thursday thoughts

I do believe we set a new record for the # of baths taken in one week in this house.
Let me give you the reason why...

Sweet girl is not so sweetly insisting on self feeding everything these days. Oatmeal, yogurt, applesauce, soup...

The fits she throws are downright embarrassing. I'm talking 2 year old tantrum embarrassing. She has done everything else early, why not start the "I do it myself" mentality too!?

5 more days till school starts around these parts people. We are gearing up!

Jeremiah's parents are pretty awesome. They left today for Haiti again to keep working on their new mission house, Notre Maison, or "Our House of Hope".  They are renovating it to become a multi-functioning ministry center...hosting medical clinics and pastor training sessions and serving as a guest house for traveling teams, among other things. The newest really cool thing is that Jeremiah's Aunt Donna is going to be spending the next year in Haiti to help with coordinating all the renovations, fund raising, and traveling teams. I really really married into an awesome family. You can go here or here to read more about this amazing ministry.

I am happy to report that I fared much better in my Zumba class this week. I didn't even knock into the exercise ball tower! 

It is so crazy to believe we are knocking on September's door. Where oh where has the summer gone?

I took my three big kids to JC Penney's this week to take advantage of their free haircuts for kids. I came out with three different kids. Ella insisted on "a chin length bob stacked in the back", Eli lost his fro, and Ezra lost his rat-tail. 

She loves it as you can tell =)

No pictures of the boys because they have decided that they would rather me feed them dog poop for dinner than pose for a photo.

Happy Thursday!

this girl...

Is really growing up.

Literally.

We have a wall in our dining room where we are recording our kids heights. 

She grew almost 3 inches in less than 6 months and we are this close to sharing shoes.

Growing up is not without some growing pains. For her and me.

I never thought I'd miss the days of our biggest issue being her not putting her toys away or coloring on the table.

We have delved into the world of friend issues and arguing and hurt feelings and lying and bullying.

I'm on my knees praying for her heart more than ever before.

But oh, the new levels of understanding and fun we are able to have together is amazing. 

I genuinely enjoy our conversations and I find myself letting her stay up with me on nights that Jeremiah is away just because I enjoy her company.

I am feeling the need to record some things about her because time seems to be speeding up faster and faster as she gets older and I don't want to forget some of these small but big details. Waiting until her 7th birthday just seems too far away.

 A box full of string and beads and glitter and scissors and "stuff" and she is set for hours...

She is competitive. Really competitive. I am looking into a good athletic outlet for this facet of her personality.
She makes friends very easily.
She doesn't like to write. Writing out scripture verses pertaining to the issue 25 times is a great corrective consequence at the moment.
She loves to read. She easily surpassed her 100 book goal of the summer.
She loves to sleep and has been known to ask for "just 5 more minutes".
Eats a lot. Isn't picky. Loves cheese and meats and salty snacks over sweet stuff.
Is a strong leader. Learning to let others have input is a constant struggle. 1st child anyone?!
Loves being outside. Even more than her brothers. Climbing trees, catching butterflies or any kind of creature.
Is always creating environments...fairy houses, barns for her play horses, beds for her stuffed animals, etc.
Is very logical. Usually. Unless the emotions take over and kidnap all reasoning.
Her favorite dessert is a popsicle.
Her favorite movie is The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe in the Chronicles of Narnia series.
Is really good at saving her money and makes good decisions about spending it.

Eats up one on one time with Mommy or Daddy...

Before we headed out to a Mommy Date while on vacation a few weeks ago.

Ella McKay,

You are so big now. I love the person you are becoming, and I love to see how God is working in your young life. You are so bold about telling others about Jesus. You are so full of questions. Hard questions that Mommy really has to think about how to answer or look up the answer. I love how you don't always just take my word for things but try to find out for yourself. Daddy and I pray for your heart all the time, that it would be soft towards the Holy Spirit's leading, and that you would allow the Lord to use your fun and unique personality for His glory. Even though we have our moments and you might not always understand why I must frustrate you so...it really is just because I love you and want God's best for you. 

You are my special girl and I love you more than words.

Forever,

Your Momma

the power of environment

Apparently, it is more fun to read books in forts...

saturday spaghetti

I apologize in advance for this.

I originally wrote this after 10pm.

 And anyone who knows me knows that I have a split personality disorder with a before 10pm Jenn and an after 10pm Jenn. It's like this other person takes over and things come out of her mouth and I feel as though I am sitting there thinking "what is that crazy girl saying?!"

True story.

I read this the other day and I highly recommend it if you need a laugh and you find fart stories funny. I do, but only after 10. I'm much classier before then.

I also like this place for when I need a laugh. Only because I can produce some good awkward photo's of my own...



It has been an awesome week. Our church is in the middle of a Serve Your City week and we have been able to do something everyday...organizing shelves at Dorcas Ministries, making care packages with Global Hope India, serving dinner at the local Ronald McDonald House, and building a new house with Habitat for Humanity. It's been busy, but the best kind of busy and I love that our kids have been able to be a part of so much of this week.

At our community movie night/canned food drive for the Western Wake Crisis Center.

I love our church and I love being a part of something bigger than myself.

So many schools started back this week.

Not us.

I decided to eek out one last week of Summer and start back after Labor Day. We still have a few items left to cross off our summer of fun list after all. No need to rush through fun.

Zoe has been sleeping later and later in the mornings for us. I woke her up at 9:15 one morning this week. It's great, except it makes for no morning nap, which could make school this fall quite interesting...

I've been busy pinteresting away looking up good ways to occupy 1 year olds =) That don't involve her destroying the downstairs. Or at least only minimally destroying the downstairs.

I/we joined a gym this week. And I took a Zumba class. Hahahahahahahahahahahaaaaa. I really (really!) wish I had been filmed. I could put it up on YouTube and am pretty sure it would go viral. At one point I just sat down and laughed at myself after I shook my booty up into the stack of exercise balls.

I'm off to get ready for a photo shoot later this morning...
(If you are starting to think about a fall photo shoot for all those Christmas cards looming in your future, go here to reserve your spot on my calendar!)

Happy Weekend everybody!

truth story

Maybe I should have double checked her library book selections this week...

is it?

I was asked by a friend who is contemplating starting a family if having kids is really so great. If it really is worth it.

I thought for a while because I didn't want to give the expected trite reply.

In that silence she mentioned that she see's moms all the time who have completely let themselves go, are tired, complain on facebook about their kids all the time, and yet will swear that having kids is the best thing ever.

Her observations are so true. And if moms are sending out that kind of mixed messages to other adults, what kind of messages are we sending to our kids?

If I had a dollar for every time I have heard:

"Wow...you really have your hands full with four!"
"I can't wait for school to start back up!"
"I can hardly handle my two...I can't imagine four"
"Just wait till the teenage years (insert sadistic laugh)"

And so on and so forth...

I'd be a rich rich lady. Or at least able to support a nice shopping habit.

Now, let me be the first to say that I am not going all holier than thou on you here. I have had my share of craigslist moments with my children. I need breaks from them in order to refresh and refuel and refocus on the blessings that they are. It doesn't just come naturally.

However, I am keenly aware that my children are absorbing every statement, every message that I am communicating. And I want them to be statements and messages full of truth, lining up in light of how God views them...as blessings in my life.

I never did give a great answer back to my friend on her question. However, I have thought about it a lot since that night and have been fleshing out my answer for myself.

Yes, having kids is really that great.

Not because of the cute lip sticking out squished up nose face that makes me laugh out loud every time I see Zoe. Or the sweet sweet smell of the top of her head as I give her one last kiss for the night. Or receiving an unprompted "I love you Mom" from Ezra. Or watching a lightbulb moment with Eli. Or snuggling up with Ella.

Those moments are great.
Really really really great.

Having kids is great because nothing else in my life has made me depend on the Lord in this way. Nothing else has forced me to my knees over and over again. Nothing else has shown me how dependent on Gods word I need to be.

As weird as it may sound, I feel like having kids has shown me how completely incapable I am in my own abilities to do this job well. But God isn't limited by anything other than my trying to do His will in my flesh, in my own way. When I allow him to take over, he transcends the limitations of me.

And makes a beautiful thing out of my mess.

zoe elizabeth: One Year Old (a story of cake)

What? Is? This? Stuff?

I guess its ok to touch it. With just one finger though. Don't make me use two.

Because you insist...

Why? Why? Why?!

Here Hammah, you seem to enjoy this stuff...you can have mine.

Much better. Now I will smile for you.

vacation photojournal: part four (Zoe's birthday)

Zoe got to share her birthday party with cousins Cai and Ilijah...and the Phineas and Ferb theme as well =)
True to self, she wasn't too excited about the cake...but, that is worthy of a whole other post.

We made an early morning family run to the donut shop to start off Zoe's special day. Too bad she wouldn't even touch a donut, ha! This girl has a major carb-aversion.

vacation photojournal: part three

Zoe lacked attention all week long. Poor poor neglected fourth child. 

Poppee relaxing? Poppee catching some rays? Poppee enjoying a respite from the 18 little children? You decide.

One of my favorite nights...a walk on the pier in Duck, NC...complete with ice cream. Too bad the sunset was less than spectacular due to cloudy weather. 

vacation photojournal: part two

I could feel my blood pressure slow down as I walked this path... 

A beautiful double rainbow over the ocean one evening made my night.

vacation photojournal: part one

This dimple ridden boy was all about the beach...drawing, drawing, drawing...and jumping and chasing the waves.

Nothing but smiles from this sweet one.

Silliness and sassiness are the name of the game for this one. She loved having a cousin (or 17) to play with 24/7.

I love that he knows how to work hard AND play hard. Love this man!

Boogie boarding was the thing to do...even Uncle Ray got in on the action. I love how Ella was keeping up with all the big kids adults!

I know, the cuteness is overwhelming. My apologies.

The Covenant Trash Can List

My husband is near perfect. I could give you an amazingly long list of all the things I love and admire and respect about him. A looooong list. I truly mean it when I say that the best part of my life began the moment we were married.

However...
He does have a tendency to forget to put the trash can out for the pick-up.

One afternoon I was grumbling about this habit...


"He forgot to take the trash can out to the curb. Again!" 
Grumble, grumble, grumble...
Rumble, rumble, rumble...
"Why can't he remember to take the trash can out?"


I even sent a text that went something like: I just made it to the curb with the can for you. You are welcome. Again.

Jeremiah and I have been married for 9 years, and together as a couple for 15. Even as I write it out it is hard for me to believe it has been that long. I know I am not alone in admitting that after a certain amount of time together it is really easy to let little things about your spouse irritate you. Habits, quirks, tendencies that were once adorable become...well...not so adorable.

If we are not careful, those irritating things become the focus of your thoughts about your spouse...forgetting all the truly great things about them.

I realized (thank you Holy Spirit) shortly after my grumbly afternoon that I was wrong in my thoughts and actions towards Jeremiah. I was focusing all my thoughts on this ONE negative about my husband and ignoring, overlooking, and not appreciating the MULTITUDE of positives.

It's easy to get to that place as it just sort of sneaks up on you.

Proverbs has a lot to say on the issue:

It is better to live in the corner of a housetop than in a house shared with a quarrelsome woman. Proverbs 21:9

It is better to live in a desert land that with a quarrelsome and fretful woman. Proverbs 21:19

A continual dripping on a rainy day and a quarrelsome wife are alike. Proverbs 27:15

You just gotta love the way Proverbs puts things...BAM, ZING...An arrow straight to the heart.

I wrote a list in my journal that I affectionately termed my Covenant Trash Can List. I wrote out all the things I loved, liked, respected, admired, and enjoyed about Jeremiah. I have a shorter list that I keep in my head. And I humbly asked the Holy Spirit to bring it to mind when I began to focus on the wrong things about my husband.

We take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. 2 Corinthians 10:5

It's not foolproof or perfect, but it is amazing the difference in my attitude and affections toward Jeremiah when my heart is focused on the right things.
________________________________________________________________________________

p.s. I should clarify that it is now a rare thing for our trash to be forgotten! Who knew?!

How to Catch A Wave in 4 Easy Steps

1. Ride on your daddy's back out into the ocean...

2. Wait for it, wait for it...

3. Go for it...Whoo-Hoo!

4. Cheese for the camera with adorable smiles...

Don't they make it look so easy.

auto correct

Eli: Can we watch the olympins?

Ezra: It's not the olympins, its o-lym-icks!

Ella: No, boys...its o-lym-pets.

Eli and Ezra: Ooooh, the o-lym-pits.

the ease

I am easing s.l.o.w.l.y. back into real life after vacation.

Because our vacation was a doozy. A wonderful week of family togetherness,beach bliss, and soaking up the last bit of summer fun doozy.

No, really.

I realize that for anyone who has vacationed with 4 small children (or even 1 small child!) the term vacation is an oxymoron. The word vacation emotes words such as relax, breathe deep, slow down...

Ahem.

I feel as though there should be a new term for the phrase "vacation with small children". A word that emotes such words as little sleep, melt downs, sandy butt cracks...

However, this week, while it did have its fair share of sandy booty's...had more than its fair share of lovely these-are-the-thing-that-make-life-meaningful moments. And I am just not ready to jump back into reality.

So, instead I will look through the 978 photo's that I took. (True story) And dream about next year...

Once I do decide to re-enter the land of real life...prepare yourself for photo overload =)

salty lips, sandy toes, and sand crabs beware

we are beach bumming it this week.
our last hurrah of the summer.
prepare yourself for photo-overload next week.

what's in a (school) name? or not.

I had to choose a name for our homeschool this week in order to "officially" register it with the state.

Jeremiah was full of ideas...

The Hambrick School for Kids Who Want to be Smart
Hambrick Academy of Amazing
School of Hambrick Awesomeness
or my personal favorite, The Hambrick School for Kids with the Last Name Hambrick


The kids suggestions weren't much better...
Real School (Ezra's contribution)
School (Eli's contribution)
I Don't Care Mom, Just Let Me Go Back To Playing Outside (Ella's contribution, communicated loud and clear non-verbally)

While taking their...um, suggestions...into consideration...I've decided to go in a different direction:

Monarch Way Academy

My reasons include:

1) It's our street name =)

2) If anyone knows Ella (and increasingly the boys)...she is a butterfly whisperer. She has always loved them and literally spends hours every week during the summer in pursuit of capturing butterflies.

4 year old Ella with a painted lady that she charmed =)

3) My parenting (and thus, my educational) philosophy is one that includes the fact that sanctification (and acquiring education) is a process...it doesn't happen overnight or immediately. I want to parent and educate my children, taking the long-view of their lives, and keep the end in sight. Especially on those dreadfully depressing days when it feels like some things are never going to change. What better personification of this than the process of a caterpillar becoming a butterfly!

Of course, we could always combine all ideas:

Hambrick Real School for Butterflies with the Last Name of Hambrick who are Awesome and Amazing and Just Want to Play Outside

That kinda has a nice ring to it to, no?

another generation rises up

Following in the footsteps of her brothers...
Watch out world!