School started last week. I'm still working on the room - still need to make curtains and a cushion for the window seat, but I'm enjoying having a room dedicated to school. Even if it means sharing it with a piano! I took our coat closet in the foyer and turned it into my supply closet and have other supplies stored in the window seat. We also started a new routine this year - the kids get up at 7:30 with their own alarm clocks! They have to do their "morning b's" (Brush their teeth, Body - washed/dressed, make their Bed, eat Breakfast, and Bring down laundry). They do them in an order they wish, but have to be done and on the couch for Bible at 8:30. It's worked amazingly well!




































We also headed down to Georgia Tech one Saturday for The Great Yellow Jacket Encounter. It was way too hot & way too crowded, but the kids had a blast. We ate at the Varsity afterwards which is always a special treat.

Video diary

Seeing how it's my birthday and I'm so incredibly busy today (watching old shows on hulu.com is terribly exhausting) I'm just posting a few videos from our trip to Mississippi. I'll blog about it later, but we had a great time. My parents bought a slip-n-slide which brought hours of fun and belly rashes, we had a fabulous time seeing old friends, and got to relax and do nothing in rural south MS. Here ya go -



While swimming one day we took off Ellie's floaties and she just started swimming! Fearless.


And this is in the car on the way home - too many hours in a small space does strange things to my kids.

So it's officially summer at our casa. Actually, it's been summer for a couple of weeks now, but I think this is our first full week at home with no school.

Last week the kids and I went with K's mom (AKA Mimi) to their place in Myrtle Beach. Not sure if I've mentioned it before or not, but me and the beach + kids: not close friends. Something about applying sunscreen to 4 wiggly kids, making sure everyone has sunglasses, beach toys, hats, shoes, chairs, water, floaties, being lifeguard to those same 4 kids who think that they are invincible in the ocean, mentally counting 1-2-3-4, 1-2-3-4, 1-2-3......"WHERE'S 4?" over and over, deciding we've had enough *fun* and loading everything back up in the wagon, pulling said wagon through the sand while the 4 kids run ahead of me, walking back to the house with sand rubbing a blister between my toes in my flip flops, having to rinse everyone down and give showers once back to get the 2 gallons of sand out of their hair and various other body crevices.....

Can you see why I'm longing for our July cruise to the Bahamas. A beach paradise with no kids to hear whine about the sun in their eyes? No sand to rinse off? No constant lookout for drowning victims? Paradise.

The pool was so much less stressful and I actually think the kids had almost as good of a time there. Lucas' swimming skills are much improved over last summer and with the other two boys wearing floaties I could relax a bit. Ellie spent her time in the kiddie pool where she impressed us with her un-fear (I'm sure that word's somewhere in the dictionary) of water and her self-taught swimming skills.

I took the boys to see Night at the Museum 2. I have to say that I was not looking foward to it, as most of the movies my kids want to see I don't normally enjoy. However, I was laughing out loud at several parts and had a great time.

I have no pictures to share as I didn't take a camera. (oops). But I did take our new flip video camera. And when I got home and downloaded all the video, I realized that Lucas had discovered the world of video. The 15 videos shot in the car were evidence of that.

The first one posted is his work. I don't think Steven Spielburg has much to worry about. :) (Disclaimer: If you have a tendency toward motion sickness, you may just want to close your eyes and listen. Don't say I didn't warn you.)




Yes, that was my sweet little princess saying "I'm gonna punch you."
And here she is with her mad swimming skillz. (I've always wanted to spell it that way)

Happy Birthday Jacob!

Today my baby boy is 6. Every year I sit back in amazement that the old cliche' "they grow up so fast" really is true.

May 19, 2003. The very day I was 37 weeks pregnant. I had been in the day before telling the doctor & nurses that I was in labor. But they, in all their "professional" knowledge told me I was wrong. 12 hours later I was back in labor & delivery and had dilated to 4 cm. I tried to tell 'em. :)

At 6:48 am this is the conversation that took place.

Dr. Freeman "I think he's about a 6 pounder"
Me: "Are you sure it's a boy?"

In all seriousness I had doubted the dr's assurance that I was having a boy. Surely ultrasounds can be wrong. Surely Dr. Freeman had gotten it wrong before. In fact, he got it wrong with a close friend of mine. So, I prepared for our 3rd boy, but deep in my heart was hoping for a girl. (more on that in a minute)

Jacob weighed in at a tiny 6lb 2oz. I remember thinking that he didn't look like the other two boys. I remember thinking that I could not name him Davis. I told Kyle this revelation while in recovery. We had already decided his name would be Davis. We had told family & friends - most importantly our then 2 1/2 year old - that this was baby Davis. But now, I just couldn't do it.

So, for the next few hours we "discussed" what we would name him. We, obviously, decided on Jacob. Jacob Aaron Brogdon.

And Jacob has been the hugest (is that a word) blessing to our family. We surely would have missed so much had he been a girl. God showed me, once again, how faithful He is and how much better he knows us than we know ourselves. I thought I wanted a girl. In reality, I just wanted another child. And life with my 3 boys for the next few years was delightful. Jacob was the BEST baby you could imagine. He has developed quite the temper in his preschool years, but he has also developed the greatest personality.

Our pastor once told us "the kite that pulls the hardest flies the highest." I believe God has BIG things in store for Jacob. My prayer for him is that he uses his passion to follow Christ with everything he is and that he will be a true worshipper of God.

I love you J. I am so honored that I get to be your Mommy and I can't wait to see the young man you are on the road to becoming.

Literally?

A part of Asperger's Syndrome is taking things literally.

Yesterday, I took Lucas & Noah to the orthodontist. Why they insist on seeing kids at ages 7 & 8 nowadays is a post for another day. But, that's where we were.

Before our appt each boy had to fill out a questionnaire about themselves: their likes & dislikes, etc.

Lucas had his turn and had a great conversation with the ortho about playing baseball, swimming, & eating pizza.

When it was Noah's turn, the conversation went like this:

Ortho: So, do you play baseball? I see you have a baseball on your shirt.
Noah: No.
Ortho: What sport do you like to play? Oh, I see here that you like to play soccer. Are you playing soccer now?
Noah: No.
Ortho: What are you doing right now?
Noah: Sitting in this chair.

I wish I could type the look on his face because it was so incredibly funny. He looked at the ortho. like "What a stupid question! Can you not see what I'm doing right now?"

I'm still laughing about it.

Fish & Friends

This past week we took the week off of school for Spring Break. I had big plans to get the house super clean & organized. Yeah. It was a good plan.

On Friday we took the kids to the aquarium. A couple of years ago we had season passes and went many many times, but haven't been back since those passes expired. But a few months ago a friend emailed and said they'd be in Atlanta during the week and asked if we could meet them there. So we made plans (which really means we scrounged & saved & ate beans & rice) to be there.

The friends that came down we first met in Guatemala back in 2005. During the adoption process we had the opportunity to travel down and spend a week with Ellie. This was an amazing time & a post for another day. While we were down there, though, we met another couple staying next door to us and adopting through the same agency. Their daughter was only a few weeks older than Ellie. We spent the week hanging out with them and had a great time.

We haven't seen each other since July of 2005 since they live several states away. So, when we found out they would be in Atlanta, we packed up and headed on into the ATL. I had images of Ellie & Makenzie hitting it off and years from now still be great friends. Ellie's first response to Makenzie, however, was to start saying "NO, I don't want to see her!!!!!" and running away. Ellie stayed like that most of the day while Makenzie was a sweetheart. However, we did manage to get one cute picture & hopefully years from now they will still be in contact despite Ellie's rude behavior!

Here they are in July 2005 & April 2009! (Thanks for sending the photo Stacy!)

Autographs for sale

You know those videos & pictures they show on American Idol of the contestants as kids?
You're looking at a future star, my friends. :)




Video by Lucas. Dancing by Ellie.