room and sometimes when we rock in the rocking chair our "friend" has to be included (it is about 4 times her size). Yesterday when Jody laid her in her bed she wanted the monkey to come also. When he went in to check on her a few minutes later this is what he found.....she was sound asleep!

Yeah Me!

Here is my Mother's Day gift! We have been swingin' the day away! Look at my man working so hard to hang it for me......

Happy Mothers Day

"God designed mothers to partner with Him in His eternal work, and He has promised to reward our faith and our faithfulness. The precious children He has placed in our hands are hoping that we will be faithful and endure so that they will have a reason to hope and an example to follow in their own lives. It is for the children's sake that we give our lives. We are protecting future generations so that they might be strong for the battle of life. We are the real, in-the-flesh, tangible picture of God's loving hands, strong arms of protection, and encouraging words of hope to our children." Sally Clarkson

I have had several experiences over the past several months that have reminded me that I am clearly dealing with two very different stages of life. For example, yesterday Carson and I went to the mall to buy some summer clothes (because NOTHING fits her from last year.....she has gone up two sizes in the last 3 months). She wanted to go to Hollister to look for some shirts?!? Ok, I thought, "We can do that".....but all the while I am thinking, "What about Gymboree"? Have you ever been in Hollister? It is very dark, the music is extremely loud, the mannequins are half-naked, the cologne will knock you over, and there is NOT ONE PERSON working in that store over the age of 14! I didn't want to be "uncool", so I put a smile on and off we went. She did find 2 t shirts (on sale in the back....how we ever found them I do not know since there are no lights on in the place), we paid, and we left...whew!

When we got home we discovered that one of the shirts did not fit! Shoot! So this morning Harper and I head back to the mall for an exchange. This is where I get to the "baby" stage of life I am in........I forgot until I got there that there are 2 sets of stairs you must climb before you can even get in the store. So here I go, hiking her stroller up and down those stairs. I make my way back to get another shirt and Harper kicks her shoe off. Well, I can't look for it because I CAN'T SEE....remember IT'S DARK! Finally some 12 year old (I guess the 6th grade is out today) brings it to me.....I'm sure he knew it was mine because there were no other moms with strollers in the place. I take my new shirt to the counter and have a 5 minute "yelling" match with the boy behind the counter.....remember the music is so loud you can't hear! As I am hiking the stroller back up those same steps to leave I hear an employee say "have a good day." I turn just in time to see the underwear of this young girl that is laying on top of a half-naked male mannequin as she was dressing him for a display!! At least she used some manners.......

Ticked Off!!!

The last few days have been miserable, I mean MISERABLE! I have strep throat, ear infections in both ears, have thrown up in my car, and gotten two (not one but two) shots in my hips! I have not been handling this very well. Being sick makes me mad, and I don't remember ever feeling this bad.

Early one morning (3:30 a.m.) I woke Jody up and told him that I was driving myself to the Emergency Room. I could not take it anymore. He wasn't fond of my idea. In his defense I must confess that just a few hours before I was a little out of my mind and saying strange things about ducks on our front porch and dogs on our bedroom floor.....pain medicine and I don't mix!! I did what any mature 34 year old mother of 4 would do.....I stomped upstairs and cried! "I don't understand why you want me to feel this way?" Nuts I tell you!!

I am happy to report that I am much better today.....if my right ear would cooperate I would have no complaints!!!

"Family Driven Faith"

Wow! I finished this book in just over 24 hours! (You can imagine what kind of disarray my house is in right now.) Voddie Baucham, Jr. (the author) stepped on my toes and got in my face all at the same time??? After I finished the book last night I could not sleep. As soon as Jody got up this morning I was shoving it under his nose asking him if he thought he could finish it by this afternoon....no comment!

According the Voddie, "It is as though Christian parents in America have been lulled to sleep while the thief has come in to steal, kill, and destroy our children right under our noses." (see John 10:10) According to researchers, 70-88 percent of Christian teens are leaving the church by their 2nd year in college. He puts the responsibility for this crisis on the parents.....according to the Bible it is the parents job to teach, disciple, and raise up their children in the Lord....not our Christian schools, youth leaders, or Vacation Bible School teachers. "A family without a commitment to the God of the Bible has no hope of stemming the tide of cultural onslaught.....Unfortunately, this is exactly what many Christian families do. We do marriage according to Dr. Phil, raise our children according to Dr. Spock, govern our sex lives according to Dr. Ruth, and only run to Dr. Jesus when things have gotten so bad we can't find another doctor to help us." He also had so many other good points. He challenges the way we "do"church today. He encourages families to have worship time together at home in addition to prayer and Bible study. "Why is it that Christian families think nothing of a lifestyle that demands hours per week traipsing across town (ball games, gymnastics, birthday parties, etc.), blood, sweat, and tears from children, and thousands of dollars each year from our bank accounts, but the idea of a twenty-minute daily commitment to family worship immediately strikes them as too much to ask? I fear that we have lost our way..."

I am going to have to let this really sink in! I can't wait for Jody to read it.....I just prayed last night that God would open our hearts and minds to any changes we needed to make for our family! I pray that we will live boldly for His kingdom and that we will raise mighty warriors in His name who know why they believe what they believe....to the very core of their sweet little souls!!!

This Picture is Worth a Thousand Words

Here are my girls, climbing a "very large" hill on our camping trip over Spring Break! As I watched them climb, I realized how different these two are.

As you can see Sydney is at the top, arms spread wide open. She "runs" through life with no fear. She is confident, she is strong. She doesn't care if her hair (or teeth) or brushed. She doesn't care about her clothes or what her peers at school think of her. But what you can't see are the scrapes and bruises on her sweet little legs. This little girl tripped, fell, slid, and accumulated more "boo-boos" on this trip than you can imagine. That is one of the things that I love about her......she doesn't live her life "scared" and doesn't take anything to seriously. She cries for a little bit, laughs, dusts herself off and moves on.

If you will notice, Carson has her head turned back toward me. I guarantee you that as she slowly made her way up the hill she was thinking, "Should I be doing this.....What if I fall?......What if I see a snake?....How am I going to get back down?" Her maturity amazes me I am so proud of her. She loves and "feels" so deeply. She thinks situations through and she desperately wants to do the right thing. She worries about what others think and wants to be the peacemaker. The morning we went for this hike she was up, dressed, teeth brushed, hair done, and ready to go before I even knew what time it was. She is cautious....there were no bruises or boo-boos on her legs?!?

Only God knows what is in store for my children! (And just in case you were curious, while they were climbing Hudson was laughing his head off peeing on the bushes...) As I think of each of their personalities and traits I am in awe of our Creator. What an awesome God! He created each of us so different, according to His "grand design". I pray so often that He will help me see what He desires for each of them. He has given them to me for such a short period of time, I want to foster and encourage them in accordance with His plan!