A Monday Morning to Remember

If someone would have told me when I was a teenager what I would consider sleeping in one day I would have LAUGHED in their FACE! But this morning, my husband took the day off (poor guy, it is well-deserved!) and let me sleep in!

He got up with the alarm, got dressed and headed upstairs. He proceeded to get the children up and going, dressed and ready. He fed them breakfast and got their lunches packed! Oh, and he had coffee MADE and waiting for me!

I came upstairs, unshowered and still in my pj's at 7:30. (I never do this. I kind of have a policy of getting myself ready for the day before coming upstairs...because if I don't, I most likely never will take a shower or brush my teeth). I found everyone happy and ready!

Jody then took Silas and Hattie to school. Luke rode along. (Jody does this most every morning) Then he took Luke with him to run some errands. This in itself was a HUGE blessing since Luke is driving me crazy lately with a running commentary on life!!!

While they were gone, I fed Millie Grace (and myself) and played with her a little and laid her down for her morning nap. I unloaded and loaded the dishwashers, got a load of clothes going, looked through the mail leisurely, took a shower and got ready, all by myself. It was GREAT!

I thought I'd get my blog done before they came home, but not quite. Jody has come home and put a new battery in his dead, old, truck. And is now going to eat lunch with Silas and Hattie at their school.

Man, what a productive, wonderful Monday morning! Now its time to go play Hungry Hippos with a begging 3yr-old. Hope you guys have a great Monday too!

Wee-wee-wee all the way home

She's on the move! Not walking walking, but man, is Millie Grace cruising! This baby LOVES to clear the coffee table or end tables of whatever is on them. She delights in pulling books and dvd's off of the shelves. As she intently dug into a drawer the other day she fell in it!! She can spot a crumb from across the room. She may only be 6% (yes, 6. Its not a typo) on the growth chart, weighing only 15lbs 7.5 oz, but this gal is a busy body! Cheese is her favorite, but she eats just about anything. I can't believe she is 10 months old!

Saving on Haircuts

Well, it was just time! (this is not an opportunity for Amens from the Stephens...) Luke's hair just needed cutting. I debated on whether or not to take him somewhere or do it myself. If I took him somewhere I'd have to drive there and back at least 25 minutes or more each way and pay like $15 or more.

So I decided to try it. If it didn't work we could go to Jelly Beans or wherever later. I used to cut Silas's hair, but he could sit still. I told Luke if he sat still I would NOT cut his ear and I would give him a sucker. He did great. Cutting curly hair is easy. You can't really mess up since you don't have to have a straight line. Just cut here and there.

The end result...Jody came home and said, "Hey, Lukey, you got a haircut! I love it! Where did you go?" Lukey, "Da front porch!"

Since Jody shaves his in the shower, I don't get mine cut but every 6 months or so, Millie Grace doesn't have much hair yet, Hattie wants hers long, Silas likes his buzzed b/c I don't have to comb it...Luke has just helped us save some money on the Jennings family haircuts.

Pa and the Big Fish

Look how proud my dad is of his fish!!! I'm so proud of my dad! He is SO funny. There are kids at our church still talking about the "scary Roman guard" from VBS because when he does something, he goes all out! The grandkids call him Pa. He rides a Harley. He's a die hard University of Miami fan. He loves God. He loves his family. He's very generous. He doesn't care about what people think about him. He'll wear anything (he wore this t-shirt that said, "I'm so bad I vacation in Detroit" for the longest time). Gosh, I love this guy!!

I pray my kids grow up and follow in his footsteps of Faithfulness to Jesus and doing whatever it takes!
This is a picture taken in Hawkinsville over Labor Day. Its pretty rare to get all four kids sitting in one place without anyone crying!!

An Old Hymn

While visiting Jody's family in Georgia this past weekend we sang this old hymn at Westview Baptist Church in Hawkinsville. I've been thinking about the words and its seems very fitting for the job of a mom. Here's some of the words:

Little is much when God is in it!
Labor not for wealth or fame.
There’s a crown—and you can win it,
If you go in Jesus’ Name.

In the mad rush of the broad way,
In the hurry and the strife,
Tell of Jesus’ love and mercy,
Give to them the Word of Life.

Refrain

Does the place you’re called to labor
Seem too small and little known?
It is great if God is in it,
And He’ll not forget His own.

Actual Conversation

These days I only have Luke and Millie at home with me. Its interesting. Luke is such a handful! I heard Luke telling Millie what to do/not do...I don't remember what he was saying. But here's how it went down...

Me: Luke, don't fuss at the baby please.

Luke: Mom....I'm not fussing at her I'm YELLING at her!

What do you say??

The Eyes Have It

We are truly truly blessed to have been able to celebrate Luke's 3rd birthday this year. After our accident back in May with Luke nearly drowning, this could have been a season I wanted to skip from now on. But, Luke is FULL OF LIFE. He is FUNNY and entertaining and the life of our Jennings Party for sure! He wanted an "eyeball" party so we tried to be creative! We played eye-eye-ball (just like duck-duck-goose) and I-spy. We made an eyeball with model magic. And we had delicious cupcakes, made by my friend Lisa, decorated like eyeballs. Googly eyes, blinking eyes, and window static eyes decorated the tables...I think Luke loved it. I know he did because he said that next year he wants an eyeball party again! Ha!! Here are some fun pictures from the party. I'll post more on facebook later.
I think Luke was trying to see with his model magic eye here.


Silas and the cupcake eyes

Hattie meticulously worked on her project.

Millie Grace wondering what all the fuss is about!


Eye Eye Ball Game




Silly Pa!

"The Students"

My husband works at North Greenville University as a campus minister. We live very close to the campus. Jody LOVES his job. I love it too! My kids are so funny always talking about "the students". They wonder if "the students" have parents or why "the students" have to go to school and stop playing with them.

Its great. Its so good for my kids. They are learning social skills. They have all these big brothers and sisters who love to hear their jokes, get them some icecream in the dining hall, or play sidewalk chalk in our driveway. The see how our home is open to friends.

A new batch of students have come in. The kids and I haven't met too many of them yet, but we sure are glad to have the returning ones back! We LOVE when they stop by on their way to and from campus. We LOVE to have extra dinner guests. I love the qualified babysitters. I love how when we go to the dining hall I have all these extra hands.

The students do so much for us. I hope my kids grow into young people like many of them.

Hospitality is an ongoing life lesson, I think. When we lived in Uganda, I was thrust into this role I wasn't prepared for. Its so easy to just say, I'm tired or we need family time. Both of those are often true, don't get me wrong, but if that is my excuse everytime, I'm being selfish! I've learned that always being ready to make some coffee and sit on the couch is not only what a student might need, but it ministers to my soul too! The dining hall is a great treat for my little family to go to, I don't have to cook or clean, but the students enjoy a home cooked meal, eaten with a family as a treat too.

And I love to cook. I love to bake and not feel guilty about our family eating the whole cake. So I bake when Jody's leadership group comes over every week.

I doubt anyone who stops by my house would say that I have such a clean house. Or that they love the way I decorate. Or that they want 4 kids close together like I have. But I do hope they can say we set an example of sharing willingly what we have. I hope they return the favor someday to friends who stop by their homes and need to talk or have a meal. Besides, its really fun!!

Wordless Wednesday: First Day of School

Socks in the Toilet

If you were a six year old, how would you explain this to your mother??

You know you are a Mother of little ones if....

~When you sit down at the end of the day, you decide that the best part was you dentist appointment.

~You decide that if you learn to drink your drinks unsweetened (coffee, tea...) your kids most likely won't ask you for a sip.

~"Adult Movies" mean ones you watch without kids...it could still be a Disney movie, it just means its Mommy and Daddy's pick!

~You hear yourself saying the same things all day..."Oh, that's great" or "Yes, yes, whatever you want" or "uh-huh"...and you realized you have NO IDEA what the previous statement or question was!

~Being in the bathroom alone is a real treat.

~You hate Candyland. But sidewalk chalk is kind of fun.

~You wouldn't trade any of it!!! Plus you have clean teeth! LOL...I went to the dentist today.

Shopping Options

I'm not a big shopper. I really just don't like it. {Gasp!} I have so many memories of shopping with my mom, sitting under the circular clothes racks and praying I would hear her say, "Lets go, girls!" BUT I have learned some valuable lessons from my mom.

• Go straight to the back of the store, that's where the deals are.
  
• Wait for the BIG sales. You'll see in the paper something like 40% off clearance before 10am
• Go early, get a lot, go home and sort, go back and return.
• Shop out of season and save it for next year. This requires a lot of thinking about what size your kids will be or what size you hope to be yourself...but its so worth it!

Now, my mom does NOT like online shopping (in general). But I think, if done right, its amazing! Today I went to The Children's Place and got TONS of stuff for next summer. They are having their "monster sale". Plus I found a coupon code (it was: FA79) and got an additional 15% off. Shipping was only $5. I also didn't pay more than $7 for a single item.

I went to a huge local consignment sale today with my friend. I saw a bunch of gals from church there also. It was the last day and most stuff was 1/2 off. Now, I know that there was a huge, amazing collection at the beginning of the sale. I had an opportunity to go early as a guest of a consignor (Thanks Megan!) and I probably should have gone then. I didn't find anything to speak of really today. There was still a LOT of stuff, but you had to dig around and I'm just not good at that. I know consignments work well for a lot of people. You can make money and find good stuff. Maybe I need to give it better try next time.

If online shopping continues to work for me, though, I may stick with it. For $5 extra, I can shop without children, without using any gas and without ever stepping into a mall, parking my car or standing in line. Hmmmmmmm. All food for thought.

What's your system?