This is most of my family (plus three friends) on a recent trip to the Lost Sea in Sweetwater, TN.

A few weeks ago, we took a family trip to Frozen Head State Park. Chris, the kids, Toby (the dog) and I hiked up to two different waterfalls. It was a lot of fun, and great family bonding.

Kyra played the role of photographer at the beginning of our hike, and she took this photo of the rest of us.

Abby Jo enjoyed herself.

I climbed on top of the first waterfall we came to.

We know we are totally awesome on top of the falls.

Abby eats a rock.

Me and my progeny under the second waterfall, Emory Gap Falls.

(Please to notice how that when I take the picture, the waterfall is actually included.)

It was a beautiful day with beautiful scenery.

I couldn’t help but be amazed at God’s wonderful creation.

Since Chris has been gone to Fort Jackson since early July, the kids and I made the trip to South Carolina to see him this weekend. The drive wasn’t too bad. The kids were mostly good, and Abby never really cried…only fussed till her big sister put her paci in. I was making good time until Elijah needed an unplanned bathroom stop, and then all the kids had to go. Then, not longer after that stop, Kyra said, “Owen has something yucky on his shirt and pants.” I turned to look, and saw that Owen had thrown up on himself. I was on the phone with Chris at the time, and said, “Great! Owen threw up.” When he heard me say this, Owen immediately started crying. It was quite a ways to the next exit, and Owen fell asleep while I was driving. This prompted a phone discussion with Amy on whether or not it made me a bad mom if I kept on driving while Owen was covered in puke, since he went to sleep and it didn’t smell that bad. I drove a while, but then I started smelling it so I stopped and cleaned him up. (This retelling reminded me that his pukey clothes are still in the van tied up in a little, scented, blue, plastic bag. I think I’ll be tossing that!)

Besides that and a homicidal truck driver who tried to run me off the road, it was an uneventful trip. We made it to Fort Jackson, and got to see Daddy. He was out in the parking lot of the hotel waiting on us. The kids were ecstatic to see him, and I think he felt the same about seeing us. We really miss him when he’s not home!

We went to Outback right away, and then came back to the hotel. Chris had to stay up late working on homework for CHBOLC. He didn’t get in bed till after midnight, and then had to get up at four for PT.

On Friday, we hung around the hotel until he got off, and then went to Applebees and to Walmart to buy swim stuff for the kids since I didn’t bring theirs. Chris went to sleep pretty early since he only got four hours sleep. On Saturday, we went to the zoo here in Columbia which was pretty fun. I’ll have to add pictures of that later, since they’re all on Chris’ computer. We ate at Maurice’s BBQ, which was kind of interesting but good, and then came back to the hotel. Chris took the three big kids swimming, and Abby Jo and I took a long nap. That was about it for Saturday. Today, we went to IHOP for breakfast, and then went to the Sesquintennial State Park and then to see G-Force at the movies. After the movie, we went to Rita’s Frozen Custard, and enjoyed some Italian ices and frozen custard. It was absolutely delicious! Today is the only day I took photos on my iPhone, so I can add the pics from today. Enjoy!

Waiting for IHOP is not much fun…but worth it!

This is at the park, where it was crazy hot…like around 98, I think. This isn’t the best photo, but I added it because I love Abby Jo’s expression. She looks like, “You call this fun?!?”

Elijah at the park.

Hot, little Abby Jo after having her diaper changed on a picnic table. She was still smiling, even though she was sooo over the whole thing.

Kyra sitting pretty in the shade.

Chris at the park, with Elijah in the background.

At Rita’s, they promised me happiness. I love the sign in the upper right that tells you where to order happiness. They came through. We were happy!

Kyra got some sort of strawberry flavor of Italian ice.

Owen and I had passion fruit.

After everyone ate their individual treats, Daddy went and ordered us all a large chocolate vanilla twist custard to share. We were very excited!

Ready? Set? Go!!!

It’s been a little while since I’ve blogged. I’ve been busy…and sick. I have had a lot of fun over the last few days, though. 

Amy and her kids came for a short visit over the weekend. They got here early (early) in the morning on Thursday, and stayed through about noon yesterday. We didn’t do a whole lot because of how I am 32 weeks pregnant, and that translates to tired, sore, and swollen feet. We watched several movies, spent a lot of time on the couch with my feet up, and broke up a lot of kid fights. Turns out, nearly two years later, our kids still only like each other about half the time  a third of the time  thirty minutes a day. Okay, maybe a little more than that, but not much. We’ve decided that, in the future, we’re going to have to divide the Maxwell kids from the Harmon kids for a portion of each day. They just get too much of each other, and then we all go crazy. Anyway, we did do one fun thing while they were here. On Friday, we skipped Friday school at church, and took the kids on a field trip the Children’s Museum in Oak Ridge. That was a lot of fun. My camera battery was dead, so I didn’t get any pictures. Amy did, though, and I’ll have her send them to me so I can post a link to them later.

It was great to see my friend again, and it’s awesome to think that I’ll see her again in right around forty days…when she comes to be with me when my baby is born! Exciting days these are!

On Sunday morning, Chris had the opportunity to preach at our church. He did really well, and I was extremely proud of him. It’s cool for me to see how he’s evolving as a preacher since he’s been in Seminary. He preached on “Have You Been With Jesus”, and it really ministered to me. It’s exciting to get a little taste of what Chris will be doing as a Chaplain. We also had Awana Sunday night, which is always fun. Chris led a discussion in our Journey class with the teenagers, and it was good to hear them discussing how they could do more for God. We really enjoy working with the young people at our church.

Yesterday, we got to go out and enjoy some of the great weather we’ve had for the last few days. It has been unseasonably warm. We played outside yesterday in short sleeves! Chris had to go to the range yesterday, so, even though he didn’t get the whole day off, he was off by three, so we took the kids and went to the park. His mom met us there, and then ordered pizza for all of us while we played. It was awesome.  A great day with our family. Here’s a link to my Facebook photos from yesterday. I’m still having trouble uploading photos directly to my blog. I’ll get Chris or Amy to help me update my wordpress sometime soon, so that I can do that again. For now, I’ll just have to link you to Facebook.

Kyra just finished taking her last couple of first grade tests, and she is now…drum roll please…a second grader! I’m awfully proud of her. She’s made a lot of progress academically since the beginning of the school year. When we started the school year, she really struggled with reading. She spent half of her school days crying over how her words were too hard and she didn’t like reading. She has made tremendous gains in reading, and does quite well now. It’s been an interesting adjustment for me. I have to make sure she’s not standing behind me while having a private instant message conversation, or it’s not so private anymore.

So, that’s a bit of an update on us, for those who are interested. 

Owen and Jer sharing a chair while they enjoyed their Krispy Kremes.

Sweet Sarah

“Me love donuts.” (Said in a deadpan Cookie Monster voice, of course.)

The anticipation!

Sorry for the unannounced leave of absence. I just realized this morning that I have not posted in five days. I have been busy and gone. Saturday morning, I got up and drove to Fort Jackson, alone, with three kids. Yep. I am crazy. The night before, as I was talking to Amy about being nervous and asking her to pray for me while I drive, she reminded me (for the upteenth time) that I am now an Army Wife…and they are Army Strong, too. Now, I don’t usually feel so much like an Army Wife, but I guess, with Chris gone for a while, it counts. Apparently, Army Wives do things like packing up three little kids and driving five hours to see their soldier for a day and a half, and then turn around and drive back. After two weeks of talking to Amy (who is both an Army Wife and a soldier), I feel like a well placed “Hooah!” goes here.

Really, it was an uneventful drive down there. I had never driven past Pigeon Forge before, so it was mostly a new experience for me. I had to stop once in North Carolina for a bathroom stop. We stopped at a rest area, and I got the kids out and we trooped to the bathroom. Me, Kyra, and Elijah all had to go. Once in there, I assigned each kid a stall, and told them not to leave it until I told them. It was then that I realized my propensity for never putting shoes on Owen backfired. He can stand up now, but, without shoes, there was no way he was standing on the floor of a public bathroom. So, I had to hold him. It was tricky. I feel I deserve some sort of medal. After that stop, I didn’t have to stop again until I was almost in Columbia, and Elijah had to go again. We got back on the interstate after that stop, and drove three exits down and met Chris at a McDonald’s. It was a really, really happy reunion. The kids and I were playfully arguing, before he got there, about who got the first kiss. When Chris pulled up, Kyra took off running and claimed the first kiss. She wouldn’t hardly share. It was very good to kiss my man again. It took a while to get used to him being completely bald. That was definitely a change. After we ate, I followed him to Fort Jackson.

While we were there, we saw where Chris is living, played on the playground behind his apartment, drove around the base looking at different things, visited the PX, had ice cream, and then we went to our hotel. After getting settled in the hotel, we went swimming in their indoor pool, which the kids loved. After swimming, we went to eat at The Lizard’s Thicket. Good food. We all collapsed in utter exhaustion that night. Sunday morning, we got up and went to church. We went to a service on base. It was actually in the Chaplain School. It was called Chapel Next, and was a contemporary protestant service. It was really cool. I enjoyed it. It was very, VERY different than what I am used to, though. But I am of the opinion that different is not synonymous of bad. It was very cool to be in a service with the military families. There were a few basic training or AIT soldiers there in their ACUs. We sat among a bunch of Chaplains and Chaplain Candidates. After the service, I got to meet the Chaplain who preached at that service and his wife. I enjoyed meeting my first Chaplain’s Wife. She seemed very nice, and I look forward to meeting many more. Amy is all the time bragging making me jealous telling me what I have to look forward to in meeting Chaplain’s wives, and now I am very excited about that.

I can’t wait to live on an Army base. It is just so cool. I am constantly teary-eyed while there, because I find everything so moving. My favorite moment there (of the non-in-my-husband’s-arms moments) was an hour or so before we left to come home. We were watching the kids play on the playground behind Chris’ apartment, and there were four little girls, ages 4-9, playing there also. As we were sitting there, the bugles came sounding through the air, as they took the flag down for the day. Chris stood up, and all the little girls hurriedly jumped down from the playground equipment. I could barely keep from crying as I watched those little girls stand straight up, hands over their hearts, one little girl saluting (which was adorable), and not making a sound until the bugles ceased. The respect and reverence was touching. I love Army Kids. If Chris had of been in uniform, I probably would have cried big time, because he would have faced the flag, stood at attention, and saluted. I love Soldiers. Shortly after that, Chris took Elijah inside, and, as soon as he left, all the little girls came over and started talking to me. They asked me if we had moved there, and told me how cute Owen was. They told me about all of the various places they had lived, and how it was being an Army Kid. One little girl said her daddy was a Chaplain and had just came home from Korea. Which prompted another girl to tell about when her daddy was in Iraq. It was like getting a crystal ball view of what my kids’ lives are going to be. I liked these kids. I think that Army Kids are good people.

So, then, I drove home. Leaving for the trip home was not as exciting as leaving for the trip there. I think the difference, besides being tired, was that, on the way there, I had Chris to look forward to, and, on the way home, I had the messy house I left to look forward to. The trip was mostly uneventful, other than the two stops and the screaming, teething baby. The first stop was highlighted with a weird, scary guy parked in the car beside of me demanding to know where my husband was and trying to talk to me, which prompted me to slam the door, run around the van, jump in, and drive to the other side of the building. The highlight of the second stop would be Elijah dumping an entire sprite on him and his car-seat which sparked Elijah squalling at the top of his lungs, Owen squalling at the top of his lungs, and Kyra frantically singing “Hush Little Baby” at the top of her lungs, while I contemplated sitting on the curb to cry. I didn’t, though. I dealt with it. Then, I got back on the road, and made it safely home. Cause I’m an Army Wife, and, apparently, this is just par for the course.

Chris and I took the kids to Dollywood today. Kind of a “last hoorah” before Chris leaves. It was hot, but not unbearably so. They rode some rides, played in the water, and we all ate a lot of junk. Owen had so much fun playing in the little playground at Dreamland Forest. It’s made specifically for little bitty kids. He was so happy. All smiles. He is learning to walk, and he was doing so well there at the playground. He was taking ten plus steps at a time.

We came home, put the kids to bed, and Chris and I just finished watching a movie. We watched Flyboys. It was really good. If you haven’t seen it, you ought to. While I’m on the subject of moives, we watched The Last Sin Eater a couple of nights ago, and it was pretty good, too. I liked it a lot, but Chris didn’t like it as much. So, if you do watch either of those two, let me know what you think. If you all hate them, I might have to keep my movie recommendations to myself.

Anyway, I’m headed to bed now. I just couldn’t go to bed without blogging today. Be good, people!

Well, it feels like summer now. It’s been in the upper eighties this week, and, yesterday evening, I took the kids down to the lake where my family is camping. Nothing feels more like summer to me than camping. I’m going to take the kids down this afternoon to go swimming. I have to go buy Kyra a bathing suit, first. Hers are all too small. I don’t think we went swimming at all last summer. The kids are really excited about swimming. Me, not so much. I love to swim, but it’s hard to enjoy swimming when you have three little ones to worry over. This is one of those things, though, that you do just for the sake of happy children and good memories. A lady from church and her family are also camping with them, so, I’ve been asked to teach her Sunday School class Sunday, since she won’t be there. So, I’m going to prepare my S.S. lesson, and then slather on the sunblock and take off. I hope everyone else is enjoying their holiday weekend!

This was Kyra’s last field trip of the year. We went to Frozen Head State Park and had hot dogs and hamburgers. Everyone had a lot of fun.

Elijah played in the creek with our cousin, Punky.

With Brooke’s help, Owen played in the creek, too.

Elijah climbed a tree. (With a little help from Daddy, of course!)

He’s a cute little monkey, isn’t he?

Kyra did well at her school program last night. I took a lot of pictures, but they weren’t great quality. For some reason, my camera has not been focusing well. I don’t know what the deal is with it. You can check out some of the pictures on my photo blog. I was very disappointed that our video camera crashed after only about ten seconds of the program. Chris couldn’t get it fixed, so we have no video of the occasion. Their little skit was so cute. They did a timeline of events from American history. The older students recited dates and events, and some of the other students would act out a little thing about the event. For instance, the older students gave a date and said “The Boston Tea Party”. Then, two of the little girls came out in old fashioned bonnets and a tea set and were having a tea party, when an older girl came and told them that wasn’t what happened. She said that the Boston Tea Party was when the Indians threw all of the British tea into the ocean. Then, two little boys wearing Indian headdresses came out and threw baskets of Lipton tea packets into the audience. It was really cute and funny. When they said the date and “Completion of the Transcontinental Railroad” the kids came out doing motions and making sounds like a train, all in a line. Kyra was the last one, and, as she got to the center of the church, she said, “Toot! Toot!”. It was so cute, and funny. Kyra was very proud of herself for doing her part loud.
Kyra was really cute in her cap and gown as she received a diploma and three trophies and a medal. She had fun at the reception, too, and was very excited that some people had got her a card or a gift. She got a Precious Moments figurine from her “boyfriend”, Westley, and his family. She was very, very excited about that. (Just to be completely honest, Westley is 11 years old, and never actually agreed to be Kyra’s boyfriend. She takes after her Mama, though, and didn’t take his initial refusal to marry her to heart. She is sure he will eventually change his mind. He is very sweet to her, though, and doesn’t seem to resent her crush on him. In the photos, Westley is the boy on the far right in the red, white, and navy striped shirt.)
All in all, it was a fun night, and we were really proud of our little graduate.