Around Here Lately

Cool Dude in Stride

She has the cat...

About as much moves as she got in dance camp

Attack of the Underwear Monsters

Awake and Static

Mom and Dad actually went on a date for Valentines, dinner and a movie. But, like last year it was only the predecessor to the stomach bug. Yuck!

We are high class with this trampoline in our front yard. The kids love it, but Josey is really not balanced enough to manage it. The big kids were smart enough to move the step ladder outside to use as a ladder, but my little climber figured it out too. DANGEROUS!

More Power Ranger moves

Caleigh before her first basketball game. She is on the Navy team.

Lish on the trampoline

Josiah going after his basketball. I've never had much trouble keeping the other two out of the road, but not him.

More climbing

Caleigh ready for Crazy Hair and Clothes' Night at AWANA

Elisha ready too...but his fohawk didn't work.

Daddy dressed them up like Batman. Didn't he do a nice job?

Caleigh:

• completed 100 Easy Reading Lessons. It took 7 months, from August 2 to March 2. At times I wasn't sure we were going to make, but I'm so proud of her and so relieved it is over. Now she wants to read basic reader by herself. It is a delight to hear her say, "Mommy, look. That says, 'food.'"
• She went to dance camp, which was more painful than anything. The teacher was prepared to teach children her age, and while I think Caleigh can dance, she didn't necessarily cooperate with the instruction.
• She started playing basketball at the Y, and Rusty is her coach. For PeeWee league it actually looks like they're playing ball.
• She has had her first tee ball practice, and my former geometry teacher is her coach, Mr. Miles. Sarah, her cousin, is also on her team.
• She has also begun piano lessons with Ying Chang, a pianist and violinist. She seems to enjoy the lessons, but we're waiting to see if it is worth the time and money for a four-year-old. Right now she needs to learn to clap quarter notes and half notes.
• She is also a professional cat torturer. Poor KitKat can't escape. She has been locking her in her cage the past few days. I've even tried reading Caleigh the book about Duncan and Dolores to show her that cats don't want to play with people who bother them, but it hasn't sunk in yet.

Elisha:

• is officially potty trained. Knock on wood. He had been going peepee and poopoo in the potty pretty consistently for about a month, though I have found myself scrubbing poop off of underwear in public restrooms a few times.
• talks so much better. I think other people can actually understand him now.
• The other day when we told him he had to finish his glass of water before he could have any lemonade (which we didn't think he would do), he told us, "I can't drink because my belly will blow up like the exploding shark on Batman." Hilarious!
• is still teasing me by giving all my kisses away to Granna or whoever else may be near.
• Teases. Teases. Teases. Tonight he told Rusty to put on a vest from Caleigh's dress up clothes because he knew she would scream "No!" And, the other day I found him in the nursery at "school" putting his feet on another boy just to so the other boy would pitch a fit and get in trouble. But, what can I say. He comes by it honestly. Rusty actually has to watch himself from encouraging with Caleigh.
• has been sleeping with a stuffed Woody. Cute.
• actually watches movies with Caleigh. I never though I would see his eyes glaze over like hers do, but it has happened. Praise the Lord they only watch TV on Saturdays (mostly).

Josiah:

• had his 15 month check up today. He weighed 24 pounds and 10 ounces, putting him at the 5o percentile, and he was 30 1/4 inches, putting him at the 5o percentile as well.
• has become a professional climber: the ladder to the slide and the step stool to the trampoline. Yesterday I found him on the top of the dining room table, and today, there he was on top of the bathroom counter. He had gone up Elisha's potty stool, on to the commode, and on to the counter.
• started saying some more words --maybe. I heard him say "Momma," but I don't think he was referring to me. I also think he said "book" at the doctor's office.
• loves to read books, especially if you make animal sounds.
• stands at the cabinet and grunts for food.
• runs in place while shaking his arms.
• still loves his blankie.
• tackles anyone he finds in the floor. He has learned to wrestle from his dad, brother, and sister.

7 Days of Snow in....Cleveland, TN

After 7 days, we still have snow on the ground, but we haven't been out in a few days. Snow is fun, but have you ever tried to dress three small children for it? It takes longer to dress them than they are willing to stay out in it.

Josiah dressed as Rapunzel

During the day, he had told me a secret, "I'm going to give Granna all my "sug" and he tried, but he'll never be able to give it all away.

Elisha on the phone and Kit Kat in the basket.

Caleigh as Rapunzel, frying pan and all

Elisha shoveling snow

Josiah actually down in the snow. The first day he kept crying any time I put him down. The third day he actually got down, but kept toddling, then plopping, toddling, then plopping.

No, snowman. A snow motorcycle, but Elisha didn't like sitting on it. I'm sure it was freezing his crotch.

We didn't have a sled. We tried a garbage can lid, cardboard, and several other objects, but the turtle sandbox lid worked best. Rusty would push the kids down the hill. They would spin a few feet and stop, but they had fun. Josiah and I even tried it.

Caleigh, Little Red Riding Hood. She despised getting bundled up. The first day I left her in the house crying, but she finally decided come out.

Josiah warm in his jammies next to Elisha cold in his undies

Christmas at Dollywood

Season Passes to Dollywood were about to expire...We had been planning to go to Dollywood since September, but we hadn't been able to make it. We wanted to go when the Christmas lights were up, and we finally did. We got down to the last week, and we were planning around the weather, and the weather kept changing, and our days kept changing. Finally, we planned on the 31st, but thankfully, I checked and it was closed. Glad we didn't make that trip.

So, on the 30th we headed out in the mini with our family plus Grandma, Geez-Paw, and Cole.

Under the heart posing, but not quite as perfect as Katie and Dave

The family minus Josiah. My mom kept him for us, which was great considering the freezing temperatures, but I missed him since we were separated two nights.

Everybody but me.

Elisha making a face while Rusty and I were trying to upgrade MJ and Steve's tickets to season passes, which didn't work.

We went to watch Dollywood's Babes in Toy Land, and Elisha passed out. How sweet.

Caleigh and Cole waiting to watch Polar Express. Caleigh didn't wear a coat for about the first two hours in the park. When we got out of the car, she had a Caleigh tantrum over putting on her coat. She was left with Grandma, and I hoped Grandma would sweet talk her into wearing it with me having go down to the battle of the wills. That didn't work out. Grandma let her go with out, thinking she would relent in the cold and put it on. No. Not her.

All of us with the conductor at the Polar Express

Other interesting points of the trip.

• Steve and I walked a mile (almost) to procure chicken fingers for the children. I came back with drinks strapped to my blue jeans.
• I rode in the front seat of Blazing Fury with Cole. Somehow I ended up drenched. My hair, my shirt, my jeans, and I had to walk around in the 30 degree weather like that.
• The kids made it in the car back and forth very well until about the last hour and a half when Caleigh wanted to lie on Cole and he didn't want her to touch him.

Christmas Bliss

Rush. Rush. Busy. Busy. Isn't everyone's holiday season as busy as ours? We started December with 3 church function in less than a week, which only led to more parties, cooking, baking, shopping, wrapping--exhaustion. While we were busy and had to put off some of our normal activities, we tried to point our children to the birth of Christ and the significance of his life. We did a daily, simple advent calendar and the construction paper Jesus Christmas tree we had done in the the past. Even Elisha could say, "Jesus is the bright morning star. Jesus is the lamb of God. Jesus is the Good Shepherd." (I shouldn't be surprised that he is able to do this, but his reluctance to learn his ABCs makes me wonder sometimes.)

The week before Christmas the stomach bug hit, though mildly praise the Lord. I figured all my ungodly anxieties about us all getting sick that I had been having for 2 months were coming to fruition, but thankfully, all were well for the start of Christmas gatherings, which began Christmas Eve Eve with the Mitchells. It was the first of 8 with the other 7 occurring from 4:00 Christmas Eve to 10:00 Christmas Day.

I don't even know what to say about what the kids received. No one needs near as much as they got. Caleigh received a camera, princess suitcase, and a princess barbie-type doll collection. Elisha received a real toolset, camo, guns, and a train set. Josiah received a ride toy, a pushable tricycle, and a Little People zoo set. Rusty was surprised by a Kindle from my parents, and I was surprised by a Shark steam and vacuum, which I took back in hopes of purchasing a Kindle for myself. We are too blessed. I pray that the Lord helps us to bless others in the same way. He is so good.

The Barn at the Langfords

A white Christmas in Chatsworth (and Cleveland). We woke up at about 7:00 Christmas morning and it was snowing. By the time we left our house, we had almost 3 inches in Cleveland. It really didn't lay until later in the day in Chatsworth, but because of the potential for slippery spots on the road we stayed with my in-laws until Monday.

Although everyone dreams of snow for Christmas, our family realized that it can have its negative aspects. My father-in-law and brother-in-law had to work until 3am Christmas Eve and almost all day Christmas day for the city of Dalton cleaning the roads. Not until 8:30 in the evening were they finally convinced by my prompting and reminding them the kids wanted to open presents that it was time to ask to come home.

Jo-Jo giving Elisha a ride on the 4-wheeler Christmas Eve

My mom bought me, my sister, and herself the same pjs for our Philyaw Christmas party, and we had our picture made with my lovely grandmother, Meme.

Caleigh in the zone in front of the TV. Question: Who can guess how much time she wasted in front of the TV during the holiday instead of playing with her new toys?

The boys on the sit-n-spin at Granna and Poppy's. Sometimes they have so much fun together.

Caleigh helping me test out the "Kids & Pets" mode on my camera. It worked better than on Auto. I actually caught her jumping up and down in excitement.

Besides a Barbie container, which still remains questionable on what it is, all Caleigh wanted was a Rapunzel. She received the dress-up outfit Christmas Eve, but she had to wait until the last of 7 Christmas gift opening sessions to receive the the doll. After receiving that all she wanted still was a Rapunzel wig. I made her buy that with her Christmas money.

Daddy Walt with his "littler" grandkids and great-grandkids

You should have seen Caleigh's face as the gifts piled up in Granny's lap. Our lectures on how to politely receive gifts apparently had no sunk in. She didn't understand why Granny received more than she did, but she was glad to help her open some of them.

Josiah's favorite Christmas item: tissue paper. Here he was playing peekaboo underneath it.

Angie (aunt), Katie (sister), Cassie, Kristy (mom), Tonya (aunt)

The Philyaw girls decided to provide some entertainment for our Christmas shindig. We all dressed up 70's to 80's-ish and danced to a certain (rather inappropriate) song. Our family didn't know what to think about us, and all my daughter could do was cry because I hadn't brought her any high heels to wear.

Christmas Card 2010

Vintage Provence Holiday 2011 Christmas 5x7 folded card

Shutterfly has classic, elegant Christmas invitations for your party.

View the entire collection of cards.

Shutterfly: Christmas Card Envy

Let our Shutters Fly.

Ever since I had Caleigh, I have liked sending out photo Christmas cards. There is some good motivation in doing this. I want my family and friends to see how my children have grown. I also believe it is something more memorable than a boxed card, BUT I must admit there are a lot of other less than good motivations going on.

When I try to put together a card for my family, I am automatically comparing it to the cards on the website's illustrations or cards received from friends and family. All the kids on the website's cards are examples of perfection, clean, matching, and smiling, and the kids on the cards from friends and family are a close second. I'm not a professional photographer and my children are definitely not baby models. So, what do I try to do every year when it comes time to capture those sweet moments?

I dress them in the closest to matching outfits, try to situate them in a location that is the least of an eyesore, and then, attempt to get them to all smile at the same time in the same direction. Does this work? No! And, if it did, it would be far from reality. My kids typically have snot oozing from their noses, drool pouring from their mouths, and ketchup dripping from their clothes, and that is only their appearances. Their smiles look more like a clown's smile or a crocodile's grill. They don't want to touch each other and would rather stand on their heads than look at a camera and say "Purple Pizza."

(Side Note: I know the action photos are in, but who wants to see Caleigh whacking Elisha and him trying to tattle or Josiah bombing himself off the fireplace?)

Anyway, this year I hope to fight the envy that arises when I see everyone else's Christmas cards and accept the beauty of the disarray of my children...I will just tell myself everyone else's kids are just as wild and messy as mine...

But, the main reason I'm writing this post is because Shutterfly is offering 50 free Christmas cards for bloggers. I have used Shutterfly before for Christmas cards and was very pleased, more so than when I used other places. And, I can say praise the Lord for this offer because I really didn't have the extra cash built into my Christmas budget. I had planned to design my own, and who knows what would have come of that? Even if they had been presentable, I would have gotten stressed out, feeling I had wasted to much time. But, now I'm going to get to choose from one of the many splendid designs, such as ones below.

This is one of the options I would consider because it has room for multiple photos and place to add captions. So, I could have a picture of each of the three kids and one of them together and be able to write something like, "Caleigh's favorite Christmas movie this year is A Christmas Carol. She thinks Mommy looks like the Ghost of Christmases Yet to Come."

http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery/cards-stationery/sharing-the-love-christmas-5x7-photo-card-5x7-photo?sortType=1&storeNode=93480

This is a classic option with the black and snowflakes. It also has the perfect template for pictures of three children and a family photo.

http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery/holiday-cards/snowflake-wishes-noir-holiday-5x7-photo-card-5x7-photo?fg=2304&sortType=1&storeNode=93480

Another option for three children but with a little more spunk. I may even consider putting in snapshots in the rounded photo slot.

http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery/cards-stationery/our-shining-stars-christmas-4x8-photo-card-4x8-photo?fg=2304&sortType=1&storeNode=93480

I had already had an idea for our Christmas card before I saw this design. I had thought about doing a then and now theme, from last Christmas to this Christmas, and with this design I could have a picture of each child from last year and from this year.

Apparently, I want a card that will capture all of my children as individuals, but I also want to present them (us) as a family. With this card, I would be able to do both.

When I decide, I will post and let you know. I guess it will all depend on the photos I find and the mood I want to convey. But, whatever the end result, please don't turn green with Christmas card envy....it is all in the presentation.