Archive for October, 2009

It seems like the past week has been very busy. There have been a few interesting things happen, and add trying to make a costume for James on top of that, and the week is gone before you know it! This past weekend there was a big revival-type festival in downtown Little Rock called Cityfest. They had a huge area with activities for kids, as well as some skateboarding and bicycling tricks to watch. At night they had a program featuring several famous Christian bands and a message by Luis Palau. The kids had a blast at the festival: watching the kids' show, jumping on the inflatables, getting their faces painted, and meeting Bob and Larry from VeggieTales. (My brother Benjamin actually got to be Larry, so that was fun!) Here are a few pictures:

With Benjamin…I mean, Larry!

Jumping

Painted faces

Watching the show

We bought a desk for our room a few weeks ago, and I got a call Monday saying that it had come in to the store. So Jay went and picked it up, and we got my brother Benjamin to come help move it into our room. (I would do it, but my back gets messed up so easily these days. One of the joys of being pregnant!) We got it into the room and noticed that a back corner had been crushed a little, messing up the veneer. It was very frustrating, but Jay and Benjamin loaded the desk back up to return it to the store for a replacement. Jay took it back on Tuesday, and got a call later saying they had worked on the defect and were willing to give us a discount on that desk if we were satisfied with their work. We decided to take it, so Jay went back and picked it up that evening, and we got Benjamin to come over once again to help us move it into the room. Now Jay has a place to work on the computer somewhere other than the kitchen table!

Tuesday was parent-teacher conference day at James' school, so I had both the kids at home! We had fun relaxing in the morning, then that afternoon I got to meet with James' teacher. She said James talks too much, but other than that he's a great student. (Nothing I didn't already know!)

I was supposed to go to the pumpkin patch with Eliza on Monday, but it was raining once again. They were able to reschedule it for Wednesday, though, so we finally got to go! We got to watch a pig race, feed some goats, go on a hayride, play in the hay (complete with tunnel and slide), and of course, pick a pumpkin! I got some cute pictures of that, too:

Eliza composed the last one herself…she said, "Mom, take a picture of me!"

It has been a week! Now if I can just get James' costume finished….

One more thing…a little funny from Eliza:

"Mom, what if I get to Heaven and ask God how many hairs are on my head, and He says, 'I don't know'?"

James is getting much better at not complaining so much about school. However, I did have the school counselor stop me in the hallway the other morning. She said she wanted to talk to me about James; something he had said disturbed her. "James told me he doesn't like school," she said. I confirmed that, yes, he would much rather stay at home, but that he is just like that. She asked if I thought he was being challenged enough. (She can see he is a smart kid, that is what was bothering her about what he said.) That is a hard question. James is so afraid of failure that he doesn't like to be challenged, but he does really well with his work, so I think he is being challenged enough. I guess it was nice that she was concerned about him!

I went on a field trip with James' class last Wednesday, but before we left, I got to stay in his class and see what he does. Here is James' entry in his morning journal at school (they were supposed to write about a time that they really wanted something, but had to wait):

"I really want a Battle Striker. Every night when I go to bed, I dream I have one. But when I wake up, I don't have any. I don't like waiting. Waiting is not fun!"

Eliza is like a roller coaster. She is definitely different from James, especially in the drama department! She can be such a sweet and loving child, but she can pitch a mean fit (and does so every time she doesn't get her way!) She has a little temper, and it often flares up at James. Still, she is so excited about getting a new baby brother. She often puts her face near my belly and yells, "I love you!" She is going to be a great big sister! She loves school, even though she already knows most of the stuff they are supposed to be learning. Did you know she could read? She has much more of a desire to conquer reading than James did, and she loves to practice by reading books like "Go Dog Go" and "Hop on Pop" and "Biscuit". There are very few words she doesn't know in the easy readers, and she is good at sounding out words. She is also very good at math (which I have mentioned before.)

I am often amazed at Eliza's grasp of spiritual matters. As we were listening to some Christmas music that I am practicing for choir, "Joy to the World" began to play and she said this to me: "Mom, "the Lord is come" every day, because he is always here." I explained that they were talking about when Jesus came to earth as a baby, but I told her she was also right! She loves memorizing scripture for AWANA Cubbies, and she even tries to help James with his verses for Sparks (which he does not appreciate!)

We have been blessed with two amazing kids. I am excited to see what God has in store for us with this new little one! I have 2 and half months left until my due date, which is going to fly by. I don't think I'm going to be ready!

I like going to the fair. I'm not sure what it is, but it makes me feel a little more connected to my country roots, even if I don't manage to walk through the livestock barns anymore. Plus it's a great excuse to eat lots of junk food that it's hard to find anywhere else. (Chicken-on-a-stick, anyone? Funnel cake? Why, yes, thank you!) The kids, of course, enjoy the rides the most, but it's the fair atmosphere that keeps us coming back year after year. And it's a good reason to get out and experience some chilly fall weather (which we are getting our share of this week!) I didn't get to ride any rides this year except the Ferris Wheel (they don't really want pregnant people on their rides), but I had fun watching Jay have to ride with the kids. Here are some fun pics we got:

Jay and the kids on the Himalaya

James on the kiddie bungee jump

Eliza jumping

The midway from the Ferris Wheel

And one from my phone…Jay and me on the Ferris Wheel:

I have come to the realization recently that I have been blessed with a melancholy child. I thought perhaps it might be a stage he was going through, but it's been a few years and I don't think he's going to grow out of his pessimistic tendencies. Today as I was taking James into school, we passed a wall that was lined with many papers, all of which had the words, "Today I am feeling…" and the children had filled in the blank and drawn a picture of their mood. We looked until we found James' paper, on which he had written "sad", and had drawn a frowning face. His was the only one I could see that admitted being anything other than "happy" or "excited", so I asked him why he felt that way. He replied that he is always sad to have to leave me to go to school, as he would much rather stay home. I wasn't surprised at this, but it did make me think about James' interesting personality.

Because I wasn't sure what all the word "melancholy" means, I looked it up, first in the Merriam-Webster dictionary. One of the definitions has to do with "black bile" (where the word comes from), but a more common definition is "depression of spirits". I was hoping for a description of the temperament type that goes by that name, so I turned to Wikipedia. Here is their description:

"A person who is a thoughtful ponderer has a melancholic disposition. Often very kind and considerate, melancholics can be highly creative – as in poetry and art – but also can become overly pre-occupied with the tragedy and cruelty in the world, thus becoming depressed. A melancholic is also often a perfectionist, being very particular about what they want and how they want it in some cases. This often results in being unsatisfied with one's own artistic or creative works and always pointing out to themselves what could and should be improved. They are often loners and most times choose to stay alone and reflect."

That mostly seems to fit James, except perhaps the loner part. James has always enjoyed people, especially as a toddler. But the part about being "a thoughtful ponderer" and "very particular about what they want" and "unsatisfied with one's own artistic or creative works"...that pretty much sums up my son. Another (perhaps less credible) website lists these traits for a melancholy:

Deep and thoughtful
Analytical
Serious and purposeful
Genius prone
Talented and creative
Artistic or musical
Philosophical and poetic
Appreciative of beauty
Sensitive to others
Self-sacrificing
Conscientious
Idealistic

Weaknesses:
Easily offended
Can get too caught up in details
Doesn't do well with change
Struggles with insecurity
Tends towards depression

Okay, how'd they get into James' head? All I know is that he is hard to parent! But we are doing the best we can. And I love that boy; he really is a special kid, even if he is rather moody.

This weekend was our annual family reunion for my mom's extended family. Every year we reserve a pavilion at Sardis Lake in Mississippi and get together to eat good food, visit with people, and maybe play some games. It was pretty chilly this year, but we still had a good time. I even got a few decent pictures of my kids:

We walked to the spillway, where the kids had fun watching the water rush underneath them. Here are James and Eliza with my brother Gerald and my youngest cousin, Samantha.

We love playing on these concrete pillars!

Eliza is good at being cute.

James and Eliza at the spillway, snuggled up to keep warm!

I love visiting with family! Plus the food isn't half-bad, either. :)

Because the pouring rain and flooding all around is threatening to get me down, I have decided to write a post about what we did during the gorgeous weather we enjoyed the last couple of weekends. The last weekend in September we were all still getting over being sick, and kind of bummed about having to cancel our weekend get-away with Jay's family. That Sunday turned out to be a beautiful day, so we decided to go for a Sunday drive along the Winona Auto Tour, which is a dirt road winding through the Ouachita National Forest, a little less than an hour west of Little Rock. Here are a few pictures Jay took from some of the overlooks…I can't wait to go back after the leaves have started changing!

This past weekend, we were all feeling pretty good, and the weather was once again beautiful, so we decided to take an easy hike on Saturday. We went to Lake Catherine State Park, near Hot Springs. After a fast-food picnic lunch, we hiked a 3-mile loop trail that takes you through some hilly woods and by a pretty waterfall. It would have been just about perfect if the mosquitoes weren't so bad, and also if James hadn't stepped in dog poop not long after we got started down the trail. I guess these things just make the adventure more interesting! We did get some good pictures:

The kids playing in the picnic area

The trail had several stream-crossings

Pretty stream

Water spilling over rocks is always a neat sight

A family pic. James couldn't be bothered to smile…he's my melancholy baby. :)

The waterfall

This weekend we are going to a family reunion for my mom's family, which is held this time every year at Sardis Lake in Mississippi. Hopefully the weather won't be too bad. After the crazy rain today, it seems like there won't be anything left in the sky by tomorrow…we'll just have to see!

Eliza was apparently getting on James' nerves tonight. James tried to get away from her, but she really wanted to tell him a joke. As she chased him through the house, this is what I heard:

• Eliza: James, knock, knock!

• James: No one's here!

Looks like the joke's on her! :)