Creepy Crawley

Tres is a very good reader... his teacher told us he is on a third grade reading level and he's in the first grade. He comes home super excited on library days, and is diligent to point out to his brother that one day, Bryant too, will be able to read like him... one day.

So with Hank being gone during the week, I have decided to let him do his nightly reading in bed. He finished up his nightly reading (he's really into Flat Stanley right now!) one night last week and I tucked them in. I headed out to the den to fold some laundry and watch a show and few minutes later, he came down the hall excitedly. He had apparently continued reading from his stack of books after I left.

"Mom! Did you know that a tarantula SHEDS it's skin?" He is so very expressive and it is so hard to capture that in writing... his eyes get big, he gestures with his hands a lot. "And did you know that they lay HUNDREDS of eggs at one time?"

"I didn't know that Tres," I say. I try not to giggle at his incredulous eyes as his plops his little tighty whitey clad bottom down beside me on the rug where I'm folding his pajamas that he never wears.

"AAANNNNDDDD," he sings this with his inflection pattern jumping up and down, "the babies inside the eggs live there for 3 to 4 years!" (I should point out that I have not read said book as it has a big hairy spider on the front of it and therefore can not verify these facts.)

"Wow, that's a long time," I appropriately respond.

"Mom! If a tarantula bites you, you will get very sick, but you might not die. They are HIGHLY poisonous, but not deadly!" he finishes with a proud and satisfied smile.

"Okay, baby... it's probably time for you to get back in bed now."

"Okay, Mom," he says as he slowly gets up and tenatively begins the walk back down the hall to his room.

"I love you, Tres man."

"I love you too-- Mom?" he asks as he rubs his neck a little, " I feel like I have a tarantula bite now..." he says as I choke on a laugh. He holds his hand up, palm up and cocks his head to the side and gives me the tiniest skeptical smile... "but I know I don't."

I so enjoy being a Mom.

Rangers, Ninjas, and Monkeys! Oh My!

I'm slightly ashamed that it is the end of November and I am just now getting around to telling you about our Halloween! To be honest, the past month has been very surreal at times and in fast forward in others.

On Halloween day, we had our first open house and Hank and I hung out at the house that day. But as soon as it was over, we headed over and got the kids and took them trick or treating! So here is our cast of characters for this tale:

Meet Jack, the red Power Ranger (SPD). Tres was uninterested in finding a costume this year and at the last minute dug through our costume bin and pulled this one out!


Storm Shadow is a bad guy in the G.I. Joe saga. Bryant was so excited to find this costume! He had it picked out and hounded us until we bought it a good 3 weeks before Halloween.


And introducing, Ava Sophia as the monkey princess. This picture was taken after we got to my grandmother's house that evening (our traditional first house to trick or treat at). As soon as we got out in the backyard, she took off running around acting like a monkey. I have a handful of blurry pics trying to capture just one of this wild child! She stood still here because she heard a dog barking... she was saying, "You he-ah dat, Mama?"

This year, it was a fun coincidence that Kayla and I had monkey costumes for the little ones! I added a little tutu skirt, necklace, and a bow (which she lost). These little monkey cousins were so cute!


Here are all the cousins and one friend at Grandma's house. Sierra was Dorothy, Luke was a Jedi, and Tyler was the cutest little cowboy.


Then it was candy time!


So these pics are random, but I liked them and wanted to post them! So enjoy!

My beautiful daughter! She loves 'fow-wers!'


Tonnie revisits the past in her 80s-90s inspired costume.


Luke uses the force to keep Grandaddy in line!


Me and Soph as we were trick or treating... it's hard to take pics when your corralling your kids! Smile! Also, we used this opportunity to spy on the other houses that are for sale in our neighborhood! He he! I know I'm sneaky!


At the end of the night, we saw the Zaxby's sign advertising a free kids meal for every costumed child with no other purchase necessary! So we ended our evening with some 'shicken' (a Bryant-sim), then headed home to tally up the loot!

The First Half Way Meeting

This has been a week full of adjustments at our house. I'm learning to not let my emotions guide my actions... because my emotions are unpredictable these days!

Monday morning, Hankie helped me get the kids off to school, then we came home and got him packed and ready for his first week away. He is staying with his sister until we can sell OUR HOUSE and find a new home.

It wasn't so bad this week, since we knew that the kids would be out of school Wednesday for 'vet-trins' day (a Tres-ism). We had prepared them. So we rolled along pretty well and I woke them up as usual on Wednesday morning and we headed over to Anniston to meet him.

We met at Shoney's for their breakfast bar... Hank loves that place. I'm ambivalent. Tres, however, has discovered a love for breakfast buffets... and the independence of selecting his own foods.

When we pulled into the parking lot, the boys were all over me to find Dad's car and park right by it! And they zoomed out of the van when they saw their Daddy! I mean, that hug alone was worth the drive. It was a loud breakfast for us... lots to catch Dad up on. School stuff, friend stuff, wii stuff, pokemon stuff... imporant, life altering stuff... and Hankie gave them his full attention and responded appropriately to every insignificant detail. I chose well... God gave me a wonderful husband. We laughed and the kids hung on to him. Sophie made us all crack up when she announced to the table next to us that she had pooted. She is a nut!
Then we went to a few stores to waste a little time together. Target is always a fav for my family. I enjoy looking at clearance and sale items... and the kids could live in the toy department.


Bryant really wanted his dad to read to him, so they sat their happy little butts right down and did it! This made me tear up. And Bry chose a book about always loving your family... sigh... tears... even now.

Our time was up before we knew it. Hankie had to get back to work. So we took him back to his car, and started our good-byes. This was horrendous for us. Bryant and Soph were okay. But my ultra sensative little man, Tres, was sitting in the back with a heartbroken expression. He climbed out for one last hug from Daddy and broke down.

I tried to make it a quick getaway since I knew it was already killing Hankie... but Tres was really pitiful. He kept saying, "It's not right to leave a family member behind!"

He and I talked about how the Bible teaches us about different seasons in life. Tres sat and thought for a minute, then asked... "What do you mean by seasons, Mom?"

"It's a short time for us to learn and grow. For God to teach us things and for us to learn to trust Him more," I tried to explain... the whole time praying away each day that we would be separated. "You trust Mommy and Daddy to make the best decision for our family, right?"

Tres nodded his head, the movement releasing huge tears that had welled up again.

"And Mommy and Daddy trust God."

I've been replaying that conversation in my head a lot. You can probably tell. I want this to be a time that we teach our kids what it is to fully trust. What it means to be instant... in this season and the next. I want them to see Hankie and I handling this with faith and love and patience.

Lord show us how to do this. This season is here and we need You more than ever.

House Update

So we are showing our house to a number of people, and getting great feedback and even some genuine interest... but no buyers yet!

So go by the house blog to check out the latest...

This HOME is just waiting for the right family to fill it!