A Little Of This, A Little Of That...

Claire on Cupcake!

Kiddos with cupcake!


One of the little American boys turned five this weekend, and Cupcake showed up! Cupcake is Claire's therapy horse, and we got lots of "therapy" at the party! Claire started her gymnastics class today, so far so good. The young girl who taught the class was very soft spoken, and Claire found it a little too easy to walk away! I am hoping she finds her voice by the next class to draw Claire in and keep her attention. I will say though the trampoline was enough to keep us coming back, as Claire loves to jump! I would love to get her into a ballet class, still looking!

We have had a lot of public holidays lately here in South Africa, last week was Voting Day and Monday was Freedom Day. Friday is Worker's Day, I would love to give you a wonderful history lesson on these holidays, but I am just learning myself! We are going to use this holiday weekend to travel. We are going to a resort called Fish, River, Sun that sounds like a lot of fun! There seems to be all kinds of things to do there-golf,spa,pools,beach,game drives, and horse back safaris: so I am hoping to find a little something for everyone!

Amazing Grace

Amazing Grace was sung at church today, what an amazing song! This is one of my favorite church songs, it gets me every time!

Amazing Grace by Chris Tomlin

Amazing grace
How sweet the sound
That saved a wretch like me
I once was lost, but now I’m found
Was blind, but now I see

‘Twas grace that taught my heart to fear
And grace my fears relieved
How precious did that grace appear
The hour I first believed

My chains are gone
I’ve been set free
My God, my Savior has ransomed me
And like a flood His mercy reigns
Unending love, Amazing grace

The Lord has promised good to me
His word my hope secures
He will my shield and portion be
As long as life endures

My chains are gone
I’ve been set free
My God, my Savior has ransomed me
And like a flood His mercy reigns
Unending love, Amazing grace

My chains are gone
I’ve been set free
My God, my Savior has ransomed me
And like a flood His mercy reigns
Unending love, Amazing grace

The earth shall soon dissolve like snow
The sun forbear to shine
But God, Who called me here below
Will be forever mine
Will be forever mine
You are forever mine

Is It Only A Southern Thing?

Beware, this may sound a little materialistic-but let me vent for a few!
The stupid things that I miss seeing....
*Bows, dresses and Polo's: Does anyone else but the southerner like a big bow in a little girl's hair or a big pretty smocked dress? Let me clarify, I NEVER see a little girl dressed cute around here, and it baffles me. I see the adults dressed nicely , but the kids are a mess-a little sparkle jeans, a little character shirt and no hair ties! Most times the kids do not even match. I know I am among the select(crazy) few that have a thing for little kids clothes, I know that every child does not have to have a dress that matches a bow for everyday of the week or every color polo, but come on! I will understand play clothes, I have even given into days at home-anything goes-but I have been watching the little kids at church lately and they are in all kinds of get ups! Heck, one day at church a child had on a Batman costume with the face mask on! (Please note, I am not talking of the unfortunate, but the children of parents that are dressed Very nicely) When I was little I remember my mom always making us dress up and we always had to match-maybe I can blame this crazy obsession on her:)! I also remember in the eighth grade having a nun for a teacher, and she told us that when ever she bought new clothes she always wore them to church first, to let God see. I know God does not care, but I like to look appropriate and respectful. I think it speaks volumes of a person, it shows that we care enough about ourselves and others to show respect! All I know is that it is making Sunday mornings a little tougher on us, the boys are getting a little agitated with dressing"nice" when everyone else looks as if they just got back from playing in the neighbors yard. In fact the boys favorite line when I am running around choosing outfits is "It is not a fashion show mom".
Finally got that one off my chest, unfortunately for my kiddos they will still be tortured for as long as I can do it! (disclaimer-title picture of kids was taken while riding horses-bow had been lost and Taylor picked his own clothes!)
*Purses: No one around here seems to have a bag fetish, people keep using the same purse over and over-Is that normal? :)
*Flip flops, where are the Yellow Box people? There are not many selections around here! Again, don't most women have quite the wardrobe of flip flops?
*Monograms-I am not sure people are aware of the monogram thing. I have never seen anyone with anything monogrammed. No little girls panties, we have even donned the monogrammed bikini(Claire, that is), no towels, even the golf towels are monogrammed at our house-nothing!
*TJ Max, Marshals, Ross-Enough Said!
* Target - to stroll the aisles at Target would be heaven on earth!
*Drive thru coffee place, Starbucks! (I have gotten quite good at making my own)
Yes Mam, these are the stupid things I miss (PS, no one says Yes mam, No mam around here)!
OK now that you think I am a complete snob(which I strive not to be), let me explain! I know these are not important for life, but sometimes it is nice to just have/see a little piece of the southern environment! There is no place in the world like the South and I miss it! I miss it for all of the right reasons-home, family and friends; and I miss it for all of those stupid, silly reasons!

Hunter, he would much rather be wearing an Under Armour!

She does not have a prayer, she was born with a bow!

Poor Taylor, he really wishes I was not so anal! Of course, he did choose to keep his collar turned up, am I rubbing off a little bit?

Even a Polo shoe around here!

And what does not speak pure class, than a girl in smocked, bows and puddle jumpers drinking out of the cooler!

A southern girl lost in no man's land-we should have signed up for a reality show, people would get a kick out of how people look at me when I talk-HI Y'ALL or BYE Y"ALL!!

The Small Things....

Claire has Childhood Apraxia of Speech, which is a motor planning delay that causes little to no speech in some children. Claire is very delayed with her speech, and for Claire any words or phrases spoken is a huge accomplishment. She has started using three word utterances, but as her sentences lengthen they are sometimes harder to understand. Claire is trying so hard! Here is a clip of Claire's speech, although it may not seem like much- it is HUGE! There have been many fearful days and nights of wondering if she will ever talk!
I think only mothers of children with disabilities could ever understand our pure excitement over the small things!

Claire interacting with us over a Sushi lunch. "Tay uuur" is Taylor, and she has "No" down!
(to turn down music, pause music player on bottom right side of blog)



This one is my favorite...

Keep my Claire in your prayers, everyday is a new day!

Meet the New Family Member....

Taylor and Tebow!


Tebow, the bird! OK, when you feel as if you have turned your children's lives around you(I) will do the dumbest things! Taylor wanted a fish tank for his birthday, but as we were looking at fish a far away chirp caught our(Taylor's) attention. He begged for the bird, we gave in! After getting information on the bird, and loading up on bird essentials we brought our new baby home! Tebow, after our favorite football player, is actually a pretty cool pet! The guy at the pet store said you could bring the bird out of the cage and he will sit and watch TV with you. Taylor now walks around with him on his shoulders, he fits in the palm of his hand and will not get any bigger. My fear was the smell, I am very anal about my house, but I have yet to catch a whiff! Taylor has now taught him a trick-He puts him on his shoulders and starts flapping his arms like a bird, and the bird will start flapping his-Crazy!





Taylor with his new love!

Even Claire likes the bird, we keep a VERY close eye on her, just in case! :)

Taylor turns 11!

Yes my baby boy is 11! Could it be that 11 years ago I was greeting my first child, how he has changed my life! He has made life worth living, Taylor has turned into a wonderful person. He is a GREAT big brother, and is very helpful and caring of his little sister! Just to give you an example of who he is...As you all know we are now across the world, but as we were preparing for this adventure we had to have some "cultural training". A lady by the name of "Elizabeth" came to our house and spent three days preparing us for our move, with the last day being just for the boys. Everyday we would go out to lunch, and on the final day it was just the kids, me and Elizabeth. Taylor loved the cultural training, he was soaking in all of the things he might see in his new life. Elizabeth finished prepping us and we bid her goodbye, a few weeks later we received an email from her about Taylor. She said that she had not ever met such a sweet boy with such good manners, and it had been a long time since a "gentleman" had pulled out a chair for her, and thought to make sure she had utensils and a napkin-without asking! Yes, that's my Taylor, he is very thoughtful and did pull out her chair. I am a very proud momma! Happy Birthday baby!

Our Easter...

The Easter Bunny found us, all the way over here!

So we made it through another holiday in a far away country! The Easter Bunny found us and left our kiddos with some great goodies. Claire got a Mr Potato Head along with some other cute stuff, while the boys got a Rubix Cube along with other goodies!
While living in this country I have become very aware of others and try hard to always give to the less fortunate. During this Easter weekend the kids and I made up Easter bags to deliver to the needy! Thanks to Grandma Lou and her craftiness many years ago(Taylor's bday bags), we had some precious Easter bags that we filled with food. Each bag was filled with a banana, a sandwich, chips and a sweet along with a bottled water. The boys did most of the work by making the sandwiches and stuffing the bags-I find it extremely important for my children to be aware of their surroundings, they are the ones that this venture will mold the most, at least I hope it will. I hope that this will teach them compassion and appreciation.

It takes very little to help out...

Taylor stuffing Easter bags for the needy...

Hunter making the sandwiches....


We loaded the bags in our car Saturday morning with the intention of giving to the children that we would see along the street, unfortunately you do see children begging in the street-extremely sad! We gave to some children on Saturday-what an amazing feeling! The children's eyes lit up as we gave them the bags and wished them a "Happy Easter", my boys were so proud of themselves-it made me proud of us. While entering the grocery Saturday night we saw a homeless man outside, I gave him a bag-he smiled and nodded! I also saw Pat sneak some money to him(I knew there was a reason I loved that man)! As we drove away, the man was carefully holding his bag while rubbing the painted images-This is what made my Easter! After church on Sunday we finished giving out the bags- There is so much that needs to be done for these people, we are trying in small ways to make an effort, to make a difference. I thought that I would only give the bags to children, but instantly changed my mind as I saw that man sitting on the curb-We are all God's children!
After church Sunday morning, we took the kids and the dog to the beach! What a way to worship God, to behold his wonders!

My sweet Claire in her Easter clothes, it was actually a little chilly here!

I hope you all had a wonderful Easter, ours was good-the only thing that would have made it better would have been to spend it with family!

A Thursday in June.....

This was my happy place, my favorite group of kids!

As much as I wanted it to be a Thursday in June, it was a Wednesday in April!
Sometimes it is so easy to pretend that I am not so far away or that it is really not that hard to be so far away! I am an optimist by nature, and strive to see the good in most things. I unfortunately ignore and push away the bad! Today I was hit by the reality of leaving everything that I loved!
Most people would say that Bossier City,LA is not the place where they would pick to live out their life, but I would! Being the optimist I purposely try to not think of the hard things, the sad things; but some days it's all that I can think of!
Today I took my boys to the movies, I love to take them to movies because they are the age where we can see things that we all like. I preordered tickets, dropped off Claire and got to the theatre in plenty of time to get our snack packs, that is when reality bit me in the ass! I walked in the theater and there was a large group of moms and kids meeting to see the movies together, I wanted so bad to blink and it be my group! I wanted it to be one of my buddies grabbing the kids while another mom saved the twenty something seats that we always needed! I wanted so bad to be able to have Hunter sit with his group of buddies and Taylor to sit with his group of friends, and by God I wanted my group of friends!!!!!!! Where was Christen, Lisa, Candy when I needed them-all I wanted at that moment was one of my friends! Some may not think that a simple day at the movies with friends could mean so much, but you have not left everyone that you call friend! I almost couldn't breathe it hurt so bad! I wish I could wake up and be home! I wish I would have known then what I know now, that I would not have the chance again to sit with this group, to listen to ten of Taylor's buddies laughing or to watch Hunter and Cyrus eating popcorn! Today I hate it here, and I want my old life back! My advise to you- eat it up! Love every moment of it, do everything with your friends that you can; because these are the days you will remember forever! My heart aches for my sweet Taylor, he has yet to find a place to fit in, he does have a few friends and he seems happy but I know what he is missing! He is missing his buddy John E playing sports and guns outside, he is missing his friends Thomas and Cade and the stories they would tell, he is missing Peyton, Davis, Jarrett, Eric and many more! Oh my Hunter, how he is missing Cyrus! There is something about a little boy and his best friend, one that in his mind he has had forever! And how I miss my friends, I miss being able to sit and talk kids, life and whatever else and I miss laughing! I miss laughing with them, I miss ball games and getting to see all of my sweet friends who cared about me and my family!
Today has been a day of great longing, a day of wanting to go home! I would go back to Bossier if I could, I know this is where I am supposed to be , but damn it is hard sometimes! I have gotten good at covering the hurt with a positive, but today it was too hard! Today I would die for it to be a Thursday morning in June and to be rushing to save twenty seats at a movie!

This is our(MY) movie group!

One more night!

It is so hard to let these babies grow!
Sometimes being a Mom is the hardest job in the world, the emotional trials are endless! This week I sent Taylor on his first camping trip! I was/am very nervous, and have said many prayers for him and me! He is camping in South Africa with a group of children that I know nothing about, and teachers that I really do not know! The hardest part was to say "yes" to this, to face some of my biggest fears-the unknown! I know that we have to let them grow up, but at what expense! Why can they not stay little, Do they have to face this cold, hard world-I would wrap them in my arms forever if I could! The unfortunate part is that being a good mom is to let him have these experiences, to let him grow and learn some lessons on his own!
I wish there was a book with all of the answers about parenthood, at least a book that I would read! I have decided to wing it! I am trying my best to raise these boys into men, and this princess into a young lady! I am sure there will be numerous mistakes, but I hope they remember the few times I have gotten it right! Only one more night of fear and worry, at least fear and worry over camping!
I know in the whole grand scheme of things this camping thing is minor, but sometimes it is easier to fear and focus on the little things because the larger trials can kill you! Speaking of larger issues, my Claire Bear is now using three word sentences!
Tonight I will pray; I will pray for my camper, my babies, my family, our health, and a special friend who knows too much about these mountains we must climb!