Family time

You'd think by the look on their faces that they were getting ready for something rather serious. Like a stick fight. or yard work. or some other torturous activity like that.

But no, those serious faces were due to the fact that they were on a mission....to find the most perfect marshmallow roasting stick possible.

Very serious business, this smore-making stuff.

So there I was innocently taking pictures of my rather stoned-faced girls prepping for a night of crazy family fun, when I turned around and saw this atrocity:



A random fire pit in the middle of the grass. with flames going every which way. and branches hanging overhead.

Rumor has it this nonsensical FirePit location was made by this man:

*faces have been blocked out to protect the stupid innocent

Take note of the water hose in Anonymous's hand. It was due to the fact that Mama Paparazzi had a little sumpin-sumpin to say when the wind started blowing. and the flames started spazzing, coming dangerously close to everything green.

But these brave little girls weren't concerned, standing near by to watch Flaming Family Fun.

Though if you take note, Selah was making sure to keep the precious marshmallows behind her back. Just in case. ;)

But what got me was this...


the fact that inches away was a completely logical and ...hello!....non-green, safe place to have a fire.

When the above Anonymous Fire Starter was first questioned about the obvious lack of intelligence concerning the fire pit locale, he calmly went on to state:

"You can't burn anything over this. Because it's tar...and it'll emit toxic fumes."

Oh. Huh. Okay. I, uh, knew that.

Name and image of the person originally questioning Jet's keen sense of wisdom has been withheld to protect the innocent stupid. *cough cough*


Raegan loved everything about it.


I mean, what's not to love? There's fire (danger), Daddy (favorite person), and snacks (duh!).


I tried to get a picture of them...but they were too busy inhaling to notice me.


though Lani, right behind the girls, was all over hamming it up.


Can't you HEAR the snort by just looking at that picture? ;)

Lani's view of the whole situation:


See how serious Charis is? Eating is even more serious than stick collecting. Really, they were having a good time.


Afterwards the girls ran, high on sugar, to their tire swing.


Daddy and Lani got in on the action for a while.


But when they left, Charis was on her own to push...


or kick.


or whatever it took to get the sucker moving.

It doesn't take much to have a fun family night around here. I mean, we got a resident Pyromaniac. An every-day mommy maniac. A snorting sister. and three rather serious sisters who just like living.

And really, how could you not have fun with that group? ;)

My front porch

I used to feel sorry for the elderly people that I'd see idly sitting on their front porch rocker. watching traffic. or flies. or anything else that moves, as they stare into oblivion. You know, obviously allowing life to pass them by...

These past few weeks have been crazy for me. eye-opening in some ways. thought-provoking in others. hurtful. maddening. challenging. ridiculous. You name it, I'm sure the emotion was present in my household.

And so last night, after the girls were in bed and Jet had gone to 7-11 to get his free Slurpee (hee hee), I did the unthinkable and *gasp* sat on my front porch...ALONE... and thought.

Admittedly, it was a little awkward at first as I did nothing but sit. and think. and stare at the road, wondering if I was becoming one of those geriatric porch fixtures. But honestly...the whole experience was just amazing.

I know. it's the small things in life that give me pleasure. Just tattoo "Low Maintenance" across my forehead. (Oh, hush up, Husband-o-mine)

Being "one with the porch", I just sat and listened to the sound of my own thinking. flushing out my thoughts. trying to grab ahold of God's thoughts on "it all" as well. Ah, the Glory of those 10 minutes!

Seriously, in a house full of little bitties, my thoughts get drowned out all too easily. as well, as His Voice, I'm sure.

And as I sat there, waiting for Jet to return (knowing full well that I'd take that free Slurpee off his hands for him. I'm sacrificial like that), I had to smile.

Because suddenly that old man sitting on his front porch rocker didn't seem so boring. no longer requiring my pity. and most assuredly not letting life pass him by.

He's just learned to actually slow down.

I'm thinking next time I drive by a man/woman who's obviously been sitting on his porch rocker for days an undisclosed amount of time, I'll smile. And hope that I can become more like that.

The birthday celebration continues!

With Selah feeling better, we've been able to get out and do some of the birthday things we've been planning for a while now. And being that Jet worked REALLLLY late last night, he was able to have off at noon today!!

Perfect!

He came home just after the girls had gotten a morning nap and eaten lunch (ie. were content and happy) and took us to the 2:30 showing of Pixar's Up.

Mom met us at the theatre to take Lani with her to an auction. Lovely! And the rest of us went on our merry way... inside to buy tickets, popcorn, and priceless family time.

The only thing that I was worried about, going into the movie, was the insane noise level. Raegan has a thing against high decibels. And as we all know, theatres seem to be geared towards the clinically deaf.

But she acclimated...eventually. having Bucky (her beloved blanket) and snacks helped tremendously.

A great time was had by all!!!

And then off we went to Chic-Fil-A for their annual Cow Appreciation Day, where you dress like a cow and they treat you like a king...giving a free meal to every bovine-doned customer.


My mooing beauties.

Unfortunately, after movie theatre popcorn, we weren't really hungry. but we sacrificed and ate anyway. :)

Hand's down, the day was *amazing*! Alana did so well with my parents...didn't even fuss once. Have I mentioned she loves them? And my older girls got to have special Mommy and Daddy time doing crazy things.

I love days like this. especially when it means making Selah's birthday..which is turning into a Birthday WEEK...into something memorable.

Baby meet Selah...

After we got home from telling the girls we were pregnant, Selah came over, sat on my lap, and began introducing herself (and the family) to the baby in my belly.

It doesn't get more precious than that.

Birthday Dinner

Thankfully, the day after Selah's birthday, we were able to actually *celebrate* by taking her to her restaurant of choice. IHOP.

because she knew they'd give her a free ice cream sundae. That's my girl. :)


My sweet crew all ready to celebrate...

Raegan in all her flair. Selah and that smile she couldn't seem to shake. Lani and those two fingers she's always sucking. And Charis with that sweet sweet spirit that never fails to shine through. Dear God, I love them!

AT THE RESTAURANT:

Once Lani has food in front of her, she's no longer interested in anything or anyone else.


Raegan, on the other hand, is at least always ready to smile. Though if you can tell, she's distracted as well. There was coloring to do!


Charis is still just as precious, regardless of where she is.


and Selah is still the embodiment of beyond excited.


After we ordered, Jet and I knew we had to move fast if we wanted the opportunity to share the news before the food arrived.

It was ironic because just this morning, Charis made the announcement that Lani would probably be our last baby. Apparently, if I wasn't pregnant by now (with Lani being 9 months) then it would just never happen. :)

So when I told them that we were going to have another baby, they were thrilled!



Selah, watching as the wait staff sang her their birthday ditty.


though that huge smile was probably due to this enormous sundae. :)


big enough for three...

though it lasted for, maybe, 3 minutes.

And while the big girls were inhaling the ice cream, Lani looked on...


as sweet natured as can be. and looking more and more like my Dad. crazy.


Having all my little girls at one table...celebrating the birthday of one, celebrating the pending birth of another... *sigh* Does life get any better than this?

Selah's 5th Birthday

My not-so-little Selah Bug turned 5 years old!

But unfortunately, the days leading up to it, she wasn't able to do much outside of this...



She was beyond sick for days. unable to eat or drink. or move. Not quite the way someone wants to spend their special day.

But thankfully, on her birthday, she perked up enough to keep down a few bites of food. which enabled her to actually smile for the first time in DAYS.


She opened the gift from Jet and I


with some help from her very curious sisters

lovin' the Leap Pad and games!

And so did Charis :) (Charis has one as well, with different games)

Throwin' it to the Curb

I've been in a purge and clean mode. Yet again.

Only this time, it's a DEEP purging. kind of like where you have nothing left but to puke up the lining of your stomach.

*laughing* I know. I'm a sick woman. But I'm all about analogies. :)

A few months ago, the Lord told me to "Get rid of stuff like you were going to move."

Huh, okay, Lord. That's random. and a tad bit baffling, since I go through my stuff every year to yard sale or give away. And since we're not planning on moving. But whatever.

So I donated box after box of stuff to my nephew's missions yard sale in May. But for some reason, I didn't feel like I was done...at least not in the way my spirit understood it when God whispered this instruction to my heart.

But honestly, I didn't understand HOW it was physically possible to be able to find anything else to get rid of.

It's not like I shop as a hobby. or that I have a junk room. or loads of closets filled with stuff. (um yeah, for the record I live in a house built in the early 1900s. they didn't do closets back then.)

So, Lord? you wantin' to 'splain this odd instruction to me?

...And then out of the blue, something in me changed. And I can't even begin to explain it. Or pinpoint when it happened. Or why. But it's like my eyes have been opened to all the M.A.N.Y things around us that we have, but don't need. Or use. Or even want.

HOW is this possible? Because really, I don't think of myself as someone who intentionally keeps stuff just for the heck of it.

Well, except for those pants that I wore in college. The ones that made my already thin body look sooo much thinner. (Ah, the memories.)

One day. when I am no longer bearing children. or *cough cough* eating ice cream, I may just wear those pants again.

Insert Voice of Reason:
But honey-chil', when yo' butt miraculously bounces back up to the place where it once resided on your body, let me tell you somethin'! Those lovely little pants that attractively hug your ankles (gag) will so not be something that you'll be wanting to wear.

Huh. Why didn't I think of that?!

Because hello!! WHY would I want to wear them? They aren't in style. And if when I ever get back my athletic form, I'll be *celebrating* by getting something that's actually in style! Instead of reminising and wearing clothes from WAY back when.

Or so this new-found thought process has declared.

And so *out* those clothes...and ALLLL the other clothes that fit into that skinny category have gone. Good Will Drop Off, here we come!

Yes, that new shipment of clothes at the local Good Will, circa 1990, is from me. You're welcome.

And then there's the clothes that do fit me, but never get worn. Don't ask me why I've been justifying my tiny closet being full of cute, but completely unworn clothes. But I'm just picky about what I wear.

You've heard the statement: "We wear 10% of our clothes 90% of the time"?

Well, that has proved true for me. Or so it USED to be. The clued-in Christin has ruthlessly gone through the remaining clothes and boxed up stuff. donating to people who may actually wear them sometime this year.

And THEN... (once I'm on a roll, there's no stopping me. Jet fears for his stuff and begins to hide it. Oh, I kid. Mostly)... there's all those magazines sitting around my house waiting for me to put them to good use.

Now you have to understand something. I do not buy magazines. I think it's a total waste of money. After all, there's the library. and the internet. and other people in my life who waste invest their money on Internet-information-in-print only to pass their week-old magazines to me. *wry grin*

And so I keep them. with total high hopes of using them for craft projects with the kids, where we cut out pictures and make some amazing collage. or something.

Or I'll read an article and find some cool idea, tear out the page, and put it somewhere "special" so I can read it later. ...when I have more time and am able to actually execute their brilliant plan.

Only I'm finding that day just n.e.v.e.r comes.

And I'm beyond tired of taking up space with boxes of magazines that just remind me of all the stuff I'm not getting done. The boxes scream "Unproductive Christin". And I actually feel guilty.

And so...out they (and my guilt) have gone. *Uh-huh. Take that mouthy magazines.*

This pile is Round Five of The Trashing of the Mags.

And thus my week has been. The house is still a mess but only because it's a DEEP cleaning. Cupboards. Attic bins. Under the bed. Places that I've cleaned before, yet...?

Have I mentioned my Stuff breeds?

I've LOVED boxing up things. racking my brain to see who would actually want the stuff. and then watching it leave my house for good.

Box after box after box. ...and I have a feeling, it's only the beginning.

And can I just tell you that I feel like I've just lost 15 pounds??

If only it were that easy. ;)

Pool party

This little beauty keeps me on my toes.

I recently took the girls swimming for the first time.. in my parents' neighbor's above ground pool. Being the frugal woman I am, I wanted to see how they liked it before we invested in a pool like it.

In a matter of minutes, both Charis and Selah were different children. Their confidence level in the water sky-rocketed. They even submersed their faces in the water!

I know this may not seem like a big deal to most people but for my two girls, it's HUGE considering neither one likes to get bath water in her eyes.

Watching the two of them paddle around (they can't officially swim yet), it took less than two minutes for me to decide that it would definitely be a great investment. We WILL be getting one.

(My parents even said they'd pitch in and make it a part of the girls' birthday presents. Yay for generous grandparents! Thanks, guys!)

But then I watched Raegan and rethought my "definitive" buy-a-pool stance.

She is a child who wants to do everything on her own. especially if she sees that her older sisters can do it. And swimming proved no different.

There she was in one of those heinous floaty bathing suits. Those suits that come with sewed in floatation devices that are supposed to help the child stay afloat when all it really does is make them turn at awkward angles.

forcing their head to hang in a way that allows them to inhale copious amounts of chlorinated water.


But regardless of Raegan's continuous face plants in the water, she insisted on doing it herself. Yelling at us if we held on to the back of her suit. "No, Mommy! It's my turn. Let me do it."

Over and over and over...and over and over and over again. She insisted that we not hold her. guide her. or touch her.

Apparently we were supposed to just watch her sink like a rock. Cheering her on all the while. God help me.

My mom thinks that she'll be swimming like a fish by the end of the summer. because of her drive and determination to get 'er done.

I sure hope so because she wore me out in ten minutes time. No joke.


But then there was this little beauty.


She hates everything to do with water. Up until a few weeks ago (she was 8 months), she would scream during bathtime. Now she just whimpers for a while.

But after 10 minutes in the pool water, she was kicking and splashing and snorting.

Yes. Snorting. A lovely little trick that Daddy showed her. Something she's adopted as her very own. snorting/laughing like Sandra Bullock on Miss Congeniality.

Dainty little quality.

So if you are ever driving by a house with a newly installed above ground pool and you hear a 2 year-old shouting "I do it by myself!" along with a 9 month old snorting like a pig in heat, then pull in the driveway.

I'd love to hire you to teach my girls to swim sit and chat a while. :)

Infants, Toddlers, and Cameras. Oh my!

In a moment of insanity, I thought "Hm. I should get a picture of me with all the girls. "

It was Father's Day, after all. Exactly one month post-Mother's Day.

You know, The Day where no one thought to say "We should take this opportunity to document a Mother-Daughter moment on film."

Novel thought around these here parts.

So last night... late last night when Lani is crying because she's tired, Raegan is running around like a monkey on crack because she's over tired, and the rest of us look like we slept in our clothes because we'd officially been in them for 12 hours, I had the genius idea to finally take that long overdue mother-daughter picture.

In front of the AC window unit, random box of stuff to give away, and half throw together entertainment center no less.

What can I say, when I do genius, I do it right. *yeah yeah. zip it*

So after a round of trial and error photo-ops...of which I can't show you because Blogger just doesn't want to download my pictures...

Here is my favorite.


I have one escapee. a monkey on my back. and two older sisters who fi-na-lly gave me genuine smiles simultaneously.

But only because Thing One and Thing Two's picture antics are cracking them up.

But hey. It IS a documented *real* moment in the life of Christin, The Mother. And really, you don't get more "real" than this chaotic pic.

In with the ...old?

I've been busy. Very busy.

Life's been racing by at lightning speed. But then again, isn't that what it does when we have chlidren? Suddenly those same years that draggggeeed by when we were kids, now tirelessly race from week to week.

And my weeks have been filled with all the things that make summer great. and life worth savoring.

Strawberry picking. Charis's first weekend away (a church campout). A friend's baby shower. Get-togethers with friends.

And a whole lot of decorating.

Exhibit 1A: A section of my "new" dining room...



Did my old dining room need to be revamped? No. I actually loved it. We had my Nana's antique oak table and chairs and buffet. It was beautiful.

Okay, so it still is. Nana's old table just got the leaf yanked out of it. two captain chairs stored in the attic. and it's oak hindend moved to the corner of the kitchen....where a rather large L-shaped desk used to be...

The desk has since been moved elsewhere. displacing something else in another section of the house...

And thus has been my life. But I wouldn't trade any of the exhausting frustration for anything. Because God saw fit to bless us with this dining room set for the amount of money that ONE of the eight chairs would have cost.

Yes. I'm serious.

My mom says we have the "furniture anointing". :) Because we have gorgeous furniture throughout our entire house. Items that are ALL second-hand. Gotten as a present, hand-me-down or yardsale buy for pennies on the hundred dollars.

Love my house.

But because this ginormous table takes up the majority of our large dining room, it meant that we had to rearrange the entire house in order to accommodate our new little God-gift.

So that's what I've been doing. Redecorating. Reshuffling. Reorganizing.

Getting rid of excess. Giving people furniture that we no longer need. Generating boxes and boxes of stuff to donate to the goodwill. I love me some purge-the-crap mode. And tomorrow's trash day. Oh Glory.

Yes, I am sick sick woman because I happen to l.o.v.e ridding my house of clutter.

And yes, I'm sure there's some diagnosis for my obsessiveness . I mean, isn't that what doctors do? Sit around and come up with some biological excuse for all of our quirks and flaws? *rolling my eyes* But I digress.

Anyhoo... man, I am lovin' the way that my house is shaping up!! More pictures to follow.

APB

All Points Bulletin

Missing. One used-to-be very consistent Blogger. No traces. No clues as to her whereabouts. No idea as to why she up and disappeared.

Though an anonymous source disclosed that it could very well be because Christin's house hasn't been (wholly) cleaned in close to two months.

And being that Christin hates clutter and mess and the foul stench coming from the overflowing laundry basket, chances are good she was driven from the house screaming incoherently.

Anonymous Source, who has seen mess firsthand, declares she would run far far away, too.

If you happen to see Blogger, please call her family immediately. As they need someone to cook, clean, and change diapers for them miss her immensely.

Warning:
Blogger, though not armed, may be dangerous. as easily driven to insanity when faced with the overwhelming odds that her house will never again be spotless ... organized ...able to welcome guests without having to clear a path through the muck and mire.

One day, upon her return...you know, when elves magically appear at night to clean up all the Stuff Vomit that has occurred... she will again enter the wonderful world of Blogdom.

Until then, please join us in Intercessory prayer (fasting is optional) that those Elves would get their act together and show up already. Her very sanity depends upon it.

Can you help a girl out? Advice please.

Wintertime seems to bring out the Prison Warden in me...

"No, we cannot go outside. It's freezing. and icy. and a whole lot of work on my part to dress you in enough layers to prevent frostbite. Maybe next month, mkay?"

I'm nothing if not honest, eh? ;)


And there's there Springtime. where I'm suddenly inspired me to hand out the official Eviction Notice....

"I know you've been playing outside since dawn, but it's pretty today. You *will* enjoy it. Capiche?"

Okay, so not really...but when Lani is sleeping, Big Girls are outside. playing on our big playground. swinging on the tire swing. riding bikes in the driveway. climbing our front tree. and swimming in their pool.



Though it's not huge, it is big enough for them to paddle around. In fact, I don't think these pictures do its size justice.

My aunt was getting rid of it a few years back and just gave it to us. *cha-ching* Love hand-me-downs.

At this point in life, we don't invest a lot of money in various extra curricular activities for the girls. Financially, it's just not the wisest thing. But last year, I looked into swimming lessons for the two oldest girls.

Being that not drowning is fairly high on my list of priorities.

After picking my jaw up off the floor...due to shock of the amount of money it would cost to enroll our children in classes to "get comfortable in the water"...we decided to wait a year and teach them "water comfortableness" ourselves. *wry grin*

So we spent the summer encouraging them to submerse their face in the water. They were both pretty timid about water in their face. Raegan doesn't seem to share their fear. ;)

Well, this year we looked into swimming lessons again. found a much better deal. and started to talk about making it happen. But due to life circumstances right now, we just can't commit to EVERY night for months.

So we began to rethink our stance. and are now in the process of researching above ground pools.

Who knew there were that many sizes? or styles? or range of prices???

or that you needed to choose between metal-framed and soft-framed? and that some filters were more effective than others? and that if it wasn't close to perfectly level disaster could ensue?

I've been researching a bit on the computer, but still feel fairly clueless.

And so I ask you, dear reader. If you have an above ground pool OR have listened to family or friends rave about theirs (whether good or bad), please let me know! ANY advice you could give would be greatly appreciated.

Lions and tigers and BEARs. Dear God.

Standing in the doorway of the family room, I heard her mumble something. quietly.

Upon further eavesdropping investigation, it became obvious that she was speaking for the Barbie dolls. puppeteering a conversation that immediately sent my head reeling.

I had to ask her twice...as nonchalantly as I could feign...to make sure I was hearing her correctly.

Ken: "And how many will you bear me?"

He asked this question casually as he paraded down a long line of Ladies in Waiting. Each one answering in turn the number they would "bear" him.

Take note of the pile of ladies in the above picture. I can only assume they were disqualified early on because of the too-low number they volunteered.

And I present to you the winner...uh, Bride.
Clearly, she promised him more children than the other women. Eight, to be exact.

It's days later, and I'm still in shock being that the only time we use the word "bear" is when referring to something furry. with large teeth. that needs to be avoided.

I promise we have neither cable nor Harlequin romance novels lying around. *Scout's honor*

You know, if I were a scout and all.

WHERE does she come up with this stuff? Do I even want to know? Should I chalk it up to a homeschooling vocab lesson? or a head's up from the Lord to start intercessing now? ...concerning her view of how to secure a husband.