I've Had It

I'm fed up enough to do something most people would consider drastic - getting rid of the tv. We've never had cable, but we did let the kids watch approved DVDs. It used to not be a big deal, and our kids never really watched them when they were on, but it's been crazy this past month.

Ever since my younger (barely teenagers - yes, huge age gap) sisters came for a visit all my kids want are electronics. Both of my sisters have iPhones and iPads with slews of games and constant passive entertainment that ate glued to them. My kids became glued, too.

Now, I don't have an iPad, but I do have an iPhone for work. There were a couple of kid apps on there to keep them entertained during long waits when we were out, but that's it. The past month, my kids have been obsessed with my phone. Stealing it and hiding it from me. When they can't do that it's been wanting to watch a movie. I don't always let them, but that doesn't stop them from begging and fixating.

I'm not saying watching movies is bad. But little kids should not spend their days vegging out in front of the tv. We have an entire playroom full of toys that they don't even touch any more. It's an obsession to be entertained and not be creative and entertain themselves.

So, it goes at the garage sale with the DVD player. We still have the laptop to watch movies occasionally. But it's no longer going to be all they focus on.

A detox, if you will. Yup, I'm one of those crazy conservatives who thinks kids should he kids for as long as possible and enjoy the outside (when it's not 312000 degrees ).

In other news, here are some pictures from this morning. The boys and I play outside/ walk the cul de sac after dropping Sissy off in the morning.

A New Normal

I'm starting to get into a routine now since Auds started school, which is nice. I still find it so quiet and haven't quite gotten used to that yet. But, on the plus side, I can actually hear the Bible playing now that there's not a little worship leader during the day.

B gets up at 5 to shower and wakes me up at 530 so I can get ready. I wake the kids between 615 and 630 to have breakfast and get ready for school and the day. At 720 we hold hands in a circle for family prayer and then it's loading the van up.

I take the crew to school, B goes to work. After I drop off Auds, the boys and I go for a walk. It's amazing how a 10 minute walk can turn into a 45 minute one with a curious toddler. We look at ants, collect leaves and rocks, look for airplanes and listen for birds. It's really nice. Except for the fact that one of our neighbors went fishing last weekend and had a bucket of fish heads and guts out at the road. That baking in the southern heat for days produced the foulest odor. Gotta love the Cajuns. They either shoot it, gut it, or marry it.

After our walk we come back for a snack. I'm so swamped right now I've been letting Tony watch more DVDs than I'd like, but once school portraits are done that'll change. I run back and forth from the studio to the playroom stopping to do laundry in between. We're still without a dryer, so I get creative as to where I hang clothes.

We do lunch and then I put tony down for quiet time -he doesn't have to nap, just stay in his room. I relax for a couple of minutes in between work and house work. Then we go pick up Auds.

Snack time follows as I unpack her lunch box and check her school work. I then pack her and B's lunch while she tells me about her day. As the two big kids catch up and play I wash dishes and get dinner done.

Then it's bath for whoever needs it most and off to whatever we have that evening. Monday it's prayer meeting, Tuesday it's church service, Wednesday it's youth music practice, Thursday it's teaching Bible studies, Friday it's youth service.

Weekends are reserved for groceries, errands, chores, processing and paperwork in the studio, church, and all the family time we can sneak in.

I have an assistant who comes during the week when I have a client, and a mother in law who comes on Wednesdays so I can hold consultations and ordering sessions.

I think I've decided that being a work- from-home mom is the hardest job in my opinion. Not knocking those that purely stay home or work outside of the home at all. At. All. Each mom has to do what is right for her family. But I not only have the responsibilities of running a business and maintaining a home, but I do them at the same time. My kids are still in the house when I'm invoicing, not at a day care, so they're still making mess that I have to clean up. And my clients are still calling when I'm playing with my kids. I love what I do, don't get me wrong. I've got the best of both worlds. But I've also got the worst. I'm never 100% here nor there with all of the responsibilities of both. But my kids think it's so cool that I'm a photographer, so at least they don't resent me for having to take breaks from play time to schedule a session.

All in all, we're adjusting to school and the nee routine it provides. I miss my little girl like crazy, but love hearing all of the new things she's learning and the new activities she's doing.

I Survived!

Barely, but I survived. What? Dropping Auds off at her first day of school.

I took it worse than she did! She was super excited to start on a new adventure. Thankfully, it's a small private Christian academy that teaches out of homeschooling curriculum. So, I get partial points in the homeschooling department?

I took a ton of pictures and bawled like a baby. She didn't even blink an eye.

We both prayed over her and then had family prayer before loading up the crew into the van. Since its her first day, they let me walk her in.

I held it together until I started walking out - without her. Aside from Sunday School, she's never been away from me, so it'll be an adjustment period. But I know she'll have a blast coz there's a friend in her class with her.

Now I'm at home with just the boys and its so quiet without her singing. We're taking it easy today, but I'm thinking about what we'll do for routine. Maybe take a walk down the cul de sac when we get back from dropping her off.

It's the beginning of a new chapter in our lives - having school aged kids. Sad to see her go, but excited to see how she'll exceed and what she'll learn.

Gosh, I love that girl!

I won't post pictures with the school logo, but here are some sweet shots from this morning.

Dedication Verses

We don't baptize our children as infants because we feel that they should really understand the beauty of baptism and why we do it. However, we do dedicate them as infants, just as Hannah did for Samuel.

Although it is not required, we also pick out a Scripture for our kids to read at their dedication. Beforehand, we pray about a verse that suits them and that they can turn to in times of trouble to remind them of their relationship with The Lord. It's always a different one and fits the kids perfectly - God knows what he's doing when he lays on our hearts something.

Auds' verse is Psalm 17:8 Keep me as the apple of your eye, hide me beneath the shadow of your wing.

This is perfect for her. She's definitely a special little girl who loves to be the center of attention, but also needs to be protected and cared for. She's the one who will go out and conquer mountains if she knows that someone has her back. That's definitely her relationship with God. She longs to lead the choir and is one of the best kids in Sunday School and knows her Bible already. But late at night when no one else can hear (well, except for me coz I'm nursing a baby), she's praying for Him to help her sleep coz she's had a bad dream and needs Him to love on her.

Tony is Jeremiah 1:5 Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet of many nations.

God definitely gave us a crazy one with Tony. He is something else. And if you look at the prophets of the Old Testament, they were something else, too. God required extra out of them and they did it with zeal. That's our big boy. He really does have a prophet's personality (eccentric) and we're excited to see how God uses him later in life.

I've been praying and reading about Drum's verse since I was pregnant. I felt that it would be a verse about holiness and separation. I've known that he would be set apart for The Lord since he was the size of a banana. Today, I found his verse.

Deuteronomy 26:18 And The Lord hath avouched thee this day to be His peculiar people, as He hath promised thee, and that thou shouldest keep all His commandments. I think it's just perfect for him.

His dedication isn't until next month coz his Parrain can't come in town until then, but I'm looking forward to dedicating this little man back to The Lord. I think it's such a truly special event. :)