Don't Put Me Down.

Each day that I bring Reagan home from preschool, she falls asleep in the car.
And when I pull in the garage, she awakens just enough to whisper, "Don't put me down."
She wants me to carry her from the car to her bedroom for her nap.

And each day that's what I do. I never put her down. But still, she reminds me, "Don't put me down." I think she knows I'm going to stick to my word.

I think she knows I'm not going to put her down. But she's in the habit of relying on me. She's in the habit of calling to me for help. And so I let her. And I never ask her to stop asking me to not put her down. I just keep carrying her in, never putting her down.

This week has been very hard. I am tired. There is a long road ahead for my family.

And this week I so perfectly understand Reagan's never-ending "Don't put me down."

Because this week, I've been saying those same words over and over again. And each time, I hear the same response:

I will never put you down.

You are mine.
My unfailing love surrounds you.
I am your refuge and strength.

This Week...

1. Connor decided to start walking more than just a few steps.

2. Reagan decided to cut her own hair. And I decided to act calm on the outside but call 911....I mean Belk Salon and make an appointment ASAP. Pictures soon....

3. Landon decided to exaggerate things I say. I say, "No, you can't play video games." He hears, "I'm never letting you play video games for the rest of your life." So he says to me, "You never let me play video games!!!" (in a crazy loud voice) And then we have the billionth conversation about how we shouldn't overly generalize mommy and exaggerate mommy and say things in a rude voice to mommy and then I say things like, "I WAS IN LABOR FOR 52 HOURS WITH YOU AND YOU'RE THE REASON I HAVE STRETCH MARKS A MILE LONG!!!!!" (Not really. That would be ridiculous. I'm not a meanie. But my heart thinks that stuff on the inside because I'm a huge sinner working every second on patience with my mini-me....er....I mean...my strong-willed child.)

4. Connor decided he can't stand mashed potatoes which is weird because he eats everything. EVERYTHING. Except mashed potatoes.

5. Reagan decided that when she grows up she wants to be a mommy.

6. Landon decided that he needs snuggle time with mommy every morning before getting dressed. And I love his decision! (If you know Landon, you know that physical touch has never been a big love language for him....even as a baby...he's always, always needed his own space and he never enjoyed being rocked or held for very long. So I'm loving his new little need for some morning-mommy-snuggle-time.)

Happy Halloween! Go Cocks!

Please forgive me. Here's some deliciousness to help.

I wonder if only people that like me read my blog or if some people that don't like me also read it.

Like the boy that asked me to go with him to homecoming when we were in fifth grade and I thought boys were gross so I wrote "NO" as big as I could on the note he passed to me and he never spoke to me again. Even in 12th grade when I started to think boys were kinda cool. He still never spoke to me.

Or the cashier at Taco Bell who messes up my order every.single.time. And the last time she messed up I lost my patience with her and maybe I talked bad about her really loud to the stranger next to me on purpose to hurt her feelings.

Or the 19-year-old girl in my graduate class who thinks college is dumb and dislikes learning very much and thought I was a huge nerd for asking that she at least try a tiny tad bit to do something for our presentation we were creating together.

Or the driver of the car behind me last night as I drove 15 miles per hour on Wessinger Road because deer are everywhere near our house and I'm terrified I'll hit one so I drove crazy slow and he honked and got all sweaty and mad at me and I smiled and waved at him and kept on going my sweet little 15 miles per hour.

If any of those people are reading my blog right now, please keep reading. Because I have a recipe for you that will make you like me. Or maybe you're somebody that secretly dislikes me and I'm in the dark about it. I hope this recipe sends you back to my side.

So without further adieu, I present to you Pumpkin Hallelujah.

1 15oz. can pumpkin
1 pkg. yellow cake mix
12 oz. evaporated milk
3 eggs
1 c. melted butter
1 1/2 c. sugar
1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. salt

Mix all of that deliciousness together except for the cake mix and butter.
Spray a big 'ole glass casserole with cooking spray.
Pour the batter in there.
Sprinkle the ENTIRE dry cake mix (I'm for real.) on top of the batter.
Drizzle the melted butter on top of all of that.
Bake 50-55 minutes at 350.

And I PROMISE you (Jeremy, lady-at-Taco-Bell, Connie, man-behind-me-last-night, and the rest of you I don't know about) will like me.

:)

Halloween Party and Lessons Learned

Our friends, Michelle and Brian Crocker hosted a Halloween party at their clubhouse a couple of weekends ago and we had loads of fun. I also learned a lot.....like:

1. Dressing like a referee, while cute in theory since it matched our family theme, did nothing to raise my self-esteem.

2. Dressing like a referee AND standing next to Workout Barbie might be one of the most depressing things I've ever done.

3. Connor Man is the.cutest.football.ever.

4. Mixing mayonnaise, cheese, and onions together sounds gross, but if you bake it all together and dip crackers in it, it is amazing. It won the "Best Food of the Evening" award. I should have definitely made more.

5. If you eat 12 meatballs, 2 turkey sandwiches, 3 peanut butter cookies, 10 crackers with cheese dip, 10 crackers with chicken salad, and drink 3 cups of punch, AND you had surgery less than 48 hours before all of that, you'll want to leave the party early and you'll go home and you'll throw up.

Family Update: No Pictures

Here's what our little family has been up to lately:

1. Landon is continuing to love kindergarten. Nathan and I attended our parent/teacher conference last week and got great feedback from his teacher. She has gotten to know Landon very well. She talked about how much she loves Landon and truly enjoys teaching him. She talked about his natural leadership abilities. She spoke about how he is growing as a reader and writer. She said he is making a big difference in the class. Nathan and I walked out on cloud nine. Mainly because we were thrilled that she is getting to know Landon the way we see him and that he is staying true to who he is.

2. Reagan and Landon are playing soccer every Saturday. Reagan typically stands on the opposite side of the field from the rest of her teammates while talking to her imaginary friend "Benny" or pretending to be Cinderella. Sometimes (like 5% of the time) she looks at the ball, then yells across the field to ask me what the snack is. Ah. 3-year-old soccer. Good times. Landon, on the other hand, is on the 5-year-old team and those games get intense. He is really strong on defense and is such a great team player. His teammates and coach have been together for 4 seasons now and it is evident as they work so well together as a team.

3. Last Wednesday, I had some surgery because surgery is my new favorite hobby. I had some kidney stones blasted and it went even better than expected. I don't handle anesthesia well AT ALL which is annoying since I have surgery about every other week. But this time the Lord gave me huge, huge, HUGE grace and I did not throw up one single time. Hooray! AND the surgery was free because I'd met my out-of-pocket maximum for the year!

4. We are leaving for Disneyworld in a few weeks and getting soooooo excited.

5. USC beat Alabama on Saturday so every day since then that's all we've talked about. And we've been screaming and high five-ing a whole bunch. All day long. Landon's teacher is a big Clemson fan so I taught Landon to read all the headlines from Sunday's newspaper about how USC is the best team ever so he could take them to school today and read them to her. I also taught him to read the headline that said, "Tumbling Tigers" with a picture of a Clemson player literally upside down after a terrible play against UNC.

6. Connor is walking! He's taking about 8 steps at a time before falling down. He is so proud of himself and is the cutest beginning walker I've ever seen.

7. I'm taking a graduate course that requires 17 papers this semester. But I'm almost half-way there. I'm one of the oldest ones in there. Last night, one of my classmates and I were working together and after I asked her a question she answered, "Yes, ma'am." Awesome.

8. Nathan continues to be the man. Last night he decided not to play basketball with the guys because he wanted to spend the evening with me. (If you know him at all, you know that Monday-Night-Basketball-With-The-Guys is something he DOES NOT miss unless I'm in labor. So last night was a big deal. I think he loves me. :)

And that's our family update!

Best Halloween Costumes Ever.