Lawson's Milestone

Last night, after weeks of a super-wiggly tooth, Lawson lost his first tooth! Jon did the deed by yanking hard with a piece of paper towel wrapped over it. Only 2 days before his 6th birthday, he has been feeling the pressure of losing a tooth for a while now. It has been revealed to me that every age has its own forms of peer pressure. Adults feel pressure to succeed in work and life. Teenagers feel pressure to go to certain parties, or make out with certain people or drink certain things. Apparently for ages 5-6, the peer pressure is to have lost teeth, or at least have loose ones. Lawson's friend Abby Kate has already lost 3 teeth, and up to this point Lawson and Abby Kate's brother, Joshua, have been comparing notes every time they see each other to see if they've gotten any loose teeth or lost any since the last time they've met. Even Jordan now imagines that she has loose teeth--she'll tell me her tooth is loose, and when I check and find it still firmly grounded she laughs and tells me she was just pretending. Amazing, the minds of children, I tell ya.
Lawson was so excited he had to call all the grandparents and tell them about his exciting news. This morning, Lawson was thrilled to wake up and find that the Tooth Fairy had taken his tooth and replaced it with a sucker and 4 shiny quarters! I didn't know the Tooth Fairy brought suckers, but apparently one of the characters on WordWorld got a sucker from the Tooth Fairy so now she does.

This is new territory for us...gone are the days of fully-toothed smiles in pictures. For at least the next decade, I fear...

Game Night!!

Jon has been working so much lately that we love doing things together on the nights he's off. The kids are getting older, and they both LOVE to play games and do puzzles. Last night Jon had the night off so we decided to eat dinner then have a Family Game Night. We've done this a couple times before, too, but the kids were SUPER excited when we told them the plans. They took turns picking games to do...Those that made the line-up include Cootie, Chutes and Ladders, Toy Story Yahtzee, I Remember and Classic Memory. We stopped to make a snack of popcorn and hot cocoa, then we finished off with puzzles. Lawson and Jon worked on a 100 piece Toy Story puzzle, and Jordan and I did several smaller, 24 piece puzzles.

I love this stage with my kids--they are such fun little people!!

Not quite an earthquake, but definitely a shock!

It's kind of funny, sometimes, how things work out. No matter how much we think we are planning our own lives and determining how things will work out, somehow God always has a way of showing us that we only think we are in control of things. I'm not saying that planning isn't good, we've been doing a lot of that ourselves lately. I am learning, though, on a case by case basis that I need to have a lot more trust in the truths God has shared with us about how he will meet our needs and provide on a daily basis. I'm learning to be more flexible, so that I can fit in easier into the plans that He has for us. This is way easier to say than do, especially when we find ourselves in the middle of a 'lesson'.

As many of you know, Jon and I have committed our family to serve in the mission field, specifically Honduras, for the next 3-5 years. We had planned on moving around May 26, 2011. We thought this timing was perfect--we would be here for the whole school year, but then get to Honduras just in time to be involved with the groups who would come work with our mission during the summer. We thought our timing was perfect.

Then we got a surprise! A shock. Our own personal earthquake. On Friday, September 17th, I got a A++ on 3 different pregnancy tests, and a November visit to the doctor confirmed that we are officially expecting our 3rd child on May 25th. The day before we were supposed to move. Wow!

Talk about mixed emotions! I'm going to be real here, because sugarcoating it and saying that immediately I thought this was GREAT news would be a bold-faced lie! This has to qualify close to the top of the list for "Gut-wrenching change of plans" of my life. Those first few weeks were really a roller coaster for me. Kind of excited about a new baby, but really confused and upset about the timing. Upset that this would drastically change the role I would be able to play in the mission field--going from 2 big kids to 2 big kids and a newborn. Upset about facing the choice of either moving much earlier than we had planned, or several months later. Embarrassed that people might think we were irresponsible in 'letting this happen', especially with all the other plans we'd been making. Then, I was upset and feeling terribly guilty about feeling upset about being pregnant. What kind of mother am I, anyways? What kind of mother feels upset about learning that there is a gift from God growing inside her at that very moment? It was an experience I've never felt before.

It actually took me about 4-6 weeks to get to the point that I felt I could even tell my closest friends. Jon was so irritated with me--he wanted to tell right away. I couldn't, though. I wanted to wait to see if I could arrive at the point of being excited about this baby...I hated the thought of telling people that we were expecting but being so sad and upset about it that our friends walked away with the feeling that it was 'bad news'. I had to wait until it really was 'good news' to me!

Over the course of several weeks I came to my senses. I was able to become excited about this new baby...excited about the plans God had in store for this precious little surprise he has gifted us with!

When we told the kids they became ECSTATIC! They started talking about how much fun it would be to have a little baby in the house. They talked about how much they could help and what they would help me do. Lawson said he could feed the baby and Jordan said she could put the baby to sleep. Lawson said he wanted a brother, and Jordan said she wanted a sister.

The first thing Lawson said was, "Well, if we are going to have a baby, we'll have to think of a name to call it!" I said, "Yes, we will!" Lawson said, "If the baby is a girl, I think a perfect name will be Josie, like on that show 19 Kids and Counting, where they say, '...and our latest, tiny, precious addition, Josie...'. If it's a boy, we can name him, um, James." (I couldn't believe he quoted the line from when that show comes on!) I told him, "That sounds nice, but Lawson, your middle name is James." He said, "It's okay. I don't use it very much. The baby can have it too!"

As we've told people the news, God has really used our friends to encourage us and to build us up. We have had nothing but positive reactions and encouraging comments. It really was an answer to my prayers, especially since I was so discouraged at first.

Jon and I are thrilled to announce that we are anxiously awaiting the arrival of this very special 3rd Stacy baby. One day, I wonder how this baby may feel if he/she looks back and sees how I felt when I learned the news. I hope that I will be able to encourage him/her with knowing that he/she was a big part of some lessons God was teaching us at the time. I know that this baby will be a blessing to me, and to our whole family, and I am excited about getting to witness the experience my kids will have of having a little baby brother or sister around. I am definitely sure...this baby is Great news!

Thanksgiving in Montgomery

As always, we had a wonderful time spending Thanksgiving weekend with our friend in Montgomery--the Simpsons. I especially love that the kids are old enough to be as excited about our weekend together as the adults are! Our kids were all talking about it and excited for weeks before the trip!

We drove down Wednesday night after Jon got off work and spent the next 3 1/2 days talking, laughing, cooking, eating, shopping and playing. The kids played a lot, and watched an excessive amount of movies!!
This year I didn't take a picture of our food spread, but it was glorious, as always! We all stuffed our tummies and then, because it was such a pretty day, we went outside and played around on Kenny's brother's scooter. The kids (and most of the grown-ups) had a blast scootin' around the block and taking turns on the regular bikes when it wasn't their turn...I hate that I didn't have a picture of Avery...You may have noticed no one had helmets on...they weren't going very fast, and we also encountered a 'difficulty' when Jon tried to wear the one we did have! :)
Of course Jamey and I went Black Friday shopping, but this year we started at 10:30 Thursday night and didn't get home until 6:30 Friday morning! Of course the guys went to a playoff game Friday night and the kids and moms went to the Burger King with a playplace. Of course we went to Steak and Shake Saturday night (following a new-to-the-schedule and oh-so-fun trip of bowling!)

Sunday we worshiped together and ate at out at a Mexican restaurant b/c we were all sick of Thanksgiving food...here are a couple pics of the kids playing on the fence outside the restaurant:

This was our 8th Thanksgiving to celebrate together--we've gone from 'fresh-out-of-college' friends to new parents to watching our kids grow before our very eyes...it has been a most enjoyable journey together. This is one of the things I will miss most about life in the USA--this weekend has become a treasured time for our families and I can't wait to resume our tradition when we come back!

Endings and Beginnings

Beginnings are scary. Endings are usually sad, but it's what's in the middle that counts. So, when you find yourself at the beginning, just give hope a chance to float up. And it will. --Birdee Pruitt (Sandra Bullock) Hope Floats

The ironic thing about this statement is that oftentimes you must encounter the beginnings and the endings at the same time, and for people like me, that can turn into a pretty emotional predicament.

For the past hour and a half, I have been laying in bed trying to fall asleep, but my thoughts won't allow me to stop crying. Every time I think I'm done, I look at my kids' doors or think of any of a million different memories that are running through my head and the waterworks start again. I wouldn't consider myself an overly emotional person, but when it hits me, it hits hard!

You see, tonight is our last night to spend the night in our home. Tomorrow we will load our furniture into a U-haul and drive a few miles away to unload, and tomorrow we will spend our first night in our rental house. I wasn't expecting to be so overcome with emotion and memories, but I can't stop thinking about all the things over the last 4 years that have helped to shape our family into who we are today. When we moved into this house almost four years ago, Jordan was only 4 months old. Lawson had just turned 2. With the privilege of staying home with them, I have had the joy of seeing every growth and change they have experienced.

Jordan ate her first food here and said her first words here and took her first steps here. Lawson 'helped' his daddy and me as we stripped wallpaper and knocked out walls. We have changed almost every square inch of wall in this house. We've done papers at this house. We've oooh'ed and aaahh'ed at our Christmas decorations. We've read countless stories and played countless games. We've danced to the iPod and sung silly songs. We've played in the yard and raked billions of pine needles. We've learned letters and numbers and colors and shapes. Lawson started Kindergarten and is learning how to read.

Pretty much, what any family does in their home, I guess--nothing special. And the reason we're moving is an exciting one. We're only going to be in this rental house for a few months because it is our transition home before we move to Honduras next year. Our whole family is excited about that.

Tonight, though, I find myself torn between the emotions that Birdee expressed in Hope Floats. Tonight, I am sad that our wonderful time of making memories in this house will end. I am sad because I feel like we are leaving our home. Tonight I am also scared. Tomorrow is scary because it is our first permanent change that shows we have committed our family to service in the mission field. In my mind, this is the beginning of our transition to the new place that will become our family's home. Very soon, I trust that my excitement will return. for right now though, I will allow myself to just feel the reality that we have put ourselves into a situation that is perhaps a bit uncertain. And I realize that uncertainty is sometimes just a little bit scary.

The best part of this, though, is that part about hope. God gave us our emotions, and feeling them is a good, natural thing. He also gave us something else, though, that allows our souls to remain centered and stable and at peace no matter what our mind may be thinking at any given moment. I may be feeling a little bit sad, but my God has given me a joy that can overcome any sadness. He gave me a power than can overcome any fear. He gave me a peace that can withstand any storm.

It's okay to spend some time looking back and reflecting, but I also must boldly move forward, in faith, to the new places he is sending us. I'm ready. Let's do this.


A walk down memory lane...

Stripping wallpaper-December 2006Jordan helping Mommy cook in the new house--Feb 2007 Lawson and Jordan--Christmas 2006
Growing right up--May 2007
"At the office"--October 2008
My, how they've grown! --October 2010
Last night in the place we've called home for the past 4 years--November 5, 2010

Sweet dreams babies!

Jack-O-Lanterns 2010

Saturday night we carved our jack-o-lanterns so we could make our front porch more festive!
Gross!!!
The kids cleaned out most of the goop, but Jon and I helped some. Then we spent forever google-ing images that the kids would like for their faces. Lawson wanted a scary face. Jordan wanted a 'pretty' face. Do you know how hard it is to find a jack-o-lantern face that is pretty?

Well, we brought them out to the front yard and made them close their eyes while Jon lit them...
And here they are...
Those are some pretty proud kiddos!

My Best Friend's Wedding

I was so excited to be able to travel to Michigan at a time that coincided with my friend Joann's wedding! All through high school Joann and I were best friends. We hung out all the time, and even after I moved away I always made it a point to swing by her house and catch up. Until Facebook came along, she was the only high school friend I had kept up with at all.
We have so many funny stories and shared memories. One of the ones that Jon thinks is so funny is one I told him about when she and I had gone on a bike ride. Up north, every road has sidewalks, and this particular day I was in front. I was going pretty fast, and before I ever had the chance to stop, slow down or turn, I noticed that the utility company had broken out one square of the sidewalk (I guess to work on a pipe). Well, the hole they left was just the size of my front wheel, so my front wheel sunk right into that hole, lodged itself, and the rest of my bike (and subseuently, me) saw fit to continue moving in an arch over said lodged front wheel. The final picture was me on the sidewalk with my bike laying on top of me, with Joann (who had seen the whole ordeal) running up yelling, "Stac! Stac! Stac! Are you okay?" She was genuinely concerned about me...but as soon as I told her that I was okay she BURST out laughing and said, "Thank goodness!! That looked awful, but it was SOOOOO funny!!!"

Another memory is when we went to eat dinner at a restaurant/bar called Roger's Roost. We went into the bathroom at the end of our meal. In the bathroom there was a huge (6-foot-ish) Indian statue with a loin cloth over his 'stuff'. There was a sign that said "Do not, under any circumstances, look under this cloth." Well, of course my friends dared me to lift the cloth. Just because. And because I was young and immature and didn't like to turn down a dare, I looked. I figured, "Who would ever even know?" Well, the second I lifted the cloth, I didn't even think to look to see what was under there because sirens started blaring and red strobe lights started flashing. I panicked and ran out of the bathroom. As soon as I stepped out a manager started approaching me, so I turned and ran out of the restaurant and the manger chased me out to the parking lot. My friends were dying laughing and I thought for sure that I was in some big trouble...but the manager just said, "Ma'am, I just wanted to give you this..." I looked down and he handed me a pin-on button that said 'Peek-a-boo Club'.

So many memories!

I truly have been blessed by having her as a friend. I am so thankful I was able to see her get married and start the next stage in her life.

Joann is such a kind-hearted person. She is genuine and loving. She loves her family more than anything, and is so loyal to them. I always loved visiting her, and I love her parents too.

Her dad scared me a lot at first, but eventually he grew to love me and soon whenever I came by his face brightened up and he spread his arms for a big hug. Being Italy-born, he would proclaim with a thick Italian accent, "Ohhhh EhhStacy!! Joannnna will beeee sooo glaaaad to seeee youuuu!!" Then I would go in and Joann's mom would go downstairs to the extra freezer to bring up some of the home-made anise-flavored freezer cookies that I love. Such fond memories they helped make for me!
Jason and Joann at their reception
Me and my sweetie at the reception
It was a wonderful evening and Jon and I really enjoyed ourselves while we celebrated with Joann and her family!

Blast from the past

This may be one of the coolest stories of my life. Well, there have been a few more exciting things, but seriously, I just love this!!

There's going to have to be some background information for this to appear as cool as it is, so here goes. Growing up, my family lived in the same yard all of my life. Our first house burned down when I was in 3rd grade, but we build another house in the same yard. I lived there until I went away to college. My parents, then just my mom lived there until a couple summers ago when they sold it during my parents' divorce. It was kind of sad to not have that house to come 'home' to, especially after growing up on the block--knowing the neighbors, being familiar with the area, etc. Well, that next fall my brother ended up buying the house that was next door to our old house. Is that crazy or what? Not many people buy the house next door to the house they grew up in, do they?

Now, on to the next part of the story. One year our school did a time capsule where we put special things away and sealed it for future generations to open and see what we thought was important at that time. My brother and I thought that was pretty cool, so we came home and decided to make our own time capsule. That's nothing spectacular--tons of kids make time capsules, I suppose. It was interesting, though, that we didn't bury the time capsule in our own back yard. Nope. We buried it in our next door neighbor's yard.

The yard my brother now owns.

Is that not crazy?

Well, the kids and I drove up to Michigan this week planning on attending my dad's wedding, as well as my high school best friend's wedding. My brother, Eric, and I were talking one afternoon about our time capsule and telling Jon, my dad, stepmom, stepsister and aunt about it and my dad chimes in that he has a metal detector--did we want to try to find it?

Well, yes, yes we did! I was almost giddy with excitement...

My brother with the metal detector. We both thought we had put it right by that brick wall. (The other side of that chain link fence is the yard that belongs to the house we grew up in.)
Beep beep beep beep beep!!! Right where we thought it was!!!Trying to get it open...we both remembered that we had put it in an old lunch box, and had wrapped up every thing in foil and plastic. Too bad we didn't realize how rusty and gross and deteriorated that would cause our time capsule to become!
How exciting!
A little clay clown that I had made in art class...
We couldn't remember what kind of lunch box we had used, but luckily there was just enough paint left that we could see. When we first saw the colors and rainbows we thought it was Rainbow Brite, or My Little Pony, but the winner was....Care Bears!
Close up of a few of the things we had put in--we think it must have been 1990 because of the Nintendo World Championship guide! So funny that my brother put that in there! He also put the Madball, the motorcycle and the deck of cards in.
Here is the whole loot--the big foil on the top left and the paper near it was a class picture but it was hard to see who was on it or what year it was...Also included was a bouncy ball, a coin, a school picture of Eric's best friend, a plastic doll fork and, because I've apparently always been an uber-nerd, I also included a math test on which I had received 100%. I know. Poke fun, I can take it! :)
I mean, how many people make a time capsule? On top of that, how many remember they made a time capsule, and remember where they put it? Even more, how many have access to the place where they buried it and actually go back to find it? Twenty years later?

I'm telling you. That's a cool story!

We finally did what everyone else was doing...

Since we moved here, all I hear about every fall is how all our friends are going to Tate Farms and how many times a year they go and how many years in a row they've gone. Well, up until this year, we had never been.

Last year, our home school program had a field trip scheduled, but we were rained out 3 different times, then they didn't have any more dates to postpone us to. I was sad that I thought we'd get to go but ended up not going. This year we had another field trip scheduled, we decided to finally go and we had a great morning! The weather was beautiful and the kids had a wonderful time!

Cotton-pickin' kids!

Jordan and her cute little pumpkin she found herself!
Lawson picked a huge pumpkin he could barely carry.
Corn crib
The big slide
Sweet girl
Climbing the tire mountain
How tall this fall?
Best I could get...
We had such a wonderful day at the pumpkin patch, then we jumped right in the car and drove to Michigan to spend some time visiting friends and family. It's a busy fall, but we wouldn't have it any other way! :)

Jordan's Nail

When we first moved into our house, we painted Jordan's room to match her crib bedding then I painted a sign that matched and glued wooden letters on to spell her name. It hung over her crib, and then later over her big bed, even though it didn't match anymore. One day I walked in to find that she had stood up, taken the sign off the nail, then pulled each letter off the canvas backing. I put the sign up in her closet, and for some reason I left the nail in the wall, not thinking anymore about it.Well, over the last couple years, Jordan has caused Jon and me to laugh so many times by the things she's hung on her nail 'just for a little decoration'. We have walked in to find pictures she's drawn and letters she's written stabbed on the nail, and a stuffed bear hung by it's ribbon collar. I thought I had more pictures of them, but just can't find any more...The one picture I do have, though, is probably of our favorite 'decoration':
I really need to paint that girl another sign! :)