Let's state the obvious.

It really was a good idea...in my head.
Alabama in June is quickly approaching 100 degrees.
Our subdivision has a pool.
I have three children and only two arms.
I'm sure that the above mentioned pool would have something like 48 visitors on any given evening.
Not to mention that someone in our subdivision recently posted an article on facebook with the title, If you're in a neighborhood pool with three other people chances are that one of you is peeing.
Really?
I have two sons. 
When both of them are in the bathtub at night chances are that two of them are peeing.
 ******************************************************

Alright. Time out.
This was one of the drafts saved in my list of unpublished posts.
Never completed.
There are plenty more drafts awaiting completion.
Let's state the obvious. Most of those post will never see the light of day.

The most consistent blog is in my head.  I am constantly blogging in my noggin'. With three kiddos there is never a lack of inspiration, just a lack of time.
Truth be told, I won't give up my sleep to blog.  I just refuse.  
And that's how two months pass by with no new posts.
Also, when I publish this post, Bunny's picture is going to appear further down on the page.  I love clicking on my blog and seeing her little western themed self.  That was a good look for her. I may just have to add that picture to the sidebar. Yeah, that's what I'll do.

The one post that I hate I haven't completed is the one in which we were given Emmett's diagnosis.  I have the pictures uploaded but they aren't accompanied by words.  I must add the words before I post the pictures.  It just has to happen that way.

Here's something somewhat crippling about me.  If I can't do something the exact way that I want to then I'd rather not do it at all.  And that's another reason for the looooong silences on the ole blog.  That wonderful attribute serves me well...NOT.
Another quality that I possess has been passed on to my first born.  Her first grade teacher asked us to write a letter about our child so that she could get a better understanding of them.  And so I'm sure that it was incredibly encouraging to read that Ellie Kate often doesn't want to learn something, she just wants to know it.  I was quick to take responsibility for passing this onto Priss.  So this year we are hoping to encourage a love for learning.  So far, first grade has proven to not be kindergarten and that doesn't always sit well with Ellie Kate.

Speaking of Ellie Kate, today is her birthday.  She is turning six years old. (Sigh.)
This week in the car on the way to church she told me,"Mama, me and Nicolas talked about gettin' married today. We're gonna grow up and catch alligators together. We don't know what kind of stuff we'll have, you know, like a house and stuff.  We'll have some kids. We don't know how many."  To which I replied,"Does Nicolas love Jesus?"
EK:"Yes."
Me:"Did he say that?"
EK:"No, but I can tell that he does because he does nice things."
She also included a description of this boy,"He's got brown hair, a freckled nose, and peach skin."
I gave Ross the heads up at church that night.
Ellie Kate wanted to ride home with him.
When he asked her about Nicolas, she responded,"How did you know about him?"
Ross quickly let her know that he knows about everything.
She went on to tell him that Nicolas is an expert in science.
And when she was giving her Daddy the description of Nicolas, it blew her mind when he already knew that that boy has a freckled nose.
After that Ross made Ellie Kate hold his hand all the way home.
It's always something with that child.
Glory be.



Just last week we celebrated Emmett's fourth birthday. (Another sigh.) 
Emmett's life is one of celebration.  Each accomplishment. There are no small accomplishments. They are all big.
Ross and I (and many others) continue to stand in amazement when it comes to Emmett's progress.  I really do hate that I haven't consistently written down all of the things that he's learning or doing.

We were told in May at his final appointment in Birmingham that he is indeed on the autistic spectrum.
What would appear to some as being a crushing blow has instead just been an identification of where he is.  One thing that we can't determine is where he's going.  Don't get me wrong, we fully accept and are continually accepting his diagnosis.  However, that little boy, time and again, blows any expectation that I (knowingly or unknowingly) place on him out of the water.

 Ross read part of a book this summer. It talked about the way that parents respond to their children.  It spoke of how our demeanor can relate our expectations to our child.  They can interpret what we think their capabilities are and their potential or the limit thereof.
And that's why we've claimed Ephesians 3:20-21 when it comes to Mr. Emmett. The verse says,"Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us, to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.

HE has already done more than I ever even knew to ask.  Emmett's progress has been beyond anything I could imagine.  These verses help point us to Christ.  It is through His supernatural strength that we are able to stand. We give Him all the glory for entrusting us with Emmett and letting us watch him overcome challenges.
Emmett helps me to see that we are all uniquely made.  And so we sit in expectation of where this road will lead.  It's not always easy, but it is always worth it.

And that leaves our little Jack Jack.  That would be the one tugging on my arm as I type.  Besides sleep rivaling the blog, Jack is in direct competition for all of my time and attention.  Even now he fusses loudly saying,"Ba...Ba...Ba" (Ball), over and over again.  There's a reason I've been calling him Caboose lately.  It's like our family is a quirky little sentence and Jack is our very loud exclamation point at the end.

This is Jack (with his Meme) after his big boy haircut.

Ross decided to give him a major haircut.  We're talking remove-all-of-his-baby-hair type of haircut.  This Mama was not happy.  In the single Godliest act of my life, I halfway forgave him.  Now it looks like Emmett has a little clone following him around.  They look so much alike.

There is one thing that I have to mention.  This one thing has completely altered my life and led me to a statement that I never dreamed I would utter.  The statement I am referring to is "I want my minivan back."

You see our minivan, Dory, has had some major issues. First of all, we call her Dory because she is unclear on what features with which she is equipped.  For instance, we have been driving down the road and Dory has begun to beep.  This would be the feature in which when you are in reverse and coming close to an object, your car beeps so that you don't bump into it.  Well, Dory does not have that feature and if she did it really would not help us when we are going 75+ miles per hour on the interstate.

The other thing that she does is turn the passenger side air bag either on or off depending upon her mood and who the passenger is. At any given time the air bag button will either turn off or light up.  Don't test her.

And so we call her Dory after the fish with short term memory loss on Finding Nemo.

Well Dory has been in the shop for 2+ weeks now.  She apparently has some transmission issues.  We have been fortunate enough to be able to borrow a car from a family member.  However, in said car my children can touch each other.  Dramatic pause.  That's right.  Emmett can keep his hand on Ellie Kate's arm just because he wants it there.  And Ellie Kate can yell something like,"Quit touching me! Emmett's touching me!"  This may or may not be followed by me reaching my arm over the backseat trying to cause some separation. And that leads me to this statement.  My arms are too short.  And so depending upon the volume and level of violence in the backseat, I may have had to pull over beside the road, get out of the car, and play referee. 
I can assure you that after the above actions have taken place and we've resumed our trip, Emmett has always once again felt the need to place his hand on Ellie Kate's arm.
That's just the way it goes.
And that leads me to making the statement,"I want my minivan back."

The Three. Notice this is before Jack's big boy haircut.

********************************************************

Well that is a quick little random all over the place update.

Oh and about the it seemed like a good idea at the time story above, well, let's just say that we ended up with a small inflatable pool and a crazy sprinkler.  After trying to blow the blasted thing up and getting dizzy, I loaded the kiddos back into the car and we drove to a gas station where I spent more money on getting the pool halfway inflated than the darn thing cost to purchase.  We then proceeded back home.  After getting possibly 15 good minutes of 'pool time' I surveyed the scene to note that one child was on the brink of having a potty accident in the yard. This led me to say, "Just go ahead and go." After making that statement I noticed that my neighbor heard the entire conversation and I could not even pretend to be embarrassed.
Jack was content for the most part being covered in 1,345,972 giblets of grass.  Meanwhile, Ellie Kate stood outside of the pool, arms folded demanding that everyone get out of the pool because she just wanted to relax.
After tracking the 1,345,972 giblets of grass into the house, I realized that it was already six o'clock and my patient children were crying for the supper that I was yet to prepare.  Needless to say, when Ross arrived home I was still in a damp swimsuit with smeared mascara trying to calm the masses.
Actually as I write this, I cannot recall other specifics of the evening because I'm guessing that I blocked them out.
*********************************************************
And with that, I will not promise any blog posts until the world once again spins correctly on its axis I get my minivan back.

Making a wish.

Blowing out her candles.

Blowing out his candles after stopping to say the blessing.

Giving Aunt Jennifer some sugar.