Quotes...the crack the whole family up edition.

Pahk the Cah in Hahvahd Yahd.(Translation:  Park your car in the Harvard Yard.)  -Camille

*****

Me:  Camille, did you empty all of the tooth flossers out into the bathroom drawer?
Camille:  {smirk} No.
Dan: {hiding his face because he's laughing}
Me:  Camille, be honest.  Did you do that?
Camille:  Yes.
Me:  Thank you for being honest.  Now come out of bed and clean it up.
Camille:  Ok, Momma, here I come. I'm coming to fix it.

*****

Trying to beat Mom in Just Dance 2 (Wii Game) is like trying to beat Kevin Durant (in basketball) in Adidas shoes while you're barefoot.  -Graham

*****

{In his best radio announcer voice} Hello.  You're listening to Moody radio.  And I'm moody.   -Graham

*****

Moooom!  Graham said he's going to nail my boyfriend.  -Camille

*****

Ah... goo.  -Lydia

Whatcha been up to?

I often ask other folks that question!  Here's a little of what we've been up to this week.

When a song comes on that Camille is rocking out to, she makes faces (similar to this one) and lip-syncs the words, it is the funniest thing!

Graham and Hannah Reece are my official dish unloaders, and they do an AWESOME job.  I am so grateful for their help!

I have been working on storing up some freezer meals this week, doubling and tripling some simple favorites. I know things will be a little hectic when I first come home with Lydia, so having some meals "ready to go" should help lighten the load a bit at dinner time, and maybe it'll keep us from eating take-out so much. So far I've made Sweet 'n Sour Chicken, bean, meat and cheese burritos, and later today I'm making Spaghetti Casserole and Chicken Curry.

Speaking of meals, this is Millie's favorite, basic black beans and rice with shredded cheese and a dollup of sour cream on top.  She'll even ask for it at breakfast some days.  Dinner is such a proper occassion around here.  ;)

our little helper

Millie loves to help.  Whether it's spreading butter on a piece of toast, folding a towel, or mixing up something special in the kitchen, she's game!  Today she's helping me take some letters to the mailbox.  

Such a big girl!

Come, let us worship the LORD!

We can worship the LORD in so many ways, inside and outside of the church building.  This month, the kids have had some special opportunities to serve and participate in corporate worship at church.  Here's Hannah Reece, an old pro with the palm branch on Palm Sunday.  I loved hearing the girls that morning singing a song they learned at Community Bible Study earlier in the week:

"Ho-ho-ho-Hosannah, 

A-a-allelujah, 

He-he-he-HE saved me,

I love HIM!"

 Millie's first time to participate in Palm Sunday, Daddy was rounding up a small palm just for her when I took this picture.  :)

 Graham and cousin Logan attended acolyte training this month, a special opportunity for children ages 9 and up.  It was so special to see these boys serve the LORD by lighting the candles as worship began on Resurrection Sunday.

THREE

Our sweet Camille Grace is three years old! 

My heart if overwhelmed with feelings of love and nostalgia as I look back at the last three years of this little girl's life.  She brings laughter, silliness, and tenderness to our family in such special ways.  When the environment is tense or stressful, her countenance almost immediately reflects that with tears and a desire to be held and hugged.  When the atmosphere is happy and peaceful, she cheers, jumps up and down and just revels in that.  It's awesome.  :)

Camille is an encourager.  When Dan is building something, when Hannah Reece is making an art project, when Graham is tying his shoes, when I'm in the kitchen preparing a meal, she's right there cheering "Go ______ Go! Go _______ Go!"  She has this sensitivity to know what we struggle most with and is so eager to come alongside and hug, kiss and encourage us.  

Camille, you are such a blessing to our family.  In you, I see the tender heart of God towards his children.  Your smile lights up a room.  (Those dimples!!)  It's easy to see when your "love tank" is empty and I'm grateful for that.  You remind me to be present, to enjoy the moment, to take time to express my love for you.  Your cheerful heart and good nature is such a "lift" and a joy to all of us!  We love you, precious girl!!

At age three Camille:

-can reach the light + fan switches

-can climb up on the potty by herself with a little white step-stool

-wears a size 3T in bottoms, 4T in tops and an 8 1/2 in shoes

-is excited to be a big sister to "Livia Kate" and regularly sweet talks and sings to her (Hush Little Baby)

-enjoys black beans + rice, ice cream, gummy fruit snacks, corn chips, oatmeal, yogurt, carrot souffle, smoothies and does not like meat, eggs or veggies.  Girl's got a sweet tooth!

-loves to color and paint

-enjoys dressing up and being a princess

-sleeps in her own bed sometimes, but still prefers momma and daddy's bed (working on that!)

-has demonstrated a few temper tantrum (meltdown's)  ususally when she's tired or over-stimulated

-loves hanging out with her big brother and sister

Birthday interview questions:

How old are you?  Holds three fingers up (three)

Who is your best friend?  Taylor (Bunt)

What's your favorite thing to do?  I love when daddy throws me up in the air and gives me sugars (big smile)

What's your favorite food? "umm, let's see...." yogurt and strawberries and hot chocolate"

*******************************************************************

A few more pics from Millie's birthday:

Camille LOVES to jump.  She jumps when she's happy, she jumps when she's sad and she really goes to town on the trampoline in our backyard.  :)  So when we were trying to thing of something fun to do as a family for her birthday, we were excited to surprise her and take her to Pump it Up.  It has several rooms FULL of bounce houses, mazes and slides.  

We got there, bought the kids wristbands and were ready for two hours of jump-a-palooza.  And this is how the birthday girl felt about Pump It Up:

 I think maybe it was too dark, too many kids, too much noise? Whatever it was, it was a no go.  So Daddy took her to the party store to pick out paper goods for her family party later that night, and I stayed and watched Graham and Hannah Reece jump, climb and slide to their heart's content for the next to hours!

 Nana has a tradition with the kids that she takes them clothes shopping for their birthdays.  The girls especially get into this, and it was fun to see what Camille picked.  She picked some really cute outfits with Nana, mostly pinks, purples, tulle, sparkles and frills.  Here's her very favorite outfit from Gymboree, complete with pink princess sparkle shoes a matching headband and bracelet.  I'm pretty sure she took it off about two days later when I insisted that it was time for she and her outfit to have a bath!  :)

 Graham: age 9, Hannah Reece: age 6 1/2 and Camille: age 3

Same day, new outfit, plus her princess birthday crown that she and Daddy picked out at the party store.

 Daddy has decided that three is the inaugural age for "real" Lego sets.  :)  Camille was so excited to play with her Friends Lego pool! Hannah Reece decided she would put it together for Mill and she did! :)

 Millie + Emma

Some of Millie's birthday gifts:

a new hat, mini magnadoodle, sticker sets, Cinderella duplo carriage, hairbands, clothes, some seed-starter kits (which are growing on the lanai!) and crafty supplies

awake

It's 5:10am (new spring forward time) and I'm WIDE awake.  Baby bumpin' around....indigestion....and the cutest little (almost) three year old snuggled so close that I practically fell out of bed.  So here I am, in my "happy" place.  Recording these fleeting moments...how quickly I forget.

Yesterday was Hannah Reece's half-birthday--6 1/2!  I made her blueberry muffins for breakfast and we had grand plans to hit the skating rink for "Kids Skate Free" but finishing the girls' room took all afternoon.  And I love how it turned out!  Every inch of that 10x12' space is fully functioning.  :)  I look in there and STILL cannot get over the fact that God has entrusted ME with three daughters.

I started babysitting around the age of 11, I was a responsible, detail-oriented, baby-loving girl whom mothers trusted.  (I still can't imagine leaving my babies with an eleven-year-old---no matter how mature??)   Anyway, for several years, all of my babysitting gigs were for boys.  Gangs of brothers.  My mom would jokingly say that God was preparing me for a "basketball team" of boys someday.  Funny how those prophetic words (even in jest) stick!  :)  So with each new daughter I still can't believe it's true.  And I never would have imagined just how much I'd enjoy raising daughters.  They are complex little creatures, to be sure.  I am learning so much about myself (the good, bad and ugly) because a this stage, they mirror my attitudes and responses in so many ways.  I remind them often how blessed they are to have each other.  Even in the midst of squabbles and irritations, what a great blessing -- the assurance of life-long allies in sisterhood.

I pray that they would be women of noble character.  Honest.  Whole-hearted.  Kind.  Compassionate. Courageous.  Resourceful.  And I pray that the Lord would continue to grow me in these areas, too.  I get so overwhelmed by the "dailiness" of life at times that I lose perspective.  And then I fall into self-pity, or the "if only's" and that is just flat toxic.  Lord, rescue me from myself.  I want to be consumed with your life-giving, strengthening JOY and PEACE.  Fully surrendered to you!

Early Riser

Millie usually rises between 5-6:00 every morning.  We moved a tv into our room several months ago (which I've been staunchly opposed to in the past)  partly so that I can get some extra sleep on mornings when Dan has to head out early to play basketball.  On this morning, I set her up on the Ipad to watch while I made breakfast and lunches before we went to Classical Conversations. Little cutie.  :)

Camille's favorites (on Netflix) are:  Sesame Street, Good Luck Charlie, Fireman Sam's Christmas, Super Why and Strawberry Shortcake.

I want to remember....

These days, I put on my peace-keeper "hat" often.  It's a delicate balance, allowing the kids room to work the conflict out and knowing when to step in to arbitrate.  Today, I witnessed some sweet moments that I want to be sure to remember.  

This afternoon we were in the backyard, I asked Graham to put Camille into the baby swing and buckle her up.  As he was hoisting her cute self up there she said.  "Graham you have super powers!"  To which he quickly responded "Camille, you have "cute-tonium"!  

While on the swingset, I said "Isn't it a beautiful day, guys?"  To which Graham replied "every day is a beautiful day, because God made it that way."  Wise words.  May we truly see God's beauty EVERY day, son.  

Camille was already tucked into bed, Hannah Reece came in a few minutes later and said "I'm sorry it took me so long to come in, but here I am!  Let's go to sleep now."  :)  

I don't think that it's coincidence that on the days I "back-off" a little, usually when I'm having a tired, achy, super pregnant day (like today) that the kids really pitch in and help each other out.  I pray that they will be dear friends for life, loving each other unconditionally.

snuggle wiff daddy

Dan was out of town for a few days at the Fellowship of Presbyterians conference in Orlando. Hannah Reece (as usual) needed to sleep with daddy's robe each night so that she could "smell" him.  Both girls slept with me in our bed.  Graham and Charly crashed together on the sofa in the living room.  The hardest time is from 4-bedtime because those are the hours that we're used to daddy livening things up around here!  I'm tired, the kids are getting tired and we're just all missing him something awful at night.  Usually I stay up super late when he's gone, but I was so beat that I crashed with the kids!  :)

When Dan got home, it was close to nap time for Camille.  She said, "I wanna snuggle wiff daddy." The two of them piled up in our bed together and took a FOUR hour nap!  All snuggled up together.  Girl LOVES her daddy.  

I couldn't resist snapping a few pictures.  Camille is wearing her favorite princess nightgown. Camille says those princesses on her gown get "scared of monsters" at night and so they tell her to get in momma and daddy's  bed to feel better.  ;)

In the Groove

Last week was a bit rough after two weeks of no school/no structure.  It felt like usual after Christmas break was over...except that this year....our kids stay here with me!  No farming out of bad behavior or overstimulated brains from too much TV.  Oh I remember these times when I taught in public school.  The first week back was almost always a wash!  Which allows me to extend a little more grace to myself and the kids when transitional weeks come.  It's normal!  :)  So, we started out slowly.  Just the basics.  And a few  extra crafts and outside breaks.  This is the time of year we LOVE to be outside.  Florida winters almost make up for the sweltering tropics the other 9 months of the year. 

I'm happy to say that this week has been SO much better!  Dan and I pow-wowed about some things in the order of our days that needed tweaking and also, we have established a family Sabbath.  This will occur on Saturday, since as a minister, Sunday is a "work" day for our Dan.  Our homeschool week goes from Sunday-Thursday since Dan has Fridays and Saturdays off (mostly).  :)  

Without further ado, here's a little of what we've been up to lately!  

Millie LOVES her glitter glue/paint as much as her big sister!

We make it go a little further by squirting small blobs on the paper and painting in the blobs with paint brushes.  

Daddy and Millie snuggin'.  She is ALL about Daddy these days.  And Nana and Papa.  :)

Big girl hanging out in the front yard last weekend.  She is Daddy's yard helper and enjoys working side by side with him.

On Saturday, Graham's best "home brother", Johnathon came over for a birthday celebration. Dan took them to play putt-putt golf,  and at Graham's request, cheese fries and root beer afterward at Rib City.  These fellas are too funny.

This is what I get when I ask the two of them to pose for a picture--instant bunny ears.  Are they nine + ten or what?  ;)

Today, we had a little crafty fun!  I found some festive pipe-cleaners in the $1 section of Target, so we twisted and hooked lots of little hearts together....

....made glasses....

....and lollipops....

and this cute garland!  I love it.  It hangs on the entertainment cabinet in our living room.  I need to remember that pipe cleaners are such a great way to entertain.  Pretty sure that we spent close to an hour doodling with these things.

This was Hannah Reece's math project in her Saxon K program.  We created a "pictograph" together.

I love her illustrations.  I accidentally flipped her oven upside down...oops!

Our Favorite Winter Activities by Hannah Reece
"We play in the snow."  (She wanted to include that from when we lived in N.Carolina several years ago!)
"We play on the playground."
"We swim in the pool."
"We go to the farmers market."
"We drink hot chocolate."
"We like to read."
"We bake treats in the oven."
"We celebrate Jesus at church."