4th Child

No,  I am not pregnant.  But Ted' first cousin, Martin Holt, and his beautiful wife, Alison, just had their 4th child this afternoon . . . Louis Martin Holt.  He is a strong 7 pounds 12 ounces and a whopping 20 3/4 inches!  She grows 'em good.  But I wanted to give them a big congratulations on the blog.  We are thinking about taking their other three children (youngest of which is Ward's age) to the Beaker Bash and then to spend the night with us.  Should be interesting.  I will feel like Jean Holt for one night!

Pants on the Ground

Okay, so I did a little post on the Pants on the Ground song that has me cracking up. Well, obviously I did not do my research. If you are interested in pop culture, read my sweet cousin Louisa's post on the now famous "General" Larry Platt. Very interesting!!

Semper Gumby Adventures: Pants on the Ground

Grey Rocks over New Years

We had a great time at Grey Rocks over New Years.  Ward was a prize outdoorsman, fishing and hunting with Ted most of the long weekend.  Although he didn't catch a fish or shoot a deer (neither did daddy) he had a great time, as always.  Here are a few hunting and fishing shots.  Ann Park even joined in on the fun a couple of times/

Here are a few from the deer stand.  I love how serious Ward is in the pictures, looking out for deer, and how Ann Park is posing for pictures and making silly faces.  Fits their personalities exactly!

Ted also got some shots of Sam in the bath that are really cute. I wish that I had known that he was going to take them so I could have helped and not had to get some of the weird angles.  He has gotten so big!  I had to take him to the doctor a couple of days before these pictures were taken and he weighed 18 pounds, 13 ounces.  Hard to believe that Ward was only 19 pounds, 1 ounce at a year! 

And finally, here is a picture of Ward and Tripp watching the Letter Factory . . . our favorite tool for learning letters!  Although smarty-pants Tripp can run circles around my kids when it comes to letters, he became obsessed with it as well!

More to come

I promise that I am going to do a post on Disney as well as some other posts, but I had to announce that Sam broke his first tooth yesterday!  Better late than never.  He is a much worse teether than my other two - I remember that Ann Park would literally wake up with a new tooth, including molars.  Sam struggled and was definitely in some pain, but he is still the best baby ever!

21st Time

Lately I have found myself listening to "The Message" on my XM Radio - especially in the mornings.  It is the Christian radio station and always plays uplifting music and puts my mind in the right place for the day.  It is nowhere near what I consider "church music," but instead contemporary "pop" music that you would hear on any station, but just with a positive message.

This morning I heard a song that I had never heard before.  It made me think so much that I even went on Google to find the lyrics.  I thought that I would share them with you and also share a quote from the singer about the inspiration behind the words.  Enjoy.

Nowhere to live
Nowhere to fall
He used to have money
But he’s wasted it all
His face is a photograph burned in mind
But I pretend not to see him for the twenty-first time

He sleeps under stars, it’s all he can afford
His blanket’s an old coat he’s had since the war
He stands on the corner of Carter and Vine
But I pretend not to see him for the twenty-first time

He may be a drifter who’s grown old and gray
But what if it’s Jesus and I walk away
I say I’m the body and drink of the wine
But I pretend not to see him for the twenty-first time

She’s 29 but she feels 48
She can’t raise three kids on minimum wage
She’s crying in back of the welfare line
But I pretend not to see her for the twenty-first time

She may be a stranger trying to get through the day
But what if it’s Jesus and I walk away
I say I’m the body and drink of the wine
But I pretend not to see her for the twenty-first time

This is a call for a change in my heart
I realize that I’ve not been doing my part
When I needed a Savior, I found it in Him
He gave to me, now I’ll give back to them

Drifter or stranger, daughter or son
I’ll look for Jesus in everyone
‘Cause I am the body and drink of the wine
And I’m thankful there’s more than the twenty-first time

(Trent Monk, Ed Cash) © 2007 Allen, Vaughn and Ray Publishing (ASCAP) / Wholelotaracket Music (ASCAP) (adm. by EMI CMG Publishing) / Alletrop Music (BMI) (adm. by Music Services)

Behind the Song:
“‘The Twenty-First Time’ is a song inspired by my wife, Micah, who for our entire marriage has been a true picture of compassion in my life,” says Trent. “Anytime she sees someone in need, she wants to stop and help. She’ll take food to the park to see if she can find anyone homeless or hungry, when I’m the guy who says, ‘We don’t have time.’ This song grew out of being convicted by her example, her spirit, her compassion.” - Trent Monk 

Resolutions

I am not a fan of New Years resolutions - not sure exactly why.  Maybe because so many people use it as a way to get skinny (i.e. "I am going to eat healthy this year") or make themselves feel better.  Plus I am not very creative and anything I think of, I usually break within the first month or so and then it just makes me feel bad.

And this year wasn't any different.  I didn't even think about making a resolution on New Years.  I was asleep by 11 PM and was happy about it.  Plus I have enough to think about - three kids ages 5 and under, not to mention holding up the house (no offense to Ted but as a matter of necessity the vast number of household duties fall on me - of course I am not taking away from the part he does - he helps 100x more than other husbands I know) and working part-time.  I rarely get a moment to myself before 8 PM and then I want to talk to my husband . . . before he goes to bed at 8:30.

But then all these people started asking me "what is your New Year's resolution?"  I heard the gammit (how do you spell that?)  - no fast food, no chocolate, no more gossiping, no more Facebook (didn't understand that one), and many others.  So I started thinking.   If I made one, what would it be?  Of course, nothing I could resolve to do (or not to do) would really make a difference in the world.  It wouldn't take back the earthquake in Haiti, or the horrible things happening in Darfur, or give homes to all the kids in orphanages around the world, or feed the starving, just to name a few, but maybe my resolution could impact my immediate world - my family and friends.

So I decided to go against my instincts and make a resolution, albeit about 20 days late.  My resolution?  Consistency.  To be consistent in all that I do - in the small day to day things like taking care of my family (and disciplining the kids), and also in the bigger things - like in loving my kids and Ted (even when I don't feel like it and when I think they don't deserve it), like spending more time with family including cousins for the kids, and in generally putting others before myself.  This is really a challenge to myself, and one that I will surely fail in every day.

So maybe it isn't so much of a resolution but really just a goal - something to strive for on a daily basis.  Maybe what we should make on New Years is not resolutions, but ideals or goals.  And maybe with more people striving toward ideals, the world might just be a better place.

PS.  Re-reading this I realized it is kinda deep and sappy.  Sorry about that!  I am really tired (sick kids = little sleep) and Ted is out of town which always puts me in a funk.

Pants on the Ground

So I a sure that you have all seen it, and you might hate it, but I have been laughing so hard at this video that I almost peed in my pants.  I saw it "live" on Idol and didn't think it was that funny, but the more I watch it the more I laugh.  Maybe I am just that exhausted from having a sick baby and a sick 3-year old who wants her daddy (who is in NYC) and who is getting up at the crack of dawn these days.  I don't know.

And I tried to post it, but I can't get it to work.  Will try again later.  Gotta go get the kids from school!

Ward's prayers

So last night Ward asked me about a picture he saw on the computer while I was reading CNN.com.  It was a picture of the devastation in Haiti.  What was I supposed to say to my precious blue-eyed boy who knows nothing of the horrors of the world?  He asked why the buildings fell down, why the people were crying, and why mommy looked sad.  Did I know those people, he wanted to know.  So I told him, in a very real, but 5-year-old level way, that there had been an earthquake (I had to explain what that was) and that a lot of people had died and were hurt.  I told him that Haiti is a country where the kids don't have electricity or bathrooms or even real houses, much less tv, toys, and playgrounds.  I said that these people who had nothing, compared to our standards, now are left in shambles and that it makes mommy very sad, and that I feel helpless sitting from my nice warm home in Alabama.

And his reply?  It was two-fold.  First he asked why God did this to these nice people.  I told him that sometimes bad things happen for reasons that we don't understand.  And that maybe, just maybe, Haiti can be rebuilt into a place that is better, much better, than it was before.  That surely is my prayer.  And that reminds me of the next thing he said.  He said "mommy, we need to pray that nice people come and help them."  And they are coming.  But time is precious.  So many lives have been lost.  The blank faces of the children brings tears to my eyes.  I know that I am not helpless and at the very least I can give money to the Red Cross or other organizations who are in the trenches.  I can't be there physically, but I will be there in support, in mind and in prayer.

Speaking of prayer, tonight when I was tucking Ward in bed, we were saying our prayers as we always do.  We go through the litany of people we want to bless and then Ward always adds in his two cents - usually for "the food and the animals" - but tonight he prayed for "those people where all the buildings fell down."  He asked God to  be with them.  May that prayer come true and may those people feel His presence.  Amen.

A little help here . . .

How do you get the pictures to post in the places that you want? Whenever I click the "add pictures" button and load the pictures, they always go to the beginning. And then when I cut and paste in HTML they formatting messes up and there are all these random spaces. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Christmas Blessings

So I promised some Christmas pics, and I always follow through on my promises. Even though Christmas seems like months ago, my calendar tells me that it was only two short weeks ago. Lots has happened since then I guess - things never slow down around here! But back to Christmas . . .

As most of you know, Ted's mom spent the night with us Christmas eve night which made Christmas morning all the more special. Grandmom slept in Ann Park's room, and Ward and Ann Park slept together. We had gotten home late from Cher Cher and Papa's house, but I was certain that they would be up at the crack of dawn. Turned out that they actually got up at 6:30, which wasn't nearly as bad as I had expected. Mean momma (me) made them cuddle upstairs in our bed until 7:00. Ward was very concerned that Santa had not come because when he peaked downstairs he could not see any toys. I assured him that Santa had come and just placed the toys where he couldn't see them!

Ted went downstairs first and was positioned to take pictures when we walked down the stairs:

And this is what they saw:

As you can imagine, they were a bit overwhelmed but had a great time playing with all their toys. We got Sam up a little later than normal and slowly showed him what Santa brought . . .

Ward and Ann Park also had a great time playing with their toys. I think that the biggest hit for Ward was a pirate ship (that took about 1 hour to put together - Ted says that he should have gotten a merit badge after he got it all put together). Ann Park loved all her stuff as well, but the remote-controlled Barbie Corvette was a huge hit as well as all the princess/dress-up things. Of course, their biggest present is something that they don't quite understand at this point, but will LOVE when we get there - DISNEY! I know, I am insane, but every kid should experience Disney. And I think that their ages are perfect because they still believe in magic!