We had a pretty good fourth of july weekend.  Randy was off on Thursday and Friday, so it was really nice having him around and being able to take a shower whenever I needed to instead of during naptime!  My sister Bethany came up (she's interning at a missions place in Texas this summer), oh my gosh...I miss her so much. 

I'm so used to her being around during the summer to hang out with.  It's so nice to have some company and she even babysits for us once in a while, which is nice!  Anyway, she got here Thursday night, so we spent the whole weekend w/ the family.  Friday we went to a park to fly kites and then went to lunch.  That night we went over to my parent's house for dinner. 

Saturday we just stayed home and relaxed in the morning and that afternoon we went to a historical museum downtown.  They have some buildings from some of the original settlers in Arkansas and it's all set up like it was in the 1800's w/ people in costume and everything. 

They had old-fashioned games, a parade, crafts and watermelon.  It was fun.

Inside the museum they had a lot of original artifacts and a neat children's area w/ a puppet stage and a dress-up booth and games and stuff.  Madelyn LOVED the puppets!  She just kept giggling and smiling at them.  It was cute.

I can't believe I caught her "scrunchy-face" on camera!

We went and ate barbecue after that and then went home to relax a little before the fireworks.

(From Left:  Parker, Bethany, Crazy Uncle Willy, Maddie, Grandad, "Tee-Tee" a.k.a. Timothy, Jessica, "Honey," and Randy)

Making cupcakes.  I wanted to do something special w/ Parker for the holiday.

We went downtown for the fireworks and oh my gosh...we'll never do that again.  The traffic was terrible and it was so incredibly crowded.  There were people drinking and smoking (not everywhere, just in little groups here and there).  We normally go to a different part of town that a small community and the fireworks are just as great, but you don't have to fight the crowds and traffic.  It was so late too, by the time we got home and got the kids in bed.

Parker kept saying, "Momma, wook! wook!  Right dere, right dere!"  Every time a firework would shoot up in the sky.  Maddie Grace wasn't a fan.  Bless her heart, she was so tense the whole time.  She started watching them after a little while, but she had a firm grip on me!

Saturday night, around midnight, I was nursing Madelyn and I heard Randy run through the house and throw open Parker's bedroom door.  I knew immediately what was happening.  He was having another seizure.  It's crazy, he went eight months without one and now he's had two in a month.  He was running a low-grade fever and it got a little higher afterwards.  The good thing is, he came out of it on his own.  We didn't have to use his kit (it's valium).  We couldn't believe he was sick again.  So we've been laying low ever since then to give him a chance to recoup.  I took him to the doctor yesterday and he has strep throat.   Poor kid.  They had to give him an antibiotic shot.  We decided to do the shot because strep is famous for causing seizures and we didn't want to risk him having another one.  The shot was terrible.  The poor thing started crying before they even did it.  He's had one once before and I think he remembered.  I went to McDonald's and got him a milkshake afterward.  I figured he deserved it.

So, this week will be pretty low-key.  I'm not planning on going anywhere the next few days.  He hasn't had a fever since yesterday afternoon and they said if he went 24 hrs. without a fever he will no longer be contagious.  So I'm hoping by Thursday we can be out and about.  That is, if Madelyn doesn't get it next.  He always in her face kissing her and they play w/ all the same toys.  So I'm just watching to her closely.  Hopefully since she's still nursing she'll be protected.  We'll see.

I hope you all had a wonderful holiday weekend!

Happy Nine Months Maddie Grace!

Okay, she was nine months yesterday, but I forgot to post!  More pictures and a nine month post to come (when I get the chance to take some pics!)

Wow.  Sorry it's been so long.  I'm kind of sick of the computer right now.  It seems all I do is e-mail, facebook and xanga and I just haven't been wanting to be on here much right now.  I'm sorry.   I haven't been a very good xanga friend.  I was going to update on Thursday, but Parker had another seizure that afternoon.  It was crazy, we were at the playground all morning w/ several other moms and their kids and he was perfectly fine.  We went home, ate lunch and then I put him and Madelyn down for naps.  About and hour and a half into his nap I heard him seizing over the monitor.  Of course, he was burning up.  The scary thing this time was that his little ears and lips started turning blue.  I mean, purple.  Terrified me.  I thought..."What if he stops breathing?  I'm the only one here, what would I do?"  We took a CPR course when he left the NICU when he was a baby, but I wasn't sure I could remember how to do it.  I called 911, but he started coming out of it while I was on the phone with them.  We took his temp about 20 minutes later and it was 102.6° and that was after he had cooled off quite a bit, so I'm sure it was much higher before then.  I took him to the doctor the next morning and they said he had a 48 hour virus that was going around that includes a sore throat and a fever.  He never complained about a sore throat or anything.  It just seems like a lot of the time I have no warning, I don't know he's sick until after his seizure.  It's a little discouraging, because we were praying that he would go a whole year without a seizure and we were going on eight months.  But, eight months is a lot longer than he's ever gone before, so that's a praise.  It just caught me off guard because I guess I had let myself believe that he really wasn't going to have one all year, you know?  Anyway, he's doing fine now.  I could tell he didn't feel good over the weekend, but he hasn't run a fever since Thursday night and he's acting fine now.

We had a pretty good weekend.  Saturday was low-key, which was nice.  Saturday night we dropped the kids off at my parents' house and went out to eat with the Ragsdales.  Texas Roadhouse-yum!  After eating we went to the bowling alley.  So fun!  It's been a while since I've bowled, but we had a blast.  Then we went back to my parent's, picked up the kids and met Brian and Miranda back at our house for brownies and coffee.  Overall, it was a fun night.  Sunday was church and then we came home for lunch and naps and last night Randy went with me to get groceries.  It was nice to go ahead and get it done because today I don't have to go anywhere.  Tonight we're having my parents and maybe my brother Daniel over for dinner because my youngest sister and brother are at youth camp.  This weekend, Randy is going on a fishing trip with his dad and brothers for Father's Day.  So it'll just be me and the kiddos.  My mother-in-law may come up, if she can't, we may meet her halfway and eat lunch and go to a movie or something fun like that on Saturday.

Everything else is going pretty good around here.  I can't believe we're halfway through June already!  This summer is going to be over before we know it.  It makes me sad that the time goes by so quickly.  I used to always wish for the next thing, but now that I'm doing what I've wanted to do my whole life (wife, mommy), I want everything to slow down and it just goes by faster every year.

Well, that's about it I guess.  I just put Madelyn down for a nap, so I need to spend some one-on-one time with Parker.  I don't do that often enough.  He is a "quality time" person, I can tell a huge difference when I've spent intentional time with him.  He obeys better and is just happier overall.

Hopefully I can get around to some of your sites this week since we don't have a lot going on.  I miss you all!

Pictures...most of these are from last weekend when we were at Randy's parents...

Wearing Papa's boots

   
They were a little hard to walk in!  LOL.

Watching cartoons with Papa before bed.  I don't kow why my camera is making the pictures a little fuzzy, it's been doing that recently.

Showing off his shirt his Uncle Joey bought him.  It says "Future Fisherman"  We were at the lake grilling burgers.

My cute husband.  He never wears a ball cap and I think they look good on him!   He was winking at me.

Parker fixing to go in Papa's boat for the first time!  He was sleepy, but excited.  His Papa bought him a "loo-loo hole"  (fishing pole) and he was going to get to use it for the first time!

And I took this last week.  Happy girl!  Look at all her hair!!
 

Alright, I'm getting off here.  Have a wonderful Monday!

I just want you girls to know that I went to a ladies' thing last night at my church and Randy stayed home with both kids.  When I walked in the door at 8:00 p.m., both children were in bed asleep, my kitchen was clean, he had put away a load of laundry and put the other load in the dryer.  I could not believe it.  Now that is a wonderful husband.  I just had to brag!! 

Madelyn is saying "mama" now.  I love it.  She also does this thing in the back of her throat (I really don't know how to describe it), but it sounds like a machine gun.  She growls a lot too.  My sweet, tiny, feminine little girl-haha!  She is also rolling her tongue (you know, how you "roll" your rrr's in Spanish? Like that).  Parker, when he's describing the dark, says "Dark it."  "Mama, it's dark-it."  When I ask him if he's okay (if he's hit his head or something), he says, "I okay me."  You know I can't do a post without talking about my kids!

Watching the birds together...

Took these at the Old Mill (where I took those pics from last week).  Uncle "Tee-Tee", Aunt Jessy and the kids.

We didn't do a lot for Memorial Day weekend, just got stuff done around the house.  Saturday night we had some family in town so we were at my parents' visiting with them.  It was good to see them.

Monday we went to the Old State House Museum downtown w/ my family.  It was pretty neat. 

One of the rooms in the museum had a dress-up chest and a platform where you could play and take pictures.  We tried to get Parker to wear a hat, but he wasn't interested.

Coloring a "campaign" button...you could take it up to the front desk and they would make a button out of it.  We forgot to go by there at the end though.

After the museum we went to lunch at Purple Cow (a good burger and shake place here).  It was a fun day. The kids were pretty worn out though. 

Walking downtown with Honey and Uncle Tee-Tee

We've been home a whole lot this week which has been so nice.  We've been busy every weekend, so it's been nice to have a low-key week.  This afternoon we're heading down to spend the weekend w/ Nana and Papa (Randy's parents).  Randy's dad bought Parker a fishing pole when he was up here Mother's Day weekend, and he talks about his "loo-loo hole" and Papa's boat all the time.  So we're going to take him down so he can go fishing w/ Papa.  It's supposed to be pretty all weekend, so hopefully we can spend some time outside.

I'm getting excited about our trip to Colorado to see my sister and my niece and nephew (and my brother in law Ragan)!  We going the last day in July for a week.  The sixteen hour drive with an almost three year old and an 11 mo. old will not be fun however.   But we're going to get a portable DVD player and I will pack plenty of snacks and toys and "surprises" for crucial times.  It should be a fun week once we get there.  Our kids will be 2 3/4 (Parker), 18 mo. (Truth), 10 1/2 months (Maddie) and 4 1/2 months (Isaiah).  I love, love, love that our kids our so close in age.  It will be fun to watch them grow up together.

I have developed a new schedule to help me keep up with housework, now that we don't have small group at our house anymore (we break for the summer), it's hard to stay motivated!  But this new schedule I have is great because I can stay on top of it.  I have one big house thing every day (bathrooms, floors, etc.) and one exercise (Pilates, walking) and then I have a list of projects to do every week (like wash the dog, clean out closets, etc.).  Of course, laundry is an every day thing, if I don't it piles up quickly!  I think in the past I try to do too many things in one day and I get frustrated with the kids b/c they won't sit quietly and watch t.v. all day while I work!  LOL.  This has been good because it helps me spend some time with Parker and Madelyn playing and just focusing on them.

These are the daisies that have grown up around my mailbox.  I planted them last spring but thought they had died...what a nice surprise it was to see them popping up a few weeks ago!

Okay, I have to get off here and finish packing.  By the way, I wanted to recommend the book I've posted below. It's by a woman I know in our church, they have sacrificed so much to be foster parents for many, many years and she has written a book about it.  We have over 700 children in our county alone waiting for foster families and 150 waiting to be adopted.  Isn't that crazy?  Anyway, this book just shares her heart about it.  You can get it on the FamilyLife or Amazon websites or on their website.  Check it out!  Have a great weekend everyone!

"The Middle Mom How to Grow Your Heart by Giving It Away"
by Christie Erwin
Published by Grayson Publications- May 2009
www.themiddlemom.com
themiddlemom@gmail.com

Yay for Kris Allen!!!!  I can't believe an Arkansan won American Idol!  Crazy.  His parents actually live on the same street as my parents...isn't that nuts?  We live 20 minutes from Conway.  Way to go Kris!  I know you'll make Arkansas proud.

Our good friend Brian got a job last week and they wanted to celebrate!  So we decided spur-of-the-moment to go to Branson with them and their kids over the weekend.  We did a tour deal and so we got a great rate on a two-bedroom condo.  Friday and Saturday we hung out and did some shopping.  They guys took the boys to ride go-carts Sat. afternoon while Miranda and I shopped with the babies.  Then Sunday we got up and went to Silver Dollar City.  I really regret that I didn't get any good pictures.  I didn't even get one of us in front of the Silver Dollar City sign.   We always do that.  But it was pretty crazy with five kids under the age of four!  We had a great time though.  I took my birthday money and got to shop at Charlotte Russe! My absolute favorite store.  I got some really bottoms and a couple of cute tops too.  It's so nice to have clothes that actually fit right!  All in all it was a really fun weekend.

A few pics...

Watching cartoons at the condo

Randy and Carson having a "conversation" one morning.  Carson is Randy's buddy.

Silver Dollar City has a new kid's area which is great.  It has a ton of rides for little kiddos.  We spent about half the day there.

Riding the roller coaster with Mommy
 

Riding the caterpillar with Daddy

Riding the ladybug ride all by himself!  He was gripping the wheel and saying, "Whee!!"

That's all I got.  I can't believe I hardly got any good pictures of our fun weekend.  Ah well.

Yesterday, Parker was trying to wrestle with Madelyn and she thought it was so funny!  I was right there and saying about every five minutes, "Be careful Parker, be gentle."  But they had so much fun.  It was cute.

She's almost as big as he is!  Look at that!  Their heads are almost the same size.  Crazy.  She's going to pulling him around before too long!

Madelyn turned eight months on Sunday and Parker will be two and a half tomorrow, so I'm going to try to get some good pictures at a neat park here in town tomorrow.  So hopefully I'll have a good picture update on here soon.  We'll see how it goes!  Wish me luck!

Alright ladies, I'm off here.  I'm very tired and everyone else in my house is already in bed.  The quietness is making me sleepy.  Good night.