22/365 Compassionate heart

Claire has the most compassionate heart. She has had so many questions about the devastation in Haiti after the earthquakes. It's so hard to know how much to share with our children. On one hand we want to preserve as much of their innocence and naivety for as long as possible, on the other hand we want to teach them about the blessings we have received and how we can pass those along to others. These are difficult conversations, and I suspect they will not get any easier as the years go by. I tuck my precious children into bed tonight with a heavy heart, and thank the Lord that they have a warm bed, a roof over their heads, and a family that loves them. We pray for all the children in Haiti that are suffering tonight.

21/365 Crazy, hot natured, girl!

The temperature went above 40 degrees today. This is what Claire decided to put on after school. "Mooooommmm...I'm burning up!" Crazy girl!

20/365 Adam's favorite things...

This is a really bad cell phone pic but it captures some of Adam's favorite things! The Beatles (shirt), Snuggles (his blanket), trains, and the sideways goofy grin! I love this boy!

19/365 Music man!

Owen loves these maracas! He goes straight for them anytime he is let loose to play in his bedroom! Maybe he'll be a little music man!

18/365 Nana and Claire at Hunan!

MLK day, and lunch at our FAVORITE chinese restaurant in Lexington...HUNAN! I'm so glad our children like chinese food! Another highlight of the day...I passed my kidney stone! Thank the good Lord!

17/365 Thumb wars!

"One...two...three...four...I declare a thumb war!" Claire and Daddy time, at our second birthday party of the weekend, this time at my mom's house! Happy Birthday, Shawn!

16/365 Partyin' all weekend!

Shawn's birthday is January 18th and we planned a whole weekend of partying! Today we went to Shawn's mom and dad's for soup, birthday cake, and lots of fun. Anytime the Edwards and Kelley cousins get together you better watch out! They just love being together! Stacey made sure to celebrate this birthday right, complete with black balloons!

15/365 Another doctor's appointment

I think we are keeping food on the doctors' tables this winter. Owen had appointment for a check up and Adam got to go with us since he didn't have preschool today. Our little peanut has finally made it to 20 pounds, actually 20.3! The doctor said Owen's ears look beautiful. That's really good news. He's behind on his immunizations due to having so many ear infections so he got three shots today (MMR, Varicella, and Prevnar). We'll go back in a month for his 15 month shots. He was not a happy camper, but who can blame him? Adam had to leave the room for Owen's shots. He said, "mommy, I need to leave the room...it's just too loud". The doctor is also referring us to Shriner's for an evaluation. Owen is still not walking, but is cruising around everything and seems really close. We've noticed that he turns his feet out when he walks and the doctor thinks we would rather be safe than sorry so we will have a specialist take a look. Just cell phone pictures today.

14/365 Sortin' Socks

My little helpers! :)

13/365 Pain in the...

As of last night I can add *kidney stone* to my list of issues this winter. It joins:
4 rounds of strep for me
1 round of strep for Claire
1 round of step for Adam
pink eye for me
pink eye for Shawn
4 ear infections for Owen
starting high blood pressure medicine for me
Sheesh! Thank the good Lord we have insurance! So after a trip to the ER last night and visiting the urologist this morning, the plan is to wait it out and hope I pass the stone on my own. If I'm unsucessful in 3 weeks I'll go back to the urologist and plan surgery. Wish me luck!

12/365 Claire can tie her shoes!

Who says snow days are nonproductive? She was so proud of herself! A big shout out to Nana, who had the patience to teach her. It takes a village, right?

11/365 The hairstylist

Another snow day for Claire, but Adam's preschool was on. It's a good thing he wasn't here to see Claire making their horse all girly! I'm pretty sure he would not have approved. Looks like the tongue sticking out in concentration may run in the family here.

10/365 Church

Owen, all bundled up in his new Christmas clothes for Church today!

9/365 Sweet Victory!

Now if this baby doesn't deserve "more" m&m's, well...I don't know who does! Now I can stop boring y'all to death with my attempts to capture the perfect picture of Owen signing "more"! :)

And a bonus...playing around with my mamas good camera. Look at those baby blues!

8/365 Nothing Like Ice Cream

Yep...there's nothing like ice cream on a frigid winter night. Not to mention the short sleeved night gown Claire has on. She would wear short sleeves and shorts year round if we would let her! I've never seen anything like it! We didn't make it outside to play today. It's just too cold, and besides, I'm a wimp like that! Maybe the ice cream makes up for it?

7/365 Snow day!

It's a snow day! I was so glad this morning when I found out that school was canceled today. We really didn't get that much snow, but it doesn't take much to cancel school here! The kids were excited, too! Looks like tomorrow is more of the same. Maybe we can actually go play in it a little tomorrow. I spent the morning in the doctors office. I'm now on my 4th round of strep. Today I got a penicillin shot. Lots of fun!

6/365 More, more!

Still trying to get a good picture of Owen signing "more". I even resorted to bribery. Didn't work.

5/365 More!

Owen signed "more" for the first time last night. I tried to catch a picture, but his cup is in the way. He stopped cooperating soon after this shot. Isn't that just like a baby?

4/365 Haircuts!

Claire and I got much needed haircuts today! It's so much fun to watch her grow into a little lady. She is more and more grown up every day. I am so proud to be her mama! Today was an extra special day because she didn't have school, but Adam had preschool. She was an only child for a little while today, (while Owen napped) and I think she enjoyed it. No doubt she'll be happy to see Adam when he gets home, though!

3/365 Adam and his friends

Our kids have special things they like to sleep with. For Claire, it's usually her Bitty Baby. Adam has to have "snuggles" (seen here resting closest to him) and Owen has a very dirty puppy that was given to him by my Granny. Sometimes they come upon old stuffed animals they have forgotten about and they then have to add them to the bed. Adam took his time arranging all his "friends" today before his nap. He was so proud!

My project 365

I'm starting a few days late, but hopefully I can start my project now and keep up throughout the year. The plan is to take a picture a day. By next January we will have a full year of memories to look back on and remember. Wish me luck!