SNOW!!!!

The snow fall last night was beautiful- big, fluffy flakes dashing down from the sky. However, the real fun for the kids came today as you can see below.

Coleman enjoyed playing ball more than in the snow. He was a little upset when the ball didn't fall through due to the net being frozen together.

Coleman and the bulldozer

Lincoln lapping up the snow

Catherine licking her lips after eating the snow. I love Catherine's eyes in this picture (you have to click on it to see it bigger).

This is the picture after they had a squabble over the bucket.

Coleman was to busy eating the snow to notice I was trying to take a picture.

Our front yard

"....if you kiss a frog."

A dialog between Lincoln and Catherine in the car before lunchtime. The discussion is over the color of Kool-aid they wanted me to make.

Lincoln "I want green kool-aid."
Catherine "I want PINK kool-aid."

L. "No, we are going to have GREEN kool-aid!"
C. "No, we are going to make PINK kool-aid!"

Linocln "Catherine, I will always pick pink kool-aid if you kiss a frog."
C. "I will not kiss a frog."
L. "Well, I guess you will never get pink kool-aid."
pause
L. "Catherine, say 'I agree that I want green Kool-aid.'"
C. "No."
Conversation continued a little but I got distracted. :) But Mommy picked blue kool-aid. :)

Thanksgiving Pictures

This year was our Cookeville Thanksgiving (we alternate on Thanksgiving). We enjoyed our Thursday morning at home and a delicious Thanksgiving dinner with Brad's family that evening. Our kids are the only kids and get plenty of attention from Brad's parents, aunts, and cousin. Lincoln wore his Thanksgiving outfit that he made at school, and I made little indian hats for the other 2 as well (see picture below).

Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer and A Baskin Robbins story

Tonight Lincoln and Catherine were singing Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer in the car. Lincoln sang first "...he'll go down history- Like Abraham LINCOLN!!"

Now, Brad and I taught Lincoln to sing that Rudolph would go down in history like George Washington when he was young. But as Lincoln learned that he was named after another president, he switched names just so he could sing mainly the "Lincoln" part. Well, sweet Catherine, not understanding the whole president thing sang her version. Instead, she sang "...he'll go down in history- Like Abraham CATHERINE!!" :)

A not so funny Catherine moment happened a little later when we went to BaskinRobbins with some friends and their kids. Taking inventory of the kids we turn to check on the girls and there was Catherine standing in the cake display case (door cracked) LICKING the class door from the INSIDE. Yes, licking it. I immediately covered my mouth to cover my laugh b/c while it was SO WRONG it was funny. It really, really surprised me to see her doing that. What in the world was the child thinking?!! It wasn't like there was frosting there (or if there was it was gone- lol).... it was the clear door!! That incident was spank worthy, but I didn't spank her (she sat in time-out). I was in part shock, part embarassment, and part humor. I may have erred on the side of lax discipline, but should it happen again I will act differently.

A Sweet Exchange

From my bed at 6:30 am this morning, I hear this sweet exchange.
Background: Lincoln is sitting at the bottom of the stairs, and at our bedroom door, playing with his Hot Wheels Track. Catherine is watching TV in the den directly behind Lincoln. Coleman is upstairs in his bed talking and singing (he actually has nothing to do with the story but I didn't want to leave him out.)

Lincoln excitedly "Catherine, come watch this!"
I hear Catherine's footsteps. A toy clicks then nothing happened.
Lincoln "Oh, wait, that wasn't it. Catherine watch!"
A toy clicks.... nothing.
Lincoln frustrated says"Oh, wait, that wasn't it! Watch!"
A toy clicks, a car zooms, crashes and another toy says something.
Catherine so encouragingly "grEAT job, Lincoln!!!!" just like it was the very first time he tried it.

For me, the sweetness was in the way Catherine was so patient with Lincoln and the toy. Then she followed up with just a few words, but she put all the encouragement she could muster into those 3 words. It made my heart swell, I guess, with pride. It just made me happy. What a great way to wake up!

Something to Make You Smile

One morning last week, I was giving Catherine a quick bath before Mother's Day Out (they boys had their's the night before). I had to run upstairs to get something for her and came back down to a PJ dressed Coleman in the tub. He loves bathtime and was not going to be left out. It was funny.

Another make you smile: Catherine asked Brad last night if God ever says "You're Welcome".

Halloween pictures

Here are the 5 of us at Trunk or Treat. Brad is Phil Fulmer with a noose around his neck.

Brad and the kids about to carve the pumpkins.

The kids at Papa and Gran's before Trunk or Treat.

A Look at Catherine

It has been a while since Catherine was the topic of my blog, so I decided to give you a look into her little life.

Catherine loves coloring. About a month ago, we were going thru Sunday school papers. Brad help up one of Catherine's asking what to do with it. I looked at it, noticed that it was colored almost perfectly in the lines, and told Brad to trash it because "she can't color that good yet" and her teacher must have helped her. The next day, Catherine was coloring at the kitchen table. Big Surprise to me- it was almost perfect. She could stay between the lines. I was shocked. Lincoln was 5 before he colored that well. Then I felt bad that I discredited her work the day before. Thankfully, she wasn't standing there when Brad and I talked about it.

A couple weeks ago when I went to get Catherine and Coleman from Mother's Day Out, Catherine was not in her classroom napping with the other kids. Usually when I walk in, I find her on her mat but separated from the other kids. But that day Catherine was in "Mrs. Donna's office" because she wasn't resting in her room but disturbing others around her. Her teacher said, "Your daughter is very social." That was good news to me. For a long time, Catherine was the quiet one, not speaking very much, but that is changing. I am glad.

Catherine is very imaginative. She loves to play with her dolls and her little fischer-price dollhouse. She will say to me "Let's pretend. You be the sistee (she can't say r's) and I be the mommy." I smile even more when she says "Let's pretend. You be the mommy and I be the sistee." Catherine can play in her room for hours imagining. She will have all sorts of people over and do all sorts of things. She goes to the grocery store with her grocery cart (Lincoln's room) and to church (Coleman's room). Last week, she was pretending to be mommy and went to a "Pampered Chef show". She loves when I play with her, and always tries to draw me in to the world she's created. Thankfully, she is 3 and it is easy to get involved in her little world but playing pretend is not my strong suit. Aunt Amy was the one with the creative imagination and could have fun pretending.

The last thing that I can think of that tickles Brad and me is when she says "Don't smell me" or now she is better at expressing it and says "Don't put your breath on me." That always makes me laugh.

Catherine is our "sweetie pie" and loves helping me do mommy things. She also likes pretending to be "mommy" to Coleman who doesn't quite see the joy in that.

Lincoln's first "note" home

I could tell as he walked to the car at pick-up today that he was "in trouble". During those seconds of him walking to the car I was hoping I was reading him wrong, but then I saw it flapping in the wind behind him. He handed the note to me as he got into the car. To myself "Please be about the Halloween party tomorrow." But instead, the note read "Laura, Lincoln has been really wild......When we work he constantly talks. I am so sorry but I have talked to him.... Help!"

Lincoln needing to work on talking is really not surprising. He does get it naturally from both Brad and me. BUT to the point that I get a note home kinda makes me sad. I know from being a teacher that getting a note home means Lincoln has been warned, "punished", and warned some more. He used up his consequences at school. So our evening of carving the pumpkin may be without Lincoln and he will get a spanking from Brad. I am thankful that Lincoln isn't "ugly" or disrespectful- it isn't a heart issue neccessarily but a control issue.

Brad's home. :)/:(

Sometimes Kids Aren't Nice Back

Something in our prayer triggered a memory of Lincoln's school day (FYI- Very rarely does Lincoln share much about his interactions with the other kids at school). He shared that he had been running on the playground and accidently knocked another boy down. Apparently, Lincoln was running forward and looking back over his shoulder. Feeling bad, Lincoln apologized to the boy for knocking him down. The boy's reply took Lincoln by surprise. The boy said angrily, "Sorry doesn't change anything" and he shrugged Lincoln and his friends off. Typically, when Lincoln apologizes to a person the reponse is "It's okay" and everyone is friendly again. Lincoln told me that what the boy said made him feel sad because he didn't know what to do or say next. I explained that apologizing was the right thing to do and that sometimes when people get hurt apologizing doesn't fix it right away. We talked about how the boy might have thought that Lincoln ran into him on purpose, and Lincoln concluded that he needed to watch where he was running. :)

Encouraging My Children

In the last 24 hours I have had many reflective thoughts about being a wife and mother, especially. At some point I realized that I think many positive thoughts about my kids behaviors but many times I don't verbalize the encouragement (the same fits w/ Brad). For example, I was downstairs folding laundry this morning. Catherine and Coleman played upstairs a good 30 minutes without Catherine speaking "ugly" to Coleman. She wasn't bossy, she didn't get on to him for playing with her kitchen, .... it was so nice. I thought "Wow, they are playing so nice" and that was as far as it went- just a thought. So, challenging myself, I decided I really need to verbalize those thoughts. So, I hopped up the stairs, looked Catherine in the eyes and told her how glad I was that she and Coleman were playing nicely. Of course she just beamed. I told Coleman "Good Job" and we all High-Fived.

Much later in the afternoon, after Lincoln and Catherine had a good 30 minutes where they were picking on each other (with much whinning and tattling), I noticed happy sounds coming from the den. Lincoln and Catherine were having so much fun together. Their laughter was contagious. Again, I had my thought. But thankfully, I stopped and told them how happy I was watching them have so much fun. They grinned and immediately went back to semi-wrestling and taking turns kicking and chasing (no one got hurt) :)

There were a couple of other instances, and I feel that there are already results. This may not seem huge to you, but it so warmed my heart. We were out tonight, and Catherine almost fell asleep on the way home. After unbuckling his seatbelt, Lincoln looks around at Catherine (he sits in the back of the van), sees her eyes closed, and kisses her on the head. Most nights, he groans silly-like, at the thought of kissing his sister. But tonight, he noticed just how sweet Catherine is asleep. The expression on his face conveyed love and care for his sister. He WANTED to give her a kiss. With almost tears in my eyes, I told him that kissing his sister goodnight was SO sweet. He just grinned and gave me a thumb's up.

I am very affectionate with my children (Catherine resists it much more than the boys), and they will never wonder if I love them because I always tell them (2 things I vowed to do as a mom). But, when they grow up, I want them to remember that while I had to discipline the unwanted behaviors, I also lifted them up with words of encouragement in what they did right or well. That's going to be a hard challenge to do consistently, but I will continually pray for it to be so.

Fun in the Dirt!

Several weeks ago, our neighbor had several truck loads of dirt dumped near our yard. The kids enjoyed the coming and going of the dump trucks and couldn't wait for the day to play in the dirt. Well, that day was today. It was perfect because cousins Anna Lea and Tyler were here and I couldn't resist letting them play out there. I did have one spoiler: "Don't throw the dirt on each other's heads! We are going out to eat later and I don't want you to get TOO dirty" HA They had bunches of fun running and climbing and ,surprisingly, they didn't get too dirty. Well, I take that back, Lincoln did "sweat" brown. It left a nice streak down his face.

Catherine Speaks Out!!

It all happened yesterday while we were driving home on Hwy 111. Lincoln got into one of his "What if's.....". "What if this car bumped into that car and that car FLEW UP into the air, came down, bounced over the other car, and then fell off the bridge, and then...... and then that would be SO COOL." That is just an example of one of the segments I listened too. I, at some point, blocked him out. I came back around when I heard Catherine talking to Lincoln rather sternly. Then I just started laughing to myself when I realized what she was saying. I heard Catherine say "LINCOLN, will you stop talking about that!!!" He didn't. A little louder "LINCOLN, will you STOP TALKING ABOUT THAT!!!" I don't think he heard her still b/c he was still "What-ifing" Finally, Catherine says as loud as her little voice could "LINCOLN, STOP TALKING ABOUT THAT!!!!!!" What made it even funnier was that Coleman joined in with Catherine- he mimicks and repeats what he can. So by the last demand, it was really Catherine and Coleman yelling at Lincoln. Lincoln, did finally pause and I said, "Lincoln, your brother and sister want you to be quiet now." He kinda frowned, but respected their opinion with no further comment. It was funny to that Catherine get "fed up" with Lincoln's ramblings.

Happy 6th Birthday Lincoln!!

6 years ago today, we went to the hospital to be induced. Lincoln was 6 days past his due date and showed no signs of coming on his own. At 11:09 pm on September 4, 2002, Lincoln Ronald Brown came into this world weighing a big 5 lb 8 ounces.

There is no way to know, until you have one, just how much a little baby like this can change your life. There is no way to understand just how much love one can feel for another little human being until that baby is here. We thank God daily for our children. They are gifts that God entrusts us with to love, teach, and inspire.

And here is my very first "baby" as a 6 year old this morning. After eating his 6-shaped pancake, he said "I don't feel any different..." I am not sure if he was glad or sad about that. What a special day this is, and I have to stop and praise God for this wonderful little boy He created. :)

A Mom's Perspective on Sarah Palin

Sarah Palin

Governor of Alaska

Wife of 20 years

Mother 0f 5 (the youngest being 5 months old)

Republican Vice-Presidential nominee of the United States

WOW!

My first reaction- "What in the world is he doing picking a woman .....with 5 kids... no "real" experience... the youngest is a newborn??.... what kind of mom would......well, McCain can kiss being President good-bye.... "

I have been intrigued though. Because we choose to keep our cable disconnected I didn't see McCain's "Live"announcement, so I decided to watch it online. Quite frankly, I wanted to watch Mrs. Palin, listen also, but watch her actions, interactions, her husband, her kids, their eyes. As I listened to McCain I found myself wondering "What is Mrs. Palin doing behind the scenes?" Is she in one room practicing while her family anxiously waits in another? Is she watching McCain backstage, holding/feeding her baby? Is the baby fussy, she stressed and screaming "Someone else deal with this?" Those are just a few of the possible scenarios. I think I would have been in the restroom dealing with nerves! Then McCain finally announces her and she comes out.

Mrs. Palin leads the way with her family slowly coming behind her. I can only imagine what her teen-age girls were thinking. Then I notice the oldest holding the baby- what a pro! Her youngest daughter, Piper, was so sweet. She stayed on her mommy's heels. She smiled so sweetly at the crowd. You could tell that she was so proud that they were clapping for her mommy. What an awesome experience for all of them. Then I started to feel sorry for this little girl. I started to watch Mrs. Palin differently. I thought she's not even acknowlodging her daughter. Piper is following her and she isn't even making contact with her youngest daughter. Not a physical touch, nothing. Minutes (maybe seconds) go by. Where are the motherly instincts????

As Mrs. Palin approached the podium, she felt little Piper at her side. She turned away from the crowd, bent down and gave Piper a little hug and a kiss on the cheek. Aha, her motherly instincts. Joy filled her daughters face. Immediately after that, Mrs. Palin turns and does it. She already knew where Piper was and that she was okay. But she would not be able to start her speech until she completed it. I am talking about the mommy mental checklist. We all do it- in the store, at church, or at the playground. We locate our children and make sure they are all okay. Mrs. Palin did that. She turned and finished the mommy head-count. She saw that her other 3 children were close-by and happy. I am sure that in that second she was so proud and confident of her oldest daughter's ability to help out. Peace of mind. A family unit working together. Supportive.

Some will argue that as a mother, of a newborn especially, she shouldn't be accepting this position. I totally get that arguement- I already felt it, trust me. But she gets the choice, just like every mommy does. And even though I choose not to work right now, I KNOW that "Working" mommies are very good mommies too. I saw one of the things that I wanted from Mrs. Palin. I saw that her motherly instincts existed, and I saw that she was just like me when it came to the peace of mind one gets from knowing where her "babies" are and how they are doing.

Wow! Something new is finally here! It is short but I have more (that's what happens when you don't blog for over a month). So check back very soon for part 2. I will add the details.

Lincoln's first half day of Kindergarten

Lincoln's first FULL Day of Kindergarten.

Catherine dressed up as a princess for "Fairy Tale" day at Mother's Day Out.

Catherine "swimming" to Andrea

A fun Saturday with high school friends Susie, Evelyn, Gretchen and Heather.

Roadtrip to Chattanooga's Discovery Museum

Yesterday, the four of us went on a roadtrip with other families from church to Chattanooga. We had a GREAT time!

Digging for dinosaurs was one of Lincoln's favorite. Catherine loved the sand too.
The kids also put on play in the drama area. Catherine was a dancer. Lincoln was too busy performing (or giving orders) to catch him in a picture. Here are 5 of the 8 mommies that went. Our children totaled 18- ages ranging from 12 months to 7 years old. It is a blessing to be surrounded by so many great moms and kids!
Lincoln playing postman in the cool Clifford exhibit.

The Clifford exhibit which ended up being our favorite. Besides a BIG Clifford and many other fun climbing areas, the kids had an equal amount of fun making letters to Clifford (or each other) and mailing them. Catherine told me she wrote a letter to Clifford in "yellow".

Jake and Walden are 2 of Lincoln's best buddies.
Catherine and Coleman's first cruise in a convertible.
Catherine and Coleman had fun in the area for 4 year olds and under. It was nice that there was an area that "fenced" them in. It was also nice to be able to send Lincoln to another more age-appropraite area with our friends and not have to worry about him.
Lincoln in a dinosaur costume.
Will (red shirt) and Coleman. Thankfully, Coleman didn't dump water on him.

We were gone ALL day and the moms were exhausted (as were the babies)! But the fun, smiles, and time together was great. All of my kids slept past 8 am today so let's go everyday- ha!!

My kids make me laugh!

After lunch I was giving Catherine a hug with our faces touching cheek to cheek and facing the same direction. She says "I smells something." I know she is referring to my after-lunch breath, but after a moment she exclaims "I smell your EYES!" I couldn't help but laugh out loud. Knowing that I laughed at what she said Catherine repeats "I smell your eyes *giggle* I smell your eyes *giggle giggle giggle*. " It was too funny!

Also today, Lincoln woke up starving from his nap. After several healthy snacks and a sucker, he asked yet for another snack. I reminded him that it was close to supper and if he ate any more it might ruin his appetite. He replied "Mom, I thinks I have room for another 115 things to eat." Unfortunately for him, that was not enough to convince me that it was okay for another snack. I did tell him he could have a big glass of water. :)

I did chase Coleman around the laundry room and kitchen today- he was carrying the lint tray from the dryer. I enjoyed chasing him (even if dust was going everywhere) because his little run and chuckle are so cute. The chase did end when he ran into our kitchen chair. He was looking back over his shoulder at me and laughing- I tried to grab him but.... Thankfully, he didn't hit that hard and didn't cry. He was done with the lint tray after that, however.

You know, this morning, Catherine was so whinny. I just knew it was going to be THAT kind of day. But after an outing and playing outside together, lunch and the afternoon have been just peachy and we've even had some bloggable moments. So, it goes to show that you can't judge a day by its first 2 hours. :)

Coleman Joins the Ranks

Coleman apparently has been feeling left out and created his own medical "emergency". It wasn't ear tubes or hernia surgery. Let's see if you can guess. The injury is a first in our family, it isn't permanent (while it may feel like it), it required a quick look at a doctor's appointment, and he may be called 'sharp tooth' in the future.

Monday night, at VBS, he was having fun playing in his little class. In his silliness, he tripped over himself and his little mouth caught the little plastic toy bin just right. Three of his top four teeth were injured and one of the teeth went through his bottom lip and left a cut right above his chin. The top right middle tooth is chipped diagonally, the left middle tooth is pushed backward just a little, and the outside left tooth is pushed up into his little gum a little bit. Our pediatrician goes to our church and immediately looked at his mouth while Brad ran to the grocery store (across the street) to get pain reliever. He was crying pretty hard until we took him into another empty class and got a book that plays music. He was able to relax until the medicine kicked in. Then he pointed and asked for 'Goldfish'. I reluctantly gave him a bite assuming it would hurt. He learned with the first bite to push that cracker back to his ONE bottom molar and continued to eat. His sippy cup hurt his mouth too. Thankfully, we have one straw sippy cup.

I did take him to the dentist on Tuesday when I saw that 3 teeth were injured. Thankfully everything will be okay. He did get mad today when he tried to eat a poptart. He saw Catherine eating her's and wanted to hold his piece like her's. I, being the good mother I am, tried to tell him it would hurt but, of course, he doesn't understand. He refused the small bites that I offered him, so I gave him his own chunk even though I knew it would hurt him. He pitched a fit when he tried to take a bite. He was really mad that he couldn't eat it. It was entertaining. Thankfully, we were able to move on to strawberries and that seemed to be enough for breakfast.

Graduation, Camping, and Surgery- all in 7 days!

On Tuesday, May 13, Lincoln graduated from his Mother's Day Out. It was an enjoyable program with many cute songs and skits.

Below, you will see Lincoln's shiny medallion. His Mother's Day Out has a program that gives the students an option of memorizing bible verses and other things (NT, OT, Apostles, etc). Lincoln worked with Brad to memorize all of them and LOVED doing it. In his class of 22 children, 6 accomplished this challenge. We are glad that he enjoyed doing it.

In fact, Lincoln has already been asking what his memory work would be when he went to Kindergarten. He was disappointed when I told him he wouldn't have a "bible" class in Kindergarten but he would learn all sorts of new things (that can be frightening!!).

The Sunday of Memorial Day weekend, Brad, Lincoln, Catherine and I went camping in Big South Fork. It was a beautiful weekend, and we enjoyed our time outdoors immensely. I am looking forward to going again.

Coleman didn't go camping this time, but here he is in our home-made firepit at home.

The slept so good- until 7:30 am!!

Lincoln enjoyed playing in the river, and thought his shells were pretty cool. My poor, sweet Catherine. I left her water shoes at home!!

The cicadas were alive and singin' at Big South Fork. The kids were facinated with them. Lincoln didn't like to touch his, but didn't mind if it stayed on his shirt. Catherine called her's "my cada".

Tuesday, May 20, Lincoln had double hernia surgery. He was born with them, and they are apparently somewhat common with little boys. I was somewhat worried about Lincoln and how he would do before the surgery and recovery wise, but that was all unneccessary. We arrived at the hospital at 6 am. He didn't go to surgery until 7:30am. That gave us plenty of time to get accustomed to the environment, sounds, people, nurses... you name it. Lincoln hardly hesitated when they took his hand to walk to the surgery room. He started to say "I want you to come with me", but I told him that Catherine walked down to her surgery (tubes) by herself with the nurses. That was enough for him, he went with them just fine. They did let him take his little puppy. Because he was fine going, I was fine with him going. Had he cried, I would have cried too. It is just a different experience.

Below: This is Lincoln when they brought him to his "room" for the day (we were discharged at 4 pm). He had already "woken up" from the anethesia in the recovery room where he apparently did all sorts of tricks that he doesn't remember (so said the nurse). You will see his little puppy under his arm- the nurses put a mask, hat, and wrapped its little arm just like Lincoln's had been.
Lincoln popped up after a couple of hours and said "Can I color?" The nurse brought us all sorts of fun stuff plus Jell-O and a popsicle. Face to face with "Brownie".
Me and my "baby" :)
Lincoln was so brave and hardly complained (just the car ride home made him nauseus). The hardest part is NOW. No running, jumping, climbing, swimming, kicking, biking, twisting, etc for about a month. Lincoln was excited, however, to get showered with gifts from friends and family. He was beginning to expect things. One day he awoke from his nap and said, "Mommy, did anybody bring me anything while I was sleeping?" He did say too that he wished Catherine had had the surgery because he just wanted to "run and climb trees".

A funny exchange today:
Lincoln- "Daddy, what are we going to do tonight?"
Brad- "Whatever you want. Maybe we can play baseball."
Lincoln- "Daaaaddeee, I can't play baseball, remember? How 'bout we go to the playground?"
Brad- "Lincoln, you can't really play on the playground."
Lincoln- "Oh yeah. Well what are we going to do then?" Brad pauses.
I said "Well, we can squirt you with the hose."
Lincoln "Woo hoo!"