More Christmas Fun:)

Each year I like to try to make a gingerbread house with the kids. It always seems like a great idea but those kits drive me nuts! They are so hard to get to stick together, they are never even on the sides and that frosting is gross. So, this year, as I was getting ready to throw away a box that delivered one of my online Christmas purchases, I had an idea to make my own little house out of cardboard. I bought some frosting in a can, our favorite candies and we went to town. The kids loved it (especially a certain little boy) and we had fun building it together:

The finished product. I think our elf on the shelf, Jingles, really liked it because the next day, he was right next to it! When the kids get a little older, I think we may each make our own house:)

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This morning while Caroline and RoyBoy were eating their breakfast, I sat down with them with my cup of coffee. I have all the Christmas cards we've received so far hanging around our back door. Roy's grandfather's sweet card arrived yesterday and this is the conversation we had:

Me: Look at Daddy Bill. Isn't he precious?

Roy Austin: Is Daddy Bill a baby? (because I used the word "precious").

Caroline: How old is Daddy Bill?

Me: He's 93 (followed by a gasp from Caroline). He has a friend who is 103! (followed by another big gasp and huge eyes and a huge opened mouth). They must have been really obedient to their parents when they were growing up because the Bible says that when you honor your parents, your days will be long on the earth.

Caroline: Mommy, you must have been really obedient to Grammy and Grandaddy when you were little.

I love those two:)

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day! I have asked two important mothers in my life to answer some questions about their early days of mothering. First up, my Mom, Jan (aka, Jenius):

1. How many children did you want to have when you were little? I always wanted six children, just like my mother had.

2. When you kept having girls, did any part of you ever want a little boy? Every mom wants to have a little boy for her husband, but God always knows best. I can truly say that with each little girl we had, we were completely overjoyed and satisfied.

3. Why did you decide to name all of us with a "D" name? That was my idea. I wanted Daddy to have his children with all D names.....kind of a tribute to him.

4. Was Daddy in the room with you when you had all of us? What was his reaction when we were all born? Back when all you girls were born, the fathers weren't allowed in the delivery rooms. He had to wait out in another room until the doctor or nurse came out and delivered the good news. Of course, his reaction was ALWAYS one of pride and joy.

5. Who's labor was the hardest? Easiest? My labor with Dayna was definitely the hardest, and then yours, Donna, was the easiest. By the fifth birth, I was a pro, and you just kind of came out quite easily.

6. Who was the easiest baby? Most challenging? Dawn was probably the easiest baby. She was good from the very beginning, very little crying, and sleeping well. Denise cried a lot, and had a real problem with throwing up all the time. She would literally spew all over. I must say, though, that I enjoyed all of you as babies.

7. If you could have done anything different when raising us as toddlers, what would it have been? I would have been more patient with all of you, and spent more time one on one with each of you. It's really too bad that the important things about raising children sometimes aren't learned until we're older and the children are grown and gone. I have many regrets and would do so many things differently, but I think it all would start with patience.

9. If you could have done anything different raising us as teens, what would it have been? I can't really think of what I would have done differently. I guess maybe making sure that I treated you all with the same fairness, although, I did try to do that. The baby usually always gets away with far more than the older children do, so I guess I would try to watch that a little better. (My note: sorry Mom, but I have to disagree. What did I get away with???)

10. What is your proudest accomplishment as a mom? My proudest accomplishment is just to know that all you girls have grown up to know and love the Lord, and to live for him. That's what it's all about. III John 4.

11. Did you ever feel like you did all the work in parenting and Daddy was there just to enjoy the fun times with us? I suppose I felt like that sometimes, although Daddy was a big influence on your lives. I was the one who you all took advantage of, and when Daddy came home, you towed the line. I guess it's like that with moms. The dads get the respect and the moms are the rugs.

12. Did Daddy help out a lot with us? (Like baths, diapers, bedtime....) No!!! Very seldom, anyway.

13. What was the easiest stage in raising your girls? The easiest stage is right now. I enjoy all of you so much, and although I still worry about each of you, the relationship is different, and wonderful. I thank God for each of you every day.

I originally had a set of questions for my mother-in-law, Jane, to answer, but it was a very busy weekend for her of traveling and going to a graduation ceremony and we kept playing phone-tag, so I didn't get her answers. Believe me, though...this lady is full of funny stories and good advice:)

Happy Mother's Day to my Mom, Jane, my sisters and all of my Mommy friends! You are all so special to me and I love you all very much. It is so nice to have girls to talk to, get advice from and vent and laugh with on a daily basis. We are all blessed! Enjoy your day:)

WWU

Spring arrived in Charlotte, NC over the weekend and we enjoyed every minute of it!! The weather on Saturday was beautiful, so we told Caroline she could play outside all day if she liked. She was SO excited. After putting on her hand-me-down capris and shoes (thank you Caroline Drummond) she had an extra skip in her step and she played HARD! Speaking of playing hard, so did Roy Austin. I bought him a pair of Crocs at a summer clearance sale last September so we tried them out on Saturday. Let's just say that he couldn't find his balance and he kept falling like crazy! I don't know if it was the nice weather or the new found freedom, but he was everywhere:


I've got to hand it to the kid, he gets right back up when he falls...no tears and no drama. I didn't even know he had skinned his knee until I looked over and saw this:


If that had been Caroline's knee, there would have been tears galore---for minutes!! But, nope. He just got up and kept on running:


When K.B. Toys went out of business, I bought this Styrofoam airplane for .95! Roy and Caroline took it out and gave it a whirl. It kept crashing and breaking and now it's sitting in the trashcan at the curb waiting to be taken to a landfill in the morning:


I cleaned out my car on Saturday afternoon. I have always detested nasty moms cars who have cheerios and food smashed into the carpet. I swore mine would always be neat and tidy. Well, you can call my car the "Puff Mobil". I had Gerber Puffs everywhere and milk splatters here and there and it was dis-gus-ting! Roy is taking my car to have the carpet cleaned tomorrow morning. As I was vacuuming the front seats, I looked in the back and saw Caroline cleaning my back windows with a Wet-Wipe. Bless her heart, she LOVES to help and clean. Even though she was making a bigger mess for me, I made her think she was helping:


Right before dinner time, our neighbors came home and took out their jump house. When Caroline saw that Emilie had her ballet outfit on from ballet practice, she zipped in the house and changed into her ballet outfit--tutu and all:


Here she is doing a ballet move (with closed eyes). Told you she was the dramatic one:


The only caption I can think of for this one is that THIS BOY WEARS ME OUT!!!!!!!!!


Our neighbors are the ones who have all the latest and greatest toys. Caroline loves Emilie's Barbie Cadillac Escalade. It even has big speakers that blare music in the back:


RoyBoy discovered this weekend that he hates grass. He won't touch it or walk in it. While the other kids were playing with the outside toys, he stayed in the jumphouse, sucking his thumb, because he wouldn't jump off into the grass:


Saturday night, Grammy and Grandaddy stopped by on their way home from Greenville. Caroline and Grandaddy had their usual "Blankie Parade". That Grandaddy is so silly:

After lunch on Sunday, Grammy and Grandaddy left to go back to Virginia, but first we enjoyed playing outside some more in the gorgeous weather. By the way, is it just me or is Grammy losing some weight? Yep, "Jenius" is at it again. And call me crazy, but neither of my grandmothers ever looked this sassy:

On the agenda for this week: DIVINE CONSIGN!!!! Tuesday is the day for the big sale. Caroline doesn't need a thing, but my goal is to find Roy Austin's Easter outfit and some jon-jons. Roy will be thrilled:)