Saturday, August 25, 2012

Six Years

Six Years and there are still days it hurts like it happened last night. Today has been hard for me. I cried for him.

Photobucket

Happy Heaven Day Colin Michael! Tell Mema to make you some homemade ice cream for me. Whisper to Jesus that Mommy needs a little help to get through the day. I love you baby boy!

Thursday, August 23, 2012

Crazy Fast

There are days that this little girl takes my breath away with her beauty. God is so good to allow me to parent her. She has grown up so much this year. Crazy Fast!

Photobucket

Wednesday, August 22, 2012

First Day of School

It's here! Time to go to school!

The boys are looking at their special placemats I made them. It has a prayer that says, "Father, help me as I go …
Your Son to serve,
Your love to show!"

Photobucket

I think they are a Little excited this morning!!!
Photobucket

My big kids and their backpacks.
Photobucket

Anthony Joseph, 1st Grade, Miss Countryman
Photobucket

Aiden John, 2nd Grade, Mrs. Hinds
Photobucket

They marched off to their new classes. Abby cried and told us how "wonely" she was, so "sad and wonely" over and over. We felt so bad for her. We offered her a special snack before Mommy School, but she was still "sad and wonely." The longer she talked, the more I was worried she was going to be really disappointed in Mommy School. She wanted to know where my school was and how long it would take to get there. She wanted to know if she had everything in her backpack she needed for it. When I said Mommy school was at home she started crying again. We got our special snack and headed home.

If you remember, the night before I wasn't even prepared for Mommy school. I had No idea what I was going to do with her to start our school. I had planned to start with a letter a week of the alphabet as our theme, but I was starting that on Monday to coincide with our memory verses. So, I'm getting more and more nervous and she's getting sadder and "wonewier" as we drive. I prayed for God's wisdom and He blessed us greatly. First, Andon took a 2.5 hour nap! That was a blessing in itself! We also had Daddy to help take care of Andon if we needed him, since he was off work today. We started by coloring a "first day of school" picture.

Abigail Jaicee, 2 1/2, Mommy School
Photobucket

I was amazed at her attention to detail! She was frustrated I only gave her four colors, she need a certain color for the sun. We talked about the different colors. She traced her name that I wrote for her. Then, she picked up a crayon and wrote an A all by herself.

Finally, I decided to do some "science" with her. We pulled out the water balls (actually floral water beads) and she played with them while we talked about the different colors. We sorted, counted, squished, rolled, bounced, and played with them for a long time.

Photobucket

Mommy School lasted THREE hours!!! So much for planning a 15 minute time frame like I did with the boys! I love it! The only reason we stopped was for lunch and nap time.

However, this new little student was VERY excited to pick up her "boys" from school!
Photobucket

The boys had an excellent first day of school! We all went to celebrate with a special snack at McDonalds.
Photobucket

Tuesday, August 21, 2012

Ready for a New Year

Well our Backwards Bucket List is complete and the clothes are laid out for tomorrow.
Photobucket

Abby, who is starting "Mommy School" tomorrow, insisted I take a picture of her new school clothes too!
Photobucket

This is going to be quite an adjustment in our schedule. Abby has never known not having an older brother to play with her. Last year Anthony was in Kindergarten, but only for half a day. He went to school after lunch and Abby took a nap. They played together all morning. Of course she has Andon, but he's only ten months old, not walking, and is really into Mommy instead of playing tea party with her. This will be very interesting!

So, enter "Mommy School." I've done this with every child, around the age of 2. Aiden and Anthony loved it. I planned two days a week, usually Tuesdays and Thursdays for them. They were able to handle about 15 minutes or so at this age before they were done and off to play with a truck or two. That's what I was planning to do with Abby, starting by going to buy supplies together this Thursday, but she is so excited about starting "Mommy school" that I need to have something ready for tomorrow, Wednesday. I have a feeling I'm in trouble! :)

I'm excited that it will allow Abby and I to have some time together, when Andon is napping. I'm excited for the new things Aiden and Anthony will be learning this year! I'm hopeful that I will be able to accomplish more around the house, but not holding my breathe on that one. It should be a great year! I'm really looking forward to it!














Day 104

Today is the 104th day of Summer Vacation and school comes tomorrow to end it! We had no problems finding a good way to spend it!!!

First, we called Grandaddy and wished him a Happy Birthday! Happy Birthday Grandaddy!!!

Then, for our last day we had a family picnic at the playground
Photobucket

Photobucket

Photobucket

Photobucket

Played on the swings
Photobucket

Showed our displeasure of Mommy's attempts to get a picture of the offending teeth that are hurting!
Photobucket

and completed our Backwards Bucket List! Instead of making a list of all of the things we wanted to do this summer, we made a list of all of the things we DID this summer! So much fun!
Photobucket

Goodbye Summer Vacation! You were Awesome to the Bailey Family!!!

Sunday, August 19, 2012

Team Bailey

A quick run down of what Team Bailey has been up to the last few weeks!

Andon Josiah, 10 months old

Photobucket

Andon
* crawling
* laughing big belly laughs
* standing while holding on to something
* letting go until he realizes he has done it where he then promptly falls to the ground with a shocked look on his face
* making happy baby noises but no words yet
* eating everything we put in front of him
* loves meat
* loves his Mommy
* starting to sleep a little longer at night, like four hours instead of two at one time
* chasing the cat every chance he gets
* trying to do everything his big brothers and big sister are doing
* has four teeth now, two on bottom, two on top
* loves to hug and cuddle
* is a very serious, contemplative child, especially compared to his siblings
* passed his hearing test at his follow up for his tubes in his ears, so thrilled to know he can hear perfectly!

Abigail Jaicee, 2 and 1/2 years old
Photobucket

Abby
* loves dress up and shoes
* believes she is a Princess
* loves Dora
* knows most of her colors
* has started counting things
* loves to sing and is really good at it
* has a tan, not sure how that happened in this fair skinned family that uses SPF 50 sunblock like candy, but she does
* is excited about starting "Mommy school" when the boys start school this week
* loves dirt
* has no fear
* is two and her attitude shows it, the screaming, demanding, and "NO!" are grating on Mommy and Daddy's patience, pray for us and her!
* loves to be held, I need more time to hold her
* loves to listen to music to help her go to sleep
* has recently shown some symptoms that could be an indication of TRAPS, we are currently monitoring this, it's a big waiting game sometimes, praying we are wrong

Anthony Joseph, 6 years old
Photobucket

Anthony
* is starting 1st grade on Wednesday with Mrs. Countryman
* has been my helper with the little ones for so long, I'm not sure what I'm going to do without him now, we are really going to miss him while he is in school
* is a great shot with a bow and arrow
* has conquered some amazing fears this year concerning water at the beach, in the pool and at the Waterpark. Then he was turned away for being too short (by 1/2 an inch, if his hair was dry he would have passed)
* is alot shorter than everyone else in his class, but is growing perfectly
* is dealing with a very frustrating medical condition called encopresis, something I think needs to be talked about more, so that families can get the help they need instead of living in shame, frustration, and hopelessness. Very, very basically that means "My six year old is not potty trained. He has a really hard time pooping." His colon is enlarged due to years of horrible constipation. He takes laxatives daily. There is so much more to this problem, but suffice it to say, it causes peers to tease him, adults to not understand him, and frustration in the entire family. We need prayer for Anthony's healing and wisdom to know how to help him best.
* loves spending one on one time with his Mommy or Daddy, we try to plan for this and put it on the calendar, his love language is definitely quality time
* is a Tiger Scout in Cub Scouts this year and I'm looking forward to what he will learn
* is still such a charmer, the adults in his life are constantly telling me they love his smile, I'm kind of partial to it too
* there is one adult tooth and one gaping hole in the top of that smile right now
* loves to know where we are going, what we are doing, and how to direct those around him, maybe he'll be an event planner someday
* is taking karate and he is really good at it, I'm so proud of how he listens and follows directions for the hour long class

Aiden John, 7 years old
Photobucket

Aiden
* is starting 2nd grade on Wednesday with Mrs. Hinds
* still loves bacon, second only to people
* trained for and ran a 5K this summer with an amazing time, he is really enjoying running with his Daddy
* has a heart for helping people learn about Jesus
* loves to hear about missioinaries and other countries
* is a planner of his future, he is working on his restaurant, his children's names, who he will marry, and what he will be when he grows up (a football player, pizza maker, and a motorcycle driver)
* gets very excited about "Mommy Dates" he is fond of saying, "I don't care where we go, I just wanna hang out!"
* thinks everything is "adorable" right now
* sometimes loves his electronics a little too much
* is starting "eye therapy" to try to correct his lazy eye, give him depth perception, and they say a side effect is better hand writing! I'm skeptical about the hand writing!
* as part of that eye therapy he will start wearing bifocals sometime next week, he's excited because the frames are red
* is looking forward to being a Wolf Scout
* is a great shot with a BB gun and can't wait to go hunting with his Grandaddy and Uncle Mark, I'm concerned about that whole "sit in a blind quietly" part though
* is full of energy, sometimes too much

Patrick and Angie, the cute one on the left is about to turn 34 and that's me on the right and I'm 38
Photobucket

Patrick
* is a creative and energetic youth Sunday School teacher
* is a passionate, involved, and crazy fun Dad
* loves eagle chickens
* loves his niece like she is his own
* is an amazing husband, who all too often, takes up my slack when he shouldn't have too
* is really good at his job and is making a difference spiritually in the lives of the people there
* over came a fear of heights to stand on The Ledge of Willis Tower, 103 stories up, I was SO proud of him!
* has guided our family to pray for one another and is forming us into Team Bailey, keeping God as our center
* makes me proud to be his wife

Angie
* loves being a stay at home Mom
* is about to start a new schedule where I only have two children from 8:30 to 3:30 everyday, I'm thinking it's going to be strange
* loves working with the children at church on Sunday nights
* loves working with the teenagers at church on Sunday mornings
* enjoys time alone in coffee shops
* wishes I had time to be more crafty
* wishes I was more organized
* has been dealing with a severe bout of depression recently, having several "elephant days"
* wishes I could figure out how not to be so hard on myself, how not to talk down to myself
* enjoys exercising and never thought I would say that, but I can tell a difference in my moods when I don't exercise, I love Body Gospel and I have muscles I've never had before!
* has lost 65 pounds since October
* would like a week away with just my husband

Leave me a comment and let me know you're reading! Sometimes I feel like I'm talking to myself in here! Much love from Bailey Inc!

Fathers, Phones, and Feelings.

I'm at McDonald's for some alone time. That means I get to think, blog, and use the bathroom without help. It's nice! Yet, even when I'm here I'm thinking about my four sweethearts at home. I look through pictures and compose blog posts. I notice how much they've grown and want to remember exactly what they are doing at this stage in their lives.

I was getting ready to start blogging and I saw a Father and a young girl, probably about three. The girl was eating ice cream. The Dad was attached to his cell phone. The Dad was so intent on his phone that he didn't notice when the girl got up and walked away from their table. She played throughout the entire restaurant for about twenty minutes, on tables, in the floor, and headed for the door a couple of times until she saw me give her that "Mom look" that says, "that's a bad choice." She smiled, a beaming smile that said, "someone noticed me!" She crawled up next to her Dad again. Her getting back in her chair must of jarred something in him, because he did look up and acknowledge her presence for a brief second. Then, he went right back to his love affair with that non-feeling electronic device. Lest you think I'm being too harsh on this Father, I am twice as guilty of doing this to my own children. That's why this scenario made me so very sad, I saw myself. I'm just usually pretty good about not doing it in public to them. Usually.

Then, another Father and his daughter came in, she's probably about two. They both had an ice cream cone. He's sitting in front of me, completely unaware that his actions are about to be spread out on the internet for all to see. Unaware because there is nothing more important than talking to his little girl right now. She has him enraptured. I want to give him a "blog award" for being the best Dad I've seen today. He's reading her a book right now while she finishes her ice cream cone. It's heartwarming.

(Sidenote: I just got the cutest smile and wave from that second little girl! She is one happy thing!)

Ironically one of my pet peeves in life is when people ignore children. I hate it when adults believe they can be rude and ignore a talking child. I hate it when children are not considered in the life of a church or an organization. Children are so often seen as an after thought or a "problem" to be solved. Their care is not accounted for, isolating not only them, but their parents. Our children are not only our future, but they are our present. We must treat them with the respect and importance that God places on them.

Matthew 18:10 See that you do not despise one of these little ones. For I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father in heaven.

Sometimes what we hate most in others is a reflection of our own sin.

Lord, help me to remember that my laptop cannot love. Remind me that you did not call me to "raise" my phone. Show me when I fall short and ignore my blessings You have given me. Help me to be the advocate You have called me to be for those that cannot stand tall enough to be heard for themselves. Amen.

10 Months Old

I, Andon Josiah, am 10 months old today!
Photobucket

And Mommy is crazy if she thinks I'm gonna sit still for pictures!
Photobucket

Silly Mommy!!!
Photobucket

Saturday, August 11, 2012

Dash

Happy Heaven Day Dash Liam!

Photobucket