you are my sunshine: Zoe's room

I seem to have adopted a different lullaby with each of my children.
A song that was special just for them.

Ella's was an old celtic lullaby taura laura.
Ezra got hush little baby.
Even Eli got one as I'd sing and rock him a lot in those early weeks when he joined our family, an old Keith Green rendition of the 23rd psalm, the actual name unknown.

It is oh so sweet to me when the older ones come to me (only every now and then these days...) and ask for their song.

Zoe's song is You are My Sunshine. 
In fact we don't even call it that. It is just Zoe's song.

And it was the source of my inspiration for her new room.
Although to call it a room is generous.
It is more like Zoe's closet?

She is used to a closet, after all.

But I have learned that all a baby really needs in their room is a place to sleep, be rocked, and something to hold their stuff. It is not like she actually plays in there at this age.

Therefore, I give you Zoe's new space...

The kids really got into painting the new artwork for her room. I just outlined in pencil and they filled it in with the colors I  had laid out.

The view from the door. I told you it was tiny...but at least it has a window!

And a closet too.

The finished masterpiece =)

My feeding/rocking/heaven on earth spot.

I repurposed an old dresser in the house and repainted it (again...this was it's 3rd coat!) to serve as her new dresser. It is small but holds everything it needs to.

These art cards have been in every nursery of mine. It made my heart so happy to have them up in her room.

A sunshine filled room fit for our little slice of sunshine.
Can you tell she is a little bit loved around here?

then and now: strawberry picking

For my birthday this year I requested a family trip to the strawberry farm. I have great memories of this activity growing up and I am excited that we have started the same tradition with our family. 

I now have 3 folders of strawberry picking pictures through the years...2010, 2011, and now, 2012.

2010 - Just two kids...ah, the simple days.

2011 - 3 and a 1/2 kids at this point and this was the best shot we could get, ha!

2012 - Up to 4 kids now and I'm just happy we are all in the picture!

This was Zoe's first year...and from the look on her face and the mess on her hands, I'd say she enjoyed it!

She would eat the stems and all if we'd let her!

Riding on her daddy's shoulders was a close second!

Song for a Fourth Child (Babies Don't Keep)

Mother, O Mother, come shake out your cloth,
Empty the dustpan, poison the moth,
Hang out the washing, make up the bed,
Sew on a button and butter the bread.

Where is the mother whose house is so shocking?
She’s up in the nursery, blissfully rocking.

Oh, I’ve grown as shiftless as Little Boy Blue,
Lullabye, rockabye, lullabye loo.


Dishes are waiting and bills are past due
Pat-a-cake, darling, and peek, peekaboo
The shopping’s not done and there’s nothing for stew
And out in the yard there’s a hullabaloo
But I’m playing Kanga and this is my Roo
Look! Aren’t his eyes the most wonderful hue?
Lullabye, rockaby lullabye loo.


The cleaning and scrubbing can wait till tomorrow
But children grow up as I’ve learned to my sorrow.
So quiet down cobwebs; Dust go to sleep!
I’m rocking my baby and babies don’t keep.

some parts are meat

Me to Ella: What were you playing with your friends in the backyard this afternoon?

Ella: We played family first, then poor, then we just made soup.

Me: How do you play poor?

Ella: Well, we eat a lot of spam. That's mostly it. 

Me: Do you know what spam is?

Ella: It's what you eat when you are poor. 


Me: Oh. Right. Of course.

the pondering's of a thirty one year old

**Warning: This post is self-indulgent in nature and lengthy and entirely for my own therapeutic purposes. You don't have to read it if its not your thing. But it's my birthday and I'll ramble if I want to.**

I turn 31 today.

In all honesty I still have mini-freak out moments when I can't believe I am even old enough to drive...let alone be married and the mother of four kids.

I am excited about my 30's.
I am entering an entire new stage of parenting as the kids get older, an entire new stage in our marriage as we approach the 10 year mark, and an entire new stage of ministry in a new church in a new role...

I've been getting quite reflective in my old age and have been thinking on my life. Specifically, the moments, decisions, and people that have impacted, shaped, and defined me.

And no, I really won't list out 31 of them...as that really would be too lengthy.
Just a few.
Ok, maybe more than a few.


1. Grandad's House, early 1980's
I was sitting on his lap, close to tears, all because I didn't have any sunglasses. I told him this and he took me straight to Toys-R-Us and let me pick out a pair. I picked out a wire royal blue pair that folded up into a little case. They pinched my nose but I didn't care. I knew I was ridiculously loved by my Grandad. He thought I was pretty and smart and funny, and so...I was pretty and smart and funny. I think it was his love that gave me my confidence.

2. Easter Sunday, 1988
This was the day I gave over my life to Jesus. I was 7 years old and knew exactly what I was doing. The best and most important decision of my life that impacted every other decision of my life.

3. The Summer of 1991
I was 10 years old and played endless hours in "groundhog hollow" with my built in best friend (aka: big sister Laura Jeane). I was given the tremendous blessing (unrealized to me as a child) of being able to just be a child in those days...exploring, making up games, finding creeks, picking flowers, and dreaming dreams.

4. Singing School, 1994
As a gangly awkward 13 year old sporting oversized sweatshirts and stonewashed jeans I nervously approached another gangly awkward 13 year old in an equally oversized sweatshirt and asked for her orthodontists phone number in an attempt to jump start a friendship that has spanned two decades and numerous bad hair cuts. A true best friend who has created and shared in your history is one of the best gifts in the world. Even if that history includes rap renditions of The Power of your Love.

5. My House in Roanoke, VA, 1997
The day I fell in love. I was 16 and standing in our upstairs bathroom as I watched Jeremiah rinsed throw up from a blanket soiled by Anthony, a severly handicapped foster child we cared for. What 18 year old captain of the wrestling team, prom king, leader of the ever popular youth band formerly known as Goodfriday, would do something like that? I knew then he was for real. And I've never looked back. Being loved the way he loves me is a priceless treasure.


6. Sophmore year, Shepherd College, Comm 101 Class
A terrible teacher. Terrible. A terrible class. Terrible. But it was in this class that I think that I really owned my faith. I was forced to flesh it out and be able to communicate it. It wasn't my parents faith anymore...it was mine.

7. Dulles Airport, Washington DC, 2001
I will never ever forget watching my new adopted siblings, Isaac, Jacob, and Lily, step off the plane with my parents and enter their new life with our family. I loved them instantly. I think it was at that moment that my own desire to adopt one day was born.

8. May 23, 2003 
My wedding day. A rainy cold overcast day that was the best day of my life. I walked down the aisle to Amazing Grace and greeted my handsome groom with such excitement and anticipation to be his wife. Almost nine years later and it hasn't disappointed.


9. November 23, 2005
Our tiny peanut, Ella McKay, rocked our entire world by surprising us 5 weeks early. She was my first, the child that made me a mommy. I will never forget the amazing overwhelming sense of responsibility I felt for her immediately. I would fight to the death for this little one. I would love her without limits.


10. September 15, 2007
Ezra James was born looking like a wizened old man sporting one heck of a dimple. I still remember the way the top of his head smelled as I nursed him on the hospital bed. I had a son. A son!


11. January 2, 2009
Myla died. My heart broke. I didn't know I could feel such depths of guilt and sadness. I didn't know how overwhelming the peace and comfort of Christ could be until this moment.

12. Wilmington, NC, February 2009
I was angry. Not at God. Just angry for losing Myla. I escaped with Jeremiah and raged my feelings to the ocean and realized for the first time that God was enough. I truly realized that if I lost everything...He was enough for me. I didn't love Him because of the good stuff He blessed me with, I loved Him because He is good. His presence in my life was my blessing.


13. Haiti, August 2009
I fell in love again. His name was Aaron and he filled the ache in my arms to hold another baby. He also showed me that God could equip me with enough love for another child during this trip. The time was now for us to start our own adoption journey.



14. June 29th, 2010
I met our Eli Cade for the first time. I had another son! He didn't feel like my son at that moment, but he would. Learning to mother him has shown me more of God's provision and character than any other experience in my life.


15. August 11, 2011
Zoe Elizabeth was born. The joy in my heart could not be contained with I first saw her sweet chubby face and I burst into tears at the beauty of her. Her life is such a gift to me. To get to be a mommy to a sweet baby one more time is an unfathomable blessing.



Shew. 
That was really sort of therapeutic.
And humbling and overwhelming to see God's hand all over the course of my life.
I am a blessed woman.

Bring on the next 31 years!

not me monday

I did not walk into my bathroom this week and find Ezra...um...

I did not walk into my bathroom this week and find Ezra...well...

IdidnotwalkintomybathroomthisweekandfindEzratryingtomakemusiccomeoutofausedfeminineproductapplicator.Withhismouth.Onthewrong(ohsoverywrong)end.

(If I say it fast maybe it makes it sound better?!)

Then again, it doesn't matter how bad it sounds, because it didn't happen.

And I most certainly didn't freak out and say something really really (really) stupid that then spurned a whole host of questions I am just not ready to answer yet to my FOUR YEAR OLD SON.

Oh please, tell me it didn't happen.

a picture is worth a thousand words

and this one sums up my zoe pretty much...
perfectly.

homeschool: in like a lion

Since we are about half way through April, I guess it is time for an update on what we did in March.

(I think my new life motto should be "better late than never"...)

I should warn that I hardly took any school photo's this month. Sorry for the lack of pictures. I know I hate reading posts that aren't picture heavy, so you have my permission to skip this one.

We continued to work our way through all the required math stuff and came up with a good plan to make sure we were completing lessons but still allowing time to reinforce new concepts. We double up math lessons on Tues, Wed, and Thursday. Then on Friday we do games and experiments to really review the new concepts taught that week. This has been great for certain new ideas that Ella has been covering: fractions, counting by 3's and 4's, and measuring, etc.

Ella's reading has completely taken off! She reads all the time now and I do mean all the time! She reads in the car, she reads in her bed at night, she will even walk around the house with a book stuck to her face. I can't keep enough new books in the house these days. Yes, I am so proud.

With her language arts we really focused on a few areas: contractions and correct capitalization and punctuation. We also did some fun projects on homophones. Please don't confuse that word with homophobe, ha. I don't plan on making that a part of her 1st grade education.

The boys worked their way through the alphabet and are up to letter M at the moment.

Our science unit for the month was weather. We had done a unit on clouds and the water cycle last year so we focused on other areas this time around. I made a "weather center" and we kept a daily record of the weather and moon phases. I also incorporated vocabulary into this and Ella had to pick one of them that best described the weather for that day...brisk, glorious, balmy, sweltering, etc.  We also focused a lot on calender stuff...days of the week, months of the year, and the four seasons.

Doing a fun experiment on the protective powers of sun screen.

Of course, one has to be outside to experience the weather...so we took a lot of our activities outside for the month of March!

I broke up each week of the month to cover one season. Here is Ella participating in our "snowball" fight during Winter week.

Ezra making some ice-cream for letter I week.

In other homeschool news, I finally looked up the info and organized all the documents I will need to officially register our homeschool this Summer. Now all I have to do is come up with a name for it. Any suggestions?

the first taste

Although it is not officially Summer yet, with temperatures in the 80's this week, it kind of felt like it. 

Therefore, a trip to a favorite hangout of Summer was in order!

We were greeted with 100 flavors to choose from and happy rainbow tables and benches...

The anticipation was harder to take for some of us...

But, oh, that first taste was so worth the wait...

This little cutie was inside my belly the last time we were there...

The entire happy gang...

Oh, Pelicans...thank you for giving us our first taste of Summer!

because we are project people

I blame pinterest for this most recent project.

We turned the space behind the kids swingset into a garden/play area for them.

It was basically just a barren wasteland of weeds and leftover rocks from the previous owners and was most definitely a safety hazard for my children who have discovered that they can jump off of their swings while in mid-air.

Barren wasteland, no more. It now boasts a chalkboard, rock pit, tunnel and road-building materials, flowers, and a spot for a future fairy house...

One pinterest project finished.
Only 321 more to go...

other things

I've (obviously) been up to other things than blogging this week...

Our big project of the week was converting our (now old) laundry room into Zoe's room.
Yes, you read that right.
Our laundry room in this house contains a closet and window and seemed a ridiculous waste of space just designated for laundry.

Hence, an idea was born...
Which we vacillated on for months because we knew the amount of work it was going to take...
Until we just finally decided to do it.

Our washer and dryer were relocated to the first floor garage, which is right off the kitchen. A rather convenient spot for me as I spend a lot of my day in that room.

And Zoe's room was born.

Here are my cute helpers repainting it a cheery yellow...

yes, BOTH of their underwear is inside out. at least they were wearing some that day.

Her room also got some new flooring, so the curse of the ugly green faux marble linoleum is finally lifted from our house forever!

I found this site with great ideas on how to fix little girls hair and Ella and I have been having fun doing new do's every day...

And this little lady has finally entered the destructo stage and rearranges my tupperwear and condiments all the day long...

Once I've finished with the final touches of Zoe's room I'll be sure to post pictures...

But for now I need a quiet Saturday morning of pancakes, cartoons, and snuggling with my kiddo's!

zoe elizabeth: 8 months

Zoe turns eight months old today.

It's true.

Despite my denial.

She is growing up.

She is lovely and very well loved.

Very very well loved.

She just may hold the record for the number of nicknames alloted to an individual: Zooble, Z-girl, ZoZo, Zoe-bear, and my personal favorite, baby Goosey, given by her adoring Ezra.

For posterity sake, here is what Zoe's day looks like at the moment:

7am - wake up, milk, snuggles, breakfast, and playtime

9am - morning nap

11am - wake up, milk, lunch, playtime and more playtime

2pm - afternoon nap

4pm - wake up, milk, hinder mommy from making dinner, dinner, family playtime

7pm - bath, pj's, milk, and bed

I should note that an -ish should be added to all of the above times because Zoe is our least predictable child in regards to a daily schedule. Mostly due to the fact that we have three other children that we have to be flexible to. And flexible she is, thankfully!

She cruises around the furniture in the house like a pro these days. She can stand independently for a few seconds now and I won't be surprised if we see her take a step in the next month. She thinks getting her diaper or clothes changed is a torturous act and reacts accordingly. She loves to dive headfirst off of the sofa or bed and "wrestle" with her Daddy. 

She loves her blanket and paci at bedtimes and will snuggle her face into them before falling asleep.

She can say Dada like a champ and a few other sounds...but nothing that resembles a Mama yet.

She still sports a gorgeous toothless grin. Although she doesn't let it stop her from eating pretty much anything, with mexican, spaghetti, yogurt, fruits and veggies as her favorites. Her pincer grasp is getting better and better and at least some of her food actually makes it to her mouth these days.

And, as promised, video proof of her dancing to the music. She saves her best grooves for her daddy's singing voice...

Adorable, eh?!

Dearest Zoe,

You are awesome. Just incredibly awesome. You are so loved around here that I fear you are at risk of becoming the spoiled baby of the family! You are living up to your name and bring so much life to our family. Can you please stop growing up so fast now.

All my love,

Your Momma

Happy Eight Months!