"His mercies are new every morning; great is your faithfulness." Lamentations 3:23
Wednesday, January 9, 2013
A New Little Blessing in the New Year!
Expecting our third little blessing 7/7/13!
"His mercies are new every morning; great is your faithfulness." Lamentations 3:23
"His mercies are new every morning; great is your faithfulness." Lamentations 3:23
Thursday, December 27, 2012
Our White Christmas
Merry Christmas to all and to all a goodnight!
Thursday, December 20, 2012
Family Funnies
(Camdyn pulls her lamp off her night stand)
Grayson: "Camdyn, why did you do that? We need to talk about this choice you just made!"
Brad: "Grayson, what do you want to be when you grow up?"
Grayson: "A referee!"
Brad: "You want to be a referee when you grow up?"
Grayson (with a super concerned, sad look on his face): "But, I can't, I don't have a whistle"
(I really wanted Grayson and Camdyn to wear coordinating Halloween costumes this year because I knew it would be my last year for Grayson to still think it was somewhat cool to dress up with his baby sister. But, it took some brainstorming to figure out an idea that suited him.)
Me: "You could be Pebbles and Bam-Bam from the Flintstones?"
Grayson: "No."
Me: "You could be a magician and Camdyn could be the rabbit you pull out of your hat?"
Grayson: "No."
Me: "You could be a banana and Camdyn could be a monkey?"
Grayson: "That'd be so funny!"
And it was! :)
(Brad was eating a piece of candy)
Grayson: "Daddy, did you go poo-poo?"
(Still haven't quite figured out how to phase out our potty training reward system. Frankly, if it keeps it in the potty, I'll give him candy till he's 18 :)
(After I did something kind of scatter brained, it's such a frequent occurrence that I can't even remember what it was)
Grayson: "Not again, wife!"
(I think he's been hanging out with his Daddy a little too much)
(I was trying to fasten his car seat with his bulky winter clothes on, which was making the belt too tight around his crotch area)
Grayson: "It's too tight! My tee-tee is just too big Mommy!"
Me: "Peace out homey G!"
Grayson: "Peace out homey H!"
Grayson: "I wish I was five already Mommy!"
Me: "Grayson, you just stop growing up on me so fast."
Grayson: "Mommy, that's life!"
Grayson: "Mommy, when is it going to snow so we can make a snowman?"
Me: "I don't know buddy, it doesn't really snow much in Texas."
Grayson: "Then, why do we choose to live here?"
Since everyone says "Hi, Baby" to Camdyn, she has assumed it is just the normal, accepted greeting for everyone, so she has started going around saying, "Hi, baby" to everyone (man, woman, child or dog).
Camdyn has also learned to say "Amen" at the end of prayers. She has even gotten to where she picks up on our cues of when we're finishing up and she likes to yell it out before anyone else has the chance to say it.
Brad: "I think we might get more calls from teachers about Camdyn than Grayson."
Me: "Really, why?"
Brad: "I don't know, she just kind of has that look, 'I don't care who you are or what you say, I'm going to do my own thing."
Me: "Are you sure it's not just the crazy baby hair that makes you think that?"
Brad: "That and how she screams at the top of her lungs if she doesn't get her way."
That's all for now folks!
Grayson: "Camdyn, why did you do that? We need to talk about this choice you just made!"
Brad: "Grayson, what do you want to be when you grow up?"
Grayson: "A referee!"
Brad: "You want to be a referee when you grow up?"
Grayson (with a super concerned, sad look on his face): "But, I can't, I don't have a whistle"
(I really wanted Grayson and Camdyn to wear coordinating Halloween costumes this year because I knew it would be my last year for Grayson to still think it was somewhat cool to dress up with his baby sister. But, it took some brainstorming to figure out an idea that suited him.)
Me: "You could be Pebbles and Bam-Bam from the Flintstones?"
Grayson: "No."
Me: "You could be a magician and Camdyn could be the rabbit you pull out of your hat?"
Grayson: "No."
Me: "You could be a banana and Camdyn could be a monkey?"
Grayson: "That'd be so funny!"
And it was! :)
(Brad was eating a piece of candy)
Grayson: "Daddy, did you go poo-poo?"
(Still haven't quite figured out how to phase out our potty training reward system. Frankly, if it keeps it in the potty, I'll give him candy till he's 18 :)
(After I did something kind of scatter brained, it's such a frequent occurrence that I can't even remember what it was)
Grayson: "Not again, wife!"
(I think he's been hanging out with his Daddy a little too much)
(I was trying to fasten his car seat with his bulky winter clothes on, which was making the belt too tight around his crotch area)
Grayson: "It's too tight! My tee-tee is just too big Mommy!"
Me: "Peace out homey G!"
Grayson: "Peace out homey H!"
Grayson: "I wish I was five already Mommy!"
Me: "Grayson, you just stop growing up on me so fast."
Grayson: "Mommy, that's life!"
Grayson: "Mommy, when is it going to snow so we can make a snowman?"
Me: "I don't know buddy, it doesn't really snow much in Texas."
Grayson: "Then, why do we choose to live here?"
Since everyone says "Hi, Baby" to Camdyn, she has assumed it is just the normal, accepted greeting for everyone, so she has started going around saying, "Hi, baby" to everyone (man, woman, child or dog).
Camdyn has also learned to say "Amen" at the end of prayers. She has even gotten to where she picks up on our cues of when we're finishing up and she likes to yell it out before anyone else has the chance to say it.
Brad: "I think we might get more calls from teachers about Camdyn than Grayson."
Me: "Really, why?"
Brad: "I don't know, she just kind of has that look, 'I don't care who you are or what you say, I'm going to do my own thing."
Me: "Are you sure it's not just the crazy baby hair that makes you think that?"
Brad: "That and how she screams at the top of her lungs if she doesn't get her way."
That's all for now folks!
Wednesday, December 19, 2012
Christmas Traditions
I don't spend a lot of time blogging about Advent because there are moms out there far more creative than me who can offer so many more resources for those searching for ideas. And maybe it's because I get slightly cynical about how much emphasis we put on Christmas, when Easter often gets swept under the rug. But, living in the culture we live in, Christmas is going to be a big deal to our kids whether it's because of Jesus or all the many other things the world says Christmas is about.
This is our first year to actually celebrate Christmas in our own home with only our immediate family, which means it was the first year we have actually really looked at what we wanted Christmas to look like for us. Thanks to those super crafty, creative moms out there who take the time to blog and share about what they do, this is what we've come up with....
We kicked off Advent (Dec. 1) this year by putting a new Christmas DVD in the kids' stockings. We gave them "Why do we call it Christmas?" by Veggie Tales creator Phil Vischer. It is such a neat video! It explains so simply where so many of our Christmas traditions come from (Santa, trees, presents, stockings, ect)and how each one points back to Jesus. I, personally, learned so much! :)
http://truthinthetinsel.com
This is a link to 25 days of printable devotionals designed for toddlers through early elementary kids. It has scripture each day that takes you through a small part of the events leading up to Christ's birth. It also has an ornament to make each day to accompany the devotionals. You have the option to purchase printable ornaments if you don't think you're organized enough to keep up with all the supplies (which is what we did.) Grayson has LOVED this and it has been so perfect for him. He can't wait each morning to make that day's ornament to put on his little Christmas tree he has. It is well worth the few dollars it costs and can be used again year after year!
I also wrap 12 children's Christmas books about Jesus' birth or the Christian message about Christmas. Grayson and Camdyn open one each day during the 12 days leading up to Christmas. Many moms do 25 books, but instead of trying to keep up with library books and such, I've just slowly been adding to our permanent collection. This is a really fun tradition because Camdyn can also participate, and let's face it, kids LOVE to open presents!
Tonight, I wrapped the kids' Christmas presents. They will each have three presents to open Christmas morning, which we've explained to Grayson that they will receive only three because that is how many presents Jesus got (of course this does not count presents from grandparents and aunts and uncles who insist on spoiling them rotten :). When the materialism of Christmas creeps in (which of course it's bound to), we respond simply with, "It's not your birthday!" :)
http://bradandhaleysmith.blogspot.com/2011/12/is-santa-coming-to-town.html
This is a post from last year about how we've chosen to handle Santa in our family.
Our prayer is that the Christmas traditions that we are starting now with our children would be something that instills in them at a young age a lasting love for our Lord and Savior!
Merry Christmas to our amazing family and friends! Thank you for the way you bless our lives!
This is our first year to actually celebrate Christmas in our own home with only our immediate family, which means it was the first year we have actually really looked at what we wanted Christmas to look like for us. Thanks to those super crafty, creative moms out there who take the time to blog and share about what they do, this is what we've come up with....
We kicked off Advent (Dec. 1) this year by putting a new Christmas DVD in the kids' stockings. We gave them "Why do we call it Christmas?" by Veggie Tales creator Phil Vischer. It is such a neat video! It explains so simply where so many of our Christmas traditions come from (Santa, trees, presents, stockings, ect)and how each one points back to Jesus. I, personally, learned so much! :)
http://truthinthetinsel.com
This is a link to 25 days of printable devotionals designed for toddlers through early elementary kids. It has scripture each day that takes you through a small part of the events leading up to Christ's birth. It also has an ornament to make each day to accompany the devotionals. You have the option to purchase printable ornaments if you don't think you're organized enough to keep up with all the supplies (which is what we did.) Grayson has LOVED this and it has been so perfect for him. He can't wait each morning to make that day's ornament to put on his little Christmas tree he has. It is well worth the few dollars it costs and can be used again year after year!
I also wrap 12 children's Christmas books about Jesus' birth or the Christian message about Christmas. Grayson and Camdyn open one each day during the 12 days leading up to Christmas. Many moms do 25 books, but instead of trying to keep up with library books and such, I've just slowly been adding to our permanent collection. This is a really fun tradition because Camdyn can also participate, and let's face it, kids LOVE to open presents!
Tonight, I wrapped the kids' Christmas presents. They will each have three presents to open Christmas morning, which we've explained to Grayson that they will receive only three because that is how many presents Jesus got (of course this does not count presents from grandparents and aunts and uncles who insist on spoiling them rotten :). When the materialism of Christmas creeps in (which of course it's bound to), we respond simply with, "It's not your birthday!" :)
http://bradandhaleysmith.blogspot.com/2011/12/is-santa-coming-to-town.html
This is a post from last year about how we've chosen to handle Santa in our family.
Our prayer is that the Christmas traditions that we are starting now with our children would be something that instills in them at a young age a lasting love for our Lord and Savior!
Thursday, October 18, 2012
Family Funnies
Brad and I had the wonderful opportunity to go to Cabo this summer just the two of us. One thing we did there was go deep sea fishing. Before we got on the boat...
Brad: "Maybe we should stop to buy some Dramamine?"
Me: "Nah, I've never been motion sick in my life." (If our life was a movie, there would have been some dooms day music played here)
About an hour into our five hour fishing trip...
Me: "I don't feel good" :(
Lucky for me, I felt miserable until we had only 45 minutes left when I finally puked over the side of the boat five times. Ironically, Brad got mad at me for not getting our 130lbs catch fully in this photo, but I told him my primarily goal at that moment was just to not throw up on him or the fish :)
After seeing photos of our Marlin, Grayson had been begging us to take him fishing, so one Friday night we went to our friends' Matt and Rachel's neighborhood to fish. Grayson was so excited when he caught a fish, but was very disappointed when we made him release it.
Grayson: "But, I really wanted to take him home and cut him up and eat him."
Brad: "Buddy, that wouldn't even be enough meat for a chicken nugget."
At another point during our fishing excursion, Grayson threw his line backwards and it got stuck in a tree.
Grayson: "Look! I caught a tree!" (followed up by his cute little victory dance)
"Mr. Matt" also let Grayson fall into the pond three separate times that night (yep, we blame Matt) :) So, Grayson definitely had to ride home naked.
Oh the memories we're making!
Other Grayson Greatness
(I decided during one of our recent frequent trips to Chick-Fil-A to order Grayson grilled chicken nuggets instead of the normal fried ones.)
Grayson: "Mommy! There's something wrong with my chicken nuggets!"
(Lesson learned: if you want them to eat grilled, you have to start them off on grilled cause once they get a taste of the good stuff, there's no turning back.)
Grayson: "Mommy, you and Daddy have brown hair."
Me: "That's true. We are brunettes. Do you know what color your hair is?"
Grayson: "No."
Me: "You're blonde, well dirty blonde."
Grayson: "I'm not dirty, I'm clean!"
Grayson: "Mommy, you're going to die." (Don't ask how this morbid conversation started cause I don't know.)
Me: "That's true Grayson. Someday we're all going to die."
Grayson: "Yeah, but you're going to die soon."
Me: "Well, I hope I get to live until I'm really old."
Grayson: "But, you ARE really old Mommy."
Grayson: "Daddy, where do boogers come from?"
(I walked out in a skirt and top to go to my 10-year high-school reunion -- I guess I am old)
Grayson: "Mommy, that's a little bit too short." (with a very concerned look on his face)
Keep in mind, it was all of an inch above my knee, but good to know he'll keep me modest :)
(We were driving home late one night.)
Grayson: "Can we stop to get a drink at Sonic?" (Can you tell whose child he is?)
Brad: "Buddy, it's so far past your bedtime, it's not even funny."
Grayson: "It's a little bit funny."
Camdyn Cuteness
While our "Little Miss Thing" doesn't have enough words to make too many funny stories yet, she is still showing us her personality in her own little one-year-old way.
She already gives meaner looks than what I've seen most adults make. Just ask the nurse who tried wave bye to her after giving her her vaccinations. I'd say the look was worth a thousand words. "Seriously lady, you think I'm gonna smile at you after that?"
When I took Grayson to pre-school story time at the library, Camdyn crawled right in the middle of the circle to listen and participate. During every song, she would find her way to the middle of the circle to dance for everyone. One-year-old and already a ham!
She did start walking at 12 1/2 months, but literally, every time I pull out the camera to capture it on film, she drops to crawl, which is why you won't see that milestone recorded here.....she likes to be difficult.
And all the things I've always chalked up to Grayson being "all boy," Camdyn is doing the same things. So, we've come to the conclusion that we must just make really crazy children. Although our house feels like controlled chaos most of the time, we love every minute of it! Our beautiful, crazy children are either keeping us young or giving us pre-mature gray hair (maybe both)!
Thanks to everyone to keeps up with my random, sporadic blog posts!
Brad: "Maybe we should stop to buy some Dramamine?"
Me: "Nah, I've never been motion sick in my life." (If our life was a movie, there would have been some dooms day music played here)
About an hour into our five hour fishing trip...
Me: "I don't feel good" :(
Lucky for me, I felt miserable until we had only 45 minutes left when I finally puked over the side of the boat five times. Ironically, Brad got mad at me for not getting our 130lbs catch fully in this photo, but I told him my primarily goal at that moment was just to not throw up on him or the fish :)
After seeing photos of our Marlin, Grayson had been begging us to take him fishing, so one Friday night we went to our friends' Matt and Rachel's neighborhood to fish. Grayson was so excited when he caught a fish, but was very disappointed when we made him release it.
Grayson: "But, I really wanted to take him home and cut him up and eat him."
Brad: "Buddy, that wouldn't even be enough meat for a chicken nugget."
At another point during our fishing excursion, Grayson threw his line backwards and it got stuck in a tree.
Grayson: "Look! I caught a tree!" (followed up by his cute little victory dance)
"Mr. Matt" also let Grayson fall into the pond three separate times that night (yep, we blame Matt) :) So, Grayson definitely had to ride home naked.
Oh the memories we're making!
Other Grayson Greatness
(I decided during one of our recent frequent trips to Chick-Fil-A to order Grayson grilled chicken nuggets instead of the normal fried ones.)
Grayson: "Mommy! There's something wrong with my chicken nuggets!"
(Lesson learned: if you want them to eat grilled, you have to start them off on grilled cause once they get a taste of the good stuff, there's no turning back.)
Grayson: "Mommy, you and Daddy have brown hair."
Me: "That's true. We are brunettes. Do you know what color your hair is?"
Grayson: "No."
Me: "You're blonde, well dirty blonde."
Grayson: "I'm not dirty, I'm clean!"
Grayson: "Mommy, you're going to die." (Don't ask how this morbid conversation started cause I don't know.)
Me: "That's true Grayson. Someday we're all going to die."
Grayson: "Yeah, but you're going to die soon."
Me: "Well, I hope I get to live until I'm really old."
Grayson: "But, you ARE really old Mommy."
Grayson: "Daddy, where do boogers come from?"
(I walked out in a skirt and top to go to my 10-year high-school reunion -- I guess I am old)
Grayson: "Mommy, that's a little bit too short." (with a very concerned look on his face)
Keep in mind, it was all of an inch above my knee, but good to know he'll keep me modest :)
(We were driving home late one night.)
Grayson: "Can we stop to get a drink at Sonic?" (Can you tell whose child he is?)
Brad: "Buddy, it's so far past your bedtime, it's not even funny."
Grayson: "It's a little bit funny."
Camdyn Cuteness
She already gives meaner looks than what I've seen most adults make. Just ask the nurse who tried wave bye to her after giving her her vaccinations. I'd say the look was worth a thousand words. "Seriously lady, you think I'm gonna smile at you after that?"
When I took Grayson to pre-school story time at the library, Camdyn crawled right in the middle of the circle to listen and participate. During every song, she would find her way to the middle of the circle to dance for everyone. One-year-old and already a ham!
She did start walking at 12 1/2 months, but literally, every time I pull out the camera to capture it on film, she drops to crawl, which is why you won't see that milestone recorded here.....she likes to be difficult.
And all the things I've always chalked up to Grayson being "all boy," Camdyn is doing the same things. So, we've come to the conclusion that we must just make really crazy children. Although our house feels like controlled chaos most of the time, we love every minute of it! Our beautiful, crazy children are either keeping us young or giving us pre-mature gray hair (maybe both)!
Tuesday, August 28, 2012
Uno!
Our baby girl celebrated her First Birthday last week! We didn't have a party for her (I know, we're bad parents!) We realized after Grayson's first birthday that having a party for a one year old is really more about the parents than the child. And as the parents, we just don't want to deal with the stress of a party until she is old enough to appreciate it (maybe age 3?) :) Luckily for Camdyn, various things brought several of our family members to our house in the days surrounding her birthday, so she was plenty spoiled with gifts from grandparents and aunts and uncles!
And of course we let her experience the wonderful rite of passage of shoving cake in her face! And because she is already pretty much obsessed with food and eating (although you would never know it by her little petite size), it didn't take her long to dive in! I think the best part was when she decided to poop while she was eating the cake, which made for pretty much a disastrous bathing experience because she was covered in nastiness from head to toe!
I'm not walking yet although I'm still fast enough to get into all kinds of trouble (like regularly trying to eat dog food and removing each tip from every door stop in the house.) I am little miss independent. I don't really love to cuddle or be held; I'm way too busy exploring the world for that kind of non-sense. I am expanding my vocabulary daily with my first official word at 11 months (uh-oh). I've since added "Da-Dee," "Ma-Ma" (although I think this one means "more" because I don't usually say it in correlation with mom, but usually with food),"Hi," "Bye," "Ta" (for our dog Tag), "Yay," "Yum," "Sop" (Stop - an important one to know when it comes to my big brother and Grandma's pesky dog), and "Tanks" (Thanks). My Daddy already has me trained at giving out high-fives. I adore my big brother; he is the only one who can always get me to grin even when I'm at my grumpiest. On the rare days when I wake up before him, I quickly find my way back to his room and bang on his door until he comes out. I'm growing by the day and my parents are soaking in every minute of it! I am one loved little girl!
Our sweet one year old! What a joy you are in our lives! What a testament of God's perfect plan and unending faithfulness! We love you Camdyn McLaine!
And of course we let her experience the wonderful rite of passage of shoving cake in her face! And because she is already pretty much obsessed with food and eating (although you would never know it by her little petite size), it didn't take her long to dive in! I think the best part was when she decided to poop while she was eating the cake, which made for pretty much a disastrous bathing experience because she was covered in nastiness from head to toe!
Our sweet one year old! What a joy you are in our lives! What a testament of God's perfect plan and unending faithfulness! We love you Camdyn McLaine!
Friday, July 13, 2012
Just a little tid bit from our sweet life
A little comedy from our boy who always keeps us laughing...
Brad: "Grayson, did you know that God made you special? He put you together in Mommy's tummy!"
Grayson: "But, how did God get in Mommy's tummy? And did he have tools? Did he use a hammer and nails to build me?"
Brad came through the living room and lovingly slapped me on the butt.
Grayson: "Mommy, Daddy just spanked you and grown-ups don't get spankings."
Brad: "Where do you want to eat?"
Haley: "I was thinking about C-H-I-C-K-F-I-L-A."
Grayson: "I was thinking about O-R-G-J-T."
Grayson: "Mommy, my monkey is going to get 55 spankings for not listening, for messing up my room, for not sharing, for not being kind.... Mommy, is it okay if I give my monkey 55 spankings?"
Me: "Sure, buddy!"
(For the record, we've never given him 55 spankings :) but I guess he feels the need to exert his authority over somebody)
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