When we purchased this house it had a drainage problem in the back yard – a couple days after a good rain, water would stand in the backyard…at the walk through we said fix it. Despite the efforts of Lennar or their sub contractors the water issue remained. Until now…after about 4 months of the back patio area being a mess I finished the project.

I poured 3-4 yards of concrete, stamped, & colored it. And I added a drain to send water to the ditch in the back of the yard. This was my first experience with stamping and coloring concrete. It’s not great but it’s only concrete. Take a look at the pictures from the project.

We have been trying to get Isaac's Christmas program formatted and downloaded for a couple of weeks now, but have encountered multiple glitches. But at last, though not of fabulous quality, here it is!! :)

This is the very first thing that Isaac has ever performed in, and we weren't sure if he would retreat, stand quietly, show off, or what. Not too surprisingly the 'or what' happened. Chris claims that in true form, just like his mother (though she protests this), he hammed it up and stole the show. With the intermittent 'shout-outs' to mama, the 'look what I can do' tricks, the purposeful singing of the wrong words and overall just being cute. If you watch nothing else - you have to catch the last minute where he comes up with his own personal closing move. Not sure who decided to put him front row center stage, but am sure they might be questioning that choice.

There is one particular four letter word that I really do not like. I'm never offended if someone else uses it, but I resist it at all costs. That is until days like today - HELP! I know, I know - I can't beleive that I said it either. :) I love being a mama! More so than I ever thought I would. I love to wrestle on the floor. I love to make up songs about going potty or getting dressed. I love to be silly. I love to cuddle with them on the couch and I love singing them to sleep at night. And don't get me wrong - I'm not trying to brag, but apparently I am a pretty cool mom because my baby girl can't get enough of me. Seriously, she loves her mama to a fault. I would say she is in a stage of experiencing seperation anxiety, but I think that might be something of an understatement. She is not a fan of hanging out with others - especially if I am near by - even her poor daddy gets fussed at when he trys to love and hug on her. She has even taken to chasing after me. When I set her down to play in the den and I go to cook in the kitchen she makes the long journey to come lay at my feet. Even now as I type this she is pulling herself up my back, standing by me and hugging my shoulder. (Side note - my seven and half month old went over to the steps a few minutes ago and stood herself up - ah!!! Baby girl is determined not to be a baby!). Now I know that this is just a phase and that day will come quickly enough where she is 'over' mom. :) And I also know that this is to be expected because she has full access to noone but me 24/7, but does anyone have any suggestions of how to make this a bit easier on her (and me)? We never experienced this with Isaac - so I am in foriegn territory here and weary of hearing that she was the 'worst' one in nursery because she was fussing for her mama. Especially because she is a very content and laid back kind of gal. Any thoughts, suggestions or prayers (haha) are welcomed.

This past week was a big one for my little man! On Tuesday last week he began his first day of preschool. From now until May - he will go two days a week for three hours a day. Chris was off last week and was able to help me both drop him off and pick him up. It was a big day. I think I caught a glimpse of the kind of year we are in for when on Tuesday I picked him up and his teacher said, 'Isaac sure taught us a lot of songs today' and then on Thursday remarked that he had had a much better day. Oh dear! He loves it though and I am excited for the many ways he will grow and learn.

 This week also marked 'moving up' Sunday for Isaac - where he moved from the toddler room to the preschool room. Of course, it was my Sunday to volunteer in the toddler room and I found myself tearing up - missing my little man. Now I have never been one of 'those' moms - never overly excited about bumps or bangs and always quick to tell my tender hearted boy to 'dry it up'. The realization of how quickly they grow up, especially with a seven month old who is trying hard to stand up, kind of snuck up on me this week. I am excited to see what the Lord has in store for these two, just wishing it would happen a little more slowly.

This weekend was so much fun. The four of us traveled to West Virginia to see Tim and Emily's house and spend some time with them. Something that we hadn't been able to do and so terribly missed!! The extra cool part about it was that Chris' mom and dad, and younger brother John and his sweetheart Nicole came up too. We spent almost the entire weekend talking and playing hand-and-foot (to which Emily finally broke her 9 year losing streak - you go girl!) It was so cool to play and laugh together (turns out I can rock to 'guitar hero' and actually not get booed off of the stage - pretty cool - and of course I'm hooked on the game). We got to worship together - which is always a high for me - and I even got to sit and listen to Tim preach to his teens. (I am so proud of you by the way). For those of you who have spent even two seconds with me anytime lately you will know that the void of family has been heavy on my heart - so this weekend just rocked!! I am so terribly proud to call these guys my family.

Tim and Emily - I love you all more than I can express. I am so proud of the heart that you each have for Christ, for the way that you are caring for the teens of your church and the children of your community. I cannot wait for my little niece or nephew to come on the scene - no child will ever quite have been loved like this little one will be. Keep us up on the adoption! John - Nicole is a sweetie and I can't wait to get to know her more. I'm proud of all that you are doing to further the kingdom for Christ as you grow closer to Him as well. I love you all - thanks for the awesome weekend. Mom and Dad - thank you for allowing the kids and I to come crash your world for a few weeks. We love you so much. Chris - Thank you for the man that you are - my best friend. And the awesome job that you are doing as father to our two angels. And for the gift of your family - only you truly know what it means to me. I miss you terribly and can't wait to see you when we get home!

Many people have asked me what it is like to now be a stay-at-home mom. While it took some adjusting at first (primarily becasue I was detoxing from a 50+ hour a week job and was pregnant) - I feel like I've gotten into a rhythm and absolutely love it. The one thing that I do miss however is adult conversation!! Don't get me wrong - Isaac is quite engaging - but it's just not quite the same as 'girltalk'. For example - here are a few of today's main topics...

    * My tummy's telling me I'm hungry (self explanatory)
    * I need a possible to feel me better (I need a popsicle to help me feel better).
     * I'm dancing with my peepee (Please don't ask).

It's these types of conversations that get me excited/nervous for what tomorrow holds! :) And keeps me loving life with my babies! (However, anyone up for a little 'girltalk' - feel free to give me a shout out any ol' time!!) :)

Each night - we go through our normal bedtime routine and part of that is to pray. We have been trying to pray for our family by name so that we can plant that seed in Isaac, as there are several he has never met and all are hours away. My favorites that he prays for our 'Grandma Great' and 'Tuncle Tim'.  :)

Okay, now I do have a quick question to both sides of the family. I am trying to fill in Lacie's baby book and I have hit a glitch on the family tree. I need to know the full names of both sets of great-grandparents - in other words both Chris and my grandma and grandaddy Lacy, Cooke, Powell and Cinnamon. I have at least one name of each great-grandparent - but they have slots for first, middle and last names. And being a very melancholy, anal, and detail oriented kind of gal - it's driving me CRAZY to have these empty blanks. So any help would be much appreciated. :) I hate to be exclusive so those of you not in the family are welcome to guess. :)

Last weekend Grandma and Papa Cinnamon were here (and Grandma Great) - and they helped Chris build a swingset/slide for the kids. And just yesterday, Chris put all of the finishing touches on it. Now for those of you who don't know - we have a motto in our home - 'Go big or go home!' I am proud to say that my Christopher has upheld this creed to it's full extent in regards to this slide. Do you remember the movie 'Crocodile Dundee' where he says 'That's not a knife. This is a knife.' and he pulls out this mini-machete from his back pocket? Well, everytime I pass by my living room window I can't help but think of that line - only I have tweaked it to say 'that's not a slide...this is a slide!' It is huge, but Isaac absolutely loves it and it's massive size (especially in comparison to his little frame) doesn't frighten him a bit. Me, on the other hand...I get 'seasick' on the swing. :) It's awesome though - all are invited to come play!!

This week has been a lot of fun for Isaac because his buddy Joshua has come over to play and spend the day with him three different days (Monday, Tuesday and Today). Then to top that off we went on a playdate with Joshua, his mama Jenny, their baby girl Emma and our baby girl Lacie yesterday at the Charleston Children's Museum (an extremely cool place for those of you who live here in SC). In fact I felt like 'super mommy' yesterday because after a fun morning playing at the museum we had to go straight to the doctor's office for Lacie's two month check-up. Where we found out that our little girl - well, isn't so little. :) 24 inches and 12.3 pounds. 90-95 percentile for her age. WooWee! After long naps from both of them, we all trecked off to the YMCA for mom and dad to have some time to exercise. It was a hopin' day and a rather successful one at that.

So riding that high, today I thought to myself - I will put on my 'super mommy' underoos and fly through the day again. I will take all three kids out shopping. So I lined the back seat with carseats and piled everyone in. Having my handy dandy cracker supply and multiple sippy cups filling the center console - we were off and running. First to the dump- yeah the dump (don't knock it til you try it!), then off to Target or as it is affectionately known in our home the 'popcorn store'. About the time we reached the store - Lacie decided she was hungry. No problem. Parking at the far end of the parking lot I pulled her out and from the front seat proceeded to entertain the boys with every song that I knew of - filled with silly faces and funny noises I soon had the back seat giggling without control. Super mommy to the rescue. Finishing quickly we headed into Target and to one of their 'monster' carts. Sitting both boys in their seats and Lacie in the front basket, quickly buying our $1.09 popcorn combo we were off and rolling yet again. The boys sweetly shared their popcorn - Isaac would hand Joshua a piece 'Tank oo Isaac' 'Oh, you're welcome Joshua', all while Lacie sat bright eyed cooing and smiling at the lights overhead - sweetness oozed from the cart. Slowly I walked the aisles collecting only a few necessities and daydreaming about the things I wished I could buy. It was a lovely time. We checked out and made our way back to the car where Lacie realized that she was tired and would not be settled down with a mere pacifier. Placing the boys in their seats, giving them their cups and remaining popcorn - I gently rocked and sweetly sang Lacie to sleep. Super mommy rides again. We were soon on our way home when I heard a panicked voice from the backseat. "I got to pee!' This is not good. There is no way that I can pull over, unbuckle all three babies - hurridly make it inside somewhere and get him on a potty without an accident. What do I do? This is just not good. I actually thought to myself - maybe he can hold it - okay not a particularly smart thought. The crys and screams from the backseat quickly escalated as the poor child was doing everything in his power to try and hold it. I looked back to see a true look of fear and terror on his face and really could only imagine what was going through his head. So doing the only thing a 'super mommy' could do - I pulled the car over to nearest parking lot, flung him out of his seat, stripped him bare for all to see and loudly demanded 'PEE'! I can only imagine what people veering out of their windows must have thought. Of course I had no dry clothes for the boy (there was some leakage) - so I promptly placed my bare butt child back in his seat. And we have now made it home. Needless to say I think my 'super mommy underoos' now have a shot elastic band and I, like the children, am ready for a nap!

It’s been a nice stay, but we are ready to go home. I would recommend this hospital as a great place to have a baby to anyone; my only complaint is the same complaint that you hear time and time again – the food is terrible. I’m pretty sure that’s why they have Subway and Chick-Fil-a on the first floor.  

I have to tell one funny story on myself… Sarah has generally been the one changing the diapers as needed. This little girl has been really ‘moving’ if you get my drift. This morning I was about to hand Lacie to Sarah to eat and Sarah said check her diaper. It was loaded –again- so I started the process of getting her changed. Moments later there was a knock at the door and all of the sudden we had an audience of six – the head pediatrician, 3 students and a nurse. The pooh at this point is really like black tar and sticky. Additionally, little girls have lots of little places for it to get stuck. I was struggling to be gentle and get her clean. I probably used about 15 wipes – they kept getting stuck together and would not come out of the package. Lacie was doing her morning aerobics, moving her feet like crazy and of course screaming at the top of her little lungs. I could feel the sweat bubbling on my brow as the pressure mounted with all these people looking on. It wasn’t like they talking amongst themselves while this process was taking place. Nope – dead silence (except for Lacie) and all eyes on me. I finally got her clean and went to put the new diaper on and she sprang forth like a little fountain. Now her little shirt is wet, the blanket is wet, the couch is wet, I’m wet, and bonus - I have to start over with the wipes. The pediatrician said, “Havin’ a little trouble there, (major understatement) don’t worry you will be an old pro at this in a couple of days.” I smiled sheepishly as I handed Lacie to him – glad that moment was over.