Freezer Burn

So yet another normal Thursday night is occurring when I go downstairs to the freezer to grab a pound of hamburger. I reach inside to get the hamburger when to my surprise the ice bag is partially thawed. "Odd" I thought to myself so I tried to shut the door.

The door which usually shuts with ease was stuck. I began to frantically touch the frozen or what should have been frozen meat to find some thawed. The door apparently was stuck open due to the accumulation of frost and would shut completely. A few whacks of the hammer should knock the ice out of the way. Which it did without too much effort however the ensuing mess it made on floor trumped the ease if which the ice was removed.

So what began as a slow night with spaghetti for dinner turned into a feast of meat cooked on the stove.

Which turned into me finding about the last time I was sick I was using a rectal thermometer to check my temperature. At least it was clean - I hope, but that's another story for another time.

Looks like steak sandwiches for tomorrow and perhaps through the weekend.

Looks like the party of six is dining in true fashion tonight. :)

Much on my mind

I haven't posted in a while, and so much has happened in our lives since the "Quarter!"  It is always busy this time of year with Jared being on the road more with Osagian, which gives me time to reflect on what an amazing husband and father the kids and I have.  It is hard when he is gone, but makes me appreciate all he does for me here even more!  End of the school year activities keep us all on our toes too, and now Tayt is getting into the thick of his t-ball season.  On to all I have to add ;)


On April 24th, on our way to school, Tayt asked a question that changed my boys' lives.  He said "momma, how do we get to heaven?"  I continued to explain to him how we get to heaven, not realizing that his older brother was absorbing it more than Tayt was.  Before we made it to Esther to drop Holdyn off, he informed me that he had asked Jesus into his heart, because he wanted to be able to be with everyone he loves in heaven.  Of course this brought a flood of tears of joy to this momma, and made me more proud than I ever realized I could be.  A couple of nights later at the dinner table our oldest, Ayden, also prayed for Jesus to be in his heart forever, again bringing the tears and another proud moment as their momma!  My prayer now is that I can guide them and be a good model for them as they continue to grow in their walk with Christ.

Holdyn had his school field trip the same day that Ayden had his Spring concert, so Jared and I split the duties. I went with Holdyn on his trip, and had a wonderful day with him.  They went to the Springfield Nature Center, and then on to Sequiota Park for lunch and play time, it was a great day.  Jared went on to Ayden's concert, where he of course performed wonderfully :)  I was able to watch it online later, he was such a great performer.
Holdyn also had his Blooming Night for Kindergarten, where again I was very proud!  He has grown so much this year, and it is scary how mature he is getting.  I wish I could freeze time, my babies are getting to big...to fast!!

Last weekend we also visited some very dear friends in Kentucky.  Their sweet baby girl had open heart surgery on the 9th, and already got to come home on Mother's day!  What an amazing gift for her momma!  God is so good!  All the time!  I am so amazed at how he pulled them through this difficult time.  They definitely have a great testimony to share!

This week of course is busy too.  Tomorrow Tayt has his last day of school pizza party, Wednesday I have a dreaded dentist appointment, Thursday is Ayden's field trip, and Friday Holdyn has an end of the year picnic for the last day of school.  I will have more kids here during the summer for the daycare, which is always fun too.

I have a busy and fun summer planned for the kid, and I am also excited for all of our usual activities!  I am also starting all the paperwork, and planning for a mission trip to Kazakhstan in September.  While this is still in the early stages, I need all the prayers I can get for this :)  I am sure it will be life changing, but it will also be very hard leaving my own babies.

I want to end on a funny little conversation I had with Tayt on our way to t-ball practice last week.  He said to me "Momma, when I grow up, I am going to get married and have one baby."  I asked him "Why only one?"  To which he replied "Well, that is all that will fit in my wife."  I said "Well....ok, but what will you name this one baby?"  With the most serious face, because I know he was very serious, he says "Rockstar, Ashley Carr!"  I love my life...

My Holdyn...the living piggy bank :)

Last night as I was watching 19 Kids and Counting, Holdyn came into the living room looking all colors of green and grey. I paused the tv, and asked him what was the matter? To which he quickly replied, "nothing! nothing! Never mind!" I of course wouldn't let that go, and made him come sit on my lap and talk. Finally, he broke completely down, crying and sobbing that he had accidentally swallowed a quarter. He had one out of his savings bag, and had it in his mouth playing with it, when Ayden bumped into him, making him swallow it. He was so upset because, Holdyn is my child who has very high anxiety about many things, especially the doctor, only because of an accident we had when was 4, where they had to sedate him for a CT. So that is why he didn't want to tell me, he thought I would immediately take him to the hospital, where they would cut it out of his tummy...his exact words. Anyhow, I of course started questioning him about things like, can you breathe, can you swallow ok, do you feel it in your throat. After we concluded it was down, I put him in my bed to sleep, so I could observe, and called the after hours nurse our pediatrician uses.

I, like many other people I am sure, really thought this would be no big deal. Then I googled it. I was so shocked to find that a quarter is an entirely different issue than smaller coin. For that matter, my 6 year old's esophagus is not much larger in than a quarter, we are lucky he didn't get choked on this stupid coin! So, the issue is that a quarter has a far greater chance of getting stuck in his bowels.

The nurse on call, then proceeded to direct me on the protocol they have for swallowing a quarter, she told me to keep him home until passes, examining his poo :( To call our pediatrician today (I am still waiting on a call back), and that if it doesn't pass in 3 days, he will probably need to have xrays to make sure it isn't lodged. Who would have thought...so much concern.

So, this morning he is still just as anxious about it, worried about the appointment he MIGHT have with the dr. So, on the way to take Ayden to school, Ayden, only trying to make him feel better says, "Holdyn, did you know you are probably the only person to swallow a quarter and live!" I about fell out of the car trying to conceal my laughter, because I knew, this coming from his older, much wiser brother, would warm my sweet piggy bank's heart :) Make him feel a little better, as untrue as the statement is of course, about having to deal with this. I love my sweet boys, and how they take care of one another! I hope they love each other this much for always!!

We should all love each other like this...

African acrobats

So we went to see African Acobats tonight was really great and they performed some amazing stunts. One of them consisted of stacking chairs up on each other and then doing hand stands and such on them. So as we are walking out, Holdyn states, "when we get home I'm stacking some chairs". Here comes the party of six to the ER...

Amelya rides the dog

So just hanging out after dinner and Amelya decides to climb on back of Lulu, our dog.

Another day with Carr Party of Six.

My sweet little, yet old soul :)

Tonight I need to brag a bit on one of my boys, it seems the last few weeks he has been really helpful, and his words just rattle in my head all the time. Mostly because, even though he is only 6, he somedays has the wisdom of a much older person. He is so good to share, so good to help others, and offer an encouraging word. Don't get me wrong, he has his moments, like when his little brother does something that pushes him to the point of breakdown, and he has to retreat to his room to regroup ;)

Here are a couple things he has said/done recently that really makes me rejoice that God chose me to be his momma.

He received the character of the month award at school for honesty (which is so him, he would rather crawl under a rock than lie). Anyway, during the awards ceremony they get the kids from each kid individually and call the 2 names from each class. He told me that during the entire ceremony he was thinking "please pick me, please pick me!" Really?!? Most of the kids don't even pay attention long enough to realize they might be called, but Holdyn sat there worrying that he wouldn't :)

Today in the car on the way home from picking Holdyn and Ayden up from my mom's, Ayden was telling me how much fun he had at Nana's. He then went on to tell me how much he misses me when he is gone and how he loves me more than anyone in the world. This of course warms my heart, and just as I am about to tell him that I love him too, Holdyn breaks in. "Ayden, that is very sweet of you to love mommy a lot, but you need to love Jesus 1st, then mommy." This warmed my heart even MORE!!

This was the most brave thing he did, and he did it tonight at bath time. I was running the tub and he wanted some toys for him and Ayden, but they are all in our basement. Mind you, our basement is under serious construction, and the boys are afraid to go down there alone at night ;) So, I said to him that if he really wanted more bath toys, he would just have to be brave and get them. He does ( you can hear him running the entire length of the basement and back up the stairs in fear of the boogey man behind him;) When he gets back upstairs he says to me, "momma, that sure was hard, but I had faith in myself, just like you and Jesus have faith in me."

Man, I am in love with this boy...

Dinner talk

We enjoy each others company almost every night together at the dinner table. Tonight was a special treat and it was off to eat at Ollie's near Bennett Spring. So as the dinner was winding down with desert (homemade cherry pie yum yum) we were discussing the two oldest staying with their grandma (nana) when we told Tayt that he could stay with us and sleep between his mom and I...

Then from across the table Ayden yells "no Tayt can go Tayt can go I want to stay"...of course only to sleep between us. I guess our bed is fun to sleep in or something.

Just another dinner with Party of Six.

Introduction to the six

Introduction

Meet the Carr Party of Six in this video.  Enjoy!

Blessed beyond measure!

A very special friend of ours suggested that Jared and I start a blog together. One that will tell the story of our very blessed life, the daily adventures, and sometimes hurdles. We decided to do this so we have a record of the things our kids do, so that when our nest is empty, we have these to look back on and love all over again. So, as I recall things and as they happen, I will be posting to share with you all. I hope it is something that will encourage, and lift spirits, and make each of you reflect on the daily blessings in your lives.