He is the Art of My Heart

Nation [my oldest] is 4.5 years old. He keeps me laughing.

You might have previously read about his necklace to get out of trouble, this week he said some pretty hilarious things too, including:

Me: "Nation you can get out of timeout"

Him: "But I'm not sorry still"

Me: "Okay, then I guess stay in time out" 

[??????]

That was Tuesday. Today, after he shoved his brothers face into the carpet [sigh], I sent him to timeout [which we use with other forms of punishment, but he hates to not be playing like everyone else, it's worse than any thing else we've tried...for him, but only since he's gotten older. Timeout did not work for him as an infant/toddler.

So, he's screaming in time out, I start to walk away and he points to our scripture verse on the wall [the one we read when we fight with our brother] and says screams...

"Mom read me what the bible says"

ha ha

He is such a sweetheart too. He wakes Solomon up so gently from his naps and brings him water and a snack. He speaks softly and kindly to him. 

Today he looked at the flowers his dad gave me and drew this picture for me. I suppose it's his first still art sketch. I am still having these moments were I go "Wow, is my kid nearing 5? He can actually draw a flower?" I feel like just yesterday I was trying to teach him to draw something that resembled a circle.

It's got grass and everything. Obviously, as his mom, I'm more enthralled-amazed-excited than you are, but I thought I'd share just a bit of my Nation with you.

Has your kid done or said anything lately that made you laugh or take a step back?

Thankful Thursdays Top Ten [#13]

Thankful This Week For:

1-Going home [1st time in 3 months] see my friends & family this weekend

2-Four additional bouquets of flowers [just because]

3-A new idea

4-Lists that helped me keep my priorities this week

5-Isaiah 61:4 that's already happened in my life [and still to come]

6-Target [I return my overpriced wedding outfit from the mall]

7-Thirft store & Joann's: who helped me "make" inexpensive Woody & Jessie [Toy Story] costumes for Charles & I

8-A friend's prayers answered: new job, new place

9-All the new things my kids experienced this week [including meeting their grandpa]

10-My first link up [and all the new friends I'll make]

Every Thursday since I started this blog [13 weeks ago] I've been taking time on Thursdays to reflect on my week and thank God for 10 things. I'm inviting you to join me in being thankful. You can do this one of two ways.

1-If you don't have a blog:
Just comment below in comment section [anonymous or blogger user] with your 10

or

2-If you have a blog:

...write a post about things you're thankful for this week*

...mention this blog & hyperlink back to this post

...use Mr. Linky below [who is that?]

*You don't have to do it on Thursdays, you can do it any day of the week. 

*Call it whatever you want

*Get creative, you can use words, pictures, poems, vblogs, anything!

*Come back throughout the week and read others lists & make friends!

*Tell others to join

Black & White Wordless [#1]

[Baby Reflection]

[This photo was entered into
Black & White & Wordless & Wordless & Wordless Wednesdays]

Cloth Diapers -101-

Orange You Glad I Use Cloth Diapers?

I'm not going to lie, one of my main reasons for using cloth diapers is because they are so cute. My first 24 were all blue and green. Now, I've ventured out into white, orange, and just pre-ordered all 5 of these. I've always loved BumGenius, but now these new 4.0 Elemental with snaps are amazing [but that's for another post].

I'm not going to lie [again] I can't wait to buy pink & girly ones...one day!

Other minor reasons I use cloth diapers:

1-They save me lots of money

Especially when I have three in diapers [Nation & Solomon only at night]. I do use disposables at night for all 3, but don't have to for the youngest, but it just makes it easy when he poops first thing in the morning.

2-Less trash

Yay! This makes me green! We're currently staying in an apartment [while in Dayton on business] and we already have enough trash piling up...so less diapers a day saves us an extra trip.

3-Never run out of diapers

Of course if you don't wash you do, but I do like having diapers around because I'm the type to let the gas in my car run out or the kind of person to use up the last disposable diaper in the middle of the night.

The Best $10 You'll Ever Spend

Another title for this post:
Amateur Lego Photographer [how did it come to this?]

I saw these in the grocery store last night and thought I would the kids would have so much fun playing with those...and if they don't, I'll make them flower vases or drinking cups. Even though I own a pressure cooker, y'all know I haven't canned before.

$10 for 10 wide mouth Ball glass containers with lids

Yes, they are glass, and yes it was less than an hour before we broke our first one, but still, under supervision they are great for filling, stacking, or just for general blog photography.

I know Nation is my son because when I said let's just practice counting he insisted we first "oranize" [organize] them. 

I smiled so big.

I used them to practice counting to 20 with Nation. Although Solomon said most of them along with us, he is catching on quick. There were about 400 legos and we separated them into 7 colors. You do the math, it was a lot of 1 to 20's. 

I love lines.

But I also love flowers. 

Nation knows. 

So does Charles...

I got two more bouquets of these this week...

It was a productive Monday. A sleepy one, but a productive one. I took an few hours this evening to organize my photos and feel a little bit above the water now. Until I think about how I'm a year behind on scrapbooking [darn you blog!].

I'll leave you with a funny. While in time out [for hiding in the closet instead of finishing his dinner], Nation told us "I didn't know what to do, I had a decision to make: to be naughty or to obey, I didn't know which one I should do." I guess I need to note that the funniest is part was his pronunciation of "decision." It sounded like a combination between desecration and decide and decision, something like "descidcation."

---

This entry was entered in Paper Camera's "View from Above" Challenge.

One List: Three Columns

I'm a list maker. 

Do moms exist out there that aren't? Do women exist out there that aren't? I still remember being 6 or 7 years old and making fun of my grandma for making endless lists and then scratching things off. Wow, talk about reaping and sowing judgments. 

I apparently didn't pack paper or pens [usually do forget on all business trips] and am too cheap to buy something I know I have back at home. So my lists today come from from already used construction paper and faded colored pencil. 

Okay, so maybe I splurged and bought 10 pens for $1 tonight.

My biggest struggle during the week is my tasks to time ratio. I have lists of things I want-need-should do, but am easily distracted or simply add two things for every one I scratch off. I know I know there are fabulous tips, tricks and even apps [which I own] for this, but nothing [but Jesus] can solve my desire to pack too much into only so much time.

I know there is exactly enough time in a day to get done exactly what God has for me. 

My problem is, I like to add in a little extra to God's plan and then that ends up meaning I have to sacrifice something He actually wanted me to do. Oh, and I'm defensive at the first sign of giving this up. You don't have to think long about what I'm hoping to give up during my bible study with Beth Moore on Breaking Free.

So Jesus [and blog world] here is MY list for Monday...Jesus, please edit

Need to do:

bible study wk 4 day 1

teach kids about God

school with Nation

laundry

dishes

make dinner
charles time

unpack from trip

Want to do:

make bread/waffles/muffins for the week

make sweet potatoes for Moses

clean out car

exercise

mail 2 packages

take Moses' 6 mth 7 mth photos

put together Charles & I's costumes

Do Nails/Toes/Eyebrows [myself]

look up & do festive crafts with kids

Wishful thinking to-do:

edit wedding photos

Re-organize iPhoto

Operation Christmas Child boxes

Review Amazon products

I'm already exhausted looking at my "need to do list", ha. Lord please show me [and all of us] what you want to take away or add to our lists for the week. Remembering that you have our best interest in mind and it's wise for us to listen to you over ourselves.

Meal planning stresses me out. Some weeks it's alright, some weeks its a fail. I function best if I do something with someone...so I recruited Charles this week to watch me make my list and help me "get through it" without quitting. What can I say? Company making painful things manageable. 

Monday Dinner:
Baked parmesan salmon w/ raspberry sauce, wild rice, asparagus

Tuesday Dinner:
Orange chicken, white rice, snow peas

Wednesday Dinner:
Rosemary crock pot chicken, brown rice, frozen mixed veggies

Thursday-Monday: in GA [unsure what we will eat...hopefully I'm not cooking, ha] 

What's on your list this week?
What's for dinner this week?

How I Know We Didn't Evolve From Apes

After attending Charles' cousin's wedding Friday night, we stayed over in Toledo Saturday so we could hang out with his dad & visit the Zoo. Charles' dad took him about 26 years ago.

I didn't get any many pictures of the animals because I was a little busy chasing/carrying my three little monkeys around. However, it was a lovely zoo & it was Pumpkin Patch Weekend which meant every was in costumes, but us [oops], but we ate so much candy we forgot.

I use to judge these...now I own two.

Somewhere there is a picture of Charles on this at 3.

The hippo is always my favorite

Now shots from the iPhone:

Ugliest fish award

Oh yes, this ape was sticking his finger you-know-where
& then eating it by the handfuls. I mean I know human
babies eat poop sometimes, but I'd hope by adulthood we're done.

These are considered healthy foods the apes naturally eat.
[Someone from Cheerios got the key to this cabinet.]

Can you believe this? She couldn't move [she's in skates]

Again, proving I was there

I enjoy taking the kids to the zoo...teaching them a little, learning a little myself. All the walking walks off the sugary treat I'm sure to find while there. I've been zoo's in: Houston, Atlanta, San Diego, and Nashville. I'm hopeful we make it to the Cincinnati & Chicago Zoo's before heading back to GA.

[Thanks Grandpa Chuck!]

Black & White Wedding Wallflower

This evening we drove from Dayton to Toledo to attend a wedding for Charles cousin, Kelly. I took 171 pictures. I was trying to experiment in low lighting indoors, and wow, I'm glad I wasn't the wedding photographer, it's hard work! 

So, here are my 14 favorite "experiments" in [mostly] candid shots before I crash. I made them black and white because even with my external flash I clearly was having some trouble with lighting.

If I get enough comments begging for more, I might do a second post.

Do I even need to tell you that my children were the-life-of-the-party for at least an hour? [They get their dancing skills from me]

4 generations [it was the best I could do]

I love weddings...the white dress, the cake, the dancing, the toasts that make you cry, the joy in the bride & grooms faces. It was nice to remember how exciting marriage is suppose to be. How romantic. How fairytale. How much family & friends should be apart of it. I always want to be a bride again after attending a wedding. I'm seriously thinking of throwing myself another wedding if I can ever fit back in my dress.

Honestly, my favorite part of a wedding isn't at the wedding, it's after...seeing all the amazing creative shots a photographer catches. The moments we missed, the moments we saw, but not from that angle. I love wedding photographs, but have zero desire to shoot them. Too much stress & pressure.

What's your favorite thing about weddings?

---

The photos were apart of Paper Mama's Blog black & white photo contest & The Long Road to China's contest I entered.

Thankful Thursdays Top Ten [#12]

Thankful This Week For:

1-Our friends driving 10 hours [with their 5 kids] to see us

2-Kid's Shop Free deal from Old Navy

[I took my $100 of clothes I bought myself back & re-bought them so I could buy $100 worth of kids clothes for free...4 pants, 1 jacket, two pairs of socks & hat. Similar to a price adjustment. Although ironically enough, I found out I'd not paid for a $30 sweater, ha.]

3-Flowers this week "just because" not once, but twice

4-My boys making me laugh all-the-time

Guess who likes taking pictures & who doesn't?

Nation walked right into the cart

They do this all-the-time, it's not posed

5-Getting asked to photograph a family [of 9!]

6-Conversations in the dark that light up my heart

7-Knowing this time next week I'll be driving home to visit

8-Realizing that I can walk on the treadmill & do my Beth Moore bible study [Couch to 5K is on hold via knees]

9-"Chicken Lay" [Chick-fil-A] Why who else would feed us when we're on the go?

10-Introducing Charles' Dad to our 3 sons

Charles Robert Georgi III & Charles Robert Georgi IV

[All but this last photo were taken with my iPhone, so please excuse the photography, and simply enjoy the moment captured]

What are you thankful for this week?