Today is Austin's 12th birthday!



How did he grow up sooo fast? I can't believe he's 12. We celebrated his birthday while his Aun Oui was in town because their birthdays are just a day apart. When we lived in OK City, they celebrated together every year. It was nice to be able to do it again this year. Thanks Aun Oui!



In honor of his birthday, I'm posting a poem I wrote for him a little while back.

Austin Dabney is our first child of five,
when he plays with his siblings, the room comes alive.
He has three brothers and a little sis too.
When his cousins come over, there's no tellin' what they'll do.
He leads them in sword fights and battles galore
as they run with great courage and pound on the floor.
He takes time out for Sugar, his sandy-brown pup.
He trains her to sit and not to jump up.
He likes to eat spicy chips that he and dad share
while he sits in his lap in dad's big, comfy chair.
When he gets hurt, he jumps, wails and screams.
Nothing can be done to help, so it seems.
He tries to calm down, puts his hands on his hips,
says a short, little prayer and then gets a grip.
He loves to watch NASCAR as those stock cars soar.
It's not dull to him. His eyes are pinned on 24.
We have tried to teach that Mark Martin is best,
but he has chosen Jeff Gordon and grouped Martin with the rest.
He awaits March Madness as if it were some holiday.
Then he manages our brackets in his own unique way.
He's so excited to see his favorite teams win,
he's glued to the set from beginning to end.
He's a fan of all sports, but basketball's his game.
He's a star on the court and destined for fame.
All-in-all, our Austin, he's just tons of fun,
but the best thing about him. . .he belongs to the Son.

Happy Birthday Austin. I love you.

An Asa Quote



"I like our home. When I walk through the door, it makes me feel good inside."

Just in case you were wondering. . .

what a week's worth of laundry looks like for 5 children, here's a glimpse:

I did my part. . .


And the kids did their part. . .


All done for the week!! Wahoo! Wahoo!


And now (sigh), here we go again. . .




It NEVER ends!!!

Asa's Thoughts

Asa has been thinking about Knox this week. One day he came in and said, "Mom, I'm mad about Knox."

I said, "I'm mad too."

He replied, "I wanted to play with him."

The next day he came into the kitchen and announced, "I want to play with Knox--tomorrow!" He then turned and walked out of the room.

Then, yesterday as we were discussing Creed's baptismal feast and where we were going for it, I told him we were going to the same house we went to for Knox's baptismal feast. Asa thought that meant we were going to see Knox and began clapping and yelling, "Yea! Knox!" I don't think I told him that Knox wouldn't be there. I figured he would find out soon enough.

Ugh!

We sure do miss you Knox. I think this would have been a very fun weekend for you.

An Austin Funny

Austin had this conversation with his Aunt Wyndi (affectionately known as Aun Oui):

Austin: Aun Oui, you should come to the baptismal feast today.

Aun Oui: I'm really tired Austin, so I think I'm going to stay home this time.

Austin: But I want you to meet everyone.

Aun Oui: I'll meet them at church tomorrow.

Austin: Ahhh man, you would have more fun tonight, because people are more fun when they're not all dressed up.

An Ayden Funny

"Mom, I used to play with Savta & Oompah (his grandparents/my parents) all the time. But now, I just don't know what to do with these old people."

I know I know! I've been a very reluctant blogger. Sorry Rachel. I've been wanting to share something our family has started doing, but haven't had the chance as we have had visitors in our home for the past 3 weeks and it has been difficult finding the time.

In order to explain where I'm coming from, I want to start at the beginning. So bear with me and I'll see if I can make some sense of it all.

I have an "extreme" personality. (Surprise surprise!) By that, I mean I tend to take things to the extreme. For instance, in the past when I have worked out, I thought it important to work out for 2 hours or more everyday--6 days a week. (I'd do 7, but my dad convinced me when I was younger, that it was better to honor God and the Sabbath.) Anyway, I would get up at 4:30--another extreme--in order to get my workout (and a few other things) done before my kids would get up. All or nothing baby! I'd rather train for a marathon than a 5K, and truthfully, competing in the IronMan in Hawaii would be the ultimate thrill. When I was a swimmer, I swam butterfly because someone told me it was the most difficult. Sky diving and bungy jumping sound like fun to me, and in that same vein, I've always desired to be a very small size, even though as an adult, I've never been smaller than an 8.

It has been a life-long struggle of mine to keep my body at a "healthy" weight. I say "healthy" because my ideal of "healthy" is probably very "unhealthy". I fall victim to the world's view that I should be a size 2, which I have never been, and so no matter what size I am, whether an 8 or a 16, I am continually aiming for something smaller. It's sin, I know. I'm getting to that.

You know that commercial where the people walk around with a scale chained to their ankle to symbolize that they carry their weight with them wherever they go? Well, I could so relate to that. That is me. It is ALWAYS on my mind and it rules over me. I am confessing that as sin to you as I have confessed it over and over to God.

Raising a daughter, I realize how my "unhealthy" view of weight can negatively influence her. And this has forced me to try and find balance in my life, especially in this area. So, I have made a few changes. I want her to know that exercise is important, but that it is not "ALL-important". I don't want it to rule over her the way it has ruled over me.

Therefore, in order to find some balance, I have decided to implement a few small changes in our home. First, I asked Anna-Kate if she was interested in becoming my "work-out" partner? She excitedly said that she would. Now, three to five days a week, she joins me in the living room and we work out with an exercise video. (I've accumulated a few over the years.) None of them is over an hour long and we do it together. As a workout partner, she is a joy. She encourages me and she talks and giggles most of the time. We have a great time and sometimes even the boys join us. I've told her that by exercising, she's helping to keep her heart and her body "healthy". I try to avoid saying, "thin" because I don't want that to be her ultimate goal, even though it is still my struggle. (Feel free to pray for me in that area.)

Another small change we have implemented is that now, about 4 evenings a week, we take a family walk together after dinner. We are very privileged in that our back yard fence leads right into the playground of a neighborhood school. After dinner, we head out the back door and we walk around the school a couple of times. We start at the monkey bars, make our way over to a couple of hop-scotch boards where we all play it together. Addison has won every time. Then we head over to the playground where they run, climb, play and slide. Then we do it all again. The whole walk is about an hour. It isn't aerobic in the least, but it gets us off the couch and away from the tv. We connect with our kids as we talk, walk and play. It is one of the best things we have EVER done. When we tuck them into bed at night and ask them about their favorite part of the day, they almost always say "the walk". I encourage you to give it a try.

We took some pics the other night as we took our walk, so I thought I'd share. Enjoy!




























Here's to small changes & finding balance!