Oh Blessed Nap Time

Today is one of those days that reminds me that I probably wouldn't be able to handle another toddler. Little Miss has been pushing her boundaries and I have been pushing back and nap time couldn't have come quick enough! She is really testing the waters! If I had another little one those waters would be over my head! I'm barely staying afloat as it is!

Some of the really cute things that she is busy doing now (and I know everyone wants to know, but this is mostly to help me recall when I get a chance to work on her scrapbook:) include:

• She is constantly having to kiss me. She can't walk into the other room without hunting me down and kissing me so sweetly on the cheek. The kid couldn't pay attention at gymnastics last night because she was too busy kissing me.
• For those of you who have not had the extreme pleasure of watching The Wiggles 500 TIMES a day, you might not know Jeff. He suffers from narcolepsy because he is "always falling asleep". The other 3 guys are constantly having to wake him up and that is Emma's favorite part. She is going around yelling "1,2, Wake up Jeff", but it sounds more like "da, da, waaaaaa". She loves it when you pretend to be Jeff and let her wake you up. It never gets old!
• When she has to tell me something, she pulls my face down to hers and tells me whatever it is (I swear the child is speaking Chinese.) and then cuts her eyes to place much emphasis on it. It's hilarious.
• Playing the guitar and singing her songs. Again, in Chinese.
• She is counting when she goes up and down the steps and you can understand 1 and 2, then you are on your own.
• Telling me to "be careful", but it comes out sounding like "be awful".
• "DOE" She is constantly telling me this, which when interpreted means NO. This is her new favorite word.

So as you can see, the girl is busy. She continues to want to climb on the counter and rummage around as well. We have found her with her table pulled up to it about to climb on! She also continues to suffer from her clepto habits. After cleaning Brady's room today I found 3 guitar picks and a AAA battery in her pocket. She was too cute when she realized she had been busted!

She had an appointment with the orthopedic surgeon regarding her feet yesterday and he was pleased with what he saw. She doesn't have to go back for 2 years!

Prayer Request and Adoption Fundraiser

I would like to request that you all pray for our friends Jason and Erica. You can link to their blog from ours www.reedadoption.blogspot.com/ and see their story. They have just returned home with their precious daughter from Ethiopia after going through so much to finally get there. Their story is amazing. They have just found out that their beautiful new daughter has a heart defect that is very serious and she stands in need of our prayers. When you look at her smiling face with the biggest, brightest eyes in the world, you can't believe that she is sick. Please lift them up in your prayers and pray that God will heal her little body and give them the strength to get through all of this. We need a miracle and God is still in the miracle business.



Also, my friend Amy and her husband Mitchell have decided to adopt from South Korea and have a fundraiser for you coffee lovers out there. Visit their site at www.justlovecoffee.com/TheCrains and order some delicious coffee and help them bring home their litle darling. You can visit their blog at www.aquietheart-amy.blogspot.com/.

What Was I Thinking?

I'm seeing a trend in my ability to update my blog. It's on my list of things to do everyday but for some reason (32 pounds, 3 feet tall, cute as a button) I can't seem to get it done. By the time the evening rolls around I'm exhausted and can't make complete sentences.


We had a great Thanksgiving with lots of yummy food at Aunt Pam's house. She even made sweet potato casserole especially for me and it was great. When you mix nuts, coconut, butter, and brown sugar together, what's not to like?



We managed to get the Christmas trees up over the weekend. Emma helped. She hasn't really shown much interest in the tree which is a good thing. I'm hoping that they manage to remain intact until Christmas.


I did do a little black Friday shopping and was pleased with my outcome. I had my eye on the Disney Musical Vanity that Target had on sale that morning. I am pretty sure that I snagged the last one and I found it sitting alone in the housewares aisle. I'm sure someone just sat it down there and in all fairness I did look around to see if it belonged to someone. That someone turned out to be me. I then stood in line for approximately an hour and waited to check out. Target had several things strategically located in that line and I managed to grab a few other good deals. I made a quick trip to Walmart for the Fisher Price Barbie Jeep, but alas there were none to be had. They had plenty of the Hot Wheels Jeep for the same price so our girl is going to be styling in her boy jeep. She will not care as long as she can drive it.



Flash forward to yesterday and that is where I got the title for today's post. Yesterday she and I headed to our therapy appointment as well as several errands. Those errands included some much needed grocery shopping after our speech appointment. Much needed in that we were out of milk, bread, grapes, bananas, and most importantly half/half. Now I don't want my kids to go without the staples of life, but really it's all about me. If I don't have 2-3 cups of coffee in the morning with some half/half then mommy the great becomes Mommy Dearest and it ain't pretty. Emma was in a good mood and we headed to Kroger with list and coupons in hand. Apparently there is a shortage of the precious car carts at our local Kroger and as we went in I saw another mom taking the last one. She was pretty skinny and I probably could have taken her, but what kind of example is that for my daughter. Well, I decided that it would be the perfect day for Emma to push her own little cart. She was so excited and off we went. We headed to the produce aisle and got our fruit and Emma managed to run over my ankles a couple of times. She thought that was hysterical, but overall was doing a good job steering her little cart around the store and looking adorable doing it. Oh, wait a minute. Did I mention that the first Wednesday of every month is Senior Citizens day at Kroger? Well, doesn't that make the story more intriguing? Emma refuses to look up while driving her cart and only wants to look at her feet. That can prove to be very dangerous for elderly folks who are in her way. We did manage to avoid breaking any hips and things were actually going rather well until Emma spotted the strategically placed sucker bouquets located at the end of the aisle and that's when it all went south. Suddenly my little helper turned in to my little demon child and was determined that those suckers had found a new home and that was in her arms. I managed to convince her to put them in her little cart and eventually we made it to the check out lane after navigating through lots of blue haired ladies. Emma was then determined that she didn't need to stand by mom and off she went. I finally rounded her back up while attempting to locate my missing Kroger card. Have no clue where it is! Well, finally we had finished. Oh, I also failed to mention that yesterday was a very rainy day in our area. Emma loved her rain coat until it was time to actually put it back on and head out of the store. She was determined that she as not going to wear it while pushing her little cart with the one little bag of suckers in it. I was determined that she was and the screaming began (her, not me - I was silently cursing the rain, the suckers, the world). I finally decided that I had had enough and grabbed my sweet little angel and her suckers and out we went with her screaming and me fearing that I might be stopped by a cop any minute. Yes, officer, she is my daughter! So the moral to the story is, shop at midnight when there are no blue hairs, there are no sucker deprived 2 year olds, and you have the place to yourself! Oh, and I'm contacting Kroger's corporate office to see why they can't provide more than one car cart!



For some reason, Emma decided that eating off of the floor was a good idea Sunday afternoon. I found her eating her left over turkey and happy as she could be.

Helping with the Christmas decorating.

This child loves her Blues Clues costume.

A Season of Thanksgiving

I have spent some time over the last few days thinking about this particular holiday. I think that Thanksgiving has gotten a bad deal. It seems like we go straight from Halloween to Christmas and Thanksgiving just gets overlooked. The radio stations are already playing Christmas music and I just refuse to listen to it until after Thanksgiving. I also will NOT shop on Thanksgiving day. I don't think there should be any retailers that are open on Thanksgiving. It's not fair for the employees and I refuse to be a patron of any of those stores. As a nurse, I have no choice in the matter when I have to work holidays, but I think retailers need to rethink their policies. Okay, off of my soapbox. I just don't think that Thanksgiving gets the respect that it deserves.



I know that we are all so thankful for many of the same things. When I think of all of the things that I could talk about I of course think about my wonderful family. I think about my 3 great kids. Yes, they can be a real pain at times. Even that cute little girl of mine:) When I have watched The Wiggles 10 times in a day it can get old. And those boys of mine. When I have to pick up their stinky socks and underwear and clean their stinky toilets and ask them for the hundredth time to please do this and that (fill in the blank), it does get old. But the reality of it all is that God has blessed me with 3 kids. Not just 3 kids, THESE 3 kids and they are 3 of the greatest kids ever. Yes, I tire of picking up clothes and cleaning toilets, etc, but that just means that my kids have clothes to wear and a house that has a toilet (4 to be exact) and a mom that has the privilege of being home with my children and taking care of them. Granted, if I never had to scrub another toilet I wouldn't complain:)



When I think about how many people in this country alone that don't have enough to eat or clothes on their back, or the ability to take care of their kids in the way that I know they would like too, it's humbling to think that could be any one of us. You never know. But by the Grace of God.........



My kids are healthy. After watching our friends over the last year watch their son suffer with cancer, it makes you realize more just how incredibly thankful you should be for everyday that you are blessed with good health. Tomorrow will be a hard day for so many parents and children as well who have lost their family members. I know that I don't thank God enough for how he has blessed my family. I suspect that I am not alone.



I'm thankful for a husband who works hard to provide for our family. I'm thankful that my kids have a father that loves God and his family and sacrifices many things to take care of us. Another blessing that I know I often take for granted.



I'm thankful for my precious mother. She is not only my mother, but she has become my dearest friend over the last few years. Funny how that can happen. I'm also thankful for my in-laws. They are such good people and have always treated me like one of their own. They are wonderful grandparents to my children and my children are so blessed to have that. My kids are lucky to have 4 grandparents that love them and are Christian examples.



There are so many things that I could post. Friends, job, country, etc. The list goes on and on. But I will conclude with thanking God for salvation above all and thanking Him that I was born in America and given the chance to grow up in a wonderful family. I also thank HIM for allowing us the wonderful privilege of adopting our daughter. She has changed our lives in so many ways. She is so special and I am so blessed.



Happy Thanksgiving.


Getting closer to the dreaded Bear Cat.

"I Got You Babe"

Our Daughter the Clepto

Emma has 2 fingers. That is a well established fact. Everyone wants to know how she manages. Well, let me tell you something. I have found very few things that this girl can't do. She has adapted so well and constantly amazes me. I couldn't be prouder of her.



With that being said, our daughter has become a clepto. Just yesterday I found a paper clip (not the regular kind, the black ones that you put a whole stack of papers in) in her pocket after nap time. She had managed to take it from speech. This morning Bo couldn't find his keys or his cell phone. The keys have been a problem all week. He couldn't find them Tuesday morning and falsely accused the boys of having them. After being locked out of the house that evening while I was at the ballgame, the lost keys became more important. He finally found them in the console of his car. WOW! Who would have thought to look there. Well, this morning the keys were gone again. Somewhere in my tired little mind I remembered hearing Emma playing with something that sounded like keys last night while I was half asleep on the couch. Well, the keys were eventually located this morning in the cab of her ride on truck. Also found there was Bo's cell phone. The girl knows that you can't drive without keys and a cell phone. You think kids aren't paying attention to our every move:)



So what will my little clepto take today?


I love these little p.j.'s. Emma refuses to wear socks to bed and her feet are always cold. I finally found some footie pajamas at Old Navy and she was too funny trying to figure them out.

I found Emma playing in her little doll bed one day last week. She had tossed the rabbits that reside there out on their floppy little ears and moved in. While she was there she decided she might need her shoes on. She was so focused on trying to tie these shoes.

Alfred Hitchcock May Have Known Something

Okay, for the last 2 weeks I have been tormented by a mocking bird that is constantly attacking my office door. He has made an enormous mess, he has scratched the window, pooped all over the porch railing, the porch, the rocking chair, etc. He is CRAZY WILD. Not being satisfied with only the house, he has begun to attack my car and the drivers side mirror. Not being satisfied with only one car, he began attacking Bo's car. This bird is deranged and if it wasn't illegal to kill our beloved state bird, well, you know what might happen.......I believe he would attack me if given the chance. Well, then it would be self defense, right?


We have been busy as usual. Our weekend consisted of Brady attending a youth camp with one of the local churches. He had a blast. Ashton hung out with friends and Bo and I discussed how old we have gotten. I remember when the kids wanted to stay home with us and now they are constantly on the road. Thank goodness for sweet Emma. Her turn is coming.


On Sunday we attended a different church to hear Mr. Edgar Harrell speak. He is one of the survivors of the USS Indianapolis and he gave an amazing account of that event and the providence of God. It was very moving and I am thrilled that we got to hear him speak. He and his son have written a book, Out of the Depths, and I am enjoying reading it. If you are the least bit interested in history and the events surrounding WWII, this book is very interesting.


Our week so far has consisted of basketball and more basketball. Ashton played last night and scored 7 points in his J.V. game. Unfortunately he didn't get to play Varsity. He understands it, but I know he really wants to play. Hopefully he will get the chance tonight.


Little Miss Emma has become a social butterfly with all of the cheerleaders and ballplayers. The girls are so sweet with her and she just eats it up. She continues to struggle with her strong desire to touch the mascot, Bear Cat, and her intense fear that he may turn on her and eat her alive. Which way will this end?


So nothing too exciting around here. How's your week going?

Catching Up

We survived the weekend and Brady is on the mend. So far the other kids have not come down with the crud although Ashton is fighting a cough and Emma continues to have a rash on her face. I broke down and took her to the doctor yesterday and he said to just continue putting lotion on it and it should get better. This morning her eyes were almost closed due to her face being so puffy and red. She did get in bed later last night after being at the ballgames for several hours so I am attributing some of that to exhaustion. I gave her some Benadryl and I think that has helped some. I will be so glad when her sweet little face clears up.


Ashton had his first ballgame last night and ended up playing for the J.V. team and the Varsity team. He scored 4 points in the J.V. game and 2 in the Varsity game. He seemed to like it and I think he is happy with his decision to change schools. I am. I really like his teachers and the administration of the school.


Emma was entertaining everyone while Ashton played ball. She kept yelling "Bubba" to him but of course he was ignoring her. The funniest part was her with the mascot (a bear cat?). She so wanted to touch the mascot and every time he would come near her she would panic and turn away. It was so cute. She was very brave while he was several feet away from her but not so much when he came near. I attempted to get a picture of her reaching to touch him but it was so short lived that I couldn't get the picture taken quick enough.



So I had a very good weekend in the grocery shopping arena. Kroger and Harris Teeter were running triples and I racked up! I bought $337.11 worth of groceries and spent $153.13. Not a bad deal. I saved $178 in coupons, with my best percentage at Kroger being 76% one stop, 68% on another stop, and 63% on my last stop. My other great deals were at Publix. I LOVE PUBLIX. I bought 6 packages of Nestle cookies for $3. Great to have in the freezer. Some of my favorite free items included:

• Fleischmann's yeast packets
• Land of Lakes spreadable butter (5 containers)
• Star Kist tuna packs
• Kroger brand chips
• Suave deodorant
• Duracell batteries (2 packs)
• Rad Baron pizza singles
• Cover Girl lipstick
• Tic Tac chillers

My really cheap stuff included:

• 5 containers of Welchs juice (.44 cents each)
• Aunt Jamima pancakes
• Dominos brown sugar
• Betty Crocker frosting (.12 cents each)
• Minute Rice (.50 cents)
• Smithfield bacon ($1.14 lb.)

Okay, so enough boring stuff. I am just really proud of my good deals and my freezer and pantry are stocked for some time to come.

During the ballgame Emma managed to snag Pop's hat.

None of my pictures of Ashton are very good. I have not mastered that whole action shot thing.
He's number 5 in case you can't tell.

Dede gave Emma a Blues Clues costume and it is a major HIT. She looked so cute playing in it and Bo managed to get a couple of not so hot pictures. And major news: Emma touched our dog Gypsy (basset hound) on the nose and the ear on Friday. SHOCKER. This is the closet she has ever gotten to her. I was so proud of her and you could tell she was so proud of herself. Of course Gypsy moved just an inch closer to her and Emma jumped up like she was about to be eaten!