It's a plane!

Lately, our Poppa is a world traveler. Literally. We never know what part of the globe he will be on from week to week! This past week he took a flight into the Pine Belt/Hattiesburg airport. And guess who came to greet him upon arrival? Wouldn't you be excited to see these sweet faces when you landed?!

Since Poppa knew the pilot, Collin and Brantlee got to get inside the plane! Actually B only liked it from a distance. (So uncharacteristic of Miss Fearless.) But Collin loved it and got to be a "real" pilot and fly the plane ;)

In the cock pit

What an exciting day!!

Yesterday, we had Thanksgiving lunch at Nana and Poppa's house. Brantlee is our little early riser... even on Saturdays. But it's hard to not smile at this little diva even if it is too early to be up ;)

The Thanksgiving food was sooo yummy, and we all enjoyed a low-key, beautiful afternoon. But for Collin, collecting acorns while feeding the deer was the best part. For Brantlee, it was the chocolate dessert!

I wanted to snap a quick picture of these three riding the four-wheeler. I guess C & B really weren't in the mood for photos- ha!

Now the "Bug"

Just as we were getting into our lesson in 1st period today, I get a message from the office that Collin is vomiting at school and needs to be picked up asap. So I whip together some work for my other classes and hit the door!! Bless his sweet heart, he is still not even over this awful cough. We are assuming it's the dreaded stomach bug. Hopefully, it is just a short 24 hour deal. Aside from the occasional episode, he is going as strong and spunky as ever.

One thing is for sure, we have GOT to get all this sickness knocked out in time for the holidays, especially since Thanksgiving break is in 2 days!! Whoo hoo! Oh I can hardly wait!!! Lucky for us, Collin has been forcing asking us to play Christmas music all day everyday, so we are getting in the holiday spirit to say the least. I think we are already tired of "Grandma Got Run Over By a Reindeer." HA

Last night, we had two eager helpers cooking dinner. Good news for me because I totally outdid myself with tacos from a box, and I really needed the extra help ;)

I love their little faces when the onions started to sizzle. They thought they had done something big! It's the little things, folks.

Actually Collin always loves to help cook.

Later on while we were letting the dishes soak, we noticed B was awfully quiet. We found her doing this: "I wash da dishes." This is her favorite part due to the amount of bubbles this activity involves.

And here is her meltdown after washing dishes because she got wet.

And speaking of meltdowns, I'll end with this story that also happened last night. I got Collin out of the tub first because he asked politely and was behaving the best. That's just our rule. You have to be nice and good to get out first. (Again, it's the little things.) Of course that totally ticked off Brantlee even more. As I was drying her off she started crying because I didn't wrap her up immediately. She told me to wrap her up because,and I quote, "my boobies were coming out!" WHAT?!?! Obviously, she wanted to be covered up. End of story.  Sigh. My oh my, that little girl.

The Crud

Collin and Brantlee are a little under the weather right now, although their behavior would lead you to believe otherwise ;) It takes a lot to slow them down. For the last few days, they both have battled congestion, coughing and recently some fever. We have the best pediatrician EVER, and she called us in some good stuff without having to make a trip to the doctor's office.We made a mad dash to the drug store late this afternoon. (Note: Amy, I know you and some of your Diket peeps sometimes read this blog. Y'all are our number ONE pharmacy and by far the BEST! We truly got in a bind. It won't ever happen again!)

Kyle is working at the hospital this weekend, so it looks like we will be taking it easy. We had plans for some family gatherings this weekend, and hopefully we will still be able to make them.

By the way, isn't it okay to blog even when you have nothing to blog about?? Okay, I thought so. Plus, I just wanted to post two pics I took with my phone recently.

Collin's newest discovery is Netflix. He is such a t.v. junkie and has been since birth. He has also recently discovered "Tom and Jerry."  It's an obsessive combination!

And lastly, what are the odds of ever capturing this moment again? Slim to none. So it is worth posting- ha! Sorry Brantlee Bug :)

Perspective

(edited to date: I noticed this post in the "draft" folder on my blog. I had written it in the fall of 2010 while I was teaching and was the Honor Society Sponsor at LCS, and for some reason I just never posted it. As I reread it, I realized I let Satan win by not posting it. I remember being so touched and affected by this experience. Shame on me for not sharing it!)

Last month, some of my students and I had the privilege of visiting Blair E. Batson Children's Hospital in Jackson. Both our Honor Society and Student Council worked together to collect crayons and coloring books for patients of the hospital. The officers and sponsors delivered these items and actually got to meet and play with some of the patients.

In planning this event, I'll be honest here, I really just wanted to drop off the supplies, take a quick picture and be done with it all. We, but really it was more so I, wouldn't have to feel anything or see anything sad. Just do the good deed, accomplish the service project, and that would be it.

Was that selfish of me? I mean, wouldn't that be enough?

 Well, my principal didn't think so. When I asked him about it, he thought it would be a great idea for us meet with these children. The experience, in his words, "would be life changing, and these students need to see this." And I knew he was right. So a couple of weeks later, our little group found ourselves standing outside that hospital in the parking lot nervously waiting to visit with some of the bravest and toughest people we will probably ever meet.

While I'm being honest, let me just say how uncomfortable that moment was. Don't get me wrong. I had been praying days before that God would prepare our hearts for this experience. But still, I just kept thinking : Are we really ready to see very sick children? How are these students (teenagers!!) going to react? Will they forget the rules and ask inappropriate questions? Will they be too nervous to say anything at all? What should we say during those awkward moments of silence? and lastly, What if I completely messed up the dates for our visit and we came on the wrong day? (That last one is an unfortunate example of my compulsive worrying... while I'm being honest and all.) Not sure if anyone else was feeling uneasy like me, but we decided to pray before we went into the hospital.

And just as we expected, the Lord met us where we were that day. And from the moment we stepped into the hospital, we felt His presence.

When we met with the Childlife Coordinator, she told us we would be divided into groups and sent to three different floors to visit and play with patients in the activity rooms. As Providence would have it, my group ended up on the floor that handled Oncology. Really??

For each of us who went, we all had different experiences, and we each left with something different. But make no mistake, we were not the blessing of the day... those children were. I honestly stood humbled and amazed by young people who had every reason in the world to be sad and unhappy. The children we met have learned how to bounce and kick a ball, paint, sing and dance all while being mindful of their "line" and the pole that rolled with them as they played. I overheard a nurse ask one of the girls about the headache she had been having earlier that day. (I'm assuming from her treatment.) She simply shook it off, ignored the nurse, and kept right on entertaining us with her dramatic interpretation of  Beyonce.

What we saw that day were the realities of a harsh, unfair, and fallen world. But through those precious children, we saw God somehow glorified, whether the children realized it or not. And maybe it's because young children just don't know any better than to be joyful  no matter what. It makes me wonder though, at what point or at what age do we get to let circumstances determine our joy?

All I know is on that night, I hugged my babies extra tight. I cried and prayed over their them while they slept, and I praised God for their health while realizing that it is never guaranteed in this life.





And now, I present to you Collin "Muscle Man" Crager...

Just in case you were wondering, the headband was Collin's idea and the weights were Kyle's.

Latest Quotes

Too funny not to document.

Brantlee:

• "I not lay down right now. My back hurts." - when asked to lay down so I can change her, and I am not making this up
• "Collin, you better stop that whining!"
• "Hey mommy, you listen to me!"

Collin:

• "I don't remember the learning the stuff, we just played on the playground today." common after-school quote :/
•  "Dear God, Thank you for our living room and our pictures. Amen"- I love random prayers!
• "What are you doing poo poo head?!" Lately Collin finds a way to work the word "poo poo" into most conversations, and he finds it hilarious! We are trying to discourage it, and we really hope he doesn't talk this way at school. Oh the joys of little boys!

Saturday morning we did the best weekend activity ever. We stayed in our pj's and watched cartoons for the first time in quite a while. Of course when I broke out the camera, it quickly led to a wrestling match. (And yes, Collin has a piggy tail, but it didn't last long. He just wanted to see what it was like.)

This last picture is here to show what being insane actually looks like. While the kiddos and I were snug in the bed watching "Mickey and the Beanstalk" and folding laundry, these two weirdos were out running 10 (yes 10) miles! My dad picked Kyle up before 8 o'clock. Their goal was 10 miles before 10 o'clock. Would you know they made their goal! It took them about an hour and a half, and they didn't stop! (Actually Kyle won't take credit for 10 miles. He stopped at 9.5 for health reasons-ha!) Notice the ibuprofen, tho. Those boys were hurting. But we are so impressed!  The goal is a February half-marathon.

Well it's off to start another week. Hope we don't have a case of the Monday mornings tomorrow. Aren't those just the greatest- ha.

Fun Friday

Today all of Laurel Christian School was cancelled due to our annual Harvest Fest that was held Thursday night. The festival is a massive school-wide fundraiser that basically involves just about every person associated with the school. SO, we get the day off after. Pretty sweet deal. Anyway, Collin and his preschool classmates performed a few of their songs at the festival. Despite what these pictures portray, Collin was NOT on the verge of tears. He looks terrified, but in real life he wasn't at all. He even did the hand motions while he sang. And notice who is standing beside him? None other than precious Allie. Even their teachers talk about how inseparable they are :)

You would never know we had experienced temperatures in the mid 80s this week. It was so frigid and windy!! Which is fine if you aren't stationed OUTSIDE selling cookies and cupcakes because you are the Honor Society Sponsor ;) Thanks to some very sweet students, we survived and sold all our goodies. And all kidding aside, it was a successful night, and the kids were good sports.

And because we were all free from responsibility today, we made a new (to us) discovery on our shopping trip to the Burg.

Why have we waited until now to take these kids to Chuckie Cheese??!! Bless their hearts. It was like they had never been out of the house before. Oh we will back to this establishment! They had so much fun!

And last, but certainly not least, the main reason this Friday was so fun is that we got to celebrate the birthday of our very dear friend Amy. Sweet Amy is going through a difficult season of life right now, so her Mom and another friend threw a surprise party for her tonight! In the process of bringing the "Old Amy" back, we sang karaoke with some of our favorite old tunes. If it takes friends singing and making a fool out of ourselves to mend a broken heart, then that's just what we will do. I hate I forgot my camera and had to use my phone for pics. (Just for the record, these pictures really aren't fair, because I was up there embarrassing myself too. I just don't have the photo evidence to prove it... thank goodness.)

I can't remember which song Danielle was singing here, but can't you feel the emotion?!

We love you Amy!! You are so special, and you deserve all the happiness in the world!

I apologize for the randomness here, but I wanted to document B's recent eye appointment. Back in June, Brantlee was diagnosed with Strabismus in the left eye. We were told that surgery would be the best (and only) option to fix it. We didn't really like that news, so we got a referral for a 2nd opinion. Since that appointment we have noticed the problem much much less, almost as if the problem was improving on its own.We took her to UMC last week to see a specialist. He gave us very hopeful and non-invasive news!! Her eyesight is fine, and the Strabismus isn't bad enough to warrant surgery. Praise the Lord!

 This is B waiting patiently for her eyes to dilate... with no nap :) And yes, that is a Thomas cup. Girls can like trains, right?

Done and ready to go with her cool shades and cell phone. I have to brag here. B was such a big girl for this appointment. She handled the eye drops, 3 different exams, waiting, and scary technology like a little lady.

Okay, I'm done here. Everyone is in bed but me, and I better get some sleep soon. I'm thinking Saturday won't be as busy as Friday. Hopefully not anyway!

Happy Halloween

Batman and Minnie Mouse were busy this Halloween weekend. Friday night we went to the annual fall party for Deaconess (Kyle's work). Saturday, they got all dressed up for some quick Trick or Treating and then headed to our church's Fall Festival. Sunday we carved pumpkins with Lolly and Poppy.

This year picture taking was sooo much better due to much more cooperative kiddos.I think they were just excited to be dressed up.

Cowboy Fischer

So glad it is November!! The holiday season is about to begin. Bring on the craziness ;) We are ready!