In All Honesty

Rarely do I stray away from posts about the girls but I thought that our life in general needed to be updated… so be warned, it’s a long one!!

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A year ago, our lives got turned upside down as Mark interviewed for his job position down here at the beach.

We thought we were learning the virtue of patience as we prayed for wisdom and waited patiently for all the loose ends to either unravel or come together to allow him to have this new career opportunity. As God would have it, by mid May last year word was in and God made it quite evident to us, we were to GO!

So in July we went blindly with a house to sell but with high hopes that things would settle out by the end of the summer.

God is GOOD. He provided for us a place to live. While Mark got a decent raise we do not have the ability to pay for housing and utilities in two places. We can’t even begin to thank Charles and Marie (my brother in law’s parents) for their EXTENDED graciousness! They owned two trailers on Oak Island that their family has enjoyed as vacation places for many years, and while trying to sell one, they graciously allowed us to live there. Mid-February it did sell, and we have moved to their other trailer until April when they will start coming back down here for the summer. Without their generosity, the girls and I would have had to stay back in Gastonia and at most, see Mark on the weekends. Obviously not an ideal situation. People like Charles and Marie know what it means to share graciously with others, and we are forever grateful!!

I have no idea why, but God has not seen it fit to sell our house. We have lived out of our suitcases for almost 8 months now… 99% of what we own is packed away in boxes back home. Have I dealt with this gracefully… some weeks yes, others, absolutely NOT!! I am a home body. I love keeping house… decorating, cooking, sewing, entertaining… being “settled.” But God obviously has some other things for me to learn at this time in my life.

The fun stories and happy moments I’ve shared as we’ve moved to the beach may have given a false impression of what life for us has been underneath the surface these last months. Oh, what is it my sister always says I make my life sound like… oh yes, the land of candy canes and lollipops! Don’t be fooled, it’s just how I deal with things.

I’m not an overly positive person but I’m also NOT a complainer. I know that everyone goes through struggles in their lives and things for us really aren’t THAT bad. There are a lot of people WAY worse off than we are, and so I refrain from voicing my bad days (and weeks)—unless I am cornered to do so.

This has been the MOST challenging season of my life, and it isn’t even over yet.

So why am I writing this now, you ask?!? MANY, MANY things have gone poorly these past months with finances, insurance, housing, etc… BUT we have seen our way through them, ONLY because God worked the details out for us.  There are many things we can control but the sale of our house, so that we can afford any place here at the beach, is NOT one of them. We are nearing the end of ourselves and perhaps that has been the point all along.

I, by no means, am writing this to gain your sympathy or praise. Instead it is to say, we need… no, we covet… your prayers for our situation. We want nothing more than our situation to glorify HIM! Everything that has happened and will happen to hold our life together here will indeed be that… because of HIM! We are praying for a God-glorifying miracle in our situation.

I don’t want to take the girls back to Gastonia and leave Mark here, but if that is what God requires, then that is what I will do come April. I have no doubt that God allows times of trial to build our faith, so I cling to the promises He has given us (and you). Here are a few that have held my attention this week:

- Hebrews 13:5: I will never leave you or forsake you.

- Philippians 4:13: I can do all things because Christ gives me strength.

- Isaiah 41:10: Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

- Isaiah 40:29: He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak.

- 2 Corinthians 5:7: For we live by faith, not by sight.

Please pray with us and know that in all situations, in all circumstances, GOD IS GOOD… and HIS name will be glorified in our lives, no matter how great the storm that we must weather!

Just Our Size

A few weeks ago our friend Rena and her daughter Maebel met a guy while walking in downtown Southport. After chatting a bit, she found out he owned a bunch of miniature horses and he invited us to bring all the kids and visit sometime.

The weather was nice this morning, so we packed up and headed for an “adventure.” Sure enough, we followed his directions and came upon a pasture with at least 20 miniature horses in it.

The girls were excited!

They fun playing a bit while Rena and I learned a lot about his history and what he does. His ponies are the ones we saw back in December at the Bolivia Christmas Parade and are quite popular around these parts for birthday parties.

       

He hooked up one of his most “kid friendly” horses, Scuttlebutt, to the cart and the girls were ready for a ride.

We weren’t sure that Audrey and Maebel would hold on, but sure enough, once they got moving, they sat as still as could be and just loved the ride.

He took us for a long ride down the road and when we got back realized we’d been at his farm for almost 2.5 hours! Time really does fly when you’re having fun!

We all enjoyed our visit out to see the miniature horses and he invited us to come back anytime, which I am certain we will take him up on.

Troop of 3

It seems like only yesterday that I was taking this picture of Shannon and Madeline!

And NOW there are 3!!

Shannon and I didn’t grow up together, weren’t from the same hometown, and didn’t go to school together… we actually met through a Girl Scout trip to Minnesota and were summer camp counselors together for at least 5 years after that. Is it any coincidence that we now have a “troop” of girls!?!

It crossed my mind for the first time today that Shannon and I may be in for several summers of sending our girls to camp together in the future. Ahhh… such good memories!! I can’t wait!

It won’t be long, Charlotte… you’ll be playing right along side these other two crazy girls!! They have LOTS of things to teach you!

Thanks for meeting us for lunch, Shannon and Charlotte! We always love catching up, even if it is just for a few hours.

There’s No Crying in Biking

Oma and Opa were up in Raleigh this weekend to see my sister’s family so the girls and I took a trip up to meet everyone. We haven’t seen everyone in several weeks, and a 3 hour drive to Raleigh is much closer than a 5 hour drive to Hickory.

It was a nice day so we decided to go bike the Neuse River Greenway. Things started out well.

Lucas and Audrey were on the backs of Rachel and I’s bikes and the big kids were pedaling away.

Madeline has been biking a lot lately, but on flat ground. I thought the slight uphills would be the problem, but turns out she is TERRIFIED of going DOWN hill. She repeatedly informed me that she was scared, so I would walk next to her bike holding the handlebar.

Rachel and I decided to turn around with the kids and it’s a good thing we did. Madeline started crying and I ended up having to ditch my bike, carry Audrey, and walk/encourage/threaten her to pedal all the way back without getting off the bike. I totally get she is 3 and she has to learn sometime, but WOW… I was losing my patience by the time we got back. Definitely missed Mark on our adventure today that is for sure!!

My dad was sweet enough to come up behind (he and mom biked further down the greenway) and walk both our bikes back to the car so I wouldn’t have to walk all the way back in to get it. Thanks Dad… even now you’re still helping me bike! :)

While it was indeed a challenging parenting moment, we survived and I have learned that Madeline will NOT be my daredevil bike rider. Looks like we’ll be practicing A LOT more hills before she’ll be ready to ride the VA Creeper Trail by herself!!

A Short Visit

Gramma and Grampa Blevins came up for the day for a visit. When we moved to the beach, their trip to visit was cut in half and the girls have indeed enjoyed seeing them more!

Bike rides, coloring, dog walking, and books… it was a busy afternoon for everyone.

Thanks for coming to visit! We are already looking forward to our next visit.

A Windy Day

A morning trek to the beach resulted in mixed reactions with the girls:

     

While it was decently warm outside, it was windy. Madeline wanted to go walk on the beach and collect seashells until we made it over the dunes… and she lost her mind!

It was indeed the windiest day I’ve experienced on the beach, I really can’t imagine what hurricane winds feel like after being out there today and seeing the HUGE waves, but it was pretty amazing! But as you can see, all Madeline wanted to do was go back. (And I, the horrible mother, could only laugh at her dramatic response to the wind!)

Audrey did her best to cheer up her sister, but it did no good, we had to cut our trip short!

      

Guess we’ll try a seashell hunt at the beach another day!!

GET OUT!!

After being cooped up inside with “cooties” for almost a week, we had to get OUT today! The weather was beautiful--- high 60’s again—so we spent a good part of the day outside.

Audrey was content to hang out on her bike in her “plops” (flip-flops).

And this one was too busy being an “antomologist” to get her picture taken. Yes, she is obsessed with bugs these days and this is her current career of the week! Good thing I’m a biologist turned mommy that knows lots of bugs, because she MUST know ALL of their names!

Tomorrow is supposed to be another gorgeous day. Any bets where we will be?!?

Potty Training

I always said that because Madeline potty trained so easily, Audrey would still be peeing her pants at 13. Well, it appears she is out to prove me wrong.

I have not pushed potty training at all with this one, and she is all about it. I am sure it’s because she has to do everything her sister does, but she really loves to sit on the potty. Every time Madeline goes, Audrey goes, and Madeline is very good at the reward system of mini M&Ms. I’m pretty sure she gives Audrey 1 and takes 2 or 3 for herself! (As any good teacher does!)

In the last month, we’ve seen her pretty much potty train herself. This weekend she kept her diaper dry except for overnight so since we are stuck at home with “cooties” we gave the panties a “go” to today!

We spent the majority of the day in the kitchen on the linoleum floor and only had one accident. She pooped in her Elmo panties during lunch and about lost her mind. She was screaming/sobbing … “Elmo, Elmo, Elmo”… as if she had killed him. I reassured her that Elmo would be fine after a good wash, and the switch to Minnie Mouse managed to stop the flow of tears! Oh, the drama! I’m hoping that this devastating “poop on Elmo” may have been tragic enough to not have it happen again!! :)

Sadly, the smallest panties they make (the ones Madeline still wears) are pretty big on her, although pretty cute! Anyone know if ones smaller that 2T are sold anywhere?

Not sure if we really are getting close to the end of diapers or not, but I will give her a fair shot to see if she really is ready to be done with them. Time will tell and I certainly have free time on my hands to work with her. I know I’ve said it before… but she is growing up too fast!!

Sharing

My girls are good at sharing EVERYTHING! Today it appears in the form of germs.

We had Audrey in to the pediatrician last Thursday to confirm strep throat and we were there again this morning for Madeline.

After getting our prescriptions filled, we spent most of the day resting, doing puzzles, reading, and of course their favorite… snacking while watching TV. (Even George managed to sneak some snacks today, too!)

We are hoping with both of them on antibiotics they will stop passing back and forth, get rid of all their germs, and get to feeling better soon. Spring can’t get here soon enough!!

What’s On My Head?

Aunt Rachel introduced a new game to us while we were in Michigan… “What’s On My Head?” … a Garanimals game from Wal-Mart. She brought it on the trip for Isaac and Madeline to play… they LOVED it and were both quite good at it on vacation. Madeline was thrilled when we got back home and realized that Aunt Rachel bought the game for her to take home with us, too!! YAY Aunt Rachel… she really is the coolest aunt EVER… you can ask anyone!

Audrey was asleep when the kids played it on vacation so she had NO idea it was a game. She was just thrilled to have a new stylish piece of headwear… as you can see!

Madeline is very good at this game, but much prefers describing what is on your head as to guessing what card is on her own. She gives EXCELLENT clues for a 3 year old!

HOWEVER… since Audrey is now VERY vocal and doesn’t yet understand the concept of the game… she was very good at just telling you what was on your head! Very excitedly, I might add.

Luckily Madeline found this funny and and most of the time Mark could turn his head so Audrey couldn’t tell him the answer before Madeline was able to give clues. I guess she was just adding a little more challenge to the game!

As you can see… even Hoppitty the rabbit had to play!

Just a little rainy day fun at our place! So… what’s on your head??! :)

Soak Up the Sun

Today was a BEAUTIFUL day here at the coast and each of the girls had a “first” to share!

This morning we all went on a bike ride, nothing new, EXCEPT… Madeline rode her bike with us. She did GREAT pedaling the whole time and making the entire trip without one complaint. She is indeed a little social butterfly and every time a car would come by she would pull to the far right of the road, stop, wave, and honk her bike horn. Really… this made it the LONGEST bike ride of my life for the short distance we went, but she was so happy, so how could the rest of us complain!

As you can see in the picture below, we’d give her a head start before we would follow.

After lunch and naps, we hit the beach!! It was a beautiful 73 degrees and while everyone thought we were crazy at the beach for letting our kids run around in swim suits… I have found I really don’t care. Anytime we go and it is warm, the girls end up with wet clothes, which they then rip off, ultimately ending up naked. My opinion, bathing suits are better. :) Even with the disapproving looks of the “blue hairs,” I’m sticking to my guns.

So what was the other “first” you are wondering… Audrey wore pigtails!!  Between that and the lack of a diaper butt because she is doing so awesome with potty training, I really had a sappy mom moment! Seriously, there were almost tears, she looked so GROWN UP… I mentioned she was adorable too, right??! See for yourself…

Yes, they of course, went in the water!

And some nice lady down the beach offered to take our picture… see, I was there too!

The pigtails were a little whomperjawed by the end of the day. Here is my tired little mermaid girl at the end of the afternoon:

(Those are her first flip flops too!!)

For having absolutely nothing planned this morning when we got up, it turned out to be a pretty fun and eventful day. That usually happens with us Blevins 4! Fun tends to follow us pretty closely. :)

The Battle Called Naptime

I’ve hit a wall with Madeline and afternoon naps.

We have two scenarios:

1) She doesn’t nap so by dinnertime she is crazy and we spend the hours before bed repeating things and trying our best to be patient with a child that really needed a nap. She isn’t bad, she just can’t be still or focus and she acts like she’s on crack. (Sorry… she does.)

2) She does nap but it is a fight to get her to do so and then when bedtime rolls around there is NO CHANCE she is going to fall asleep before 10pm.

The jury is still out and I play it by ear each day, but here she is this afternoon when she FINALLY fell asleep:

After rearranging things on my bed about 100 times she arranged the pillows and blankets on the floor and then decided to change her clothes. Too bad she went through MY just folded laundry and put all my clothes on. Yup… three shirts and my pink pajama pants. But THEN she fell asleep… at 3:45!! AHHHH!! 4pm is what time she comes out of her room, regardless of whether she sleeps or not. (I woke her up at 4:30!)

Anyone out there have some advice?!? I’d be glad to hear it!!

Too Much Time

I needed new tires on my car and sadly the only place around here where I could get what I needed at a decent price was Wal-Mart. Man, I miss my Clark Tire friends back home!

Anyways… the girls and I dropped the car at 9am and hoped to be out in an hour. Sadly, it took 2 hours and that was 2 hours too long. I didn’t need to grocery shop, so we seriously were just killing time in the Southport Wal-Mart.

I left my camera in the car, assuming I wouldn’t need it at Wal-Mart for an hour, but I really should have brought it with me. I would have had the best story to tell with pictures: Audrey sitting in the bin with the life size Valentine clearance bears, Madeline lounging on the patio furniture in the outdoor garden center, sitting on the floor in the book aisle reading Elmo, talking to the lobsters, or our multiple passes by the dessert section for free samples… 2 hours is a LONG time in Wal-Mart!

I did snap two cute pics with my cell.

The shoe aisle with Dorothy:

I have no idea what these things are called but they were a huge hit in the toy department with the girls.

We survived and have new tires to show for it! Just goes to show that we can have fun anywhere.

Did I mention I made it out of the store with only 4 items in addition to my new tires?!? That in itself was a feat!!

Happy Heart Day!

We’ve had lots of fun doing Valentine things these past few days. One of the favorites was making valentines with their friends at the library. One can never have too many hearts, stickers, or glue!

And of course we’ve eaten EVERYTHING heart shaped, red, pink, or with sprinkles! Below is Madeline’s first “sandwich” of any type that she’s EVER eaten. (Usually all her food must be completely separate.) We call it peanut butter and sprinkles heart toast! I’m guessing that the sprinkles are actually better for her than jelly… right?!?

Like all other holidays, Mark and I don’t do gifts. However, we enjoyed an awesome dinner of Chinese take out food (We FINALLY found a great Chinese place to eat down here at the beach!! YUMMMM!!) and finished it off with Mark’s hand made chocolate dipped strawberries!

I am one lucky girl! Not just today… but every day!

Up Close and Personal

Madeline loves for me to take her picture these days. While the girls were eating lunch I was putting my battery back in my camera and Madeline asked for me to take some pictures of her. Of course I did and I got some cute up close shots!

     

I love that sweet chipped tooth smile! :)

And of course you can’t leave out Captain CHEEZZZEE!! She had a great time being silly for the camera too!

I am by no means a professional photographer, but I thought these were pretty darn cute… guess it helps to have two adorable subjects!

Learning Time x 2

Since Audrey gave up her morning naps a few months ago, I’ve tried several different routines to try and get my one on one “learning time” with Madeline. Many failed attempts later, here is learning time these days:

Yep… we now run a school house with two! Like everything else, Audrey wants to be just like her big sister, and so she has her own learning time too. Why is it the second one grows up SO much faster than the first?!?

Trip to Greenville

Good friends of ours from college recently moved back to NC! Compared to Florida and Georgia, a 2.5 hour trip to Greenville is SHORT, so we were thrilled to get to come up for the weekend and celebrate their sweet little Zoe’s first birthday with them!

My girls are always thrilled to play with someone new, and how sweet the three of them were together!

Always good to see the boys back together again—they have been friends for a long time and were college roommates when I met them back in 1999.

And what kind of celebration would it be without cupcakes?! YUM!

We had a fun day celebrating sweet Zoe and catching up with old friends. Looking forward to more weekends like this in the future now that we are close in location again!