A Poopy Surprise

Today I was drying my hair in the bathroom while Rachel and Bradley were playing in the den. Bradley came into my bathroom with a bus and started playing on the tile floor. I noticed him and thought it was cute that he was playing with the bus so enthusiastically. Then, I noticed that I could see his pee-pee hanging down...he didn't have a diaper on! I was surprised, but I chuckled realizing that he now knows how to take off his diaper. I left him in my bathroom and went to look for his diaper. It was in the den, on the floor next to the coffee table...and it had POOP in it!! I was quite horrified since I didn't have ANY idea where all Bradley had gone and/or where he might have rubbed his bottom before ending up in my bathroom. The only perk was that the poop was somewhat solid, not too mushy. So, I went back to find Bradley, who was now in my closet, and I put on a new diaper. Again, there wasn't much poop on his bottom, but I don't know if that's a good or bad thing! :) Well, I made a mental note to myself that I shouldn't let him wander around without shorts or pants on since he's obviously more aware of his diaper and how to take it off. Unfortunately, my mental note didn't stick very well, because this afternoon, I was in the kitchen, and when I went into the den, Bradley had just (I think) taken off his diaper and was peeing on the carpet. He thought it was pretty cool and put his little hands all in his stream of pee. Thankfully I saw him so I could immediately wash his hands, put another new diaper on him and then clean up the pee. What a little mess!!!!!!!


I know all of you are now VERY leery about coming to our house! I promise we clean up these body waste messes very well...and very soon we'll be getting the carpet cleaned!!!

A Moving Experience & All Tuckered Out

My sweet Rachel...tuckered out

My sweet Bradley...resting!

(He pulled the blue blanket over him)

We made it to church again...3 Sundays in a row! We had such a moving experience today during the worship service. Like I said, we've only been to this church for 3 Sundays in a row and have enjoyed the genuine, friendly atmosphere of the people. The worship service is great and I really enjoy singing praise music with my husband and kids standing beside me. Rachel and Bradley were great again...Rachel taking it all in and noticing everything. The moving part was the fact that after the singing was over, the pastor decided to lead a time of prayer for parents and their children. The prayer was that the parents would be an example of Christ to their kids. The pastor asked that everyone look around and gather around parents and their kids and pray over them. We were honored, touched and blessed to have 4 people gather around us and pray over us. The prayers they prayed were extremely touching and sweet and encouraging and were such an awesome example of God's love flowing through these people. Ironically, the 4 people who prayed were our dearest friends, Jennifer and Micah and Micah's brother and wife, Jared and Hope. So, it was especially touching since we have such a close relationship with them. I was moved to tears and Rachel thought it was so neat and wanted to hold Jennifer's hand and Bradley's hand. I've heard it said all my life that "prayer is powerful and effective" but I think this is the first time I've ever felt the power of prayer over me in such a physical way. I'm sure it has alot to do with how much I LOVE my family and how much I don't want to fail them and let them down by not being an example of Christ's love. I've never wanted to be good at anything as much as I want to be a good wife and mother. And, I know that goes hand in hand with being a child of God. Anyway, it was quite a precious experience...one I won't soon forget and I definitely feel the desire to continue worshipping with these people who love God enough to pray over families during their service. It was pretty powerful!

So, when we got home, we were all pretty tired from a long morning. The kids did great in nursery, although I stayed in there with Bradley. He didn't cry this time, but he was very aware of where I was and I wanted him to have a pleasant experience in there. The more we go, I know he'll grow more comfortable with the whole experience. Poor Rachel was so tired that she fell asleep on the way home and then wouldn't wake up when we got her out of the car. So, she took a nap on the couch, which is totally out of character for her, for about 40 minutes. I took some pictures of the kids...all tuckered out after a busy morning at church.

Where is Spring?

It was such a hot day today for just being April. Makes me a little worried about how hot the summer is going to be. Oh well...typical GA weather! Anyway, we stayed home and decided to do some creative things. We went outside to have fun with paint on some old canvases I had. Rachel loved it and did such a great job. Bradley loved it too, but mostly wanted to paint on himself or on the deck. I knew this would be messy, so I figured if I had the small water wheel table with soap and water nearby, we could clean up fairly easily. Rachel loved the process of getting messy and then washing it off. Bradley didn't care either way...of course he preferred being messy more than anything. Anyway, it was fun and the water gave us a little taste of fun things to come as the weather gets hotter and hotter! Rachel's already asking to go swimming!! :)

Funny Girl Pt. 3

I had not intended to make this a series, but Rachel seems to be on a roll! Today, I took the kids to World of Wonder...the coolest park in Athens! We had a great time playing, but got hot and tired and decided to grab some lunch. Rachel wanted Burger King, so we ordered and sat down to eat. There was a precious little 1 year old hispanic baby sitting to our right with her mami and papi. (I learned this from Dora the Explorer.) The baby really liked Rachel and kept looking at her and smiling. Rachel would wave to her and the baby would just give her the biggest grin. She was a really cute baby. Rachel asked me what her name was. I had no idea and figured there was probably a language barrier and NO point in asking her parents what her name was, so I said "I don't know." Rachel said, "I think her name is Dora." I thought that was hilarious since I'm sure that was NOT the little girl's name, but that name made the most sense to Rachel since the baby had a little brown "bob" haircut and was hispanic, JUST like Dora the Explorer! What a funny child!

Funny Girl Pt. 2

I swear, Rachel says the funniest things! As I was getting her out of the bath tonight, she asked me who was going to read a story to her...me or Nick. I said, "I don't remember who's turn it is; who do you think?" She said, "hmm, I don't know...I don't have a cloud." I said, "what's a cloud?" She said, "I don't have a cloud over my head." I said, "what's a cloud over your head?" She said, "you know...a cloud that helps you member (remember) things." I thought that was adorable that she's seen tv characters who have little clouds over their heads and she thought she normally has one and would have one when she "membered" something. What a cutie!

I also thought it was funny when she decided to delay bedtime tonight. She came to her door tonight and wanted Nick to rock her and sing her to sleep. Poor Nick gave into his little girl's requests...thus starting the cycle. He rocked her and sang to her for a couple of minutes and then put her back to bed. About 5 minutes later, she was at her door again. This time he was firm and told her to get back in bed. First she started arguing and then she started crying. She was crying and saying that she doesn't want to move into the new house that daddy built (which doesn't exist!!!). She was worried that her books and her dollhouse won't fit into her new house. Nick tried to explain that we don't have a new house to move into and nothing to worry about. But, of course, Rachel had reached the irrational, emotionally distraught stage of being tired, so nothing was making her feel better. At this point, Nick had to go into her room to pick her up and calm her down. He put her back into her bed and left the room. About 2 minutes later, she was yelling for me from her bed. So, I went to her door, opened it and she starts crying again. She's saying the same thing, "I don't want to move to the new house that daddy built." I said, "sweetie, daddy hasn't built us a new house, but we're going to the park tomorrow so I need you to get a good night's sleep." She said, "what park we going to?" I said, "a cool one with a playground." She said, "I like the playground with 2 slides." I said, "me too, maybe we can go that one." Etc... I was able to distract her enough so that she stopped worrying about a house that isn't built and a move that isn't anywhere close to happening. We are hoping to build a house in a year or so, but have no idea where. Also, I wasn't making that up about going to the park. We're really going tomorrow. Thankfully, I hadn't told her yet and was able to use that info. as a good distraction! Poor little thing just gets herself sad about the silliest things when she's sleepy!

Funny Girl

Rachel is such a funny little girl! Yesterday we were swinging on the front porch. I had been pushing Rachel back and forth on the swing and went inside to check on something. When I came back outside, Rachel said she needed me to push her again. While I was pushing her, she said, "I told Dixie to push me on the swing, but she didn't and now I not her owner anymore." (I know this news was probably devastating to Dixie!) I said, "well, I don't think Dixie was ignoring you, but she can't reach you on the swing." Rachel said, "her could reach me on the swing, but she didn't." So, it seems that Rachel is mad at Dixie for not pushing her on the swing. Poor dog should be able to do it all! :)

Busy Day

Well, we made it to church again and really enjoyed it. Of course, I have yet to hear a full sermon, but I know that will come in time. Bradley and Rachel behaved exceptionally well during the worship time. Rachel brought her new Princess Bible to church and looked at it during the service. (Nana and Pop gave it to her as an early birthday present on Julia's birthday.) She kept asking when she could go play in her church class. So, Rachel was very excited about church and going to the next part of the service. Bradley panicked outside the door. Even though I was holding him, he started crying and made it pretty obvious that he wasn't going to be happy in the nursery. So, we said 'bye' to Rachel and I took him back to the service. Of course, he really livened up in the service. He decided to talk, laugh, growl and show off as loudly as he could. Nick and I realized that it wasn't going to work with Bradley in the service, so I took him out. We missed the whole service, but I think he'll get better in time. I know he has to feel acclimated to his environment and the more we go, the more comfortable he'll get. Anyway, I still enjoyed the worship, was very proud of Rachel and how well she did the whole time and I'm glad we went. I look forward to going back next Sunday!

When we left church, we ran home to change clothes and then headed over to nana and pop's house. Nana and pop had made lunch since Aunt Linda and Uncle Paul were visiting and Gramma was coming over. Gramma hasn't been very happy lately and it was nice to see her have some moments of joy and laughter. I know she's frustrated and having a difficult time adjusting to her new life. I really hope she is happy again so we can have her in our lives for many more years! We had such a nice time eating outside and playing! It was a very busy but fun day!