Monday, December 29, 2008

Bullards

Our friends Andy and Sarah Bullard came to visit this weekend. We went to college with Andy and Sarah and have shared the last six years of our life over the phone and in short visits, but it is always fun and a refreshing time to catch up. They have two little boys, Caden and Grant who had a blast playing with our girls. We went to one of the battlefields in downtown Fredericksburg and let the kids run around and have way too much fun digging for "buried treasure" in the Union cemetery. I hope that isn't a bad thing.

Cookies

Much of December was spent baking. I think baking with children is messy. I don't particularly enjoy it, I especially don't enjoy the mess. I would rather sit and read books, because books are not messy. I hate messy. But I love my kids more, and they love messy. So we baked. And made a mess. Please take notice Avery's hand in the bag of flour.

Wednesday, December 17, 2008

4th photo

4th folder, 4th picture... Here it is. Annalee 3 years old, swinging at the park. I remember these days when Shane would have a couple of hours off around lunchtime and we would go on a lot of picnics and bike rides. I miss Lynchburg sometimes...

Tuesday, December 16, 2008

Little Things

Shane's love language is Acts of Service. I think this is sooooooooooo hard. I mean, mine is Quality Time. How easy is it to sit and chat? Maybe his could be words of affirmation and I could just say, "Way to go!" or "I love you." But, no. For him to feel loved I need to fold socks, make his lunch, run errands for him, and so on and so forth. I hope you know I am half kidding here. I actually enjoy this serving thing. I mean, it is my role in life, right? Right. But, it is a little hard for me at times to serve in the capacity that he does for me.
Shane is a great server. He likes to get up and make me breakfast. I used to do that, for like our first week of marriage. I would get up with him at 5 and while he was showering, I would pour the cereal in his bowl, but not the milk...he hates soggy cereal. Then I would wander back to bed. I didn't have to be at work until 8. After about 5 days of that, I decided it was a bit ridiculous. So no more breakfast.
In addition, Shane has done a lot of changing for me over the years. I try not to nag, but share things I would like to not have to take care of for the next 80 years and he tries hard to help. Things Shane has changed for the sole purpose of making me happy: putting down the toilet seat, shutting the shower curtain, putting his stuff (keys, mail, wallet) in one area of the house (still working on this one...), putting the food used to cook away before we sit down to eat a meal, not leaving cooking items on the stove that could blow up the house while cooking (the olive oil spray in an aerosol container), shutting cabinet doors, you get the idea. Shane doesn't ask me for much.
But... one thing he cannot stand, and I seem to fail every time is, having to put sheets on the bed when it is very late and he just wants to sleep. We both enjoy clean sheets. I like to clean them at least once a week. But, I often forget to put them in the dryer and then end up having to stay up late to wait for them to dry and then require his help to put them on when he is soooooooooooo tired. Understandable. So I try, and I try.
Tonight it is late and I am working on a few things here on the computer. Shane is out doing a few things with the business and won't be home for a couple of hours. I remembered that the sheets were in the dryer and actually put them on myself. In the meantime, I straightened up his dresser and cleaned up the floor. I turned down the sheets and turned on his reading lamp. I also changed out of my labor gown I bought to labor in with Annalee. It is so comfortable and I didn't actually use it, but the point is that it fit 9 mths pregnant and has a horizontal pink striped pattern on it. You can imagine. So, I put on a tank top and some yoga pants. No big deal. Love is in the small things.

Emotions

This is me at my wit's end...I really don't know how to spell wit, witt, whit... My middle child, Shelby Lynn is so very full of emotion. She laughs loud belly laughs, she cries in a ridiculous screams, she loves to bare all when it comes to her feelings. She also loves to be held. I am not exaggerating when I say that I really believe she would be held all day if someone was willing to do so. Those of you who know Shelby, please comment and vouch for me on this one. I am very serious about this. Anyway...my point of the matter is. I can hold Shelby lots of times. In fact I try to say yes as much as possible. I hold her until she falls asleep at nap time, I also hold her while she falls asleep for bed. If I can't she is willing, with a good attitude, to fall asleep by herself if need-be. But I am beside myself for her attitude when she wakes up from nap. I mean, I dread it. From about 3-4 in the afternoon (after nap time) until bedtime, she is a whiny mess. So frustrating! She wants me to hold her the whole time, she speaks in a whiny voice and cries over every little thing. She is not willing to treat her sisters kindly, or help out when asked. But only after her nap. She is a pure delight in the morning... So part of me says, hold her, love on her, she NEEDS the attention and care. I am still willing to hold her when I can, but I am not willing to allow whining, disobedience and a bad attitude in our home. So question for all who have advice to give, how do I help Shelby wake up rested, happy and ready to enjoy the rest of the day? Ready...go...

Thursday, December 11, 2008

Peter Pan Party

We had a Peter Pan Party last night, well, me and six kids. My brave father also stopped by for an egg sandwich and a piece of apple pie for his "birthday party." My mom had to head out of town last minute so I invited him over for a birthday bash, but forgot Shane was going to be in Richmond all night, and I had also agreed to babysit for three other kids. Oh well, He was great about it and the kids we super easy. They dressed up in their Peter Pan costumes (with a few Snow Whites and and Sleeping Beauty in there, too) and watched the flick. It was a great night and lots of fun for the kids. Try is sometime!

Winter Walk

This is us headed out for our little walk... Beautiful happy girls.
This is us about 20 min. later. Annalee walking with her snow boots and scrunched down socks "They hurt my feet, Mommy!", Shelby stealing Avery's covers all nice and toasty curled up in a ball, and then there is Avery who seems OK with the 20 degree air on her high-water exposed legs, hmmm.. maybe we will walk faster next time.
I love Sunday's at our house. It is the one day a week where we do nothing but rest and have family fun. Shane can't stand to sit still for more than a couple of hours so we often "do" something on that day as well. A typical Sunday at our house may include: A big breakfast of apple pancakes with home made whipped cream, or muffins from the oven and fresh fruit, then it is off to church where we are guaranteed to meet God and friends in an incredibly refreshing time of worship. Then it is home for a simple lunch with or without guests and then a wonderful nap time for all family members. After that is when Shane's gets bored and we are off "doing" something. Lots of times we head to my parents house or to the park. Last Sunday we bundled up and walked the mile down the road to the grocery store to pick up a last minute dinner idea. It was super cold and got dark before we returned, but we enjoyed the fresh air and exercise. I love Sundays!!!!!!!!

Christmas at our House

Please excuse the blurry and bad-lighting pictures. One day I will have a decent camera, but you get the idea...

Ballerinas

Dressing seems to evolve a lot at our house. It has been mostly ballerina-themed these days. This means the girls put on some sort of dancing gear, possibly accessorised with a cape or princess crown, and proceed to twirl for hours wether the TV is on or off. I usually only let them have it on for music purposes. At least it has helped them developed an appreciation for classical music. I wonder what this little brother is going to think of all this?

Tuesday, December 09, 2008

Halloween

Ok, so I know Halloween was two months ago. My sister has a new fancy camera and it makes my pictures seem horrible. So I had given up on trying to take a decent shot with my little point-and-shoot, but have decided I will resume using it and post pictures anyway. All that to say... I stopped taking my own pictures for a while and waited for Liz to come around and provide me with great memories. After a lot of whining I finally got her to burn me a DVD of all her Miller girl pictures. I have several batches to post, but here are the adorable Halloween shots. Shane and I weren't there and Liz and my mom obviously had a blast playing dress up with the girls before they headed down to the fair grounds for the Fall Festival put on by a local church. They played a bunch of carnival games and won candy prizes. What fun!

Wednesday, December 03, 2008

As promised...

Family

My sister did a big photo shoot for us during Thanksgiving. We all went our to Pufferbelly Park in Ashland for the afternoon. We got a lot of really great photos and she promised the CD is in the mail, but these were posted on her blog yesterday, so here is a sneak peek. I will post more pictures when I get that CD!
P.S. The top picture is of my sister, brother and I...