A New Phase

James, Caleb and Carson moved out of our home over the weekend and into their own place. I'm happy for them, but I'm surprised at how sad it's making me. They have been living here since Lonnie died. I think seeing them almost every day and taking care of them has kept my mind off of the inevitable reality--my sister is gone! Now they're gone too and it doesn't feel very good. I'm still seeing them every morning and every afternoon until school is out next week for Christmas break. After that, however, they will be starting a new school and they are living about 45 minutes away. Ugh. Say a prayer for me!

Carter's Superman Party

With Carter's birthday being on Christmas Eve, we try to have his birthday party with his friends (um, our friends) early in the month. We had it on Saturday. It was a Superman party. All 17 kids (and their parents) seemed to have a great time. Brent brought home a jump and giant firetruck slide. We all played and ate and ate and ate. Good times, Good times. I'll do his birthday post when it's closer to his birthday.


Super Sliding Friends

Super Jumping Friends

Super Cake-eating Friends

Happy Birthday Auntie!

My sister Lisa's birthday was yesterday, but it wasn't a good bloggy day, so I'm a day late. We had dinner at our house to celebrate. Lisa's favorite--spaghetti with corn, salad and bread (homemade by Brent). And a chocolate cake, of course. The kids were so excited about Auntie's birthday and spent the day preparing and drawing her pictures. Auntie (which is the name she chose for herself before Hunter was even born) is such a special part of our lives. As Hunter would say--she is beautiful on the outside AND on the inside.

Let's see. Do I remember when Lisa was born? I remember some things. I was 8 years old when Lisa was born, and Laura was 4. I remember that I got to go to a friend's house when my parents went to the hospital and Laura went to my grandma's. I remember that Laura was NONE TOO PLEASED about the recent development in our lives and that there were various and sundry incidents as a result of this. I remember that Lisa was such a BEAUTIFUL baby. She was always smiling. She could hear someone getting a camera out a mile away and she would start posing. Because of course, all pictures were of her :). I remember that she was a girly girl. From the very earliest days, all she wanted in life was some yips (lipstick) and to have her fingernails painted. Awe. Is it any wonder she is hairstylist now? (A really amazing one too!). It's really interesting to me to have known someone since they were a baby and see how they've changed and how they stay the same. Lisa has always been so sweet natured and easy-going (for the most part :)) And she still is. She is a kind and generous person. She LOVES her niece and her 4 nephews and is really good to/with them. Also, she still wakes up GRUMPY and DISORIENTED--just like when she was a baby! Awe. "Isn't she cute?" "Good Morning Sweet Thang!" We used to say stuff like that to her when she first woke up to tick her off.

Lisa is a wonderful blessing to our family and we are so THANKFUL for her! We love you Lisa. Happy Birthday.



Auntie and the kids at her birthday dinner.

You would have laughed if you could have been a fly on the wall as we tried to agree on a picture to commemorate Lisa's birthday dinner. Laura was not smiling/looking away in these pictures, Lisa was giving the "crazy eye" in that picture, and I had a spare tire in all the pictures but that's ok--I just cropped it out! Thank goodness for digital cameras and photo shop. I think this one turned out pretty nice. I love you girls!

It's A Pre-K Thanksgiving

Both Caleb and Carter's Pre-K classes had Thanksgiving Feasts today. The kids dressed up as Indians (complete with Indian names) and sang Thanksgiving songs. There was lots of food. The boys were so happy and proud that Parker and I were there to watch and eat with them. Yes, I ate two feasts--one for each kid. Funny quote from Caleb when I complimented him on his Indian duds: "This is NOT an Indian outfit, it's a PERSON outfit". Um, Sweetie--Indians are people too.

"Black Raven":




"Caleb Caleb-Monster":

Fall Has Flung

Outrageous Oranges

Radiant Reds

Yowza Yellows (I'm stretching, I know)

Our Street

Fall is undoubtedly, absolutely, by far, my favorite time of the year. I've been meaning to post these pictures for a week now. The colors didn't seem as brilliant this year as they have in years past a couple of weeks ago. But now. WOW. I am filled with awe during the fall for some reason, even more so than at Christmas. Recently, I heard someone wondering at the vividness of God's color palate, and wondering if there could be even more colors (or more vivid colors) than we experience now, that we will experience in Heaven. That would be amazing.

Certainly, none of this has to do with the fact that I never really experienced the beauty of Fall until I was in college. Florida is lush and green year round (which has its own benefits) and Lookout Mountain (where I went to college) is AMAZING during the fall. Maybe this is the reason I appreciate fall so much. Now, 'round about January, I'll be singing a different tune (or posting a different blog, as the case may be)--once all the leaves have been gone for a couple of months and I'm fighting the urge to throw myself off a building (nothing a nice trip to Florida won't cure). So for now, I relish the amazing orange, red and yellow hues of Fall. I've decided that the next time we buy a tree to plant, we must buy it for its fall foliage. I want one that is BRIGHT RED. Like the ones by my Chrevron Station. I would have posted a picture of them, but it just wouldn't have done them justice (with the gas station in the background and whatnot). Plus, the Chevron people would have thought I was STINKIN' CRAZY! I'm pretty sure my neighbors already think of me as "That crazy girl from Florida who takes pictures of her trees EVERY YEAR". Actually, I take pictures of their trees too, because mine are only yellow--until next year.

Jack-O-Lanterns & Trick-or-Treats

We carved our pumpkins the night before Halloween. Carter and Hunter didn't want to carve the little ones they picked out at the punky patch.

Spiderman, Sir Carter of the Round Table and Princess Cinderella pause for a snapshot before a glorious night of trick-or-treating with friends. There were funny things to see, scary things to see, more than one or two other Spidermen and Cinderellas (didn't see any other knights, and actually, Carter's costume lasted all of 5 minutes and then I carried it around for the rest of the night. When people said "What are you supposed to be", he shrugged his shoulders and I had to explain) and oh yeah, um...lots of candy. Three giant bags full. Enough to get us through New Years. Staying true to the tradition set by my father years ago on Halloween night--we promptly dumped all three bags in the middles of the table, took all the chocolate out and put the rest in one big bowl to be kept on top of the refrigerator. The only difference is that as I recall it, my father gobbled up all the chocolate as he went through it, right before our devastated eyes, as opposed to putting it in a ziploc bag and hiding it (which is what we did). Which is worse? I'm not sure. I think he at least made up a story about how he was checking it for poison and razor blades. My story is: you can't have chocolate but once a week at my house. (This is a kids only rule of course). I was actually impressed that they received a lot of special treats such as pencils, stickers, bags of popcorn, crackers, fruit snacks and other types of snacks instead of candy. I think that's a good idea. Who in the world needs 20 lbs worth of candy??? The kids are allowed to pick out one piece each night after dinner. If they ask me any other time, I've told them I'll throw it in the garbage by the handfull. I know, I'm mean.

Little Punkies at the Punky Patch

Note the harness. This is my new attempt to make sure Parker doesn't disappear/dart out into traffic and whatnot like that. From the back it looks like he has a monkey on his back. Tee Hee. People really do look at me like I treat my kid like an animal when I'm out in public. Too bad. Are they going to help me look for him when he disappears, or scoop him up from the ground after he's been turned into a pancake by some crazy SUV-wielding soccer mom? I didn't think so. So, harness it is.

Petting the Bunnies

Carter promptly dropped this pumpkin on the ground as soon as the picture was snapped.

Little Punkies at the Punky Patch. We're going trick or treating Wed. night with our friends, tomorrow I'll post pics of that and our pumpkin carving last night.

The Girl (Finally) Learns to Ride a Bike

I'm pretty sure that I wasn't even 5 years old yet when my Uncle Bruce taught me how to ride a bike. I'm sure of that because I was 5 years old when he died. Well, Hunter has finally taken off, at the age of 7. She's gotten really good in a short period of time. I think she's made up 2 years, so we're back on track! I'm also pretty sure that by the age of 7, I pretty much had the run of the neighborhood. Can you imagine?

Now I realize that neighborhoods are dangerous places. People drive so fast! So I set up one of these signs at either end of where they're riding, then I stand in the street watching for cars. Thanks to my Dad and Joyce for these signs, by the way. They bought them at Christmas when they were horrified by the speed at which cars were going by.

Carter prefers the scooter and he's quite good at it.

Oh, if you were Brent and you only have one Saturday off from work in October, you would do this all day: Fun Fun!

Let Me Introduce You To Our Little Friends

I keep forgetting to tell you about our new pets. These four fish. There were originally five, one for each kid, but we lost one. It's a long and sad story but I'll just sum it up by saying: Brent did it. I'm amazed they have survived at all. They had to endure the 1 hour/20 minute commute home from Brent's office in 3 inches of water. They survived being dumped into the tank when they got home with a few pitchers full of cold tap water. They survived being over fed and having to live in a nasty tank until we got the balance right. Aye.

Now there are four: Caleb, Carson, Fish and I forgot the last one (We're not a very creative bunch). The kids know all this, plus which is which and which one belongs to who. I enjoy watching them. Every time I walk over to the tank they rush over and start swimming back and forth frantically (like they are in the picture above), looking at me with their desperate eyes as if to say: "Hey lady! Can you get us out of here?!" "Do you know where our mom and dad went?!" It distresses me a little. The same way the zoo distresses me a little. And the circus. But, they're pretty and I like to watch them, so O Well, I guess.

Oh yeah. They've also been scooped out with a spatula and a serving spoon. They've been brushed with a little brush and swatted at with Mrs. Spanky.

Aye, Parkie.

These are some hearty fish!!

Carter's Corner

Yesterday I went with Carter's pre-k class on a field trip to the grocery store. The kids had a great time, learning about the bakery, produce and whatnot. At one point they gave the kids a hairnet to wear. At the end all the kids pretty much threw theirs away but Carter wanted to make sure that he put his in his bag to go home. As soon as he got into the car after school, he asked me if he could help me make dinner. Then at home, he kept asking if it was time to start making dinner yet. When I finally said it would be time to start dinner in half an hour, he asked if we could set a timer for half an hour. When the buzzer went off, I went to the bathroom to wash my hands and Carter ran to the kitchen. When I came back into the kitchen, this is what I found:

It cracks me up that this was his plan all day: to wear his hair net while he helped his mom with dinner. Not like he even has any hair. It took some coaxing to get him to let me take this picture. I think he had an inkling that this could come back to haunt him someday.

Ode To Brent

I am amazed and blessed to have been given such a wonderful husband as Brent. He is a Godly man for real. He always puts me and the kids first. He works so hard to provide for us. The highlights of his day are spending the first and last moments of the day reading scripture with his kids. He cares about others. He is a man of prayer. When he says he will pray about something, he really does it--and not just one time. I am so glad for my children that they have a father like him (and don't have to rely solely on me!). In the last months, he has been so considerate, gracious, understanding and has persevered and encouraged me to persevere when our daily life have been in such upheaval that I don't know what to do. What an amazing gift of God he is to me and to the kids (all 5 of them). Being married is hard, but I wouldn't want to be married to anyone else. Happy Birthday, Buddy. I love you.

PS: I forgot to mention that he cooks, cleans, does laundry, loves to pray together, spend time together, doesn't like to watch tv or sports (much), unless it's a special occasion. Don't be jealous!

Happy Birthday Uncle Brent/Daddy!

Brent and the kids. I think we've had at least four birthday cakes in the last two months.

Happy Birthday Lonnie

There are two birthday posts for September 25. I will do the hard one first. Lonnie would have been 23 years old today. I love to look at these pictures, but it's also hard. It's really really hard. Yes, I do remember the day she was born very well. I was 11 years old and in 6th grade. My parents woke me up in the night to let me know they were leaving for the hospital. They left us at home. Laura was 7 and Lisa was almost 4. (Man, I was a responsible 6th grader!)I got up and sat on the couch for a while, too excited to go back to sleep right away. Laura woke up and sat next to me. I told her mom and dad had left and she seemed fine with that. (The next morning she started freaking out because she couldn't find mom and dad and she didn't remember getting up with me)! In the morning, we got dressed and went over to the next door neighbors. They got us off to school and whatever. I could hardly concentrate during school and was so excited when I came around the corner from the bus stop and saw that my dad was home. I went in the front door and he was asleep on the couch. There were all these papers on the counter, so I started sifting through them, looking for the coveted piece of information: Was it a brother or a sister?!? I found it on one of them and I was very excited. Three sisters! My dad took us that night to see her. Lisa said she looked Chinese. She had a big nose and she was VERY long and thin. I don't know exactly how long and thin, but I remember when I first held her, her legs hung down over the side of my leg. My mom told me to get off the air conditioner while I was holding the baby.

Lonnie was like my own baby doll. I loved to feed her, change her, get her dressed, rock her to sleep, get her out of bed. (Hello moms, how awesome would that be?) I was like a built-in Nanny. And I was free!

I am sad today, because I miss my baby sister. I don't know if it's appropriate, or how it works, but I would like to ask Jesus to tell her Happy Birthday, and that I love her, miss her and think about her every day. We all do.
Carson William? Is that you? This was taken at Christmas time. The resemblance between them is striking and seems almost

supernatural. What a gift when I look at him and see so much of her. Even his personality, the way he talks and his mannerisms are like hers. When she was 4 years old, she broke her arm by tripping on her towel while running down the hall (take note all you who have children running through your house). I remind my kids of this often because I just know they're going to get hurt. She had to have surgery on her elbow and had a huge scar on the top and bottom of it.

This is on a trip to Disney.

Brent and Lonnie have the same birthday. They are 16 years apart. This picture was taken when she came to Florida with us one time, when I was pregnant with Hunter. We used to be the Three Amigos. She used to spend almost every Friday night with us when we first moved here. Eating pizza and watching rented movies. She would hang out with me on Saturdays while Brent was working. Sometimes she would grocery shop with me. When she was an early teen, she would get really annoyed that she had to share her birthday with Brent. In the later years, she was annoyed with herself for that. She said, "Oh, poor Brent." He didn't really mind though. She was always with us for significant things. She was there the day we got engaged. She was their every time we moved. She was there for the birth of every one of our babies. She was there the night that we got the phone call that Brent's sister Kim had died. Every time I think of some significant thing in my life, she was there. She came with my mom and dad to drop me off at college. She stayed up all night waiting for us to arrive when we first came to visit them in Atl. Man I miss her.

Lonnie and her boys.

Covenant Friends

Several weeks ago I was able to get together with old Covenant friends, Cara & Jen. We had a great time going out to dinner and catching up on old times. It's ineresting the things that we found entertaining back then. We found ourselves saying "What were we thinking?" a lot. Cara lives in St. Louis and is married and expecting her first baby in February. Jen lives here and is married and has her own business as a massage therapist. Thanks for the fun time, girls. It was so nice to see you again! I was going to put a series of pictures of us together over the years from college til now, but I just don't have time!

Caleb is 5 Today!!

On the day he was born, I was at the hospital. I had Hunter with me. We had just gotten back from Florida the day before, still in shock from the experience of Brent's sister's death (Kim) on September 6th. Lonnie had been in the hospital overnight. They induced her in the morning on the 13th. I think Caleb was born around 4pm. Only James was in the room with her. She did great. He was precious and healthy, just like he still is today.

I painfully admit that 5 years ago today I was stressed out. What were they going to do? They were so young to be parents! Where were they going to live? How were they going to pay for it? Now I know more than ever that God was the only one who could know the short time that Lonnie had to bring him into the world and be his mommy. And I know more than ever that Caleb Alexander was not an accident, he was on purpose by God. What a blessing he is to our family. My prayer for him is that he grows up to be a Godly man, who is devoted to the work of Christ in the world. And that he always knows and feels that he is loved SO MUCH. I hope that he's proud of who he is and how he came into the world, because it was an act of God's sovereignty.



When Caleb was 12 days old, his mom turned 18! Here he is being held by Aunt Laura, sitting next to a 2 year old Hunter and his mom.

I'm sorry about the quality of the pictures, I really didn't realize they are as bad as they are until I was done. What an angel. He was such a sweet baby.

When Caleb was around 6 weeks old, his parents got married. Here they are changing their son's diaper on their wedding day. Isn't that what everyone does on their wedding day? :)

Caleb today with our "Happy Birthday Vase" and his birthday flowers. He was so excited! He also said, "Aunt LeeAnn, did you get my special book yet with my birthday pictures?" Remember my last post? I told you they would think it's special. I wasn't in a hurry about it before, but now I have to run to the scrapbooking store to get a book before I pick up Parker from preschool. I'm still collecting the pictures from years past. (Does anyone reading this have a picture of Caleb's 1st birthday party or his 4th birthday party when we went to Chuck E. Cheese last year?! I must have forgotten my camera on those days!) Tonight we're having Caleb's special birthday dinner. According to Caleb's wishes, we are having hamburgers, chicken nuggets and french fries (I think I'll throw in some fruit! No veggies, because that would be against Caleb's birthday wishes). He also wanted a chocolate cake with chocolate frosting and he gets to eat off our special "celebration plate". Also, we took a special snack to school today. What a day!! Happy Birthday Caleb! We love you--so much.

Blast From The Past

I'm working on a "Birthday Book" for each of the 5 children. It is basically a small scrap book. On each page will be a picture of them with their birthday cake for each birthday (surely I have those pictures for each of them somewhere, right?). I am also writing a little bit about what we did that day and using some "embellishments" (this is a term I learned from Kim, who is a serious scrapbooker, and it basically means "stickers"). I say all this tongue in cheek because I am NOT a scrapbooker. But this is small and do-able, and I think the kids will think it's special. Hunter and Parker's are up to date and I'm currently working on Caleb's. As I'm doing this, I'm coming across lots of fun pictures and I thought I'd share a few with everyone.

PS: Parker started preschool yesterday and he had a great time. So did I, actually. When I asked what happened in school he said, "My teacher said "Good Morning"." So that's a good start, right? I forgot to take a picture! More material for is future therapy sessions. Poor kid. Hey, at least I finished his "Birthday Book"!!!

How cute was I??

So Cute (and chubby). In case you can't recognize him, this is Brent.

Hot Mamas (before they were hot mamas)! Right after I graduated from high school, I went with Kim and her family to Tallahassee to visit FSU and then we went to Epcot. Kim and I wore matching outfits to Epcot that included FSU boxers and an FSU t-shirt. Yes, we wore underwear in public. Good times, Good times.

Pretty Pretty Princess

For Hunter's 7th birthday party, Aunt Lisa came over and brought all of her "hair stuff". We had 7 girls over and they all got an up-do, makeup and painted nails. They wore their best princess dresses and looked glamorous! I don't have time right to upload all the pictures. My computer seems to be getting slower and slower!

It's funny, I thought I would have more time after the kids went to school, and so far, I feel like I have less! Parker and the house are keeping me very busy and the kids keep my afternoons exciting!

Our Baby Girl is 7!!

Hunter today, still blasting into the world with her amazing energy and spirit. That remote control was permanently attached to her hand, by the way. We had to have it surgically removed: by the cable guy who shuts off all the fun channels.

This is Hunter 7 years ago, what a tiny angel.

Proud Daddy: tired but happy.

This is my favorite picture of Lonnie. She looks so happy! It was the day before the 1st day of school. She was going into 10th grade. On that Saturday before, my mom had a baby shower for me. Lonnie hadn't gone school clothes shopping yet, so that night my mom gave me her credit card and Brent and I took Lonnie shopping at the mall. I remember feeling oddly energetic. I opted to take the stairs instead of the elevator. This, from a person who hadn't walked more than a few feet at a time in months. I was so sick and tired when I was pregnant with Hunter. After we finished shopping, we had a bite to eat at Wendy's. I had chicken nuggets and fries with a big coke. (I remember this because they unfortunately made a second appearance later in the evening.) I remember Lonnie saying "Maybe it will be tonight, while I'm spending the night!" I said I didn't think so, since I still had 5 days 'til my due date and everyone told me not to be surprised when I go past my due date. When we got home, Lonnie and I stayed up 'til after midnight putting away all the presents we had gotten. We also had a big box waiting for us with tons of hand-me-downs from Brent's sister (stuff for both a boy and a girl since we didn't know what we were having). It took a while to look at all these and separate them out. I was exhausted when we finally went to bed. I woke up at 3am because I had a stomach ache. I thought surely I wasn't in labor because everyone had warned me not to be surprised if I thought I was in labor when I really wasn't. So I got out my trusty "What to Expect when you're Expecting" book and turned to the section that tells you what to do to decide whether or not you might be in labor. You know, drink 2 glasses of water; walk around if you're resting, rest if you're being active; take a shower. By the time I was to "take a shower", I was pretty sure I was in labor. My shower woke up Brent and we decided we should count contractions. Oh dear, a minute and a half long and no time in between! This is not good. This is about when the pain kicked in with amazing strength. This woke up Lonnie, who was very excited/scared. Everyone had told Brent to be prepared for the 1st labor to be a long one, so he was in no hurry. He showered and shaved and took his sweet time, while Lonnie and I sat in the car. She sat silently in the back seat while I cursed his name. I was convinced that I was going to have the baby in the car. We finally made it to the hospital around 6am. The nurses didn't seem to believe me when I told them the baby was "coming out". They were convinced after they checked me. I barely made it into the bed before Hunter came blasting into the world! My mom got there right at the last minute, as well as my midwife. Poor Lonnie had to witness the whole thing because I didn't want her to sit in the waiting room by herself and no one got there in time to sit with her. I was afraid she would be traumatized for life. The above picture was taken later that day, so I think she was ok. I remember her fussing with my parents because she didn't want to go to school the next day, she wanted to stay with me and the baby.

Hunter had jaundice too, but not as bad as the boys. She just had to sit in the window in her diaper for a few days. Those first days were so traumatic! I never thought she would nurse without a fight! But she did. And she was so cute!

Carter's Corner

---When we went to the lake a few weeks ago, Carter had the go to the bathroom really bad. As we're walking hand in hand to the restroom, he says to me:

"So, I guess your butt is connected to your stomach."

me: "Why do you say that?"

C: "Because, first, my stomach was hurting really bad and then, I suddenly had to go poop!"

He's such a thinker.

---As you may or may not know, it has been EXTRAORDINARILY HOT here. Heat index as much as 115 last week. The kids still insist on going outside though. So there I was, sitting on a rock in the shade in my backyard watching the kids ride their bikes. I could feel sweat rolling down my back. I was growing concerned that my deoterant might not be strong enough to handle this so I carefully and inconspicuously sniffed my armpit just to see. Carter immediately says (from the other side of the yard): "What's that smell like mom, gasoline?"

1st Day of School!!

Hooray for the 1st day of school!! Hunter started 2nd grade Monday. Caleb and Carter started Pre-k together at the same school. They were SO EXCITED that they saw each other on the playground and got to play together. Carson moved up to the "older two's" class so he has a new teacher as well. When we dropped them all off and were walking out to the car, Parker kept looking in all the classrooms and saying "Where's me class, Mommy?". He wasn't too thrilled when he found out his "class" is at home with me. O well, he'll start 3 year old preschool three mornings per week after Labor Day. Hello? Did I just say I'm going to be all alone 3 times a week for 3 hours at a time? Aye! Is it wrong if I'm dancing a jig right now? It's not like I'll be bored--I have a list a mile long of things that have been neglected for ummmm--7 years now.

These pictures were taken after school on Monday--we were a little stretched for time before school trying to figure everything out! I think we got it, though.

Parker's Spider Man Birthday

Happy Birthday Dear Parker!

Spiderman Jammies from Uncle James and the boys.

Is it open yet?

Is it just me, or are these kids GORGEOUS?!

OK, maybe not this one!

They're even gorgeous with dirty faces!

Brent had the boys convinced that he could only bring them a "Dollhouse" jump for Parker's party on Saturday. The cool thing is, they didn't really care! Here they are, helping their dad "blow it up". They both say that when they grow up they want to "blow up jumpies" for a living. Aye.

But, Surprise!! It was Parker's favorite: Your Friendly Neighborhood Spidey. Yay!

Look who showed up at the party!! Spin your webs, Parkie!

The kids were ecstatic!

Spidey magic tricks

Spidey Games

Spidey Balloon Swords