She's Home!

On Father's Day, one of my best friend's daughters, 6wk old little Clara, was struck in the head by an overthrown softball. It was one of those freak accidents that about 15 things had to happen just right for it to happen, and they all did. The ball had to be thrown just right, the angle had to be just right to fit in a 6" crack between the fence and tent, the person holding her (my sister) had to have her positioned just right, etc. There were so many instances that it could have bounced off of something, or someone, else, but it didn't. It hit Clara.

That started the next 11 days of worry, hope, fear, anxiety, prayers, prayers and more prayers. The entire community and even county (x2) was waiting anxiously every day for an update on Clara's progress. She underwent testing, sedation, seizures, medications and monitors, and 9 days without her mommy and daddy's arms around her. But Clara is a tough little girl and she persevered. She fought and she came through and she's now home.

I'll be honest, when I heard that Clara was coming home yestserday, I started to cry. I also immediately gave Mikayla and Lilly huge hugs and kisses (Alayna was still at summer school) How do you experience something like this, even just through friends, and not want to hold your child closer to you? It's the Momma Bear instinct, or whatever you want to call it. You hear of danger, or heartache, and you cling to your child and try to protect them. You do all you can to keep them safe and healthy and happy.

But unfortunately, that doesn't always work. There are things out there that no one can truly comprehend, things that will happen regardless of what we do to stop or prevent it. That's God's plan. Now I'm not saying that Clara was meant to be hit or that God made it happen, but you all know what I mean. Sometimes there are just things that are completely beyond our control. But, with faith, love and strength, we can all get through anything. Look at little Clara. She's home and she's safe and she's well.

And on that note, I'm going to sign off. Want to know where I'm headed? To the store to pick up lunch and bring it over to Clara and her mommy. I can hardly stand it!

Out of the mouth of babes

So living in a house full of little girls is always interesting. There's usually toy horses or barbies or dress-up clothes to be found in each and every room-the bathroom, the kitchen, our bedroom-they are everywhere. It's almost like the toy room got sick and vomited little girl toys all over the house. This morning, for instance, I stepped on a high-heeled Barbie shoe and I almost let out a not-so-Mommy-like word in front of Lilly. It hurt. She looked at me with wide eyes and goes, "Hmmm, guess I can put that away." Hmmm, maybe. She knows the rule and knows that she's supposed to pick up her toys. She also knows that if Mommy or Daddy have to tell her numerous times, that toy becomes ours. And that's not fun.

There are also other fun things about having all girls, or small kids in general. I was getting out of the shower this morning and Lilly walked in to go potty. As I was thinking that I can never have more than 2 mins alone in the bathroom, she looked at me toweling off and says, "Mommy, you better cover those things up!" and pointed right at my chest. Sure, thanks for the advice. I'll remember that. And she'd better, too, especially when she's about 17.

Does anyone else ever hear that alarm clock go off and just want to stay in bed? I know I do, more times than not. It just seems like no matter what I do, I never get enough sleep. And no, I can't blame it on Mikayla, because she's been sleeping through the night for 4 months now. As for last night, I'll blame it on Andy. He had a softball game, so the girls and I obviously went along to watch and cheer on the team (they won). We weren't home until close to ten, and by the time we got everyone pottied, teeth brushed, changed into PJ's, a couple hundred kisses and hugs each, it was almost 10:30 by the time I finally fell into bed. Well, that's about an hour past my ideal bedtime. I'm getting too old for this. I thought when you got older, you're supposed to be able to rely on less sleep. hmmmm

So when that dreaded alarm rang this morning, I wasn't too happy. I was peacefully dreaming that Mikayla was sitting up completely on her own (she can't) and riding horse by herself while Lilly led her around the yard. Andy and I were cheering from the sidelines. When I was so rudely awakened, my only good thought was that it was cool enough that I was under the blankets. That was a far cry from the hot and humid mornings of a few days ago.

Well, I drug my tired body out of bed only to find that all three of my girls were still sleeping peacefully, which only made me more upset that I had to be awake. But like the good Mommy that I am, I still got myself all ready to face the day. Andy was long gone to work, so mornings were all my doing. Alayna had to get ready for Summer School, Lilly & Mikayla had to get up and dressed and fed, and I had to greet my daycare kids with a smile and a mostly clean house. But I knew I could, and would, do it because that's what I did every day. It was my job.

We're now safely into mid-morning and I'm half-listening to what must be the only episode of 'Blues Clues' that I've never seen. Steve is running around in shorts and a short-sleeved shirt! Never seen that one before, I'd remember. The babies are sleeping, Lilly and my one daycare boy are coloring, the dishwasher is humming with a new load washing....life is good. So, I'm going to go and try to relax a little, maybe just sit for a few minutes before the coloring gets old and they realize that I'm not playing with them.

Actually, that's not going to happen. Lilly just came up to me and said, "Mommy, are you done with 'puter time? We want a snack..."

Rundown on the Family

So I realize that most people who will read this already know us, but I'm still going to do the rundown. Then I'm refreshing everyone's memory on our spectacular family, LOL. Like you could forget us...


I'll start with Andy and I, since there would be no family without us. We have known each other since Kindergarten. His aunt actually jokes that she always knew we would end up together because in first grade, my name accidentally ended up in the boy bucket for a classroom Christmas name draw. Who drew my name? Andy. Fast forward MANY years and we're sophomores in HS. We had a few classes together and started getting to know each other better. That's when we started dating: March 3 of 1997. We've been together, for better or for worse, ever since. There's been some rough times, and some really rough times, but we're incredibly happy and lucky to have one another. We were married September 14, 2002.


Alayna is our oldest daughter. Now, I don't want to brag or anything, but she's a bit of a genius. She's one of those kids that loves to learn. Ever since she was a baby, she's had this yearning for knowledge. She never crawled, but skipped right to walking at 10.5 months. She's always loved books, her ABCs, music, and was singing solos in church when she was 3! She also could write her name, most of the letters and numbers, and enjoyed "reading" to us. Now she's a big almost-first-grader and very mature. I can't believe my baby is that old. She reads like no first grader should, she loves anything to do with science and animals, and her most recent accomplishment is learning to knit. Yup, my 6yo can knit and I don't know how. She LOVES to point that out and thinks it's very funny that someday maybe she can teach me.



Lilly is our little pistol. She looks and acts just like her daddy, so for those of you who know Andy, you know what I'm talking about. The girl never stops moving. She's always on the go, doing something or another. Even her entrance into this world was grand and quick, like she just couldn't wait any longer. It's a rare moment to find her sitting still. She also has a stubborn streak that's a mile wide. Andy and I both claim it's from the other, but in all honesty it's probably a bit from both of us. She's got the greatest little voice and her facial expressions are to die for. She can pinch her eyebrows together so closely that as a baby, we nicknamed her Botox Baby-claiming she'd need it by age 5. Another of Lilly's talents-trying to be just like her big sister. If Alayna is wearing a pony-tail, Lilly needs one. If Alayna is eating a pink Go-Gurt, Lilly wants a pink one. You get the drill. Her favorite song is the ABCs and I love when she gets to "oh-no-ah-no-pee" (LMNOP) Gotta love the song stylings of a 2yo, right?


Mikayla is the baby of all the pink. She's a very low-key, calm child who loves to watch and take everything in. But don't get me wrong, when she wants something, she lets you know it. Her most recent bid for attention is to do short, high-pitch squeals in succession, almost like an alarm clock going off. That's her sign that she needs attention and she needs it now. If you ignore her, she only gets louder. I have a feeling that she'll be our most athletic child, as her feet and legs seldom stop moving (just like when in the womb). She often looks like a frog swimming out of water. Who knows, she may give Lilly a run for her money. God help us all if that's the case.

Welcome to our Blog!

So I've decided to jump on this blogging bandwagon. I don't know if anyone will read it or be interested, but it's more for my own sanity and journaling than anything. And if someone else gets enjoyment, or inspiration, or at least a laugh, then that's good, too. I am terrible about writing on little post-it notes stuck all over with things I want to remember, then those notes blow away or fall off or get thrown away by my husband or daughters. Then the memories are as good as gone because, let's face it, I have three young children. I'm lucky if I remember to feed myself breakfast before lunch time.