it's heaven ...

... being SEVEN!

liam turned the big 0-7 (hmm -- that doesn't quite have the same ring to it as a double-digit age does) a few weeks back, and i've kind of dragged my heels on his annual birthday post because i've wanted to find just the perfect picture that i've taken from the last year that best encapsulates his personality.  but i couldn't.

i've got tons of him playing sports, since he loves ALL things athletic. 

after being a professional golf tournament spectator (and being handed signed balls and even a glove), he was more hooked than ever

and i've got tons of him with susanna, since he is really an amazing big brother and loves her so.

their first sleepover ever -- in liam's room.  they giggled for a long while before finally drifting off to sleep

i've got tons of him being goofy, since he's got a great sense of humor.  (i just wish i could somehow take a picture of the jokes he makes up, which can be surprisingly clever.)

i was surprised at just how many goofy pictures i had to choose from

i've got tons of him being serious, since he's focused and driven to the point that he tunes out everything around him if he's concentrating (even his parents talking to him.)

yes, that's the webster's dictionary he's reading at my parents' house, which he continued to do for a good half-hour

i've got tons of him playing the wii, his third favorite pastime behind sports and academics, like this one, taken on a fairly cold morning when we still had it outside hooked up to our tv on the back porch.

a wii bit chilly, i do believe

i've got tons of him from church activities, since he is growing in his faith everyday, asking insightful questions about God and Jesus and learning to love the Lord.

our fearless joseph in the 2010 christmas pageant -- a role he took quite seriously

but it's this one that melts my heart every time i see it.  it's this one that shows his true personality: a kind, sensitive, thoughtful little person who adores school and learning and being around others.  it's a letter he wrote to his new first grade teacher the evening of the first day of school -- unprompted; he did it just because he wanted to.  (on the other side, he drew a picture of himself and mrs.turner, next to each other reading books.)

happy birthday to my most favorite boy on the whole planet.  it's heaven being seven!

the scavengers

all our beach trips this summer were super fun.  all our camps were super fun.  the vacation bible school weeks (yes, we did multiple ones), the library outings, the mountain excursion, the wildlife conservation center visit ... all super fun.

and then, all the super fun ended.

we returned from bald head to an empty calendar.  and i mean E-M-P-T-Y.  school began on august 25 (more on that later, natch) but we had a good eight days to fill.  and a mother can only do so many hours at the pool before it starts to lose its luster.

luckily, i'm blessed (and believe me, i know it) with children who still love playing with each other.  most days they'd entertain themselves for four or five hours, holding Critter School or playing Guess Who or building legoes or reading or playing soccer in the back yard.  they'd come get me for snacks or lunch, but i was able to get a surprising amount of work done as we slowly but surely transitioned back into our home and i transitioned back into teaching mode.

but tuesday, after almost a week of self-entertaining, they hit a wall.  for the first time all summer, i heard the dreaded, "we're booooooored, mommy.  what do we do now?"

and thank goodness for stacey, my college friend who also writes a blog who happened to discuss that very morning a fun activity called a Make and Do Scavenger Hunt.

i hastily scribbled a list down on a torn-out sheet of paper, and posted it on the kitchen door.  i don't remember all the items on the list, but whatever they were, the kids had a ball completing their tasks.  here are some highlights: 

creating a play-doh porcupine (notice the toothpicks as quills)



Snow White herself traced her feet -- without her princess slippers, of course



finding pinecones (they took it a step further and not only found them, but used about two entire rolls of tape to adhere them to paper and hang them in their rooms. of course, the tape gave out and i'm still picking up shards of dirty pinecone from the carpet, but i'd say it was worth it)

so the Make and Do Scavenger Hunt turned out to be super fun, just like most of the rest of the summer. 

but you know what else is super fun?  school starting.

wordless august: beach style

i was fixin' to (sorry -- that's my north carolina roots talking) going to title this post my normal "wordless wednesday".  but then i realized that it wasn't wednesday.  and i've been pretty much wordless all month.  so "wordless august" seems more appropriate ... have i mentioned that we're in the middle of a house renovation?

i'm finally getting around to uploading photos from our multiple trips to the beach this summer.  we spent a week with my extended family for our annual reunion, another five days with our dear friends the basses (who might be in this blog as much as we are this summer), and just returned from bald head island, where we enjoyed another five days with chris's parents.  not a bad way to spend your summer break, especially your alternative is a house with an inch of drywall dust on every surface.  (i've discussed the renovation before, right?)

i am always so thankful that we are just a hop, skip, and jump away from our beautiful coast -- and our children, as you'll see, agree.

after years of watching me hunt for beach glass, susanna began a collection of her own

much like an old man, most afternoons liam would return to the beach showered and dressed, with a book in his hand.  he pored over the "encyclopedia of sports" he received as an early birthday present.  we are SO hoping that kids' Jeopardy has a sports theme when he's a contestant

susanna's on her way to china with the help of her great-uncle ron and cousin reilly



more digging with reilly, her partner-in-crime for the week



enjoying lunch on the deck with web and a camera-shy marshall

what's a beach trip without a putt-putt outing?  and what made it even better was our new rule: NO SCORECARDS.  because playing with liam, World's Sorest Loser, can drive a woman batty

in all my years of going to topsail, i had never seen anything like this: a giant tidal pool, about 25 feet wide.  the sand bar (where liam and web are playing paddle ball) surfaced on our second day there and returned every morning.  at its most pronounced, the kids could stand on the sand bar and jump down into the water as if they were on the edge of a pool.  we probably spent three or four hours there every day, swimming and floating ... it was perfect

it's a hard life



a feast of tuna steaks and scallops -- and our seafood loving children devoured every bite

bald head is full of photo ops, from the golf cart riding to the lighthouse to the ferry ... and the only shot i took was one with popsicles.  (although, i must say, if any popsicle deserves such attention, it's lunapops' sea salt caramel flavor.  i thought i'd died and gone to heaven.)

you know your renovation has been going on too long when ...

• words like "crown molding", "built-ins", and "flush mount lighting" are part of your five- and six- year old children's vernacular.
• you hold real silverware in someone else's home and it feels foreign.
• you're grateful for that spanish degree you earned in college.  especially useful is the phrase "estoy buscando mis ..." which means, "i'm looking for my ..." (fill in the blank -- keys, purse, shoes, sanity.  our painters have been quite helpful in locating at least the first three items.)
• your children build all their lego houses to include an attached dumpster.
• the aroma wafting out of the port-a-potty in your front yard isn't remotely pleasant ... but you don't even notice it.
• your children actually whine about having to go out to dinner.  "please, mommy?  can't you please cook tonight?"  (sorry, sweetheart.  cooking is not an option without a functioning oven or range.)
• on top of your bathroom counter is handsoap, toothbrushes, and a carton of strawberries to be rinsed.
• when asked what they've been doing this summer, your children do not respond with "we've been to the beach!" or "we've gone to the mountains!" or "we've been swimming and doing fun camps!"  instead, their immediate reply is, "our house is being renovated."

and that pretty much sums up our lives at the moment.  but the end is in sight.  the end is in sight.  the end IS IN SIGHT.