The rain dance worked!

Last night the kids heard thunder in the distance (why is it always just north/east/west of us??). I told them how me, Chris and Luke used to do rain dances all the time when we were kids.

Haley was embarrassed but went behind a bush and did it. I finally got them to do it on video for me :)

Apparently, they're dance worked ...ok not really it was the prayers I said last night!

What's better than a good rainstorm and Eddie Rabbit?

Music + Slideshow = Good Times

	Eddie Rabbit - I Love A Rainy Night
	Found at bee mp3 search engine

Haley's letter to Daddy

Daddy Bird
"I love you Dad so much. He is the one. How wonderful it is to have a Dad who does not give us shots. Thank you. I love my Dad so much. Said Baby Bird."

Haley is the most AMAZING child. I cry every time I look at her and think of what a blessing she is. The fact that God chose me to be her mother is beyond humbling.

And what prompted her to draw/write this? She watched a video on Mercola this morning with Michael. If you are interested here is the link: Vaccine Video

Haley's Baptism

On Sunday (June 28th) Haley was baptized! We are all so proud of her decision.

It was especially exciting that Grandpa, Grandma, Riley and Jake happened to be in town!

I cried as she stood up in the baptismal looking so mature yet scared as well.

Here are some pictures that the church took.

Have A New Kid By Friday

When Michael and I began reading Dr. Leman's book we had no idea we'd have the kind of new kid we have today!

Today our oldest child, Haley, made a decision every parent prays for. She received the Lord as her personal savior.

Haley has known about Jesus since she began talking. She would tell us in the car that if you didn't have Jesus in your heart you would go to hell (at 2 she knew this!).

But, knowing and having Jesus be a part of every moment of your day is not the same as actually voicing a prayer to turn from your sin and invite Jesus into your heart.

This week was VBS at our church. As you know, there is an invitation to accept Christ and go up to the pastor. Haley watched as 98% of the kids in her class went up there. She chose to sit and discuss the decision with her parents first.

I don't know that it was all her choosing. The Lord, I believe, placed a hesitation on her heart. I am eternally grateful that she came to us first. Praying with my precious first born was something I will never forget.

It is amazing how lightened I feel by her decision. There is a weight we don't perceive that we carry around. I think it is that fear of our children not becoming believers.

Of course, Dr. Leman's book is merely a coincedence. It's just funny that we really do have a new kid by Friday, a reborn one!

Want to meet my chilldren?

I have 4 children: 2 boys, 2 girls. Sometimes the middle 2 get a little confused about their gender. Poor Haven just wants soft clothes so he could care less if it's girl, boy or dog clothing.

Paisley only wants to wear Haven's clothes. Sometimes when I look at her I have to do a double-take. I think I'm looking at Haven when he was 2.

So here they are...at their best ;)


Paisley in boys boxer shorts, no shirt (the usual) and a silly look on her face.


Haven looking ravishing in the Cinderella costume and head scarf.


And a cute picture of Haley and Sterling.

Pictures from Haley's Birthday Party

Here are some pics (not that great) from Haley's party last Saturday. We had her party at an indoor jump place. They absolutely LOVED it.

It was actually kind of funny when we got into the room for cake and presents. Paisley busted big time and passed out (went to sleep not fainted lol) in Michael's arms. Then, Sterling demanded in a cute 2 wk old way that he needed to nurse. So that left me and Michael unable to help!

Thankfully, my dear friend Andrea was there to step in and help. She is an angel!

The cake was amazing...hehe I made it so of course it was ;) Even Brooke (Andrea's daughter) said it was the "best cake she'd ever had"! Woohoo!

The Tooth Fairy IS Real

I have made a "few" mistakes in parenting. *gasp* One being when I read a tidbit of parenting advice I jump right in and give it a try.

A couple of weeks ago I read in Mothering magazine about not "lieing" to your children about things like Santa Claus and the Tooth Fairy. So when the time was right ... it was oh so bad timing... I calmly explained to Haley that adults have imaginary friends to, like Santa and the Tooth Fairy.

She looked at me confused, then asked "so the Tooth Fairy is you?" This was a bit ackward. They didn't mention this part in the magazine. "Well, yes, but I pretend to be the Tooth Fairy."

Subject quickly changed and nothing was ever mentioned. Fast forward to yesterday when amidst MUCH MUCH drama I pulled Haley's 3rd baby tooth. She was very excited about what the Tooth Fairy would bring her-

Wait. Didn't we discuss that the Tooth Fairy was just me? Apparently, to a 6 year old, reality isn't as fun as make-believe. So we put her perfect little tooth in a bag and set in a safe place. Thankfully she remembered to get it and put it under her pillow (I have some memory issues).

I go to bed at 11pm and never have another thought of my duty. Not a good thing. But God is good to me, I'm not sure why but I think it has more to do with my children than me.

Haven starts hollerin' for me from his bed at 6:30...okay I have to share why he is yelling for me. Literally in my deep sleep I wanted to cry from laughter.

He went to bed last night after a spanking (which is the normal routine because why on Earth would a 3 year old go to bed when told and stay there???) and apparently fell asleep while still crying at 8:30 just as all sunlight was disappearing.

So at 6:30, just as sunlight was appearing, he wakes up thinking it's nighttime. Being the "good boy" he stays in his bed and calls for me. I walk to him with my eyes still pasted shut and ask what he needs. "Mommy, what are we having in the morning for breakfast?" he asks. This is our only bedtime routine, to discuss breakfast. The poor lad thought it was last night!

Why is this important? Because God was looking out for Haley.

As I mentioned I had forgotten about my duty as the Tooth Fairy. I had tended to Haven and brought him to our bed to join Michael and Paisley. But I noticed another body. Haley had come into our bed sometime in the night (which NEVER happend) and I hadn't noticed until then. I laid down with Haven on top of me and immediately flew out of bed! Holy crud! I ran into the kitchen, blindly grabbed some cash from my purse and replaced Haley's tooth with a gift from the Tooth Fairy.

No more than 30 seconds after I returned to bed did Haley wake up and ask Daddy if he thought the Tooth Fairy came?

"Thank you, God!"

Turns out the money I grabbed from my purse was $3. I hope there is a long time between now and the next tooth. Enough time for her to forget that the Tooth Fairy left $3! She did actually say that she'd rather have a toy next time.

I rather enjoy my imaginary friends...if only I could remember them at the right times.

My Little Director/Producer/Actress

The last few days I have literally written dozens of blog posts...in my head. For some reason I never quite make it over here to share my prolific thoughts with you. But today I made it part of my to-do list.

I considered carefully what to write about: my cloth diaper blog, my sister in law (holding little hands) and our fantastic conversation on parenting that we had on Wednesday, my failures and successes of parenting a strong-willed boy or the uncanny resemblance my little Paisley has to her daddy. All of them good reads for sure but it was Haley who rose to the top.

Michael bought me an AWESOME digital camera the other day so I generously passed down my caveman digital camera to Haley. Today she has been busy making movies. What kind of movies does a 6 year old 100% daddy's girl make?? Ones that make her mommy proud. You see Haley has been by my side as I have worked tirelessly on my cloth diaper guide (a 78 page guide called the Ultimate Guide to Cloth Diapers ): writing, taking pictures, blogging, videoing, buying for "research", all of it. You never know how much your kids want to be like you until they do something like this.

Enjoy. Oh, one more thing, she did this while I was in the bathroom doing my hair (I know shocking! It happens once a week). She set the camera up by herself, wrote the script, everything! Uncle Chris will be proud too!

My little girl is growing up

I have been gone for a while; busy working on my cloth diaper blog and book, entertaining family in our house for 5 days, and sadly watching my firstborn grow up so fast. Haley turned 6 on Thursday and I can't tell you how much she has changed over the last 2 weeks. It's little things like now she can reach the kitchen sink and turn it on by herself. Those last few things that they depend on us for are slipping away. When she was just born well meaning family tried to explain that this would happen. But in my naivete I shrugged them off and thought to myself that this won't happen to me. I know she'll always need me but now I have to beg...plead...for some snuggle time. Haven is my little snuggler so I can get my fix there-for now.

Here are a couple of pictures from Haley's 6th birthday party:






To see Haley reading 100+ page chapter books makes me take a second look. Am I really seeing my little girl???

I guess "they" were right, they grow up so fast.

Go Lil' Angels!

My poor little girl!! Being a parent is so hard. Nothing hurts worse than watching your child be miserable. We debated back and forth whether Haley should attend her first soccer game. We had her jog around the house as a test and kick the ball around. She seemed well enough to make an appearance. I really hated to let her teammates down and I know she was looking forward to this day like it was Christmas. But as soon as we got there the sun zapped what little energy she had. Thankfully she went in the first quarter. Liz, her coach, did a great job making sure Haley got to kick the ball as much as possible. But Haley could barely jog. After half-time she headed to the van. I am glad she got a feel for what a game is like. Now next week won't be complete confusion. I did take a couple of pictures of her and as you can see she looks pooped. Of course her it is 6:00 and I am happy to say the bouncing, bubbly, crazy Haley is back. Too bad the game isn't at 7.