School Pictures

Sweet Harrison's school pictures are b-a-a-ck! 

Though not what I assumed they would be, nonetheless, they are adorable!  He's always been a photographic kid (most definitely not an attribute from his father), and these photos are no surprise.  Even before "pony picture day," Harrison had already decided he wanted to be a cowboy (again) for Halloween.  Though we already have the necessary items for a cowboy costume, these pony pictures gave me the idea to jazz up his Halloween costume with a sweet little vest, chaps, and maybe even a stick horse. 

(Disclaimer:  This pony is totally fake.  When I went to pick Harrison up from school that day, the "pony man" was packing up and I saw the pony sitting there, but it was from a distance.  It honestly looked real and I didn't think anything about it.  After I picked him up, we were getting in the truck and he said to me, "Mama, that pony's not real!"  I said, "What??  Sure it is."  He said, "No, it has nails in it."  So I get him buckled up and I'm watching the "pony man" pack up from the corner of my eye.  Sure enough, he drapes a big tarp over the thing and picks it up!  Seriously.  At least it made for cute pictures!)

Wordless Wednesday

(Harrison and Daddy - 6 days old - June 27, 2006)

Tuesday Truth

"The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth.

He will not grow tired or weary, and His understanding no one can fathom.

He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak.

Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall;

but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength.

They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary,

they will walk and not be faint.

-- Isaiah 40:28-31

Like many people, I cannot make it through a single run (or even a walk or a ride on the lawn mower) without my iPod and some good tunes.  Even when set to "shuffle," song after song pushes me.  These are times when I vent my struggles, hashing them out in mind.  Or sometimes I just focus on the words in the music.  Or sometimes I think nothing at all and let my mind freely wander.  One song in particular is "Everlasting God," which is a popular worship song done by many different singers; my favorite being Lincoln Brewster.  This song starts out with strong guitar and the first line of the song "Strength will rise as we wait upon the Lord" gets me moving every time. 

I can take this literally (most of the time I actually do need strength to make it through my run), or I can keep these words in my head and apply them to other less-temporal obstacles.  Amazing how a single song can evoke an emotion or bring back a memory.

Are you needing some strength? 

Think on the scripture above.  God's word says "Your word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path" (Psalm 119:105), and I am confident that when these truths are written on our hearts, the words will sink in and mend when our hearts break. 

"Everlasting God"

Strength will rise as we wait upon the Lord,

wait upon the Lord, we will wait upon the Lord.
Strength will rise as we wait upon the Lord,
wait upon the Lord, we will wait upon the Lord.
Our God, You reign forever
Our hope, our strong deliverer.

You are the everlasting God,
The everlasting God.
You do not faint,
You won't grow weary.


You're the defender of the weak,
You comfort those in need,
You lift us up on wings like eagles.

Memory Monday

Alrighty...we're into week number 2 of "Memory Monday."  Here goes...

In our neck of the woods, the annual agricultural fair is a b.i.g. deal.  Our Baker County Fair starts up next week and is the star of this week's Memory Monday.  Last year...

(For some reason, the resolution of these photos is very low.  Sorry for the grainy, fuzzy mess)

Daddy and Harrison Carousel-ing

My Heart

Best Friends til the End - Harrison and Tyler

We have made it a point -- even before children -- to attend the fair every year. I will admit, it's mainly for the food. Corn dogs, snow cones, and funnel cakes - Oh my! This is the one time of year that I give into such greasy, artery-clogging deliciousness. Once a year's not bad, right?

Though our fair is small (REALLY small), my Harrison loves it.  As soon as we make the turn onto the street where the fairgrounds are located and he sees all the cars, the excitement starts.  It builds second by second in anticipation of the lights and the food and the animals. 

So as our little fair gets going next week, I'll be posting pictures but with one small change....a new Buckaroo in tow.  No doubt our little happy Brig will love all the action too!

Flashback Friday

I had a difficult time deciding where in my life to start with "Flashback Friday" entries, so I decided to start from the beginning.  Makes sense, huh?

"For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb.  I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.

My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place.  When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body.

All the days ordained for me were written in your book

before one of them came to be." 

--Psalm 139:13-16

Wow, all I can say is W.O.W.  My favorite part of this passage is the end, "all of my days were writtin your book before one of them came to be."  My God -- that amazing God who spoke the earth and everything that fills it into motion -- knows me.  Little ole stinky sinful me.  He knows me and He loves me the same.  Wow.

So, let's start at the beginning.  Though I am in love with my little life right now, Mommy-hood is but a chapter in the story of me.  Since I became a Mama, God has opened my eyes to his indescribeable love for me.  That same overwhelming, all-encompassing pride and adoration and joy and love I feel for my babies?  That's how God feels about me.  Wow.

November 2, 1983 - Susan Diane Harris

Two Weeks Old - November 1983

Everyone knows all newborns look a little strange. 

Don't let the pictures fool you; I get way cuter.  :)

The day I became a Mama - June 21, 2006 - Harrison Reid Chapman

It makes me so happy to look back at these "in the hospital" pictures.  Leading up to labor and delivery, I remember being quite frank with folks about not wanting any post-birth pictures of me and my new baby until I had some makeup on.  After my first sight of this little miracle, all that was out the window.  My face was flushed from labor and my eyes were red and puffy from tears of joy and I didn't care one bit. 

I was so proud -- of him and of myself.  (Hello?  I just made a person!)  It's just funny how these are some of my favorite photos.  Just a glimpse takes me right back to the sticky, muggy June morning when my life changed.  No doubt that every other mother on this planet feels the same. 

I can remember after recovery from the labor, Justin and the baby went to the nursery for the pediatrician to do their thing.  It was a good two hours.  I can so vividly remember waiting in the post-natal suite and Justin walked in.  The nurse followed him pushing a little cart with that a perfect bundle of sweetness.  She said to me, "Mrs. Chapman, I have your baby."  Her words stopped my heart.  My baby.  Wow.  The remainder of that day was filled with friends and family visiting and laughter and tears of joy.  I was reluctant to let others hold him at first; after all, he was my baby.  For hours and hours Justin and I would just sit and look at him.  We'd unwrap him and look at his legs and feet and hands.  Then we'd wrap him back up and look at his face and ears.  Over and over...unwrapping and rewrapping.  We were smitten.

Even after Brigdon came along, I can remember being amazed at the wonder of birth and smitten with him all over again.  I will admit - I am a sucker for newborns, whether they're mine or someone elses.  So innocent and perfect.  Wow.

Wordless Wednesday - School Pictures Today!

[Okay, so I have to add a few words.  We were getting dressed this morning and Harrison says to me, "I vank (think) I look purty good today!"  Mama "vanks" so too...]

Tuesday Truth

"And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words.  Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him."   --  Matthew 6:7-8

I spent a good bit of my morning in prayer for several close friends and their families that are facing critical health issues.  Though each are different situations and we have no idea of the possible outcomes, God is still soveriegn. 

The word "sovereign" literally means "not controlled by outside forces."  Applied to our Lord, you can easily make the realization that He is in control.  Throughout the day, my mind has drifted back and forth to these friends and their situations.  I have reminded myself that above all God is in control.  He knows the outcomes and -- more importantly -- He knows our needs even before we come.

God wants us to show Him our true colors.  Eloquent words and fancy imagery are just garbage.  God knows our heart and our thoughts -- all He wants is for us to ask.  The pretty words we use are not important, just that we say them. 

Memory Monday

For this initial Memory Monday, I decided to go back a little further than one year.  2009 was a whirlwind year for us.  We put our house up for sale and in a matter of 5 weeks had a contract on that house, Justin got a promotion (which moved him to a night shift), and got pregnant.  The months following that blew by in a craze of moving, moving again, and birthing a baby. 

With all that crazyness, I actually can't pin-point any photos from an event from September 2009.  The photos below are actually from our annual Sanibel vacation which was in late June 2009.  When I think back to this trip, we were pregnant with Brigdon during this vacation, and I remember us being there the week before we were to find out if he was to be a boy or a girl.  There's a little shop on the island that carries Lilly Pulitzer apparel and I came quite close to taking a chance and buying a sweet little dress for my baby girl-to-be.  That "girl-to-be" ended up being a "boy-to-be."

As I glance back over these snapshots, it is so strange to me to see our family as 3, in the pre-Briggy days.  That little guy just makes our family complete. 

Here is a recap of our Sanibel vacation 2010.  [These were my blonde days and looking at these pictures totally makes me want my blonde-ness back!]

As mentioned in the recap of our Sanibel vacation 2010, we have the opportunity every year to do a fishing charter with Capt. Dave Hoke .  Though the pic above was not the biggest catch of that trip, I'm still quite proud.  Here is a recap of our fishing trip from this year; of which I did have the biggest catch.  :)  [Just had to throw that bit of info in there!]

Ouchie

We made our first of many emergency room visits late Friday night with Harrison.  The diagnosis?  A broken arm.  Honestly, I know this is probably to be expected being the Mama of boys, but I just was not ready for this.  Now that I think of it...Are you ever really ready?

Justin left for work that Friday evening and the boys and I headed to Jacksonville for a little shopping.  Our final stop was a quick trip to Publix and then we had planned to head home with a Redbox movie.

We were actually in the parking lot ready to head home when I opened the door to Harrison's side of the truck so he could climb in.  Like our usual buckle-in routine, I had planned to get Brig buckled up and then make my way back around to the other side of the truck and finish buckling Harrison in.  Somehow -- I did not see this go down unfortunately -- while I was buckling Brig in, Harrison was goofing around and fell head-first out of the truck, landing on his left arm.  It was dark out and though he was shaken and he cried about his arm hurting, I decided to take him on home.  All the way home, he cried and cried, much unlike him.  He's a tough kid and by the time we got home, I knew it had to be hurt pretty bad.  He had trouble moving it and after consulting my mother-in-law (with her nearly 30 years of motherhood, we consider her "Dr. Mom"), we decided it would be best to head to the ER and were off to Jacksonville (again) to Wolfson's Hospital. 

Expecting to wait for hours, we got in and were x-rayed right away.  Come to find out, it was a pretty bad break.  One that would require sedation and for the bone to be manually retracted.  With sedation meant an IV.  Considering all the new things that were happening over the course of this hospital visit, he was such a champ!  He got the IV and a little morphine and was succesfully sedated.  We were asked to wait in the waiting room while the orthopedist finished the procedure.  Besides being exhausted, anxiously sitting in a germy, cold waiting room while my baby was back there being "retracted" (ouch) without me was not easy.  Luckily, the procedure was fast and the doctors said he was a trooper.  We got to talk to him and rub him to try to get him to arouse from the anesthesia and had quite a few laughs at his expense at the silliness of him waking up.  After a little nausea and vomiting from the anesthesia, all was well and we could head home.

From the time that Brigdon was born, Harrison has seemed so grown up to me.  I guess since I had this tiny brand new baby for comparison, Harrison seemed so big; no longer the baby.  But seeing him in that hospital bed, he just looked so small and so frail and so pitiful.  I just wanted to curl him up in my lap and hold him.  I cannot imagine being that Mama with a child in the hospital for the long-term.  My heart is heavy at the mere thought.

All in all, it was quite the adventure and not over just yet.  He is in a splinted soft cast until late this week and will have a hard cast placed -- which he is pretty excited over picking out a color -- Mama's a little nervous!  Because of the nature of the break, he'll have weekly orthopedic visits for 4 weeks and then in another 4 weeks (hopefully), the cast will come off. 

It is an "ouchie" for sure!

New Stuff!

In honor of the "revamp" of our teeny tiny place on the web, I've decided to add a new daily feature.  That is, at least the hope for it to be daily.  It may, in all honesty, end up being a write-when-the-thought-hits-me, fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants feature that most often consumes my life. 

Seriously.

Here is a quick breakdown of what you can look forward to in upcoming posts from our neck of the woods.

"Memory Monday" 

(No, this isn't a new thing, but I'm making it a point to think back to exactly 1 year ago and retrace the memories and moments of that day...or week...or month.)

"Tuesday Truth" 

(God's Word tells us to hide His word in our hearts.  What easier way to do this than to have a day devoted to a simple easy-to-remember truth in God's Word.)

"Wordless Wednesday" 

(No, this isn't new either, but I can honestly say it is one of my favorite aspects of this little blog.  A picture tells a 1000 words...no joke.)

"Thursday Thought" 

(This feature may end up being a combination of things...Ramblings on in my mind about life or maybe something related to the "Tuesday Truth" or maybe a fun little project I've been thinking of.  Really whatever I happen to be thinking about on that Thursday is what I plan to analyze and write about.  It may be silly, it may be sad, it may be sweet.)

"Flashback Friday" 

(This is my original idea - and will cause much embarrassment - but I plan to show flashback photos and memories of my childhood.  Why would I delve such terrible fashion and terrible hair on my children [after all this blog is for them]?  Because it simply astounds me to look back and see how God was writing my story even there. 

Mommy-hood is but a chapter in the story of me.)

Among these new features, I have ideas for upcoming giveaways and some other fun stuff. 

Stay tuned...

Wordless Wednesday!

Home Sweet Home

Justin and I had the opportunity last night for a much-needed, kid-free dinner date and it was quite wonderful.  Thanks to Meme (gotta love her!) for taking the boys.  We picked them up last night and carried them on home.  It was nearly 9:30 p.m. and our babies were tired.  I was carrying Brigdon in the house with Harrison walking in front of me.  We get in the door and Harrison stops and kisses the laundry room door.  What???

I stopped and asked him, "What are you doing?"  His reply, "I love our home" and a sweet little sleepy-eyed smile.  Wanna talk about melt my heart??! 

I've learned over the last year or so that "home" has nothing to do with the type of dwelling it is, where it's located, or how you get there.  "Home" is a feeling.  A feeling of love, comfort, being welcomed, and accepted....all things I want all who enter our humble abode to feel. 

Home Sweet Home.