L'Artiste

I love the way in which she holds her hands while painting. I also appreciate all of her varying facial expressions while concentrating. She is so serious and then suddenly she breaks into laughter. I think we have an artist in the making ;)

Heart Broken...

This video is from earlier in the year. The Raining Season is back in Sierra Leone, trying to bring aid to those same orphans...and they went back with bigger plans. They have not been allowed near the orphanage nor have they been allowed to provide the children with the aid they have available...the children have not eaten in 4 or more days. The conditions are incomprehensible.

God forgive us. These are YOUR children. How have we as your people allowed this?

I love The Raining Seasons verse on their blog:

...ONCE OUR EYES ARE OPENED WE CAN'T PRETEND WE DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO. GOD, WHO WEIGHS OUR HEARTS AND KEEPS OUR SOULS, KNOWS THAT WE KNOW, AND HOLDS US RESPONSIBLE TO ACT. -PROVERBS 24:12

Feeling convicted? Me too. Change Me Lord. Continue to break my heart for these children and the millions more just like them...don't let me forget Lord. Children...precious children.

Want to know more? Go here:
http://www.savetheorphan.blogspot.com/
http://www.therainingseason.org/The_Raining_Season/Media.html

They Know My Child...

So, in a million years I would have never even imagined of a Spider Girl...she is not even a real character. But, to my Hope, this will be even better than a pirate. I am going to de-vamp it with red or black tights and some boots or tennis shoes. I know she will be thrilled. Her first choice for her costume was Spiderman and well, I vetoed it. So...someone must have known there was room for compromise. The Spiderman of a superhero but the femininity of a little girl...good golly Spidey! I mean what kind of mom would I be not to snatch up the last one in her size...seriously? Spider Girl?! Oh WalM*rt you have NO idea how many points you just scored me ;)

Love totally picked out her costume. She chose this little number. I know it is all for the shoes...she is a sucker for any type of noisy shoes. I think this one is sweet. I still have some back ups if it is too cold out. Hey, it isn't even October yet - I am so ahead of the game :) For $20 per costume...I can't even make 'em that cheap!

Happy

First Day of Fall...

Fall has already made herself at home here. It was cool enough for a light jacket this morning and a warm cup of coffee on the go.

I love this time of year. It is time for new. New fruits, new veggies and even new neighbors. We have 4 homes across the street that are finally filling up with families. They have been sold for months, it seems. It is fun to imagine who might have purchased which home and then getting to see who actually did. We aren't very good guessers. We have no more construction in our immediate area...we are all done with the noise. Yes! Well, there is the neighbor a street over that has a dog that could give a bullhorn a run for its money. People, please put your dog inside...just saying.

It will be one week post op tomorrow. Looks good, huh?

Both Hunter and Hope have been sick. Love is still healing well from her surgery but getting the allergy/sinus stuff. Faith is still hanging tough. We've been to the pediatrician twice in the past week. I always say...if you aren't sick when you get there you will be when you get home. It hasn't failed me yet. The flu was swarming in the waiting room. Hopefully my girls flum*st was already in effect, they got it several weeks ago. Of course when Love, Hope and I entered the waiting area it was like the seas parted. People were moving and breaking right and left to give us plenty of room. I guess they assume the worst when they see Love's little face. It made me kind of laugh...people. I told our doctor about it. She said..."people are so stupid when it comes to things like that". I'd have to agree. I had the crud for a few days but feel so much better now. Big Daddy has been sick off and on and will be enduring some surgery next month. It should help his chronic sinus trouble and this just may be a cure for his snoring. (Insert marching band and balloons and stadium cheers here) Not that I don't love him just the way he is ;) He isn't doing the surgery because of the snoring...it is just a possible glorious side effect. Hallelujah!

Soccer is in full swing. Faith is on a select team this year. She has been playing both indoor and outdoor. Although her outdoor games have been cancelled due to rain. Hope played her first game last week. Tore it up. In fact she was recruited to play on a U7 girls team in a tournament in San Antonio. We will already be there with Faith's team. They are both really excited about playing. Faith isn't so crazy about the whole conditioning...he works them out hard. It does her body good. Hopefully I'll have pictures soon. We have games this weekend - weather permitting :)

Little Guy

I was able to watch my nephew while my parents and Big Daddy's parents went to Granparent's Day at Hope's school. So, of course he had to be a subject...and he is so fun to shoot but moves way too fast. Love was helping with the smiles...she's just silly :)

Ohhhh...I want one!! There I said it :-)

Early Bird Doing Well...

The Next Day...

Doing absolutely fabulous...full of life, laughter and love all day. And, not one single dose of Motrin.
This is one of Hope's favorite shirts. She bought it with a gift card from her birthday. She was very excited to wear it today. She has been asking to wear it since the day we bought it back in July. White...not a great choice, top that with lunch of pb&j. I finally let go and she wore it for "white" day. And, I must say...the girl can totally rock a tie.

6th Laser Treatment

This morning was Love's 6th laser treatment. We had to be at the hospital by 6:30 am. Hunter and Hope went to Bambi & Paw Paw's for some spoilin'. Early morning breakfast - Hope helped cut the biscuits...you mean they can be made without opening the can?!? They loved it. Hunter had been sick and was staying home because of his illness. Faith stayed behind and had a ride picking her up at our house.

Anyway, Love went under with the usual nasal spray to make her drowsy...followed by her ritual vomiting after they give it to her. She has a very sensitive gag reflex. It takes very little for her to blow...too graphic? Sorry. Then we met with the doctor about 20 minutes later. She did well and he upped her energy level on the laser from 13.5 to 14.5. Huge. She was blistered a bit and we heard her from the waiting room being wheeled in to recovery. She was not happy. Not one little bit. She was screaming for her Momma. Why does that bring me any comfort at all? It really makes me feel helpless but for some reason that she was awake enough to want me brought me a tiny bit of joy...am I crazy? They did not give her IV sedation this time or a breathing tube. They just used the mask. Which means she comes to very quickly. Which is great except she comes to very quickly. Allows the pain to catch her before the pain medicine (a shot while still in surgery and a suppository) they give her sets in. Poor baby. She was probably the most irritable and in the greatest amount of pain after today's session. It did subside after about 5-10 minutes. Then about 20 minutes later she had tolerated juice and we were on our way home. Poor thing got really sick in the car. Luckily MiMi was there to help a Momma out. She swapped driving with me so I could focus on little one. She was so sick.

After about a three hour nap...presto chango the kid acts like nothing ever happened. She knows something happened but she is back to her usual bubbly little self. I love her resilience. You just can't get her down. Of course a couple of Bambi's cupcakes didn't hurt things either ;) She is peacefully sleeping and hopefully tomorrow will be fine. If not, I am armed with the Motrin and lovin'...she is all mine all day long :)

While sleeping, she looks so peaceful...

After her nap...you can see he went back over her neck and ear which we thought we were done with. I guess he had hoped for better results. She is swelling but not as bad as usual but you can see she blistered pretty good on her cheek. Yikes!

And back to all smiles. A little crooked from the swelling but super cute no less.
Have I told you lately that she truly amazes me?

Meet the Feet...

Don't hate us because we're beautiful.
Hee hee!

This is Hope's very first kindergarten project. I think she did very well. She was a bit upset with some of the imperfections - I encouraged her that they looked fine. I love her detail for each person. Big Daddy is wearing camo and a cap. I have on some mighty fine silver jewlery and a cutting edge hairdo. Hunter has a skateboard...with the 4 screws that each end has to have. Faith has her soccer ball and big earrings. Hope is wearing her soccer uniform with her number on it. And Love, well, I guess the ponytails is her thang.

Anyhow...she did great and worked solo!

These Shoes Were Made for Tapping....

And that is just what she'll do!I love these sweet tapping feet :)

Love started her very first dance and gymnastic classes this past week. She really had a ball - preferred the ballet to the tap at class. Then at home we practically have to peel the tap shoes off :) She loves the noise. We signed up for a Mommy and Me class and the timing was perfect. Unfortunately, so perfect that there were not enough girls to fill the required spots. They have another class another day but it is so full...I wanted more attention for her since she is so young. There is hope, they say things could pick up and we could be back in by October :) For the day though my sweet little princess was an absolute doll. She loved her pink leotard, white tights (that were huge) and her soft little pink tutu. Precious to the core.

I took some pictures at class but it being a Mommy and Me...I was a bit too involved to get anything good. And the lighting...it was awful. So here are the pics I took before class. You must be warned...the girl can pose. None - not one of these photos were set up or posed by me. I asked her to smile and this is what she came up with. Too sweet :)

She knows she is cute in this get up

This must be her interpretation of ballet. Looks a bit like karate ;)
Love it...she looks like an Egyptian

I love the placement of her hands...I know it looks posed. Hopefully you all know me well enough that I would never put her right up next to a drainage gutter.

Such a pretty little princess

If you happen to think of our sweet Love tomorrow we would so appreciate your prayers. She is having her 6th laser treatment early in the morning. Same procedure as always. It just bothers me that she has to be put to sleep again.

My Love...

17 Years....

As Husband and Wife!

Happy 17th Anniversary Sweetheart :)

I guess if I had any advice on marriage, not that I should be the one giving it, it would be this:

In marriage, love has to be a verb. It can not be a noun or even an emotion if you want it to survive, well, not only survive but thrive. Because sometimes, love isn't an easy thing to do. And sometimes, we aren't so easy for our husband (or wife) to love either. But, you do it and the Lord blesses you for it...we are living proof :) Our marriage hasn't always been fabulous or incredible or even good at times but we both made the decision to get through the trials. And you know about trials already....they produce perseverance. Which is what you need in marriage :)

And my last little tidbit of advice - wonderful words to breathe into your marriage:

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
Love never fails.
1 Corinthians 13:4-8

17 years married to the man I love - more today than the day I said "I do". Big Daddy, did you ever even imagine in your wildest dreams???? 17 years...4 beautiful children...and we are just getting started :) I love you.

Little Miss Solo

This morning Love and I went for our first solo trip to the library. Our bigger kids always enjoyed Story Time that is offered by our public library. I thought I would try her and see. She loved it. She sat still and listened and she even got the jokes during the puppet show :) Today's theme was teddy bears so we heard lots of teddy bear stories and then had a puppet show about a teddy bear. There is a very loud and very noisy music parade where all the kids select an instrument and march around in a circle. She found herself something to play but was not into being in the marching band. We then sang the goodbye song and she picked up her "homework" (a teddy bear color sheet). Afterwards we hung out in the library and selected a few books. She truly enjoyed this. I think she just felt so big. There were older kids among her and just that she was choosing books along side them seemed to tickle her. I took some photos...not great but I still wanted them for me. I mean after all, it was her first visit to the library without her older siblings.

Giggling at the puppet show jokes :)
Carefully making her selections
Official first trip to the library
Her choices...with a little help.

I am so thankful to finally have alone time with her. We have lots of fun things planned for us to do and see and I can't wait for her to experience them as the center of my attention and not as my 4th and easiest going child. She could use this one on one time...even though she has no idea she is missing out. I am even more excited about watching her grow as her world opens up. Don't you just love seeing things through the eyes of your child?

Just you and me little one :)

A Little Labor Day Fishin'

About 4am this morning my two guys and my little lady went off on a fishing adventure with my dad. I was questioning the night before whether or not Hope would actually get up and stay up for the quest. Boy did I have that all wrong. She bounced out of bed and was roaring to go...I guess she may have had an instinct of what the day may hold. Hunter on the other hand was more...well, hesitant.

Turns out they went to eat breakfast after they picked up Grumpy and his boat. They hit the lake around 7am and the fishin' began. Hope really got after it. She was the big fisherman of the day. She caught three drum, a sand bass, two catfish, and two or three perch. Not only is my girl one heck of an angler she has sophistication in her catch...notice the bevy of fish breeds? It is always better to not limit yourself to one species :)

Poor Hunter, he was out done by his little Sis. He caught a baby bass and two perch. Maybe next time Bud.

Hope did some boat driving and boat riding along with all the catching...a girl simply has to take a rest. She let her own line out and she reeled in all her of her fish. I can only imagine how proud both Big Daddy and Grumpy were of her. She is quite the fisher chick :)

They did not leave the lake until about 2pm. She was still chattering about how much fun she had.

Getting boat lessons from Grumpy. She told me that Love would not want to go in Grumpy's boat because it "hauls"....oh, lovely terminology. She was a bit upset at the thought of holding her own fish...at first. She didn't even want her picture taken. Things changed... :)
Pleased with her catch

Have you ever seen a more adorable fishergirl?

Here she is with a fish on her line...reeling the baby in - check out the look on Grumpy's face...she just may be the boy he never had :)

Aww...this is Hunter's catch...hee, hee... :) Now, this explains his hesitancy to get up this morning...not a lot to get excited about, huh?

They all had a blast and both the kids are talking about next time. I asked Hope about her favorite part of the day and she said "that Grumpy taught me how to call a turtle". After her demonstration it sounds a lot like the sound of kissing the air...but apparently there is something to it. She said the turtle came right next to the boat. She also said "spending time with Bubba". They need it...you know her being a tomboy and him being the big brother. The two of them being such avid outdoors men is just a common thread that the Lord sowed between them :)

I've Been Converted...

Ever since I was a kid my most favorite season was summer. I loved everything about it. The heat, the sunshine, the swimming, the sno cones, the lazy days, the no school, but most of all the freedom that came with summer. A freedom like the no other. No schedules, no homework, no after school practices - just carefree.

Up until this past summer, I would stay the course and agree summer is the bomb when it comes to seasons but...something changed, something has been transformed in not only my mind but my body.

I can not handle the heat the same as just a few years ago. It's hot! I used to love to lounge in the pool or near by some form of water. Now, even my kiddos are saying it is too hot to swim...say what? And as for the figure that enjoys being in any type of swimwear - gone are those days too. They've been gone for a while but I have truly despised this past summer.

We had a taste of the season to come...FALL. Y'all it was straight up glorious for the entire day and a half we experienced it. It made me smile just feeling the soft, sweet breeze on my face, watching the gentle blowing of my little girls hair in the wind, the hint of things to come - holidays, family gatherings, birthdays. Also, the best season for soups, stews, warm cider and hot teas. Yumm! My coffee cravings come back full force as the nights begin to nip a little. And fashion...things get to be more covered and layered and lumpy and it is perfectly ok. The colors of reds, olives, burnt oranges, and golds not only on trees but on people :) I love that high school football is back in the swing of things....completely floored that it costs my kids, who are students at the stinkin' school a whopping $7 to get in...forget that our taxes were raised to build this new stadium years ago...?? The new fall schedule on TV - yep, I said it. I know. I should be busy with other things, and I am, but I love a good hour of HGTV Design Star, Food Network Star, Top Chef or Project Runway. Thanks to tivo I can still be efficient. And lastly, I love the time slots for our days. I love that we have places to be and things to do and dates and times to be there by. It makes me feel organized or prepared or semi together...although I am still being molded in that area.

I have had my husband and many friends who have been big fans of fall...and now, I am on board, I am a convert, fall is my new summer :) And I love her...fall that is. She brings the most beautiful season of colors. And weather that is just a near perfect as it can get - for Texas. I can't wait! We have two little trees that are supposed to change colors and in Texas...that is saying something...our very own fall foliage in our own front yard.

So, if your wondering what my inspiration was for the bloggy changes...well, now you have it. Which is what I was really going to blog about anyway...oh, this mind of mine - wanders more than a lost dog. Anywhoo...let me be the first to say...Happy Fall Y'all!! She's coming 'round the corner. Well, 2 weeks and a day to be exact :) Just FYI, on the 10 day forecast for our area...day 8...will be only 88 for the high. Days 9 and 10 return to the mid 90s. So, if y'all see Summer...could you tell her we loved visiting and catching up with her but she has plum worn her welcome out...the Harris family is ready to host a new guest...yep, you guessed it, it is Fall!

Because...

circumstances are yucky right now and smiling is good for our hearts.

Our two little "Mother Marys"She could totally be the next Linda Carter...does this pose ooze Wonder Woman or what?

She wears headbands any way you can imagine except in her hair for the purpose that they were actually intended for.

Did she make you smile? Me too. :)