Wordless Wednesday

I think this photo speaks for itself.
This is an actual flashcard from a set I bought for the kids.
Epic fail!

An Apology

I think most of you know that last week there was an "incident" in our household. Chase (our 10 yr old) ran away. The police were called. He was gone only about an hour and a half, but only by the grace of God. I have a screaming headache today so am in no mood or condition to type up the whole story, but I did want to share this...

In case it's tough to read...
Dear all that prayed

Sorry for running away. Thanks
for praying for me. Sorry for every
thing I did but I won't run away agian.

Yours truly,
Chase Loucks

More on this story later...

Clumsy

This is a word that often describes my attempts to be the woman/wife/mom that God intended me to be. One of my favorite musical artists is Chris Rice. On his album Deep Enough to Dream he has a song entitled "Clumsy". Here are the lyrics:

You think I’d have it down by now
Been practicin’ for thirty years
I should have walked a thousand miles
So what am I still doin’ here
Reachin’ out for that same old piece of forbidden fruit
I slip and fall and I knock my halo loose
Somebody tell me what’s a boy supposed to do?

I get so clumsy
I get so foolish
I get so stupid
And then I feel so useless
But You’re sayin’ You love me
And You’re still gonna hold me
And that You wanna be near me
‘Cause You’re makin’ me holy
You’re still makin’ me holy, yeah

I’m gonna get it right this time
I’ll be strong and I’ll make You proud
I’ve prayed that prayer a thousand times
But the rooster crows and my tears roll down (again)
Then You remind me You made me from the dust
And I can never, no never, be good enough
And that You’re not gonna let that come between us

I get so clumsy
I get so foolish
I get so stupid
And then I feel so useless
But You’re sayin’ You love me
And You’re still gonna hold me
And that You wanna be near me
‘Cause You’re makin’ me holy
You’re still makin’ me holy, yeah

From where I stand
Your holiness is up so high I can never reach it
My only hope is to fall on Jesus

I get so clumsy
I get so foolish
I get so stupid
And then I feel so useless
But You’re sayin’ You love me
And You’re still gonna hold me
And that You wanna be near me
‘Cause You’re makin’ me holy
You’re still makin’ me holy, yeah

Clumsy Fly Music (ASCAP)

The most encouraging part is that God is always going to love us, no matter how "clumsy" we are. Words I definitely needed to hear today!

This is funny... laugh!

Apparently there was an armed robbery and a man-hunt (helicopter search and all!) in my teeny-tiny hometown. When friends posted the news on Facebook I called my mom and let her know. I told her that I realized Dad was retired, but I didn't know he was that bored! She told me to let her know if the 'copter headed north (which is the direction of their house). When I posted that conversation on FB, no one responded...

So, okay, maybe everyone is a little stressed with the whole "man-hunt-helicoper-flying-over-our-houses" thing. But humor should lighten the mood, right? (Come on... please tell me you are at least chuckling a little to yourself at the thought of my dad, the retired Baptist pastor, robbing a gas station and hiding out in peoples yards?)

Like I said, I get that stress could make you overlook the obvious humor in my statement about my dad. But, once the hunt was over, I added this comment: "So I can call my dad and tell him he's in the clear? :P" And still no LOL's.

Is it my delivery?? Seriously, I really do hope you're laughing a little. This is funny!

And just in case that didn't make you laugh, maybe this will...

(Dad being himself at Levi's birthday party. I love this guy!)

Wordless Wednesday

Must have been a great nap to do that to her hair!

9 Months

(I can't believe my baby girl has been in my arms as long as she was in my womb!)

Jericho Faith
*9 months*

~sitting
~have an adorable goofy grin


~army crawling
~eating solids (you can down a jar of veggies, a jar of meat, and some cereal all in one sitting)
~stopped napping
~sleep through the night
~pretty content and smiley


~love to be held
~love MOST to be held my mama
~talk (you can say mama, dada, grandma, grandpa, go, bye-bye, hi)
~weigh about 17 lbs
~have enough hair to get "bed head"

We love you baby girl!

Stars?

Nope... It's our first snowfall! :)

{These pictures were taken about 5 minutes apart... notice the accumulation on the hood.}

Levi funnies

[I really should have been on top of things and grabbed the camera when this happened, but I honestly didn't think about it until just now...]

When Tim got home from work today we went outside and put a coat of poly on our new table top. I came inside and found Levi sitting in Jericho's high chair.

Me: What are you doing? [holding back laughter]
L: I wanted to see if I could be a baby!
Me: [still trying not to laugh]
L: Can you get me out!?

The second funny occurred while we were waiting for supper to finish cooking...

Currently, Levi's favorite color is red. He has red tennis shoes that Grandma bought him. He has a couple pair of red sport/knit pants and a couple red shirts that he wears almost every day (he would wear them every day if I'd let him...).

I was sitting on the couch with him, and out of the blue he says, "When I'm a daddy I'm going to have a red Corvette ["tor-vet" in Levi speak], and a red truck, and a red van. And I'm going to have a red house, and a red body, and LOTS of red shoes!" (He reiterated several times that he would have a LOT of red shoe - just for him.) He continued on for about 5 minutes listing all the "red things" he was going to have -- among them, a red t.v., a red computer, a red spider, and a red bookcase.

Clarification of Car Seat Safety Post & Why We'll be Buying a Radian

First, the clarifications... this was written as a result of my dear friend Dawn's comment on my last post. What follows is a slightly edited version of the email I sent to her (which she so graciously accepted at face value and is still on speaking terms with me. :) I know she is because she stopped by today with several mini-loaves of some unknown-yet-yummy bread variety... we're still trying to figure it out, but I'll let you know when I have a guess, Dawn! LOL).

I feel I may have given the wrong impression in my last post about car seat safety. I want you to know that I do think it [car seat safety] is VERY important, and I don't think that the size of my family (with the accompanying challenge of getting everyone in a seat, etc) excuses me from following the law.

I do sometimes wish we could go back to "the good ol' days" and just live simpler lives. When I was in Kindergarten our "bus" was a grocery-getter station wagon, and we all just sat in the back. Crazy stuff! I just want to be clear that I don't think that just because we used to do it that way it was the right way. I shared the story about my brother because I think it's a cute/funny story... not because I EVER thought it was safe for him to be standing in the front seat between my parents! :)

It's nice to see that there are some more "streamlined" options out there for car seats. Right now, we can just barely fit 3 kids in the back seat of the Yukon because 2 of them are in boosters. Alex and Chase take turns sitting in the middle, but even that's not all that safe because it's only a lap belt. If the law is going to require us to put our kids in seats, then car seat mfg's and car mfg's need to follow suit by including things like a shoulder belt for ALL seats in a vehicle. If seating is intended for 3 (adults) across, then I want to be able to fit 3 car seats/boosters across!

Since Jericho's arrival, our seating arrangements had Alex/Chase (on a monthly rotation), Jericho, and Shiloh in the second seat, with Levi, Alex/Chase, and Victory in the third seat. Today I moved Shiloh's seat (a convertible booster with 5-pt harness -- sadly, not rear-facing) to the center of the third row. Alex and Chase will sit on either side. The second seat will be Victory and Levi on the outsides in belt-positioning boosters and Jericho in the middle in her infant carrier. It will be a bit tighter getting everyone buckled in that second seat, as well as increasing the "work" required to slide the seat forward for access to the third seat, but well worth the added safety of a shoulder belt for each of the boys.

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Courtney, who wrote the original post that prompted MY last post, and I spent today shooting emails back and forth discussing car seats and the options available to us. She mentioned the Sunshine Kids Radian seat. Tim and I have been discussing our options, and this seat seemed to fit the bill (nice and compact, will fit three across without too much hassle, offers a 5-pt harness up to 80 lbs, etc). They are spendy, but after seeing this amazing story, we are totally sold! Having just received our property tax refund for the year, we plan to first fix Tim's car and then buy a Radian 80 for Jericho. Even Alex and Chase, at 11 and 9, don't weigh 80 lbs, so I have no doubt well get our money's worth out of this seat! :)

To give credit where credit is due, I copied the above photo from the Sunshine Kids site. It's the photo that convinced me we need at least 3 of these :)

Car Seat Safety

This is a touchy subject with some. It's something I would love to provide for my kids, but struggle with the logistics, and the sometimes-inconvenience of it all... Read what my friend Courtney posted on her blog here first, then read on.
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You've read Courtney's post? Really? You're not just skipping it and thinking maybe you'll check it out later? Good! :) (If you ARE thinking of sneaking ahead, don't! Here's the link again... Now that you've read her post, you may continue...

Courtney,

I LOVE your enthusiasm for keeping your kids safe in the car!

This is one of those issues that I waver back and forth on... I know that they need to be kept safe, but on the other hand, I wish there were more "freedom" in the car. Some of my best memories as a kid are from cross-country road trips. My brother and I would crawl into the back of our station wagon and play for hours. It was great fun!

When I read the bit about Michigan allowing moms to breastfeed while on the road, I told Tim -- "We're moving to MI!" LOL I'll admit to having done this on more than one occasion... tho usually not in the front seat, and not while we're on the freeway.

In all seriousness, I am so glad that YOU are up to date on everything and can recommend good options for keeping our kids safe in the car. I would love to keep Jericho rear-facing for as long as possible and will be needing a convertible seat before too long.

And, I just have to share one of my favorite stories my mom tells... When my brother and I were small (over 30 yrs ago) and there were no seatbelt laws (much less car seat laws!) my brother would stand on the front seat between my parents. On one occasion he fell asleep standing up, and eventually slumped over onto my mom. :)

A special thanks for recommending a seat that is "trim"! As you know, I'm in desperate need of something slimmer, given my situation. :)

Love you!
~k

As you can see from my response, I'm not as staunch as Courtney is in my stance. I do however feel it is important to take special care of the little blessings we've been given. If you've not given much thought to the matter of car seat safety in the past, I hope this will at least give you something to noodle on...

For more info head over here.