They are SO Different!!!

I've always heard that each child in a family will most likely be totally different from all the rest, and though I've seen that even in how different my brother, sister, and I are, I still didn't expect my kids to be SOOOOO different!

But WOW they are!




Jack: The Oldest--Careful, sensitive, cautious, weary of new things, take charge, laid back but also very into structure and routine.
Ali Grace had made a HUGE mess as usual, and when we started laughing at her Jack joined in putting just a little bit on his face!



Ali Grace: The Second Child--The "wild one", daring, not afraid of anything, loud, attention seeking, dramatic, and a little too distracted by getting into everything to care about routine or structure.
This picture could have been taken at any of the meals that we eat each day. Ali makes a mess of anything she can at the table and loves it! And she doesn't do any of it just a little bit--she's all or nothing!

The funniest thing about the personalities of Jack and Ali Grace is that they are so similar to my sister and I when we were little. I was the scaredy cat that wouldn't stay at school without Mom, wouldn't climb on the monkey bars, who went to our aunt with a little smudge of mud on my arm complaining that "I'm dirty!!!", who always wanted to play it safe and have peace. I cried A LOT--like ridiculous amounts--until I was in middle or even high, school. Elizabeth was daring and brave! She climbed up trees, poles, ladders, and anything else that would stay still long enough. She would go out to play and come back covered from head to toe in mud carrying a lizard or minnow she had just caught, happy as can be!

Of course we changed a TON as we grew, and I am not a prissy 'fraidy cat now, and she's not a hardened adreneline junkie either. hahahaha. But it's very interesting to see our early personalities mirrored so much in my kids. But I know that they're going to turn out just fine--they're going to be wonderful people and wonderful friends! I would say I can't wait to see what they are like--but I know better--I can and will wait! I'm enjoying this stage and this day with them too much! Praise God for this day and these little ones!

Watch Out Starkville! Here We Come!

We are moving to Starkville!!!!

It's been a long process of praying, waiting, trusting God, talking, talking, talking, praying, praying, praying, waiting on the Lord, getting really impatient, getting really discouraged, getting really scared, being encouraged, seeing God "show Himself strong on our behalf", learning a TON about God, ourselves, and eachother, and more praying. But we have finally arrived at the point where we are excitedly announcing our news to one and all! We are moving!


We have a lot going on right now--preparing to move, selling our house (hopefully very quickly), waiting for the baby to arrive any day now, and telling all of our friends here about our news. At times it's been overwhelming, and sometimes I feel like I'm having deja vu' because we did a lot of these same things exactly three years ago! It is such a blessing to look back on that time and see how we got through it and how much God has taught, changed, challenged, and blessed us since then! Now we will have three kids and all of their stuff to move instead of one, we have a house to sell, and we have ties to a place and people that we didn't have back then. But God is so merciful, and he has truly made this time so much smoother and easier than I thought possible! A little at a time, we're getting things done, checking them off my many many lists, and moving forward.

Some verses that have encouraged and anchored us during this time are:

"If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God..." James 1:5
"The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want." Psalms 36:1
"For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him." 2 Chronicles 16:9
"In the multitude of my anxieties within me, Your comforts delight my soul." Psalms 94:19

We are all very excited about what God will do throughout the rest of this process and as we settle into a new life in Starkville. For now, we're praying that our house will sell very fast and we're praying for a healthy, beautiful baby soon! I can't wait to meet our little one!!!!!

Lately

We haven't been doing very much lately (that I can write about yet anyway *wink wink*). We've been playing outside when Mommy is up to it, watching movies, playing with random stuff around the house, going to my Dr. appointments every week, and just hanging around.

The kids have been changing almost daily and getting so big! Ali Grace is so hilarious! She keeps us laughing with her mischevious personality, and now that Jack is so vocal he is hilarious with the things he comes out with!



A couple of weeks ago Jack and I were talking about the new baby coming, and right after that he made this playground "just for the new baby" as he said. So SWEET! He and Ali Grace had a blast with their new playground. I love how they play together now. A lot of it invloves chasing, hiding, and a TON of laughing! Hearing them really laugh at eachother is one of the best things about parenthood!



Here they are playing and laughing together.



My sister gave Ali this couch for Christmas and it's been fantastic! Both of the kids like sitting on it, and as you can see, Ali likes to lounge and watch Curious George in the mornings. Funny girl. And oh so lady-like.



Jack doing some crafts. His drawings and paintings are still just lines and circles and shapes that don't look much like anything, but he will tell you ALLLLL about what he's drawing in detail. It's so interesting to see his mind and abilities develop over time.



Last Thursday Jack started talking about marshmallows out of nowhere. He wanted some marshmallows BAD, so I told him that we could have some Friday night after we had our pizza night. Brian is such a sweet Daddy, and wanted to make it special, so he built a little fire so Jack could roast his first marshmallows. Jack was excited about the fire, and had a good time roasting his ONE marshmallow. And then he was done and wanted to play. It was cute and funny!

(Unrelated Sidenote: I've been making Pioneer Woman's Barbeque Chicken Pizza a lot lately and it is a HUGE HIT!!!! It's based on California Pizza Kitchen's recipe and is really easy. I LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE IT as do Brian and the kids. It's on her site and it is INCREDIBLE!!!!!)



We all love to swing!



Jack has been getting used to not swinging in the baby swing. For some reason he really likes it. I think he feels really secure in it. He mostly swings in the glider thing now. Last week I was swinging he and Ali next to eachother and he fell off. He was fine, but it really upset him, and he reeeeeally wanted to get in the baby swing then, and pretty much never get on the glider again. But the next time we went out, he did get on the glider and did great. It's hard growing up, isn't it!

To update ya'll on the pregnancy, everything is going well. I'm going to the Dr. every week now and I'm almost 38 weeks--I think I'll be at 38 on Sunday or Monday. Two weeks ago when i was checked I was at 1 cm, and this past Wednesday I was a little over 1, so things are happening, just not fast at all! The baby is really low which is making things uncomfortable for me. Too much walking or sitting on the floor kills my back and legs after a while. But I'm trying not to complain and not to be too impatient. I can't decide whether I'm ready for the baby to come like NOW! or not. I guess it's a good thing that I have no control over it--Praise God for that! I'm so glad that He in all of His infinite wisdom knows exactly when this little one will be here, and everything else about him/her too! What a comfort! So the status is that I could go into labor at any time. My due date isn't for 2 weeks, and I don't think it'll take that long, but we'll see. I'm still getting the feeling that we're having a boy, if it is his name will be Bodin Mark--and I think we're going to try and call him Bodin, instead of Bo. If it's a girl her name will be Katherine Elizabeth--Kate.

Jack's Big Boy Bed

With the arrival of our new little one getting closer, Brian and I knew we had to get Jack a new bed and rearrange the cribs some. So a couple months ago we found some bed plans on Knockoff Wood and Brian got started. I LOVE LOVE LOVE that he can build furniture, and that he loves to do it. He has built a few pieces for our house, and this one was going to be extra special because it was for Jack. It took a few weeks of working in his spare time, and some tweaking to the plans, but Brian really enjoyed it. He is quite the perfectionist when it comes to his carpentry, and he worked really hard filling seams and holes and getting it just right.

Jack received a mattress set and a comforter set for his birthday, so as soon as we got home from Jackson and his b-day party weekend Brian and Jack got to work setting up his new bed. Jack LOVES helping his Daddy with anything, but especially building. Brian let him hold up the rails, play with the drill, hold and use the screwdriver, and double-check all of the screws.

The bed has been a BIG HIT!!! Jack loves climbing into it and "sliding" out of it as he says. He sleeps really well in it, and likes playing in it too--and so does Ali Grace of course. Since this first completed photo we've moved the crib mattress and replaced it with another rail so our very active sleeper doesn't fall between the wall and bed; and we've put his new comforter set on. It all looks so cute--and BIG!

Jack's 3rd Birthday Party!!!

This weekend we went to Jackson for Jack's 3rd birthday party! Brian's sister and brother-in-law (Amanda and Chris) had the party at their house and they did such a great job making it special and fun for all of us--especially Jack!

The decorations were fantastic! The theme was Curious George and there were lots of fun banners, signs, and balloons! One of my favorite things was that she used bunches of bananas on the table as balloon anchors! So CUTE! Amanda even dressed in yellow and brown to match the party! She is incredible!








Chris, being the great uncle he is, thought to record a couple of Curious George episodes for us to watch during the party! Jack and Ali Grace loved that! Jack chilled out on the couch with his balloon for a while, and then Ali Grace and Grandpa joined in too.

We all ate yummy food and the kids had a blast playing with the CG goody bags Amanda and Chris got for them. Even Uncle Michael played with some play-doh!







Jack had a good time opening presents. He got clothes, which he hugged to show how much he liked them, a HUGE bag of craft supplies, some CG DVDs, a rocket, a bulldozer, and a mattress set and comforter set for his new big boy bed!




We all had a blast (hehe) playing with the rocket outside! I think Brian had more fun with it than Jack did--not really--Jack loved it! They had fun stomping on the foot "thing" and making it take off. And really loved shooting everybody with the rockets once pointing it straight up wasn't as exciting anymore.

Ali Grace eventually grabbed the foot "thing" and turned it into her phone! This girl looooves to talk on the phone, and as you can see, she can make anything into one. So funny!

Then the kids hunted for easter eggs and found some fun candy.




Check out the belly in this pic above!!! It is definitely getting huge!!!! :)







Cake time!!! Jack LOVED his Curious George cake! My Mom and I like making their cakes ourselves, and though sometimes it makes for some interesting situations (VERY MESSY), they always turn out great! It looked so cute, and it tasted delicious!!!







After eating cake we were all pretty worn out, so we just sat around and relaxed a while. Jack and Ali Grace were waaaay overdue for a nap, so Ali took advantage of Papa and was out! Sweet little one.



It was a fun day and everything went so perfectly! We are so very blessed to have family that loves us so much and will do so much for us! We had a fantastic time, and Jack loved every minute! He even went up to Amanda, gave her a hug, and told her "This is FUN!" Our precious, sweet, BIG BOY!

BIG THANKS TO AUNT AMANDA AND UNCLE CHRIS!!!! WE LOVE YOU!