Technical Difficulties

I had high hopes of posting a video today but as it stands I am experiencing some technical difficulties. And before I throw this very expensive computer out the window, I better stop trying to fix whatever is wrong and just throw those of you who have demanded requested a video for your viewing pleasure a bone and call it a day!

Some kids never grow up! (Zach)

I don't know why but this picture cracks me up. Perhaps it is the 2 boys in the barbie car!

They were really crammed in there but they rode lap after lap like this so I guess they liked it!

We had a big rain storm last week and we got soaking wet sitting in the swing but it sure felt good!

Surprise!

The dawg days of Summer

As a Southerner I tend to draw a few words out when I say them and being from the Middle/Southern region of Georgia doesn't help matters much. Here in our great state, you say dawg for dog, whether you are talking about the University of Georgia's Bulldawgs or just a regular old dawg! (We also say kay-row for Cairo, pee-can for pecan, hawt for hot.......my list could go on and on!)

Any who, the dawg days of summer are indeed upon us here in the South and just in case you are reading this from the above the Mason-Dixon line, it's HAWT! The humidity is just outrageous, it makes it pretty much unbearable to go out side. My kids, who would live outside if they could, can only take about 20 minutes and then they are begging to go inside. And unless you set the thermostat to an outrageously uncomfortable degree (80 or above) your air conditioning unit (brand new or not) will run practically all day long. And that gets outrageously expensive. (Has any one picked up on my word of the day yet?) So, in an attempt to save a little bit of pocket change, we've got all the shades drawn, the air turned up and all of our fans running high speed. It's not so bad, as long as you stay still!

A family at our church has a pool and they have graciously offered it to us any time and I think we will spending the next few mornings in it. We went one day last week and the kids had an absolute blast! I forgot my camera so I don't have any pictures. Another day last week, with another family from our church, we went to Wakulla Springs down around Crawfordville, FL and had the most delightful time! My camera battery was dead so again, no pictures. The water at Wakulla Springs stays about 65 degrees year round so it was FREEZING but it felt sooooo good! The kids had fun even though their teeth started chattering and their lips turned blue a few times. We will definitely be going back there in the future!

Jon started back to work yesterday so the Mizell family summer vacation is officially over. It's kinda nice being back in our normal routine but we miss him. We had a great summer and packed in a ton of company and activities into the 10 weeks he had off. 10 weeks sounds like a long time but it passed so quickly, probably because we were so busy!

High Cotton

You know the old saying, "Home is where the heart is." I've often wondered if your heart can be in two places at once . My heart is most definitely here, where I sit tonight in South Georgia, and I would never for a second trade the life I have now for any thing else, even if that any thing else meant I could go back home to Danville, GA where I grew up. I've been gone long enough now where it's not as heart crunching when I go back and have to leave again. But there is something there, something that tugs at my heart strings every time I pull away from Cool Springs and travel the familiar roads that lead me back to the beautiful life that I have built with my husband and children. I think that something is a tiny piece of my heart and I think it will always stay behind.

Cool Springs Primitive Baptist Church

The old home place where my daddy grew up and my uncle still lives

Still More Changes

You all remember the story of how James was potty trained, I'm sure, so we wont go over that again! About 3 weeks ago, James woke me up in the middle of the night having to go potty so Jon put up his big boy bed the next day. James was so over the top excited!!! (I was a tad bit weepy) My son, the boy who never wants to go to sleep, was begging to go to sleep that day. At supper he said he wanted to skip his bath and go straight to bed; it was like 6:00 in the evening, too! Like the mean parents we are, we made him wait until 7:30, his normal bed time. He jumped around in there for a while, had to go to the bathroom 4 or 5 times (it's amazing how quickly children learn to use the bathroom as an excuse) and finally Jon threatened to put his baby bed back up if he didn't calm down and go to sleep. That did it, we didn't hear one more peep from him for the rest of the night! But, bless his heart, that only worked the first night!

He can dress him self now. All I have to do most of the time is tell him what to put on and he goes to his room and puts it on! 2 weeks ago we went back to the pediatrician for a check up on how he was doing on Pulmicort and I told her we really hadn't seen a difference and the poor guy hated to take a breathing treatment every day. So she switched us to Singulair once a day which is a chewable tablet that he takes at bed time. James hasn't had an asthma attack since that night more than a year ago when I had to take him to the ER in the middle of the night. But, when ever he gets the slightest upper respiratory infection, 9 out of 10 times he has to start taking albuterol treatments every few hours and I have to take him to the doctor for steroids to clear his lungs. He also tends to wheeze and retract a bit when ever he gets really active like running and wrestling. I think I can see a little bit of improvement with the Singulair so I am hopeful that this will work for him!

I've noticed that he has become quite clumsy lately. He has started tripping and falling constantly, his left ankle giving way like it snaps in half, and when he falls, he falls HARD. It's difficult to get him to wear shoes for any length of time during the day (especially when we are inside all day because it is 150 degrees outside) but when he does put his boots on, he has a bit more balance. I attribute it to a growth spurt. He has been eating like a hawg these last few weeks and I think he's gotten a bit taller. Just in the last day or so, his appetite has leveled off and he is a little more steady on his feet! I've noticed this in him the last few times he's had a little growth spurt. James is still in the Babies Can't Wait program and will be until he is 3 which, sniff sniff, is only 2 months away. Every 6 months, he is evaluated on his progress and this last time for: auditory comprehension he scored in 90th percentile and the age equivalency of 3-9 which is almost 4 years old! On his expressive communication he scored in the 90th percentile and the age equivalency of 3-10, which, again, is almost 4 years old. His total language was the 93rd percentile and age equivalency of 3-10, which basically means his mind is functioning as a 4 year old! What a wonderful blessing the Lord has blessed him with! We are very thankful and give all the praise and honor to our Lord. But I must say, I am one proud mama of the strides our son has made!!

A little bit of everything

On Thursday morning we got up early, went to the beach and played for a couple hours. When they got tired of that we went in search of the water park we had seen signs for. We found it but it wasn't a big hit. James HATES to be sprayed by water. He wont run thru sprinklers, he freaks out if you spray him with a water hose and he wont hardly play on the slip n slide, I have to turn the water on "little" for him to get on it! Needless to say, we didn't stay long at the "water park"!! We ate lunch instead.

After naps, back at the rotel, we went into Jacksonville just cruising around and decided to eat an early supper at Mellow Mushroom since Jon had to leave for church and I wouldn't have a car. That was a mistake. They weren't hungry and were incredibly hyper! They were the loudest, worst behaved children I honestly think they have EVER been. Don't let their cute little faces fool you.

I took the kids down to the pool for a bit before and after Jon left for church so that I wouldn't be stuck in the room with those hoodlums for very long before it was bed time. That was a huge success. First time I ever was in the pool by my self with them and they did great. The swimmies they had on were the key though. Much better than just the ones you put on their arms. They even swam around "by themselves" a little!

Hanna Park

This past weekend, Jon had an appointment to preach over in Macclenny, FL and we decided to head over a few days early and spend some time at Hanna Park/Atlantic Beach, close to Jacksonville. Oh are we ever glad we did this! We had soooooo much fun and I think the kids did too!

From the moment we arrived Audrey was chasing seagulls trying desperately to catch one. Her little self was so dejected when she would talk about how she couldn't catch one.  I have never seen her run quite so fast and she wanted me to run with her a few times. Wow, lets just say it's a good thing I've been gyming it up lately, almost 3 year olds can scat!

I have lots more pictures to come, I promise, so stay tuned!

Could you sleep at the circus?

A few weeks ago, during our last trek out to the Big Easy, Susu and Pawpaw treated their granchirrin to a trip to the circus and us parents tagged along for the fun of it! We started out on Friday morning thinking we were going but when we got down to the arena and had the parking lady tell us not to "worry about where to park 'cause there ain't no circus this morning" Emily checked the tickets and sure enough they were for Saturday morning! Well, needless to say, there were a few tears shed by some certain little things that I wont name. But by the time we decided we would go see Toy Story 3 for a little distracting entertainment, those things had fallen asleep! We had an hour or so to kill before the movie started so we went to McDonald's and while the big kids ate, the little kids slept! Worked out perfect. It was James and Audrey's first movie in a theater and they enjoyed it. Little Miss Ants In Her Pants eventually ended up watching the movie on the steps and James ate a ridiculously large amount of popcorn! Good times.

The next day we really did go to the circus and that really worked out better since Jon and Mr. Ronnie had had things they had to do Friday and weren't with us for the first attempt!!

It had been years since I'd been to the circus so I was a little excited myself! Some of the things those circus people do.......it's just amazing!!! J and A started out in Ms. Susan's lap and about 30 minutes into it, Audrey fell asleep. The poor baby was so tired. She slept until intermission which was just enough to get her going again! She enjoyed seeing the elephants and tigers! About 10 minutes before intermission James got in my lap and started whining. So, I told him to lay his head down and close his eyes and to my shock and disbelief, he did just that. And actually went to sleep. He slept all thru the break thru the entire last half and didn't wake up till we were outside walking to the car. He slept thru 3 canons going off. My child, who can't even sleep in church, slept at the circus!!!

The funniest part about it is that James thinks he saw all the stuff that he didn't see. Like the lions and canons and such. He gets so excited talking about those lions, that he didn't even see!!!