Have a Good Halloween!

5 Months Old

Here is a picture of the kids when they were each 5 months old. (Amelia's was taken this morning.) Some people say Amelia looks like Dillon. Others say Alyssa. I think she is a good mix. What do you think?

I Love Newborns!

Eddie (my brother), Gabrielle, and me

If you knew me 1 year ago, I would have never uttered these words, "I love newborns!" However, since Amelia was born, I have really learned to cherish those first few months of a human being's life. When I was a kid, I always liked babies, but I thought that they were a bit boring during those first months. As a first time parent with Dillon, I ate those thoughts because any new parent will tell you that newborns are anything but boring. I couldn't wait for that stage to end--it is a hard and scary time. As a second time parent of two only 17 1/2 months apart, those first few months with Alyssa were a blur--I was just surviving with two children under 2.

Then Amelia came along and changed my whole perspective on those tiny humans. I LOVE THAT STAGE! They are so cute and cuddly. With the exception of a few babies, they cry simply to tell you to meet one of their needs. They do not have any of the selfishness or materialism that is sure to come just a couple years down the road. Sometimes with Amelia I found myself wishing that she would stay small just a little longer, but of course this cannot be.

I do not miss the sleepless nights, but I already miss those special moments you can only have with a newborn. The reason for these random thoughts is because my new niece was just born and she makes Amelia look huge!

My new niece's name is Gabrielle Ryan King, and she is sweet as pie. She reminds me of Alyssa when she was small because of all that hair! I might be crazy, but I'm already catching the newborn itch, but thankfully, I'm not crazy enough to scratch it--yet!

Click picture of my brother for more pictures of what's been going on the past few months. Just to warn you there are a lot! :)

My Wonderful Family

This picture pretty much sums up our family: Alyssa not cooperating, Dillon getting annoyed by Alyssa, Amelia just being her laid-back self, and Tommy and I trying to smile through all the chaos.

PS--You may be wondering why I've been working on my blog so much lately. Tommy is out of town tonight, so this has been my form of relaxation. I still need to upload recent pictures, but my computer is upstairs and my camera is downstairs....that would require exercise. :)

To Trick or not to Treat....that is the question

I love living in North Carolina on most days, but there are some days where being a part of the "Bible Belt" gets on my nerves--during the Halloween season is one of them. Being from the North, I had never heard of anyone not celebrating Halloween due to religious reasons. Down here, many Christians don't celebrate it at all, and some celebrate it, but call it a Harvest Festival. I don't know why, but this annoys me!

Halloween means Holy Evening, so to be a Christian and rename it something less Christian doesn't make sense to me. Yes, Halloween has pagan roots, but so do a lot of Christian holidays. The Christmas tree and the Easter Bunny both have its roots in paganism. Christians were trying to convert pagans, so they used the symbols of pagans and changed their meanings to try and entice them.

Halloween is the day before All Saints Day, and Christians told the pagans to dress up to try and scare evil spirits before All Saints Day--the real holiday they were trying to get the pagans to celebrate. Anyway, sorry to get on my soap box, but what better place than on my own blog? :) Besides, there are better ways to spread the gospel than turning off your lights and pretending you're not home when a child dressed as a vampire rings your doorbell. I promise he won't suck your blood--the kid just wants free candy.

What have I learned? Hmmm.....

I'm sitting here tired as can be, yet I feel the urge to post a somewhat stream-of-consciousness blog. I've learned so much in my short 30 years, and I know there is so much more to learn that my tiny brain will not understand it all in this life. However, here's a list of random thoughts that I want to share: (in no particular order)

1) There will always be people who are too lazy to return their shopping cart.
2) When you are in a hurry, you will catch every red light.
3) Usually, you are not as funny as you think.
4) If you can't say something nice, zip it! (Easier said than done.)
5) Your spouse should be someone that helps you see your flaws, but loves you anyways.
6) When you are pregnant or with a newborn, be ready for unwanted advice.
7) Be gracious when you receive aforementioned advice because you will find yourself doing the same thing once you are an "experienced" parent.
8) The things that annoy us the most are usually things that we do ourselves. (I can't stand know-it-alls....oh wait.)
9) Did God give me my children for me to teach them or was it for them to teach me? (Most days it's the latter)
10) The more babies I am given, the more I realize they will all be different. Because of this...
11) It's not possible to treat each child the same, which leads me to...
12) Life's not fair. (My dad's favorite words when I was growing up.)
13) Give people the benefit of the doubt--they may be having a bad day.
14) God won't give us more than we can handle....but some days I wish He didn't trust me so much. (I have to thank my neighbor for telling me that last part.)

Carolina Beach

click picture for more

Yes, I know that it has been 2 months since we went on vacation, but I'm just now posting pictures of it. I have a lot more pictures that are on my camera that I need to upload, and I was waiting until I felt motivated to do those also, but 2 months is long enough.

We had a great time at the beach. Dillon and Alyssa loved playing with their big cousins, and Amelia adjusted fine. As you'll see from the pictures, she slept most of the time. :)

Dillon loves Kindergarten, although, he is worn out by the end of the day. Here's a picture of his first day of school:

Alyssa is in preschool again this year, and she seems to like it a lot.

Amelia is smiling and laughing a lot now. She is still a very laid back baby.

I'll try to post more some other time, but right now is my alone time/kid's rest time, and I only have 30 minutes left so I'm going to relax. (Can you tell that I cherish these moments?) :)