Crayons (and glue, and scissors, and pens, and markers) are for PAPER!!!

So, Lucy (and Reeves) love art projects. We spend hours and hours each day creating new masterpieces. Reeves is very "by the book" with his artistic style (typical first child...stays in the lines, follows the rules, strives for the top).


Lucy, well Lucy is a bit more creative. She likes to push the limits a bit. I was OK with that, until, she decided to venture to more "adventurous" artistry..





Yep, that's crayon on the face. As you can imagine, it took quite a bit of effort to make that crayon stick. Lucy is a determined and strong willed child though. She wasn't takin' NO for an answer.


Not two days after that "crayon to the face" incident did we have a true crisis involving art supplies. This incident turned out to be a lesson in patience, determination, consequences, and forgiveness. Here's what went down....


I had just served the kids dinner and was cleaning up the kitchen when I found the evidence.


Green magic marker strokes all over the white kitchen cabinets. I knew who did it, it was just a matter of getting her to confess to the crime.


"Hey guys", I calmly called from the kitchen. "Who wants to tell me who colored on the cabinets with a green marker?"


Pause.....


"Not me, I promise, IT WASN'T MEEEEE.... I DID NOT DO IT!", Reeves begged and pleaded with all his might. I knew he didn't do it (he can't hold a lie for more than 2 seconds).


A couple minutes later, Lucy says, "Well.....I didn't do it either!" With a tone of sassy determination.....mixed with a teaspoon of G-U-I-L-T!


I knew she did it, but I was gonna start out like I could hold out....


"Well, somebody did it, and there will be NO MORE crayons or markers or glue or pens or ANY art stuff till you tell me who did it".....


"MOMMY! I PROMISE IT WASN'T MEEEEEE!" said Reeves.


(I know sweet boy, but hang on with me on this one...justice will be served!)


"Well, I didn't do it either" came a soft little voice from the same room. Guilt was written all over it.


I needed reinforcements, so I quickly found Chris (who was bathing sweet G) and explained the situation. We decided to really use this as a teaching point, and we were determined to stand firm.


Into the den we went...together.


"So, guys, somebody did this, and you gotta tell us who it was."


Silence...


Reeves was crying and Lucy was sitting over on the couch with a look of wonder and fear and...... GUILT.


After only a few seconds, she fessed up. And what did we do next?


We hugged her, we cheered, we told her how proud we were of her.


Crazy....maybe.


But, for Lucy and Reeves, it was a lesson learned. This was our perfect opportunity to explain forgiveness, and to give them every reason to come to us when they have done wrong.


The last thing in the world that I want is for my children to not tell me when they have failed. I want them to know that I am there, even when they have fallen. I'm not saying it's OK to color all over the cabinets, but, I am sending my kids the message that if they do wrong they can tell me and I will still love them (and next time there WILL be consequences).


Isn't that what God did for us through Jesus? Isn't that what He wants us to do in our lives?


I sure hope so, cause I screw up all the time!

Sunday Rewind: Coffee with Honey

Each Sunday, I will post a Sunday Rewind with an older picture or story.  It will help me give you a little insight into our history and be a virtual walk down memory lane for me and the kids (they love to look through old pictures and to hear stories about when they were little...like they are just so much older now!)

Honey (Chris' mom) sent me this picture and message after reading my last post.  I just had to share it!

"Megan, I found this picture of Lucy drinking her coffee on the porch when she spent the night with me.  She always has to have her coffee in "Granny's Mickey Cup" (I bought it for her when I went to Disney World with Martha and Johnny).  It was really cold that morning so we didn't last too long on the porch!!  Anyway, thought about this picture when you wrote about you and Lucy having coffee.  I love it because I'll ask her what she wants for breakfast and she'll say "I need coffee".....I usually do too!"

That's My Girl!

Sleepless Nights, Flag Football, and Strong Coffee

Greer is still sorta sick.  I have no idea what is really going on with her, and I am trying to not make it more than it is.  She acts pretty normal during the day, but the nighttime is pure H-E-Double Hockey Sticks!  I can't decide if it's teething or headaches or just an 8 month old not wanting to miss a thing!  She has been waking up almost hourly for the past 4 nights, and I am beyond tired.  I worked yesterday, and I have to admit that I was praying for my patients safety....just kidding, it wasn't really that bad.  

Today I did get a GREAT nap (and some delicious Cracker Barrel grub), and I really feel better tonight.  I'm trying to be positive, and hoping for a good night tonight.  It really can't get much worse!

Even with all the misery related to my Greer-Goo (that's our little nickname for her), today was a very fun day.  We kicked off the flag football season with great enthusiasm, despite a rainy start.  Reeves and Chris were beyond pumped, and after some strong coffee and a good hot shower, Lucy and I were good to go (yes, I let my daughter enjoy a bit of coffee with me from time to time.....it is one of God's greatest gifts :) !

Check out that intensity!  He is in the ZONE!  Chris was in the zone, too, and it was so much fun to watch.  The Refs were so funny and loved our team enthusiasm!  Chris and Keith have got the kids doing all sorts of cool plays with names like "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" and "Peanut Butter and Jelly"....it is absolutely hilarious.  

Here are a few of the boys after the game....you would never guess they lost this one!  Oh well, it was just the first game!  It's not winning the game that matters anyway...it's just about having fun.  And when you're 6 and 7, playing football in the rain is about as fun as it gets!!!

Go Titans!!!

Greer is a sick little baby today...

Please pray for sweet Greer tonight.  She has been running fever since yesterday afternoon, and the fever will just not go away.  She is still running 101 degrees despite constant medications.  It just breaks my heart!  She cried out at least every hour or two last night, and today she has been miserable.  I think her head hurts because she keeps hitting it and screaming....I just held her a cried with her this afternoon.  

Dr. I says she just has a yucky throat (no strep), swollen lymph nodes, and the fever.  Her blood work looked fine, so there is nothing more to do than treat the fever and wait it out.  I've just been trying to keep her comfy.  She had her first popsicle today, and all the fruit she could eat.  It was the only thing she wanted.  

On top of it all, she is cutting a top tooth....poor sweet baby.

I hate when my babies are sick!

She's crying again.....

Now that the dishwasher is running....

I am finally sitting down for what seems like the first time today!  I look forward every night to that final chore of the evening, and when I hear the sweet hum of the dishwasher and turn out the kitchen lights I know it's time to relax a little....ahh!

Greer had her first day of Mother's Day Out today.  Here in the South, Mother's Day Out is a very popular, economical, and safe environment for little ones.  Let's face it....it's heaven on earth!  It's sort of like a 4 hour playdate without Mommy (but with 2 sweet grandmothers).  Greer spent the morning with Mrs. Christy and Mrs. Linda and 4 other little boys (a couple of them were already friends).  Yep, she was the only girl today....and she showed 'em who was boss!  She did wonderfully, and it was nice to get my errands run without having to drag her in and out of stores.  She got a great nap in her own little crib, and made some new friends.  

I think it is going to be nice for both of us and I couldn't be happier with the program (at a local church).  I plan to use these 12ish hours each week to run errands, attend to personal appointments (i.e. the essentials like pedis and eyebrow waxes and maybe some dental upkeep), volunteer at the other kid's schools, and one day a week I will work in Labor and Delivery (Chris will work from home those days and MDO will give him some quality work time).  Not to mention, it's the start of her social life! 

 Good times!  

After dropping Greer off, Chris and I came back home.  I had intended to get right to the errand running, but I was not as prepared as I had hoped.  I have been putting off the CVS trip because frankly I'm a little bit overwhelmed by the whole thing.  I organized my coupons and made my list and was off to bite the bullet.  It turned out pretty well I think, and I came away with $27 in Extra Care Bucks...I can't wait till next week.  When I get all the kinks worked out I plan to give you a little bit more details about the ins and outs of how I'm doing with it!

Well, my CVS adventure took me up till about 11:20....and I had a long list of other things to get done.  I headed to the mall to purchase a new glass turntable for my microwave (it exploded in an unfortunate incident several weeks ago....it's just amazing that the entire microwave wasn't lost in the mishap), but Sears doesn't carry them.  I decided not to let my mall trip be completely pointless and so I headed for Children's Place to buy Lucy some new socks for school.  Around here, we live in sandals and flip flops and crocs in the Summer.  For almost a month now, Lucy has been wearing socks that are absurdly too small....it is getting kind of embarrassing.

Since I was close to the food court, I decided that a Chick-fil-a salad was in order.  Had I known what was about to transpire, I might have decided to eat in my car like any other sensible lone diner.  But, no, I made the decision to eat alone....in the food court.  

I hate eating alone...especially when I am in a hurry.  I feel like I look like some ravenous fool gobbling down the last supper.  So, what could make this any worse?  Try CHOKING on your food.  Yep, I choked.  In the mall.  By myself.  That's all the details you are gettting because it was beyond humiliating (and if you know me and read this you are not at all surprised that this happened to me)!  I will eat in my car from now on (and if you see me choking, please call 911)!

After the mall, I had exactly 30 minutes to get a few things from Costco.  If you know me at all, you know that Costco is probably my favorite store.....ever.  I really should be on their payroll.  I can drop $500 in no time, and that is why I have discovered that when it comes to Costco, I need limits.  I must follow a list and only have 30 minutes to shop.  I did really well today...really well.  My plan is working so far.

I loaded up and headed off to pick up all my girls.  Today we had the pleasure of spending some time with sweet Skylar.  Her Daddy is Alan Henley, the man I have asked you to pray for (check out his caring bridge site over on the right), and her Mommy had a really tough day today.  Please pray for Jennifer and Alan....they are simply precious and have amazing faith!  I am confident that God has unbelievable things planned for their future, and I can't wait to see it!

We headed to storytime at our local library with Miss Katie Jane.  She is phenomenal, and the girls had a great time.  We ran in to lots of dear friends, and it was just a wonderful time.  I just love my little town!

This afternoon we played and played and played some more.  I continued my tomato/basil/feta obsession with a yummy chicken dish, and the kids LOVED it.  Chris had to head to Florida for business, so the nighttime routine was a bit exhausting, but pretty smooth.  I've resorted to bathing Greer in the sink lately, and I am wondering why I never thought of this before....we both love it.

So, it was a great day, and I need to go now.  I'm looking forward to hearing Sarah Palin's speech in a few minutes......

Have I mentioned that I really LOVE her!?

New Name....But Not Really!

I officially have a Domain Name!  You can easily access the blog now by typing in 

www.holdituptothelight.com

 I have always wanted to change the name, and today I finally figured out how.  But, have no fear!  You can still reach it through the old link.

It was simply divine intervention that the name was not already taken.  I plan on explaining the meaning behind it sometime in the next few days.  Some of you have probably figured it out, but there are a few details that may help you to understand me a little better.  It basically sums up how I am choosing to live my life here on earth...

I realize that I change things a lot here, but I'm just still trying to figure out everything I want the blog to be.  Don't be surprised if you continue to see changes in the coming days.  I want it to be a reflection of the things I am passionate about while also being fun, interesting, and easy to navigate.   

If you haven't figured it out already, I have a lot going on in my head pretty much all the time....

I'm just hoping that the things I write and post about make any sense at all!  

More later!

A Wonderful Day Brought to You in Part by....

Sticker charts!



I'm not above a little bribery. It is one of the most powerful parenting tools out there, in my humble opinion. Especially when it is positive reinforcement for good behavior and a docking system in the event of not so good behavior.


In our house, it is working like a charm. The kids have responded to it like Gang Busters, and I've gotten a little bit more control back. They choose the prize, and I hand out or take away the stickers. Here are some examples of sticker worthy events:


Going to bed without a fight
Staying in bed all night, without coming to get in bed with Mommy or Daddy
Picking up your toys
Brushing teeth and Dressing for school after only being asked one time
Entertaining Greer for a few minutes so Mommy can get something done
Playing well together (no hitting, screaming, shoving, biting...etc..)
Putting dishes in the sink and clothes in the hamper without being asked
And, whatever else Mommy or Daddy deems worthy of a sticker


It has made for a great day!