More Helpers

I just wanted to recognize the Lord and his goodness. He takes care of his children and I am so thankful. Once again, I found myself asking God for helpers. He sent my Mom this time.

I have been feeling so rotten with this pregnancy and totally drained of energy. Mom took 3 days from her hectic schedule and drove down to help me with the children. Before she got here I told her the house was clean and the laundry was pretty much caught up. She laughed at my laundry when she looked at it. Her claim was that I had about 6 loads or so. To me, that's caught up. I have two laundry sorters that were full, and no piles on the floor. I thought that was great. My definition of "behind" is when the sorters are overflowing, the laundry shoot is full, and I have at least 3 clean loads sitting on my dresser waiting to be folded, and probably need to be rewashed. She entertained the kids, kept their nap schedule in line, cooked diner/lunch, and even man-handled our huge dog, Abe. (Such a bad dog.)

Here I sit, my laundry is completely finished, my house is somehow cleaner than before, and I feel like a load has been lifted. Thank you Lord, and thank you Mom. I feel like throwing up, but life is good.

I know I'm grumpy, and snappy. I feel sorry that Aaron and the children get the bulk of that. Mom saw a little bit of it too. My patience is so worn. I hope to feel better in the upcoming weeks. At some point things will turn around. I find that I am nicer when I get in the Word and continually pray throughout my day. I have to remember to find my joy in the Lord and lean on Him for strength, encouragement, and most of all, PATIENCE!!!! Oh, that patience....it is so hard sometimes.

Little Helper

Aaron has purchased this old farm truck. He thinks it's cool because it has some sort of big engine, it's 4-wheel drive, and it has a "granny gear" - if that means anything. It can climb steep hills quite impressively, I'll give it that. It is kind of cool looking and pretty mechanically sound, but has a long way to go. My sweet husband is practically giddy over it. Christian really gets into helping him fix it, because it needs so much fixing. :)

Hot Day, Hot Pool

The pool hasn't been very refreshing lately, but we swam anyway. Check out how high Aaron is throwing Ben in the air - yikes! Oh, and buy the way, this pool is "The Bomb!!" It looks as tacky as can be but we have totally enjoyed it. Just a little Wal-Mart pool......and worth every penny.

BUT, I think it may be a little embarrassing to my Dad, who owns a pool company. He builds the really nice in-ground pools that we can't afford-even with the family discount. If anyone wants a nice pool, you can check him out HERE. He really does build a perfect pool, and not just because he is my Daddy.

Canvas Wraps

So I took a load of pictures today of the boys. We can do these really cool canvas prints and wrap them around a wood frame up at the shop - like this. A lot of people don't know that we do them, and we are just now trying to push the product. I thought it would be a good idea to get some pictures of the kids and create these canvas wraps for all the customers to see when they come into the store. Of course I want to use them at home as well. I am really trying to control myself, but I am dying to get a photo gallery going down the hallway of the kids and spotlight them with some really cool lighting. Blah, blah, blah, so here are the pictures I took. (Mom, I know how you love to rip pictures off the blog and stick them on your facebook page, but I can e-mail them to you if you want better quality.)

Last Spring

I have had these pictures since spring but haven't had access to them. They have been on the office computer the whole summer and I just can't seem to remember to bring them home. So, here is last spring. Not a success. Very little smiling.

Woo Hooooo

No more diapers!!! Ben is done...well, okay, almost done. He does still wear one at night. Big Boy Ben by Day and Diaper Ben by Night-I'm good with that. I really didn't push the matter. We tried some, it didn't click. We stopped. We tried again, it didn't work. We stopped. Third time is a charm. It really didn't take much effort at all. He just understood it.

Wow, the differences between Child #1 and Child #2. Not so much in the children themselves, but in the MUCH more relaxed parenting methods. With Christian, at 2 1/2, it was "Okay, it's time and we are going to do this no matter what." Failure wasn't an option. I set out to potty train him and I was not going to quit until it happened. So sorry Christian, you are my little guinea pig, it's true. I'm learning through you.

I can remember how crazy I was about walking, crawling, sitting up, eating, and all the other baby milestones. My baby must be the smartest and the best!!! He He, I was so goofy - very different from the current Me. Poor third baby, when you get here I will probably forget to feed you and change your diaper....and most likely discourage you from any type of mobilization. Just kidding, of course. :)

Addition

Well, it looks like we are going to have another "Little Nutt" running around! I am about 3 months pregnant and feeling like total C.R.A.P. Truthfully, it is so refreshing to be sick. I am reminded through nausea that it's a viable pregnancy, and that is so good. Thank you Lord, for blessing our family once again. I'm not sure if it's totally okay to say "Crap" and "Lord" in the same paragraph....

I am excited to be blogging during this pregnancy, so I can do a better job documenting the good, the bad, and the ugly.

Oh, and speaking of bad; I broke my tailbone last Monday night. It was dark, and I am clumsy- a dangerous combination. Aaron had to take an entire week off of work and take care of the kids while I was laid up. It's humbling to have to ask my husband to put on my underwear, pants, shave my legs....help me sit/get up off the toilet.... Christian learned how to load the dishwasher. Of course I freaked out and called the Doctor in case you were wondering. She basically told me that the baby is great but that I am going to have to take it easy and try to stay in comfortable positions. Ha. Comfortable positions? I couldn't take any decent drugs due to the pregnancy. Tylenol was my best friend, and a really sorry friend at that. Tylenol is a pathetic excuse for a pain reliever....and my pregnancy anger is starting to come through.....

Subject change, Christian wants a baby sister, or so he says. I think the thoughts of another Ben are a little scary for him. Ben is indifferent. They have been looking at old albums from when they were a baby and starting to grasp that there will be another one soon. Ben is surprisingly sweet with babies. He pets them like little puppies, and even talks "baby talk." I don't know where he got that because neither Aaron or I are "baby talking" kind of people.

One more thing while I am rambling; We were in the grocery store the other day and Christian notice a baby drinking out of a bottle. He found this very disturbing and began to ask questions very loudly.

"Momma, why dat baby drinkin' juice?"

"Momma, babies don't drink juice!"

(I am trying to ignore him until I can make it down the next isle to answer his questions)

"But Momma! Babies post to drink THESE!" (he starts pointing to my breasts, frantically. He was desperate for me to confirm that he was right, and all I could do was walk faster and faster - must get away form the juice baby!!!)

After we turned the corner I assured him that babies are suppose to drink "THESE" and that it's okay for older babies to have juice. This baby that caused all the commotion was probably 8 months old or better, but to him it was still a baby......just another day with a curious child.

Bucket List

There are two things that Aaron has always said he wanted to do;

1. Become a self made millionaire by the age of 25.

2. Sing in a southern gospel group.

Congratulations honey, we are millionaires!!! ..............um, or not.

He was asked to sing in a quartet about 1 or 2 months ago. I am very proud of him. You can check out the group HERE.

Just so you know, you look really HOT on stage.