Conversations of the week!!

I have not typed much this week, because it has been a pretty event-less time. However, there are two conversations that I had with Camon this week that must be recorded.

I do not know if I mentioned this before, but Camon has a girlfriend. Now, this is not by his admission, of course because girls are "nasty". But, he calls her his "best friend". She is about the only one that he talks about from school on a daily basis and at the fall carnival the two of them chased each other all night and giggled the whole time. That night, Isabelle and Hannah met and became partners in the chase game. Anyway, yesterday I overheard Camon telling Isabelle, "Oh! Hannah told me to tell you hi." Now Isabelle and Hannah have only met that one time and it was a month ago, so I think Hannah must have it bad for my son. She is a smart girl, win the sister over and you have it made. Anyway, Isabelle told him to tell her hello back. He then said, "Well, it would be nice if you would draw her a picture and I will take it to her." What a romantic - get sister to draw a picture and take it to get the credit. He is already learning. Anyway, I am a little worried about this crush, but it is so cute at the same time.

Then this morning he was being an angel getting ready for school. He usually is a little sluggish that early. I said, "Camon you are being so sweet." He said, "That's because I don't want to be on the naughty list." I had to laugh. Christmastime brings out the best in kids.

Camon got his first report card yesterday. He made all S's (which is the highest that he could score). I was so proud of him.

Tonight Isabelle is spending the night with her best friend, Sydney. This is the first time that she is staying away from home with someone who is not family. I am a little nervous but she is so excited. I just hope she makes it all night without her bubby!!!!

The MORE TERRIBLE threes!!!

Whoever coined the phrase "terrible twos" obviously did not have a child that lived to be three. My sweet, precious little girl can turn into something out of my worst nightmare in 1.5 seconds.

Last night, she decided that she was scared of the dark. She cried for us for a while and so I sent Clint in to her room. He stayed for a while trying to convince her it was okay. Then, he finally left out of there thinking that she would stay. Well, she did not. She has never gotten out of bed after we have said prayers and gotten kisses. Well, she did last night. She came to our room crying and begging to sleep with us. She first tried, the "I am scared". When she realized that we weren't buying that, she said that she was cold. When that didn't work either, she said ,"Really, I just do not like sleeping with kids." She sleeps with Camon still. I had to cover my face and laugh. Clint asked her who she wanted to sleep with and she said, "Big Kids." Well, she meant us, but I would not classify us as big kids, but she tried. I let her stand there a while and beg and then I took her to her room and put her back in bed. She cried LOUDLY for the next few minutes. I could hear Camon whispering to her, but could not understand what he was saying. This morning, I asked him if he finally convinced her not to be scared and he said, "I really tried, but she finally just cried herself to sleep."

Well, she did not wake up any better. She got dressed, let me brush her teeth, and comb her hair and just as I thought all was going well..... She decided that she did not like her shoes. So, I told her to go change them. She did, but then as we are walking out the door she realizes that she doesn't want those either. So, I send her back in her room and tell her to find the ones she wants. I walked Camon to the car and went back in for her. The child that I left in the room and the one that I came back to were 2 totally different people. She was in the floor screaming at the top op her lungs with tears and snot everywhere. I asked her what was wrong and she yelled, "I wanted to get in the car first." I tried to explain that would have happened had she just worn the shoes that I originally put on her. She started kicking and I think I saw her head spinning. She pushed her dresser about 6 feet and almost knocked it over. She started throwing shoes. Needless to say, I was not happy and let her know it. It did not matter what I did, the fit did not stop. I then grabbed her up, got the first pair of shoes that she had on and went to the car. She screamed and gagged all the way to school (30 minutes). Getting into class was not much better. I feel sorry for the young girl that I left her with. I am guessing that she got over it though, because I have not gotten a phone call to get her. She did go in without shoes, though!!!!

I hate to bring up the bad things for the world to see, but I want this here so that I am not giving you a one sided story. And, because we tend to forget the bad things as our kids grow up, but I want this in writing so that I can share this with her children one day. They say parents pay for their own sins from childhood - Clint must have REALLY been bad!!!!

Be Thankful !

I started thinking about all of the things that I am thankful for this year, and the list is just so long. In many ways, this has been a very tough year for me. But, God is so good, His love never fails. The following is a list of just a few things that I have to be thankful for this year (besides the obvious Clint, Camon, Isabelle, Family, Faith, Friends, Health, Material Blessings, Freedom):

1. I am thankful for snoring, because it reminds me that I have a husband sleeping right beside me each night.
2. I am thankful for spousal disagreements, because making up is so much fun.
3. I am thankful for a messy house, because it reminds me that I have two wonderful kids who make that mess. (and a husband who knows that there are more important things in life than having a spotless house)
4. I am thankful when the kids jump on the furniture, because it means that they are healthy and able to jump and run.
5. I am thankful that Isabelle cut her hair, dented Clint's hood, put baby powder all over my living room, and that Camon got in a fight at school, hates homework, slammed his finger in the door; because this will forever be memories.
6. I am thankful for peanut butter and jelly, because it means that I do not have to cook if I do not want to.
7. I am thankful for clothes that fit too snug, because it means that I have enough to eat.
8. I am thankful for a lawn that needs mowing and repairs that need to be made, because it means that I have a house.
9. I am thankful for laundry, because it reminds me that we have clothes to wear.
10. I am thankful for the military, because it gives me free speech and the right to serve the Living God. (and men in uniforms)
11. I am thankful for the scent of a skunk, because it means that my nose works (okay, that one is stretching it).
12. I am thankful for people who sing off key, because it means that I can hear.
13. I am thankful for income tax, because it means I have a job (a smaller percentage would be nice, though).
14. I am thankful for my aches and pains, because it means I am still alive.
15. Most of all, I am thankful that there is a God in Heaven who loves us so much that He sent His Son to die on the cross and rise again so that we may have eternal life.

Isabelle's First Real Haircut !

Isabelle has had several "trims" before. But, last night Uncle Justin's girlfriend, Kara, came over and we all got haircuts. Isabelle wanted hers short. So, I let her. Her daddy agreed to it, but I could tell he was not really excited about it. She loved it though. She kept grinning and touching it. She even told her cousins not to touch it because they would mess it up. Camon got his cut, too. That is the one of the things that he truly hates, but he did not give her too much trouble.

The GRIN...









The CUT...









The PROUD smile...









The BACKSIDE...









Camon's CUT... (Doesn't he look happy!)









Are we done YET?????

Stage Fright Breakthrough !!

I am proud to report that Camon and Isabelle finished a play last night at church with, get this, NO TEARS!!!! This was truly a breakthrough for them. The play was "Acorns to Oaks" and it was about growing children in the Lord. It was really cute. Camon was in the children's choir (no major parts for him yet!) and Isabelle was an acorn. They were so cute.




The day before, Camon started whining about how he hated to sing and he was too scared to do a program. I asked him to go to dress rehearsal for me. He said, "Okay, but I am not going to sing and I am not going to do the motions." I told him that was fine. All I asked was that he did not cry and that he left his neighbor alone. He said okay! Of course I told him that he could get a "prize" if he did this - for me - of course. Clint thinks that it is terrible that I "make" them do this. But, I just kept thinking that they would grow out of their shyness on stage. I think we are headed in the right direction. He made it through dress rehearsal. And, true to his word he did not sing and did not do the motions, but he stayed up there, so I am proud. I took several pictures though, because I was sure that we would not make it through the real thing. Much to my surprise he did. There were several times that his mouth would be slowly singing the words and then he would realize it and stop. He could not help it, he wanted to sing but wanted to be shy at the same time. Right before the last song, he asked one of the ladies helping them, "Isn't this the last song?" When she said yes, the little toot started singing every word and doing every motion. Either it took him a while to get started, or he was just being stubborn. On the way home, he said "Momma. Programs aren't so bad after all. Especially that one, I liked it."










Isabelle on the other hand, wanted to go to do the play. But, when we got to dress rehearsal she would not go up on the stage with the other acorns for the first song. I thought, here we go. But, then for the next 30 minutes she asked when the acorns would get to go back up there. When they went up for their second song, she was the leader and she sang every song with every motion. When we got there last night for the real thing, she started crying 10 minutes before the start and I just knew it was over. (She had refused to take her afternoon nap.) But, MawMaw saved the day. She came in the choir suite and offered her gum. Nothing gets to that girl like gum. She immediately dried it up and went in the church and put on her best performance. I was so proud of her.



Maybe they will not be afraid the next time that they are "forced" to perform. But, who knows with kids, they are so moody!!! (I guess they get that from me!)

My little Indian Squaw!

Have you ever had a child that cried anytime that they were up in front of people? How about 2 children???? EVERY time that my kids have had a program, whether singing, speaking, or just going up to get an award, they CRY! I am not talking a little tear, I am talking cry, scream a little, and then do the gasping for air thing that makes everyone feel so sorry for them.

Isabelle had a Thanksgiving Day program today and then we (Me, Clint, Mimi, and Deda)ate lunch with her. It was a small group, just her class and their parents/grandparents. She was not even on a stage - just standing on the floor in front of our table. But, she cried uncontrollably. I felt so sorry for her. But yet, do not understand it. It has never bothered me to get up and show off in front of a crowd. I guess they both got their daddy's shyness. We have not yet made it through a program where they did not cry. Clint wants me to stop making them do things, but I keep thinking they will grow out of it. I am beginning to think NOT!!!!

Oh well, she was the cutest little Indian "Squaw" that I have ever seen.



She walks through the door, looking away from the crowd, we all know that look - she's about to cry!!!!





She Cries!!!!!

Mrs. April to the Rescue!!!

Playing afterwards with her bestest friend - Sydney!!!

Aren't they cute!!!!!!!!!

Isabelle and Mimi!!!

Weekend Fun!

I am not sure that we will see Winter this year. This past weekend definitely did not feel like November. It was beautiful, but just not what you expect in November. We took advantage of it, and spent the majority of the time outside.

Friday night we had a bonfire at our house for the youth at our church. It was rather warm for a fire, but it was fun just the same.










Isabelle and Camon in front of the bonfire.



They call me the fireman...










We're gonna need a big stick to fight the boys off ...
Katie, Isabelle, Lacie, Rayley, and Jordan


Saturday we spent all day out in Deda's and Mimi's boat. We fished a little, but mostly just rode part of the lake/river that we had never been down. It was a beautiful, relaxing fall day. I enjoy those times with my family.










Dad teaching me how not to hold you're tongue when fishing.











Isabelle and Lacie ..................................................................Silly faces!










Playing in the minnow bucket.............................................You want me to kiss the WHAT????

Heavenly Conversations!

Isabelle has really been talking about Heaven al ot since I took her to my uncle's funeral. It is kind of neat that so many times adults focus on death, but not kids. She talks about what is in Heaven and each night when she prays she says "And, thank you for Heaven that we will go to one day. Where Grandma, and MamMaw Phillips,and Uncle Dennis are there." It is so sweet to hear.

The most detailed conversation that my children have had lately about Heaven, came from Camon. We were driving one day and out of the blue, he said, "Momma. When you die your spirit goes to heaven and you bury your body, right?" me - "Yes." C-"Then when Jesus comes back to earth to get us, your spirit will come back and get your body. But it will be all new and not hurt anymore. We will not cry or hurt." me - "That's right." C - "Well, when Jesus died on the cross and then went to Heaven did His body go with His Spirit or did it stay here?" me - "Well, it went with Him." C - "Oh! So that is why they could not find Him in the tomb?" Me - "Yes." C- "So, our spirit will find our body. Did Uncle Dennis have a pet? Is there a place for pets in Heaven?" me- "Well, they do not have a soul like humans do, but I am not sure of the answer to that." C - "I bet that God has a heaven for pets, because He wants us to be sooooo happy there and some people will want there dogs there to be happy." me - "Maybe so." C - "So, maybe your spirit will go get your body and then it will go to the dog place and get your pet and live forever in Heaven." Me - "Maybe so." C - "Momma, that is the most awesomest thing I have ever heard." (said with a huge smile) I teared up and was so excited to see that he was thinking about these things and was expecting the return of Christ. I need that expectation!!!!!!

I need to learn from them to be focused on the things above rather than staying so bogged down in earthly living.

And the Winner IS...

Last night Camon had a PTO fundraiser at the local city park. They had a hayride, food, and games for the kids. They also had a pumpkin carving contest. This was for the kids of all ages, my 31 year old husband to be exact. He helped Camon carve a pumpkin that Camon described as a scarry boy with spiked hair. It was cute. However, the big kid went all out. He carved a very detailed LSU Tiger (or Wildcat if you go wanted it to be Camon's school mascot). He did this by looking at a tiger that he had on one of his hats. He is so talented and creative - too bad pumpkin carving wouldn't pay much! And, yes I know that Halloween has passed and wondered why in the world they would have a pumpkin carving contest AFTER Halloween. But, then I remembered that they pushed the time change back a week this year and if we would have ahd the contest last week, then it would not have been dark enough. I guess they knew what they were doing after all. Anyway, "they" won first place. Actually the LSU Tiger won, but Clint made sure that Camon was not upset about his daddy beating his masterpiece. It turned out pretty neat!!!!

It was really cold though (and we had not expected it) so we only stayed about and hour and a half. Camon is definitely a hit with the girls, though. Everwhere we went they were saying, "Heeeeeyyyyyy, Camon." And he was either chasing them or they were after him. What can I say, he has his daddy's charm. I remember chasing him in the 7th grade. Boy that was a long time ago!

Things I have learned since becoming a MOM !!

• Children mean sacrifice : money, sleep, free time, daddy time, cleaning house time, friend time, did I mention money? Actually, I have come to realize that it is not really a sacrifice. There is tons of payoff. Like when you are driving down the road and your child says, "Momma, I love you" for no apparent reason. Or, when they say "Momma, you're beautiful." Or when they just open up their arms and give you the biggest heartfelt hug and kiss that they can possibly give. There is no sacrifice too big for those moments.


• Children are like sponges. Their little brain never stops learning and growing. It amazes me the things that my kids know at ages 6 and 3. Sometimes I think that they are smarter than me. And, they always remember EVERYTHING, especially the things that you would rather they forget. And they are no doubt smarter when it comes to technology. They can use the computer, take pictures on a camera cell phone, play video games, and work the tv/dvd player much better than I can.


• Children fill your house with love, joy, happiness, and toys!!! You loose all the desire that you ever had to clean them up, too. Who cares they will just be out again in 5 minutes. And, it is amazing how they multiply when they are out of the toybox. You can never fit it all back in there again. And keeping the car clean... Ha! There is no way.


• Children can sometimes get out of your sight. Code ADAM is the signal called from the loud speaker when a child has come missing in a store. Not only do they call attention to the fact that there is a missing child, but people get really angry when the doors lock and they can not leave or enter the store until the child is found. And when that child is clever enough to climb up on a shelf and hide behind garbage cans, it takes a while to find him.


• Children can empty a brand new shampoo bottle in 2.5 seconds. And, it is very difficult to get all of the bubbles out of a tub or shower that is filled with soap. It is even harder to get baby powder out of a living room when a child has emptied an entire container into the air, while her brother dances through it floating in the air. You may think that you have it swept/vacuumed up... but wait about 10 minutes when it settles again!!! It is next to impossible.


• Children teach you to worry less : If it doesn't kill them, it will make them stronger. They can fall from the second story of a barn and land on top of a tiller and survive. They can stick popcorn kernels in their nose so far that you find them several days later when they sneeze. They can somehow roll to the edge of your bed when they are only 2 weeks old and fall into a box full of picture frames with sharp corners and come out without a scratch. They will survive after drinking toilet water, eating a whole roll of rolaids, an electrasol tablet, and several fiber pills. (They have not tried all in one sitting, but it would not surprise me)


• Children think that any mess they make can be cleaned up. However, Oxi-Clean and goo-gone have their limits: red fingernail polish in white carpet, green crayon melted on clothes and all over the dryer, and permanent marker all over the dresser and pillow case.


• Children who start out sleeping with their parents will EVENTUALLY decide that it is time to grow up and sleep alone (or they just move to sleeping with their little sisters).


• Children often create expenses that you are not expecting (and often parents do not even decide it is necessary to spend the money to get them fixed). Truck hoods are not built to be landing stips for a "windshield slide". Recliners that are positioned too close to a 2 week old window will shatter them when they are rocked to wildly. And, cars will roll backwards (coming extremely close to fences) when put into neutral.
• Children have their own fashion/hygene sense. Boys do not care if they match, if they have holes in their clothes (in fact, that makes them neat), if they have worn the clothes for days at a time, or if they even fit. Boys also do not care if they ever take a bath. Their famous saying is "But mom, I took a bath yesterday!" Girls on the other hand, ask when they can shower; get out and put on clean panties and pajamas; wake up and want to change panties when they change clothes; want their clothes to match, fit, and be clean; come in from school and change clothes, panties, and shoes before going outside to play; come in and change all of this again for supper; then start all over again with the shower.
• Children need our time and love. Spend every moment that you can with them. If they ask you to watch, nothing else should stop you. If they want you to listen, turn everything else off. If they want you to play, drop whatever you are doing. If they ask you to read, find a book. If they ask for a hug, open up. If they ask a question, have an answer. If they fall down, pick them up. If they cry, wipe a tear. If they fail, encourage them. If they succeed, praise them. Just LOVE them.
• Children do not come with owners manuals. They would all have to be different if they did. Each child in unique and each situation is unique. As a parent, the only guide book that you have is God's Word, the Bible. Hold on to it, follow it, and let them see Jesus in your every moment. There is no greater responsibility in parenting.

Trick or Treat !!!

Well, another eventful Halloween Carnival has come and gone. The kids had a blast. They were Luke and Leia from Star Wars. About a month ago, I asked them what they were going to be and Camon gave his usual, "I don't know." but Isabelle said, "Princess Leia". So then Camon said, "Yeah, and then I can be Luke." I have such a prissy tomboy!!!! She loves anything that her bubba likes.

They were so cute. My mom and I were going to make the costumes a few weeks ago, but as usual I procrastinated and then mom went to Colorado and is staying a few weeks, so I had to throw something together. Luke was not hard, I found a costume at the store and he had a light saber that he could use. Leia however was no where to be found. So, we borrowed an angel costume from the church and the night before, Clint cut up an old tee-shirt to make the hood and I went and bought her a silver belt. Nothing like last minute pressure. The funny thing is that she won 1st place in the costume contest for her age group. Camon did not win, and of course that was an issue. But his daddy explained it to him that they were a team. Afterwards we called MiMi (my mom) and Camon told her that it was not fair that he did not win the costume contest, but he replied, "I won the handsome-est contest". I think someone must have put that bug in his ear to make up for not winning. Anyway, he was not kidding, they were the handsome-est kids in the place. This of course coming from their momma!!!!

We always have a carnival at our church with games, food, slides, and lots of candy. Every year, my grandma and grandpa have come to the carnival to see the kids. I sometimes think that the kids never noticed they were there... But, last might when we got in the car to leave, the first thing out of Camon's mouth was, "I wish that Grandma could have been there." I am convinced that she was watching from Heaven, because she would not have missed it for anything. It is neat the things that kids pick up on and remember. That obviously meant a lot to him each year. I miss her!!!!!

Isabelle asked if we could do this again the next time that it is Halloween. I wanted to reply, "Do we have to?" But of course I said, "Sure! What will you be next year?" She said Belle. At least that is a "prissy" princess, but I wonder how many times she will change her mind between now and then? I guess we will see.

Isabelle had a party at school in the morning, but I did not want her to wear her white Princess Leia dress all day. So, she wore a Belle dress that she already had. This is her in her classroom that morning, she had fallen asleep on the way to school and so as you can see she is not fully awake, but still beautiful!!!

Also, here is a picture of the Cabana girls. Mimi and Deda are both out of town and I am sure that they want to see pictures of all of them!