Bless you

We were on our way upstairs to do bath and bed and I told Alyssa and Isaiah they could take their coloring books and crayons to color while I got Ella to bed. Isaiah was carrying his coloring book and a school box full of crayons. All of the sudden I heard him say "Eeeeeewwwww". I came around the corner and looked down and there was some kind of goo on his box of crayons. I said "What is that". He said "I bless-you'd on the crayons and that came out of my mouth." It was really gross and cute at the same time!

Murphy's Law

Remind me never to put in writing that my kids are great again. They have been very challenging today!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

One more thing

I also have been thinking a lot about military wives and husbands who are left behind alone when their loved ones are shipped off for months and years at a time. What a sacrifice the entire family makes! All the more reason to work hard to bring our troops home and keep them home as much as possible. Asking a family to "succeed" when faced with such odds is close to impossible!

Surviving

We are on Day 5 of our great 21-day adventure and are doing very well. We have had our moments, but that happens regardless of where Tim is! I have the support of great friends and family (even though it is long distance right now). Thanks to all of you who have listened to me over the last few days! Your ear has meant a lot to me!!!

During the last couple weeks leading up to the trip and over the last few days, I have been thinking about quite a few things. The first being that the modern day mother works just as hard as a pioneer woman. It may not take the same form, but the amount of work is just the same. The addition of car seats alone is surely equivalent to a couple loads of laundry on the washboard and some butter-churning!

When Alyssa was a newborn and I was nursing and talking to my Grandma Smith about how tired I was and how I didn't anticipate this much sleep deprivation, she looked at me in her southern voice and said "Caroline, A man may work from sun to sun, but a woman's work is never done." NEVER have I agreed more with that sentiment than right now!

I have also realized what AWESOME kids I have. As many of you read, I took them to the circus. All 3 and it lasted almost 3 hours. They were great! Alyssa especially is so compassionate and I can see her trying to be extra helpful to me right now. (I hope that is not caused by any passive-agressive manipulation on my part, but I can't promise it.) Isaiah is just as easy to love as always (minus the change of season clothes issues we have going on) and Ella is just so sweet and talking so much. I am very blessed to be their parent and hope that I am not scarring them too bad!!!!

Things of note--part 2

1. Tennessee is hard on car brakes! Squeak, Squeak.

2. Sunrooms are hazardous to the health of birds! So far, we have had one dead bird on our deck from flying smack into our window and another bird who appeared dead, but sat up about 30 minutes later, walked to the edge of the deck about an hour later and then flew away sometime while we were away. Creepy!!!

3. Saw a sign at a church "Fall Hoedown"! Pretty sure I never saw one of those in Indiana.

4. No one knows which mountains we are surrounded by! It is my goal to find out.

5. I think we have found a church--WOO-HOO. Nothing worse than church-hunting!

6. People are very friendly and very welcoming. So far, we have gotten 2 loaves of homemade bread and a cake from the people in our neighborhood. Awesome!

The circus

The kids and I went to the circus this afternoon. It was a blast!!! I wish I could share some pictures with you, but Tim has it on his "trip around the world". (It did occur to me today that I will have to buy a disposable for Halloween!) The circus was Awesome! I have never been and the kids had never been and we had a great time. Alyssa's favorite were the acrobats and the tigers when they jumped through hoops of fire. Isaiah's favorite were the elephants and the "strong men". I did note 2 things about the costumes of the acrobats and the strong men. The acrobat girls wore cheerleader-like skirts with thong tights. No joke, thong tights. So, more than once, we were staring right at their bootays! And, the strong men wore no shirts, spandex blue pants and red boots. There was an audible chuckle when the spotlight hit them. What is the purpose???????

One of my favorite moments of the show was when Alyssa commented on the "ringmaster". It was a female who was attractive and wore very glittery, shiny outfits with big flashy hats. She also talked in a formal/announcer-type voice. Alyssa leaned over to me the second time she was on and said "mom, that lady is FANCY." To those of you who know my fashionista, you know she was VERY impressed!

It was a great time!!

Today, we ventured to a state park about 45 minutes from our house. It was called Roan Mountain and we drove almost to the very top of the mountain. The scenery was unbelievable and we saw a couple deer too. On the way up, my ears started popping and within a few minutes Isaiah says "Mom, I just tooted out of my ear!" Awesome!

Things to Ponder

From Alyssa - "Mom, what happens to the cows during a tornado? Does the farmer get them and take them to the basement? Because he sure doesn't take care of them now!"

From Isaiah (the day after his 4th birthday) - "Mom, I am 4 now and all my clothes still fit" I say "yes, Isaiah, even though you are 4 we did not have to go buy you all new clothes." Isaiah - " yeah, we will only have to do that when I am a teenager."

From Ella --Ok, nothing to ponder, but quite a bit of biting her brother--UUGGHHH.

We shall meet on that beautiful shore

Ok, so we sang "In the sweet, by and by" at the end of the church service we visited today. It was complete with the fiddle and everything! It has left me singing and smiling since we left.

A few things of note about Tennessee

1. Walking/running the hills in this great state is sure to get my keester a little more toned right? I might just be back to Flakey Jakes "Best Buns in town" Gotta have goals!!

2. The size and relative coordination of your daughter's hair bow to her outfit is a status symbol. Even better if the mother makes the hair bows and subsequently starts her own business selling them to all the other mothers.

3. After almost 4 weeks here, Alyssa can no longer say "home" or "no" in just one syllable.

4. Our son is turning into a bully. I don't know if this is related to Tennessee, but troubling nonetheless. We think he gets that from his papaw smith who reportedly required neighborhood kids to pay him a quarter to play in his yard.

5. Fall is AMAZING here!

6. I actually have to think about it before saying "cart" at the grocery store. Buggy is on the tip of my tongue!

7. Big hair and blue eyeliner! Enough said

Birthdays.

Alyssa had her friends Riane and Claire over to play today and they shared her birthday cake.

Doesn't this picture crack you up. He has the funniest look on his face!

Birthday boy!

Alyssa and Isaiah both wanted us to hide their birthday presents so they could find them. So, you see some of the hunt. Alyssa got an Easy Bake Oven (old school kind with the light bulb and everything.) See her with her first creation. She thought it was just great! Overall, they had great birthdays!

Apple Festival--Fun, sort of

Isaiah and Gran hanging in the shade.

Here are some pictures of the apple festival. And, NO, I did not get a fried apple pie. Everyone was sold out. So, I was VERY let down!!! And, my gyro was less than stellar. But, the kids thought it was fun. Check out Alyssa on this trampoline type contraption which allowed her to jump very high and do flips. She LOVED it!!!

Birthday Fun

The kids had great birthdays. I can't believe they are 6 and 4!!! I will post some pictures tomorrow (hopefully).

A perk

We are planning to go to the Apple Festival in Erwin (the town Tim works in) this weekend. I was reading online about the activities and treats that are available and one of the treats listed was FRIED APPLE PIES! My great aunt Aud used to make the BEST fried pies in the world. This is definitely a perk of living in Tennessee. You do not get fried pies at Indiana apple festivals! I can't wait!!!!!