unexpected house guest

Natalie called me in church today. As my phone was vibrating I thought, "Wonder if she's over near the nursery and something is wrong with Addison...no, they would call my phone, she wouldn't." "Oh, she's pregnant and maybe there is something wrong concerning the pregnancy. Maybe she needs me to watch Greta...I better answer."

.

Well, she did have a favor to ask of me but thankfully everything was alright with the pregnancy! Her sweet Grandmother (Bridgette's and Gretchen's grandmother as well) was stranded here in Raleigh. Grandma Batten has the wonderful privilege of flying standby on Delta. As we chatted about, most of the time flying stand-by works beautifully. You really do seem to be able to squeeze on a plane without much trouble. However, there are THOSE times where it doesn't quite work out as planned. (mom, vonda, remember PARIS!!! and SPAIN!!!! those are some memories!)

.

Well, Grandma is headed to Vienna, Austria (her homeland) from Alaska for a couple months visit. She got stuck in Utah for one night and then stuck in Atlanta after that. She was told she would have to overnight in Atlanta for two more nights until the next flight to Vienna would be available. She decided to hop on a plane to Raleigh to visit her granddaughter Natalie. After the cab driver took her to Natalie's she realized Natalie and Adam were not home. Come to find out they were in Charlotte. OH NO!!! So, once the family found out where she was and the predicament she was in, Natalie called me and asked if we would rescue Grandma and let her stay with us until her flight tomorrow afternoon. Of course we were delighted!!! She has been a joy! The boys think she came to see them personally and have loved every bit of her attention. Addison enjoys being held and cuddled by her as well. Addison couldn't wipe the smile off her face, she loved Grandma B! Grandma Batten joined us for our neighborhood cookout today and helped me prepare the food....such a sweetie! The neighbors loved her!!!
.

It's been unexpected and wonderful. We are so happy to spend this time with her and I'm excited to see her again! I haven't seen her since Bridgette's wedding in 2000 and she's just as sweet as she's always been. What a joy to have Grandma Batten with us!!!

just enough

she has just enough hair for this itsy bitsy bow to hold on to.

isn't she the sweetest little thing!?!?! how did i get so blessed to have this precious little girl be all mine??? i love how she's holding her hands together. she is always doing this. so prim and proper. i never want to forget ANY of this!!!

her sweet voice

i love hearing her sweet voice each day, now that's she figured out how to talk to us a little bit! this is so fun! had to share it with you, being as most of you haven't had the privilege to hear sweet Addison Grace for yourself!

homework

started some "school" with Jackson this week. he LOVES it. i didn't really know how he would respond. he's such an active guy that sitting isn't his thing! he loves tracing, cutting, gluing, and coloring. he is just too cute! he calls it his "homework". now that Harrison is in 1st grade, he has homework monday-thursday. (that's a whole other post i'll have to do some time). as soon as we have dropped off Harrison for school this week, he wants to go straight home and do his school work. when Harrison is working on his homework during the evening, Jackson wants to do his "homework" too. we're only spending about 10min. just until he gets uninterested. AND we're only doing what he wants to do. i want him to enjoy this time together and certainly don't want to push him. he's 3 for goodness sakes! but i am happy that he LOVES it and ASKS for it! so fun! he's getting to be such a big boy! :)

a day in the life...

took this picture a couple of weeks ago and forgot to post it. i love it though. poor thing, she really does just have to go with the flow! Jackson had decided to rest his cup on her head. thankfully it was empty! nothing seems to bother her too much! :)

well, she did it

ROLLED OVER! not even 3 months old and rolled over from her back to her tummy. found her that way in her crib awake from her nap. little stinker. didn't even wait for mommy to be there to see her in action! even decided to do it on a special day, my dad's 61st birthday. :)

this girl is gonna be active, she'll need to be. to escape her brothers! :)

it pays to obey

Jackson had the biggest smile on his face the entire time! So fun!

I love his little arm hanging over the wheel! Harrison and daddy driving with NO HANDS!!! Probably not a good idea but fun nonetheless!

I love my three men!!!

Addison and I just hung out with the boys, loving every minute of it!

Anthony's so proud...future golfing buddings he's grooming!

Jackson made a hole in one! He was so excited! Aren't these boys so handsome!

mini golf courses have the most fun spots to pose! ;)

the boys loved hitting the ball in this one hole. it would go down a tube and roll out of the wooden track. very cute!

oops, Harrison lost his ball in the water and had to get another. :) daddy showing off his putting skills.

"hum, i think i should hit it a little to the left this time."

there were two elephants that were good for climbing, one for Jackson and one for daddy too!

afterwards we stopped by McDonald's and the boys bought chicken nuggets and ice cream with their money from Uncle Doyle and Aunt Linda. they loved paying with their "own" money! :)

.

We were supposed to go to ride go carts and play mini golf on Saturday night. However, the boys had a TERRIBLE day in the area of obedience and our fun plans had to be canceled. This is the part of parenting that is SO hard! We had a big family meeting and some changes are going to be made around here. They are aware of the expectations and we will be trying harder than ever to be consistent.

.

These boys are such sweet boys, but some behavioral issues are coming out of no where. It seems like you are going along as parents and things are pretty cut and dry. "Don't touch. Please stop. Let's share. Use kind words. Listen carefully." We are still saying all of these things and will be until who knows when. But, something switches along the way and it's hit me like a ton of bricks. So many issues we are dealing with right now are heart issues. They are deep and the answers and punishments aren't cut and dry for me. I am so often scared that I'm failing these boys. There is so much "talking" to be done and "correcting" to do but I wonder if I'm really getting to their hearts...to the heart of their problems. Especially Harrison. He's changing on me. He's becoming more "kid" and his trouble areas mean more and will determine who he becomes. I want so badly for him to "get it" and to make right choices. I want so badly for these kids to always want what God wants and to want it even when they don't get it. Who am I kidding...I don't even do this. I still struggle with knowing what God wants and doing what I know he wants me to do KNOWING all the while what I should do! Sometimes I think my expectations are too much. But I'm going to keep trying, keep praying and keep pushing them in the direction I know is best. and pray that God will hold on to their little hearts and they will start to GET some of the reasons WHY. Why we don't say certain things, act certain ways, react certain ways, love people even when we don't want to, be kind even when we don't want to, tell the truth, obey with a happy heart, trust our parents, look for ways to bless others, love and treat our siblings well.... I could go on and on. Harrison is questioning these things and I don't always feel like I have the answers. Don't always feel like the answer is good enough for him. Just praying I can point them to scripture and discipline them in love. That they will always know their parents LOVE them and want what is best for them.

.

Anyway, Sunday some changes were made. They worked hard to obey. Anthony and I were thrilled to take them to ride go-carts and play mini golf. They were kind and loving. Harrison waited patiently for his brother to go first and didn't complain...something I know he had to work very hard in his spirit to do. They were a joy and we had a blast as a family. Oh how I wish it could always be that way! It was a great day and we're moving in the right direction. Gonna take each day at a time...

thumb sucker in the making?

i've only had paci babies, which i LOVE. not sure i would know what to do with a thumb sucker. she sure likes her hands!

little miss scooter poot

where she "should" be

where she "is"

this girl is such a scooter! she MUST be snapped in to wherever she is. left her in the bouncy seat the other day and ran upstairs to get her clothes. came back into my room right as she was about to scoot right onto the floor. smiling, as if she was so proud of what she had done! :)

i am not kidding, it will NOT surprise me at all if she is rolling over in the next couple of weeks. she is so strong and she is already trying to figure the rolling thing out. she's making me think she's more like harrison than just her looks...she may be very mobile...quickly! ahhhh!!! slow down addison, mommy is trying to take all this in and you are moving just way too fast!!!!

a morning at marbles

jackson on the "ice" rink! :) amy, roman's mommy, is the hip mom in our group who can actually hula hoop! had to get a picture of that! :)

hula hooping and the balance beam...now that takes some concentration!

jackson with the "babies" of our group, jack, riley, and roman (addison sacked out as usual! she looked so cute in the shirt from Katy and the jean skirt that was baylee's! adorable! i've got to get a better picture of that outfit next time!)

jackson was quite good at the hurdles! he LOVED that!

ginormous legos....who doesn't love that???

spent yesterday morning at marbles with friends. it really is such a fun place for the kids! i think i'm going to get the membership as part of the boy's Christmas. it's a great deal and you get buy one get one on the IMAX documentary style films too.

they had this COOL OLYMPICS section. jackson had a ball! the hurdles were a BIG hit! such a cute idea for the kids. so many new centers upstairs too! we just had a blast and can't wait to go back soon!