Family Daze

Orlando and Disney Trip

noreply@blogger.com (Janet) — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 03:38:00 +0000

It has been ages since my last post. Life gets busy and somehow blogging has not been high on my to do list! We finished out school for the year but are doing light school throught out the summer. It's good to keep some routine and keep the kids practicing their handwriting and math. We are also looking foward to a summer filled with swimming and reading good books!

We have just retured from a wonderful vacation to Orlando. For Christmas this past year Chase's parents surprised us with a fabulous gift of a week at Mariott's Grande Vista. Our villa was awesome! Thank you Mimi and Papa! We also spent a day at Disney's Magic Kingdom park and a day at Disney's Hollywood Studio park. Here are some pictures from our trip. Enjoy!

In front of the Playhouse Disney Showat Hollywood Studios. Fun and interactive show for the younger kids.

The Muppet show was great, very funny and entertaining and nice and cool!

This rental stroller was great for our tired kiddos. Having 2 strollers worked out very well.

A fountion outside of Muppet Vision 3D

Beauty and the Beast was the girls favorite show at Hollywood Studios

Outside of the Wilderness Lodge

On a walk around the Mariott Grande Vista

Kassidy trying to ride the bikes off the balcony. :)

Caedmon and Chloe by one of the pools

Swimming was one of our favorite things to do and we had some great pools!

View from our balcony.

Very interesting bison outside of the Wilderness Lodge . I'm not sure what JCaedmon is holding though.

In front of the TRex cafe. Very neat restaurant. Dinos were so real and made such realistic sounds that the kids were scared to go inside at first.

Cooling off in a fountain in Downtown Disney.

Chase and John Caedmon by a Leggo shark creation.

This is outside the Disney store in downtown disney. There was a whole section just for princess stuff. My girls loved it!

Cinderella is Abbey's favorite princess!

Amazing Leggo people creations outside of the Leggo store at Downtown Disney.

John Caedmon has found that he LOVES leggos. This was an increadible store to see.

Here we are at the somewhat beginning of our day in the Magic Kingdom. After walking to the tram, folding up our stroller and shoving it on while trying to hold all our bags, riding the tram, getting off and then riding the ferry, then waiting in line to get our tickets from will call, then renting our second stroller....after all that we finally made it in to the Magic Kingdom in Disney! Yipee!! It only took about 1 1/2 hours to get in. :)

My parents got to join us for part of our trip. It was very nice having them with us!

Here is our van packed full and ready to go!

Inauguration day

noreply@blogger.com (Janet) — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 23:20:00 +0000

Chase and I watched the inauguration today on tv, with the kids. The thing that stood out most to us was the contrasting prayers offered by Rick Warren and Joseph Lowery. What did you think about them?

Chase posted them on our church's website to try and get some feedback:

Joseph Lowery prayer transcript.

Rick Warren prayer transcript.

Check them out, and leave us a comment!

Our Four Bundles of Joy!

noreply@blogger.com (Janet) — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 15:49:00 +0000

This picture was taking at the Knoxville Zoo during Thanksgiving.

Time to update my blog!

noreply@blogger.com (Janet) — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 14:52:00 +0000

Hello All,

I just had a moment and decided to check on our blog. I found 3 drafts to posts I had never posted. So I went ahead and posted them. I would love to update my blog soon. Can anybody tell me how to update to the new blogger format without loosing all my past posts?? I just do not know as much about the computer as my husband does! Maybe I will be able to update our blog over Christmas...

I am enjoying the rain this morning. What a wonderful God we have who sends rest and refreshment to us. A God who quenches our thirst when we are dry and weary. Praise God this morning with me!!

The baby has gotten into the pantry! Gotta run...

Gratitude

noreply@blogger.com (Janet) — Sun, 30 Nov 2008 21:00:00 +0000

"Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name." Psalm 100:4

Recently I was meditating on Psalms 100. Verse four always stands out to me. It seems to give a key to entering the courts of heaven. A key to coming into Gods court to meet with him. We enter his presence with thanksgiving and praise. I am not always very good at thank-you notes. But God is showing me the importance of not only having a grateful heart but putting it into action. Today we begin our family time of Advent. We are all excited about these special family time each night. My hopes is that during this Christmas season we will not forget to come into his presence each day with gratitude and praise!

Speaking to gratitude, we just returned home from a wonderful trip Knoxville to visit family for Thanksgiving. We had a great time visiting will Aunts, Uncles and cousins. We enjoyed going to the Knoxville zoo, hanging out and talking with family, watching movies in Uncle Herb's Theater, seeing Cousin David's chickens, having a wonderful dinner with my cousin Gary and Angie and their 8 kids, eating LOTs of food and even going to the Creative Discovery Museum in Chattanooga on the way home. I always love to go to Knoxville. I wish we could visit more often. I am blessed by a wonderful heritage of family that follows the Lord.

I always enjoy talking with my cousin Angie. She also homeschools her kids and does a great job with her family. I have lots of questions I like to ask her and she has such grace and wisdom. Angie has eight kids! Isn't that great!! Anyway, this year she gave me a grain mill to try. Yes that is right. A mill to make flour! We will see how that works around here...

I just posted a lot of pictures to Flickr. Check out our newest pictures by clicking here. Flickr page

Science Day at the park

noreply@blogger.com (Janet) — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 15:26:00 +0000

Kassidy is walking...

noreply@blogger.com (Janet) — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 03:57:00 +0000

Just thought I'd share! Isn't she just too cute?

Apparently she is already trying to fly too!

Back to school

noreply@blogger.com (Janet) — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 09:54:00 +0000

After my last post, somebody was joking with me about what "Back to School" pictures look like for a homeschooler. Typically, that would be us doing school in our pj's or our 'stay-home' clothes. You know what I mean...when your kids pick out their own clothes and they don't quite match or are too small or too big... Don't you just love 'stay-home' clothes?

So anyway, here they are.... back to school pictures...

This is Abbey in her school desk. Didn't she dress up so nice this day! She is such a big kindergartner! Abbey is LOVING school and loves to learn to read and loves this desk. Unfortunately, Abbey often has to give up her desk to her baby sister so she can get any work done. Kassidy like to try to sit with Abbey and take her pencils and crayons during school time. Thank goodness for nap time!

Here is just one of the reasons why I love homeschooling.... The kids can play in the rain, yes in their PJ's, during normal school hours! Monday was such a rainy PJ day. Somehow PE on Monday became puddle jumping in pj's. You can see they had a great time. And if you were wondering, yes we did cover other subjects on that day too. ;)

My big second grader!

And here is just a fun pic. We love to ride our bikes and go for walks!

Time for me to go to bed...

Beach Trip 2008

noreply@blogger.com (Chase and Janet) — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 04:55:00 +0000

In June we enjoyed a great vacation with Chase's family to Sandestin, FL. I am just now getting around to posting some pictures.

Summer Highlights!

noreply@blogger.com (Janet) — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 02:46:00 +0000

I am long overdue at making a blog post! We have had a very full and fun summer. So I thought I'd share a few pictures. Enjoy!

Mimi and the girls.

Mimi gave us the Zinnias. The girls are doing great at watering them and keeping them alive.

Thank God for waterproof casts! John Caedmon spent 3 weeks of his summer in a cast. We were delighted he did not have to have it on for longer. But he is supposed to be careful with his arm for a month now. How is a 4 year old boy to do such a thing?? Just a few more weeks and then he can wrestle again!

Chloe helped teach Abbey how to ride her bike. What sweet sisters!

Abbey did great learning. She learned to ride in just one afternoon. We were all amazed!

Chloe loves to dress up fancy!

Laurie, Dawn and Dawn's sister from England on our front porch. Rebecca loved the baby swing. We love it too.

It is so neat that it was ready and waiting for us when we moved in to the parsonage. That was one of the first things I noticed about the house when we were interviewing at Agape. I wondered at the time if it was a sign from the Lord. Maybe so...

We enjoyed having the Knowles and Platts over. We had a huge slip and slide that the youth had used. The kids loved it.

Slip and slide fun!

Kassidy's First Birthday!

She is wondering why I am letting her get messy and is sticking out her hand to show me how messy it is!

Cousins!

What a cutie!

Kassidy is slowly learning to walk. She took 10 steps on this day!

Kassidy was dedicated to the Lord at our church, Agape. This is us with my parents on baby dedication day.

Princess Chloe and Princess Abbey had a great time at their cousin Sydney's birthday party.

Our sweet little boy broke his elbow. He flipped off a chair in our living room and landed wrong - he hyper extended his elbow. He spent two days at the doctor getting it checked out and getting a cast.

I hesitated posting this picture, but it is just too cute. And it is very telling of all the work and craziness we went through this day!! Chloe was quite a trooper through all this ordeal. She thought it was funny to have mayo put in her hair. We were unfortunately exposed to head lice. Our first attempt at using Mayo did not work. Later that same day we used lice shampoo. Whew! What a day that was. Lots of combing and cleaning everything and washing.

Isn't Kassidy so cute in her swim suit? We always enjoy swimming at the Fargs!

Confessions of a Pastors Wife

noreply@blogger.com (Janet) — Mon, 12 May 2008 22:27:00 +0000

I have pondered posting this since I am a bit delirious with fever. Well, maybe delirious is a bit of an exageration but my temperature is 101.8 right now. How can a homeschooling mom of 4 survive with a fever??? I am not sure at this point. You may need to call and check on me to make sure I am still sane. :) But praise God for my sweet hubby who took all for kids to the park. Yes even the baby.

First, for all you guys out in blog world, my dear husband Chase now has a new job. He is now the pastor of a sweet church in Pinson, Agape Baptist. I am so excited about what God is doing there and doing in us. But can I tell you that this has caused anxiety in me?! I know I know.... anxiety is SIN! So in view of my current struggle, I thought I'd share a bit about myself. Here goes...

1. I am a sinner!
2. I do not have it all together... just in case by some strange way any of you thought that
3. I am not little miss domesticated. But I do aspire to becoming more like the Titus 2 woman
4. I like family meals together in theory and sometime in reality but ohhhhh the struggle to maintain peace at the table with four little ones.
5. Yes I have 4 children ages 7, 5, 4, and almost 10 months.
6. I love them dearly.
7. They often push me to frustration!
8. I don't always respond the right way.... yes I am sad to say that I have yelled at them.
9. I do spank them and believe the in biblical way of training ... but that is for another post.
10. I homeschool my children.
11. I do NOT wear long blue denim jumpers.
12. My kids have pleanty of socilation time.
13. I dearly love and respect my husband!!! But I do not always agree with him and yes we sometimes fuss. ;)
14. I love our new church but find myself retreating into my days as an introvert. :(
15. I love deep relationships with friends and value relationships.
16. I like to be friendly but sometimes have to push myself to be.
17. I love to read and write and blog when I can.
18. I LOVE JESUS but do struggle with sin.
19. I am NOT handling stress well lately.
20. I long to live a victorous life in Christ and not be so buffered by the storms of life.
21. My house is a wreck right now.
22. Most of you know that laundry is NOT my strength.
23. I would rather hang out with friends and children outside that clean my filthy house.
24. I will be inside a bit more the next 2 weeks .... my 7 year old is having her tonsils and adnoids out and removing a growth in her ear.
25. Her surgery is Wed May 14. PLEASE PRAY for her and for her recovery.
26. There is mold growing in my bathroom. Yes that IS embarassing. Anybody want to come clean for me? Ha ha. Just kidding.
27. I love snuggling up on the couch with my kids and reading to them.
28. I love seeing them learn new things.
29. I love talking with my husband at night.
30. I have allregies.
31. Most of the rest of our family has asthma.
32. My baby is currenty on a nursing strike. Ouch!! I think she may have weaned herself. But I am still trying to nurse her.
33. I like to nurse my babies for a year.
34. Apparantly this will not work for my youngest.
35. I don't know if we will have any more kids. Maybe yes, maybe no. But probably yes and I have no idea when. Hopefully for my sanity it will be a while. But only God knows His plan.
36. I like talking about the sovereignty of God.
37. I have never had a child without meds. I don't want that award.
38. I love to pray corporately. There is power in prayer.
39. I love pizza.
40. I don't always like to cook.
41. I want our family to eat healthier and want to learn how to do so.
42. We dont always eat well.
43. We LOVE cereal.
44. I uesd to run alot. Now all my running is from chasing my children.
44. I want to run again.
45. I would love to run a marathon.
46. I like making new friends.
47. I do not always answer my phone. Please leave a message and I will call you back when it is not as busy around here.
48. I love chocolate!!!
49. I don't feel good now.
50. I need some chocolate.

The Empress has no Clothes!

noreply@blogger.com (Janet) — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 03:31:00 +0000

Well here goes. I am opening a big can of worms. Modesty. I have recently been pondering the lack of modesty in women's clothing. And I have noticed how difficult it is to find modest fashionable clothes. Tonight I stumbled upon a great article. Please take time to read this and let me know what you think. I often enjoy reading from Stacy McDonald's blog. She has recently posted quite an incredible article on modesty. So I am borrowing this from her. I hope she does not mind!

Please read, reflect and consider how the Lord would have for us women to dress! It does seem a bit radical to wear some of the swimsuits Stacy suggests. But maybe it is worth our consideration. Should we really walk around this summer in "glorified underwear?"

Will you join me in revolting against the culture?

Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame (Revelation 16:15).

(Below is a copy of a post from Stacy's blog Your Sacred Calling...)

Yes, summer is quickly approaching. Many Christians are beginning to discuss and reevaluate their thinking regarding whether one should wear clothes or glorified underwear when swimming publicly. I read a good article here at Mrs. Parunak's blog where she touches on reasons other than modesty for choosing to not swim almost naked. She says:

"I enjoy wearing the equivalent of a bathing suit (or less!) for my husband, and I feel infinitely more beautiful because it’s just the two of us. I would so much rather be my husband’s delicious secret than participate in pool side beauty pageants in which no woman ever feels like the winner."

Yet, there are certainly more reasons than that for not walking around in public practically naked. Scott Brown, in his article, Why I am Against Bikini Clad Girls and Bare Chested Boys Swimming in My Lake, wrote the following:"Over the last hundred years, we have had, as Jeff Pollard has said, 'The public undressing of America.' What was illegal in clothing 100 years ago, and would cause your arrest, is now popular and accepted everywhere — even in churches."

· 1890’s: Swimwear was modified street clothing

· 1910: Arms were exposed

· 1920: You would be arrested if you appeared in a modest 21st century bathing suit

· 1920’s: Legs and backs were exposed

· 1930’s: Cleavage was exposed and men began to swim bare chested

· 1935: Two piece bathing suits appeared with a small break between upper and lower half

· 1940’s: New fabrics appeared which hugged the body

· 1960’s: Navels were exposed

"Today: Anything goes... One piece suits with fabrics like skin that really leaves nothing to the imagination and bikinis of various categories prevail as normal.

"Today, the fashions are so pervasively broadcast over every media outlet that everyone dresses the same when they swim. Movies and TV have so popularized nakedness, that if you challenge it, you are not thought of as being very accepting. In fact, if you do cover your body it seems odd.

"Jeff Pollard says it this way, 'Fashion designers have used swimwear to undress America.' Who can deny this? It is as obvious as a fly on your nose.

"So it is time to shout it out with perfect clarity: The empress has no clothes! For the last two generations we have been told that swimwear is about fashion. They say, Fashion is neutral. Don’t criticize fashion, it is only fashion. No! It is public nakedness."

Want to see what bathing suits used to look? Take a pictorial walk down memory lane by visiting this site, which shows the change in bathing attire from the early 1800's to the 1920's:

I think I finally snapped to the fact that I'd been duped by the fashion industry when someone asked me why I was comfortable wearing something to the pool that was nothing more than colored, spandex underwear. Wow! I had never thought of it that way, but it was true. I would never invite friends over to lounge around in our underwear, but add a splash of spandex color (and a little water) to the mix and somehow it's pool side fashion!

Here's an excerpt from Raising Maidens of Virtue, challenging daughters to evaluate their thinking in this area:

"Would you feel naked wearing your nightgown or undergarments into a courtroom or church? What would your pastor and his wife think if you invited them over to supper, then answered the door in your underwear? Would they be shocked? Why do many of us think it is acceptable then to invite fellow Christians over for a pool party where everyone is wearing 'colored underwear'?"

It is true that there are certain things that may be appropriate for one event and not for another. For instance, no matter how modest my nightgown may be, I would never answer the front door wearing it! My bathrobe may cover my body completely, but I'm not going to lounge around in it when I have company and I certainly wouldn't wear it to the grocery store.

But we're not talking about appropriate styles for appropriate events, we're talking about public nakedness. There's no real way to conceal the private parts of our bodies in most modern bathing suits. The majority of bathing suits today leave little to the imagination.

So, what's a girl to do? Where do you find a bathing suit that is modest, safe to swim in, and doesn't draw attention (other than the fact that you're covered)? Thanks to the efforts of many Christians who are not sitting by and allowing the modern fashion industry to dictate what they have to wear, many new companies are springing up.

Wholesomewear.com is my favorite choice because their suits cover appropriately, they're lightweight and don't cling horribly when wet, and they're Christian owned. We've purchased their bathing suits for years.

There are also other businesses selling modest suites, as well as patterns where you can make your own. Don't let the modern fashion industry strip you of your...dignity everytime you go swimming. You do have a choice - this summer, wear clothes!

Free Downloads: Listen to Part 1 of a sermon by Jeff Pollard on Christian Modesty and the Public Undressing of America HERE. Part 2 can be found HERE. Or order his booklet here:

Order comfortable, modest, and lightweight bathing suits here:

Chase and Kassidy

noreply@blogger.com (Janet) — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 20:03:00 +0000

I just love this picture, so I thought I'd share.

Mommy, John Caedmon's stomach fell out!

noreply@blogger.com (Janet) — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 18:36:00 +0000

Kids can be quite amusing. Yesterday, I heard Chloe call out "Mommy, John Caedmon's stomach fell out!" Then she said, "But don't worry, I can put it back. I know where it goes."

We have recently studied the human body. We have life size bodies of each of the kids in the hall where they glued in their major organs. Apparently, John Caedmon's stomach fell off his page. But no worry, Dr. Chloe took care of it. Too bad his stomach fell out again while they slept. He might get hungry today. ;)

Finally, a new post!!!

noreply@blogger.com (Janet) — Sun, 17 Feb 2008 12:58:00 +0000

Hello my dear patient readers! Please forgive my very lengthy lapse in writing. I just thought I'd post a few fun pictures from the last few months.

So here goes...Yes I know it is February.... but don't you want to see our Christmas pictures??

Christmas with the Thompson's (Chase's family)
I just love how I am surrounded by all those precious children.

Christmas at the Halls

Sweet Chloe just turned 7. Wow! Isn't she big? Happy Birthday Chloe! Yes this IS a recent picture. Her birthday was last Sunday. We enjoyed pizza and roller skating. She is so determined to learn to skate and she is doing great!

Kassidy loves her saucer. What a smile!! She is 6 months old and such a joy.

Opps! This picture got a little out of order. Can you believe it snowed?! We loved our one snow day this winter. Granddad came over and helped the kids make mini snow people. It was a fun morning. I just love how excited the kids were. What fun memories.

Well that is all for now... but stay tuned... I HOPE to post more soon. And soon I will give more updates on what's going on with us.

Abbey is 5 years old!

noreply@blogger.com (Janet) — Thu, 15 Nov 2007 04:48:00 +0000

It's been a while since I have posted so here is a quick update. Last week the 3 older kids and I had colds but we are almost all well now. Praise God! We are greatly enjoying Fall. What a beautiful time of year. I love God's display of his glory in his creation. Oh and yes Abbey broke her little arm. She is doing great with her cast. She gets it off the Monday after Thanksgiving. Not much longer! This fall has been busy but fun. Soccer for Chloe, CBS, church, field trips, homeschool and oh yes Alabama football on Saturdays. We are greatly looking forward to traveling to Knoxville for Thanksgiving this year. It will be our first big trip with our newest baby. I will post more pictures after Thanksgiving.

Here are some of our most recent pictures. Enjoy!

It seems that I rarely have pictures of dear ole daddy. So here is a sweet picture of Chase with baby Kassidy. What a good dad!

This is Abbey on her birthday with Chloe and JC. We continued the tradition of taking her to lunch at Chuck E Cheese for her birthday.

Yummy!

Abbey LOVED getting presents and loved all the attention of being the birthday girl.

Chloe loves holding her baby sister especially while watching Curious George.

Sweet sisters!

The kids had a blast playing with the Mann children and raking the leaves into a pile. Of course they loved jumping and rolling in the leaves and throwing them in the air. What a fun fall day with good friends!

John Caedmon tried to sweep the leaves! He enjoyed playing with his buddy Nate.

Aren't they just the cutest pair of siblings! Yes I agree, Kassidy looks like her brother.

Highlights from September and October!

noreply@blogger.com (Janet) — Sat, 10 Nov 2007 03:35:00 +0000

Happy Birthday to my darling wife!

noreply@blogger.com (Chase and Janet) — Wed, 19 Sep 2007 07:25:00 +0000

My dear wife,
Please pardon my intrusion into what has rightfully become your blog. I'm here for a couple of reasons, really. The primary one is to wish you an exceedingly happy birthday. I hope this day is very joyful for you, and I look forward to joining you for lunch to celebrate your special day.

I probably don't tell you this enough, but you amaze me constantly. As our family has grown and grown, and our children become more abundant, you have selflessly adapted every time. I know it's not easy, but you are such a wonderful mother to our ~~nine~~ ~~six~~ four kids! Even when they push us both to the brink of insanity, your love for them still shines through, and you truly seem to always be concerned with what's best for them - even when it is costly to you. That really blesses and challenges me!! You are a credit to this organization! ;)

Not only are you a wonderful mommy, but you are a ~~great~~ ~~fantastic~~ absolutely amazing wife and friend to me!!! How long have we been together now - 15 years? It's so great to me that we still have long conversations just about every night - conversations I often look forward to. You are still so beautiful and interesting.

May this next year of your life be more rewarding to you than any year you've ever had. May the Father of Lights bless you this year with abundant rest, wisdom, provision and adventure. May your relationship with Him grow and prosper like an Ameri-Willow, (he-he) and may your fulfillment and joy as a mother and wife multiply.

I love you more each year,

Chase

A friend for Ernie

noreply@blogger.com (Janet) — Mon, 10 Sep 2007 17:27:00 +0000

Abbey has a beloved stuffed animal named Ernie. Ernie is very worn and used (and somewhat smelly even though I wash it). So Chase has been looking for a new one online for a while. Finally he found one on Ebay. It arrived today. What a difference! This one is so clean and still plays the music and prays the prayer. We were not sure how Abbey would react to an Ernie switch. Our hopes was to switch the old Ernie for the new one. The old beloved Ernie needs to be stored away in a box, God rest his sweet little soul. Well Abbey was very, very excited to receive a new Ernie but did not want to part with the old one. She says that now she has twin Ernies and walks around with one in each arm. Somehow our scheme to put away the old Ernie has for the time being failed. Abbey on the other hand is delighted to have a clean twin Ernie for her tattered old beloved friend.

What good little kitchen helpers! I am hopeful that this cheerful helpful behavior will begin to happen more and more after meals!

Kassidy playing on the floor on her baby quilt. A sweet lady at church made this quilt for her. Kassidy was just a kicking her little legs. It was very cute.

Kassidy with her Mimi on Labor Day. We had a fun cookout at Chase's sisters house. The ribs and food was delicious!

A game of tag...

noreply@blogger.com (Janet) — Mon, 10 Sep 2007 12:35:00 +0000

OK all, I have been tagged and I hate to not respond so here goes. Sorry to all my faithful readers (all two of you...lol) for being a little behind on blogging! We've had a lot of allergy attacks around here. It's just that time of year. Surely ragweed as some beneficial purpose other that to make me miserable. So anyway, on to the game of tag.

First here are the rules:

Players, you must list one fact that is somehow relevant to your life for each letter of your middle name. If you don’t have a middle name, use the middle name you would have liked to have had.When you are tagged, you need to write your own blog post containing your own middle name game facts. At the end of your blog post, you need to choose one person for each letter of your middle name to tag. Don’t forget to leave them a comment telling them they’re tagged & to read your blog! (At least these are the rules I've been given. I'm changing them though. Just comment here instead of making a blog post. Most of you don't blog anyway!)

My middle name is Rebecca.

R - Really don't have time to play tag but thought I'd play along anyway. Having a newborn should get me out of this game but I'll play anyway.
E - Eager to learn how to keep up with my never ending laundry without out complaining! I've been told that it helps to just do it. ;)
B - Blessed by 4 wonderful children, a great husband, terrific friends and awesome family
E - Easily distracted by the Internet, email and such
C - Constantly striving but failing to attain the status of Super Mom! (I agree with my friend Laine who gave the award to our friend Laurie. Check out Laurie's blog for amazing story how she gave birth to her fourth child on the side of the interstate!)
C - Craves chocolate daily.
A - Adores Jesus!

OK, now I'm supposed to tag somebody. UMMMM, tag YOU ALL are it. I know you've got the time right?? Here's how. Scroll down, click post a comment, then leave a comment. You don't have to have a Google account to post a comment. Just click on anonymous to leave a comment but then include your name in the comment if you wish.

Yes, yes, truly this is a silly post. More pictures to come later this week. Gotta run fold my laundry.

Must I do laundry every day?

noreply@blogger.com (Janet) — Thu, 30 Aug 2007 04:08:00 +0000

Apparently so! This is what happens when I don't. Just thought I'd share. Laundry is one of my favorite things to fuss about. Maybe it is just a weakness. Maybe I will figure out how to do it well by the time I'm forty and gray.
Oh wait, I'm not going to go gray! ;)

Here are a few pictures of Kassidy's bath time! Sure I'm biased... but there's nothing like a newborn. Well except a good night's sleep could help.

Baby toes are so cute!

Chloe is such a big helper!

And yes it's late and I should be in bed. But strangely, I am up writing a blog. I was pondering earlier the whole phenomenon of blogging. Why blog? I have wondered is it a need for affirmation? Or is it pride in my family and wanting to brag on my kids? I have found myself thinking 'Oh that would make a cute picture to post' or 'That is a good thing to blog about'. Of course it's kind of like an online journal and scrapbook. And blogging really is a great way to keep friends and family updated and it is fun. So I guess for now I will keep blogging. But in the meantime, I really need to keep up with the laundry.

When I grow up, I want to be...

noreply@blogger.com (Janet) — Fri, 24 Aug 2007 03:54:00 +0000

Today while driving in the car the kids had a very interesting conversation about what they wanted to be when they grew up. Here is what they said!

Chloe: First I want to be a doctor. Then a hospital girl. You know one that helps deliver babies. Then a store person. And then maybe someone who works on the lines and wires that are all around.

Abbey: First I want to be an astronaut. Then a hospital girl. Then someone who makes roads. And maybe work at Arby's.

John Caedmon: (While proudly holding up his kids meal bag says...) I want to be a Chick-fil-a guy! Then I want to be a policeman and put bad guys in jail.

Oh how funny kids can be!

(Now I do realize this makes TWO posts in one day. I apparantly needed some sort of creative outlet this evening! Or maybe I'm just avoiding the mile high pile of laundry waiting on me!)

No more caffeine!

noreply@blogger.com (Janet) — Fri, 24 Aug 2007 03:30:00 +0000

Before

After

Yes, I got a hair cut this week. It is always fun to do that! I had FOUR inches cut. Now it won't fall in Kassidy's face when I feed her! Yeah! And yes Chase picked on me for doing the self portraits.... he was wondering if I'd been on Myspace too much and wondered if I was a teenager. :) Nope I am certainly not a teenager anymore. I just thought a before/after pic would be fun. Who knows, maybe it is a preview of a midlife crisis....I am getting old.... just wait I may end up getting some crazy blond highlights in my hair next time.

Well, I have been pondering much this week and thought I'd share. I'm sure you are wondering about the title of this blog. I'll get to it!

Time... it is interesting how it can sometimes seem to pass so slowly and yet other times seem to pass so very fast. But in reality it ticks away at a constant pace. My time as of late seems to be filled up. Busyness. I don't want to just randomly fill my time or to let it just pass. I want to manage it well, to make the most of each day. That is not always the case though.

Having a newborn changes things. In a good way. But it is change none the less. Will I be ordered by the tyranny of the urgent? Will I be a slave to time or will I use time to serve those purposes God has planned for me. Oh I wish to do the latter. I guess sometimes that means it is OK for the house to be wreck. Right??? Is is possible to stay up on the laundry and the house, while homeschooling and having a newborn? I sure can wear my self out always tidying the house. Priorities. Gotta let the house go sometimes. And just how do you have a quiet time with a newborn? I know it is possible. Time to return to the Word... to what I'm created to do and be.

Funny, I have heard many people say lately that I look like I have it all together... or words to that effect. Yikes! It sure does not always feel that way. My pride sure is glad that it looks that way. But most of you are not around at night when psycho mom comes out. Time to get rid of psycho mom. What does my actions show my kids about the love of God? And am I trying to 'look' good on the outside but have a heart out of line. Truly God priortizes the internal work over the external.

Well enough of the deep thoughts for now. I'm getting a bit mellow. Or maybe I'm just getting tired. And yes no more caffeine to perk me up! Yes it is true. After several test runs, it has been verified that little Kassidy does not handle caffeine well at all. She is now finally asleep after THREE hours of gas and fussing. Kass did NOT enjoy the Dr Pepper I had at lunch today. Too bad because it was so very good. I guess it is all caffeine free from now on. Yes, NO MORE CAFFEINE. Please, please keep me accountable to that. A fussy gassy baby is no fun for baby or mom!

Well, I think I have rambled on enough for today. I guess blogging can be therapeutic. But what is even more therapeutic is sleep!!! And since my baby is finally asleep, I'd better get to bed as well! So here are a few of our latest pictures. Enjoy! And thanks for reading the rambling!

Grace and peace,

Janet

Sweet sisters!

There is nothing like a sleeping baby!

Big brother John Caedmon. Yes he already has a remote in his hand!

Our little girls are growing up!

noreply@blogger.com (Janet) — Sun, 19 Aug 2007 20:53:00 +0000

Kassidy is one month old as of yesterday. She looked so cute laying on the bed kicking her legs and moving her arms around. So I took several pictures. I will refrain from posting all of them here though. So far, we have succeeded in avoiding any major diaper accidents ... at least we did until today. Having a changing table in our closet has also been great ... until today. For today Kassidy sprayed my clothes. And no, this was unfortunately not urine. Apparently she was not finished filling her diaper and I changed her too soon. I should have know better! Oh well, at least she was quite happy and cooing during the 'incident'. I will be oh so much more careful in the future. No sense in creating more laundry for me to do!! My mom has been such a big help to me during this past month with our laundry. Maybe I should call her!!
(Just kidding Mom!)

Chloe was the flower girl in a wedding of some of our friends at church. Her good friend Josiah was the ring bearer. Chloe was absolutely thrilled to be the flower girl and equally excited that Josiah could be in the wedding with her! It was so much fun for her to get dressed up and have such a fun job of dropping flower pedals down the isle. So, thank you Mark and Amber!
It was a beautiful wedding!

What a beautiful little FLOWER GIRL (not bride)!

Chloe one day hopes to marry Josiah! They sure are cute but they have to wait a long, long, long time before we will let them marry!

Abbey dressed up in John Caedmon's clothes and said she was him. Isn't she cute!

Introducing Kassidy Grace

noreply@blogger.com (Janet) — Tue, 24 Jul 2007 23:37:00 +0000

It's a GIRL!! Yes, after wondering and waiting, we are proud to announce that we have a new baby girl! So for all of us guessing that we were having a boy, well we were all wrong. But we are so thrilled to have another Thompson girl! The boys are definitely outnumbered.

Kassidy Grace was born Wednesday, July 18, 2007 at 9:08 pm. She weighed 7 lb 10 oz and was 20 inches long. Her Apgar score was 9-9, which is excellent. We were very relieved that she was a healthy good size little girl. Twelve days before Kassidy's delivery, I had an ultra sound done because I was measuring very small. According to the ultrasound, Kassidy was about 5lb 11oz....very small in my mind. This made me worry a bit but alas, oh the vanity of worry. Praise God, Kassidy was not a teeny tiny baby but rather a very normal size healthy newborn. In fact she was bigger than our girls were when they were born.

My parents brought the kids to the hospital to meet their new baby sister. They are very excited and can't wait to be able to hold and kiss on her. Here is where we need your prayers... after months of good health, they have all now come down with a 'summer' cold. It started with John Caedmon who was coughing and sniffling a good bit at the hospital. Then Abbey started running a low grade fever the day after we came home from the hospital. Now today, Chloe had a fever of 101.6 and was having asthma problems this evening. Needless to say, this has made the adjustment a bit harder. We have to keep the kids separate from baby Kassidy. It has been a bit of an emotional time for all the kids. They all want to love on their little baby sister. But until they are well we have to keep them separate. Please pray for their health and for protection for baby Kassidy. And pray for grace for us as we adjust to having four children. Other than dealing with mild sickness, the adjustment is going well. Kassidy is going to integrate into our family very well.

Chase has really been a super dad this last week. I am so grateful that he has been able to take off time from work. Otherwise, it would have been impossible to keep the kids separate from the baby as they recover from their colds. It as been good for us to have some time home and for the kids to have extra time with daddy since mommy has to spend time caring for baby Kassidy.

Look at that hair!! Kassady arrived with a head FULL of beautiful dark brown hair. She has really been a very easy baby. She is very content and does not cry that much at all. We are very blessed to have such a content little baby. I pray that she continues to be so content. She mainly grunts, squeaks and whimpers when she is ready to eat or be changed. The times when she really cried loud was because I was slow in feeding her. Sometimes, it takes be a little while to get cleaned up from caring for our other kiddos. I wash my hands seemingly dozens of times a day! I think we may need to take stock in antibacterial hand soap!

What a sweet little angel! She looks a bit like her brother in this picture. This is how John Caedmon sleeps with his hand up by his face. But she also looks alot like Chloe when Chloe was a baby. But then again sometimes I think she looks like Abbey.

And in other news, we have a van!! I am so excited!! We got a great deal on a 2003 Ford Windstar. We bought it from a friend of a friend. And we got it 2 days before Kassidy was born. What great timing. Everyone fits nicely. No more kids squashed in the back seat of a car. We all have elbow room now. Praise God for his provision and timing!

Please continue to pray for us as the kids recover from their colds and as we adjust to having a new baby in the house. We are so blessed to have such wonderful friends and family. I have been overwhelmed by every ones generosity in bringing meals and diapers and such. It has been soooo helpful to not worry about food or diapers right now. You all have been great!

I am currently seeking God to find out what verses He wants me to pray over little Kassidy. If God shows you something, let me know. We greatly appreciate your prayers and generosity!