Our Family

Bath Time!

2012-02-16T06:27:00.000-05:00

Bath time is always fun....

But even more so when you get a crowd in there....

Happy Valentine's Day

2012-02-14T06:45:00.000-05:00

Any occasion around here is a reason to make cookies. So, we got out the heart cookie cutter (and Wes picked out the train...he didn't really get the whole 'theme' idea) and went to town.

Now, its Valentine's Day and we've already eaten all of our heart cookies.

But we sure did have fun making them (and eating them). Have a wonderful Valentine's everyone!

Josie's Aspirations

2012-02-09T19:15:00.000-05:00

Josie: Mom, I don't think I want to be a teacher anymore.

Me (as I'm trying to hurriedly get her clothes on early in the morning): Well, that's fine Josie, you have a lot of time to decide what you want to be when you grow up.

Josie: Ok, good.

Me (as I'm shoving her arms in her shirt): But just curious, why don't you want to be a teacher anymore?

Josie: Cause I want to be the girl at the grocery store that makes the beeping noises when you check out.

Full

2012-02-08T19:15:00.000-05:00

When we all go places together, we often hear people say, "Oh my, you've certainly got your hands full." We always smile politely and say, "Yes, we certainly do."

And even though we'd love to be anywhere other than the checkout line telling 3 different children that they cannot get their prize of choice, for example, we still say, "And we wouldn't have it any other way."

Ski Trip!

2012-02-07T06:39:00.000-05:00

As a kid, my dad had a saying...."A family that skis together, stays together." Picking one recreational activity to do together was a big deal to him, and he picked skiing (although as kids we pretty much did everything as a family). Anyway, I'm very proud to carry on his tradition with my little ones.

This past weekend we took a gamble and tried to go to the NC mountains to ski. As you can see in the picture above, it was really a gamble because the snow has been horrible this year. Luckily they had one pretty cold night last week and were able to blow a bit of snow (but there was no extra....only on the slopes). It was good enough to stick to one green all day with 3 and 5 year old kids.

After a little bit of whining after the first couple of falls, Josie picked up on it beautifully. She skied by herself pretty much all day. She would follow the leader (either Dave, myself of BobBob) down the hill in her pizza wedge position.

And Wes did a great job too just staying out on the hill. We'd either have to use your poles or hand to hold on to him cause he didn't really understand how to make the pizza wedge to slow himself down. Also, I don't know if I'm more proud of my 3 and 5 year old or my 60 year old mother who stuck with it all day (with the kids, which is 100 times harder than actually skiing).

At the end of the day, we had some tired kids. When we finally MADE Josie get off the hill she said, "Momma, my legs don't feel good." I think it might be the first time she's actually been sore. But they LOVED skiing, which I'm sooooo happy about. Cause after all, a family that skis together, stays together, right Pops? :)

Ice Skating

2012-01-30T06:51:00.000-05:00

This past weekend, Jess asked all of us to join her at the ice skating rink. The local rink was sponsoring her school's Jump Rope for the Heart team, with all proceeds of the days admissions going to the Jump Rope team.

So, we thought ice skating might be fun for the kids.

And boy did they love every single minute of it.

Erica, Jess, Dave, and the kids skated, while I watched on the sidelines with my camera.

Josie learned really quickly and actually skated fast, which is why I didn't get many pictures of her (they were all blurry).

But Wes, as typical, was very cautious and skated very slowly (actually he kinda just jumped on his skates the whole time while the adult kept trying to keep him from falling).

But overall, it was a lots of fun, and supported a great cause. The kids are already asking when they can go back.

Mad Face

2012-01-26T06:26:00.000-05:00

Me: Wes, give me your best mad face.

Wes:

5 Years Old

2012-01-24T06:29:00.000-05:00

Five years ago, a little tiny babe was given to us. I'm pretty sure, at that time, I thought that nothing could've been better than that day. Except now I realize that every day since then has been equally as good.

I remember asking another mother (a coworker at the time) only days before I had Josie if it was going to really be 'THAT different'. I was looking for some comforting words (i.e. "You'll be fine." or "You'll do great."). Although the idea of having a cute little baby bump was fun/exciting, the idea of having a baby was becoming a bit overwhelming. My friend looked at me, smiled, and politely said, "Your life will never be the same." I wanted to cry. What had I gotten myself into?

Fast forward five years, and she's right. My life has NEVER been the same. The priorities change, the time it takes to get everyone ready for an event changes, what you fix for dinner changes, etc, etc, etc. But its a change I would make one thousand times again and again.

Another change? When a little girl asks if she can ride her brand new bicycle inside on her 5th birthday because its raining outside, your first thought is "Absolutely not, you'll ruin my floors." But instead you burst with pride at the little girl you carried as part of you for 9 months and say, "Sure honey."

Happy birthday to my little 5 year old Butterbean. You're as beautiful inside as you are on the outside. I love you.

He's here!!!!

2011-12-30T06:37:00.000-05:00

What better birthday could you have, than to share it with our Lord Jesus Christ! That's right, Emmett Scott Moore was born on CHRISTMAS DAY!!!! We gave the new parents a day to rest, and then we made the journey to their town to visit with them all.

And man he was absolutely beautiful, just as one would expect. We all took turns holding and loving on him....

Even Wes....

And we took outrageous amounts of pictures...but who wouldn't...cause again, he's stinking beautiful.

It was all we could do to leave him at the hospital with his parents :) But we figured we'd be back in no time to love on him some more.

Congratulations Nik and Eric. Welcome to the wild world of parenthood. May it teach you as much as it has taught us...humility, service, and love.

Merry Christmas

2011-12-26T20:29:00.000-05:00

We hope you all had a blessed and Merry Christmas. We certainly did :)

NC Christmas!

2011-12-22T06:35:00.000-05:00

We recently traveled afar for a family Christmas celebration. Josie and Wes think "Norf Cawowina" is a really exciting faraway land....its all about how you play up the destination, you know? When we arrived in NC (Cary to be exact....only 4 hours away from home), Josie and Wes excitedly screamed, "Oh, its beautiful." HA! It is though, and the most beautiful part is that we go there to visit with Pop's brother and sister.

Most of the time is spent sitting around catching up on all that happened since the last time we saw each other, listening to stories from the 3 of them about their childhood, and generally just having a belly-laughing good time.

There's a special bond that siblings have, that when you get them all together, and in the right setting (and a Christmas celebration is one), the 3 adults revert back to their childhood years, in a fun way.

We of course did the gift exchange thing and Wes got a matchbox toy car set....naturally, the first thing he wanted to do was get it out and play with it. A grande time was had by all, and Wes frequently asks when we're going back to 'Norf Cawowina'. I'm glad the kids have fun around these people that were so special to me in my childhood (and today too).

Trains!

2011-12-20T06:41:00.000-05:00

Since Fred was a train engineer, all 3 of his great nieces/nephews have a fond fascination with trains. Anywhere we go, if we ever see a caboose sitting, we have to go play (fun family fact: Fred was a train engineer, and my grandfather and 2 of his brothers worked on the railroad...its in our blood). Anyway, when we were in NC for our family Christmas (pictures of that later this week), the kids spotted a caboose sitting in a local park, so we had to take advantage of the situation.

BobBob climbed aboard with Josie and Houston and they played for nearly 15 minutes...just pretending to do the work that so many of our family members performed day in and day out for YEARS.

Christmas Program!

2011-12-14T06:29:00.000-05:00

The kids go to a GREAT preschool. They learn more at this preschool than I could ever hope to teach them on my own. Every Christmas season, the preschool puts on a huge production with nearly 100 or so kids! Its amazing that they can get that many 3 and 4 year olds to be calm and still (Josie tells me that they tell them to pretend to have glue on their feet :)).

Anyway, this year, Josie got to be an angel at the front of the production. She did great...sang loud and did all the hand motions!

And since are kids are merely a year apart, Wes got to participate in the Christmas Program too. As you can see below, he spent most of his time clowning around (tongue out) and not so much of it singing or doing hand motions :)

The Program was GREAT and the kids are still singing the songs to us.

Christmas Tree!

2011-12-13T06:33:00.000-05:00

The Christmas Season is upon us. For the last 6 years or so, we have met Nikki and Eric in Gilbert to pick out a Christmas tree. Its a great place for kids cause they have tractor rides and hot chocolate and all kinds of nice things to do. We go into the field, pick out our trees, cut them down ourselves, and just have a grande ole time.

We each take a family picture in front of our respective trees....

(Josie took over my camera while we were taking the Eric/Nikki/Mason/Baby E photo)

And of course, the BFF's (yes we are now 30 years old and we still call each other BFF's....it is what it is :)) get a picture together (again, Josie was on my camera here).

Its been a great tradition and we're so excited to have Baby E with us next year! Its a drive for us to get there, but we wouldn't trade this tradition for anything!

Let's go Huntin' Pops

2011-11-22T06:16:00.000-05:00

Last week, Wes asked Pops if he could go hunting with him. Pops planned everything to a tee and we made sure Wes had a great nap one afternoon after school.

After the nap, Wes carefully picked out his hunting clothes and made sure to pack a snack and get his gun. Pops arrived just on time and everyone was sooooo excited.

Until Pops set Wes in the truck and Wes said, "I don't wanna go Pops." And without missing a beat, Pops set him back out of the truck and said, "I'm still going." :)

Maybe for the next hunting adventure, Wes will be brave enough to actually go. At least he looked cute in his hunting clothes.

2011-11-10T06:25:00.000-05:00

How in the world do you put on makeup with two children at your side? Well, you give them a make up brush and tell them to go to town.

Josie is getting smart though....she says she wants 'powder' on hers now. Wes will only put the 'makeup' on himself for a little bit and then he uses the makeup brush to clean the toy tractors. Oh the sacrifices we make as parents :)

Playing Hairdresser

2011-11-07T06:31:00.000-05:00

Just like everything else we do, we play hairdresser at home. Every now and again, JoJo will let Josie roll her hair instead of going to the stylist.

After it gets rolled, Josie gets to blow dry it (her favorite part)...

And then she gets to help put on JoJo's 'rag' so that when JoJo goes outside it won't get messed up.

If BobBob even mentions going up to JoJo's to fix her hair, Josie is sooooo excited. JoJo is such a good sport!

Applesauce, Yum

2011-11-02T06:13:00.000-04:00

Jessie came home a while ago with a bunch of apples she had gotten from a friend. After eating an apple a day for about 2 weeks, we decided something else was going to have to be done with these apples. So, we made applesauce....

After cooking the apples, Josie ran them through our food mill (which may very well be one of our top 5 tools in the kitchen). We ended up with 18 pints of applesauce...plenty enough to make it through the winter. We also made a couple pints of apple butter for Pops! Now we can enjoy the apples well into next year.

Happy Halloween!

2011-10-31T06:50:00.000-04:00

Happy Halloween Everyone! We had a Trunk or Treat at our church on Saturday night, so the kids got to do their first round of trick-or-treating. Josie decided (last minute) that she wanted to be a spider princess.

And Wes decided long ago (and stuck with it) that he wanted to be a tractor! So, we decked them out as best we could and let them go to town with the candy.

I think both of their costumes turned out pretty cute! Happy Halloween to All!

Child Labor :)

2011-10-28T14:41:00.000-04:00

Shhhh....don't tell anyone, but my kids LOVE to clean. And I realllllly play up how much fun it can be. They never do a 'spic and span' job, but they definitely do a 'good enough to get by' job!

So if we're ever around, please talk about how much fun cleaning is and how much you enjoy it. I don't want anyone to spoil the surprise for them.

Happy Birthday MOMMY!

2011-10-27T07:45:00.000-04:00

Mommy turned the big 3.0. yesterday...and MAN, what a day! There's no better way to spend a birthday than with your family. Hands down.

My family surprised me with a sushi making night. BobBob and Pops did lots of internet research (hilarious considering neither of them have ever eaten, nor really have the appetite for sushi). Erica and Jess gathered all the supplies and we went to town making our rolls.

And if I do say so, they turned out quite nicely (note the laptop in the background giving us instructions). BobBob and Pops even fell in love with sushi!

After dinner we had our birthday apple pie (complete with 3 little kids eager to blow out candles, one of which blew them all out before we even finished the second syllable of Happy in the birthday song...and then proceeded to clap for himself like he had done something spectacular....not naming any names (H)).

But alas, we relit and got through the whole song (only cause Erica held Houston far enough away) and then they all blew the candles out together.

And no, I didn't freak out at all about turning the big 3.0. To me, its an honor....look at what I've been blessed with thus far in my life...and my thinking is it can only get better, right? Thanks for the birthday!

Happy Birthday Grandma!

2011-10-17T06:14:00.000-04:00

Grandma turned 16, er wait, I mean 61 last week. So, we had a little birthday celebration yesterday afternoon...complete with hamburgers and pound cake, her favorites.

And you know when there is cake, the kids can't resist putting candles on it. And you know when there are candles on the cake, the kids can't resist blowing them out. What can they say...they love birthdays :) Hope yours was great Grandma!

Ghostly!

2011-10-12T06:49:00.000-04:00

What to do on a cold rainy afternoon? Well, lets see what we have in the craft corner. We have golf balls and an old white sheet. Hmmmm....ghosts perhaps?

And Josie is obsessed with faces, so we had to draw faces on our ghostly creatures.

We hung the cute little finished products on our banister to decorate a little bit for Halloween. I used to HATE Halloween (I'm not a fan of scary things at all), but I'm trying my best to do the fun things for the kids.

**Josie is making the "oooooooo" sound in the picture...

Josie's Photography

2011-10-05T06:27:00.000-04:00

Josie: Mom, let me hold the camera. There's something really cool I need to take a picture of.

And the following is what I find on my camera:

I guess I should be proud that she thinks her brother is something "really cool", huh? :)

Memories

2011-10-03T06:25:00.000-04:00

These two loving on each other is a memory I'd like to tuck away forever :)

Baby Chicks

2011-09-20T06:18:00.000-04:00

We've gotten some more...and I'm not sure who's more excited...her or her momma :)

Mini Picassos

2011-09-15T06:36:00.000-04:00

On a whim, one day in our craft store, I bought the kids paint, paintbrushes, smocks...you know, the whole nine yards. Obviously this purchase wasn't thought all the way through. BUT, the kids LOVE to paint. After spreading out what feels like an entire Sunday's paper on the floor and tying on their cutie little smocks, I let them go to town.

This will keep them entertained for an hour or more. Josie is so thoughtful and meticulous with her painting. Wes is more the "throw every color on the canvas and see what it looks like" kind of painter.

But each style produces beautiful artwork that we will now display proudly on our art line in the kitchen.

So, perhaps the painting supply purchase was thought all the way through :)

Babies Babies Everywhere

2011-09-14T06:18:00.000-04:00

Sunday, we had the first of several upcoming baby showers. My cousin (who is probably my closest cousin since she grew up right next door to JoJo) is expecting twin baby girls. After many years of patiently trying, she got doubly blessed :) So, we threw her a fun family and friends shower.

I didn't get many photos of all the fun she was having opening gifts...she had more help from the little girls (and one little boy) than she could handle!

She got LOTS of good useful baby "stuff" and Josie certainly enjoyed all the little girl stuff too. Kim's always been so good with my kiddos, so I can't wait to repay the favor and spoil hers :) LOVE all these babies that are heading our way by the end of the year.

Football Season Arrives Again

2011-09-12T07:11:00.016-04:00

We've been taking the kids to football games since they were tiny peanuts in mommy's belly. So, once again on Saturday, we packed up the car and headed northwest to Tiger Town!!

Before the game, the kiddos threw the football around with Daddy. This next picture is actually Wes telling me to get out of the playing area (I had stepped in to get an action shot).

We took them to the Wofford game thinking it'd be ok if we had to leave at halftime because surely the Tigers would be way up on our opponent, but not so much...we had to stay to the end of the game to make sure we one. Whew.

Either way, its a joy to see all of the orange when we roll into town. The kids love the tailgating, the game, and the whole atmosphere. Thank goodness, cause I hope we get to keep going for many many more years to come :)

Deer Season

2011-09-09T15:53:00.000-04:00

Pops is an avid deer and turkey hunter, and a lot of times, he will drop the monkeys off at school and go straight into the woods.

That said, hunting gets discussed a lot in our house. The kids know all about killing animals for meat (having the chickens helps with this explanation), and they've been begging Pops to take them hunting this season (sans guns of course).

So far, Pops pretends like he doesn't hear them when they ask. BUT, just in case, they've been practicing their hunting skills. I think its the "quiet" part that Pops is worried about in the woods though.

*Please ignore the fact that Wes holds his gun upside down or that Josie is in her leotard. HA! Thats how we roll around here.

New Addition

2011-09-08T18:59:00.002-04:00

Welcome to Our Family...Bags Frick.

Bags was discarded near Grandma's house about 3 weeks ago and he was so sweet that we all immediately fell in love. He was filthy dirty, skin and bones, and had fleas all over him (hence the name...(Flea) Bags), but we have since cleaned him up and fed him really well and he's ours forever (or as long as he'll have us). Josie is absolutely SMITTEN with her new baby and actually has been doing a lot to take care of him...making sure he has food and water. Since Cotton's disappearance from home (he had a vaccine induced sarcoma, so we're pretty sure he ran away to "do his thing" if you know what I mean), we've had a void, but we were waiting for just the right timing...and then along comes Bags. So far, he's fit in quite well, and we love him very much.

School Days

2011-09-07T07:15:00.000-04:00

Yesterday was the first day of preschool for the monkeys...both going 5 days/week. Wes is in the 3 year old class and Josie in the 4 year old class. Josie has been waiting for this day since school got out last May. Wes was only convinced to go if I let him wear his Mater shirt. Just one of the many difference in these two kids.

After picking them up from their first day, I had to listen to all the stories about their friends and what they did over the summer. Now they're both convinced that school is fun (although Wes would still much rather stay at home and play tractors).

Tractor Sunday

2011-08-31T06:17:00.000-04:00

After lunch on Sunday's we'll go to Grandma's house. Wes's favorite thing to do there is ride the tractor (well, besides watch cartoons and eat chocolate...you know, all the fun stuff that Grandmas let you do).

He calls this one "his tractor" because Dave made the comment that it will be a good one for him to drive one day (i.e. smaller). Well, now he thinks that he can direct us on when to ride it. Of course, you don't have to do much convincing for Dave to take him out.

He'll be a Fun Daddy Too!

2011-08-29T06:10:00.000-04:00

Wes mimics others, especially his daddy. He also willingly plays baby dolls with Josie. Those two combinations create the following pictures.

Not that he's ever seen his daddy babywearing on a 4-wheeler, but he understands the concept that just cause you have a baby, you don't have to stop having fun...you just bring them along. HA!

So, even though he was busy riding the 4-wheeler when Josie asked him to watch her baby (while she finished setting up for her tea party), he complied with her request.

Dancin'

2011-08-25T21:03:00.000-04:00

Josie loves to dance...and Josie LOVES country music. I know another girl that likes both of these things a lot too...

Her Aunt Jessie.

Wordless Wednesday

2011-08-24T06:23:00.000-04:00

They Laid an Egg!!!

2011-08-22T07:30:00.000-04:00

This spring, we finally convinced Daddy that there was more to this "farming thing" than having a garden and playing on tractors. So, we started building...a chicken coop!

Since March, Josie has been faithful in helping me feed/water/throw snacks to our beautiful flock (we have 11 ladies, and 1 gentlemen).

And finally yesterday, there it was...as I was throwing them some scratch, I looked over into the nest boxes and saw our first prize...a beautiful brown egg.

We love our ladies so much...they really are fun pets, but the fact that they produce food for us, makes them almost addictive.

Cousins - Part II

2011-08-17T06:10:00.000-04:00

Cause sometimes it gets a little boring while you're in there by yourself...

** This is how I found the kids after they were being quiet for a little bit up at JoJo's one Sunday afternoon. Obviously Josie had convinced Houston that this was the place to be...and had even dragged a chair in there for him so he wouldn't have to just stand while she took her time.

Cousins

2011-08-14T16:00:00.002-04:00

Sometimes you just need a little help...
And who better to receive that help from than family...

My sisters and I have no first cousins, so its been REALLY cool watching my kiddos and Houston play and grow up together.

Our Summer...In Pictures

2011-08-12T18:31:00.000-04:00

I apologize 100 times over for our lack of posting, but to wrap up our summer, here are a bunch of pictures. We swam...and swam A LOT.

And we ate...boiled peanuts are always a crowd favorite. But we only did this on the brief moments that we weren't swimming.

And every now and again, we'd get the boat moving, but the only way the babies would do this is if they were in the innertube.

Then, we'd stop and swim some more.

Now do you all see why we haven't had time to post pictures???

We've been swimming :)

We've been away...

2011-07-18T10:31:00.000-04:00

We've been to the beach...we've been to Disney...we've been to NC....we've been away.

But we are back home and it feels so good to be back home. LOTS of pictures soon to come.

Tractor Auction

2011-06-16T06:47:00.000-04:00

This past weekend, we packed up and headed north to the rolling hills of Tennessee for an estate auction of a tractor collector. There were over 50 tractors to be sold, as well as LOTS of plows and other old stuff.

So, the kids and I set up camp at the back of the crowd (under a shade tree), and Dave watched intently up front waiting to pounce on the "good deals".

Josie and Wes were so so good. They entertained themselves the whole time either playing with toy tractors or reading their magazines or just playing in the dirt (basically the same things we do at home except we were under a shade tree in a big beautiful field).

At the end of the day we were pooped. We bought two tractors and a plow, and it was a long 4 hour ride home, most of which Josie and Wes spent snoozing in the back seat of the truck.

Friends' Birthday Parties

2011-06-14T07:16:00.000-04:00

Josie hasn't been to many friends' birthday parties, but when it was time for Abigail's birthday party (Josie's BFF), we excitedly made sure we could come.

Josie asked about the party every day until its arrival. She made sure she had a special giraffe shirt to wear (the theme of the party) and the perfect presents picked out for Abigail.

The party was great fellowship for Josie and Wes, and Dave and I.

We hope Abigail enjoyed turning 4. As pulled out the driveway from the party, Josie immediately asked, "Can we come back when Abigail turns 5?" :)

Popsie Wopsie Love

2011-05-31T06:36:00.000-04:00

Pops loves to play tickle games.

And we love for Pops to play tickle games....no matter how many times we yell, "Stop Pops" through our giggling!

No Words Necessary

2011-05-27T09:08:00.000-04:00

Tradition - Strawberry Picking

2011-05-25T21:05:00.000-04:00

I've been sentimental with my strawberry pickin' pictures before, so I won't go there this year.

But as is tradition, we packed up a carload (the babies, BobBob, Aunt CaCa, Houston, JoJo, and I) and took off to the strawberry fields last week.

It was the end of the season, so the berries weren't as good as they've been in the past, but we picked plenty for eating, and plenty for making jelly and freezing for smoothies later in the year.

And from the youngest (15 months) to the oldest (80 1/2 years), we picked until our hearts were content.

And then we picked a little more, just to savor the afternoon that makes up our yearly tradition.

Dance Rehearsal

2011-05-24T06:10:00.000-04:00

Josie's dance recital was last week and on Thursday we had to take her to the "big stage" for her rehearsal. She and her friend, Karli, take dance together...a combination of tap and ballet.

It was so cute watching them try and perfect their poses. They'd get their feet set properly but their hands would be all over the place. Very cute!

But nothing was like the big performance (of which we weren't supposed to take pictures, but I think Jess snuck some on her camera...I was too busy beaming with pride to stay behind the camera).

Pampering

2011-05-19T06:25:00.000-04:00

Jess just graduated!!! She now holds a Master's Degree in Education from Columbia College and is officially the most educated of the 3 sisters :)

We decided this called for a little pampering, so the ladies of the family met at the local nail salon to have pedicures.

And of course, Josie wanted to sit with her Aunt Jessie (cause really, the rest of us pale in comparison in the fun department). And even Josie got her nails painted. She's so grown up.

Jess we are proud of you!

Wes's Performance

2011-05-17T06:41:00.000-04:00

Wesley also had a Mother's Day Tea at school. His class sang songs like "I Love my Mommy and my Mommy Loves me." and "This Little Light of Mine."

If you look very closely in the picture below, you can see Wes making his "light". It isn't very noticeable, but he did make it!

He participated really well...much better than any other performance we've seen so far. We're still thinking he's not cut out for Broadway though :) That's ok. I will watch his half hearted performance any day! He's so stinking cute!

Bible Verses

2011-05-16T06:40:00.000-04:00

"Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you." Deuteronomy 31:6 (NIV)

For Mother's Day, Josie's school had a Mother's Day Tea. The children sang and danced, and then we had punch and cookies (in very sophisticated style). Instead of singing traditional "I love mommy" songs, however, the children memorized Bible verses and sang them to music. BRILLIANT.

"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." John 3:16 (NIV)

Its hard (for me anyway) to memorize Scripture. I have a few token verses in my back pocket that I pull out whenever I need them, but I'd love to have a whole arsenal. This was a great way to begin children on verse memorization. I was BEAMING proud of Josie.

Cheese

2011-05-04T06:08:00.000-04:00

Its Summertime!

2011-05-02T06:00:00.000-04:00

It becomes official when the slip n slide comes out of hibernation. Its summertime.

The kids were entertained for a full hour on Saturday afternoon with the slip n slide while I did the chores around the Frick Farm (currently we're at 14 chickens, 6 ducks (they'll go to Grandma's pond again), 2 dogs, and a cat).

They came to me several times with teeth chattering and shivering because the water is cold, but they'd be right back at it.

Its officially summertime...and I'm not sure who is happier, them or me.

Gymnastics Birthday Party

2011-04-29T06:15:00.000-04:00

Josie and Wes's friend, Will, had his 5th birthday party last weekend at the local gym. The kids had a BLAST!

Ms. Millie, the teacher, was GREAT with the children.

And Josie and Wes LOVED the activities.

Josie even did a rope swing into a foam pit!!

I was amazed by how much they enjoyed themselves. We plan on signing them up for classes this fall (instead of Josie taking dance).

Busy Busy Times

2011-04-26T06:49:00.000-04:00

We had the most blessed weekend EVER! Sunday, obvious to most, was Easter. But not obvious to most, it was Wesley's birthday also. We started his celebration on Thursday because Dave was working on Easter (he was off only on Thursday). Wes blew out candles on no less than 5 different birthday cakes. He's a loved boy. And it was very fitting that his birthday was on Easter. After all, it was Wes that taught me all about God's plan vs my plan.

We had the normal Easter celebrations, such as dying eggs.

And actually, we did that at 3 different houses. The monkeys didn't complain a bit though....why would they?

The weekend was also filled with Easter egg hunts and gymnastic birthday parties. It was GREAT! We've been working a lot on our garden and raising chicks, so we haven't spent much time documenting our activities (there's only one parent these days as Dave is working 6 days/week...whew Momma is tired). We'll do our best to keep you all updated.

Old Friends with Young Kids

2011-04-18T06:37:00.000-04:00

Sometimes its feel so strange to be a grown-up...especially when I get together with old friends and reminisce about old times, except now we bring our kids along for them to play together also. Angela and Jean came over last week with their children (3 little boys). Jean's was the oldest, just turning 5 this week, and Angela's was the youngest (a tad over 2), so between the 3 of us, we had quite the little brood of kiddos running around the house. The children all played wonderfully together. We jumped from toy to toy. We played in water and with the chicks (more on that later this week). We jumped on pinestraw bales and wrote with sidewalk chalk. It was a great time for the kids and the mommies enjoyed catching up too. Oh my how our lives have changed...but I don't think we'd trade it any other way.

Wheeeee

2011-04-07T06:30:00.001-04:00

Whhheeeeeeeeeee

Wheeeeeeeeeee

Gaming

2011-04-05T19:05:00.000-04:00

Before I had kids (and thought myself brilliantly smart and knew everything about childcare), I swore that I would NOT let my kids play any sort of gaming system. Josie and Wesley's aunt, ShaSha, asked if she could get Josie and Wes Leapsters for Christmas. After reading how educational they were, I changed my "before having kids" decree to allow only educational gaming systems. And oh my , how they LOVE their Leapsters. And they learn!

We definitely limit the time they can play and honestly, they don't ask to play with them often (we keep them put up for the majority of the time), but every time we get them down/out its like a BRAND NEW TOY! And these things have SAVED us on some long car trips lately. And as brilliant as I may have thought myself before I had kids (and knew EVERYTHING there was to know about childcare), I definitely take back my "no gaming system" decree. Thanks ShaSha!

Pops

2011-04-04T19:04:00.001-04:00

Oh how the monkeys love this man....

....and their mom does too :) Love you Pops.

Real Men

2011-03-30T19:13:00.003-04:00

Real men wear their babies....

And walk around their house in their underwear.

Silly Faces

2011-03-28T06:13:00.000-04:00

Wes can make some of the silliest faces. But the funniest part is that he's not trying to be silly....these are just the faces he makes.

He cracks us up. Its really hard when we're correcting him or scolding him and he makes one of these faces. How do you correct that??

Playdates!

2011-03-25T09:01:00.002-04:00

Last Friday morning, we had a playdate with Josie's school friend Abigail and her sister Kathryn Anne.

The girls had a great time playing in the park and its been great having Mommy talking time also. Don't worry, we took Wes, but he mostly played by himself in true Wes fashion. Aren't these 3 cute???

Happy Birthday Daddy

2011-03-23T06:59:00.000-04:00

Oh how we love this man....

The man who gives countless rides on his shoulders,

The man who lays with the babies for "just one more time" when we're putting them to bed at night,

The man who has the patience of Job,

The man who works with pride and perfection,

The man we admire and love,

The man we call Daddy,

The man whose birthday is today.

Happy Birthday Daddy. We love you.

Weekend Fun

2011-03-22T06:41:00.003-04:00

This weekend we headed north to the grand town of Liberty, NC to visit Josie and Wes's great aunt and uncle (Pops' sister and brother-in-law), Carol and Eddie. When I was little, Carol was always the one who made playhouses out of cardboard and old sheets and would stay in there for hours and play with me.

And the most EXCITING thing about our trip was watching her play with Josie in the same ways she used to play with me.

Becoming a kid again and just having TONS of kiddie fun!

We can't wait to pay them a visit again in about a month. Josie is already asking when she can go back and see Cawol. :)

Artsy

2011-03-15T19:45:00.004-04:00

Sometimes we'll pull out all the paint and just let the babies go to town...and yesterday was one of those days.

Even with the towel down, we had to give the floor a good scrubbing during the "clean up time," but we think it was well worth it. At least the front of my refrigerator is filled with hand painted artwork :)

More 4 Wheelin'

2011-03-10T06:28:00.000-05:00

This time, Wes style:

(Yes, yes that is someone pushing him around the yard with a hoe because his battery is dead.)

(What is that box you ask? Well, its his trailer for goodness sakes).

And there you have 4-Wheelin', Wes-style.

Our Newest Adventure

2011-03-08T06:19:00.003-05:00

Grandma has a HUGE pond. Actually she has 4 HUGE ponds. Pa used to keep ducks there, but in the last couple of years they had dwindled down. He kept saying, "I need to get more ducks," but never did it. So today, we fulfilled his request.

Baby ducks are nearly impossible to find around here, so when we saw they were selling them at our local Tractor Supply, our interest started growing. Last week, they had mallards, which we didn't really want because they will fly away. This week, they had Pekins and we're hoping they'll be better pets.
They'll reside in our garage under the warmth of a heat lamp until they're big enough (and its warm enough outside). Josie and Wes are delighted by this new adventure. We've all been begging for chickens for quite a while and I think Dave believes this will curb our interest. :) Either way, it'll be a fun learning experience for us all and hopefully in 8 weeks or so, Grandma will have 6 new ducks residing on her pond.

PIZZA!

2011-03-03T06:46:00.000-05:00

Wes: Momma! Take a piture of da pizza in my bewy.

Me: Ok, buddy.

It never pays

2011-03-01T18:42:00.004-05:00

It never pays to dress too early for dance class....

Cause when Daddy is outside working, we certainly need to go help.

Even if we've already been dressed in our "dance attire".

At least she remembered to take off her ballet slippers and put on boots.

4-Wheelin'

2011-02-26T20:27:00.000-05:00

With the beautiful weather, the 4-wheeler has gotten its much needed love and attention again. BobBob took the babies riding this past weekend all over the place at JoJo's.

She would let them help drive. (sorry for the color of the picture)

And even put the 4-wheeler into gear (its ok that she knows how to do this, right?).

I'm not sure who loved it more....the 4-wheeler for actually getting to run, BobBob for getting to love on her babies, Josie and Wes for getting to operate (with help of course) a motor vehicle, or Pops who had to watch all this happening on the sidelines. Scratch that last one, Pops was having heartburn...not fun. Big difference. Just kidding.

You Can't Always Get What You Want

2011-02-24T20:24:00.000-05:00

You can't always get what you want,
You can't always get what you want,

You can't always get what you want,
But if you try sometimes, well, you just might find,

You get what you neeeeed

Pops sings this song to Josie regularly....

Play Ball!

2011-02-23T20:20:00.003-05:00

Fred and Wes have a little Sunday ritual. After dinner (lunch), they go outside and play with the ball, kicking it back and forth.

Wes and Fred can relate in a lot of ways. They aren't as social as the rest of the family, so for the two of them to go outside and enjoy each other's company is perfect for them.

They kick the ball around until we announce that dessert is ready....then Wes comes running for his cake. :)

Just Like a Girl.....

2011-02-14T06:18:00.003-05:00

This girl LOVES to gab on the phone....

"Hey BobBob! What are you doing?"

And my personal favorite is when I let her answer and its a telemarketer...ha!

She asks nightly to call the family: BobBob, JoJo, CaCa, Jessie, and Grandma. I used to think it was a stalling mechanism before bedtime, but now I genuinely think she LOVES talking on the phone.

From the Mouth of a Little Girl

2011-02-09T06:02:00.002-05:00

Josie: Mom, when I grow up, who will I marry?

Me: In about 30 years (ha), you'll grow up and find a boy that is your best friend, then he'll ask you to marry him.

Josie: Will you just share daddy with me?

Me: Don't you think you'd like a husband of your own?

Josie: No, I don't really like boys and daddy's already my best friend.

The Circus is in Town!

2011-02-08T06:19:00.002-05:00

We took the babies to see the Circus on Sunday (Jamil Circus....and it was GREAT). My favorite part was the tigers (of course). The guy in the cage had 7 tigers all at once and he'd work with them one at a time, turning his back to the others of course. I was so nervous.

Josie begged for a pony ride the entire time, so Dave and I finally caved in. She had a look of terror on her face the entire time she was riding so I'm not quite sure it was worth our $5/child (remind me to buy a pony and charge kids to ride it...geesh....but it all goes towards the Shriners and their good work).

The stars of the show....the elephants....check out the baby one on the end. She was so cute!

Wesman LOVED every bit of the circus. He got a little ancy because it was around naptime and after church (he was throughly confused as to why we were going to the circus and not JoJo's for our usual Sunday dinner), but if you ask him if he enjoyed the Circus he shakes his head yes (crazily).

I think Josie was most happy that her BFF, Karli (we used to live next to Karli and her parents), was there too.

What a great Sunday afternoon outing!

Chaotic

2011-01-31T06:23:00.002-05:00

When we get together with Houston, the house gets just a bit more chaotic.

Josie and Wes like to drag out every toy they can find so he can play.

And then they run around the house, just being loud, and not really playing with anything.

These three little stair steps will have so much fun growing up together. It will be crazy for us (the parents and grandparents), but I can assure you that they will enjoy it :)

Worn Slap Out

2011-01-26T06:37:00.003-05:00

And sometimes from all that partying, you're worn slap out.....

Especially when you're not the one opening the presents....poor Wesman.

Happy Birthday Josie!

2011-01-25T06:20:00.002-05:00

Josie's birthday was Sunday and boy did we do it up (like we usually do for birthdays). She had several parties.....one at Grandma's and one at BobBob's (and word on the street is that JoJo wants to have one for her too when she gets home from the hospital).

Josie's big gift from us this year was a dollhouse, so most of the family got her furniture and dolls to go along with it (a whole post on that later).

Josie is such a ham and has said things like, "Momma are my arms longer now that I'm 4?" (as she stretches her arm past the end of her shirt) or "Momma can you hold me? My legs hurt cause they've been holding me for 4 years now." (how untrue is that statement! ha!)

She also compares her height with everyone and tells people proudly that she can now wear size 4 clothing (by the way, I'm so glad adult clothing sizes don't increase at each birthday....or theoretically its not supposed to, I guess).

We have certainly enjoyed the first 4 years of our Butterbean's life. She has filled a lot of voids that we didn't even know we had.

And we are eternally grateful to be her guardians on this earth.

Tractor Man

2011-01-21T06:26:00.000-05:00

Wesley loves his tractors.And to him, its never too cold to ride.

Sliding

2011-01-19T06:27:00.004-05:00

Last week, we (the deep south) were hit with yet another snow storm for the year. We got 7" of snow (which is about the most I can ever remember). The kids didn't go to school ALL WEEK LONG.

The first day of the snow, the babies played outside and made the usual snowman and had snowball fights. But after the first day, the snow turned into a hard layer of ice (slick, hard to walk on, ice). Since the babies (and Dave and I) didn't want to be cooped up in the house all day long, we put on our snow suits and had fun with the ice.

After watching The Weather Channel at work, Dave saw that the BEST type of sled was a piece of plexiglass.

So, he scrounged around the homestead and found two pieces (or it may have been one that he broke, I'm not sure).

And then found a gently sloping hill.

And we were off....for DAYS worth of sliding fun.

As you can see, he would have the babies put their arms and legs in the air (so they wouldn't touch the ice) and they looked like little penguins sliding down the hill on their bellies.

What fun we can have!!!

Its Puzzle Time!

2011-01-09T09:02:00.003-05:00

Josie and Wes got several big floor puzzles for Christmas. As soon as they unwrapped them, they wanted to start doing the puzzles. We've been able to hold them off until this week. OH MY the puzzle mania at our house.

Jess came over one evening this past week to "play games" since that's what she got Josie and Wes for Christmas. We played a couple of games and then got into the puzzles.

It was so much fun!! Josie really got into finding the pieces that went together. Wes just liked looking at the animals.

Looks like we'll be that family that stays in on Friday night to work puzzles :)

Ear Piercing

2011-01-05T06:38:00.002-05:00

Josie has been begging to get her ears pierced. Apparently, one of her friends at school has her ears pierced and after watching her friend wear earrings for the first half of the school year, Josie decided that's something she'd like to have also.

So, after working up my courage (not hers), I force myself to the local mall. Josie sat very patiently waiting on the paperwork. She picked out some pink flowers (duh) that she wanted. (Wes was with us and picked out blue flowers for his ears, but that's a different story.)

When the time came for the actual piercing, she sat very straight and very still.....

And when it was over she didn't say a word. No crying. No whining. Just shocked. And then jumped out of the chair and said, "I didn't cry." HA! I didn't even coach her. We had hardly talked about the "hurting" part of piercing the ears other than telling her it'd be a little sting.

So far, the cleaning of the earrings has been really easy too. I clean them at night and in the morning and she turns them around 3 times a day. I was fretting over nothing. The earrings look super cute and I'm honestly glad we got them done.

SNOW!!!!

2011-01-03T06:16:00.002-05:00

The day after Christmas, we had a good little snowfall! Its probably as close as we'll ever get to see an actual White Christmas.

Josie and Wes took their prized toys from Christmas (a baby doll and an orange tractor) into the weather to play!

Wes even got into the snowball action!

Josie's favorite thing to do was to make snow angels because according to her, "She is an angel." I won't comment on this. HA!

Daddy helped the kiddies build a snowman (which pretty much took all the snow in the front yard).

And then used it as a shield in his snowball fight with the nephews....kids.

We had a good little snow last year, and this was a pretty significant one this year (in the deep south, we classify a significant snow as anything we can go outside and play in). Its been nice to have a couple of snows a year for the babies to enjoy. This snow made us all want to go skiing! Plans are underway.

Christmas WrapUp

2010-12-29T06:05:00.004-05:00

We had a wonderful Christmas weekend. The babies were an absolute joy to watch opening presents and they were very grateful for everything they got (which is a big deal to a mother). We opened presents at no less than 5 different places, so thats why the babies have on so many different outfits in the pictures. I thought you'd enjoy a smattering of pictures of them opening/enjoying their presents.

We hope you guys all enjoyed a wonderful holiday as well.

Merry Christmas

2010-12-25T07:30:00.000-05:00

Merry Christmas!

From our Tree to Yours!

Messy, Messy, Messy

2010-12-22T19:31:00.002-05:00

Josie has been begging to make Christmas cookies. So, as I sat at work this morning, I told myself that at 12:00 I was taking off and we were going to spend the afternoon destroying the kitchen.

And we did. We made the cookies from the Fannie Farmer Baking Book's recipe. Not a plug, but I literally find almost all of my baking recipes out of this book (its especially great for breads). LOVE IT!

Anyway, Josie and Wes loved helping to roll out the cookie dough and cut out the shapes.

And we did a right good job of destroying the kitchen (as JoJo would say).

And how cute is the hand print on Wes's pants. You can tell my children have excellent manners. "Just wipe it on your pants, buddy." HA!

Christmas Shows

2010-12-19T20:07:00.004-05:00

Josie and Wes are finished are now on their Christmas breaks. Its hard to believe that the first half of the "school year" is over. Right before the break, both Josie and Wes participated in their Christmas programs at school. They had two separate programs, so we got to hear the good news of the Christmas story twice in a 2 day span. :)

You may remember from last year, that Josie did not participate very well in her debut performance. Wes happily (or not so happily) followed in his sister's footsteps. For the most part he stood in the back with his head cocked to the side and his finger in his ear (I have no idea). He did finally ring the bells when they handed them out. It is hard to resist ringing bells after all...no matter how shy you are.

Josie, however, really took to her Christmas program this year. She sang her heart out (hand motions and all). You can see her on the front row with the red hat in the pictures.

It really is great to hear our children telling the Christmas story through the songs they work so hard to learn. We are very proud of both of our children for everything they learn in school...especially when they learn (and retell through song) the real Christmas story.

Goodbye Pa

2010-12-14T21:41:00.002-05:00

We've had a rough week.....

We've had to say goodbye to Pa Frick. He lost his battle with a nasty nasty cancer last Wednesday. We honored him over the weekend with a beautiful funeral service.

Its hard to explain what kind of man Wendel Frick was.....to us he was just Pa....our beloved Pa. To others he was an uncle, cousin, friend, helper, builder, fixer, brother. But to us he was Pa.

We will miss him more and more as the days go on, but right now our cries are turning to smiles as we think of him (which I always think is a sign of a great man).

He turned my husband into a wonderful man and a GREAT father. He fixed almost anything you could throw his way. He was a house builder back when builders actually used hammers. He was a carpenter at the University of South Carolina (where he built the lockers for the football and basketball teams). He was a collector of all sorts of things (and this is an understatement). He was a provider for his family and a loving husband. He was a child of God whom he is now with.

'Till later Pa Frick.

A Sure Sign...

2010-12-04T17:39:00.001-05:00

...that its time for a diaper change.

We've tried to convince Wes that its VERY cool to go to the bathroom in the potty, but thus far, all attempts have failed. We need him to catch on soon though cause Momma's been changing diapers for almost 4 years and she's ready to be diaper free....

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

2010-12-02T17:35:00.004-05:00

Its upon us...

And we are filled with the wonder....

Doggie

2010-11-16T06:20:00.002-05:00

Josie: Momma, can we pretend we're dogs?

Me: Um, sure, I guess.

Josie: Ok, we'll be outside.

And this is what I see.....

Sweet

2010-11-11T06:06:00.002-05:00

They surely aren't always this sweet....

But every now and again, they show glimpses of hope that they may one day, indeed, love each other.

(Can you tell we're going through sibling arguments A LOT right now?)

Making Sauerkraut

2010-11-10T06:00:00.004-05:00

We're German....or our ancestors were German.....so we still eat a good bit of German food. Its a staple in JoJo's cuisine.

And since we like to make a lot of foods from scratch, last weekend we spent one afternoon making sauerkraut! We cut the cabbage (with the help of little hands of course).

And then packed it tightly into a crock jar. After adding some salt and some sugar on top, we'll let it ferment for a couple of weeks (we store ours under our house where its cool).

We'll can it once its ready and then we'll have a year's worth of sauerkraut to eat! MMMMMMM.

(And yes, Wes put his shoes on himself.....wrong foot and two different colors. He likes to do that because they are his two favorite colors).

Going on a Bear Hunt

2010-11-05T20:18:00.003-04:00

We're going on a Bear Hunt

We're gonna catch a Big One

With Big Green Eyes

And a Fuzzy Little Tail..

Last weekend, our daddy was working. When I asked Josie what she wanted to do she screamed excitedly, "Go on a Bear Hunt!!" Hmmmmm. Well, they did just open part of the Palmetto Trail.....
So I packed the kids a snack, called our trusty BobBob (who's always up for an adventure) and on a Bear Hunt we went.....

The babies hiked nearly 2 miles starting at the Alston Trailhead. It was a beautiful day and we had a GREAT time. They didn't ask to be carried one time. Wes spent most of his time naming the colors of the leaves. Josie, of course, was looking for bears...

2010-11-03T20:03:00.002-04:00

Today we laid to rest our Granddaddy King, Josie and Wesley's great-grandfather.

He enjoyed the blog for two reasons. The most obvious was to see pictures and hear stories of his GREAT grandchildren (his children would print off the latest blog post and bring it to him to read).

The underlying reason he enjoyed the blog was because it was my way of writing. Granddad was an author....a very talented author. He always said anyone could write if they found something that they enjoyed enough to document.

Apparently, I've found something worth writing about....the account of my children's lives. And I think he appreciated that I was documenting our family.

After listening to the amazing stories people told of his life today, I hope to find more things to document. Life is full of great tales, just waiting to be told.

Happy Halloween

2010-11-01T06:12:00.003-04:00

When I asked Josie back in August what she'd like to be for Halloween, she quickly looked outside and screamed, "A pink flower!" Oh my, easy enough.

But what would Wes be to compliment my little flower? Why, he'd be a farmer of course!

And to top off our little farm scene, we'd throw in a chicken!

We all took the babies to our church's trunk or treat this weekend (that's what you do when you live in the woods and the homes are too far spread out for kids to walk up and down the street).

They all had a good time, except for when we sat them on the ground and they got fire ants all over them. I know, no parenting awards here.

But they sure were cute!

A Huntin' We Will Go

2010-10-25T06:15:00.002-04:00

Can you tell its deer season 'round here? While I do not particularly like guns (at all), our Pops is an avid deer hunter, and tells both of the babies about his adventures in the woods.

The other day, I found Wes in the front yard with his toy gun. I asked him what he was doing and he said, "Shooting deer." Oh, how that would help our garden, little boy.

80 Years Young

2010-10-19T06:11:00.002-04:00

Today we celebrate this special lady....

Who turns 80 years young!

Notice that she's about the only one that can take a picture with all 3 of the monkeys...she has special powers like that.

Happy Birthday to JoJo....MmmmHmmmm.

Father/Daughter Dance

2010-10-15T19:05:00.004-04:00

At some point in the future, I can only hope, she and her daddy will have the famous Father/Daughter dance. When that time comes, I can't wait to show this picture to her.....

....and tell her how she and her daddy used to dance in the living room.

Gardening

2010-10-05T06:20:00.003-04:00

Although its a little late, we have just planted our fall garden (its late because the deer had a "party" in our garden about two weeks ago, so we're replanting).

Friday afternoon the babies and I spent our time digging in the garden and carefully placing collard plants, cabbage plants, and Josie's personal favorite, broccoli plants.

Some of the plants become a casualty when little hands are doing the work, but I think we'll still be bountiful this fall.

Apple Orchard

2010-09-30T06:08:00.004-04:00

Last weekend, the babies, BobBob, JoJo and I ventured to Hendersonville to Justus Orchards to pick apples.....and pick we did.

Here are tons of pictures from the day....

After picking 8 bushels, we decided it was time to head home. We had a fantastic time!