Jack

I need to put more pictures on this computer since it is the only one I use lately. This is a really old picture but captures my sweet boy pretty well! It's so late and I really should be sleeping, but I had to jot down a few things about my second-born and my one and only BOY! He is now 6 1/2. He LOVES transformers. (understatement) He has lost 2 bottom teeth and one on top (but it was pulled out by the dentist over a year ago). He was MADE for sisters. He loves them. He is a HOMEBODY. It takes a lot to get him excited to go anywhere...he's so content and happy just to be at home. He is in 1st grade this year and homeschooling and doing so well. I'm so very proud of him. His best friend is his cousin Scout and 2nd best is is cousin Ryder. It makes my heart happy to see those boys adore each other like they do. He has always been my laid-back, chilled out kid. Still is---although he can be a drama king every now and then. He is fiercely competitive to a fault. It's hilarious and frightening all at the same time. He loves the Lord with his whole heart. He is a worshipper. He is an evangelist. I have heard him more than once ask kids in chick-fil-a or McDonald's play areas if they know God. He hates wet and throw up. In that order. Don't dare touch him with a semi-wet hand from washing dishes or you'll get some of that "drama" I mentioned earlier. He's an entertainer. He LOVES to be crazy and crack us up. And I love to be crazy and crack HIM up. : )

One of my favorite Jack stories is this past April he was climbing a tree in our front yard and got his leg stuck--and I mean it was STUCK--between the two trunks that made up the tree. I was BIG pregnant and Tra was not home. I could NOT get his leg out. I started to panic. I said in a not so nice voice, "Don't EVER climb a tree in this yard again!!" And he responds as he bursts into tears, "Well WHY DID GOD MAKE THEM THEN????" (We got his leg unstuck after several minutes and I took back my comment.)

He is so sweet, but he is also, ummmm, needing some training on how to express himself more gracefully when it comes to talking to women. For example, since I had Sydney (baby #6) in July, he says several times a week, "There's that BIG OLE TUMMY again."
And I'll close with tonight's comments at bedtime in order:
While reading a book to him before bed, "Ewww. I do NOT like the smell of your breath. What did you EAT??"  (garlic bread at dinner)
After kissing him goodnight, "Hey mom---I think you need to go to that class again that helps you learn how to be a better mommy. (referring to the Sally Clarkson conference I attended last Feb--which I LOVED and it changed my life for real) Because remember this morning when you were like, "YOU PUT TOO MUCH WATER IN YOUR OATMEAL!!!!!" (after having Sydney we have taken some short-cuts with breakfast and I taught them how to make their own instant oatmeal in the microwave) I believe it is now time to go back to oatmeal on the stove that I make so there are no more explosions. : )

I WILL be signing up for the Sally Clarkson conference again this year. And I just signed up for Weight Watchers tonight. : )  So so thankful for my precious, fun, tenderhearted, imperfect, yet perfect JACK.

Hayley Brooke

I want to have a record of these things for myself and this is really the quickest outlet for me to put it all down.

Hayley is 7 1/2. She is turning into such a beautiful inside and out young lady. She is a HUGE help to me especially with Avery. She loves getting her out of bed in the mornings. (and so does everyone else---the rest of them just get in her bed with her and play for a bit and then Hayley comes in to take her out) She is very concerned about everyone's safety at all times. It's quite humorous. For example, when I push the button on my keys to close the trunk of our car, she pretty much panics every time and says, "GUYS! MOVE!! WATCH YOUR HEADS!!!" And then she'll say, "Mom, next time maybe you should let us know when you're closing it. Someone could really get hurt!" She is NOT shy at all around family or close friends, but she is VERY shy in situations with adults or kids she does not know very well...until she warms up a little. She gets nervous about funny things. Like today I turned on a video of one of the new Gateway Kids cd songs and it started playing and she looked at Jack and said with a giggle, "Are you nervous? I'm so nervous! Why am I so nervous??" She's a crack up. She says out loud whatever is going on in her mind---all the time. Which I love, really. I can get tired head from it occasionally but I love hearing what is going on in that precious head of hers. She went on a trip with Tra by herself to Georgia to this Daddy/Daughter conference last weekend. They had a ball and she was pretty depressed when she got home because she wasn't ready to be home yet. She LOVES her daddy. They were gone Friday morning-Sunday night. She shocks me with her healthy food choices. She is SO responsible. On school mornings at home, she gets upstairs right after breakfast and plows through her workbooks and gets her stuff done most of the time before I even get upstairs with everyone else. She gets up on Wednesday mornings on her "school" days (she does a supplemental school in Fort Worth those days), takes a shower, gets dressed, fixes her hair, makes her lunch, gets all of her school stuff together and is ready to go on time every week. She is really one amazing kid. She loves American Girl dolls and she has developed a love for reading this year. She is very afraid of tornadoes. Like a bizarre unhealthy fear. She dreads the spring because it's tornado season. : ) She gets books on tornadoes and reads them because she feels like it will help her not be afraid of them if she can learn as much as she can about them. I love that still has such a child-like innocence about her. I love that she chooses to watch Curious George or Wild Kratts when she wants to watch a show. She puts her whole heart in everything she does. She has become a really good little dancer. This is her second year doing tap/ballet/jazz and I love watching her practice and perfect her dances. She LOVES performing on stage and she can't wait for her recital in just a couple more months.

Jack is next...

Update

I ran into a friend at Chick Fil A the other day who said she kept checking in to see if I posted a new blog and that I haven't in FOREVER. I really would love to do better and keep some kind of a "normal" blogging schedule. But the words "normal" and "schedule" totally do not describe my life in this season. At all. : )

So just a quick little update for anyone else who is coming by to check on us every now and then..

Life is fast, full, crazy at times (ok--most of the time), and never ever dull. We are all very excited about little #6 who will be joining us in July and adding to our "organized chaos" as one of my friends calls it. We can't WAIT to find out if it's a brother or a sister in just a little over a week!! Jack especially can't wait. : ) We are enjoying another year of homeschooling. Pretty sure we'll be doing it next year too. I LOVE it. And that's an understatement.

I'll throw some pictures in soon---hopefully that doesn't mean a year from now. : )

Thanks, Alexis for the encouragement to get off my rear end and BLOG! : )