Molding?

Yesterday I took the boys to the zoo…by myself! I wish I had a picture to prove it but honestly, getting them there with food and drinks in tow was enough of a challenge for me! Cameras are not easily attached to my hand! We had a great time. It was quick, as it was SUPER hot! They all had animals they really liked and talked the entire way home (almost 45 minutes) about which animals were the coolest. One of the best lines came that evening as they were rehashing all their stories to Heath:

Joel: The ‘caw’ (meaning Macaw) was my favorite.
Isaiah: Yeah, we got to see the feather of one! It was molding.
Heath: (containing laughter) Do you mean molting?
Isaiah: Oh yeah, that’s it.

The take away here? He has no clue what mold or molding is! What a relief he missed the bag of cheese I threw out last week that was stuck behind a drawer for some time!

Go visit here for more Tiny Talk Tuesday!

Cramming

There is one word that describes life in our house right now: cramming.

Seriously, cramming things like 6 year check ups, 2 year check ups, pool visits, playdates, visits to the zoo, seeing grandparents…oh and quality family time! Whew, just writing it wears me out a bit. Why are we cramming? Isaiah starts 1st grade next Friday! People, that is 8 days away! Joel and Silas will start on August 12th! We are making the most of every moment possible!

I have to tell you that while I feel like I have a million things to do through next Friday, I love this time of summer. Somehow, we get so much more family time. I also have learned that I truly enjoy my time with the boys during the chaos that ensues before school starts. Somehow we find time to do things that at the beginning of summer seem insignificant.

School time is fun in our house…and this year Silas will join the fun! He heads to preschool for the first time this year. Joel is really excited about showing his brother ‘his’ school! I am sure there will be stories to come soon enough about that.

Off to get some more done…although today, admittedly, is not as fun. I am going through boxes of clothes to see what will fit them this year! But tomorrow, playdate!

So tell me, when you have deadlines coming up, whether it be kids in school or not, what do you do with your time?

WFMW – Seeds Family Worship

I can’t tell you how excited I am about today’s Work For Me Wednesday. We have been listening to Seed’s Family Worship Courage CD over the last couple weeks and we love it! Seriously, love is an understatement. The entire CD is composed of Bible verses set to music. The music is upbeat and relevant…not something that bores the boys quickly.

Isaiah’s teacher at church turned us onto these. She gave all the kids one…and I hear from every parent how great they are. My boys are now quoting scripture! We can swimming in the pool and they break into song! There are four CD’s total (so far) and you can bet we will be purchasing a good amount soon!

Works For Me!

Silas is 2!!

Today Silas turns two years old. As many people know, Silas was a surprise to me. We were ‘done’ when Joel came into our family. God had such better plans for us! Silas is a delight! He is quirky and funny. He repeats everything. If Joel or Isaiah is trying something you better believe that Silas will be trying it too! He thinks he is one of them.

Silas taught me a lot during his first year. His arrival made a huge impact on me as well. He came by c-section, something that did not happen with the first two. I went into the hospital knowing he would come that way. He tried to make his arrival earlier, much earlier in fact. 5 weeks before our due date we were in the hospital with contractions and I was dilating. The doctor thought I was dehydrated and gave me IV fluids. Apparently, I was not dehydrated as the fluids only intensified everything. I remember crying to Heath in that moment, not in pain, but in fear. I kept saying ‘it isn’t his time’. Thankfully a shot later the contractions ceased…at least that day!

I learned how to trust God in new ways with Silas. A c-section was terrifying to me. The idea of the epidural was frightening. Healing from surgery seemed daunting. Taking home a third little guy seemed overwhelming. Yet, God was always near to me. As we struggled through the first months of a doctor’s office being our second home, He was there. Sometimes I could feel His peace and strength, other times I just had to trust Him. Silas gave me the gift of trust. It wasn’t a gift I thought I needed but once I received it I could not imagine never having it. You can read more about him here.

Silas, Happy 2nd Birthday! You are my little red head full of energy and life. Your silly faces and bright smiles cause everyone to smile a little more. Your ability to go from elated to plain mad in the snap of a finger matches your hair perfectly. Si Man, thanks for giving me more than I can give you. You are my blessing and I thank God for you! I love you!

We are home

What a great time we had visiting my sister! I was a little worried about how the boys would do but they did great! There are so many highlights from the trip that I want to share.

* Visiting Becca’s church – I love the atmosphere there and the message was great! I can not wait to post about it! Like I said here, we got to go to a Kidstuff service too! It was much fun and the boys loved it. Here are some pics from that.

* We went hiking at Cooper’s Rock. There are several trails within the park. We went on two. The first was Rock City where there are rocks feet taller than me. The temperature was at least 5 degrees cooler in Rock City. The rocks were a bit slippery which caused Isaiah to ask if the rocks had been mopped!

*The boys loved making a cookie cake…and the best part was eating it!

Thanks, Becca, for letting us come visit you! The boys are still missing you (although no more tears now) and they are counting the days until Thanksgiving comes and they can see you again!

Kidstuff and more

i have already lost so much sleep by visiting Becca…and it is so worth it! As soon as we arrvied we grabbed a quick bite to eat Burger King and then headed to meet Becca at her church. She was there because she works with the dancers in Kidstuff service. It was great to see her in her element with the children. And their Kidstuff service is amazing! I am telling you, the kids loved it. There is so much energy goin on there. I took pictures and I will post them when we get back home. The best part was that her chuch uses the same stuff as our church for their children’s ministry. Each month we learn a virtue. During Kidstuff the host talked about the virtue, self control. Immediately Isaiah smiled and said ‘hey, we are learning that too!’. It was great! We stayed up super late talking and I might regret it today…probably not! More later!

We are off

I am so excited that we will be taking off tomorrow (or today by the time many of you will read this)! We are traveling to visit my sister in West Virginia! It has been 7 months since I last saw her and this trip is overdue! All of us, including Heath, will leave the house around 530 in the morning for the 10 hour drive. In truth the drive is actually about 8 and 1/2 hours but I am saying 10. It will help with the bathroom breaks and such that will happen! 

Some of the things I am looking forward to:

* Watching the boys interact with Becca
* Going to Sozo, a coffee place that Becca works with
* Going to a Kidstuff service when we arrive (Becca helps with the dancers)
* Going to church…her church has a phenomenal children’s ministry…can’t wait to visit again!
* Just hanging with Becca, eating ice cream, talking, laughing, reciting random Gilmore Girls qoutes

Now…to get off here and get a few hours sleep!

WFMW – Bathing

As I said before here, Isaiah is growing up. At 6, he has these times where for some reason he thinks mommy should not be around…let’s say like a shower. However, being the mom that I am I am totally paranoid that he will not get clean. I mean have you see the dirt trail he leaves behind in the shower? At first I tried to get him to use a wash cloth and then I moved on to one of those bath poof things. They do not work for a 6 year old boy. Either there is no soap that makes it on the cloth or half a bottle is gone and there is more residue than one shower can take off! I had a coupon for this item one day and decided to give it a try. It is now my favorite thing for both bath and shower.  All the boys, even Silas, love to try to wash with it.

It is a bar of soap that is encased in a net like material. Even when the soap gets smaller and breaks, it is still usable! Best of all, I don’t have to get a bottle of liquid out any more (well, other than shampoo). It really does suds up so that Isaiah can see the places he missed!

This works for me!

Happy Birthday Isaiah

II recieved this survey today and thought it would be the perfect day to post it. It is Isaiah’s birthday today! Our day has been filled with laughter, presents, swimming and desserts. A perfect birthday for a 6 year old guy!

Isaiah – it is almost unbelievable how time has flown. I can still remember the nights I would hold you and rock you to sleep…feeling a mixture of awe and fear as I looked on you. I still feel that way at times, although it is not while rocking you. I am grateful for your life. You have caused a chain reaction of love all around you. I love how quick your mind works and how you are so thoughtful of other’s feelings. Through you, I see the world differently. You taught me about love for not just others but for myself. You have made me realize that even on my worst day, you are still there with a hug and a smile. Your curiosity amazes me as something as simple as a clock can cause you to ponder for hours. Yet, sometimes the complex (or at least to me) things like loving Christ and Him loving us just come naturally for you. I love you!

1) How old were you?
21 – a new 21 at that!

2) How did you find out you were pregnant?
I took 4 pregnancy tests, 3 were positive, one was negative…then I freaked out! Finally I found a doctor to confirm it.

3) Who did you tell?
Amy, she was the accountant I worked with in the office…she actually bought two of the tests for me!

4) Did you want to find out the sex?
Absolutely! I was so shocked to be pregnant…I felt the surprise of being pregnant was all I could handle!

5) Due date?
July 4, 2002

6) Born?
July 8, 2002

7) Did you have morning sickness?
More than I ever wanted again! I was sick until about month 6…I did not even look pregnant until then because of the sickness!

What did you crave?
Anything spicy, in fact the spicier the better!

9) Who irritated you the most?
No one really. Even Heath says I am more even tempered when I am pregnant!

10) What was your child’s gender?
Boy

11) How many pounds did you gain throughout the pregnancy?
a little over 50!

12) Did you have any complications during your pregnancy?
nope!

13) How many hours were you in labor?
I arrived at the hospital a little after 4am and he arrived at 1000am!

14) Who drove you to the hospital?
Heath

15) Who watched?
Heath

16) Was it natural or c-section?
Natural

17) What was the birth weight and length?
6lbs, 13 oz. and 19 1/2 inches long

18) Did you take medicine to ease the pain?
No…my friend Ally encouraged me to try a drug free labor.

19) Did your child have any complications?
none

20) What did you name him/her?
Isaiah Murdock – Isaiah came from a verse in the Bible that Heath and I clung to while we were pregnant and scared out of our minds! Murdock is Heath’s grandfather’s middle name. We chose a name that we felt was honorable and full of integrity.

21) How old is your first born today?
6!

Blogging Block

I need your help!!

Either life is super busy or I am creatively drained and I am having some trouble thinking of good blog posts! What would you like to see here on Full of Boys? Are there topics you would like to see explored or maybe a topic you would like me to expand on that I already wrote?

Give me your ideas…don’t be shy! Whether you blog or not I would love your input!