Baby L

Yesterday L was playing with her favorite purse, ok her only one of her own, does she know that?... anyway, and h's baby doll Henry. She would put her purse on her shoulder, hold her baby close to her chest say, "bye-bye, bye-bye," then come over and kiss me, "mmmmm-ah" and walk around in circles. oh she is so sweet!



The picture is a bit fuzzy because she is moving so fast! And last night after her bath, and after throwing ek's lion flip-flops repeatedly in the tub, then h's croc and finally my flip-flop (you would think we would catch on), she came over and gave me a hug and a kiss. sigh, i guess she knew i was tired.

Done

Whenever baby boy Polhill#3 arrives, he will have 2 little blue birds waiting on him! Come soon baby!

For you Mopsey

Mopsey tells me how much pops and she loves watching you tubes of the kids-- so here's one for you Mopsey. This is a little doll chair that L was loving sitting in at Mopsey's house. Its just one of those innocent moments of seeing sweet L learn a new trick-- sitting in a chair! And the entertainment of seeing the interaction with the bigger 2. Enjoy Mopsey!



And normally L does have clothes on! but it is fun to see her little tummy!

Weekend recap

We had a very busy, very full weekend. It all began with J's day off on Friday. I went with Ek on her field trip to the Big Wheels show where various community helpers bring their big wheels to show to the kids, fire trucks, ambulance, police cars, medical helicopter and a little train. It was really great fun. Ek was afraid of the dressed up fire dog, sensing this, a fireman gave her a fireman's hat and a ball. H was too terrified to enjoy and of the vehicles because of the same fire dog, see below post. sigh. It was quite exciting to see the helicopter land while we were there. Upon landing Ek and her friend Leah wanted to roll down the hill to it, the only 2 children of over a 100 that I saw make this choice, it made me smile, oh to be little and free. We then played on the playground a bit with her friend Emerson before lunch at Brian's subs and then off to Athens.

We took my almost bike of Rhonda's to the bike shop upon arrival to Athens so see if it would fit me, and it does! I am quite excited over the provison of God of a new to me, used, really cool and pretty tri bike. I can't wait to get out on it! Mom and Dad met us there and ek and h had great fun riding bikes around the shop. Ek has been pretending she is in a race so much since J's race, I am so hopeful we are inspiring our kids to live healthy and strong.

Saturday morning we got to visit with Megan Shirley and her kids. We walked to Hodgson's for ice cream. We had a bit larger crowd than the last time Megan and I walked to 5 points together!! We both couldn't get over how much we had grown, but even more importantly how much we had grown closer to the Lord in our willingness to call Him Lord over our lives. Megan and Rhett are trusting God with their lives to be missionaries and I am so excited for them. As J said to her, there is no safer place to be than in the middle of God's will.

J and I tried hard to cheer the Dawgs on to victory in a blacked out stadium over Alabama. Tough defeat though. Thankfully, its just a hobby, not our lives and something that is usually quite fun to do together. I still had great fun with J though between our morning jog to see the ESPN gameday crowd and the game that night. So nice to have such a wonderful guy to share life with!

Fear

This week I have been thinking about Fear. I have seen some fear in H especially this week. Ek and H are both afraid of dogs. Yet they love to talk about dogs. Whenever we arrive at a new house, their first question is 'do they have a dog?' We have several friends that have labs and if we are at their house a good bit, they start to get comfortable again with the boundaries of the fence. It is obvious to me where this fear comes from. Satan has come to steal, kill and destroy. Fear steals our joy and peace. Whereas some joy is righteous, Fear God. And I do think we should fear lions, rattlesnakes, etc. But it does make me quite sad when they are scared of sweet Jeb, John and Susanne's lab. Despite our telling them and showing them Jeb is a friend dog, they just can't handle it. Satan is stealing some joy at being at our friends, not to mention the joy of being in their yard, playing on their patio, their grass, riding bikes around the old pool and swinging. sigh. Even now H just walked in the room from outside with Pops, 'daddy, we saw a dog and i didn't like it.' Lord, where is the fear in my heart, what is it keeping me from? Reveal it, heal it, make me whole.

Orderly H

H is my little boy of polars. He goes from happy to extreme sad in a moment. And part of his world can be chaos while others must be orderly. His bed is always a disaster but the rest of his room is perfect. He does not like things out of place and does not like any additions to his room. He must know that the two throw pillows on his bed do not match the rest of the room because everytime I put them on his bed this is where they end up...

...in the hallway along with any books that were not properly on the shelf. Yesterday when I finished reading he said, "mommy, will you put the book back on the shelf?"

Yesterday I caught a very interesting play moment with my camera...

Bless little L, she wasn't trying to mess up his game!

On the way to pick up Ek yesterday, H said, 'Mommy, are we going to pick up Ek before we go to Jack and Ben's?' yes h. 'Good, because I love my ek.' pause 'and I love my l.' turning toward l 'i love you, l.' ahwwwww.

L is cute as ever. she is so playful, giggly and fun. not so much when we are in the car and she is screaming, but she is just a ball to have around.

Help me Lord have your compassion

Studying the book of Jonah over the last few weeks has been so great. Discussing it on Tuesday mornings has been so great too. It has been a while since I have been a part of a group that has just focused on the Word of God soley and come together for discussion of only that passage. It has been a powerful time. I walked away from Jonah with a desire to have a compassion for the people God sees. I want to be tender to His call to the people He has choosen. This thought will shake you up a bit. Jonah did not want to go to Ninevah. Was it because he didn't like them like we don't like rival sports fans (sigh, may I get over that today forever!) or was he afraid of them, they were brutal warriors or was it because they had killed people Jonah had loved? Whatever the reason, dying was better than seeing repentance. And for God to call Jonah, he must have not been so unwilling to follow God's will in other callings. So here I am, asking God to show me those predjuices, and I confess always a little nervous to see who that who may be.

I was so pleased this summer when Henry told me that Cathy could come to our new church. She is a African-American lady that fixed our lunches at the Country Club. Henry, we guess, had noticed in our new chruch that there were several other African-Americans there. Oh God, help my children to always see others as welcomed in God's kingdom! and help me to always model that before them.

Freedom from condemnation, training wheels and pacis

Last night we had dinner with our neighbors, Tara and Mike and their kids at their house. We had such a nice time, the kids love to play, we love to talk, we ate great food. When we got home John said he was disappointed in the conversation, thought it could have been more encouraging, uplifting, etc. I just kind of shrugged him off. ... that is until this morning when the Lord convicted me. No need for details, I just knew I had emphasized the wrong things in several instances. I confessed before the Lord, before John and knew I needed to call Tara. It was that urgency that the anticipation of the conversation consumes your thoughts. And then I deceided to go for a run, not a jog, a run! I didn't even take the ipod, just knew I needed to pray. We low and beyold, Tara was out letting the dog 'go.' Hallelujah! Our God is gracious, I hollered her name, scared her of course, it was dark afterall. I confessed, appologized, showed how I wanted to repent and let her go back to her morning. And then the battle of the mind, to accept forgivness from God. To know I was in freedom of condemnation. I finished my run, went inside praising God that he let me relieve that conversation so early and get to my kids and responsibilities. While telling John, guess what he was reading. Galatians 5:1 For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.
13 For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. 14 For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” 15 But if you bite and devour one another, watch out that you are not consumed by one another. Ahhh to live in the Spirit. It is a battle to accept truth and not live in condemnation, but that is the freedom that Christ has brought. And I am so thankful! Not that I won't make the same mistakes, but I will continue to seek my Lord.

Also today: Ek had a huge day... line leader at school, rode her bike without training wheels all the way down the driveway, and learned to do a back flip through the rings on the playground. Won't she sleep great tonight!

And Rhonda Walker is letting me try her tri bike!! Oh the provision of God.

L's black eye is improving.

Henry, oh Henry. Today on the way home from school I said, "henry, do you know what I am praying for you?", what mommy? "that you would be a big boy and not need your paci anymore." oh. mommy when I get home, i need to wash my hands... i'll keep praying.

God created me

So as I have stepped up to teach Truth to the youngest of Christ Chapel, I was left with deciding, what's first? Do you start with Creation just because it is the first in the Bible, or does this really lay the beginning foundation of our relationship with God? That may be a basic question, but really. Well, that has been a source of some good pondering over the last month. That was our first lesson, and we stay on a lesson for a month. These are 1-3 year-olds after all, and I think they need repetition. The results of my pondering-- knowing God has made us begins everything. To know I am made by the God who creates, that He knows who I am, whose home I am in and know He has created me for something. I think I'll pause for a whoa. . . . . . deep breath and continue... That is motivating. Just this morning, Pastor Greg spoke right into this, we were made for something. If we are not fulfilled in what we are doing, seek God because there is something to do for Him. So I am tickled that we have been able to sit on the brightly colored rugs in our tiny nursery with sweet little faces looking with wide eyes, ok ok when they sit still enough, and tell them, "God made everything, and He thought it was very good."

He did it!

I am so proud of John. He set a goal and made a huge step toward it today! He finished the Vidialia Onion Tri today in second place in the First Time division. He said the swim was quite hard, but he deceided 1/3 of the way in that he could do it, just to take his time, breathe and swim. The bike was great and the run was good. We got to cheer him on at various points which the kids loved, well except L-- she did not like him running by and not stopping, she would cry out for him. Oh but listen to how it began... just before the race starts and the rules were given, a lady got the mic, I'm not sure quite what her role in everything was, but she just chose to exalt God with her moment and I'm so glad she did. She reminded us that God created us and put us here on earth with a task to do, and then Jesus came that we would have abundant life. She said we cannot have abundant life if we are not healthy and whereas I agree, I also disagree. My sweet friend Kathy Bailey who is fighting with everything she has against Adrenal Cancer that has invaded her is living abundantly with less than perfect health, and we continue to ask God to heal her, knowing full well she will be healed. But this lady really confirmed again through God that pursuing good health through participating in triathlons is great. She encouraged us to get more people involved and I love that too. What a great way to start the morning. Plus the kids and I had such fun encouraging John and the other participants, praying for John and supporting him in his goal. It was just a fun day. Also Grady and Emma Jean came and we all enjoyed having them there.

We also got to have lunch with Christi and Paul Thompson and their 3 girls, such fun. The are a great family and it is so nice to know better what their life is like.

And did I mention John took me fabric shopping? What a great guy! I now have some great projects to get started on! But not now, its halftime!

Preparation

This morning, I woke up at 7:21... as L would say, "uh-oh." H was asleep beside me and Ek and L were still sleeping. My mind started spinning, all that I needed to do before we walked out the door in 34 minutes. I got dressed and moved to the kitchen. Normally I get the clothes out the night before, shoes out, begin making Ek's lunch, make sure backpacks are in the car... I prepare as much as possible. Not last night, sigh. But thankfully I had a nice tall pile of clean clothes to pull from and deceided Ek could eat lunch at school. ANd just then--- John walked in the door from Bible study, ahhh, now I was fine. He got the kids dressed, I fed them, we walked out the door on time. If only I had been prepared, I would not have even had to fret.

Tomorrow John is participating in his first Triathalon. I am so excited! He has been preparing for months, we have been talking about it for almost 2 years. Our interest was first peaked in Florida around the true Ironman, Dr. Gills. Then we talked to our friends Tim and Tara in Arizona several years ago and thought, ya know that sounds like fun. Having a big goal. Working towards it. Staying healthy and fit. As we have kicked into higher gear lately though, I have really had to check myself to make sure I wasn't putting this above the higher priorities, my relationship with God, my relationship with John and the kids. I find myself really searching my heart to find out why I care about trying to train for a triathlon. And I do think we have it in the right perspective. We want to be healthy and strong to live the life God has called us to. We want to take good care of the temple God has made us to be. So John has prepared himself as much as he could and I am preparing all of us to go watch... stroller, snacks, drinks, changes of clothes, camera, video camera, etc, etc. But we are excited and can't wait to cheer him on!

I can't help but to think Biblicaly about preparation too. Reading in Jonah this last week, I want to be prepared for when God makes a call on my life, that I know His character and not run in disobedience in the opposite direction and end up in a whale! And I want to be prepared for Heaven, I want to know some songs to sing with the angels when I arrive. Not that our songs on earth compare, but I do just want to know God here and be ready to see Him there. O Lord, help me know You in Your Word!

The ups and downs of friends

What a day...

This morning Emma Kate reported that she was upset because friends at school were calling her 'Cake.' I know, go ahead and giggle. Of all the names to be called, that one is relatively not bad at all, but to her, it was upsetting. I tried to show compassion. I asked who would call her such a thing. "Chiro" she replied. Well last week when I had lunch with EK, Cullen was calling "Chiro" Cheerio. And really it is just one syllable different. I told Ek that probably Chiro was just tired of having his name picked on and Cake wasn't so bad, but I was sorry that it made her sad. Well Mopsey put a whole different spin on the situation. Ek, Mopsey's name is Cookie! We went on to think of nicknames for the rest of us, Lauren- Lollipop, Pops- Popscicle, Daddy- Donut, Mommy- Frige (Henry didn't quite get the game, that was his input). I told Ek next time he called her EmmaCake to tell him she preferred Cupcake, she liked those better. The conversation ended with smile and giggles.

Henry got in the car from school saying the other Jack (Jack Polhill's friend Jack Pruitt and also his teacher's son) said that he couldn't play with he and Jack. Oh no I thought, the other Jack must not understand Henry is a better friend to Jack than he is! Henry's feelings were hurt, he did not play with them. He went onto play with a boy on the pirate ship. So of course he was fine. I encouraged Henry to be kind and share and tell those boys they could all play together. Henry's reply: "Mommy, I'll just tell the other Jack we can all be friends." Oh Henry, what a great idea.


Lastly, Ek's new friend Leah came over to play after school today for about an hour. They have really been looking forward to today. Leah is new to Trinity this year, and they are in the same class. Ek has commented several time that 'she is so sweet, mommy, just so sweet.' Of course I wanted to get to know her so we were happy to have her over. They played dress up, kitchen and babies. Leah was very kind to Henry and Lauren. All in all I think they had a great time. Ek was a bit upset tonight to discover that Leah had not helped her clean up any, but that was because I did not ask her to. I asked Ek when Leah was gone what her favorite thing about Leah was and she answered, 'her laugh.' That is a nice thing to like about someone.

Lunchtime Conversation

me: Henry, what are you good at?

H: being kind.

me: what else?

H: not kicking (I assume that means his sisters)

me: what is lauren good at?

H: playing with toys.

me: what is emma kate good at?

H: playing ball.

me: what is daddy good at?

H: playing football.

me: what is mommy good at?

H: smelling flowers.

Those are good things to know.

I guess all that talking can make you tired!

Have you ever tried...?

Have you ever tried to take pictures and blow bubbles at the same time? I have... and its not easy. Yesterday it wasn't 110% humidity and 100 degrees so the kids wanted to play outside. Ek is delaying practicing riding her bike without training wheels one more day and is looking for something to play with- ahhh bubbles! I'm not sure what it is about bubbles that is so much fun, maybe it is the brevity of the life of a bubble that is so hypnotising. You blow, you see, you pop, there gone. I guess childhood is a lot the same way, or is it just life in general? The Bible tells us life is like a vapor, we are like the grass- here today and swept away tomorrow. So here again, my reason for this blog, to remember those brief moments that get swept away on a breeze like a bubble. I wasn't thinking quite so deeply while blowing bubbles yesterday afternoon though, we had great fun. Ek's hands were also green with sidewalk chalk and she was trying to wash her hands with the bubbles, not very effective.

It was much easier to take the picture

when they made their own bubbles!

See what I mean, way too hard to get the bubbles!

I guess I'll just need to write about it!

I want to remember...

I have noticed over and over in the Bible where God has called us to remember... remember His commands, remember His promises, remember His provision. Oh how I'd love to remember His ways in my life. I also want to remember these precious days of my life and the little precious people who consume my day. And I want them to remember. Last night at a fellowship night at Blackbird Coffee with girls from Tuesday morning Bible study, Tracy told us of her blog. She has 5 girls for crying out loud, when does she blog!!! But she said she is blogging as a gift to her girls, so one day they can read about their lives. Well, that was all it took and here I am. So as a gift to my God, I want to remember Him, as a gift to my kids I want them to see the blessings of our lives and as a gift to me, to remember.