Slow Down Time

I am struggling this week. My kids have all decided to hit milestones, or what I consider milestones, all in the same week! Toxey has suddenly weaned himself of the pacifier. The child wanted it all the time, and literally overnight will not touch one. Ella Katherine is turning five at the end of the week. Anne Hartley has slept dry all week, therefore no more pull ups. And on top of all that, I went through all the baby clothes to get rid of them. Life is so ironic how you want to rush through the tough parts, but when they are suddenly gone you miss them. I should be thrilled we won't have the same paci struggle like we did with Anne Hartley, or that I will not have to buy anymore pull ups, but I sit here finding myself a little broken over how quickly it is all happening! The last two years I have barely been able to keep my head above water, having three with me constantly with very little relief. I would complain frequently to myself and hope for a break, especially while Matt was away in Army training. In a short eight months though, EK will be starting Kindergarten and Hart will be in prek4. It will only be Toxey and I here during the day. While the little man and I will enjoy the quietness and drama free mornings, it just won't be the same. People are constantly telling me enjoy it, it goes by quickly. I think those people truly have forgotten the reality that comes with three children 4 and under. I think if they were to experience it again, they would rethink those words. I do not wish to go backwards, however I would love for it to just slow down a bit.

Christmas Pageant

Ella Katherine was in her first Christmas Pageant this past Sunday. What a joy to watch the young children sing praises to the Lord. I get teary eyed every year! Thankfully there are plenty of moments to laugh at also. She was a sheep and we have literally been practicing everyday learning the words of her songs. She makes me play the cd constantly. My pictures didn't turn out very good, but I am including a couple.

Madison Christmas Parade

We took the girls to the Madison Christmas Parade last Saturday. They randomly let Matts group out of drill for a couple of hours so he was able to join us. They had a blast. I left right after and was able to drive to Columbus to finally meet one of my best friend's baby, Murphy Hatcher. He is such a little bundle of joy and I could just eat him up!! I was able to spend the night with Kayla and Kevin. We had such a good time catching up. I can't wait to get to see him again!

Wednesdays Words

Ella Katherine: "Mom, You know why the flag is only half way up the pole right?" Me: "No, do you?" Ella Katherine: "Of course, because Barack Obama won the president." Anne Hartley: "Mom, could you ask God to close his eyes for two minutes. I am about to disobey." :)

Kate McPhail is Finally Home!

What a beautiful picture of God's grace! Sweet Kate finally came home Monday to my brother and sister in laws home in Oxford. Kate and her twin sister Maggie were born on August 31st at 26 weeks. Maggie passed away the next day and is now resting in Heaven. Although those left behind hurt, what an amazing thing that she never experienced this fallen world! A few days after Maggie's funeral it was discovered that Kate had suffered a brain bleed. It didn't look good, but miraculously she is doing great! She was born 1 lb. 14 oz. Kate now weighs 5lbs. 12 oz. There is still a long journey ahead. She is a little fighter. I can't wait to get to Oxford to love all over her. She is the custest little thing and my very first niece. Praise the Lord from whom all blessings flow! Please pray for David, Jenny, Logan and sweet Kate.

Also here is a link to Kate's CaringBridge page where you can read her entire story. http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/katemcphail/mystory

Finally Home

As some of you know, Matt left for JAG school in Charlottesville, VA at the beginning of July. The kids and I joined him shortly after. However, our time with him was cut short due to a family emergency that we returned home for. We left him at the very beginning of September to come back to Mississippi. We were able to see him during his transition from Charlottesville to Ft. Benning for the weekend. Other than that quick visit we were separated the rest of the time. Thankfully, Matt finally returned home from JAG school on the weekend before Thanksgiving. I dropped the kids off in Collinsville and made the five hour drive to Ft. Benning for his graduation. We were able to spend a much needed weekend together and do all of our Christmas shopping. We are getting back into our routine and are so happy to be together as a family again. I also have a new found respect for single moms, particularly those with multiple kids! It was no walk in the park, but we survived and plenty of santification happened in the process. :)

Polo

Today after church we headed out to a local vineyard that host a polo match every Sunday afternoon. People put up tents and eat their lunch there. It was such a fun new thing to watch. We may have found our new Sunday afternoon tradition. Matt has the kids down at the pool now, so I am getting special time with my little man!:)

Virginia Safari Park

Last night we went to Baja Bean Co. I am a huge fan now!! Of course I have yet to find a Mexican restaurant that I am not a fan of! I am fairly certain the whole place had a party upon our departure, and it probably took three people to clean up my kids mess. We then went to Kohr's frozen custard. Today we ventured out to Buffalo, VA to the Virginia Safari Park. We were quite hesitant to make the 70 minute drive and spend the money. I mean this place is in the middle of nowhere. Much to our surprise it was WONDERFUL!!! We first ate a picnic lunch, then we headed to the walk through park. We were able to feed lots of different animals including a giraffe. We then got in our car and drove through the Safari part. The animals literally stick their heads in your car to eat food from your buckets. We fed Zebra, Llama (Which EK is dying for one now), Ostrich, Pigs. We saw every kind of animal you could possible imagine. We even saw a llama that literally just been born right in front of us. My favorite quote of the day was of course by Ella Kat. A momma Squirrel Monkey that has beard was nursing, and EK screams out, "Weird momma, why is that grandpa feeding that baby from it's milkers?" We made lots of wonderful memories their today and I am so thankful we took the risk. This past week was fairly uneventful minus date night.

Weekend Adventures

A quick recap of last weekend. Saturday morning we got a late start and headed to Chiles Orchards. We picked fresh peaches and had homemade peach ice cream. It was such a fun time for the girls and a great way to show them that food does not come from the grocery store. :) We then headed to Blue Mountain Brewery for lunch. By far my favorite place here so far. It is hidden in the mountains with an amazing view. We sat out under a beautiful arbor while the kids jumped in an inflatable jump house. So beautiful and the food is to die for! We then just drove a little ways on the Blue Ridge Parkway where we stopped at Humpback Rocks. Sunday we attended Trinity Presbyterian again. We then went to Walnut Creek Lake where we took a picnic lunch. We swam and the girls built sand castles. The Kona Ice truck happened to come by for a yummy treat. I finally had to purchase a camera. I left my big Nikon at home, so I had to buy a cheapo this week. I was missing far to many memories. About to post pics of what we did today. Oh and I forgot to mention one of the precious female JAGs kept the kids Thursday night to allow Matt and I to go out to eat. Can I tell you how much I love this girl!! We walked the pedestrian mall and ate at a Italian restaurant. It was pretty good.

Our Little Adventure

Well the Vitart clan has relocated temporarily to Charlottesville. Matt is attending JAG school here with the Army. I am going to try to keep this thing up while we are here so that we will be able to remember our little adventure. Plus there is very little I can accomplish at nap time in a one bedroom hotel room with three kids. We are loving this area. It is so beautiful. Matt and I headed out on July 1 driving this way. We went to Charleston, SC on the way up for about five days. Matt dropped me off at Durham to catch a flight back to the kiddos who had spent a week at Grammy and Pappys. Matt then went to Ft. Lee for two weeks of introduction training. The kids, my mom and I made the incredibly long drive back up to Charlottesville on July 25th. We spent three days on the road but had a great time. We stopped over in Chattanooga, TN and played in Coolidge Park. We then spent the night in Murphy, NC. The next day we drove to Efland, NC where we spent the night on a working farm. I am just going to have to face the fact that my girls are definitely more cut out for the city life. I need to move them back to Collinsville ASAP. After about five minutes they were much to hot and dramatic for us to do much on the farm. We did get to see the pigs, cows, sheep and chickens. I was totally back in my element! We then finally arrived on July 27th to our destination. It took a few days for Matt to adjust to having four more people here, but we have all settled in now. I am going to lay out what we did so far just for my memory. I am going to change format on next post, but I just need to jot all this down before it becomes fuzzy. Friday July 27th- We arrived around 4p.m. to Charlottesville. When Matt got out of class we headed to Brixx Pizza. Very yummy! Saturday July 28th- Mom kept Toxey and we headed to Monticello with the girls. The kids museum there was excellent. Tour was a major failure. What led me to believe a four and three year old would be interested in someone's home they knew nothing about I am not sure. After room three where Hart nearly ripped actual orignial paintings off the wall in Thomas Jefferson's bedroom and both girls layed down on the floor we attempted to find an exit. They obviously were prepared for this becaused suddenly a side door flew open and about four people with walkie talkies guided us through hidden hallways and out the door. Creepy! We then left immediately and dined at Michie's Tavern. Very cool place and yummy food. However, I find it so humorous that people are so fascinated with getting to eat fried chicken, mashed potatoes and blackeyed peas with sweet tea. I mean this is what we have most days. There advertisement said try food from yesteryear.:) That night mom kept all three kids and Matt and I were able to eat out and drive around a little. We ate at The Virginian on the Corner. It was so good. Their mac and cheese is to die for! Toxey also took his first steps to grammy on this night. Sunday July 29th- We visited Trinity Presbyterian and really enjoyed it. It's difficult trying new churches when you get to listen to Pastor Carl in church or Sunday school with John Kwasny or Tim Dryden every Sunday, but we did enjoy it. The kids did great in the nursery. They said Hart ate her weight in graham crackers (imagine that.) Monday July 30th- Mom and I ventured out to Penn Park where the kiddos played. We then had to take mom to the airport much to our disapproval of her leaving. Tuesday July 31st- I took the kids down to the pedestrian mall which is so neat. We went to the Virginia Discovery Museum where we played and rode the carousel outside. Then we walked to the visitor center. That night I went to the JAG wive's welcome coffee for us where I was able to visit with some of the professor's wives and other spouses. Matt took the kids for yogurt while I was away. Wednesday August 1st- We picked us Ms. Meg at airport and ate at Chickfila. Thursday August 2nd We went with the two other spouses and children to Bounce n Play. Such a cool place!! Friday August 3rd We went with the same playgroup to Forest Hills Park where they have a great playground and spray park.

Where has Time Gone?

What this little cutie patootie is NOT doing:

Sleeping

Taking a Bottle

He is too cute for me to stay mad for long though! I can't believe my baby is six months already! He is eating lots and lots of baby food, rolling over like crazy, starting to sit up a little, and thinks his sisters are the greatest thing in the world! He is definitely a momma's boy already. I can hardly leave the room.