Happy Halloween!

Just a few pics of our Patriotic Halloween!
The boys were soldiers and Sunny was an elephant (a republican elephant---notice the McCain/Palin pin!). Ben and I were supposed to be John and Cindy. But John went pheasant hunting instead. Doesn't he know we have an election to win!

Unicorns and Hearts and Smiley Faces

Well, if my last post made you need a Prozac or Zoloft or just a big piece of chocolate cake, I apologize. I'm better now. : )

I forgot something about "the Potter." He doesn't leave His work. He doesn't leave the wheel spinning and let the clay try to do something on it's own. His hands are always at work, always shaping and molding. So instead of me saying "hey, what about this spot over here?" or "wow, this area is NOT looking good," I'm just going to sit back and let Him do his work and enjoy the ride.

He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion.
Philippians 1:6

In the middle. . .

Somewhere in the Middle (by Casting Crowns)

Somewhere between the hot and the cold
Somewhere between the new and the old
Somewhere between who I am and who I used to be
Somewhere in the middle, You'll find me

Somewhere between the wrong and the right
Somewhere between the darkness and the light
Somewhere between who I was and who You're making me
Somewhere in the middle, You'll find me

Just how close can I get, Lord, to my surrender without losing all control

Fearless warriors in a picket fence, reckless abandon wrapped in common sense
Deep water faith in the shallow end and we are caught in the middle
With eyes wide open to the differences, the God we want and the God who is
But will we trade our dreams for His or are we caught in the middle
Are we caught in the middle

Somewhere between my heart and my hands
Somewhere between my faith and my plans
Somewhere between the safety of the boat and the crashing waves

Somewhere between a whisper and a roar
Somewhere between the altar and the door
Somewhere between contented peace and always wanting more
Somewhere in the middle You'll find me

Just how close can I get, Lord, to my surrender without losing all control

Lord, I feel You in this place and I know You're by my side
Loving me even on these nights when I'm caught in the middle


This is my new favorite song. My sister-in-law sent it to me this morning right before I had to take Sawyer to soccer practice (needless to say I showed up to practice with mascara dripping down my face, wiping my eyes, blaming those pesky allergies).

It hits me hard, right where I’m at. Caught in the middle between my best and God’s best. Caught in the middle of what I say and what I do. Caught in the middle of striving and just abiding. Caught in the middle of good intentions and obedient actions.

I say caught, but I’m not. To say I’m caught is like someone standing in a huge open field screaming “Let me out of this cage. I can’t get out.” No, maybe “stuck” is more accurate.

I’m stuck in the middle.

I like before and after pictures. I love them. I like to say “Wow, what a transformation!” I get bored with the in between. I tire of the process. I like results. But that’s where I’m at right now. In the process. Clay in the hands… messy, muddy, spinning on a wheel. I either want to be the nice packaged clay in the box or the finished perfectly crafted end product. It’s this in between, this refining, this messy messy globby mess that is so hard for me.

Stacy & Sarah

What can I say, we go together like peas n carrots, peanut butter and jelly, caramel and chocolate, red wine and more red wine, I could go on and on.

When I watched McCain announce his selection, I was a little more than skeptical…What? Who? Why?

It didn’t take long to have all those questions answered---and answered well! The more I heard the more I liked! No, not just liked----loved! I was crying by the end. Crying because she said “servant heart” and meant it, crying because she is a doer and not just a hearer (or complainer!), crying because I saw someone like me on that stage, who loves this country, believes in the values it was founded on, and wants more than anything for it to be a place that is safe, clean, benevolent, moral, and truly truly looks out for the “least of these.” Is she perfect? No. Has she made mistakes, misspoken, misunderstood, miscalculated, misstepped? Absolutely, haven’t we all? Haven’t you? I know I sure have. We are a nation that doesn’t just love to throw stones, we like to sit back and watch the impact, sell tickets to the show and markup the price of the popcorn. I know this because I’ve done it.

What I’m most shocked by, however, is not the nastiness of the media, or the venom from the far left. No, what astounds me the most is the judgment and condemnation from my fellow sisters in Christ who doubt her commitment to her family and God because of her service to her country, and use a scripture reference after each attack as justification.

Scripture is alive…it is God breathed…it is useful…it is relevant…it is convicting…it is truth and love. Let us be careful that we look at scripture in context and with Spirit led discernment. (Remember the self-righteous religious folks…the good ol’Pharisees…they could quote scripture with the best of them, even the Devil himself liked to throw out a passage now and then.)

There are numerous verses that lift up the importance of a wife and a mother as it relates to the nurturing of our children, the edification of our husbands, the role and importance of the family, leading in our churches, etc. but there are also numerous verses that talk about service, advocacy, social responsibility, and civic duty. I believe these verses are in addition to…and not exclusive of… each other.

There are passages that speak of women being elevated for “such a time as this,” character studies on women of virtue who work inside and outside of the home, women who have led or helped lead their nation, and then of course the beautiful description of a noble wife in Proverbs 31:10-31. I’ve read it many times before, but read it with a new fervor when I think of Sarah Palin.

I’m proud of Sarah and will be praying for her!

Be happy, choose joy, celebrate life, smile, laugh till it hurts!

It's summertime and life is good!
Apparently we are having too much fun to find time to blog!

Underwear Psychology

Superman, Spiderman and friends, Go Diego Go, Bob the Builder, Army men---Those are the types of underwear I sorted through today while doing laundry. Someday in the future we will add Cinderella, Snow White, Barbie, etc... I laughed at the thought of grownups wearing pictures of their heroes on their underwear. Would it give us an extra boost of confidence and companionship?

So, I ask you, Who's face would be on your underpants?

I guess that is my inappropriate way of asking the completely appropriate icebreaker question of "what famous person would you like to have dinner with" (I am inappropriateness at it's best....just ask my husband).

For example, My mom's underwear drawer would have a selection that included Laura Bush Briefs, Elizabeth Elliot Panties, and Thomas Jefferson Drawers.

My father-in-law would have an Eagles Greatest Hits set of Boxers.

So, now it's your turn. . .

Worship the LORD with gladness; come before him with joyful songs.

We had “home church” last Sunday. Home Church is our preferred method of worship when we can’t make it to regular church due to a variety of reasons (fever, bad attitude, long night of crying babies, too late to be fashionably late to regular church, etc).
To kick off our worship session we asked the kids to start it off with a song and prayer before Ben read our Bible story. Walker said he wanted to pick the song, so we waited for him to choose one of the good ol’ standards (Jesus Loves Me, Our God is an Awesome God, This Little Light of Mine). It was taking him a while so we tried to suggest some of the aforementioned classics. Walker shot them all down quickly and said “no, I want to sing. . . (long dramatic pause....) Star Wars.” Sawyer started to laugh and Ben started to tell him to pick another song, but I could tell he was serious about his selection, so I told him that was a great idea and to go ahead and lead us. What followed was the sweetest, most sincere form of acapella worship that a 3 year old could muster. After the first round we all joined in as a family and sang together. It was reverent and real and made me feel closer to my family and closer to my God. (I think the Baptist Hymnal may need to be amended to include this song). And just so you know. . .
According to Wikipedia a hymn is “a type of song, usually religious, specifically written for the purpose of praise, adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity/deities, a prominent figure or an epic tale. The word hymn derives from Greek ὕμνος hymnos "a song of praise".
Amazing Grace, Victory in Jesus, Because He Lives, Ode to Joy…and now, thanks to Walker, the theme to Star Wars.

Have a great day, and may the Force be with you! :)

33.3 % done....Happy 6th Birthday Sawyer!

Today is June 13th, 2008, and Ben and I are 1/3rd of the way finished raising Sawyer.
How is this possible?
Can we start over?
Can we slow down?
Wait, I don't have enough film in my camera to capture every moment....!!!!

He is 6 years old today, and we have 12 years left before he is "legally" an adult! I only have 12 years left of influence under our roof, 12 years of our "rules", daily routines, etc. Just 12 short years of getting to check in on him in the middle of the night...to sneak in and kiss his sweet forehead and tell him that he is one of my greatest blessings. How is this possible? Have I taken the last 6 years for granted as they have flown by?


We've definitely tried the "trial/error/ask a lot of advice/read a lot of books/ask for God's mercy,grace,and forgiveness" method of parenting, but if who Sawyer is at 6 is any indication of how well we've done so far--we are amazing parents (ha ha ha, Yes, God, I know that all of this is because of who YOU are and what You've done through us and others in his life----thanks a million! You are awesome! Keep it coming!).

6 years ago today my life was changed forever. I became a mommy and Ben and I became a family, and my heart has never been the same since. I have learned more about who God is, His love for us, the sacrifice He made, the joy He takes in us, the desires and hope He has for us, because of my love for Sawyer.

Sawyer is kind and sensitive, funny and outgoing, creative and intelligent, and extremely handsome (what can I say, he takes after me----------oh man, now that is good for a laugh out loud!) Others enjoy being around him and unfortunately, the ladies already love him (his friend Audrey told her mom, "I really like Sawyer" Her mom tried to downplay it and say "yes, Sawyer is a nice friend" and Audrey said wistfully, "I think it's his golden hair, (sigh)" (maybe he takes after Ben in this department after all!!!)

I am so thankful for the last 6 years, and look forward to what the next 12 years will bring. Sawyer, you make me so proud and as I tell you every night "I can't wait to see what God has planned for you----I know it's something amazing!" I'm just glad I get a front row seat!!!

People Pleaser. . .TAG

I don't usually do things like this, BUT. . . to satisfy my inner need to never disappoint someone I love, here you go Kipplyn!

The inquisition...
1. The rules of the game get posted at the beginning.
2. Each player answers the questions about themselves.
3. At the end of the post, the player tags 5-6 people, posts their names, then leaves a comment in their respective blogs to let them know they've been tagged.
4. Let the person who tagged you know that you posted your answers.


Questions...
1. What were you doing 10 years ago?
10 years ago…that makes me laugh! That puts us at June 9, 1998. I was a 19 year old girl who had no idea what the next 10 years would bring! I had just completed my freshman year at U of A and my biggest stress in life was deciding what outfit to wear on the weekends!!! It was about this time 10 years ago that I met Ben Shankle, a cute, but overly conceited, I mean, overly confident guy who had just returned to Fayetteville from the U.S. Naval Academy Prep School. He loved me from the first time he laid eyes on me (ha ha ha, I’m sure “love” is the right verb to use here instead of “infatuated with, “had the hots for”, etc, etc.). The first night we met I noticed he kept checking me out and I “busted him out” (his words) by calling him out on it. I said “Why do you keep looking at me?” and he hem hawed around till he came up with “uh, you, uh, just look like someone I know, and I, um, you know, I’m just trying to figure out who it is”. I guess the “someone I looked like” was his future wife!!!

2. What are 5 things on your to-do list today?
1. go to the gym to start week 6 of body for life---shhhh, don’t tell anyone, I don’t want any accountability :)
2. take the kids to Rick’s Bakery to order Sawyer’s star wars birthday cake
3. laundry
4. laundry (don’t be jealous of my glamorous life!!!!)
5. swimming at Grammy’s (if this rain stops, if not, more laundry)


3. What are some snacks you enjoy?
Did you see the aforementioned body for life entry??? I don’t think it is a good idea for me to daydream about my beloved snacks (chocolate, chocolate, chocolate, chocolate, COKE COKE COKE COKE), instead let’s talk about how great protein is…yummy!!! Can I have some more chicken please?

4. What would you do if you were a billionaire?
Billionaire???? I can’t even fathom how much money that is. Okay on a deep meaningful level, I would build orphanages, hospitals, schools, sponsor missionaries, as well as go on mission trips to Africa and Romanian Orphanages, travel the world with my family so that my children see what the world looks like (the good, bad, and ugly) and show them how we can serve others. On a not so deep level, buy really fun gifts for my parents, in-laws, grandparents, etc. (oh, and probably a boob job).

5. What are 3 of your bad habits?
3 bad habits---that’s a hard one (wink wink). Letting my emotions control me, telling Ben how to drive (however, I find this to be very helpful, probably, even at times, lifesaving), and talking too much. Oh, and I seem to have a total disregard for correct grammar and punctuation at this point in my life (I love parentheses, commas, and . . .’s ) they accentuate the areas in my conversational writing style where my sarcasm and wit come in, plus I’m not getting graded (naaana naaana booo booo). Oh, and leaving all the lights on, sorry Ben! And I have a messy car. And I don’t write thank you notes (actually, I write them and then don’t send them because I don’t have any stamps, because this is 2008 and we do EVERYTHING online so why can’t we just send thank you emails????) Anyway, oh yeah, I was only supposed to write 3 (did mention I talk too much?)


6. What are 5 places you have lived?
1. Siloam Springs “where Jesus is Lord” ---we really do have a billboard that says that when you pull into town! I love it! What a great place to be raised!!!
2. Fayetteville (where Jesus is still Lord but they definitely don’t have a billboard that says so!!!)
3. ABQ, NM (the land of entrapment…I mean “enchantment” yeah, that’s it!)
4. WalMart, AR (aka Bentonville)
5. Cave Springs


7. What are 5 jobs you've had?
1. lifeguard
2. Hostess at Bennigan’s
3. Junior Lobo Club Director
4. Marketing and Communications Coordinator (Enhanced Communications Group)
5. “Just a Mom” I love that phrase…. “what do you do?” “oh, I’m just a mom” There’s nothing else I’d rather “just” be!

8. What is currently playing on your IPOD?
I don’t really know where my IPOD is! I usually just download free sermons from Mosaic church in California (Erwin McManus). Don’t get me wrong you’ll still find a strange mixture of Jars of Clay, Britney Spears (shhhh, don’t tell), Tupac, and George Straight.

9. What are the last 5-6 books you've read?
The Shack
Love and Respect
The Cry of My Soul
(I just got 2 new books at Church last week, Living Proof, and TrueFaced)
Oh yeah, and Goodnight Moon, and Gid the Kid--The Tale of the Black Bean Bandits

10. Who do you want to tag?
Becca
Jonna
Shannon

She wore an itsybitsyteenyweenyyellowpolkadot tankini? turtleneck?Muumuu?

Swimsuit season, blah. It can bring out the worst in everyone. Let me tell you, I now know from experience that pride comes before the fall. And by fall, I mean boobies (if mine could talk they would scream "Help, we've fallen and can't get up!"). In fact, nothing seems to be quite were I left it at 21 years of age. No, someone has come in and rearranged all the furniture (actually, there are 3 someone's who have stretched it out over a 6 year period). What used to look like the custom designer showcase gallery now resembles a used set from Furniture Factory Outlet. Thus the reason for the cranky mood this weekend. I heard a rumor that there were a ton of cute swimsuits at Dillard's, and yes they did look really "cute" on the hanger, but not so cute off the hanger and on the bod, and there was nothing cute about the $100+ price tag. So I left Dillard's slightly more than a little disgruntled and headed to Target.

Target had a good selection of mix and match pieces so I grabbed a few and headed towards the dressing room. When I got there the fabulously unenthusiastic dressing room attendant barely looked up from her pile of unfolded clothes and yawned "How many?" I counted the tops and bottoms and skirts and coverups and told her I had nine. "Limit's 6," she said as she rolled her eyes at me.

Look, I'm all for rules....remember in my earlier post when I so graciously explained to my son about rules and authority and all that stuff??? But there is a time and a place for bending (not breaking) rules. ---More of a flexible discretion of enforcement of said policy, and I believe this was one of those times. I tried to win her over with an "oh, come on, I really don't want to try these on and then walk back out here half naked to get the rest". Surely she would get it. It's a universal female code that no one wants to prance through the dressing room area, fluorescent lights blaring, with a swimsuit that doesn't fit and has your granny panties sticking out 2 inches from every angle. Apparently she was new to this planet and hadn't learned the code.

"Limit's 6".

This is the point of the story that I want to tell you how a spirit-filled, virtuous woman responds in a situation like this (when I get an email back from Beth Moore, I'll let you know). Until then, I'll tell you what I said.

I began looking through my pile, trying to decipher which 6 to try on first, while I glanced sarcastically back at the attendant and said "Well, let me see here, I'm trying to decide which ones I want to shove in my purse the most!"

Swimsuit season....I told you it brings out the worst.

:)

What "they" (you know the experts who know it all) don't tell you about having babies is that while you are pushing out those precious bundles of joy, 30-75% of your brain cells simultaneously come flying out as well....and just like the baby, they can't put it back in! I often tell people (or mostly to reassure myself) "I used to be really smart" (and yes, mom, I know that this is all due to the fact that you read to us EVERY night before bed ----hey did that recognition qualify as a sweet mother's day gift to you or should I still buy you something???) Anyway,
so, yes, I used to be smart, bright, intelligent, well-read, witty, blah blah blah (see, lack of brain cells) and could always whip out an A+ essay with little to no effort. This little talent of mine was put to the test today as I attempted to fill our Sawyer's kindergarten application form for a "Classical Christian" school. The form is 10 pages long and combines the standard name, address, phone number questions (I did pretty good on those!) to more thought provoking questions such as, "What, in your understanding, makes a Christian school distinctively "Christian"? and "Define in your own words what you believe is a "Classical Education" and the benefits thereof." Remember, this is ten pages long!

So I began my quest to appear as spiritually and academically wise as possible, throwing around phrases like "biblical worldview", "post modernism" "creative, yet structured learning environment" "trivium" "commitment to academic excellence" "in accordance to and founded upon" blah blah blah. So far, so good! Up until this point I'm seeing flashes of my old self, (okay, not flashes, more like a slow fluorescent bulb warming up, but hey!). And then I get to this question "How would you characterize your student's academic ability and level of interest?" Did I mention that Sawyer is 5 and this is a kindergarten application???

So I wrote..."Sawyer has developed an amazing mastery of the English alphabet and numeric system. He has been proficient in cutting and pasting and has never eaten glue".

Okay, I refrained, but by this time I had to have a little comic relief so I wrote "I would say that Sawyer is a quick learner (oh yeah, and a genius---doesn't every parent say that?)" and then to accent my cute little parenthetical side note .....drum roll please.....i drew a smiley face!!!!!!!!!!!!!

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH after all the arduous work, the deliberately chosen words, the eloquent phrases, the carefully placed scripture references, I ended it all with a smiley face!

I'll let you know if he gets accepted :) or not :(


I guess I chalk this up to the fact that my name is Stacy....and that people with names like "Stacy" are allowed to draw cute smiley faces and hearts on things if we want. Sorry to all of you Katherine's and Elizabeth's that don't have that freedom!

It was supposed to be a parable.....

Act 1 Scene 1
Setting: On the way to preschool
Time: late (as usual)

Mommy: You've had so many good teachers at your school, haven't you Sawyer?

Sawyer: Yes, I've even had 2 different ones this year.

Mommy: Do you remember your very first teacher's name?

Sawyer: Yes, it was Mrs. Ostrand. She is sooooooooo nice, except do you remember that time she was mean to me at nap time? I wouldn't be quiet, so she talked mean to me.

ENTER: HEAVENLY ANGELS TO PLACE A HALO OVER MOMMY'S HEAD AS SHE BEGINS TO USE THIS MOMENT TO CONDUCT SPIRITUAL TRAINING

Mommy: Sawyer, she wasn't being "mean" to you. She was disciplining you and correcting you. When people are in authority over us, it is their job to enforce the rules. It may feel mean but it is not, it's actual good for us because it helps us obey. Just like if mommy was speeding down the road and a policeman pulled me over. He wouldn't be "being mean", he would be doing his job to enforce the law.

Act 1 Scene 2
Setting: still in the minivan, pulled over in a McDonald's parking lot, blue lights flashing
Time: 5 minutes later

Officer: Do you know why I pulled you over ma'am?

Mommy: Yes, because God always seems to use this comic irony in my life for his divine amusement :) (it was suppposed to be a parable Lord!!!!!)

Where is the pause button????

You know those moments in life that you just want to capture---to permanently freeze so that you don't just "remember" it, but that you actually FEEL it all over again? I think I have those moments a lot...and might not even notice.

In this hurried hurried world, I definitely need a pause button. Just a few minutes to sit back and think about what these moments mean---to look at it from a few different angles and put it in perspective, learn a lesson, better myself, and more importantly to remember to be so thankful. I had a lot of those today. Just sweet little reminders that my kids are my greatest blessings, that my husband makes me proud, that whether we are all wrestling on the floor of our new house or on the floor of an old trailer it still would have been just as great, that I have a God who loves me and that wants me to love Him more. Can I share a few of those moments with you?
Walker, Sawyer, and even Sunny were "playing" instruments for me on the floor. Sawyer was jamming out on the guitar, and Sunny and Walker were banging on the drums...Sawyer says "hit it walker, sing the song you wrote" and Walker yells out "when you are bad NANANANANANANANANANANANA you don't get to go to the doughnut shop........when you are sad you go to the doughnut shop and it makes you glad NANANANANANANANA"

PAUSE.....three sweet babies laughing, singing, playing together, bringing so much joy to their mommy (by the way, how is it that Walker, at age 3, has already picked up on the glory that is Krispy Kreme?)

I'll limit it to one more PAUSEable moment. Tonight as the boys were going to sleep I read a Bible story that talked about God answering prayers. I told the boys "God will always hear your prayers", and Sawyer said "mom, on the movie that we just watched it said that God will always answer your prayers, but that it isn't always right away and sometimes he says no, sometimes yes and sometimes he says wait" PAUSE. . .whether or not my sweet 5 year old little boy can fully understand this statement or not doesn't matter....the fact that his little brain heard that statement and held on to it does matter! Then Sawyer said "sometimes I don't know if I can hear God" and Walker said "That's because you have to be quiet because He whispers."

Where is that pause button??

simple prayers

It turns out that I am not a very good blogger. I don't have the time or energy or at this point in my life the brain cells required to construct a complex sentence. I did want to share something that I've been nibbling on for a while. When Sawyer or Walker pray they always start it out the same way "Dear God, Thank You for this great day"....they usually continue on with things like "thank you for mommy and daddy and my brother and sister, and thank you that we got to play outside today and thank you that we got to watch ninja warriors on tv and thank you that when we were at WalMart we got to each get one cookie, but then the lady said we could each have 2 so we got 2 cookies...etc, etc..." (they don't actually say the "etc, etc" but sometimes we might get to eat dinner a little quicker if they did!)
Anyway, the part that I love is "thank you for this great day". I don't know if we taught them that, if they came up with it, if they say it out of habit or if they really mean it. All I know is that they say it every time, and I want to too. I want to say (and mean) "Thank You God for this great day". They never say "thank you for this great day, except for that part when I fell down and got a booboo" or "thanks for this great day, except for when mommy yelled at everybody in the car for taking the lids off our drinks and spilling chocolate milk all over".

Just "thanks for this great day".

A dear friend of my sister-in-law had a baby 7 days ago that wasn't supposed to live for 7 minutes. She has lived for a week now. I can't even pretend to know what it's been like, not even for a moment. The only thing I do know is how it feels to love your child. How hard yet how GREAT have the 7 days been? Thank you, God, for this GREAT day, and for the last 6.
Help me to mean it when I say it, even if circumstances aren't great, help me to see your Greatness in each day.

You are my sunshine!!!!

Just wanted to send a quick ray of sunshine your way! This is Sunny Brooke just being. . .well. . . Sunny! What a blessing!

Sick and Sicker

SIGH....what a week or weeks or has it been a month? I'm not quite sure. It seems like my days are blurring together into an undefinable amount of time. For the last few weeks we've made multiple trips to the doctor's office. I guess I should technically say "doctors' offices" since we tend to just go to whichever one is 1. open, 2. doesn't have a wait. The first visit was for Sawyer, he was running a fever, but feeling okay overall----one of those "obligatory guilt relieving" visits (definition: when you know that it's nothing serious, that they are going to tell you that it's "just a cold" and to "keep him hydrated", and then you pay your $25 copay----BUT you feel like a good mom, because what if it HAD turned out to be something serious and it was all your fault because you thought you knew it all and didn't want to spend $25!) So that was done, 1 down more to go! While I was there I thought I'd go ahead and find out if Sawyer's vaccinations were current. They weren't. He needed his 5 "kindergarten" shots, so we scheduled an appt. for the next week. In the meantime, Sunny began to run a fever (on a Friday night of course). This always happens to us. I think we must have an immune system disorder that is triggered on weekends and holidays. Makes for some nice emergency room visits---again, not so much true emergencies...but the "obligatory guilt relieving" visits to the ER. Thankfully, there are a few clinics open on the weekends, so I took Sunny in on a Sunday afternoon. The dr. said she did have some fluid in her ear...but that it wasn't infected "yet" and it was probably just a cold. HMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM, the word "yet" kind of threw me off. Yet, as in, the infection is inevitable or yet, as in, there is something you can do to prevent it? So again, I paid my $25 copay and headed home.

By Tuesday we were back at the pediatrician's office for Sawyer's shots and for my attempt at getting a 2 for 1 appt. to see if the YET had happened in Sunny's ear. Going to the dr. with all 3 kids is a terrible experience! My kids turn into wild animals in the dr.'s office waiting room (seriously, if I wasn't so certain of the Creator, I could at times support the theory that we do have some crazy ape in us!). There is a sign on the door that instructs us to leave the door closed at all times. This feels like a prison sentence to me. I feel like they are trapping me in the monkey cage (a germ infested monkey cage---where my little monkeys feel the need to touch, lick, wipe, chew, rub on every germ infected corner of the room). We were in the cage for 45 minutes while we waited to see the dr. We finally went back to the exam room and waited for another 25 minutes (during that 25 minutes I yelled, I cried, I threatened, I forgot every bit of wisdom and peace that I had received from Bible Study only hours before). Let me tell you a few quotes from that 25 minutes: "Walker if you lick that trash can one more time you are going to get the biggest spanking of your life" "Sawyer, please stop slamming the doctor's chair against the door" "please stop it right now" "STOP IT RIGHT NOW!" "You are not too sick to get a spanking." Vain vain threats! They know full well that I can't stop nursing Sunny, put her down on the dirty floor, and give them a spanking at the doctor's office. When the doctor finally came in for Sawyer's 5 year check up she asked a series of questions:
What she asked 1.How much TV does Sawyer watch on a daily basis?
(What I heard: I'm about to judge you on your level of competency for being a good mother.) I don't lie, I try really hard not to, I teach my kids not to, I hate lying....but certain circumstances call for truth exclusion, one is when they ask me if I floss at the dentist office, I say, "most of the time"....I don't include the rest of the sentence "most of the time when there is something stuck in my teeth"...so when she asked how much TV does he watch I said "probably about 30 minutes" what I didn't include was "probably about 30 minutes in the morning, and then again in the mid morning, and then again in the afternoon, and again in the evening". I didn't have time to explain that we are living with my in-laws and trying to finish building a house and that requires a lot of my brain (and there isn't a lot left) so my kids are actually watching a lot of TV at this point, but ATLEAST it is educational, well, sort of)
Then she asked "What type of punishment do you use with Sawyer" (OH no, did she hear my threaten everyone with the biggest spanking of their lives just minutes ago? Did they go ahead and call the child hotline? is it permanently noted in my motherhood record????) "um, mostly time out" I said.
Then she told Sawyer that she needed to check his boy parts and we all talked about that it was okay since she was a doctor and mommy was in the room, and all that kind of safe talk. When she was finished we heard Walker yell "HEY LOOK AT MINE!!!!!" Not to be outdone, we turn around to find Walker with his shirt pulled up, and everything else pulled down. Sawyer started laughing which encouraged our little Walkstar like nothing else, so then he starts shaking it and dancing around the room. I'm trying to get his pants pulled back up while holding Sunny, while the dr. is trying to remain professional. Then Sawyer got his 5 shots while I tried to grab the dr. to look at Sunny's ears. Guess What.....INFECTED. But I didn't get the 2 for 1....I had 2 copays at the front when we left. You would think that wraps it up....but no, by Saturday (oh yes,the weekend) we were back at the clinic for Sawyer. He had the FLU (and we all got the flu mist earlier this year! go figure...must be the wierd immune system i told you about). So if you're doing the math that makes for $125 in copays, 2 prescriptions, and 4 over the counter meds in a period of 21 days! I think we need to look into a health savings account. Except, I'm not sure it would make much sense,since we won't have time to accumulate anything into the savings part? On a positive note, everyone is doing much better (Sawyer's recovery is going a little slower, completely my fault since I messed up on the dosage instructions and was only giving him the med once a day instead of twice--------will that go in my motherhood record too?)

Love and Marriage defined by Sawyer

So the other day we were all in the van on the way to a birthday party with some of Sawyer's friends. They were watching Curious George and since Sawyer has seen it over 15 times he was narrarating it for his friends. He was giving them by play by play commentary for each scene they were watching. I heard the voice of "The Man in the Yellow Hat" and the voice of a woman talking sweetly to each other, and then I heard Sawyer explain "she loooooooooves him". I asked Sawyer how he could tell, and he said "I just know because of how their eyes look when they look at each other. You know, like how you and daddy look at each other." Then he added, "but I can tell they're not married, because they don't kiss."