Inspired

I have been inspired by my mom to blog again. The great news is no one will know that I am, so it can almost be like my own personal diary. If I feel the need perhaps I will share I blog again.

For now, an update on my kids.

Kayla - 10 years old

Friends, basketball, horses, reading, and riding her bike are some of her favorites.

Wyatt - 7 years old in two months

Wii, JJ, basketball, riding his bike, Titus, Legos, and Battleship are his passions.

Anniston - 5 years old

Barbies, Pet Shop, bikes, animals, writing her letters, and playing with Danae are her favories.

Danae - Almost 4

Titus, getting dirty, barbies, Ellie, chasing neighborhood cats, playing with Annie are some of her favorites.

Titus - Just turned 3

Anything with Wallace, playing with Danae, annoying Kayla, laying with Wyatt, footballs and swimming are just a few of his favorites.

As for me, these people are my favorite.

Update

I am not sure I could have taken any longer to update my blog. I certainly hope to be more consistent, but am making no promises. I think my schedule pretty much fell apart during the holidays and I have been unable to catch back up. So, to start off my new found desire to blog, I decided to start with an update.

Kayla - Continues to grow, and learn, and be mommy's little helper. I am amazed at how competent she is with Danae especially. It is nice when that I can send her to give a bath, feed breakfast, or just keep her happy while I get whatever done. She is doing well in school, and her only downfall is her own mothers lack of consistency.

Wyatt - My little buddy turned 4 the end of March. Crazy that it seems like only yesterday he as my crazy, collicky baby and than my out of control toddler. He has really matured here recently and seems like such a little boy. He pretty much talks constantly, which can be interesting at times. He always has the most wonderful questions.

Anniston - Not much has changed with Annie. She is still as cute as can be and loud, and mean, and all the other awesome personality characteristics she has. I do love my little stinker and so enjoy cleaning up her various messes and destructions every day.

Danae - My sweet baby love is now 1. She still does not walk or crawl. Yeah, she is a little slow. I blame it on her eye infection last year. I figure all babies that have eye infections don't learn to walk until they are 5. Right?

So there you have it. I am doing well, already planning for next homeschool year (I WILL be organized, I WILL be organized) and plan on hopefully joining a small co-op to help me keep motivated for the year. I am pretty excited about my curriculum choices, actually, and looking forward to checking everything out at FPEA. Hopefully.

That is about it for now. Thank you for your patience, if you are still out there, whoever you are.






Wyatt and our newest addition, Titus



Anniston and Elsie



Kayla



Danae at her first birthday

Day at Disney

You can see all the pictures on Facebook. There are some really good ones, especially with Annie and Mickey. I think Mickey was in love with Annie. It was so cute!

We had a great day, all the kids did wonderful, and I realized that it really is the most magical place on earth. I just love it there around Christmas time. We also saw the Osborne light show at MGM. That was pretty awesome.

Thanks to mom for working all that out!! You are the best Granma ever!

I do not know how to get my kids back to normal life after The Magic Kingdom. Good thing it is Christmas time!

Tragedy

We had much sadness in our home on Saturday.  Our bird, Benny, passed away.  What makes this sad for Mommy and Daddy is we just bought the bird 4 weeks ago!

Apparently, Benny got a cold and died on Friday night when the weather was cold.  I forgot to turn on the heat that night and it got down to 65 degrees in our house.  I guess when birds (more specifically cockatiels) catch a cold, they die very quickly.

Well, Kayla and Wyatt were up for about two hours on Saturday crying and crying.  Kayla especially really did love the poor bird.  She played with him constantly and loved walking around with him on her shoulder during the day.

We had a beautiful funeral in our backyard at about 10pm Saturday night.  We talked of our memories of Benny and what we loved most about them.  We ended with a prayer.  Wyatt prayed that Jesus would make sure and tell God to be careful with Benny. He said "Jesus, make sure to tell God that Benny might bite his ears sometimes."   We are grateful Wyatt is looking out for God.

Since PJ and I had already decided that cockatiels are awesome pets for young children, and we want it to be a Merry Christmas around here, Daddy went out and replaced the bird.  The kids are thrilled that we now have Tweety.  

Benny will always have a special place in our hearts and we look forward to maybe seeing him in heaven since Kayla is convinced that he will be there.

May he rest in peace.  (and hopefully not be dug up and eaten by a stray cat)

Are We Ready?

I love politics. I have enjoyed watching the developments of this presidential race, critiquing the different journalists and their views, and hoping each day that maybe, just maybe, McCain has a chance at winning. I do not agree with everything McCain says or has done, but I believe he is the best candidate. On the other hand, this political, race and the current economic situation, has put some fear in my heart.

I do wonder what will happen if we end up with a very liberal President, Congress, and Senate come January. How will that effect our paycheck, the business my husband works for, and just the consequences of having a far left government. "I will give tax breaks to 95% of Americans." Yeah right. How then are you going to pay for healthcare for everyone and pay for all the other liberal agendas you have? You may give us a tax break (even though we do not pay federal taxes due to our income and children), since we are the "middle class" but that tax increase to my husbands business will effect us worse. I will stick with the nothing we pay in taxes now and hold out hope for some decent raises, thank you very much. If you take my husbands bosses money, you are taking our money too. Think about it.

Anyway, that is not the point of my post. The point is, I am concerned for my children's future. What will the world they are going to live in be like? As America moves further and further left, I become more and more nervous. What will be normal for them? Same sex marriage? (Vote Yes on Amendment 2, by the way!) Socialist ideas? Will Christianity become more and more hated?

Are we preparing our children for the struggles that are going to be inevitable? As I think about why I homeschool, I am more and more aware I am not focusing on the most important things. It is not reading or writing or history, it is teaching them to wage war against the enemy. We could raise the smartest, most successful and bright students, but if we do not educate them primarily in God's word, it will not matter. I should not be weighing my children's success by how much money they might make, what job field they go in to, or what their SAT scores are. If my daughter can stand up for what she believes, to a world that hates what she believes, that is true success.

My kids may face some of the worst of times and I want them to be ready. I want them to be ready to stand up for their Faith in a world that will be against Faith. In a society and education system that indoctrinates children in liberal ideas, I want my children to know and be able to speak Truth.

I hope and pray my children will be ready. I refuse to sit back in fear and allow an economic or political situation to scare me. Right now I choose to let this remind me of what I am here to do. I am here to raise some of the next generation to love God, hate sin, stand up for what is right, and be, I pray, a light in the darkening world.

One thing I will do is take Kayla to the polls with me. She will watch me vote, she knows why I am voting for McCain, and she needs to see me involved in this process. But Kayla will also know that McCain is not our savior. She will know that God is in control of this election, even though all Americans think they are. Mommy will vote and pray, but God ultimately has chosen the winner. He knows what this country needs, even if what we need are hard times.

This political season is yet another way God is reminding me to love the season I am in and not take for granted what I do. I am a mentor, a teacher, and a mother. I am who my children look to for answers and my job is to get them to the point where they look to their Lord for answers. Presidents are not the answer, journalists are not the answer, government is not the answer. I homeschool and stay home with my kids so that no one can tell them any differently.

May we all be reminded to pray for our country, pray for our church, and pray for our children. Be reminded to teach them what is most important, even if that means skipping out on some of that math.

Will our kids be ready for what is to come? Maybe a more important question is, are you ready? I have four swords to start sharpening at a much quicker pace then before, and I plan on doing that with more intensity and focus, starting now.

Life

I haven't done much real posting recently. It is mostly because my life is crazy and I do not have time to sit down and actually use brain power. When I do post I like it to make sense and sound nice, but I realized today that it does not have to. Part of my goal for this blog is to journal my life with my kids to one day maybe look back on and laugh. Even if that is laughing at how I never make any sense. How fun for my kids to read what their mom was thinking and doing "back in the day".

So here it is. My life is crazy. Sometimes I sit down during naps and wonder how I am going to make it the rest of the day. What should I accomplish while they sleep. Schooling Kayla? Maybe clean a bathroom? Oh, no wait, laundry? Nope, I should read the Bible. Or perhaps read a story to Kayla. What am I thinking, I need to start dinner!

I get seriously overwhelmed at all there is to do and it seems, no matter how hard I try, that I never am able to get it all done. I understand this is ok. How many times have we heard that a lot of this is unimportant and will be forgotten in time. The important stuff is God, husband, and kids. Now, does anyone else still worry about the other stuff ALL the time like me, even when we know what is truly important.

Don't get me wrong, I understand and believe that running a good, clean household is also important, but not when it becomes such an idol that I am getting angry with my kids. What is interesting is during this week, while Anniston was running a temp and teething, I found myself playing with her more. I sat on the couch and read her books, played memory with the three of them, and we played outside a lot together. I guess it was because I felt bad she was sick, but the funny thing is, I found myself less prone to getting angry and a lot more patient.

Don't get me wrong, Annie still drove me crazy when she fell on the floor screaming because I had not idea what she was asking for and that makes her mad, but I was more patient with her. Instead of getting upset when she made a mess while I was cleaning, I had her help me clean. She loved it. I know that kids love to clean and that I should get them involved, but seriously, it makes it take forever and is a little annoying. But not this week. I had fun with them cleaning. I had fun reading them books and coloring with them.

I realize I will never get it all done. I would like to, but I will not. Finding the balance might be something I work on until I am dead, and I am not ok with that. In my mind I will find a way to clean the whole house, homeschool, play with the kids, make wonderful dinners, have lots of time with my husband and have time to spare. I am going to make a plan and incorporate it next week. Then I will fail and be mad and try a new schedule the next week.

My prayer for this summer is I will trust God to help me be content with whatever it is I do or do not get done. I pray that the most important things I will accomplish such as a quiet time, special time with the kids, and not be too tired or frustrated at the end of the day that my husband suffers the consequences. Intermixed with all of that my family will be fed and clothed and live in sanitary conditions, but most important, I pray my kids will know that their mommy loves to be with them. I want to make them laugh just like they make me laugh.

So how do I get it all done? I don't. Am I ok with that? Not really, but I want to be. It would probably make me a better wife and mother. I wonder if anyone feels like they can do it all? Apparently it would help me if one of my children was not feeling well once a week. That seems to help.

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is what they call rambling.......

Crazy Life

I thought I would give an update on my new, crazier life.

First, Danae is a wonderful baby. I have been known to say that the newborn stage is not my favorite stage of life for my children, but she has made me realize why people actually like newborns. She is a little clingy, but I can deal with that. She eats great, sleeps great, and is very consolable when she is upset about something. I have really been enjoying her and she has made it easy for me to fall in love with her.

Second, my other children. Kayla has been amazing. I had worked a lot with her before Danae came on some different things, but I feel like she has grown up even in the past three weeks. She is doing laundry and helping me clean. One morning Anniston woke up early and she got her up, took her down and made her breakfast, and cleaned up when they were done. She continually amazes me and even says she likes helping me....sometimes.

Wyatt has been incredibly sweet and good about a new baby in our life. He loves her very much and actually tries to kiss and hold her a little too much.

Anniston, well, oh my. That is really all I have to say about her. Anything that comes to mind about how she may be acting, it is probably true.

Ok, so here are some things I have learned since having a baby.

1. My kids think I am deaf. Every time she even starts to cry everyone starts yelling "the baby is crying, the baby is crying!". Annie just runs around yelling random stuff with them. I have tried to explain that Mommy has ears and can hear things too.

2. 20 month olds and 3 years olds can figure out quickly what they can do while there is a baby nursing. They have realized that is the time to put diaper rash medicine all over the playroom, put toilet paper around the entire upstairs, bite each other, go on a walk outside by themselves, eat lots of cookies, and fill many cups full of ice cubes and then pour them all over the kitchen floor. Apparently, it is fun to slide on the floor on cold ice.

3. Planning to leave the house takes 24 hours.

4. Everyone always needs me at the same time. I may incorporate a new rule. Only one child can say "Mommy" at a time. And, the other children have to wait at least 10 minutes to say the word Mommy again. I don't know why this has become worse since the baby came.

5. You do not have to change diapers as much as people think. They really can make it a long time. It saves time and money. Actually, running around naked works great.

6. Spanking is much harder when you have to nurse so much. What I really need is a giant paddle that I can reach all of downstairs from my chair in the living room.

And finally, I have learned that I can love a fourth child as much as my other three. I have learned that one more little face to kiss is amazing and watching my children love her is amazing. I have found that no matter how crazy my day, and how stressed out I get, I realize more and more each day that I am doing exactly what I should be doing. Loving and training four of the coolest, most adorable, hilarious, wild children.

They make me laugh, they make me cry and they scare me to death, but what an awesome job I have. I did not think I had the strength to handle one more, but God is helping me to not only handle it, but realize that the scary expectation of four children was harder than actually having them. If I only had trusted Him months ago, it could have saved me a lot of stress leading up to having Danae. One day I will learn.

Oh, gotta run. Thankfully Kayla and Wyatt just informed me that Danae is crying......






"We often speak of the birth of the child as a matter of course
...of no great moment but to the parents and relations.

But indeed the birth of a child,
whether in a palace or a workhouse,
is an event of more real importance than the
temporal concerns of an entire kingdom!

When a child is born, an immortal soul is born.

To have the charge of such beings,
to form their minds in their tender years,
to bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord,
and at last to present them to Him,
enables us to say,

'Here am I, and the children Thou hast given me'

--- oh what a blessing!"
John Newton

Funny Story

Today we had a few people over to paint a couple rooms.  Taraleigh was kind and brave enough (or crazy!) to take my children, her children, and JJ to the park.  Here is a picture from today and a story in her own words.  Enjoy!

Ok, so there is a story behind this picture. Yes that is Sanford Bay behind them. We cleaned everything up and took a couple of trips to the van to get all the playdough,soccerballs,juice cups, jackets, etc. loaded up. The boys had been talking about "throwing leaves in the water" and I thought okay that will be fun to do on our way out. Have you ever seen one adult cross the street with SIX children??? Hilarious!!! I was holding Annie in one arm, JJ and Joseph's hand in my other hand, Wyatt's hand in my pocket, the girls holding hands holding on to me. (WHILE THEY ARE ALL HOLDING THEIR STICKS AND LEAVES TO THROW IN THE BAY) Thankfully someone felt nice that day and stopped so we could cross. We get across the road after it takes us about 10 minutes to walk and stay together. I look at the drop off and think "WHAT WAS I THINKING" I had visions of the boys pushing each other in or Brianna jumping in. I made everyone stand out 5 feet away from the edge to throw their stuff in and since it was windy NOTHING went in. So I picked it all up and threw it in myself and had them all sit to take their picture..then another 10 minutes to cross the street...then another to get in the van....It was so funny I could not stop laughing at what a dummy I am....we made a memory though ~ well at least I did. :)

Daily Life Photos

I realized I never post pictures of what my children actually look like on a normal day.  I usually post the adorable ones where they look all put together, clean, etc etc.

Here are some random photos from January where things are not exactly like that.  PJ bought me a cheap little camera that is easy to yank out and shoot with.  His really nice one was a little much to quickly get to and take normal pictures.  

Visit to Virginia

Christmas night we left around 10:30pm for Appalachia, VA to visit PJ's grandmother. It was an interesting ride (about 12 hours), but we survived and the kids did fairly well in the car. I will post some pics, but first I will share the funniest story from the trip. Background: I have never really "explained" body parts to Wyatt. He has never asked, never seemed to care, so I never brought it up. Well, here is a conversation from the car....I have now explained. :-)

"Mommy!!....help!!"

"Wyatt, what is wrong baby?"

"My tail hurts!"

"Buddy, what are you talking about? Your tail? Do you mean the horsie you are playing with."

"No, mama, MY TAIL RIGHT HERE, FIX IT!!!"

Well, use your imagination. I had apparently put his diaper on when it was bedtime and smooshed the poor thing. After being fixed, we proceeded to have a conversation about how it is not a tail. :-)

Enjoy the pictures!

Update

Ok....fine!! Here is the much anticipated update on the Herron Clan.

Kayla is doing good with school. We have continued through December since we anticipate a long break when baby girl arrives. We stick to about 3-4 days a week. She is also loving the newest addition to the family, a Chesapeake Bay Retriever named Auburn. Yes, after the football team. Kayla named her one night while watching a game. It totally fit since she is an Auburn type color too. Kayla enjoys doing "shows" for Wyatt and Auburn with horses or babies or whatever is laying around.

Wyatt is, well, Wyatt. I never know what is going to come out of that boys mouth. He loves the Christmas season and looking at lights, going to parades, and insists Santa is real and bringing him a train table. He also thinks there is baby boy in his tummy.

Anniston, my sweet baby girl, is not so sweet all the time. She has enjoyed this Christmas season and destroying all that comes with it. We are on our second tree (I found her sitting on our old one. She defeated it well.), she has broke two stocking holders, and poor Frosty in the front yard suffers daily. Thank the Lord she is so darn cute. Her newest word is football (go figure). We are still trying to get her to communicate better since AAAHAHAHAHAHAHA is totally not working for me right now.

Mommy is hanging in there. I am 26 weeks and starting to become...um...larger, fatter or whatever word you would like to use. Looks like baby girl #3 is Danae Jewel. We have gone back and forth for weeks now, but PJ told me the other night it is for sure. Thank the Lord....I just want her to have a name!

That is all for now. Hopefully it will appease you and I hope to actually post more. Who believes me!!!

Ok Fine....I Will Post Again

I cannot believe I have not posted in over a month! Life is full right now, and by the time I catch up on everyone else's blogs, I have no time to blog myself. Here is a quick update on our life.

Kayla is doing great with 1st grade. She tends to get overwhelmed with lots of work, so we are sticking with the basics. Math, reading, and handwriting. I try and get the other stuff in with the stuff we read together. She is obsessed with space, so we read about space....science done. If she asks about Indians or a state we do research into that....history and geography done. The beauty of homeschooling a young one is how flexible I can be. As long is she is enjoying what she is doing, she learns so much more than me forcing subjects down her throat.

Wyatt is starting to really grow up. He actually sits and does projects for longer periods. He talks constantly, and still has his wild side, but he does seem a little more under control. Currently he is obsessed with motorcycles and football.

Anniston is well....a 15 month old. Temper tantrums because mommy doesn't understand what aaaaahhhh means, getting into anything that she should not be, and unable to sit still for more than five minutes. Boy is she adorable, though.

We still do not know what baby #4 is. Hopefully I will get to the sonogram place in the next couple of weeks. I am almost 19 weeks, so right now is actually the ample time to get that information. I just haven't done it yet.

This season is full due to the start of basketball season. I am enjoying coaching for my fourth season. I love being able to serve the church in that way and love working with my girls. I appreciate how they put up with my kids running around the gym during practice. I love the relationships I have built with them over the years. Some of my graduates have become my friends, love my kids (bonus I receive from coaching is babysitters), and we have learned a lot from each other over these years. It is a crazy time, but I really do love it.

I hope everyone has a great week.....but I wonder if anyone will even read this. You have probably given up on me!!

Recovering

I wanted to give an update on my family for those who have heard of our recent drama. Thank you to all who have been praying for us.

For those who did not hear, we spent Thursday mid morning/early afternoon at the ER with Wyatt. I decided to take him after watching him pass out in front of my eyes and proceed to vomit everywhere for what seemed like forever. He became a rag doll, white as a ghost, very feverish and I could not get him to keep his eyes open. So......off like a crazy woman to the ER I went thoughts flying through my mind of parasites in his brain or meningitis and other terrible ailments. The diagnosis? Pneumonia. I was grateful because I had come up with many more terrible problems in my mind!

Friday morning we were off to the Dr. again because of more vomiting. I also had the girls checked out. Here is what we have.

Wyatt - Pneumonia.
Kayla - Crackling in her lungs. She was put on a nebulizer and it got better, so they prescribed her a inhaler.
Annie - Double ear infection, but nothing in her lungs. Thank God!

Now Mommy feels terrible, but the important part is that the kids are doing much better. Wyatt is becoming his normal self again today.

Our dramatic week is over, my babies are feeling better, and my house is clean thanks to Mom, Janelle, Julia, and Lauren. A clean house makes EVERYTHING better!

Have a great weekend.

Help

First let me say thank you for those who participated (keep them coming!) in our name quest. I have enjoyed hearing what everyone thinks! Once I know no one else is going to post, I will post the winner. Although, that does not mean we will use it. You have got to give us a few more months of fighting and arguing before it is official.

Here is my actual "Help" question.

For those who homeschool, and have young children, what ideas do you have for keeping them out of the way? I start school with Kayla next week and have been racking my brain of what to do with Wyatt (2yo) and Annie (1yo). Hopefully, Annie will continue her morning naps until she is 4. Yeah right.

Please comment any ideas you have, or have used yourself. Thanks!

Anniston Janelle is 1!

What would our life be like without our sweet Annie? I found out I was pregnant with Anniston 
when Wyatt was barely 7 months old. This was even a bigger shock due to him getting over colic the month before. I felt somewhat normal for one month, only to find out I was pregnant.

Oh, but the joy she brings to our life! Yes, she has that Herron personality.....loud, rowdy, temper, and oh so cute! I love watching Kayla and Wyatt hug and kiss on her. I love how much she loves her daddy, Papa and Granma, and all her aunts and uncles. (Yes, especially Janelle!) I am so grateful to God that he is in control and not us. He knew we all needed the baby girl!

Sports

I have a random question. If or when you have kids, do you plan on them playing sports? Why or why not? If you think they will, what sports? Why?

Vacation

I am back!

Below are some pictures from the vacation. I will be posting all of them here later tonight. We have some really good ones!

We had a lot of fun while we were there (Flagler Beach, FL), but realized quickly that "vacation" with kids is very different. I told PJ it was like my normal life, but in a different environment. It was worth it to see the kids having a blast and to spend a lot of time with the fam. Mom, dad, Jake, Janelle, and Julia were there the whole time. Joey came on Wednesday (he had to work) and Jesse and Rebekah stayed until Wednesday. Josh and Rach came one day and on Friday we got some day visitors from some singles.

Normal posting to resume soon, but in the meantime, check out my other site for some great pics. Jenn, Lauren, and whoever else, if you want some of the pics from when you were there, you can easily download them from the site.