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. :)

Quote of the Week

After many discipline sessions to keep Wyatt in bed, I heard him calling me from his room.  I was glad he at least was calling me and not getting out of bed.

"Mommy, I can't go to sleep.  My eyes are arguing with me."

Confused I asked.  "Buddy, your eyes are arguing with you?  What are they arguing about?"

"I want to go to sleep, but my eyes do not want to."

Random January Photos

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.  

This is Crazy

Did you hear about the woman who delivered two kids, but they were not twins? Apparently, she conceived one three weeks after the other.   She originally was pregnant with twins, one miscarried, and three weeks later she conceived another child.

I guess after she miscarried her body ovulated again for some reason. Even though she was still pregnant with the other twin.  I don't get it.  

Here it is.

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!

Virginia

Christmas Pictures

Below are from Christmas morning.

Check out my Slide Show!

Merry Christmas!

I hope everyone had a fun day today. We sure did, but are now about to be leaving for Imboden, Virginia. I am not exactly sure where that is. Somewhere near the border of TN and VA in the mountains.

We will be visiting PJ's grandmother (who he hasn't seen in about 18 years!), his dad, and some other extended family. Pray for our safety and sanity if you think about it. All of the driving for a short visit should be interesting. I am sure I will have some great stories and pictures to share when we get home.

Enjoy the rest of your week!

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!!!

We Are Having A........

I am now almost 20 weeks and had my sonogram this afternoon. So far, my entire family had said that we would, without a doubt, have a boy. This included dad and PJ who have yet to be wrong about my babies. Well, they were wrong!

We now know baby girl Herron #3 will arrive in March. Now we all have to begin getting used to the idea of having a house full of girls. I am thinking we should all be praying for PJ and Wyatt now.

Right now she will be Natalie Jewel, although it is not set in stone. PJ is saying he is rethinking it. Thankfully, from what we could see, she is healthy and measuring correctly. Praise God for another healthy baby and another surprise!

Have a great weekend!

New Pics of Kids

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.

First Appointment

Today I had my first appointment with my midwife. We have decided to have this baby at home. I would have never thought that I would have a baby at home, but after my last hospital experience and seeing Rachel have Elsie at home, I was sold. Even PJ is on board.

I am using a midwife in Winter Springs. She is pretty kooky (is that a word?) and earthy. Basically everything you would expect from a homebirth midwife!
She has a house on lots of land that the kids got to explore while we talked over everything. Unfortunently, our maternity health insurance is terrible, so it is cheaper to pay out of pocket for a homebirth than to use a typical practice and hospital with our insurance. Maybe that is why PJ is on board! Either way, it seems like this is the way to go and we are at peace and even a little excited about it.

I got to hear the heartbeat (only one Mom!), which surprised me at the early stage of 10 weeks. I am still coming to grips with the fact I am even pregnant, so hearing a heartbeat was a little weird. It was almost like I was surprised it was there. Maybe I thought this was all a funny joke. Now it is official, there is a little person in there!

Keep us in your prayers if you think about it. The main requests would be:

Finances
Having 4 children
Health of baby
This mommy taking care of 3 while wanting to only lay in bed all day, not move, not eat, feel bad for myself, and sleep sleep sleep........

Thank you!

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!

Baby Name Vote

PJ and usually have major issues naming our children. I would like to take care of this name thing early on, so I am allowing all of you to take part in the vote. We may not listen to you, but it would be fun to hear what you think. I will give names and meanings.

Girl

Natalie Jewel Herron  (Natalie - To be born, or Christ's birthday)

Danae Elyse Herron  (Danae - Showered with gold)

Boy

Garrett Jacob Herron  (Garrett - Strenght of the spear)  PJ's favorite

Gareth Jacob Herron  (Gareth - Gentle) I personally like this better than Garrett. More unique.

Colton (Cole) Jacob Herron  (Colton - swarthy person. Swarthy means a person with a dark complexion, in case you
were wondering)


 I heard today my father and mother-in-law read this, so I better hear from you both too, Roy and Mary!  No more stalking my website without making comments!!  :-)


Added:

I wanted to add a couple things (for those who read this before I said this)  We can swap the girls middle names. Example:  Natalie Elyse instead of Natalie Jewel etc.

Also, for my brothers and husbands sake...

Virgil Jacob Herron  (Virgil being Wyatt Earps brothers name)

Doc Holliday Herron   :-)

I think my brothers and husband would love for us to have a little Doc and Wyatt or Virgil and Wyatt running around.   :-)

Still Alive

Yes, I am alive and well. Feeling pretty much like BLAH, but hanging in there. I am hoping I start feeling better by the time we start school. I decided I will share what the top 10 things I am looking forward to this Fall/Winter are. I think it might make me feel better this morning!

In no particular order:


1. Football season starting! I love football and I love fantasy football. I can't wait to come home on Sundays to the unlimited games (Direct TV Sunday ticket), watching the Redskins, and lounging on the couch while my kids nap. Good times.

2. Starting homeschooling.

3. Coaching basketball. This will be my 4th year coaching the Regent Acadamy's Girls Varsity Team.

4. The MOM's meetings starting up again.

5. Holidays. I can't wait to go shopping the day after Thanksgiving!

6. Family nights. We are starting to get together once a month as a family to go over the Fruits of the Spirit. I think my dad wants us to love each other more. Or maybe it is have patience with each other? Self-control?

7. Weather getting cooler, or at least not being oppressively hot.

8. Doug and Devi coming to town.

9. Feeling better and getting back into a rhythm and schedule!

10. Watching my kids grow up a little more and getting ready for one more!

Shrinking Family

I have been thinking recently how next year we will officially be a family of six. It is amazing that already people consider our family large. I cannot go anywhere without somebody giving me a look of sympathy and telling me "wow, you have your hands full". I find it funny most of the time. I think about what people must have though of my mom when she was walking through the store with six little ones in tow.

I wonder what people will think when I have two in a stroller, one walking with me, and a pregnant belly. Most will think we do not know how to use birth control. Although, perhaps that is true!, I would love to just leave out the part about the "accident". I would love to see the looks on their faces when I say how excited we are to have four children. That we would have it no other way. I think being happy about having four children in six years would be pretty shocking to most.

According to the Census Bureau figures, since 1970 the percentage of households containing five or more people has fallen by half. And it keeps shrinking. I am not here to say we must all have at least four children. What I am curious about is why it is so bizarre to have more than 1 or 2 kids, as if there was something irresponsible about it.

I was talking to a lady at church on Sunday about my pregnancy. She has 7, I think. She was saying that more people will ask you bizarre questions. One person asked her if she thought she had to many children. She answered back, well which one of these children you see do you think I should not have had?

I would LOVE to hear from people on this. There are so many different reasons for family sizes. I think it would be very interesting to hear how many kids you have (if any), if you are done, if you do not have children how many do you want, why?

I would really love for this NOT to be a debate about how many children are to many, not enough etc. I would just love to hear the perspective or opinion from others. I have noticed that "large" families in today's society are taboo, so assuming believers are the only ones reading this blog, are they becoming taboo even for us?