Madelaine took this after she got Paiz down for a nap yesterday. Her shirt says, "Fun to be me", and most of the time, it is.


I made signs tonight, "We", "Miss", "Dad". I tried to get the kids to hold them up so I could take a pic for Michael, and this is the best I could get.

Paiz didn't quite understand. When I said, "hold it in front of you," I guess that was interpreted 3 different ways.

This cracked me up. Paisley was playing with the dollhouse. She went around to the back and peeked in the window. We all got so tickled at her. I hope there's nobody getting dressed in there!

So for the dog days of summer, we're doing pretty well. We always have so much to be thankful for. Air conditioning, cold water, an icemaker, cool summer clothes, stuff to do inside. No matter what the time of year, we're going to be thankful.

And at 9 in the morning, when Michael gets home, the gratitude will be even greater!

Dog days

Hot. Steamy. Stifling. Muggy.
So many words for our lovely Mississippi weather these days.
Michael, on the other hand, is in Oregon again, enjoying highs of 85 and a nice breeze. He's flying red-eye tonight and will be home in the morning. Last week was New Jersey, the weekend was Tennessee (purely fun, rafting the Ocoee), this week Oregon and next week Jersey again. I love that he's getting to take charge of projects and gets to travel. I'm so proud of what he can do. One of the guys that rafted with him this weekend said that he asked Michael how the water at this plant on the Ocoee can turn into electricity, and Michael explained it very simply and clearly. He's pretty smart like that.

I, apparently, am not quite that smart. I can't figure out what to do around here with the kids when it's too hot to go outside. We've played cards, made collages, painted, colored, played many, many games and watched many, many dvds. This weekend, we stayed with my mom, since dad was gone to the Ocoee too. The kids had a great time. They got some skates, and have skated from one end of the house to the other. It's pretty funny to hear a thump, then "I'm Okay!!!"

I didn't get much sleep this weekend, Paisley ran fever every night. By Sunday, I was a zombie. My dad told me at church that our sweet friend Madelaine was coming over Monday and Tuesday morning to watch the kids so I could get a break. I didn't realize how much I needed that. Or maybe I just really needed someone to notice that I needed it. That meant more than the break itself. So I cried and cried and thanked them for thinking of me.

Madelaine got here yesterday morning and stayed till after lunch. I went and got school supplies, ran an errand for my dad, and went to Belk. I had some gift credit, so I bought a nightgown. Now, I'm the world's cheapest person, and hardly ever buy anything that I really don't need, so this was a splurge. But it was so cute, and marked down to $17 from $58, that I just couldn't resist. Today, I went to Renaissance and got a planner from B&N, then walked around and window shopped. I went in Francesca's, and decided that I really need to do some Pampered Chef soon, because those clothes had my name on them! The prices are great, and the jewelry is beautiful! Definitely going back there.

Okay, I'm boring myself with this recap of my life, so here are some pictures that are much more entertaining!

Madelaine must have taken this...and I love it. KoolAid mustaches rock.

More Maddie photography. I wish Paiz would let go of that pacifier. She's so cute without it.

She is the best babysitter EVER. My kids rooms were clean when I got home. The dishes were done. How she manages my house and kids better than I do...I don't know. But she's awesome. She has such a precious heart for Jesus, and is doing life right. I'm so proud to know her, and I'm glad she's made herself at home with us.

Miss Independent...Paisley!

I realized today that my last several posts have been very wordy. I would apologize, but I'm not. You don't have to read them.

In actuality, we've had little photo opportunities lately. We've been having fun, but it's so hot, the thought of holding the camera outside makes me sweat. I hate to sweat, unless I know some of this postpartum baby fat is leaving my body. (it's been 14 months, I'm out of excuses.) But anyway...

Here's a quick video I took of Paiz last week on the slide. She made it up, then down, all by her little blond self. As of this week, she can get on top of the table by herself, but there will be no video of that, lest she think it's okay!

Here is another of Paiz from the 4th of July. She went down the slip and slide by herself, only to get taken out by G, my dad.

So there you have it, my little girl showing off. She is proving to be much more of a handful than Aidan and Molly were. Each kid has brought different challenges in parenting to the table, but so far, Paisley is the most exhausting!

Travelin' man

I'm up late tonight, waiting for Michael to come home. He's been on a business trip again, this time to New Jersey. His flight tonight has been delayed almost 2 hours. He's been just sitting on the plane, which is fun for no one.

Anyway, I miss him. The kids tried to wait up, but eyelids are heavy things after 10 pm.

It's so hot outside, I'm thinking about purchasing 2 supersoakers, and letting Aidan and Molly have at me in the yard. I'll just stand there and soak.

Molly's ears are getting better. She needed an oral antibiotic, which I knew when I called 2 weeks ago, but they didn't believe me.

Turns out I had strep. I think it's gone now. A shot and a z-pack...best drugs on earth.

Speaking of medicine...my dad thinks Vicks VapoRub can cure anything. He says "vicksalve", one word. When I was a kid, I'd go to him with a stomach ache and he'd say, "just put a little vicksalve on it."

I think he just likes the smell. Maybe Yankee could make a Vicks candle. That would rock my dad's world. He'd light it at work, and the offices would be mentholated.

Last time Michael had a trip to Oregon, he bought me a cool tshirt in Seattle. It's from the airport, but really, where is he going to shop on a layover? Anyway...I'm thinking a one day trip to Newark, then a long night at the ATL won't result in a present this time.

I made a cheap Tony's frozen pizza tonight. Yes, I know I sell Pampered Chef and can do better, I just don't want to. Anyway, I handed Aidan a piece and he said, "I don't want pizza. I don't like the potato sauce." I got so tickled and he was just standing there with those huge brown eyes, saying, "what, mama? what'd I say?" Tomato, potato, let's call the whole thing off.

Molly is into bathroom humor. Every joke has either a body part or function. I would spend a lot of time correcting this, but I know it's a phase, so I'm picking my battles. I'm attacking the You Cannot Wear That In Public battle presently. So if you see her and she says "poop" at any time, I'm sorry. We don't sit around talking about it. She's 3, and it will pass. Hopefully.

Paisley wants to be big. That's all there is to it. She is into everything, and either breaks it, or hurts herself. She has worn more bruises the past 2 weeks. I still haven't gotten her picture made, ever. She always looks like she just took out 3 other kids in the nursery. We're working on words. So far, everything is "isssss". Don't ask me what it means, I have no idea.
I have a great vid of her climbing the ladder and sliding by herself. I'll post it when I'm motivated enough to download.

Michael should be in the air and on his way to me. So I'm going to fall asleep on the couch and pray that when he walks in tonight, I won't have drool running down my face.

Ain't no cure for the summertime flu...

If you go back and read February's posts on the blog, you'll see that everyone in our house got sick. I managed to escape the treachery.

My turn. I took Molly to the doc today for a ruptured eardrum, and was feeling so bad, they did a strep test. It was negative, so the doctor told me, "looks like a case of the summer flu."

Flu in the summer? Why?

I'm off to take medicine that will put me out for 12 hours. Hope I am better tomorrow, I have fun things to do!

Perfect Post Pressure

This is my one hundredth post. Apparently, I've had a lot to say or share since February!

I've been rolling thoughts around in my haphazardly organized mind, and I think I've had about 20 different perspectives to write from this time around. I put pressure on myself to make this one really spectacular, with the perfect combination of humor, life changing anecdotes, tales of my kids' antics, and spiritual insight. However, that's not where I am right now. Recently, I've been seeing the beauty of imperfection. That messed up part of us that just can't get it together. For me, that's where God comes in and makes himself so real.

When God steps into my faults and messiness, I become so aware of the beauty of the imperfection. It becomes a beautiful thing to not be just right, because God makes up the difference. As I strive to become "lesser" (John 3:30), then the imperfections become lesser too, and the perfection of Jesus in me becomes greater, therefore making me more complete. I picture it in my head as a pie chart, with two colors, one for the ugly messed up part of me, and one for the beauty of Christ. In every circumstance, how I respond, how I think, how I speak and act, how I treat people, my prayer is that the beauty of Christ take up most of the pie, and eventually the ugliness of my faults is a just a tiny sliver.

I have been working on the appearance of the blog, as you can tell. I love the grid with the most precious faces I've ever seen. But I can't stand the font. Blogger doesn't give a lot of options here, I have to learn how to do something different there. But the whole point of the upgrade is this: I realized that although "Flirting with Chaos" is appropriate for our life with the kids we have, it has a negative connotation. It was intended to be humorous, but I would never want anyone to mistake my attitude toward my family as being stressed, or frustrated, or less than completely happy.

Michael and I have talked a lot about making the most out of life. To quote the musical we did in junior high, we want to "Live It to the Max!" We only get one shot at life here on earth. I want mine to be lived in the best possible way. There are so many ways to look at this idea. I want to be adventurous. I want to be creative. I want to be passionate. I want to be silly. I want to laugh really hard. I want to be more spontaneous (which is hard for me, but I'm working on it.) I want to love people. This is probably where I am the most right now. I want to treat others in a way that there is no question that Jesus lives in me. I won't get it right sometimes, or even most of the time. But that's where the Lord comes in and fills in the rough spots of my imperfection and my identity in Christ becomes more important than even my relationships with people.

I think God wants us to embrace the life He has for us. He created so many wonderful things. He made wonderful people, everyone different and special. He made music. I wouldn't want to live in a world without music. He made everything to worship him. I desire with all of my heart to worship him without inhibitions. To worship him through my life, my words, my actions.

This past Sunday night, my sweet friend Katie Magee was baptized. She is a precious girl who I love to be around. After church, someone brought me her camera and said she left it in the baptistry and could I take it to her. The camera is pink, and Molly has been chomping at the bit to use it. We have been talking a lot about Katie's baptism, and what it means to come to know Christ and be baptized to show everyone that Jesus is in your heart. So yesterday, Molly comes to me and says, "Mama, how can we take Katie her camera if she's in heaven?" I told her Katie was at home, not in heaven. She said, "but she got baptized, and now she's in heaven, right?" That started a wonderful conversation about the symbolism of baptism and what it means to have Jesus in your heart. I told Molly that I asked Jesus in my heart when I was 6, but I'm still here. I told her when I die, a long time from now, I would go to heaven. Molly teared up and told me, "I'm gonna miss you when you die, mama!" After a good cry and a long hug, I explained that I wasn't going anywhere today. That hopefully I would be here with her until I am really old. Then I explained that if Jesus is in her heart, she'll see me when she gets there too. This made my sweet girl really happy. We talked about singing with Jesus forever.

Then she asked me where people go when they don't know Jesus. Now, I've known these questions were coming, but Molly is three. I was a little caught off guard. But I was honest, and I told her about hell. I told her hell was a sad place, because there was nothing good there. That it was a place completely without God or his love. This made her get really quiet for a minute, then she said, "tell me more about hell, mama". I explained that we have a choice, to know Jesus and ask him to forgive us of our sin and come live in our hearts and be in charge of our life, or not. I told her that in my life, following Jesus meant joy, peace, comfort, excitement. I told her that people without Jesus didn't have those things all the time, like we do.

Molly's conversation was an incredibly humbling experience for me. She's three, and now she knows that life with Jesus is better than life without him. I know she'll have hard times. We all do. But to have a chance to maybe instill a little bit of the faith that gets me through the valleys makes me feel so honored and proud. I'm so glad God made that little girl. I pray she will see that the faith and God given strength that gets me through stuff is available to her all the time.

For a 100th post, this was a doozy, huh? Thanks for reading if you made it this far. I'm thankful for the chance to get to express what God is doing in my heart. I pray that He's being awesome in yours. Even as I wind this up, there are so many wonderful things going on in my life that I could write about. But this post is long, and those things are all outside circumstances. So, I'll stick with the heart stuff, and say good night.

I said, You said, and one more memory...

I found a copy of our ceremony today...

He said, "I, Michael, promise to love you Anne, as Christ loved the church. To love you with a sacrificial love that seeks your good above all else in order that you may be presented to Christ "radiant, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless."

I said, "I, Anne, promise to love you Michael. To live "in submission as unto the Lord." To seek to uplift you in all that I do so I may show the world the peace, unity and Christ-like love that God would have seen in our family and testify to the world that God is in control."

Horton says, "I meant what I said, I said what I meant. An Elephant's faithful, one hundred percent!" -Horton Hatches the Egg, Dr. Seuss.


My next post is my hundredth. I'm working on it in my head...stay tuned.




***I can't believe I forgot this last night! My sweet friend Jennifer sent me a message on facebook reminding me about one of the funniest parts of our wedding day!

In 4 of the 9 bridesmaids' bouquets, a couple of stargazers had not opened, and there was just a white unopened bud sticking up. Jenni, my cousin and one of the funniest people I know, started tapping on hers and saying, "testing, testing...1,2,3" It really looked like a weird microphone in a flower bouquet. So Jenni, Sarah (her sister, just as funny), Lucy (my jr. bridesmaid, just as funny), and Jennifer (my matron of honor...funny as well) all started talking into their flowers. We all got so tickled. The photographer, when lining the girls up for a picture, said to Jenni, "you there, lower your microphone just a bit," and we all fell out. Oh, that was a good time. Thanks Jennifer for reminding me of that.

If you were there, and a few of you that read this were...comment with something you remember. Going back over that day has been so much fun! Thanks!

I remember...

I have a great memory. This is good and bad. I can remember conversations, what I wore, who I was with, where we went. But I also can remember every embarrassing thing I've ever done. July 10, 1999 is a day I remember almost every minute of, and I'm so glad.

I remember singing with my friends in the bride's room. I wasn't nervous AT ALL. I just wanted to marry Michael.

I remember throwing the top layer of my wedding dress over my head and pretending to be a ghost and getting lipstick on my dress.

I remember the silly poem my cousins wrote for me. All inside jokes, and very, very funny. Thank you Clyde.

I remember my brother streaking through the house after his shower that morning. He actually wasn't streaking, he was dancing, and his towel fell off. Mom and I were in tears from laughing.

I remember wondering if it should be weird that my high school boyfriend was a groomsman. It wasn't.

I remember waiting with my dad after the bridesmaids had gone in. We had so much fun. I think the photographer wanted sweet and sentimental. We didn't give it to him. Dad had a wedding to perform, he couldn't get all gushy.

I remember my dad ushering people in, and when he was reprimanded for doing that (since he was the father of the bride) he said, "I can do what I want! Are you paying for this??"

I remember walking down the aisle. I remember Michael's face. That's why I had the ushers tell everybody to stay seated when I entered. I wanted to see his face. He grinned at me, and nothing else in the world mattered at that point.

I remember the flowers not being what I ordered. I was upset, briefly, until dad hung the bridesmaid dress hanger around his neck and stood on the stage and showed me that the red would not clash with the dark pink. It really looked great.

I remember the indescribable feeling of hearing almost every person I know and love singing my favorite hymn, "Worthy of Worship", and being shaken to the core with emotion.

I remember my little brother standing up there trying not to cry. I'm glad he got to stand on my side. If I could have had a best man, he'd have been it.

I remember Michael at the reception stopping to talk with EVERY person he saw. I did the, "hey! so glad you came! Thanks!" But Michael shook hands and said, "how's the job going?" He worked the crowd slowly, but he let everyone know how glad he was they were there.

I remember Michael being afraid to lift my dress above my calf. I think he was just uncertain about all those layers of tulle. I hiked it up, and showed him the garter. Then he got the idea.

I remember my sweet 11 year old cousin catching the bouquet. She was so beautiful and grown up in her red dress.

I remember the rose petals being tossed at us as we ran to Michael's mustang.

I remember the happy sadness as we drove off, and wondering if I truly showed my parents how grateful I was for such an awesome, worshipful, fun, delightful, beautiful day.

I remember being alone with Michael for the first time in the car and the peace that came over me that I had made the best decision in my life, after following Christ.

So many other memories. But this post would be longer than it already is. I love my husband. He is my best friend. If you've read other posts you know how I feel about him, so I won't repeat myself.

That day was great. Our life since then has been greater. I'm excited about what God's going to do in the next 50 years!

I had to doctor the pics a bit. We don't have a scanner, so Michael took pictures of my pictures. They're not great, but it gives you the idea. There are not many things I'd have changed about that day. I'd have had our pictures taken before the ceremony. I'd have shortened the ceremony, maybe. I liked it long, but my bridesmaids didn't have on isotoner slippers like I did! I'd have had a funkier cake. I didn't care about the cake. It was pretty, but I would have had something more "me". We certainly would have picked a different honeymoon destination. But all those things are so small...now they're just memories. Michael and I have learned and loved and lived and are having a wonderful time.

Ecclesiastes 4:9. Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work: If one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up! Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm. But how can one keep warm alone? Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.

Water fun and watermelon!

The Fourth of July is becoming one of my favorite holidays. I guess I don't remember it being a big deal as a kid. Usually we went to an extended family member's home, and that was always fun, but we didn't have any traditions of our own.

My dad spent all day Thursday getting ready for Friday. Victor, our good friend, came over and helped, and they created a water playland in the backyard. I'd say it was for the kids, but I think Michael, John Mark, Daddy and I had just as much fun!

After we wore ourseves out running up the hill and sliding, we ate mom's bbq sandwiches and all the fixings, and rode to Liberty Park, where the kids gorged on watermelon, danced to the band, and enjoyed a wonderful fireworks display. It was the best fireworks they've ever done. We've gone to Liberty park every year, and that's just getting to be one of my favorite things to do all summer.

It was a great day. It was as fun as Christmas, but without the stress of having to buy gifts. I'm hoping dad will rig up the slides again for Labor Day!

I have tons of pics and videos...enjoy!

This is my little brother, John Mark and I racing on the blue slide. If I had just done the belly flop, I'd have had a fighting chance. Later on, Michael and I raced UP the slide, and it was pretty funny. The slide had about half a bottle of baby oil on it, so it was slick!

My dad and Victor built a zip line between two of the big trees in the woods. They used a swing for the seat. As you can tell by Aidan's face, it was a hit!

This is the backyard. The zip line is behind the tube slide, and the trampoline is above the blue slide. The tube is a culvert that my dad found last year down the street that never was used. He put it in the truck and dragged it to the hill. With a lot of water and baby oil, it's a great slide!

Aidan, zipping out of the slide.

Mark, my dad, the ringmaster of the circus. Wonder who he was shooting with the hose in this pic

Molly, just a swingin....

Paiz did the slide too! She sat on G's tummy and slid down like the big kids!

I think Aidan ate 5 pieces of watermelon! He loves it!

Molly calls it a "waterlemon"

It was all just too much for Michael...

Victor (or Mista Victa, as Molly says) brought 3-D glasses for the fireworks!

The fireworks were about to start. A great end to a great day. I have so many more pics to choose from...this was hard! And a quick word of clarification...I have tons of pictures of my precious niece and nephews, but they have a blog too, so I thought I'd just share my kids here and let them put their pics on their blog, if they want to.

One more video...this is Molly dancing to the band, and just as she's really getting into it, Aidan jumps in the video and has to go to the bathroom. His face is priceless.

And the next morning was the hot air balloon in our yard...but this post took me an hour...I'll do that one another time!

Only in Canton...

So a hot air balloon just landed in our backyard! Aidan got to sit in the basket while they took it down. I have tons of pics from yesterday and this morning...but I'll post them later. I just had to let you know about our morning excitement!

Way to go, Aidan!

Aidan rode his bike with no training wheels this evening! He's been asking to try for several weeks, but we've put it off. Tonight, we had a few minutes and so we gave it a try. He did it the first time! The first video is the first leg of the driveway, and the second video is him riding back towards me. I'm so proud of my big boy! Now we just need a neighborhood with some other boys for him to ride with!

Making up for those last 2 pitiful posts...

Welcome to our first full week of nothing to do! June was busy, busy...but July is going to require us to find our own fun! We started this past weekend spending time with new friends that we have grown to love very much. Then Monday and Tuesday we had a lot of house time...playing, watching tv, painting pictures, and basically just hanging around. By Tuesday night, the kids were fighting a lot, so we got out yesterday and headed to the pool at our friends' house. We took our babysitter, Maddie, with us to help out, since my kids are prone to jumping in at any time, whether or not anyone is in the deep end to catch them! We had a blast.


Paiz is doing her runway walk.

Cheezits in the pool.

The girls and I on our float. Molly loved it, Paiz, not so much.

This is Madelaine. I wish I could say those were my legs, but alas....I'm not seventeen anymore.

Aidan loves the water.

I think Molly understands the term "summer vacation". She looks really relaxed!

I'm going to enjoy this month with my kids. We have no plans, just a few parties, and our 9th anniversary is one week from today! I'm trying to think of something cool to do with Michael. Going to dinner is fun, but we've done that a million times.

God is teaching me a lot about myself. I'm learning what really matters. I'm learning to surround myself with people who make me better. I'm learning that when you're sitting in a waiting room, that's a great time to read your Bible. I'm learning that people seeing me as a Christian is a lot more important to me than people seeing me as smart, talented, pretty, or even a good mom or wife. And yes, all this learning has been going on just this past week!

Happy summer...

Now I feel stupid.

Went to the doctor. My pain didn't alarm him in the least. So apparently, I'm not suffering from some kind of weird disease. And I'm not in need of bedrest (which I hoped for, ha!). I guess I'm just overreacting and should probably delete the last post just so people won't think I'm an idiot. But my new resolution is to not care what people think, so I'll leave it. We'll just chalk today's adventure up to my low pain threshold and leave it at that. I'm even willing to say that I was having sympathy pains for Heather Avery. That makes perfect sense to me!

My kids have lost all conflict resolution skills. We have to get out of this house tomorrow. Wonder what trouble we can get ourselves into??!!

what is wrong with me? this hurts!!!

okay...i don't know how else to do this...but i have some medical minded friends that read my blog and i am not sure what to do about this, so i'll just post about it!
i woke up this morning with a sharp pain/cramp in my lower right abdomen. that was at 6:30, and it's still there. i can walk around, but just barely and bent over. it mostly goes away, but not completely when i'm sitting down. it really, really hurts! i ate, and it didn't help. i laid down for a bit and it's still there. not sure what to do about this. i have my yearly checkup today, so i'm holding out till this afternoon to talk to my doc about it...but if anybody has any idea what might be the problem, please let me know. my kids want to play treasure hunt and paint pictures, and i just want to lie on the couch. this makes me feel worse than the pain!

thanks for the feedback.