Just For Granny!

Many of you know that our family shares a home with my mother-in-law. And if you didn't know that, consider yourself enlightened. However, she is currently in California (not a bit of jealousy coming from me, no sirree) and therefore, I feel certain she is visiting this here little blog hoping for a glimpse of her grandchildren. With that in mind, the world at large (you know, the fourteen people or so who read this blog) are about to get a Freeman Kid Overload.

If you want to save your retinas, leave now. If you want to overdose on cuteness, stick around! It's coming!

Our little Anna is growing like a wildflower! She has finally taken to her Bumbo and will sit up on the kitchen counter as the kids and I flounder about the kitchen preparing whatever mess it is we are creating. She is very quiet during all of this most of the time. Just so much to watch that she forgets to make noise!

She is also getting bored with immobility. She spends the majority of her floor time practicing her rolling and how to push up to hands and toes. AND! I caught her on her hands and knees yesterday. She would get up on all fours, push off with her knees and feet, and then face plant because she hasn't figured out the whole arm part yet. She was very impressed with herself!


Um...does that ^^^^^^ look like a red-head to ya'll?!?!?!? It's an opinion poll. But if you disagree with me, then your opinion doesn't count. I'm a control freak like that. ;)

Thomas is not stagnating, either. It is so much fun watching the last remnants of babyhood melt away as little boyhood takes over. I am totally loving the time that I get to spend with him and hear what he has to say about this and that and the other. He's a clown, and tends to not take much seriously, which obviously has some down sides, but there are some perks to his candid little nature, too. I won't sugar-coat it, though. It is tough trying to get through to him the seriousness of many of the things he gets into. He tends to make light of it, causing no end of a feeling of frustration and helplessness in me. It's hard to guide a child who can't/won't view life as anything but sheer entertainment. We'll get there.

My clown is a sweetheart, though. He takes very good care of his Mama and his sisters. He likes to make us pictures and bring us flowers. Here he is after he requested my assistance in traipsing around the yard to bring the beauty inside. That's my kind of guy!

It's not that I don't like being outside, but now that the rains seem to be subsiding a bit, the mosquitoes are out more than the usual full force. The wooded lot that our property is against is usually a source of serenity for me. For the time being, I view it as a hateful breeding grounds of blood sucking obnoxiousness.

But look at those flowers! Aren't they lovely?? They are currently gracing the kitchen table. This is very serene and calming to me, too.

Elizabeth keeps me on my toes like the older two never did. 'What dat, Mama?' and 'Wook, Mama!' and 'Wead book, Mama?' and 'I want bweckfess, Mama.' are the most commonly heard phrases from her. She is a getter-into of anything and quick to say 'I sowweee, Mama' when she caught. This is the best place for her. She loves to 'fwim in da watuh' and can't find much trouble there. Incidentally, she stays pretty clean.


It's hard to take a picture of your shadow, folks. Which brings me to Sarah Grace. She is my shadow. My very chattery shadow. I hear most from her 'Can I help, Mama?' and 'I'm gonna do whatever you do, Mama.' It is every bit as sweet as it sounds, even if I have to remind myself how sweet when she repeats it for the thirtieth time while we wait for the noodles to cook.

It's no small thing to have a three year old wish to emulate you.

Ant Hills, Rain, and a Caterpillar

We slept in a bit yesterday. It was nice. Even the kids slept in. And when they woke up, we stationed them in front of the television for half an hour or so, allowing Joshua and I to go on about the business of sleeping in.

Then we fed everyone breakfast, lazed about for a couple of hours, fed them lunch, and put them all down for nap. Because we are productive like that.

Once they got up from nap, the real work of the day began. Joshua had worked out in the shop on our building project while the kids napped. When they woke up, we all joined him. It was pretty humid outside, due to the copious amounts of rain that Dixie Land is being brutalized by, so I handed out freezer pops to the kids. Nothing says love like frozen food coloring and sugar!

The kids enthusiastically munched on their freezer pops then poured the left over juice on an ant hill. An ant hill that we had already poured ginger and cayenne pepper on. An ant hill that they had already dumped sawdust all over. I guess all it needs now is whipped cream.



As is the expected forecast for the rest of forever, the rains started up not long after the freezer pop treat was over. The kids stood in the doorway of the garage looking all sad until I told them to get out there and play in the rain! Quit standing around inside!

Sarah Grace was the first one out the door and ran around in giant circles, laughing and squealing the entire time. It used to be a question in our family if Sarah Grace was the most adventurous by nature or because Thomas was always volunteering her to try it first so he could see how things would work out. I have a sneaking suspicion that she is that way by nature. Thomas no longer has to convince her to 'go first'.

The kids played outside until bath time...when I noticed their 'chicken pox' were mysteriously gone. I have no idea what that is about. It is our very own medical mystery.

The best part of the last day of our long weekend? When we sat down for dinner.


The children were all sitting at the table as I sat out the different bowls of food. They were very excited over the mashed potatoes and peas, but when I placed the pork tenderloin on the table, all fell silent. Four seconds ticked by before Thomas asked...

'Mama, is that a caterpillar?'

The Chicken Pox Coop Up

My bloggy friend Joanna said it best...

I can stay at home for days and days quite happily ... until I can't go anywhere. Then that day (or days) I'm completely stir-crazy!!

Hence my craziness. But not so much. We stayed more or less at home on Thursday, then Joshua has been home Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and today!!! We have been working on a building project that has kept me and the children entertained. Miss H. came over on Saturday to watch the kids for a bit while Joshua and I got things underway, and since then, we just kind of work on it as life allows.

I'll tell you all about that project later. I am picture documenting just for the blog. But I will leave you with this fun tidbit...I am learning to use a radial arm saw!

The children have been super. They have been allowed a few things that normally are not allowed. Like wearing their pretend-play clothes outside. I was highly humored as I sat across the street with the camera and took pictures of the Medieval bicyclers in my driveway.

The Dragon

The Princess

The Flapper

Wait...The Flapper? Wrong era...time travel is a wonderful thing, people.

The Gods of Insanity Are Conspiring Against Me

I am a go person. Even with four little children, I tend to get out and about more than your average stay at home mommy of many little children. I go on sprees where I stay at home for days on end and am fine with it. For the most part, however, I like an outing a day. Or perhaps an overnight or weekend away. I am thankful to have have family that say 'Bring it on!'

I like going to the playground, I like going to craft stores, I like going to street festivals and craft shows. I like to visit people, I like spending time at church (even when there are no services in progress). In fact, I am given to loading up the troop for just about any reason.

So it came as a sinking shock to me when I was told on Wednesday that we had the chicken pox. The mother of all reasons to keep my children away from other children. And so here I am, with my calender absolutely packed out for the next month, making cancellations and rearranging all sorts of things. Here I am, trying to figure out what to do with the massive amounts of stay at home time on my hands.

Yesterday was the first 'whole' day of our quarantine. I only went to the grocery store. And the craft store. To ensure that we had food to eat and things to keep our little hands busy. Today starts day two...

I am already antsy about what I could be doing...there are some huge yard sales happening this weekend...

And here I am. With four relatively happy children, two of them itchy and scratchy. At home. for at least two more weeks...

This is my own personal nightmare. This not going out and being active.

The sunny side...we are working on new schedules and new routines and enforcing new behavior expectations. Well, not new...just modified with age. But you know...

At home.

The Little Wet Princess

On a whim of insanity, I loaded up the children and took them to the playground the other evening. The plan was to play until they tuckered out, feed them on the way home food from the chicken joint, and pop them into bed as soon as we hit the door.

It worked pretty much just like that, except we fed them at home in order to preserve the cleanliness of my van.

Are we all done laughing? Can I move on now?

While all the children were there and running about in and amongst the water and playground, Sarah Grace was making up for lost time with the camera. That kid, for all her cuteness and sweetness takes THE worst pictures. This particular evening, however, she was hammin' it up for me.

Manning the Water Machine Gun. Girlfriend has some good aim, I tell you.

Dancing in the water spray.

A fly-by hi!

One happy, albeit soaked, Little Princess.

My Little Racers

Our church participates in AWANA. Thomas and Sarah Grace are both in the Cubbies class, and have really enjoyed going each week. They have learned about 30 verses this year in the Cubbies program, on top of the ones we work on at home. I can't even begin to tell you how proud of them I am!

One of the things that AWANA does at the end of the year is a Grand Prix. (I only know how it works within our church, so if your church does it different, don't come after me wagging a finger and telling me this isn't right. Because for us, it is.) The kids get to build cars for a pinewood derby type thing. Actually, a handful of adults do a lot of the work...the kids are just the idea creators!

As you can imagine, this is highly entertaining. And highly competitive. Thomas did very well last year with his Lightening McQueen car, and just missed placing. Since then, he and Sarah Grace have been mulling over the various characters their cars could be. However, we seem to be short on imagination and long on Cars love. Thomas again picked a car based on Lightening McQueen and Sarah Grace chose to model hers after Sally.

At this point I will tell you that if you haven't seen Cars, you aren't getting any younger. It's cute, though I would not recommend it for every kid. There are some pretty sassy spots and several bad attitudes. Then end is all happily ever after, though!

Okay, plug over. Back to the meat of this post.

Joshua and I scurried home Sunday afternoon to ensure that we could gather all our children and be a part of the Grand Prix races. It was a good time, I tell you. Thomas and Sarah Grace were beside themselves with excitement. They wanted to show off their cars. They wanted to play with their cars. They wanted at the refreshments table where a spread of junk food was laid out!

Thomas and Sarah Grace's cars both did very well in the first heat. Thomas was even in the run off for first place, but lost out to an older kid with a really cool car! Then after the first place finisher was awarded his trophy, the award for fourth place design was announced. Sarah Grace and her Sally car had taken fourth place on design!!!

Sarah Grace was a bit upset and scared to go get her trophy, so I picked her up and we went together. Once she saw the trophy, all fears were cast to the wind. She had a new shiny to show off!

In the second heat, Thomas and Sarah Grace both kept winning until there was a showdown at the end for second place finisher. The man with the mic announced announced that Thomas Freeman and Sarah Grace Freeman were the final two cars to race against each other for the overall second place finish! A Freeman Race-Off!

The room grew (slightly) more quiet and several people laughed as they stood up to see brother and sister face off.

For their part, Thomas and Sarah Grace happily took their cars to the starting line, then stood back to cheer for themselves.

The crowd counted down, and the cars went zooming down the track. I stood at the end of the track to see who would win so I could be sure to check the face of the other child for signs of break down.

Thomas was announced the second place winner!!! He ran to collect his trophy and his car while I made my way to Sarah Grace.

She picked up her car and returned it to the table to await her next run. When she turned to me, I had no idea what to expect, given that she is usually the more competitive child.

'Now we bowf have tro-pees, Mama! I gots one and Thomas gots one!'

I hugged that little girl up close and was joyful with her that they had both won. She hugged me back, but quickly squirmed away to go off and sit with her friends to watch the races.

Sarah Grace's car continued to do well, making it into the over all third place finals (but missing, and then into the over all fourth place finals. Where she won!

In all honesty, she was tired of the hullabaloo, and I had to coax her to go and retrieve her trophy. She gracefully accepted it, and with a wry look on her face, handed it off to me, then went back to play. I laughed, because what else does one do when things are funny?

The winners for speed and design all congregated at the front for pictures with their trophies and cars in hand. Almost all. Sarah Grace needed to go to the restroom, and held up pictures for several minutes. I laughed again as I heard a teen aged boy comment that he and his brothers were always waiting on their Mom to come out of the bathroom before they could do things, too. I wanted to pat his shoulder and tell him that the best things in life are worth waiting for, but I suspect he wouldn't have quite understood yet.

It was a fun evening, and the kids are thrilled with their trophies. Thomas took his to school yesterday to show off to his friends, who were all sufficiently impressed. Today, the three older kids have played 'Trophy Winners' all morning. They keep passing out the trophies to each other for various different things: counting to twenty-nine (Sarah Grace get stumped after that), singing a song, jumping over a pile of books/pillows/siblings, eating all their food, etc.

In fact, pretty much anything is trophy worthy at our house today. I nursed Anna and received a 4th place design trophy for it!

A Wedding!!

This has been a week full of celebrations. Baby Graham, Thomas' graduation, and now a wedding! The week ranks towards the top on Aubrey's Scale of Goodness

We had the privilege of traveling to Tennessee to participate in the wedding festivities of one of Joshua's old college room-mates. Andrew and Joshua go back to their first year of college, and have enjoyed their friendship for many years now.

Andrew is an encouragement. He is very focused in his walk with Christ, and he has a kind and gentle demeanor that just radiates around him. Fittingly, he is a doctor, and enjoys taking his training and talents into the the mission fields. Joshua and I have often wondered at what kind of woman it would take to turn his head.

The answer is... one just like him. While I barely spoke with Heather, I listened to Andrew's praises of her. I heard lots of people from her hometown speak about her and her growing up years. I look forward to the occasion when I do get to sit and chat with her for a while, so great were their observations. She is also incredibly committed to Christ, a doctor, and a mission worker. It is so exciting to think of what kind of plans the Lord must have for Andrew and Heather!

The wedding was one of the sweetest I have ever attended. The couple turned their attention first towards praising God, then towards their vows. I know that doesn't do justice to the celebration, but I can't think of how to best express it. I am not a writer by nature, and can't find words to describe how much more than just a wedding this was. Just trust me, it was amazing.

Joshua and Andrew. Anna was simply enthralled with the medals on Andrew's Navy uniform!

The Bride and Groom trying to find the seats under the sea of balloons stuffed into the Jeep.

There they go!

Congratulations, Doctor & Doctor Bright!!

Pre-School Graduation

It's been a whirlwind of a week. Graduations, weddings, and AWANA Grand Prix! I will do my best to get all of this on the blog, for my memory's sake. Cause we all know I can forget anything with the lack of synapses firing in the brain these days...

As I have mentioned in passing several times on the blog, Thomas attended a Mother's Morning Out type of thing this year. Three hours a day, three mornings a week. It was an experience, to say the very least. He had an awesome teacher! Possibly one of the most patient ladies I have ever met, and enjoyed her class room full of kids immensely. I wish I could say I had looked that joyful every day back in the days when I taught...

But let's not get into all of that now, shall we?

Thomas worked on writing, numbers, and phonics. He excelled in crafts, snacks, and play time, and then I picked him up before lunch and nap! As a Mother Of Many (MOM), I reserve the right to enjoy the sanctity of nap time!!

He made lots of friends, learned a few things that I would have never taught him at home (how to shoot a bird, among others) and came out unscathed on the other end. And happy! Look at this cutie and his diploma!

Oh, and because we were all dressed up and not in a rush to get somewhere, let me lay a family picture on you real quick!

On New Babies

I have always loved newborns. How can you not? There are beautiful little miracles, sweet and cuddly and good-smelling and so perfectly tiny. I tell you though, I remember when that maternal instinct flared up to full force.

I had been working at the pre-school for about three years when the office manager had a darling little baby girl. I loved sneaking away from the classroom and stealing up to the office to love on little Natalie. She was just so calmingly wonderful. She was really my first 'long term' exposure to babies since entering my prime baby-making years adulthood. I wasn't yet engaged, and here I was pining away for a baby. I started spending more and more time in the infant room. I started paying closer attention to my friend Amy who was pregnant with her first, and was horrified that my friend Lora, who was pregnant with twins, was so far away from me!

I had baby fever.

At my wedding, there were no less than six pregnant girls there. SIX! Including Lora, my matron of honor. I looked at each of those women with their bellies in different stages of baby roundedness, and said, either out loud or in my head, 'Oh, I can't wait to be in that stage!'

Turns out I didn't have to wait long. While Joshua and I certainly weren't planning on having children for a couple of years, the Lord had different plans. Our wedding was in late October, and by Christmas, I knew I was pregnant. I was super excited, but it took a while to figure that out. The shock had to wear off first.

When all my girlfriends started delivering their children, I was ecstatic. I would hold those little ones and ooh and ahh, and was still really prone to say, 'Oh, I want one!' People would laugh and remind me I was pregnant. Even when I was seven and eight months along, I could be heard saying, 'Oh, I can't wait to have a baby!'

It wasn't that I was wishing my life away or being un-thankful for the season I was in. It was just that I had a hard time believing that I was actually with child! It was such a grown-up thing. And here I was just barely married, playing with four year olds all day long at work, not really remembering that I was the grown-up this time around.

As each of my children have been born, I have marveled at how sweet it is to have a newborn resting on my chest. They are so sweet and so small and so perfectly made. Newborns are full of hope, full of promise.

Today, I got to do prints for a brand new baby in the Gossett family. It is always such a privilege to get to do newborn prints. I reached out for him, held him in my hands and gazed on that perfectly formed little face, reveling in God's handiwork, then I snuggled him up against my chest and inhaled of that wonderful newborn scent. And I said...

'Oh, I want another one!'

Mrs. L (maternal grandmother) was there, and she laughed at me and said she remembered me saying that right after her last grandson's birth, and look how I had gotten right to work on that! As she made this comment, she gazed down at my suddenly-not-quite-so-small Anna, who was contentedly resting in Mrs. L's arms.

I stuttered and sputtered as I acknowledged the truth of her words, but assured her I didn't mean right away! I explained that I am not opposed to more at all, but perhaps it would be a couple of years before we started adding to our brood.

Oh, but I am so ready to go back to the Gossett's today and love on some little Graham. Congratulations, friends. Welcome to our world, little one.

**Not my site, but this is what I mean when I say prints. Perhaps, one of these here days, I will get around to a website.

Young Wisdom

Ya'll, I am so tired, but I had to share this conversation with somebody. Which means if you stopped by here, your it!

'Sarah Grace, you have been so diligent and helpful working to get the living room cleaned up. Great job, sweetheart!'

'Fank you, Mama. I keep trying to cwean it all up, but everybody keeps making a mess for me to cwean up again!'

She was being incredibly sweet, but I could see the exasperation on her little countenance. I don't blame her. I feel the same when I make up my bed in the mornings...

In Which I Use The Phrase 'Muddy Buddies'

*** I need you people to know the effort it took to get these cute pictures uploaded. It took All. Day. Long. Blogger is not being user friendly to me. ***


You know what happens after however many straight days of rain the South Lands just endured? Mud. Ooey, gooey, splatter-up-the-back-of-your-leg-with-each-step-you-take mud.

These two stayed mostly clean.

In this case, a school picnic happened, too. The little preschool where Thomas attends 3 mornings a week had it's End of the Year/Mother's Day picnic yesterday at one of the local parks. The play area literally had it's own little moat all the way around it. I kid you not. A Moat of Mud. A body had to cross this moat to access the play equipment. Which, conveniently, were all surrounded in mud. Did this deter the group of 30+ four and five year olds?

Not one iota.

Elizabeth was quickly befriended by a gaggle of girls who thought she was 'sooo cute' and they all entertained each other.

The kids all played and had a Muddy Blast. Then the K-4 class serenaded us with a sweet round of 'Jesus Loves Me' and an equally as sweet song about Mommys. After the singing was over, we trooped all those kids and their parents (mostly Moms) and their siblings (mostly Thomas') into a pavilion to eat their lunch.

After all was said and done, this is what my children looked like from behind. Thirty some-odd children, and while mine weren't the only ones with muddy bums, we managed a high concentration of the mud population within our family.

Muddy Buddies

Cause we're special like that, ya know.

Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes

It is a slightly painful truth that I am about to share with you. One that I am not fully comfortable acknowledging. Change happens. And there are several happening in our home as of late.

The one I intend to share with you today is just this: Thomas is phasing out of his need for daily naps.

Ouch! Ya'll know this means I have to make the switch, too, right? I like that sacred 3 hour window in the middle of the day when peace reigns supreme.

However, as I have said before, time marches on. It's a great time of year for a little boy to be making this change. I can shoo him outside, thereby maintaining the peace within the house. So somebody can sleep. Even if it's not me doing the sleeping! There's a glitch in this line of thinking. Thomas is not a self-entertainer. He has never had to be. He was an only child (and grandchild) for a short eleven months, and then his playmate arrived. By the time he was twenty months old, Sarah Grace could keep up with him and they have been playing ever since! All this to say, I often hear him asking for Granny or me to come play with him.

Today, I was feeling up for a change of scenery. My beloved Land of Dixie has had a bit of rain lately. (read - dang near flooded us out of house and home) When Thomas came in after a scant five minutes of solitary playing and asked for a playmate, I offered to take him on a bike ride. We took off and were about halfway around the block when we got distracted by the overly full pond. We pulled our bikes over to the side of the road and went to inspect the pond more closely. It was quickly decided to take the bikes home, grab some supplies, and come back to the water's edge.

We got back to the pond about fifteen minutes later, Thomas armed with a butterfly net that was masquerading as a fish net and me with a jar and the camera.

Because what else does one need for an afternoon of poly-woggin?

As I mentioned before, I am especially thankful for these shoes. Thomas was careful at first, and stayed entirely to dry and clean. He got braver about his adventure, though, and soon was up to his knees in the muddy water. He caught several tadpoles, dumped them in his jar, and went back for more.


Eventually, he ventured out too far and found where the bank drops off a bit. He fell with a laugh and a splash. After surviving the first fall, he lost all reservation and had a ball splashing about, slogging around, and just being a boy.


You have heard the NEW definition of boy, yes?

Boy - \boi\ - noun - a noise with dirt on it.

After he was thoroughly soaked, we headed for the house. While I opted to walk on the road, Thomas took the ditch, which had just enough run off from the pond to make things interesting to a little boy. The farther we went, the muddier it got.
And then it happened. He got stuck. Up to his knees, stuck in the muck. I had to actually pull him out. I could almost hear the slurping release of the suction when his feet, minus one shoe, were free.

(For those of you unfortunate souls who are not familiar with this pose, the hands out to the side, head tossed at an odd angle, and bummy protruding - - it's a sure sign of oh-my-goodness-what-have-I-gotten-myself-into-Mommy/Daddy-fix-it-for-me-NOW! It is usually paired with the infamous Thomas howl. This situation was no exception.)

I looked down at the muddy mess of water, knowing that I was going to have to plunge beneath the surface and into the nasty mud below to fetch that shoe. What could be living in that mud?

I was almost ready to go get new shoes. But I had already been to Wally World once today, and the experience was enough to make me seriously consider hiring a personal shopper.

So I sucked it up and did what I had to do. Up to my elbow in mud, I finally located what prayed was his shoe and pulled. God is good people. It was his shoe, and I didn't have to put my arm back down in that scary water.

We made it home, got him sprayed off, plopped our jar full of polywogs on the table, and called it a day.

And nap time wasn't even over yet! We crammed all that fun into about ninety minutes! What will tomorrow bring??

Anna is 5 Months!!!

I am 5 months old and...

...I love to be outside with my peeps!
...I can scoot all over the crib at will.
...I am a pretty good roller.
...I am chatty, chatty, chatty!
...I laugh at my brother and sisters regularly.
...I am still nursing for well over half of my nutrition!
...I am still the most popular baby in the house!
...I have learned to utilize my hands and grab at things.
...I tasted ranch dressing...blech!
...Mommy finally started dressing me in clothes rather than sleepers on a regular basis.
...I am such a cuddle bug. I love to just sit in a lap, ride around in a pair of arms, or just be touched.
...I have no fear of strangers. So long as they hold me and say nice things.
...I can sit in my bouncy seat and look out a window for ages! Or better yet, take me outside!
...I truly live up to my middle name, Joy!