Little bit of basketball

The last few months were pretty much consumed by some sort of basketball (either Chris' team or one of the kids). One of the high school girls got these first 2 pictures of Cole, looking an awful lot like his dad! Cole has become like a little coach, telling Chris what the guys need to do, what they should work on, what play they should run, etc. I had to grab Cole from one huddle during a big game because Cole was trying to tell one of the players what he needed to do out on the court!

District Champs - after a very close game. I don't like those games that come down to the final few seconds, but we came out on top. Unfortunately, we didn't beat that same team again when we faced them in a regional game...

Prayer after the game. The other team didn't want to join our guys (this particular team never does either, win or lose).

Cole's little TFA basketball team - Chris was the coach. Cole had fun and did well, but he had a hard time passing the basketball. He shot ALOT of shots. For the last game, I told him I would pay him 50 cents for each pass he made.

Ansley's basketball team. We had the opposite problem with her - she didn't want to ever shoot the ball! She did make 3 baskets in the last game though! She decided at the last minute that she wanted to play, so I was hoping she would have fun - she did! It helped one of her best friends, Katey, played also.

Who needs tires?

Luke seems to have this obsession with taking the tires off of every vehicle. There were a few cars that I truly did not think the tires could come off, but alas, I was wrong and Luke found a way to get them off. All of his cars and trucks, and even Cole's Lego vehicles - off go the tires! I find them all over the place and have started a little collection, thinking that eventually I will match the tires with their rightful owners. Here are a few of the assorted tires...


And a few vehicles that have lost their tires. Even the plane is now tire-less!

The joys of having a big sister

Yes, this is our son. His sister dressed him in a beautiful pink Barbie dress, complete with heels and a purse. Luke was so proud of how cute he looked. Daddy said "That's a picture that will show up his senior year of high school or something!"

Royal Student

If you know our sweet Cole, you know he has some challenges with behavior, impulsiveness, paying attention, etc. Well... we finally decided to try an ADD type medication for him. I say "finally" as if it has been 10 years of dealing with this, and while it hasn't, it has been a very long several years of trying to help him have self-control, focus, obedience, etc.... After a couple of years of trying diet, supplements, and neurofeedback therapy, we decided to give medication a go. And it has been amazing some of the changes he has seen. We try not to make a big deal about taking the medicine, but even Cole told the doctor "It helps me be good". It has not made him perfect, and we still have a ways to go in learning how to have healthy relationships and to be more positive, but it has made a HUGE difference. At home he is often the peace maker, instead of the initiator of arguments (not always, but a big improvement here!). And at school, he can sit still in his chair without squirming and making noises and does much better overall with self-control and (lack of) impulsivity. So...a few weeks after being on the medication, he received the Royal Student award at school. I think it was his sweet teacher's way of recognizing his improvement and encouraging him for how hard he was trying with his behavior. He received the award in chapel, and his teacher gave us a heads up so we could be there and get a picture (and video!)

And they're off!

Over Christmas break, Ansley asked Chris to take the training wheels off her bike - she felt like she was ready to ride without them. Just like Cole did, she just took off on the 2 wheels almost right away. It kind of reminded me of potty training - when they're ready, they're ready! She just loves being able to ride it now, and will go out there almost every day and ride up and down the sidewalk.

Not to be out done, Luke really wanted a bike of his own (with training wheels, of course). So he and Chris headed out to a few stores to search. Chris found a great deal on one that was already put together (the great thing about waiting until after Christmas!). He was so excited to have his own little bike to follow his big sis around in.

Today

Ugghhh... today was one of those draining days and I didn't even do much. Poor Cole started having a toothache over the weekend. It got worse yesterday - he and Chris went to a Magic game yesterday afternoon and ended up leaving early, before it was even half time, because Cole was in so much pain. Cole had been so excited about going to the game (they were playing the Cavaliers, which means Lebron James), so we knew he must be hurting for them to leave early. But then it would feel better, and Motrin definitely helped.

Last night he told me there was a "bump" there, almost like a sore... and then this morning he woke up and his whole right side of his face was swollen. Thankfully, we already had an appointment at 8:30 this morning to have a different cavity filled, so we headed straight to the dentist. Turns out a previous cavity that had been filled had gone straight to the nerve and an abcess (sp?) had formed. That pretty much meant that the tooth would need to be pulled. It was awful. Luke and I were in the waiting room, and had been for quite some time. All was calm, and then I hear this screaming, which I know is Cole. Of course I started crying... He was miserable for the next 2 hours. We stopped at Walgreens and got some liquid Motrin (I had actually brought some Motrin, but it was chewable), and he screamed in the parking lot of Walgreens (he sometimes can add a little drama to an already tough situation!).

On a happier note, we had a sonogram shortly after that (Cole and Luke tagged along to that - thankfully the Motrin kicked in and Cole wasn't feeling quite so yucky). All is well with our baby girl - she weighed approximately 2 1/2 lbs, had all her fingers and toes, etc. I was completely surprised to see that Cole actually enjoyed watching the entire sonogram. He couldn't wait to show the DVD to Ansley when we picked her up.

Christmas Day

These are in reverse order again... On our way home from North Carolina, we stopped at my parents house and spent Christmas eve there and the headed on to Kelly & Andrew's (Chris' sister's home) that afternoon, so that's where these start. I was not feeling great, so I didn't do the best job taking pictures. Here is Ansley with a Wii game from MaMa and PopPop. Kelly & Andrew have a cat - poor thing was probably overwhelmed with all the company, but Luke especially wanted to find and pet that sweet cat.

My dad wanted to get a family picture - actually, he wanted a video, so we all stood there in front for a minute while dad talked. It was kind of funny (Ryan & Ginger were with her family in Plant City, so they missed out ! :-) ). I threw my camera up there because it felt more like it should be a still shot rather than a video. Notice our precious daughter was not being cooperative. What a pleasant face! ha!

The great part about being a dad on Christmas - getting to put together toys!

My sweet grandparents. They will probably make a fuss about this picture being on there, but I couldn't resist. They're so great. They have been married forever (ok, I can't remember the exact number, but it's been a long time. I think they celebrated their 50th when Cole, who's now 7, was a baby, or the year before he was born?) I am sooo thankful that they are here and fairly healthy and my kids get to have great-grandparents! I am looking forward to getting to see them again as soon as basketball is over!

This is Luke's little personality that is starting to come through - the happy, goofy, silly type. He was pretty excited about his new car garage.

More Winter Fun

The last day we were there, the roads finally cleared enough for the Great Smoky Mountains National Parkway to open up. We drove through it and over to Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge. I really wanted the kids to get to see the Christmas lights in these two cities (they are amazing - unlike anything I have seen, except at Disney's Hollywood Studios), but we were afraid they would close the parkway when night time arrived (which apparently happens quite regularly) and we would be stuck with a much longer, out of the way drive to get back to the house. We did stop along the parkway, though, and play in the snow. It was much deeper and still very soft, so we built a snowman, had a snowball right, etc.

Our attempt at a snowman :-)

The picture above makes me think of a "real" winter, or a Christmas wonderland, etc. :-)

This was right near the house we were staying at... looked like a nice snap shot.

Ansley in front of the house where we stayed. The last night we were there we roasted marshmallows and made smores. Mmmm... so yummy!

She was so excited to make a snow angel!

Forget spending a bunch of money on snow activities! The first full day we were there, the neighbor's son, wife and grandson were spending a few nights with him- they lived in Asheville but had no power due to all the snow storms. The grandson was a few years older than Cole - he came over with some pastic sleds and asked the kids to come out and play. The kids had so much fun sliding down the hills, though we were a little worried about them sliding right into the river. Chris stood guard to catch any runaway sleds. I got this picture of Ansely and Luke right before they slid into the house. They were having so much fun until the went into the bushes and then the house. Luke wasn't so happy about it after that!

Snow skiing - Winter Fun

Ok, these pictures load in reverse order, and I never remember to change that when I'm loading. And it is a pain to try to move them around, though maybe there is a better way and I just don't know it?! So... bear with me as these start at the end of the snow skiing! And what better one then this one of Luke, who looks like he is basially saying "That's it. I'm done. Leaving my skis here, don't care, just get me out of here!" We had this great idea that was basically like this "Hey, how often are we going to be coming up here and it will be good snow. Let's take the kids skiing". Of course, I couldn't ski, being pregnant, so that left Chris with all 3 kids. It was just going to be Cole and Ansley but then we saw that kids under 3 were free, so hey, why not add one more to the chaos. And Chris didn't want to pay for ski lessons (which I didn't want to spend the money either, but it is one thing to try to pick it up yourself, but an entirely different matter to have one adult trying to help 3 young kids who have never even seen this ski equipment before, much less worn it.) So... that left Chris trying to deal with all this chaos, kids falling down, not sure what to do, cold hands (I didn't bring the right gloves, so their hands were cold, wet and freezing -wasn't a problem on the other days but when you're trying to hold wet ski poles and keep falling down in the snow, well... not good).




Ansley gets the hang of it, though she gets tired after a little bit and wants to be done. They just stuck with the little kids bunny trail. No ski lifts for us!

Cole doing a good job too - he actually was enjoying it and probably would have kept going a little longer, but his hands were freezing - red and very cold...

Chris trying to help Cole while Luke just stands there.

And this was before they had even started trying to ski. This was about the time I started having a really bad feeling about it all. Luke had that stubborn look, and the kids were complaining and frustrated that they couldn't figure out the skis, etc. Part of me was relieved that I didn't have to go out there and help with all this mess, but the other part of me was thinking "This isn't good - Chris is going to need help!"

Needless to say, a memory was made and a lesson (or two) were learned. Chris was not thrilled that we spent so much money and were not there more than 2 hours (and that includes waiting to get all the equipment, etc!). Got some good pictures though :-)

Winter Fun Part 1

The week before Christmas we made a very short trip to North Carolina. The kids have been asking for the last 2 years if the could pleeeaaase see snow. That's not something we can just whip out of our back pockets, so I don't think they realized just how fortunate they were for us to first of all be able to even go there (thanks to some very sweet family!) and then how perfect it was for all the snow to even be there! Asheville got 22 inches of snow in the 24 hours before we arrived. I think there was even more snow the morning of our arrival. We were afraid it would be iced over by the time we were able to enjoy it the next morning, but that was not the case! The parents of my sis-in-law, Ginger, have these nice cabin not too far from Asheville where they let us come stay. You have to drive down this steep driveway that goes right up to the house - the first night, we pulled up to the top of the driveway and peered down at the house. Chris and I both looked at each other, and I knew we were thinking the same thing.... "Lord, please don't let us slide right into the house!" There is also a nice creek right behind it, so Chris kept singing the Veggie Tales song (from the movie Jonah) "Drive into the river, Bob" everytime we backed out of the carport to leave the house. Thankfully there were no problems for these Floridians who are not used to driving in the snow!

On to the fun... As our Christmas present, Ryan and Ginger gave us money for the kids and Chris to go snow tubing. Obviously, no snow tubing for the pregnant mommy, but I don't think I would have had a chance to do too much anyway, with trying to take pictures and help Luke in his little play area (there was a small area for the younger kids to play in).

Here's the big hill of snow - they rode a "carpet lift" up to the top and then slid down the tube to the bottom.

Cole coming down...

And Ansley...

For the first part, I pulled Luke up his small hill and then pulled him back down. Chris finally came over a little bit later and then really started giving him a big push down the hill. He had fun with me, but he had a BLAST with Daddy!

Here's a short vide of Luke coming down. He laughs the whole time and then starts saying "Daddy, push me again!" at the end.

Playing together??

Chris snapped this picture at my parents house. There are so few times when ALL 3 kids play happily together for more than 5 minutes, so I guess Chris decided to catch it while he could.

Thanksgiving Feast

Ansley's class had a Thanksgiving Feast a few days before Thanksgiving. We had the typical Thanksgiving meal - turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, macaroni & cheese, green beans. Yum - I get hungry just remembering it!



The best part, though, was the kids little performance. Ansley loves being in the spotlight, so she was excited about the lines she learned to say for the little skit and the songs they sang. My favorite "If I Were a Butterfly" :-) I have fond memories of singing/performing that myself as a kid.

October fun

Since this blog drives me crazy when I try to add pictures, things are a little out of sequence here, but it takes way too long to try to move them around. I'm probably the only one that it bothers that these are not in order, but oh well! Here's a glimpse of what October looked like for us.

Halloween/Fall Festival/whatever you want to call it :-) We went with some friends to the Winter Garden Fall Festival. There were several rides (the kids were only allowed to choose one, because it cost a small fortune!), and of course they were giving out lots of candy. We had dinner at the local pizzeria down there, which is always yummy. And, I think the "special memory" from that night was that someone paid for our meal (ours and the family we were with). We think it was another TFA family that was there also, but we don't know for sure.

On a little side note, just recently (early December) we had that happen again. Chris, Cole, and I were at Cracker Barrel for breakfast (my parents kept Luke and Ansley b/c Cole had a therapist appt that Saturday afternoon). We have no idea who paid for that meal, but it was a nice surprise. We weren't for sure if the person paying the meal gave the server a tip, so we went ahead and tipped her also. Cole asked why we did this, since she most likely got double tipped, so it was a good chance to explain that we could bless someone else like we had just been blessed. We are located right in the middle of two different Target stores - one is closer to a not so great area, and twice while I have been there recently, I have been approached for help from someone. Once I ended up taking a sick, overweight, elderly lady to an appointment she had down the road, in another little town, and then Chris and the kids took her dinner later that night. Obviously, more and more people are needing help right now, so we had a good (I think? who knows what goes through Cole's mind some times!) conversation with him and could use some of the examples of things that had recently crossed our paths. So, I'm totally digressing... here's pics of the kids... Cole was a Magic basketball player, Ansley a ballerina, and Luke a carpenter/tool man. Our friends two little girls, Hope and Faith, are there also.

Ansley and her friend Faith - they have been in the same class at school together for the last 3 years and they are about a month apart in age. And now they live in the neighborhood across from us, so that's extra nice too!

Cole played his first year of FBVA basketball. He played up an age level and did pretty well. He is so stinking competitive, so it was SO important to him that they win. And of course, it was very important that he get a trophy at the end of the season! My camera takes terribble pictures in gymnasiums, so sorry for the poor quality.

Luke hanging out at his big brother's basketball games. He is getting pretty used to spending time at the gym. We have to pack little bags with coloring books, crayons, cars, etc., but I think he doesn't mind the gym as much as Ansley does. Poor girl - she's got many years of being in the gym, between her dad and her brothers!

We also went to a local petting farm. Ansley had been before, but Cole had not. Ansley is so afraid of almost all animals, and last time we went she wouldn't do anything - no riding the pony, milking the cow, petting animals, etc. So this time she promised she would do more... Well, she did at least ride the pony this time, but that was it! Cole did most everything, but Luke stayed away. He cried while he rode the pony! I thought he would really like the farm since he loves animals, particularly dogs, but I guess he doesn't like getting up close and personal with them!

Riding the little train that goes around the farm:

Cole milks his first cow!

The one thing Ansley did do - ride the pony....