Patience

Patience, I have none! I really am such an impatient person. I know, patience is a virtue, love is patient, blah, blah, blah! This is just not something I can master. I think I do OK with my kids. For some reason I can be patient with them more than any other area of my life. I think I am most impatient with myself. I want everything done yesterday. I want to know what is going to happen, right now. I don't want to wait and see what God has planned for my life. I really get myself worked up to a standstill because I have so many things I want to do, and no patience to stop and get them done. For example, I am reading three books. I can't wait to finish one before I start on the next one! I am trying. I have decided this is my next mission, to learn to be patient!


Callie is sick today. She has a 101 degree temp. :( Not good for the day I am going to work on being patient! All she wants me to do is hold her. She is at the stage where she points and grunts while you are holding her so that you'll get where she wants you to be. All morning we have ended up in her room in the rocking chair. She just wants me to sit and rock her. I am happy that I can stop and rock her. I've managed to read one of my books! But, of course there are three others in the house that need attention, laundry, garage sale to get ready for, food to prepare, on and on... I will be patient, I will be patient, I will be patient. :)


Just in case your looking for something read, I have been reading these books: The House Always Wins by Marni Jameson. Very funny and insightful about building, decorating, etc. your home. Not too far into it, but so far she has covered why our homes will never look like model homes or TV homes. The main reason is because no one lives there! So far I am really enjoying it.


Next is How Lincoln Learned to Read. So far love this one too. It is about education in America. This is probably not for everyone. It is about some famous characters in history and how they were educated. Of course not all of them had the formal education one might think, but some did. Of course people know I am all for the not so traditional path, so this is interesting so far. A great way to see how one's path is shaped. And a good one to encourage parents, not to worry so much, most kids seem to make their own path, regardless of the path their parents try to put them on! At least the people I have read about so far have.


The other is by Dr. Laura. I think she is funny, I like how she tells it like it is! It's called In Praise of Stay-at-Home Moms. Title is pretty self-explanatory. I picked it up at Sam's one day when I was there at 8:15 pm, about three hours later than I wanted to be there, having one of those days! I figured any praise was better than nothing that day! But I have enjoyed it. I like that she appreciates the sacrifice that some make to stay home and the constant struggle between balancing working and staying home, which is what most people do it seems. Dr. Laura has almost always worked, even with a small child, but her primary job was mommy. I, of course, think this is the most important job of all:)!

Here is a video of Callie, she has started saying night-night, so cute. She can say quite a few words, but will not say them when you ask. It all has to be her idea! I think she will try my patience for many years to come!

Callie has decided to try sewing. Twice she has pushed all the right buttons to make the machine start automatically!

Easter, part one

I guess I had too much to say today and wonderful Yahoo won't let me put it all on one post, so here is part one!

Easter is my favorite holiday. I don't know if it is my favorite because it is spring, or because it is an excuse to get pretty new clothes. Or, because it brings back such good memories from when I was little. At Easter time there is not so much going on, like there is at Christmas, so I think it is easier to enjoy. Of course, here in Iowa, it is always a little anti-climactic since we can't get together with extended family. I love my family, and I try to make the best of it with our little six, but it always seems like something is missing.

Growing up we had the privilege of going to Grandma and Grandpa Lanier's every Easter. Our family would go to church then head to Grandma's. We always started with the obligatory pictures in our Easter clothes. Always over by the front door, crowded around the chair. Then we could change clothes. No changing until after pictures! Holly and I would always, always set the table and fix the drinks. Somehow Grandma always had all the food ready. I don't know how, because she was at the same church , the same time we were. I don't remember ever waiting until like three to eat. (Like my family does on holidays, even though I am cooking for just us!) I don't remember anything ever being burned, like we always have in the Foxx house. I make the same exact rolls she does, but she never had butter running all over the oven like I do, how does that happen? Burned butter smell, yum! (not really!) Anyway, we would hunt eggs forever. She always had just enough plastic eggs, and we smart enough to count them so we would know when we had found them all. There was always an egg hiding in the clothes line post. She had the best yard for egg hunts! After we were older, we would hunt eggs, then ride the golf cart around. All the cousins were there. Holly, Todd, Chad, and Lori. Luckily Lori came along later, so we always had a little one to hunt eggs with. It seemed like for years nothing changed. I guess that is the magic of childhood. I am sure to our parents things were always changing, but to us, it didn't seem that way. I miss that for our kids. We never know where we will be from one holiday to the next! I try to make it the same for us, no matter where we are or who is around. We have our own Foxx family traditions. Hopefully when my kids are grown that is what they will remember, not that we were always in a different house! We are truly blessed, I hope too that I can impress that upon them. I think we always knew when we were little how blessed we were, some things you just don't have to be told.

Easter part two, this year it's all about the dress...

We had a nice Easter. The weather was nice enough. The warmest we have had in Iowa to date, so that was good! Last year we had snow! The highlight for me was making Callie's dress. I really do enjoy sewing and have never had an excuse to make much. I have always begged the boys to go as girls for Halloween so I could make dresses for them, but I never had any takers! I would recommend starting sooner than a week before Easter! Yes, it can be hazardous to your health, or maybe the health of people around you. My family was very patient as I spent every free minute sewing. I think they knew how much I was enjoying it, so they were all excited for me. We ate out too much, and I didn't get enough sleep, but I was happy with the result. This is my first time smocking, it was so fun! The only problem I had is that the DVD a friend loaned me had all the directions for right-handed smocking. Guess what, I am left-handed! So, I did the whole thing right-handed. After I got the hang of it, it wasn't so bad, but I think it did take me a little longer! Of course if I hadn't waited until the week before Easter to start, I would have tried to look up left-handed smocking, but I was afraid to change up anything with such a short time to work. The Internet was a huge help. Any time I had a question about a stitch, I could look it up and find a video someone had done. Made it so much easier! I can't wait to make more things like this. Note, to self, start Christmas dress next week!

We tried and tried to get some good pics, but Callie will not sit still! So, here is what we came up with...

Look how sweet, Garrett getting her dress all straightened up.:)


Notice the blurr as Callie tries to make a run for it.

I think Gannon is getting a little frustrated!



I really wanted her to sit on someones lap, but she was being held against her will.


Finally, she would sit and smile. But, she had to be smack dab in the middle, doing what her brothers were doing!

You can see the dress a little better, and the bonk of her head where she fell off the couch!

She is talking (and moving) in this pic, I'm sure telling me how this was all going to go down.

We tried after church to take some pics outside. This was tricky since it is soooo muddy. There are no flowers blooming around here, so not really a "springy" place to go either. I think we'll try again in a few weeks for some more posed shots.

Look at her sweet curls:)

She's making a run for it, we're done!

Happy Birthday Garrett!

I am a little behind on posting our life, it is a crazy life! The most exciting thing last week was Garrett's birthday. I can't believe he is nine! The best thing about birthdays in our house is that there is no school. Believe me, this was something he was looking forward to for days! I guess by the world's standards, our family birthdays are pretty low-key. Part of this is because I don't really see the point any more. We've done the big blow-up moonwalks, kids running amuck in our house, renting places, renting horses, etc. A lot of stress and money for what? I know, one could say it makes the child feel special, but I'm not so sure. Now that being said, if we were to live closer to our extended family, we would do something bigger. Any time to get family together is important. Hopefully we will live closer some day so Gannon and Callie can have some bigger parties. They have not had all the "stuff" like Kellen and Garrett have. I would hate to carry that mommy guilt around the rest of my life!

Besides no school, the birthday person gets to pick what to do for the day. Garrett wanted to go to Toys R Us and look for a basketball goal. We had an outdoor goal that we didn't bring with us when we moved. There is not really a place for it here, and the boys didn't use it that much. But, Garrett had decided that was all he wanted and was sure he had seen one that he could use inside. He thought if I could just move my curio cabinet out of the living room, he could put it in the corner and wa-la (is that a word?), he would have an instant basketball court. Sorry Garrett, not going to happen!

It happened that Todd was off on Garrett's birthday, April 7, and it was Garrett's turn to go to breakfast with him. So, Garrett started out the day with Todd. Then, we opened gifts and hit the road, in search of the perfect goal. Toys R Us had a goal to go over the door that was not cardboard. The Nerf hoops now are not worth having, or so I am told. Todd apparently had the perfect hoop for his door growing up and "they are not the same" now. So, we bought the not cardboard goal. But, that was not the one he had in mind, so we went to Target, still no goal. So, we went to Wal-mart, not there either. I don't know if the goal he thought wanted was in a dream, or if we just couldn't find it anywhere. Oh well, he has been happy with the goal for the door. It is in the living room, for now. He put it up on the door to the laundry room. We have a new door to put up, so when that goes up, the party is over! He chose to go to Texas Road House for dinner, so we finished the night with dinner out. He thought he would like to go to a movie or something, but there is not anything on worth watching. (Surprise, surprise!) So, doesn't sound like much of a day, but we were all together, which rarely happens. Garrett loves being with daddy, so that was a great present! All in all, a good day!

We did have a lunch pizza party last Friday with our friends Laura, Ryan and Emily. We enjoy spending time together and they have been busy getting their house ready to sell, so we haven't seen much of them the last couple of weeks. And, it worked it well as they had two people wanting to see their house during the lunch hour! It's always fun to stretch your birthday out for a few days too! But, I think Garrett's birthday is over. Gannon's is in May. I think he is beginning to think it will never get here! It's hard to wait through three birthday's to get to yours. Baseball starts this week, so our simple life is over for the next three months. More about that later. Garrett is in his element though, he could play some kind of ball all day every day.

Garrett is such a blessing to our family. He has the sweetest personality, I'm sure he wouldn't want me to mention it, but he does. He is always there with a hug, and is sooo sweet to Callie. He is a lot of fun to be around and does a pretty good job at going with the flow. Something we all need in this crazy house! He is doing great in school this year. He is especially learning more about the Bible, which makes me so proud. Garrett loves to build things, put together things, figure out things. So, these last few months have been great for him, and he has been a lot of help with our house. Lastly, he is a hard worker. If you get him going, he will work away on his chores and even do things he sees that need to be done, without being told! Can't ask for more from a nine-year-old! I still can't believe he is nine-years-old. Makes me sad. I guess I expect Kellen to get older, he's is the oldest. But, the rest of them need to stay little! I can't imagine what it is going to be like for them all to be grown up.

Stay tuned for my next post, how to make an heirloom Easter dress in one week. (Caution, this could be hazardous to your health!). :)

Garrett with his OKC Thunder "guy".

At Texas Roadhouse they have you sit on a saddle and the waitstaff all says "yee-haw". Callie wasn't sure what was going on!

Garrett chose brownie sundaes instead of a cake. He picked out all kinds of sprinkles and toppings for his brownies and ice cream. Yum! Yes, he is all hot and sweaty from playing with his new basketball goal.

A Day In The Life

I have been debating for two days about even mentioning this, and then debating what to call it. It was between a day in the life, or wish I had a camera! I decided to mention it since my kids can't quit talking about it!

I'm calling this post "A Day In The Life" because since we homeschool, we often get the most random questions about our days. I know people do wonder since it is a little against the grain. Let me start out by saying Tuesday was not a typical day (whatever that may be!) We started by leaving the house at 8:45 to go to the dentist. The boys all had appointments. We were up and at 'em and on time, a good start! No cavities, Kellen starts with the orthodontist next week for braces and they have decided Garrett needs to start as well. His poor mouth needs two-phase braces. I think I would have rather paid for a couple of cavities! Our friend Ryan came to observe since he had never been to the dentist and ended up being seen and did great, so we all went to Chick-Fil-A for lunch. Yes, it is lunch time by now.

Chick-Fil-A is our favorite and we have a new stand alone restaurant that has a playground. I don't normally let them play, too many kids, too crazy, I just can't stand it. But, we were a little early today and I had someone to visit with, so off they went. Callie had never been, but you wouldn't have known, she was right in the middle of everything! There was a big curvy slide, she started out coming down with Garrett, but by the time we left she came down by herself with the biggest grin on her face. You could hear her laugh echo through the tunnel of the slide, it was so funny! This is where I wish I would have had my camera. She loved it! I think Kellen was three before he would even go up in the first level of these toys. Callie is a very determined little thing! Of course it helps that she has three brothers looking out for her and helping her!

My windshield wipers had quit working out of the blue, so I called the car shop and they said I could bring it right in since there was a chance of rain all week. Let me just say that sitting at a car place is one of my least favorite things to do. I despise it. I usually try to work this out for Todd's day off so he can go. But, I knew the mechanic was right, windshield wipers really needed to be working. So, off we went. When we got there he said it would be an hour give or take. Now, they have a waiting room. Not the cleanest place to hang out. They have toys, also not the cleanest. There is a TV, always on the most random channel. I spend the whole time wondering if anyone is really watching this or if I should be brave and change the channel. Are you allowed to do this? They have vending machines. Do you know how many times in an hour four kids can ask for something from the vending machine? At least a million. And, it is impossible to sneak something for yourself in a little square room, even if your kids are busy playing with nasty toys. And last but not least, there is always at least one person having a strange conversation on their cell phone for everyone to hear. Do you see what I mean? Ugh! I can't stand it. So, I decided we would walk to the mall.

The mall is essentially across the street, if Kimberly road is a street. (Think NW expressway.) It wasn't freezing, but the wind was blowing. I bundled Callie up and we took off. No sidewalks, but we managed to maneuver the stroller through the grass and to the mall. Of course getting across the mall parking lot took as long as getting the mall. Up and down hills. At least now I wasn't feeling guilty about not getting up and walking on the treadmill that morning! My kids were about to die. Well, except Callie, who was laughing the whole time. Kellen was upset because he said he had good hair that day and it was now windblown! He said he was never leaving home without his spy comb again, or something like that. Some kind of gadget he had. They were just sure we were going to die. Kellen said he felt "HH", helpless and homeless. Then he decided we were like the Boxcar Children, so it was OK. I started to feel a little spoiled as we trudged along. So, of course mommy mode kicked in and I started telling the boys how blessed we were that we had a car to go back and get and then we would be able to go to our warm home, etc. We really don't have to walk anywhere. I wish we could more, but there is not really anything close enough to walk to from our house, except a hospital, and I really don't want to go there. I tried to make sure the kids understood that this was no big deal, we had something we wanted to do and we made it happen. Why not have an adventure every now and then? We laughed and laughed about what daddy would do if he saw us, I'm sure he would have pretended he didn't know us and just kept on driving!

What was really strange, as we were walking, still out by the street, there were bedrolls tied up in some trees. Do you think this belonged to some homeless people? It was really weird to think about. Right there in the middle of town, camping type stuff tied up in trees. It did help illustrate my sermon though. There are people that don't have any choice but to walk everywhere. I hope we can get out of our comfort zone more in the future. Our family is definitely blessed. God has provided more than we need and has given Todd the ability to provide these things for us. I hope I can convince my kids to remember this, so we don't take things for granted.

All in all a good day, not a typical day thank goodness! We didn't get home until 3:45, which is a long day for us. I wish I would have had my camera to document this day. I think days like this are just as important to our lives as the "big" camera days. Kids remember these things! They've talked about this more than going to New York! We got our car fixed and would you believe it still hasn't rained! Our weather people here are not Gary England, to say the least!

Yesterday, back to normal. Trying to get our school lessons finished before baseball season starts, at least most of them anyway. The boys are doing great in their subjects this year, I am very proud of them. This school year has been crazy with moving, but they have hung in there.

So that is a day in our life. At least I can say we never get bored around here!

Callie in her latest mama creation. I'm going to do something different at the top. I don't like that part. It's just a little "pillowcase" dress, there are a jillion variations so I think I can make it look a little better. But, at least she had something different to wear to church. I'm so ready for spring weather! I cannot get the girl to sit still for a picture. I tried to put her on the table, thinking she would not want to move. No such luck, she just climbed up and down the table and chairs like it was a game.