Fragmenting!

We love the books in the If You Give a Moose a Muffin series by Laura Joffe Numeroff.  The pictures are cute and the characters are dragged off on wild tangents by a cute animal character.  Recently I saw a post on Facebook where the story had been adapted to tell a tale about a Mom.  I chuckled at the story and moved on, but recently I've begun to see a lot of truth in that story!  Some days I become so frustrated that my brain does not retain information like it used to.  Memorizing Scripture or remembering to do something I promised someone I would do is painfully difficult.  My brain is going in so many directions at one time.  It can be difficult to formulate a coherent thought never mind complete a task from start to finish.  I've become a fragmented mess!  I fragment!  Me!  Start to finish, A-Z, ME!  It is rare that I finish things (at least in the order intended to be completed) because I often forget what I started in the first place.  I'll give you an idea of what it looks like by telling you what happened in my brain today during the 30 minutes that I allowed my children to watch a program on PBS.

The kids finished lunch and I got them up and put on their video, returning to the kitchen to clean up the dishes, etc.  While cleaning the dishes I heard some mischief in the video room and looked in to find Grace unfolding a large basket of laundry I had sitting out.  So I sat on the floor and refolded the laundry and took it to our bedroom.  I started putting away the laundry and went into the babies' room.  Entering their room with a hand full of laundry, I saw a mess on the floor.  The mess needed to be picked up.  So I started cleaning.  I found a snack cup on the floor that was dirty and took it to the kitchen.  Oh yeah!  I was cleaning the kitchen and never finished it.  I started putting more dishes away in the dishwasher and wiping off the table.  Joshua came into the kitchen while I was cleaning off the table and he had a dirty diaper.  I took him back to his room to change the diaper.  We're getting low on wipes!  I change the diaper and refill the wipes and while I'm at it I refill the basket of diapers because it is low too.  Now....what was I doing?  Oh!  I was putting away laundry.  I grab another stack and go into Jacob's room.  Oops!  I forgot to make his bed this morning.  I make his bed and in the meantime discover his floor is a mess too and start picking up toys.  Oh my, there are all his clothes from swim class today.  You know what?  I probably ought to start a load of laundry so I don't have to do laundry tomorrow with Bible study and church going on.  Hmmmm...I think there are clothes in my closet and Joshua and Grace's closet to run through a load.  I go about scooping up laundry and take them to the kitchen and start a load.  Oh!  I haven't finished cleaning up the kitchen yet!  Clean, clean, clean.  What next?  Oh the laundry.  I haven't finished putting the laundry away!  I go back to the basket and grab another heap and think, you know, I really need to wash the bathroom towels in the master bathroom.  I better scoop those up.  You know what?  I cannot remember the last time I changed the sheets on Joshua and Grace's cribs.  I better do those, too.  I go about changing sheets.  I bring the pile of dirty sheets and come into...you guessed it...the kitchen!  Oh dear, I forgot to start cooking the chicken for dinner tonight.  Better get that started before I forget!  Oh no!  Video is over?!  Time for naps.  I walk into the bedrooms only to see neatly stacked piles of laundry that I kept bringing into the bedrooms, but never got to put away because I kept getting distracted to do something else.  Better put those away.  Oops!  Kids are running wild.  Yup, it is time for naps!  Better put them down for a nap.  What is that smell?  Oh!  The chicken is on the stove.  It's done.  Go turn that off!  Oh yeah, don't forget to pay the bills today.  Must pay bills....

I could go on and on....this is pretty much how my brain works all day long.  This is why I have such a hard time getting from start to finish on anything I attempt to do!

So if you interact with a mom, or she tells you she'll call or do this or that for you, have patience with her.  She means well and will do her best to do whatever she told you she would do.  It just might take her a little extra time to get all the way from A down to Z.

Annual Pumpkin Patch Photos!

We made our annual trek to the pumpkin patch today!  It was a crisp, cool, Autumn morning.  We were a tad disappointed since there didn't seem to be quite the plethora of pumpkins out this year, but that's okay, we still had fun!

Pleased as Punch

This lil' punkin'.......

was pleased as punch....

with HIS lil' punkin'....

he didn't even want to....

put it down!



As Promised...

As promised, some documentation of more of my handiwork.  Project #3 (after completing PJ pants for the boys) was this skirt for Grace.  When I embarked on the journey I intended to make this band at the bottom a ruffled band.  After about thirty minutes into the project I totally abandoned that idea (okay, I chickened out) and went for the basic straight band.  I love how it turned out and there are many more skirts on the horizon....  I have visions in my mind of a gorgeous fall colored skirt made with deep orange, rust red, brown, and cream.  And perhaps even a ruffle.....  I need to get on it before fall escapes me!  Oooo...and I can see a Christmas skirt coming down the pike, too!  So much fun!

Needless to say, I am happy with how it turned out and she couldn't be cuter in it!

Autumn Hike!

We took a day trip to the Red River Gorge and did some hiking (along with half of Kentucky, apparently).  It was a beautiful autumn day with temps in the low 70's and bright blue skies.  Our previous hike earlier this fall showed the front pack to be too cumbersome for lengthy hikes for me with Grace in it.  Twenty pounds hanging off the front makes balance difficult and it is impossible to see your feet!  Thankfully friends of ours had a nice metal frame pack like the one Chris uses for the boys and allowed us to borrow it.  While it was heavy and I was quite worn out by the end, it was totally worth it!  Not sure how many more hikes we'll make until the kiddos are old enough to walk it responsibly on their own.  I think I've only got the stamina to handle five pounds or more out of Gracie before I can't make it.  It was a busy day on the trails since it was so pretty, but the sights were well worth dealing with the "traffic!"

We took a "pit stop" on the hike in for a scenic overlook.  Unfortunately the sun was so bright it washed out the scenic part of the photo!  You could see the ravine and all the autumn colors.  Pretty!

Don't you just love how my amazing husband loves his boys?  I sure do!  :-)

I swear this backpack was not nearly as heavy as I make it look!  The first one I am leaning forward because I was trying to sit on the ledge and it was pushing me over.  The second one...I don't know.  It is a workout to add about a quarter of your body weight to your back!

Of course, no trip is complete without someone falling asleep in the pack.  It is almost always Joshua!

We had such a nice time together as a family, enjoying God's beautiful creation!

What Happened to September?

Where have I been?!  I fell off the wagon and missed posting for a whole month!  Things have been.......wild.....  Let's recap:

On August 28th we had Joshua and Grace's 18 month portraits done by a very talented sweetheart in our church. We went to a local historical site and did them outdoors and we had so much fun!  Since she was so willing to do all the kiddos, we went ahead and had her take some shots of Jacob, too!  I'm thrilled with the final product!  Now if I would just get myself in gear and get them ordered for the frames...

On the 30th of August I prepared pancakes for lunch and threw some fried eggs on the griddle too for a little protein.  Joshua took one bite and it quickly became apparent something was wrong.  He started kind of moaning and his voice got real hoarse sounding.  He broke out in hives around his mouth and his eye started to itch and swell up.  I tried hard not to panic, but it was hard not to freak out!  Later in September we were able to take him to an allergist to have him tested for an allergy to eggs.  Yup, he's allergic!  We now carry an epi-pen for those moments like the one that happened in August.  Thankfully he can still eat things with eggs baked in (like cookies and cake--the most important food group, ever!), just no raw egg products (mayo, some salad dressings, cookie dough, etc) or straight eggs (like scrambled eggs or fried eggs), or super eggy products (like custard).  We've really been able to manage it quite easily and he doesn't seem to miss out on much, though it does crimp our style when it comes to breakfast for dinner, since that is one of the most beloved meals I can make in this home.  We just adjust and Joshua doesn't eat eggs.  Here is a picture of what happened to his face that scary day....  The picture really doesn't do it justice, but you can see how swollen his eye is and how his lips and cheeks were also swollen.  In retrospect I probably should have opted to take him to the ER, rather than simply calling the nurse at the pediatricians office.  This one would have qualified as epi-pen necessary.

In the middle of August Chris and I committed to teaching the 2 year old BFG (Sunday School) at our church each Sunday. What an adventure and blessing that has been!  There is a curriculum to help us plan our lessons each week, but we are definitely finding you have got to be lively and creative to keep 2 year olds on task with you!  Honestly, it has been a deep blessing in my life and I'm so glad we're doing it.  We've made a couple projects with the kids in our class and we're thankful to have our very own set of guinea pigs to try our ideas out on first at home.  The most popular activity has been our quiet table time activity (what we do right before parents arrive to pick up)--Pom Pom Push It In!  Who knew?  You put a hole in the lid of a plastic container and buy pom poms and let the kiddos push them into the cups.  They l-o-v-e it!  And ours do too!



Over the Labor Day weekend we were blessed to visit with Chris' cousin, Jim and his wife, Amanda.  They had a sweet baby girl 10 weeks before her due date.  After many weeks in the NICU and several weeks adjusting to life at home, they were finally able to make a trip to Lexington to visit with family.  What a sweet and precious time to hold baby Sarah and marvel over the intricacies of this life.  Our God is so good and Sarah is just adorable and truly a miracle!  We had so much fun visiting them Sunday after church.  This is what happened to our kiddos before we were even out of the subdivision!

We spent Labor Day itself in Hustonville.  It was a cold, wet, dreary day and we figured Granddaddy wouldn't be too busy working the farm that day!  So we made a last minute trip and got to visit with Grandmama, Granddaddy, Great Grandmama Neva, and Great Granddaddy Buzzy.  What fun!  Of course, no trip is complete without sending the "men folk" out in the farm truck to check the cattle.

Somewhere in the wildness of the month we squeezed in a family movie night and some mama snuggles with a couple of her loves...

And another.  Just 'cuz I love 'em.

It has been turning slowly to Autumn in Kentucky.  And Autumn spells hiking for the Burris Clan.  We went wild and tried out a new spot in Frankfort this time.  What fun!  We saw a waterfall and a turtle and some other unmentionable reptile that my mother would die if she knew we came across one.  We love to hike, but boy, Mommy and Daddy sure do look forward to the day that we can pull simply our own body weight again, not an additional twenty some pounds!

On the 17th of September Jacob had his first ever school field trip!  I got to go as a chaperon and we had so much fun picking apples at the apple orchard, going on a hay ride, and eating doughnuts with apple cider!

And later that same night, Aunt Jenn stopped in to have dinner with us!

And sometimes in the middle of a hectic and crazy month you just have to act....silly and crazy!

And what does every sane person do right in the middle of a crazy busy month?  Teach themselves a new skill, right?!  I'm not sure what possessed me, but I decided I wanted to learn to sew.  I haven't touched a sewing machine since my 8th Grade Home Economics class.  My sister lent me her ancient hand me down machine from our Aunt (sorry Aunt Laurie, but the thing really is ancient!) and I taught myself everything I needed to know as far as basics go.  How to thread it, fill a bobbin, thread the bobbin, and sew a seam.  I decided to start out making PJ pants for the boys and then made a skirt for Grace.  I haven't loaded my completed photo of Grace's skirt yet, but you can watch for that one to come.  I've had fun squeezing and hour in here or there to sew during nap time or bedtime.

Jacob also started taking swimming lessons on Tuesdays and Thursdays at our local YMCA.  He's half way through his classes and I've been impressed by how much he's improving already!  He loves it!

So that was what happened to September in a nutshell.  Add to that mix the every day stuff like keeping a clean home, caring for and correcting children, three meals a day, groceries, meal plans, daily laundry, doctor's appointments, church commitments, consignment sales, shuttling to and from PreK three days a week, BSF starting back up....  Well, yes, we've been busy.  Sometimes I find myself getting caught up in the business of it all.  Shuttle here, load kids there, discipline here, wipe a nose...  Well, it can all become a bit mechanical.  When I see all we've done and been blessed to do this month I am in awe of all the ways God is with us, around us, protecting us, and loving us.  How thankful am I that I have a Father who has so graciously woven my life story into the lives of these.