on family size

Here's the thing about my family size.

I don't think we are a large family. In fact, I feel like we're little.

I am not talking in comparison to other families- though, if I was, I'd still be on the mark, because just about every family we know has 3 children. And we just have 4.

But just looking at my family size, I do not think we are what you would consider to be a big family. At all.

I don't think we'd qualify as big until we hit 8. So, see? We're barely even medium-sized.

I'm writing this post because...well.. really I just thought once it's out there, my friends will hopefully understand,

my perspective. On why I think we are a little family and why I'd welcome more. 

Here are the questions I tend to get, and the answers I try to share. (sometimes I give a more curt answer...usually because I can see visible eye-rolling or the 'are you flippin' serious, woman' look)

Q: Don't y'all have a TV?

A: Yes, we do. 

Q: You know where those come from, right?

A: Yes, we do.

Q: Are they all yours?

A: All except for that one. We found him wandering out in front of Cracker Barrel.

Q: Are you going to have any more?

A: I'd love to.

Q: You know they have a way to prevent that, right?

A: Yes, but I so appreciate you reminding me.

Q: Aren't your hands full?

A: That really depends on the day.

Q: Are you trying to build your own football team?

A: Yes. That's what we are doing.

I'd rather offer up some other answers to those questions, but I try to take the polite road :) Because, after all, I would never approach a couple with one child and ask them straight away if they were going to have another. So it's slightly off-putting when people say that stuff to us...but I know most of the time it's innocent and without judgment.

I have always wanted to have kids. 8 of them. People would say to me, 'Oh, you just wait 'til you have one....that will change.' To the people that told me that, I say, nope, it sure did not.

The thing is, I am limited in how many babies I can have thanks to my c-sections. So, unfortunately, I don't think there'll be ten of us. I would love to have more, though. Nothing makes my heart leap more than when I see my kids playing together, hearing their conversations, watching one help another, or being witness to those moments of love that they share when they don't think anyone is watching. In those moments, I feel like my heart will burst right open.

Yes, I am aware that they cost money to raise. But I also know that He always provides. And we can always, always, always make do with less. I would love for my kids to go to college, but if that is not the path they choose, I am okay with that-- so long as they do something. My husband isn't really with me on this one, but I think that the individual cost of college should not be a factor when choosing whether or not to grow your family. I really don't. 

There you have it. We are small. We know where babies come from. We know what it takes to provide for them.

And we do have a TV. We also know how to turn it off ;)

I caught you!!!

I made a little challenge for myself this weekend. Because preparing for a big move and taking care of my people leaves tons of extra time everyday. heh heh heh.

My challenge was pretty simple though- to actually use some of the ideas I have pinned to my boards on Pinterest and embark on a pinject once a week. (isn't that cute? I just made a word!) I have used a couple of the recipe ideas and so far all have been hits. Which is great because I have heard a couple sad stories about 'pinterest gone wrong' (so I'm paraphrasing here) and I am sure my day is coming. FYI....those that have pinned the monkey bread recipe from biscuits-- those got a bad review.

Sidetracked. Bringing it back in.

This weeks project was a cute idea I saw (and pinned) that focused on positive reinforcement. It was a cute little project and seemed like a good fit for where I am right now with the kids. With school work, sports, and trying to maintain a tidiness as we prepare to move, I feel like they tend to get called out for their less than stellar moments more than they do their wonderful ones. And that needs to be remedied. 

Enter the jars. The "I Caught You Being Great!!!!" jars. We already have a way of tracking follow-through on responsibilities and such, so this is all for the extra stuff. These jars are for those little moments when we catch our kids going out of their way to help, be kind, do something thoughtful, or maybe just pick up something without being asked. When we "catch" them, we will put a big star in the jar, and when they have so many stars, they can redeem them for something special. Jeremiah and I still need to talk about the reward system and what the stars will equate to, because once we say it, we have one child who will hold us to it. Those of you who know my kids know exactly which one I am talking about :)

To make this little project:

Jars or glasses, something clear so the kids can see their stars

Ribbon or Twine

Card Stock or Scrapbook Paper, for labels

Frame or stand, to announce what the jars are for

I used hurricanes that were part of the table centerpieces from our wedding reception I had stored away. (you say hoarder,  I say tomato non-waster). I got those out and cleaned them up (though apparently, I did not clean them up because they look a little spotty.)

I then typed up the "I Caught You Being Great!!!!!!" along with my kids names, and then printed them up on cardstock. I did not do a jar for Everleigh because she is super obedient and is always going above and beyond what is asked of her. Or because she is just 1. It's one of those.....

Then came the cutting out. I was going to use my sizzix and a big flower shape, but Tyler wanted to do the punching out so I let him choose. Apparently, punching something is more fun than crank, crank, cranking some paper.

The thing about letting kids build their confidence while helping mama with a project....you kinda have to let go of how you envision the finished product. In all fairness to Tyler, I did not give much instruction about centering the punch out over the words. There was quite a bit of space on the top of this one. So to remedy this, I hot glued a rolled flower I had in my stash from hair-pretty making, to make the punched-out phrase look a little more balanced. 

Then Tyler cut out their names. I told him to use neat shapes, and he did! Then we glued their names on to the scalloped circles we had already cut out from scrapbook paper. I laid some felt down because the patterns were a little busy. And also, I had planned on using the felt to make some flowers for their name tags, but I realized Evie had been napping for almost two hours and I wanted to get the main part of the project done before I got carried away.



Then we moved on to the backing for the "I Caught You Being Great" scalloped circle. Since I glued the rolled flower to the paper, I took the glass out of the frame to allow for the dimension of the flower. I used the plastic/glass thing as my template to cut paper for the backing. Tyler took this picture for me :)

Some more hot glue, and the frame was complete.

The I got my ribbon out to attach the the kids names to each jar.

I have no idea what that black triangle this. Really. No idea where that came from.

Yay! A project done within a naptime.....and that's after I did dishes, helped with homework, and cleaned the kitchen up. Go me!!

I originally put them on a tray, but thought it was too crowded, so I took them off.





And let me tell ya'-- it's already a hit! My kids are so eager for me to 'catch' them, that one is sweeping and one is folding laundry. Sweet!!!

Do you have pinterest projects you've done lately that you'd like to share? If so, I'd love to know about them!!!

Okay, I gotta run. I have some stars to cut out!

I am linking up to:

just about fwee

This rough and tumble, chubby-cheeked, wild-haired, full-of-bounce, irresistibly adorable (I'm allowed)

silly little boy

will soon be three.

Tell me, please, how can that be?

I just want to eat those freckles with a spoon. So thankful to be this kid's mama!

some cooks and some carolina cider

We are back from a more-eventful-than-we-cared-for trip. 

In a nutshell, we learned the housing process for military families is lengthy, completely out of our control, and the options are very few. So. There was that.

And then on our way home my transmission decided it was done. We broke down in Selma, NC, on the side of a long forgotten road with 4 anxious kids and shoddy cell service on a Sunday morning when 99% of the South is closed.

So, then that.

We ended up getting a hotel room, renting a mini van the following day, and leaving our Expedition at the Ford dealership in Smithfield, NC and made our way home. We debated waiting for the car to be finished but didn't want the kids missing any more school....or baseball ;) As I type this my husband is making the drive back to Smithfield, a 14-hour round trip haul, to turn in the mini van and retrieve my Expedition. He's a trooper, my husband is!

But the trip was not all frustration and break downs.

I got to see a friend I have really missed for the past few years and her 2 wonderful kids. Her husband is in Iraq right now, so our dominos game was definitely down a dude, and at one point, I know Kacie felt the weight of his absence. Having been the 'single Navy wife' just recently, my heart sunk for her. This military wife bit is not easy, y'all. But once we get up there, Aaron will be home and we will get our foursome domino fest back on track....assuming MY husband won't be deployed at the time, of course :)

I also fell a little in love with our soon-to-be new area. It is equal parts farm country, industrious big city, and laid back beach town, with a healthy kick of Sailors, Airmen, and Marines to patriot things up a bit. My kind of place.

The kids cannot wait to move. Okay, so this isn't their best "OHMYGOSHWECANNOTWAITTOMOVEUPHERE!!!" face. But it was late and they were really into Soul Surfer.

We were missing 2 boys here. Jack gave me the stern 'no flash photography' face, and Kyle, Kacie's oldest, was at work. Do you see Hanah loving on my baby girl? That is definitely going to come in handy once we get up there :)

And just to make sure we didn't end the trip on a sour note, we stopped for a little Carolina sweetness. Every time we cross into South Carolina, we stop at the Carolina Cider Company.

You guys? It is THE best! The BEST!!!! Aside from the quaint southern charm and gentility the place just oozes, the pies are delicious (and AWARD winning!!), the cider is out of this world, as are the preserves, sauces, dips, salsas, candy and all other local confections they offer.








I have forced (nicely, of course) my husband to drive an hour out of our way just to hit this little place up! And if you are not the pie/cider/preserve/chutney/salsa/pecan type, you can always just stop in and get a cold bottle of Sun Drop to drink while rocking on the porch. Let a little southern breeze wash over you and listen to the twang of the banjo strumming from the speakers.
But when you're done with your Sun Drop, you should probably type "Emergency Room" into your GPS so you can determine what is wrong with you that pies, pecans, and preserves don't lure you in.



I am not a pie girl (my husband likes to remind me of this while we are driving 50 miles in the "wrong" direction), but their apple pie....it'll make you moan with delight.


As you can tell, I am sweet on this little store.

But not nearly as sweet as I am on these treats.....



Tyler couldn't be bothered with a smile....he was too busy deciding which flavors of honey he was going to choose. I get it, son. I really do.

*This is not a sponsored post, I just really love the Carolina Cider Company and wanted y'all to know about it!


**I used Raechel's tutorial on how to blog bigger pictures. You can see it HERE!