Our Journey has begun

Well it is now time for Lent 2009 and I'm very excited to enter this penitential time as we prepare for the feast of Easter. With the next 40 days focused on prayer, fasting and alms giving we can seek Christ and find Him as we put away our old self. Only Christ in His mercy can transform us from the inside out. Let's seek Him while He may be found.

Take up thy cross, the Savior said,
If Thou wouldst my disciple be;
Deny thyself, the world forsake,
And humbly follow after me.

Take up thy cross, let not its weight
Fill thy weak spirit with alarm;
His strength shall bear thy spirit up,
And brace thy heart and nerve thine arm.

Take up thy cross and follow Christ,
Nor think till death till lay it down;
For only he who bears the cross
May hope to wear the glorious crown.

FYI-The song on the blog is saying, "non nobis domine, non nobis, sed nomini tuo da gloriam."
"Not to us, Lord, not to us, but to Your name be the glory."

Weekend Fun

Well my parents brought Sissy back on Friday and we had a great time seeing them. Then on Saturday my grandparents drove down from Virginia to meet Tuckerboy for the first time. He put on a good show- he loved all the attention and was never put down. Here he sitting with Memaw and flirting with BB. He knows how to work the ladies. I love, love, love family time and nothing makes me happier than a room filled with loved ones.

Early Saturday morning we went to a lenten retreat, which was wonderful. The talk was about marriage. The priest explained that the Bible begins with marriage, Jesus' public ministry began at a marriage and the Bible ends with the marriage feast of the Lamb. All of us are called to marriage to Christ, which was were so beautifully reminded of at our sweet Tucker's baptsim as we dressed him in his white bridal gown. The speaker had all the couples in the room stand and recite their wedding vows. It was such a beautiful exercise. Looking at my husband of almost 8 years and with whom I have three children and saying "I promise to love you and honor you" and "for better or for worse" is so meaningful. Eight years in we have more of an idea of what those words mean and how hard it can be to honor each other day in day out. It is a daily dying to self. We aren't in the lovey, dovey dating phase of life. We have moved into the nitty gritty up-all-night with the baby phase of life where our time is not our own. Daddy is working long hours at work and then coming home to serve his family. I love him now, not because he's cute and funny, but because we are in the thick of things and he is laying his life down for all of us. We are on our journey to heaven and I'm so grateful for my partner.

In other news, Tucker has taken to playing golf and hanging at the country club- at least that's what his outfit seems to indicate. Here he is before church Sunday. I kept trying to lean him back on the pillow, but he kept trying to sit up. He doesn't realize he's a newborn. I'm so in love with this little butter bean. I mean, look at that face, wouldn't you want to kiss him all day too?

Baby girl is home

All is as it should be.

Life without Sunshine...

Sissy with her favorite little einstein's computer...

We miss our baby girl so much! Daddy gets misty if you talk about it too much! Mom sent me these pics of her from tonight after her bath just to torture me. It's funny how we keep living like she's here. Monday night after she left we went out to dinner and I ordered two kids meals. We actually had to buy them b/c they made them. I just wasn't thinking. Then in the afternoon from 2-4ish we kind of tip-toed through the house out of habit. Those are usually napping hours around here. Marky even said, "when Julia wakes up...." and I said, "sweetie- she's not here" and he said, "yeah, why do I keep forgetting?" Living life without a nap schedule is so foreign- I've lived that way for the past 4 3/4 years. I kind of thought the whole world shut down around 1:00 like we do. Today we hung out until 12:00 at home and then went out and about. We went to lunch (b/c it's SO easy with just these two) and then to get some fun things and then finally ended up at the park. It's definitely quieter and I don't have all the fighting, but I miss my angelface and can't wait to see her tomorrow!

P.S. Don't think that because Tucker is a good out-and-about-sleeping-bucket baby that he's perfect- he's up A LOT at night! Oh- and I had to get out the 6-9 month box of clothes today. I think they must have meant 6-9 weeks....

Baby come back

Well my sweet angel is gone. BB took her home with her on Monday and will bring her back Friday. We all miss her so much. She truly is the sunshine of the house- she's always in a good mood and makes us smile. BB says she has not asked for us once and is having the best time being an "only" child. I think it's so good for her to get that one-on-one attention- she gets to watch the movies SHE likes and get tons of stories read to her.

Meanwhile, we are trying to find stuff to do that is special with Marky and Tucker. Monday night he got to finally finish the first Star Wars movie. (It was a mind-blowing treat for him!) Then yesterday I took them to the Natural History Museum in Anniston. Marky loved it- he will tell you it was "awesome". It's VERY masculine museum with LOTS of dead animals and dinosaurs and caves.

And I mean- indoor caves that look SO real and are dripping water. Who needs DeSoto caverns?
There's a kiddie section where we learned about fossils and he practiced fossil-rubbing with a crayon.

You ever get the feeling you are being watched? You will in this museum. I'm telling you- there are LOTS of dead animals. Smile, everybody-

And yes, this is the predator section where the wolves are going to eat this giant deer thing. I guess it's no worse than Bass Pro Shop.

It's actually very cool and they have REAL mummies (we loved that and bought a book on ancient Egypt). Next door to the Natural History Museum is the Berman World History Museum, which we also went to. It has tons of weapons- even ancient weapons and armour (including real knight armour- who do you think loved that). They also have Napoleon's dressing kit that he used while Emperor. I think that's amazing. Anyway- if you are looking for a fun jaunt give it a try. As for Chubby Baby T- he just slept the day away. I love this little butter bean.

Blessed Assurance

Today, our precious Tucker was baptized into the grace and love of God's family. Here is the day in pictures-
Tucker McIntire I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit....
As we lay him on the altar, we give back to the Lord what He has so graciously given to us...
Bathed in grace- the parents, Deacon and Godparents
Now for the reception celebration- a BBQ dinner!

BB was on hand to celebrate
Great friends.....

The cake-
Our favors- heart-shaped candy boxes that read "Tucker McIntire, Baptized Feb. 15, 2009, "I have called you by name, you are Mine." Amen! "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God." Luke 18:16

Praise to Thee, Lord Jesus Christ!

Friday Fun

How about this awesome weather? This week has been wonderful because we can GO OUTSIDE! Yesterday we went to the lake and fed ducks and went on a long walk and today we spent the morning at the zoo. I almost wrote a post a while back that you should never have a baby in the dead of winter when your children can't/won't go outside and play. Now- they are going outside, digging in the ground (to plant the seeds from their apples), and getting in the tree house. Today's zoo trip was especially nice because the animals seemed extra interesting. Every monkey was awake and performing- above you can see one sat down and gave the kids and up close and personal look at how he eats his carrots. I kept expecting him to say, "you are probably wondering (munch) why (munch) I've called you here (gulp)." And yes, I did manage to take all three kids out by myself (I did meet a friend with her two babies). It worked okay- we did the double stroller and baby T was an angel. The trickiest part was figuring out the carousel- but Julia, Tucker and I sat in the big sled and Marky rode the actual horses. I'm guess I'm figuring out this mom of three stuff.

He's smiling!

There's mommy's valentine!

Crazy times!

Well, as you can see- Tucker is very upset about the spending, I mean stimulus, bill passed by the Senate. He can't believe the three RINOs caved and voted for this madness. He (and I) are about done with Arlen Specter...WHY do they call him a Republican? Tucker is not anti-stimulus bill- it may save us from disaster- he's anti-pork which all these bills in all their forms have been full of. It's the "$1.5 billion for carbon-capture projects, $1.3 billion for NASA, and $75 million for the Smithsonian Institution, among many other earmarks", that don't seem like real “economic stimulus", not to mention the creation of a "National Coordinator of Health." But what's done is done and we can only hope the House Republicans can somehow clean it up even more before we all write a check out of our kids' and grandkids' accounts. National Review had some ideas on cleaning up the bill, including increasing the child credit to $5,000. Now that's stimulus baby Tucker could get behind. That, and free pacifiers at interstate rest stops. On a happier note (see his happier face), Mama is getting herself together. I joined weight watchers today for the third time- I always go after I have a baby. It's so easy and I lose weight quickly when I commit and do it. I have a close friend going and we laughed this morning about being in a group meeting. She said, "we are in a meeting....for weight loss" in a voice that told me she was very uncomfortable. Our inner dialogue: Me: "Hi- I'm Donna...and my pants are tight." Group: "Hi Donna!" My friend was shocked that there were almost no truly obese people in the room- most had to lose probably 10 to 20 pounds and the rest were thin people who just kept coming to maintain (unless they are planted there to make us think that). Oh- and I went to a spin class with Shana yesterday- that is just foolishness- I feel like I'm walking like a cowboy. Next adventure- Zumba class. Viva la skinny!

Sleeping "Brothers"

I came back to the couch after putting away the laundry and found that baby's oldest "brother" had joined him. It is a cozy spot...

TGIF!

Well- it's Friday and we've had the best day. Thank you Lord for this GORGEOUS weather. This morning we went to our monthly kiddie Bible study and it was so nice. The virtue we studied this past month was learning God's truth and ALL the kids learned the entire 23rd Psalm- it was quite amazing. Learning the psalm was it's own homeschool moment b/c we had to teach him the meaning of the new words like dwell and restore and what does it mean to prepare a table before your enemies? After Bible study we went to the park- here are the mommy's enjoying some grown-up time. I caption this picture "get your minivan and fast food and let's let the kids wear themselves out while we laugh": Julia got picked up by these cute brothers- her first group date: Marky and his best buddy ran around like army men shooting sticks like guns- I mean, you can't keep a boy from acting this way...it's just IN them to fight: The "big kid" crew:
Little buddy turned one month old yesterday- I know, time IS flying. He's decided that he is most happy ON mommy so I have become a sling-mom. I never used slings with my other two- but I have found it most helpful with number 3, especially at night. And it frees my hands to do e-mail, write thank-you notes, read, etc. For instance, last night I wore him as we watched "The Office". I literally cried while laughing because it was so hilarious. We rewatched the scene where he is memorizing everyone's name at Karen's office probably six times.

P.S. I asked little buddy what he thought of the stimulus plan and the theory that you should spend your way out of a recession and create MORE government workers and programs. He put his fist up and said, "these policies are crazy! We must stand together and fight big government." My little Reagonite... mommy is so proud.

It's Domestic...boogie woogie woogie

The blog post title is because all day I've been thinking of that song "electric slide" and singing "you can't explain it....it's domestic....boogie woogie woogie". Why is the domestic life on my mind? Because I've started a new Bible Study on Proverbs 31- it's Graced and Gifted by Kimberly Hahn. We met for the first time last night at my home. So far I can tell that God had this book in mind for me at this time. And coming right before Lent is just perfect since we are all in preparing ourselves for the Easter feast by taking sin by the horns.

Some things that have stood out to me are how our vocation is only successful when we are providing to our family under God's grace and with His help. It's when our hearts are distracted and leaning on ourselves that we get impatient and ungrateful for our station in life and lazy. She says, "Diligence over our hearts leads us to diligence in our tasks, the antidote to the deadly sin of sloth." She talks about how the Proverbs 31 woman works with "willing hands." She talked about being frustrated with the monotony of years and years of laundering the same clothes and God showed her that she was not caring for a shirt- she was caring for the child who wore the shirt and that "though the work was repetitive, the work on my heart and mind was not." She explains,

"I realized that though I may be sweeping the same floor, wiping the same dishes, making the same bed, washing the same clothes, something is different- I am. Little by little God is giving me more of a servant heart as I relinquish my will to His, allowing the ordinary tasks of my day to reflect the extraordinary Love he has for my loved ones through me. Through ordinary work God gives extraordinary grace. When I cooperate with that grace, I remember, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.'"

Today God has already showed me areas I can focus on. I can stay in this mediocre state where I haven't fully died to all my selfish desires, or I can just slay my flesh and jump headfirst into serving and loving. That doesn't mean not to care for myself- just tonight I went back to the gym for the first time post baby- it just means my choices have to be choices that bless my family. She even mentioned saying as you cook dinner, "Lord, let this dinner bless my family." Hard to say when you've put no thought into dinner or have been grumpy all day. I know I'm not going to be Martha Stewart up in here- but I am saying life is a journey and I should slowly be growing in virtue and every year I should be closer to God and His character should reflect more and more in me. As they say in the movie Braveheart "You know what happens if we don't try? Nothing."

Home and Back

Hello friends- long time no blog. I went home to the port city to see my folks this week. I had the best time- believe it or not the car ride was great and everybody behaved well. I only had to stop one time on the way down and one time on the way back to change diapers and feed Tucker. Going to my parents house is always an adventure for my kids. My parents adore them and do all they can to entertain them. For instance they let them dig up their garden and plant sunflower seeds....no, not real sunflower seeds...the salted ones from the pantry.

Then they got to move all the rocks by the pool....
Poppy hooked up his trailer to the riding lawnmower and rode them around the yard (they LOVED that)....
BB and Poppy also have fun toys like golf and croquet that they love....

We also went to Chuck E Cheese, the park, different playgrounds...we stayed busy and had fun. As for Tucker, he was pretty much held by somebody most of the time. Here he is in his favorite spot-

As an extra treat I got to go to a baby shower for Jen! It was so nice to see her and other friends including bloggers Merrill and Shannon. She looks beautiful and her nursery is adorable- I hope she will blog it! Also- she can still wear her rings in her 9th month...what in the world? Where is the swelling?

I've had so many things on my mind that I want to talk about. One topic is Esther from the Bible. I went with my mom to her Beth Moore study on Esther while I was home and it was so good. She was talking about how Esther was resistant to Mordecai at first when he wanted her to approach the king about saving the Jews. And Mordecia said "For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father's family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to royal position for such a time as this?" This was why she was where she was. It seemed like too much, but God had put her there for that purpose and she could either be part of His plan or not. I thought about motherhood and how overwhelming cooking, cleaning, teaching, loving, and serving can be. It's almost like it's too many things for one woman to do, but God has put us in this position for such a time as this. I can either buck up and lay down my life for my family and see God's plan for my family and my own sanctification worked out or I can be selfish and sinful and whine about all that's on my plate and miss the blessing. Anyway- I need to run...we'll talk more soon.