A "boy" tea party??

I walked in the playroom early this morning to find my 2 little men having what they explained to me as a "boy" tea party, complete with tablecloth and candles. Holding back my laughter, I asked them if I could join in.  I was quickly seated next to mr. triceratops and served tinker toy cookies straight out of the  Little Tykes oven, along with a glass of "animal punch" with freshly squeezed zebra.  The imagination in this house is unbelievable! Moments like these are what I live for!

Im back

(I hate to disappoint, but for all my die hard fans out there, this blog is just an update on our life...that's all. No knee slappers today. Sorry.)

Ive typed out my first sentence at least 5 times now...just to delete it and start over again. Partly because I'm being interrupted by kids and partly because I don't know where to begin when there's half of a year's worth of events between the last time I blogged and now.

 I can't believe I haven't mentioned anything about our move. Just a minor detail.  Ricky bought a tiny house in Dundee a year before we were married and we quickly outgrew it. We had no idea that within 2 1/2 years we would have 3 babies...(now there's a knee slapper!)  In October we had the opportunity to upgrade to a slightly larger home and we jumped on it.  I love the house, but it would be a little nicer if I didn't get the feeling our neighbors are able to smell when I burn dinner, or hear me chasing the kids around with a baseball bat ( kidding.)  It's located in Cypresswood, where Ricky has almost all of his accounts. I never knew having plenty of room in your home could be so life changing! We even have an extra bedroom which I have claimed as my photography room. My favorite part of the house is my bathroom. I don't know why but my shower reminds me of Disney World. Maybe I feel like I'm on vacation...no, that cant be it. I HATE bathrooms on vacations. Maybe it's just magical. Whatever the reason, it's my fav.





 For the first time in our married life, Ricky and I have had a disagreement on a rather large subject. And if you ask Ricky right now, he would tell me not to blog about this...but he's not home to ask. And after he reads this, he wont mind. I'll be nice:)
 For the last year or so, Ricky has been wanting to buy a boat. I, on the other hand, do not want a boat. Because of my submissive personality (lol) and a lot of council from my mother, I gave my opinion and then let him do what he was going to do anyway... buy the stinking boat. I completely understand that he works hard and deserves to buy something for himself...but good grief. A boat? This lovely boat (it is nice, I have to say that) takes up 2 spaces in our 3 car garage. So, I now have to park outside.  The other day it was raining and I noticed Ricky was quick to walk me to the car with an umbrella. I was wondering why he was being so nice. It was later that I realized it wasn't kindness that motivated him to unselfishly walk me out in the pouring rain, it was guilt!
 I am still trying to get over the whole boat purchase, but I may possibly get a trip to Europe out of the deal. I guess I'll park out in the weather for that.





 A week ago today, Luke woke up with some kind of sickness. He was losing everything...from both ends. I normally do not worry much when my kids have a stomach bug,  but this was insane. He was so pale his face looked blue and we couldn't touch water to his mouth without causing him to vomit. I took him to the Dr. after hours that night and they hooked him up to an IV and told me he had strep throat and was severely dehydrated. By Friday he was worse. We ended up at the Lakeland ER  and he was admitted for severe dehydration from the Rotavirus. That is by far the worst I have ever seen one of my children.  When I had to lay there and hold him down while they dug for a vein in 3 different spots, I felt a pain that I have never felt before.  It's a pain that hurts your heart, not your body. I have felt upset when my baby bumped his head, or got a cut... but this was different. I sat there and watched them with the needle and I kept imagining the feeling, but it stuck me right in the heart every time instead of the arm.  I know needles aren't the worst, but when you add all the other things Luke was feeling and going through, it was horrible.
 I know I've said this several times, but this really hit me hard. The Dr. came in and told us that over a million kids die from Rotavirus every year outside of the USA. This is a nasty virus and if you do not have something as simple as an IV treatment, you may die.
 When I was in Haiti in 2002, a lady had just given birth a baby girl in the middle of the night and saw us walking past her hut the next morning. She called for us to come in. She put the newborn in my arms and begged us to take her back to the USA. I think of that little girl so often. She would be 9 now and I wonder if she is still alive. When the Dr. told me about the number of deaths from such a treatable virus, I instantly thought of that little girl.
I am so thankful to live where we have doctors and hospitals. Luke would have most certainly died without fluids.  I'm thankful, even if do have to park in the rain. I'm thankful, even if we do have to move into a 2 bedroom home again one day.

I am thankful.

 Are you?  

Oh the blogs I could blog...if I only had time.

Today's story started six years ago on Anna Maria Island, when Ricky and I said "I do." Two little words that slipped off our lips like butter, with much excitement and enthusiasm. A commitment that took 5 minutes to make and a lifetime to fulfill.  If we only knew how many responsibilities were wrapped up in those two little words...only three letters in all.

 Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't trade that day for anything in the world! I love Ricky more today than I did then and we are so blessed to have three beautiful children who fill our lives with joy and excitement... Maybe a bit more excitement than we anticipated six years ago, but who doesn't like a little excitement in their life? Which leads us to the story at hand...

 Ricky decided to surprise me with a camping trip to St. Augustine for our anniversary. The only catch was that we had to take the kids. A little ambitious, I agree, but we were feeling He-man-ish (or delusional, one of the two) and had been looking forward to the day to we could take our family on a real camping trip.

 After 14 hours of packing and 3 hours driving, we pulled up to the spot we would call home for the next 3 days.  The site was much smaller than I had hoped and the first thing I noticed was the nice and neat little pop up camper nestled right beside our tiny clearing. Our neighbors weren't home when we first arrived, but I imagined what they would look like and described them to Ricky. A retired couple, probably in their 70's, who would wake up before dawn and go to bed before dusk.... I couldn't have been more right! They pulled up in their 92 Buick station wagon and slowly made their way over to greet us. My kids gathered around them like long lost grandparents and told them everything from the toy they'd  gotten in their happy meal, to our plans for the weekend. That poor couple had no idea what the night would hold,  and neither did we.      

 We began to set up our tent as far away from the neighbors as we possibly could.... which wasn't far at all.  Ricky unrolled our air mattress and found that we had been housing a squirrel in the garage. A huge hole and a bunch of acorns was all that he left us as a thank you.  Frustrated but determined not to get discouraged, we packed all the valuables back in the truck, loaded 3 dirty kids up and headed to the nearest Wal-Mart to purchase an air mattress and some sand toys (since the campsite was basically a sandbox...a mother's worst nightmare.)

  By 9pm we were back at the campsite starting a fire for dinner, unpacking the truck (again) and at the same time trying to explain to our three tired and hungry babies that they need to use their inside voices outside. (yeah, try explaining that one!) While Ricky worked on the fire, I attempted to blow the new air mattress up...but because we only had 2 batteries and needed 4,  I wasn't getting very far. 10pm rolled around and I found myself watching the fire die out while feeding the kids cold hotdogs, waiting on Ricky to get back with 2 blasted batteries.  Yes, I was discouraged and ready to go home... and if we'd known that all "pail"s would break loose in the middle of the night, we would have never stayed.  It started with Luke and eventually made its way around the whole camp. We somehow caught the stomach bug for the 4th time since January and brought it with us on this trip. Remember the buckets I mentioned earlier that I added on our Wa-mart list? The Lord knew I would need them. Each kid slept with a bucket and Ricky got up and emptied them outside through the night. It was a long night. Between puking kids and raccoons stealing our stuff, I was just happy to see daylight!

  The next day seemed a little better, so we ventured off and went to the beach for a while before heading home. We had planned on staying another night, but decided that camping just isn't a good idea right now. Not for at least another 5 years. Or maybe ever, we will see.    

Website Launch

I am so excited about the recent launch of my website! After weeks of hard work, it is finally finished! I had about 5 wedding inquiries the first 3 days... more than I ever expected! Check it out and tell your friends! Thanks~

Brookescottphotography.com

Despite my efforts... no, I have not fallen off the face of the earth. Some days I think it would be easier to do so than to accomplish all that I have waiting on my to do list. Lately I have let myself become easily overwhelmed, a word I am now very familiar with. I would almost go as far as to say that "Overwhelmed" and I have become best friends.
I know (and try to remind myself) that one day soon I will wish that my worries were as minor as, "which child had the green cup with the blue lid" and "which one had the blue cup with the green lid." Or "how many more minutes Parker has left before he has to share the coveted toy".... (which today happens to be a shoestring with a dog hanging from the end of it. )
A couple days ago, I heard Parker get frustrated and start crying in the other room. I went in to check on him and found him trying to put his pants on. He said, "I can't do it. I can't!!" As I was speaking these words to my little boy, I felt like God was saying them to me.... I said, " You don't have to do it by yourself Parker, just ask me for help!" Instantly I was reminded, like a little child, that what may seem overwhelming to us is simple to God. If we would just ask for help and stop trying to do it all on our own.
I could blog for the next 48 hours on what has happened this summer... but I think I'll save it for another time. To be continued... I promise:)

Two blogs in one month? What's going on?

Today has been one of the most wonderful days! I don't know if it was the "almost" uninterrupted night's sleep, perfect weather or the much needed morning break I had to enjoy myself without any little voices crying for mommy. All day long I couldn't help but see the wonderful things God has blessed us with!
I started the day off taking pictures for the annual golf tournament our church holds. I had so much fun driving the golf cart around with one of my most ancient of friends! (I don't mean your age, Nicki!)
Then, grocery shopping alone ( try to contain yourself...it gets better) and coming home to work in the yard with my family. Simple pleasures? Maybe to you, but this day was perfect in every way... (except maybe for the moment Luke and Parker bit Reese because they said she was a monster and they were pirates.)
Just swinging the kids, weeding out my box garden (no mom, I still haven't planted anything) watching Ricky work. All these things were swirling around in my head... I am very happy in my little house, I am super grateful for our 3 healthy kids, I am glad that we aren't drowning in debt and I am so blessed to have a wonderful relationship with my hubby! I saw a couple at the grocery store screaming and yelling at each other and it made me want to run home and hug Ricky and tell him how much I love him!
Sometimes we get so caught up in our routine, or in my case sheer survival mode, day to day that we don't realize how wonderful our life is... or how much worse it could be!
Take the time to think about how blessed you are! It will change your whole day!

Finally!

We have been living in our little house for 5 years now and we've remodeled every room except the kitchen. Ricky bought the house knowing that we were eventually going to upgrade everything, but I had no idea it would take us 5 years to do it.








Here is the before picture... it is so bad I can't believe I am even putting it on here!






It only took one night to demo. I am a very sentimental person and I have to admit, I was a little sad to see it go. Just a little. I cooked our first meal in that kitchen. I spent many days at the sink trying to wash dishes without throwing up (from morning sickness)... burnt my first meatloaf in that oven... ahh the memories... oh well, goodbye 1941 kitchen!!

Drywall is up. Do you like the purple? I thought about keeping it that color... JK.

I think this is taken at the beginning of week 2 with no kitchen.... It was the longest 2 weeks of my life! We played, ate and slept in my bedroom during this time. It was insane, but we survived!

Mom came over and helped me finish painting before the cabinet guys came. Ricky was up till 3am painting the night before.

And here is the finished project!! We keep asking ourselves why we didn't do this sooner!

I'm so proud of my hubby! He was a carpenter, plumber, electrician, a lawnman and still a daddy through this whole process!!