Tattoos

A man was checking out in front of us at Kroger tonight. He had a large tattoo on his arm. (Loyal Blog Readers, you know where I am going with this...).

Turner to me (and the rest of the store): "Mom, look at that man's big tattoo! He made a choice to put a picture on his arm that he is going to have FOREVER."

Yes, dear. And Daddy wants you to keep that in mind in ten years when you are thinking about getting one...

:)

Wonderful Wednesdays

I had a really poignant moment this afternoon, and I want to remember it forever. In order to share it, I have to back up a little...

Before we moved to Peachtree City last year, I used to work three days a week. On my Wednesdays off, I almost always took Turner over to my grandmother's house on the Isle of Palms. We would have a visit with her, pay some bills and then play on the beach or at the Island playground. It was special, sacred time to me...I somehow sensed it was precious long before God called us away to Georgia. Anyway, Turner got pretty used to it, too, and loved our trips to visit Grandy. She always anticipated what snacks would be in the pantry, and Grandy had some special toys and a child-sized rocker in the corner of the living room -- things Turner enjoyed playing with each week. To this day, she could tell you every toy that's there.

Turner -- having spent lots of quality time with Grandy, even at such a young age -- is still very sensitive to her needs, always asking if she needs her cane or "red rider," her walker.

Not long after our move to Peachtree City, Grandy moved to Sumter. All the moves have been blessings, but they have also meant some heartache and grieving for those earlier days.

Flash forward to this afternoon...

I took Turner and Parker --all decked out in their Halloween costumes -- to a local retirement/rehab center. Several children from the church met, and we did "reverse" trick-or-treating, where we gave candy to the residents. I honestly did not know how Turner would react. I told her to think about Grandy when we went and how much she would love to see us and get some special candy for Halloween.

Turner walked right in and blew me away with her complete blindness to these elderly folks and their failing bodies. She went up to everyone she could and said, "Happy Halloween! Can you eat sugar, or not?" (We had bought some sugar-free candy for the diabetic residents, and she was well-prepped!). It was really beautiful to watch her sweet Cinderella self, undeterred by wheelchairs, amputations, bandages, and all manner of infirmities. Half of the people could not even talk, but Turner would lay a little prayer sheep next to them and move on to the next.

We had given out a lot of candy and stuff, and I was ushering Turner out of the center to go to our next stop --choir --when this blind lady in a wheelchair leaned over and asked Turner if she could touch her and "see" her costume. Turner smiled and sweetly said, "Sure you can," and allowed this woman to feel her from head to toe. One life lived; another, to be lived. I could not stop my tears as I watched this. Wow! What a powerful witness of God's love in this precious moment.

Amazing Grace! Thank you, Grandy, for teaching us and showing us how much you and your peers have to offer us! We love you and treasure you!

Toon Car -- A Series

Fire Station

Turner's preschool class took a fieldtrip last Friday to the local fire station. She had a great time! :)

Cousin Mary and our Little Pumpkins!

Cousins!

Mr. Happy (He's sleeping again!)

Turner's New Friend

Uncle Ted Drew the Short Stick!

Cousins!

A Nice Seat for a Tired Girl

Sack of Potatoes

Peddle Carts!

Turner Driving = Serious Disaster! (She literally almost broke this tractor and got in several wrecks!)

This was one of those great fall weekends you want to last a little longer! Our Guerard cousin, Aunt and Uncle came to see us, and I think all of Peachtree City knew that "Cousin Mary" was headed to town!

The girls played Friday night, and then Saturday, we had a blast at the Rock Ranch near Griffin, GA. (http://www.rockranch.com/). It's a 1250-acre working cattle farm owned by Truett Cathy (founder of Chick-fil-A). In the fall, it is open and FULL of "agri-tainment," including a pumpkin cannon, paddle boats, corn mazes, jumpy things, peddle carts, etc., etc. We had a tailgate and then stayed about three hours but easily could have stayed all day and not done it all! It was a perfect family day, and the weather was wonderful.

Saturday was "topped off" with a slumber party on Turner's trundle bed (both girls on one twin trundle)!

A good time was had by all! (Parker just tried to keep up with TWO girls dragging him around!) :)

Mountain Bound...Again

First snow!
Some of Our Leaf Collection

Ready for the Big Hike with Daddy!

We had another nice weekend in the NC mountains!

The leaves were almost peaking, and a highlight of the trip was collecting the "beautiful-est" leaves on our various hikes. As you might imagine, Turner found one "more beautiful" than the last with every step! And we certainly had fun decorating the cabin with our bounty!

Another highlight was seeing the first snow of the season on Saturday afternoon! Pictures don't do it justice, but it was amazing to see the snow dust the already-breathtaking scenery.

We enjoyed stories, fires, Gator football, Halloween cupcakes, the apple festival (cold and wet though it was!), Nick and Nates, computer princesses and time with Gammy and Pops! It is truly a gift and blessing to be able to enjoy the cabin!

We did head home a day early, though, because our little guy just couldn't sleep and wouldn't let us sleep, either. His teeth (and his not-so-nice habit of waking up at 3am for a week) kept him uncomfortable and us plain TIRED!

Parker - 10 Months!

Our little guy is 10 months old! It's hard to believe. He's really becoming his own person, too.

Some recent milestones include:

- Getting his two front teeth (well, almost...they've started poking through FINALLY). Note that he is a "typical" man and wants everyone to KNOW he's uncomfortable and BE just as uncomfortable while he gets these pearly whites. (Sorry, men in my life...just speaking in generalities!)

- Speaking a few words: Da-da (his first and favorite!), Ma-ma, Ba-ba and AH-DUN (when he finishes a meal). It is so fun to see him making the connections! Plus, he knows a ton more words, like "pap," "ball," "clap," etc.

- Clapping his hands: He is like a monkey at the zoo! He loves to do it and is soooo proud when he does!

- Standing. This is scary to me, as I am truly frightened for my house when Parker can walk. But, he will let go of things and stand there.

- Eating. Ok, so this is no news flash. But, he is still eating any -- and every -- thing presented to him! (And some things that are not, like the bark from our firewood today! AUGHH!) He also just learned how to drink from a sippy cup, which is so cute (he tilts his head WAYYY back) and makes life a little easier.

It is still so amazing to me that Parker has gone from such a helpless little newborn to a regular playing, into-everything person! And no week passes when I do not think about the prognosis we were given before he was born...and rejoice in God's goodness!

Out of the Mouth of My Babe...

Some random funnies I don't want to forget (and yet -- at the same time, do want to forget, since they were somewhat embarrassing at the time!)...

Turner's statement after seeing a man smoking the other day: "Hey, Mom, that guy has one of those 'yucky sticks'!!!"

Her (LOUD) comment about a man at the car shop the other day, "Mom, look! He has two earrings...JUST like a GIRL! How funny is that?"

Little Nymph

Turner to me yesterday in the car (as she put her bare foot on her fogged up window):

"Mom, look! When I put my foot on here, it makes a big paw print!"

Truer words have not been spoken!

Girls' Night Out!

Turner and Addie ready for Hibachi!
Decked out for Girls' Night!

The Girls!

Friday night, Turner had her first official "Girls' Night Out." We met her sweet friend, Addie, and her mom, Ashley, for supper at the local hibachi steakhouse! Turner helped picked her outfit and my outfit (even my shoes, which were probably a fashion 'don't,' but I wore them anyway!), and we dressed up for our special evening without the boys!


It was a great time and so fun to watch the girls' faces when the food started flying! Also, Ashley won big points in our family when she caught a shrimp in her mouth. This mommy couldn't quite make it work! :)


It was a memorable night and made me so excited for the many special mom-daughter times ahead!

Life Saver!

"MOM! I just saved Parker's LIFE! He was going for the stairs, but I dragged him away very fast!"

(Gotta love the technique, huh?!)

Crush-ed...

"Today at "Lunch Bunch" I smiled and smiled at Griffin, Mommy." - Turner

"Why did you smile at him?" - Me

"Because I really love him." - Turner

(So, it begins! YIKES!!!)

Nighty, Night...

Here is proof that I am becoming expert at passing off more and more of my parental duties (i.e. reading bedtime stories to my son) to my sweet daughter!

By the way, she reported that Parker did not pay proper attention to her story and that she was DONE after this one book.

(And yes, footie pjs are officially back IN, in this household. Ceiling fans are on to ensure the kids don't faint from being overheated. But, it's kinda "cold," and I've put Turner off for something close to two months...so we're going for it!)

Go Tell It On the Mountain...

Road Trippin'!

The Swing with a View!

Deep in Thought...

Buddies!

BFFs!!!

We had a wonderful weekend in the NC mountains with our dear McFaddins! It all began on Friday afternoon with a van full of five excited kids and two brave moms (and a bad navigator, who shall remain nameless). FIVE hours later (on a typically 3-1/2 hour jaunt), we "landed" on Justin Ridge! The guys were right behind us, despite our hefty lead time! :) OOPS!

The kids did awesome -- they traveled well, had TWO great sleepovers and enjoyed being in the mountains. We hiked, collected LOTS of rocks and acorns, swang, s'mored, hot-chocolated, campfired, story-told, painted, carved pumpkins, traced leaves, sang, apple picked (from bins!), Nick-and-Nated and just had a wonderful, special time.

Once again, the mountains reminded me of God's glory and infinite provision. We are truly blessed to have great friends and the opportunity to enjoy his amazing creation.