Bad Day?

Have you whined or complained about your bad day lately? I can tell you for sure I have...the HEAT, Tyler's crazy travel schedule, turning 35, etc. BUT, I beg you to take a look HERE, and then you may develop a new perspective along with shedding lots of tears. A very wise friend once told me God isn't as concerned about my happiness as He is my holiness. And out of holiness, by and through Christ, I WILL have joy and peace. Those are so much richer than fleeting happiness. Cancer does not produce happiness. But, it is drawing my friend, Jen, and those around her nearer to the Lord and that is the most precious place to be.

First Week of First Grade - Long Post

We did it! And with much less emotional breakdowns and worry. I think it will always be hard to send my kids off to school with the majority of their day away from me, but to know they are happy and well - adjusted (for the most part) makes it at least more comforting. And I LOVE the blessing of boy/girl twins that are in the same class and always have each other. However, on the first day I asked who they sat by at lunch and when Piper said she sat by Porter, I said, "Oh, that's so sweet!" and she said, "Well, there was no where else to sit." Oh well. I still feel good about it:) Their teacher seems great - calm and organized. They have a few friends they already know in their class, too.

Tyler was out of town all week and that is pretty stinky, but my mom helped us out, and that was huge! I say "help us out" but she was not exactly helpful on the first day of school when she let the dog out and he attacked the sweet dog across the street about to go for a walk. I was heading back from dropping the kids off when I heard my mom scream "AMY!" and saw Scout running for the dog. The owner was just going to let his dog meet Scout because who would look at Scout and think he's a dog killer? So, I screamed as I'm running toward them, "Get your dog BACK!", but I was too late. Scout was wrestling the dog down and making horrible, scary sounds. The owner was kicking Scout and I was looking for a hold on his collar to pull him off (despite the fact that we practically weigh about the same amount). Nothing was working and I was sure the victim dog was about to die, so in the midst of families walking their children to school, I laid my whole body down on top of my fighting dog. And he just quietly lays down and relaxes underneath me like that's what he was waiting for. And SOMEHOW the other dog walked away without even a scratch! I guess Scout doesn't want to actually KILL - just intimidate? Thankfully, the owner is the friendliest man on earth and was very understanding and forgiving - at least he acted that way:) That said, I still don't really like to make eye contact when I see him now. We are continuing to take Scout to a dog trainer, but I'm not sure if it's helping or not. I have a few ideas of my own that I will carry out if I can get another dog to volunteer to possibly be mauled if the plan goes awry. I know there is hope for our otherwise perfectly perfect dog, though. There has to be. In the mean time, I'm laying hands on him and praying:)!

Tyler comes home today! I have been on an organizing rampage while he's been gone, so that's kept me busy. I even managed to take the trash out TWICE which is a huge accomplishment for me while he's gone. I used to just stuff it down and not close the lid, and add more bags next to it and fill those. I did leave the pile of recycling for him to take out - so he can still feel needed around here.

And if you haven't heard about our Blizzy's trouble, read here. Ugh!

God is good no matter what. And all the good and all the bad are working to sanctify!

Lindsey Jost Photography

Our good friend, Lindsey has started her own photography business. Yes, she is new to it, but she does not take pictures like an amateur. With the twins, I was really good about having them photographed every few months. However, #3 hasn't been professionally photographed since birth:) Oh well. These of him at 8 months are worth the wait. It was HOT out at Zilker Park even though it was 9am, we had one child melt down at the end, but we made it through and got some BEAUTIFUL shots to treasure. Thank you, Lindsey! Find out more about her and her great work, here!

Last Weeks of Summer

Well, maybe it's owning Blizzy's, maybe it's the third child, maybe it's the two older children fighting all day long, but summer has FLOWN by - even despite this crazy heat wave! I can not believe school starts back up in just over a week. Payson weighs 20 pounds, is crawling, pulling up and being as cute and sweet as ever. And the olders are starting FIRST grade! What??!! We've had lots of good company in lately...we love friends and family always filling our home. Tyler and I celebrated 12 years of marriage with paddleboarding on town lake (neither of us fell off the board!) and dinner at our all time fave Austin eatery, SoCo Cafe. If you go, don't even look at the menu - just order crab cakes and sea bass on homemade gnocchi! We also just attended an amazing parenting seminar with Paul Tripp at our church, The Austin Stone. SO GOOD! Go, if he comes near you. It's all about the big picture - helping your kids see/understand the Awe of God and that we all need Jesus! And lastly, of course we are loving our new addition, Scout. Although, we did find his Achilles heal - other dogs! So, we are working with a trainer to get him to meet and greet others of his kind nicely. Otherwise, he's pretty much an angel. In summary, we've had an eventful summer and here are some snap shots...

Allison wanted to hunt for Brad Womak. So, we did.

We tie dyed.

Tyler making me laugh hard.

Scout in our pond fetching a big stick.

Blizzy business.

Scout

Well, I wasn't kidding. We have a dog! I was obsessively searching Craigslist for a week and I even got Tyler on the bandwagon. We BOTH came up with this listing for Scout...a 5 yr old, full bred, yellow lab for FREE! Unheard of. He's AKC certified, all shots up to date, and came with a bin of toys, snacks, and food. His family moved to Hawaii. Did you know they don't have rabies in Hawaii? They don't! And they don't want it, so they make it hard for you to bring an outside dog in. Well, I feel sad for his family because they must have LOVED him and not wanted to lose him, BUT I feel SO BLESSED to have Scout be our new buddy. He's an angel dog. Really. He's also HUGE! He's housebroken and does amazingly on a leash - even Piper walked him with ease and he's 3x her size. He doesn't chew and stayed peacefully in the laundry room while we were out for a while today (even with a basket full of shoes in there with him!). We just can't believe it! We've had two dogs since our lab, Rocky, died 4 yrs ago and we thought we'd never have a good dog like Rocky again because those two in-betweeners were quite the challenge for us, to say the least. Well, now we've found a fit for our family and even read a Cesar Milan book just in case (which is amazing whether you have a dog or not!) to ensure we start out as the "pack leaders" this time. I realize we are only 2 days in, but I just have a feeling about him:) And so does the baby...

Baby and Spine Updates...

First, baby. He's made big advances (for a baby) this week! He's maneuvering from laying on his tummy to sitting up all on his own; starting to pull up; scooting and almost crawling; saying repetitive sounds that I think all mean "mama"; and laughing hysterically at anything his big sister does. He's almost 8 months old! Where did the time go??!!

Now, my spine. I didn't know it was screwed up, but apparently most of ours all are! I went to my mom's chiropractor for some shoulder pain I've had for ages, but blamed working out, carrying kids, etc. I thought I would just live with it. Turns out xrays showed my neck is totally shaped incorrectly and I had scoliosis! Who knew!!?? Well, 24 visits later and my scoliosis went from 11 degrees to ONE degree! And the curve that is supposed to be in my neck is well on it's way back. I go to a Maximized Living Chiropractor that promotes lots of changes...at home exercises, diet, eliminating toxins, etc., PLUS all the cracking he does in the office. We've always been pretty healthy eaters, but we've made some big changes like cutting out lots of flour and sugar and switching to sprouted grains. Also, for some weird reason I've been scared of red meat for years, but now I eat GRASS FED beef with ease! Other adoptions...raw cheeses, coconut oil, almond flour. However, I won't go into detail about trying to eliminate deodorant (has aluminum in it), but let's just say I'll save trying that for when we aren't in a 100 degree drought:) Stink, stank, stunk.

Unrelated, I REALLY want a dog again!!! The kids do, too. I miss having one around while I have a baby. We had our lab, Rocky, until the twins were two and he was so great with them and they adored him. I do know I do NOT want a puppy, but if my crazy side wins, we'll have a dog SOON:)!

Feeding Baby...

Payson is quite the eater now! And I think I'm more creative with him than with the twins in the concoctions I make! The best one lately - that I even steal a bite of - is a variation of apple sauce, but packed with lots of goodness!! I chop up equal parts zucchini, carrots, and granny smith apples, throw them all in an iron skillet and bake for about 20 minutes at 350. Then, transfer to the food processor with about 1/2 cup of water, dash of cinnamon, and a spoonful of coconut oil. And ta da - tasty stuff that tastes pretty much like applesauce, but lots richer and creamier. His favorite is still banana and now yobaby yogurt, so anything he doesn't just love, I can mix with either of those two things and it goes down easily:) Trickery. He's also getting a handle on his "pincer grasp", so we let him "feed" himself little bites of things and he gets about half in his mouth and half in his lap.

Big brother helping!