Today.

It's been months since I've picked up my camera. Life is so busy that I don't take it down from the shelf to capture little moments with my babies. Today, after lunch, after Vacation Bible School, before naps, during random outside play time, I remembered that abandoned camera and took it down. I quite literally wiped the dust off of it and took it outside. My subjects have grown since I last looked through the lens.

They've also gotten quite spunky.

And then there's this guy.

If you cannot tell, he is simply adored.  Adored.  They cannot help but touch him, kiss him, smother him, talk to him, distract him, feed him.  It's like a magnetic force field that none of us have the strength to resist.

This is his reaction to grass.  I'm so glad I captured this because this is the exact reaction all of my kiddos have had to their first experience with the prickly, pokey grass.  His face says it all.

Here's my Nora.  Sweet, growing, compassionate, caring.  I will not talk about the fact that she will be turning seven in just a few short months.  Not going there.

And there is this side to her.  Goofball.

Stella B.  Newly three.
Just yesterday we celebrated the three wonderful years of life we've had with our sweet girl.  She couldn't be funnier or sweeter or more sassy.  She's super smart and witty and to know her is to adore her.

She's showing me how her dress twirls.

Liam Piper.  Oh this boy!
Right here he is hot and trying to pretend he doesn't want me to take his picture.

But we all know that deep down, he does.

That cowlick.

So that is a snapshot of today.  Today I am thankful for simple afternoons in our backyard and a prompting to pick up my forgotten hobby.  These days are so blurry and so quickly passing.  But man, am I going to miss them when they are gone.

First Day!

This morning, August 12, 2013, Nora began her first day of Kindergarten at Paideia Academy.  She was so excited, and seems to have had such a great day.  Although she was only there for half a day, getting up before 7:00 am and getting back into the swing of school has worn my girl out as she is taking herself a nice, long nap!

As I discussed a few months ago, we are starting Nora at a new school this year and have re-entered her in Kindergarten.  Basically, she was a very young Kindergartener last year having a late August birthday, and Paideia has a very different curriculum/method of learning from what we did at our other school.  So, we basically figured we have nothing to lose by having her do Kindergarten again (plus we get another whole year with our girl!).

Last year, I was super emotional as we sent both Nora and Liam to school for the first time.  For several weeks (maybe even months), I felt like a part of me was missing the hours they were in class.  My heart wasn't whole while they were gone, but that feeling got better and letting them go a little bit got easier.  This year, I don't feel that too much, and I am just so excited for all that this year holds for both of them academically.  Liam starts Pre-K next Monday, and this coming Friday we will go meet his teachers and classmates.

Here are a few pictures of Nora this morning as Liam, Stella and I walked her to class for her big day:

Getting out of the car.  (Shhh, but I think we may have worn a wrong version of the uniform on the first day!  Oh well!)

This is her first time wearing a uniform.  At first, she was aghast at the thought, but now she likes it.  I personally can't get over the knee socks.  Too cute!

At her desk!  In her brown paper bag are 5 things about herself that she packed to share in front of the class today.  She packed her white stuffed kitty (a favorite), a Littlest Pet Shop character (one of her favorite toys to play with), paints (because she wants to be an artist), a picture of our family at the beach, and her goggles (because she loves to swim).

Getting ready to start her first morning activity: drawing a self-portrait on the first day.  You'll notice her name and alphabet chart on her desk.  She'll be learning the D'Nealian form of handwriting this year to prepare her for future cursive writing.

Stella wishing her big sister a great first day!  Liam refused to participate in the picture taking this morning.

 Don't you just love that face!

I'm so proud of my big girl.  Tomorrow marks a big day as it's our first day of homeschool days with Paideia, and we have co-op at our church.  Like last year, I will homeschool Nora on Tuesdays and Thursdays in conjunction with what she learns in class on MWF.  Miss Jones, Nora's teacher, sends home lesson plans for me to follow each day, so planning won't be as much for me this year.  However, I did take a look at what we've got going on tomorrow, and we will definitely be busy.  

Nora will also be taking ballet on Tuesdays this year, and both Nora and Liam will be taking a Reading Connections class at our CCK Co-op.  Tuesdays will be super busy over here!

I'll keep you posted on our progress and update after Liam's first day next week.  Hard to believe summer is over already!

Crazy May

May is BY FAR the busiest month of life we've had around here in a while.  It's was all fun and exciting stuff, but EVERYTHING happens in May!  Did anyone else feel this way?

We had Liam's 4th birthday and birthday party, Mother's Day, Nora's ballet recital, Liam's last week of preschool for this school year, and Nora's last days and her Kindergarten Graduation.  Two days later we left town to head down to New Orleans (WOOHOO!) for a visit with my family and some friends.  Add in here and there graduation rehearsals, doctors appointments, friends with babies being born, occasional sickness, playdates with friends, Care Group, and visiting with family.....and we were some BUSY PEOPLE!

(Have I taken pictures of nearly HALF of this stuff????  NO!)

As I think about our month and all that this past (school) year has entailed, I cannot help but be thankful for so much.  This has been a wonderful experience:  our co-op, homeschooling, preschool for Liam, lots of individual time with Stella.  Our children have changed so much since August, and I am so thankful for the tools the Lord has used in our lives to being bring these changes about.

Let me update more about a few recent things and goings-on of the family:

I am currently 19 weeks pregnant with baby #4!  This pregnancy is going by so incredibly fast, but we are really anticipating the arrival of our little one.  The pregnancy has been really smooth, and I just this past week began to definitively feel the baby move (which is by FAR my most favorite part of pregnancy).  In fact, Jonathan was able to feel a few kicks for the first time.  What a miracle life is!


Stella B just turned 2 on Sunday! I am kind of in denial about this, and I will insist on snuggling her and cuddling her and rocking her and treating her like a 12 month old instead of a two-year-old for a little while longer.  Stella is definitely starting to come into her own opinion, as most little two-year-olds do, but she is still the sweetest and cuddliest and funniest little booger we know.

Liam turned four in May (as I mentioned above) and had a fabulous birthday and party.  We celebrated with a few friends at a bounce house with some Transformer cupcakes and a few gifts.  He is SUPER into Rescue Bots these days so with the help of my parents, we were able to get him his favorite six Transformers: Blades, Boulder, Heatwave, Chase, Bumblebee, and Optimus Prime.  He is one proud boy!  (By the way, he often calls them "France-chormers" instead of "Transformers" which is the cutest thing ever.  I will not ever correct him and most often I say it incorrectly because I so love how he says it).  He finished up preschool a few weeks ago, and so far it doesn't seem that he is one bit upset to leave behind his friends and teachers.  He does occasionally talk about Pre-K next year, but I think he is just ready to play and enjoy the summer.

Nora, on the other hand, is super sad that school is ending.  She absolutely LOVES school and her friends and teachers.  It's been hard for the her the past few weeks because she realizes that she is not going back to Cedar Springs next year and won't be going on with her group of friends.  I hate this for her, but we are also super-pumped about Paideia and all that the Lord has in plan for her (and our family as a whole) next year.  We will still have lots of opportunities to see and hang out with her friends from CSWS, but I definitely understand her sadness. We have been so blessed by Nora's two teachers this year who have invested so deeply into her!

Last month was also Nora's ballet recital and she was a beauty!  I took lots of pictures and Jonathan recorded it, so I need to try to upload those soon.  All I'll say is that while she looked so beautiful and graceful, Nora has not quite FULLY grasped the concept of gracefulness.  She was so passionate about her dance, but it wasn't what I'd say graceful, slow, smooth, dainty.  If she had a turn, she would whirl and whip around with all of her might, and she'd do it very quickly.  It was so precious watching her because she was having so much fun and enjoyed every minute of being on stage.  It was so fun to watch her!

Jonathan and I celebrate our anniversary on the 22nd....9 years!  (Confession:  I just typed eight.  Eight years.  Then I had to stop and do the math).  It's been NINE YEARS!  Cuh-razy that we are almost to ten years of marriage. Our anniversary fell in the midst of Graduation, so we didn't really get to celebrate as it occurred, but we definitely made up for it by going out to dinner at Commander's Palace in New Orleans during our trip there last week.  I'll update more on that delicious meal another time.

Well, truth be told, I started this post in late May but never got it posted because my computer is soooooo uncooperative when it comes to uploading pics lately.  I decided to just edit the post as in the past since it is now JUNE, and forget the pics.  I'll try again another day!  Till then.

Playing Catch Up

I have not updated about the kids in a really long time.  Our days are so busy and it's hard for me to sit still long enough when the kids are asleep or detained.  In many ways, our weeks are pretty predictable-- we have school Monday, Wednesday and Friday; ballet on Tuesday; homeschooling on Tuesday and Thursday; a few random playdates here and there; Care Group on Friday nights.  But, every single week seems to have it's own rhythm and story to tell which keeps things lively and life flowing by so fast.

It's quite hard for me to believe that Nora will have completed her first year of school in just two and half short months.  Wow!  She LOVES, loves, loves school.  I cannot say enough about her teachers this year, and it seems like every week she blows us away by learning something new.  She is reading up a storm which has been so fun to watch.  I love seeing how her mind unfolds as she is learning math and science and phonics and everything else.  Her teacher is extremely musical, so their days at school are filled with tons of music and dancing and sign language, which is right up Nora's alley.  In fact, it makes me wish I was in Kindergarten again.

As much as we love the school where Nora is now, we have decided to change schools for her next year.  After looking into many options and much prayer and consideration, we have decided to send Nora to a school here in Knoxville called Paideia.  It is a Classical Christian school that goes all the way through high school.  Where Nora is now doesn't go past the fifth grade currently, so it would only be a matter of time before we'd have to switch her over to another school, and we feel like sooner is better than later (for us, anyway).  We are really excited about what next year holds for our girl.  However, we are still trying to soak up every last second at Cedar Springs because it is a fabulous school.  Also, for many reasons that are too long-winded for me to go into in this post, we will be having Nora repeat Kindergarten when she starts this new school.  She is a very young Kindergartener this year (the youngest in her class), and the students at Paideia typically don't enter Kindergarten until they are six (which Nora won't be until AFTER school starts next year).  There are several more reasons, but none of them has anything to do with the fact we think Nora is currently struggling academically.  I feel like anytime I tell people about our plans for next year, they assume that she is struggling with school, and it is truly not the case.  But, we think it's what's best for our family at this point and we are excited about it!

Liam Piper is getting ready to turn FOUR!  He tells everyone that he meets that he is "three and three-quarters."  It is the cutest thing to hear him say.  He has been enjoying school this year, and we have seen much progress with him as he has benefited from being in a more structured environment on school days.  His teachers are wonderful, and he loves them.  We have days where he gets sad at drop-off or he'll just be sad throughout the day, but he is my sweet, sensitive boy that still (occasionally) loves to be held and snuggled.  I know the day is coming when that won't be the case, so I don't mind the extra attention he may need from time to time.  He's growling like a weed too, and seems so much older after his most recent growth spurt.  I think he's going to be taller than Jonathan (more like my dad).

Next year, Liam will go back to Cedar Springs and will be in Pre-K!  Isn't that crazy!? I am really excited about the Pre-K program at school, and I think it will be good preparation for whatever the next year holds for him.  I am hoping we can also get him into a sport or two next year, maybe soccer or gymnastics or something.  He's very athletic and has the skill, but I think he can be shy in a group setting, so we'll have to see how he'll do in that arena.

Stella Marie, mostly known in our house as Stella B, is our sweet angel girl.  She brings so much joy to our house and is almost always in the most joyful mood.  She's finally walking and running everywhere---she beat Nora as our current late-walker record holder at about 20 months.  Once she decided she was ready to walk, it took NO time for her to get on the go.  Now, she runs around like crazy and jumps right in with the other two in anything she can.

On the days that Nora and Liam are in school, Stella and I have the day to spend together.  It has been such a sweet season of getting to have that one-on-one time with her.  We run errands, clean house, do laundry, watch Elmo, eat lunch, and anything else we can find to fill our time.  I have really been able to enjoy her and watch her grow into such a sweet little girl.  Her vocabulary is finally starting to explode.  For the longest time, she didn't say many words but mostly grunted and signed what she wanted to say.  It's amazing how much I can understand!  But, just these past few weeks have shown her trying to articulate words more and more each day.    She is still a really good eater, but she has reached that point in toddler-hood where her appetite has decreased which reveals a pickiness in her that typically isn't there.  She eats most everything we offer her, which is a blessing!  Life at this age with Liam was really hard because he was particularly picky.  Hopefully we can avoid most of that stage with Stella B.

Life with Jonathan and I has been really good.  Jonathan is working really hard these days, and is trying to grow the practice and grow in his knowledge and ability to lead his team better.  He's been going through a dental management process since last summer which has made some really great changes in how the practice is run, but it's still a hard task to be a full-time dentist and a full-time businessman.  He amazes me at his resilience and hard work.  Somehow he finds time to read all of these books on leadership in addition to caring for me and our family.

The past few weeks we have been particularly busy on the weeknights because we are taking a Dave Ramsey Financial Peace class at a local church that is offering the course.  It is AWESOME!  I only wish we had taken this class when we were first married.  We have felt the Lord leading us to analyze our spending and saving habits, and this class has been so enlightening and encouraging--CONVICTING--but it's been really good.  I highly recommend it to anyone wanting to grow in this area.  We are also taking a class at our church called the Bridge Course which is a lot like Alpha (an evangelical dinner/class where it covers basic beliefs and principles of the Christian faith).  We have some friends coming with us, and it's been really neat the past few weeks to have them come with us and just to be reminded of some many things that are foundational to what I believe.  It's really busy while both of these courses are going on, but I really believe that the Lord has given us faith for both of them.  It means a lot of juggling our family here and there and even staying up past bedtime on school nights, but God has been faithful and has led us here.  I'm really excited to see what the rest of these classes hold for us and for all that the Lord is going to teach us.

Whew!  Are you worn out yet!? Anyway, that's the run-down of life with the Bradshaws lately.  Hopefully I can keep up better.  Plus, I have tons of pictures to share of the ever-changing trio of children!  Till then.

Flying By.

Well, here we are in the first week of October.  How is that possible?  It seems like just yesterday I was running around like a crazy woman with my head cut off as I was trying to get everything ready for the beginning of school.  Now, six or so weeks later, I am still running around like a crazy woman. 

School is going really well.  Nora and Liam are really loving their teachers and classmates and classes.  And I feel like we have adjusted well to the rhythm and regiment of getting up, getting dressed and out of the house, completing the rest of our days and trying to get to bed at a reasonable time to do it all over again the next day.  Our homeschool days are going really well too.  I love having the individual time with Nora and the accountability that I have to making sure that we set that time aside to complete all of her work. 

Our weeks are going smoothly, but I feel like every week has been different and a little bit unpredictable.  We have had field trips, doctor's appointments, sickness, and a few days where I have had to go to work at Jonathan's office.  All exciting and great weeks, but they are not routine, not forseeable, which is something I typically like.  However, I think I am coming to the realization that this season of life is not going to be predictable.  Each day, each week will have it's own rhythm, it's own schedule, and it's own tale.  Honestly, I have enjoyed the differences, and I think that it what is making the time fly by so quickly.

So, while I am here, I am going to pause and reflect on what is happening in this still moment with  my little family.  As we are flying through this short season of our happy life, here is what is happening in the midst of our flock:

My sweet husband is hard at work--at the office, in our home, and at church.  We are both settling into what it means to own a small business.  He handles the stress and pressure so well, and we find ourselves often discussing what it means to trust the Lord with everything. 

As I mentioned, Nora loves school.  She is doing so well with her work and I love seeing her grow and thrive as she learns.  It's so funny to see how much like me she is.  Jonathan says all the time how she is my little twin.  Our homeschool days together consist of flexibility and acclimating to what's going on with the other two kiddos on those days.  Sometimes we do school in the morning, sometimes we start in the morning and finish during afternoon nap time, and some days we don't get to any of it until naptime.  This week as I am working at Jonathan's office, we've had to fit in her homeschool work in the late afternoon and evenings, but she never complains and seems eager to do the work. 

Nora went to her five-year-old check-up last week.  She is so grown up!  She had to get all of her vaccinations plus bloodwork and a flu shot, so she had a rough appointment, but she handles it so well.  I took her for ice cream at TCBY afterward because-let's be honest-ice cream covers a multitude of pains.  The next day, however, she woke up with a high temp so she had to stay home from school and rest for about 24 hours until it went away. 

Nora loves to ride her bike, run around, and play with her brother.  She is the sweetest big sister to Stella (and Liam, if her mood is right).  She is so helpful and patient; I am aware as I watch her what it's like to be the oldest of three.  She is such a gift.

Liam.  Our Liam.  How we love that crazy, silly, loud boy.  He is such a mixture of all-boy and tender heart.  Sometimes he will wreck on his bike and you would think it's the end of the world.  Five minutes later, he'll crash and make no fuss about it at all, claiming "I'm brave."  He is doing so well in school.  A few weeks in we started to get some reports that he was being ugly and rough when he was not getting his way with toys or on the playground, but lately he's been doing better.  We are all so thankful for his teachers and I can tell that he likes them and feels very comfortable there. 

Fruit from months and months of discipline seems more apparent.  I feel that in the past few months we have seen him mature and respond so much better than he had before.  I find that in parenting there are cycles.  You will have a really rough week where there are lots of fits/attitudes/disobedience, which requires lots of discipline/consistency/head and heartaches.  Then, it seems like after that rough week you will see some fruit of all that.  Better obedience, less trantrums, more kindness, etc.  For a while when Liam was younger, I feel like there were more rough weeks than good weeks.  But, it's been wonderful to see the growth in him as he gets bigger and older.  Hmph.  I don't want him to grow up and it's happening way too fast for me.

These days Liam loves to ride his "green bike."  You can always find him with a handful of cars or trucks.  One thing that his prone to do that I want to write down is that he likes to pile up all of his "people" and cars and trucks into this big yellow dump truck.  In the bed of the dump truck he will pile everything and anything he can find and then he pushes it around.  He calls it his "moving truck" like in Toy Story.  He has all of his Toy Story characters, any car and truck around, and then anything of the girls' that will fit.  Those are his prized possessions these days.  He also plays with Legos and Jonathan's Micro Machines from when he was a boy. 

Stella is growing up way too fast.  She was sixteen months on Tuesday!  She's crawling and cruising and gets herself to standing, but she is still not walking.  She says a few words like "What's that?" and "More," but besides her sign language, she mostly just grunts and groans to communicate with us.  We have started entering into the picky eating phase with her.  She typically eats pretty well, but she's forming an opinion and if she doesn't want to eat something, she won't.  I try to tempt her by offering her a fork, and sometimes she will eat whatever it is if she can stick it with a fork and feed herself.  She feels big that way, I guess!

Stella loves to be outside with Nora and Liam.  The poor girl looks filthy all of the time because she insists on crawling and playing outside, but it makes her happy and she loves every second of it.  She's our stealth ninja and can often be found climbing the stairs if I leave her unattended for even a minute.  She loves books and cars and babies, and she is just the sweetest baby girl.  She's a great sleeper and still takes two naps a day, although she can skip a morning nap and handles it pretty well.  It probably won't be too much longer before she drops the morning one altogether. 

Life with me is good.  I am just trying to appreciate this phase of life for all that it is.  I am learning to love my husband and babies better, and I am trusting God for grace each day.  Jonathan and I feel like the Lord is teaching us about perseverance in this busy season of owning a business and raising three young children.  We are doing lots of sowing and are trusting God for the harvest in His perfect timing.  I am so thankful for the friendships that the Lord has placed in my life these days.  I am so aware of how blessed I am.  God is so kind.

Well, that was quite a long post.  Thanks for bearing with me.

I am.

One of the projects we are currently working on for Nora's class is an "All About Me" packet filled with information all about Nora these days.  We are recording her favorite things, her likes, her dislikes, her friends, her family, and all kinds of details about herself.  She has to write the letters she can write, the numbers she can write, and the shapes she can currently draw.  She has to draw a picture of her room, herself, her family, and her teacher.  One of the last things we worked on was an "I Am Poem."   It was so precious to complete with her that I decided to go ahead and try it with Liam.  However, almost all of his responses were super silly.  Here is Nora's:

I Am Poem

___________________

I am a person.
I wonder if Liam is going to wrestle with me.
I hear my brother being crazy.
I see with my eyes Liam watching me.
I want a stuffed animal called Twilight Sparkle.
I am a girl.
I pretend I'm a princess.
I feel happy.

I touch my baby sister.

I worry about crying and not distracting anybody.
I cry because I get in trouble.
I am a human.
I understand that God is bigger and stronger.
I say good things to Lydia, Layla, and Leah.
I dream about going on a date with Daddy.
I try new healthy food.
I hope that Elijah gets better.
I am my family's favorite big girl.

First Day

It seems impossible, but it is true.  We have had some very big FIRST days around here within the past week.  Nora officially had her FIRST day of Kindergarten last Wednesday, and this morning, I dropped Liam off for his FIRST day of preschool.

Let's start with Miss Nora (who will be FIVE YEARS OLD tomorrow, by the way).

This girl has been SO ready for Kindergarten!  I knew she would love it, so I wasn't really worried about her adjusting to such a big change.  And, I was right!  She came home that first day ready to go back the next day (which she couldn't do because we do a co-op where she is in school every MWF, but homeschooled on Tuesdays and Thursdays).  She loves the social interaction, the structure, the expectations, and most of all, her teachers.  

There were no tears and no hesitation from her.  And as I walked away from dropping of my baby, my firstborn to her first day away from me, out of the nest, in the care of someone outside of immediate family for the longest period of time in her life......I nearly cried.  My heart realized how big of step we just took.  She walked a mere matter of feet to her new classroom, and I walked away to a parent meeting down the hall.  I definitely suffered a little separation anxiety.

 But not my Nora girl.  She embraced it and had a blast!

She is making new friends, learning new rules and classroom expectations, and maturing by the minute.  I love that she loves school.  I hope she always enjoys the thrill of learning.

(Can you see the bit of shyness in the picture above?)

 I  am so excited about all of the things this year holds for Nora.  The things she will learn, the projects we will do, the fights we will have.  I know she is going to shine!

 Here's Nora with her teacher Mrs. O'Hern on the first day of Kindergarten.

August 14, 2012

Now, on to my little man, Liam:

Whereas I didn't have much concern about how Nora would adjust to school, I have to admit that I have my concerns about Liam.  He is social, like Nora is, but he is much more of a creature of habit and comfort.  (Meaning, he can be a Momma's boy when it comes to new things).  We met his teachers earlier last week, and he seemed to like the class just fine, but we had some trouble sharing with his classmates.  

I think this year will be wonderful for Liam in many ways, too.  I know that where he is is exactly where we feel that the Lord has called us to put him.  I had no control over who Liam's teachers would be, so I can only trust what I know:  God KNOWS who his teachers are and he has sovereignly placed Liam in the class he is in, with those specific teachers and those specific classmates.  I can't wait to see how Liam grows this year!

 I expected there to be tears.  I thought for sure there would be some hesitation or some grabbing of my leg when it came time for me to drop him off.

 Alas, there was NONE!  He didn't think twice about going into that classroom, leaving me in my tears as I watched him go play. That was a direct answer to prayer. 

 I thought about him every minute he was away today.  I was hoping he was comfortable and at peace and most importantly, having fun!

 And he was!  When I picked him up today, he was all smiles!  He got a great report from his teachers and he even told me he wants to go back.  So, I'm satisfied with our first day.

 I mean, how could those teachers not love this face!?  Even if he is a mess!

Precious and Priceless.

Lately.

I feel like life with three has been so busy that I hardly find time to sit down and record what's going on with my little family.  I rarely take my camera out to take pictures of the kids, and I am getting behind in writing down what life is like for us right now.  In many ways, our days are very much the same as they have always been, but the kids change so much daily that it's easy to miss all that they are doing.  In all honesty, I find it hard for words to describe just how precious they are!

Nora, as I know I have said many times before, is just maturing so much.  She is such a young lady, and she has such a desire to help and serve.  She often looks for ways to help me, whether it's to bring me a burp cloth for Stella or to go get a toy for one of her siblings to play with.  She is capable of so many things:  helping to unload the dishwasher, helping to cook, getting herself dressed, etc.  I don't take these things for granted!  With two other ones that need me to do everything for them, I am so thankful for Nora's ability and independence, and she has grown so much in doing these things joyfully.  One thing that she has done several times now just makes my heart melt.  There have been a few times that I am leaving the house in the evening (for a hair appointment or a baby shower, etc.), leaving Jonathan to care for all three kiddos.  Nora offers to go pick out "jammers" for all three of the kids (herself, Stella and Liam).  She will go to each room, grab all that is needed for pjs, and puts them out so they are easy for Daddy to find.

Apart from her being such a fabulous big sister, Nora loves to play pretend.  Her big thing these days is to pretend she's a waitress in a restaurant.  She loves to take orders, bring you food and drink, take requests for desserts, etc.  She plays this while at home and even when we are out to eat.  She also likes to pretend she's going grocery shopping.  I give her a piece of paper and she'll "make a list" of the things she going to get, then she "shops' around the house.  She often comes up to me with an object and asks me how much it costs or if it is on sale.  Then she checks herself out, puts things away, and does it all over again.  (Liam plays along too but basically just copies her).  Nora LOVES (and this cannot be overstated) to color.  Oh.my.goodness.  If she had her way, someone would be sitting with her at the kitchen table all day long coloring.  It's so precious!

It's crazy to me to think how much Liam is changing and has changed just in the time since Stella was born.  His ability to talk and communicate has just exploded.  He has inherited the Bradshaw "chatty gene" and loves to talk to others, but there is also a side of him that is cautious and studious of new people and environments where he'll be shy.  Liam is a HAM.  If he has any inkling that something is funny, he will grab on to that thing and repeat it.  He's so silly.  He kinda, sorta gets the concept of knock-knock jokes and that they are supposed to be funny and make you laugh.  So, he'll make them up all the time and of course most of the time they are not really funny, but he laughs with a belly laugh all the same.  We've tried to teach him some legit knock-knock jokes, so he now has a few in his repertoire.  My favorite one so far is:

Knock. Knock.
Who's There?
Shelby.
Shelby who?
She'll be..... coming around the mountain when she comes!

He loves that one!  Liam also loves to play pretend, which is great when he and Nora play together.  He brings his Woody and Buzz and Nora brings her princesses or baby dolls and they play pretend together.  When Liam plays pretend, it usually involves his people going to Chick-fil-a.  Or going to Geegaw's house.  That's what everyone does.  Every time.  LEGOs have become a big deal in our house.  In fact, I think we need to get a few more LEGOs because we have just enough for one kid to build something really cool, but if they have to play together there really aren't enough and they usually end up fighting for the bigger pieces, so maybe we'll get some more in the near future.

We have finally started seeing some fruit in Liam.  For a while there, things were pretty tough.  First of all, we had a lot of sleep issues for several months.  Thankfully, those have completely resolved.  I'm still not certain what all was going on with that, but he seems to have gotten over waking up multiple times in the night.  He may occasionally wake very early in the morning screaming, but he usually goes back to sleep once we go in and cover him up.  We have seen much growth in him, as well, in the area of discipline.  I don't know what it was: being all boy, being two, being the middle child, adjusting to having a baby in the family.  Maybe it was just the Lord's way of bringing me and Jonathan closer to Him, but for a while, we were having a hard time.  Liam was not "getting it."  He can be very stubborn and very resistant to authority, so we were having to be very consistent with discipline and correction.  There were many times when I would just cry to Jonathan or to a friend that I just didn't understand why this was happening, questioning our methods of raising our son because we weren't seeing ANY changes in him.  I remember one evening I was trying to cook dinner in the kitchen and wrangle all three of the children before Jonathan got home from work.  While Stella was content in the bouncy seat and Nora was doing something else, Liam joined me in the kitchen.  He started digging in my utensil drawer so I asked him to stop because it wasn't safe for him.  So he stopped and moved directly to the dishwasher, opening and slamming the door and pushing all of the buttons.  I asked him to stop doing that and to leave it alone, several times.  Finally, he stopped and moved on to playing near the hot stove.  Then he moved on to something else.  Seriously, in about 30 seconds he intentionally tried to get into all of the things in the kitchen he was not supposed to.  He was definitely testing me, but I was just so worn out after having dealt with similar patterns all day long.  This seemed to be a summary of every day.  Our days were long and difficult, and I allowed myself to get to the point where I wasn't enjoying him.  I was so busy disciplining and constantly correcting him that I wasn't enjoying him anymore, and when I realized that, I was heart-broken.  Liam is the sweetest boy.  He is so cuddly and fun and sensitive; he's full of energy and life and joy.  But he's also a sinner, and I was taking his rebellion and his resistance to my authority very personally.

I feel like the Lord has been slowly doing a work in my heart in this area.  I can't really explain how or when or where it happened, but my heart toward my boy has and is changing.  I do enjoy Liam so much.  God has been faithful and kind to our attempts at training and disciplining Liam, and we are seeing much fruit these days.  Granted, we have lots of disobedience still and struggles with hitting/pinching/bullying other kiddos at church.  Through all of this I say that parenting has drawn me closer to the Lord.  Being a momma helps me to realize that I cannot do this job in my own strength and determination.  Well, I guess I could.  But, I would never have joy or patience or kindness without the Lord doing those things in me.  I would never be able to overcome my frustration or anger or love of comfort without His doing that work in me.  I have seen so much about myself revealed!  You know, when my kids disobey, what I really want is for it to stop and just go away.  I like a life of ease.  I want my kids to play well together, be kind to others, sleep great, eat whatever I put in front of them, and do all things without complaining and arguing.  Wouldn't that be awesome!?  Life would be so much easier (for me and them) if they just did what I asked them, but they don't.  They don't because they are sinners, like everyone.  They don't because they cannot.  They are affected by the Fall just like I am and they are in desperate need of a Savior.

I'm reading a great book right now that is really helping me to grasp all of these things.  It's called "Give Them Grace" by Elyse Fitzpatrick.  I'm only a few chapters in, but this book is soaked in the Gospel and constantly oozes out reminders of grace and God's love and mercy.  It's perfect for this season of life we are in and will be in for many years to come. 

Finally, let me talk quickly about my Stella.  Oh my, do we love this baby girl!  She is just the sweetest!  She turned eight months last week which is just beyond my comprehension.  She is getting so big and is learning all kinds of new things.  As of just a few weeks ago, she is completely weaned.  She is sleeping through the night consistently, taking four bottles a day, and eating lots of table foods.  She still doesn't have any teeth, but that doesn't stop her one bit from eating most things.  I have a feeling that crawling is on the horizon.  She still rolls to get where she wants, but she loves to get on her hands and knees and rocks back and forth; it won't be long.  Stella has also found her voice and loves to make loud noises to join in with her brother and sister.  Her favorite sound is growling!  Stella takes two two+ hour naps a day.  The first one she goes down for about an hour after she wakes.  I usually have to wake her for lunch, then she goes back down for nap at the same time Nora and Liam do.  Praise the Lord, I have been having some quiet time to myself during the afternoon to rest, catch up on housework, read or watch Downton Abbey!  She loves to spend her awake time playing with toys, blowing raspberries, and rolling around the floor.  She adores her brother and sister, and they have both learned just recently how to hold her and give her a bottle!  Such helpers!

Oh, I could go on and on about my trio.  God is very kind to us and has blessed us with these little arrows in our quiver.  They shoot straight into my heart and help me cling to the Lord more than ever.  I am so thankful for them!

'Round Here

'Round here, things look a lot like Spring, although we are technically in the dead of winter.

'Round here, warm days means we rush outside as soon as the temperature warms up enough for us to stand it.

'Round here, we do have runny noses. But, it's winter so what else can we expect.

'Round here, we have a baby girl who is turning eight months in just a few days.

'Round here, this baby girl has stolen our hearts with her sweetness, her contented demeanor, and her big smile.

'Round here, this baby girl is growing up way too fast.

'Round here, we have a certain young man who is less toddler and more boy.

'Round here, this young boy has a vocabulary that surprises me daily and a brain that brings up the funniest and most complex things.

'Round here, we love Toy Story and Cars because that's what the boy loves.

'Round here, we find ourselves in stitches over the things he says and does.

'Round here, this boy loves both of his sisters.  The big one because she's his best friend and playmate and accomplice.  The little one because she lets him kiss her as much as he wants and she smiles at him every chance she gets.

'Round here, we have a girl maturing and growing like all kids do.  However, it's really hard for her Momma and Daddy to see her changing so much.  So fast.

'Round here, this girl is such a helper and a sweetheart. 

'Round here, this girl is in love with her Daddy. 

'Round here, it seems like in a short blink she'll be starting school and spreading her wings a bit more than I'll admit I want her to.

'Round here, she still likes to be held occasionally and tickled so hard it hurts.

'Round here, she will always be my Sassafras.  Sweet and sassy and one of a kind.