Just for kicks, here's Cooper on Monday. The forecast said rain (which was wrong) so Cooper broke out his new rain boots. This picture totally shows how much I had to mellow about some things will a little boy...Claudia would have never been allowed to go to Sissy's in shorts and boots...but now, I'm just thrilled we were on time and he had on two matching shoes! Made no difference to me that they didn't match and boots with shorts...oh well, it made his heart so happy!
Just for my memories, here is what our typical week looks like these days... Claudia has piano on Monday afternoons. I usually take Cooper to a grandparent's house to play while we are gone. I took him to the first lesson and almost lost my mind trying to keep him quiet. I won't do that again if I can help it...and it gives me 30 minutes a week to sit and look at a Southern Living and listen to Claudia play...it is bliss! She is doing really well and really enjoys it. She practices (right now) without me really having to tell her to. I really hope God has given her a desire to play for Him and that she will stick with it until she is glorifying Him in our church someday. I take her to dance on Tuesday for an hour and a half. She has gymnastics, tap, jazz, and (my favorite) ballet. She loves her dance teacher and I am really impressed with how much she has improved since last year. The class we did this summer really helped. Cooper isn't doing any extracurricular activities right now. He is just being a boy and having fun! We tried t-ball in the spring but it proved to just be to early for that with Cooper. I just don't believe in forcing them into a bunch of things they are either not ready for or that they do not enjoy. I want them to be kids and to enjoy being kids. Who has fun when they are miserable about going to said activity and you are having to drag them there and you (the mom/dad) are all stressed out b/c they don't' want to be there and you need to be in ten different places? The answer...NO ONE! It is not worth it! For now, our princess loves the two things she does and extracurricular will come soon enough with my little man.
Family time has become so much more important to me. I am learning and truly understanding how important it is for me to let us just be home together rather than so busy all the time. Even with a purposeful effort to have more family time, we are busier than I'd like so the little time we can snag is even more precious and protected. These times together at home are blessings from the Lord! I know it honors Him for us to protect our time together as a family and to invest in each other.
This past weekend we really had the blessing of no commitments. It was BLISS! Handley played really far away and we didn't make the trip so the kids and I went to the library on Friday afternoon. We stayed home all evening and Claudia spent most of the night reading her very first "Baby sitter's Club" book. Chad had to work on Saturday but we were home and the kids got to stay in PJ's and just play. I got to pull out my fall decorations and do a little cleaning. That afternoon we went to an early dinner in LaGrange and did a tiny bit of shopping. Cooper, Claudia, and I all got cute new fall shoes. Shoes always make a girl happy! We headed home in time to watch our Auburn Tigers fight a battle for a victory over South Carolina. For an Auburn grad, any time you can beat Steve Spurrier is a GREAT day! Come to think of it, all SEC teams probably feel that way but I can just remember his horrible smart attitude towards Auburn when he was at Florida and used to come to the plains to play when I was in the student section. You get to see the whole show of the other team in the student section.
Sunday, oh Sunday, what a lovely day you were for us! We came straight home from church and I pulled together a perfect fall lunch...chili (from the freezer). After that we just stayed home. Claudia and Cooper both got asked to go somewhere but I declined both invitations because I just wanted us to all be home together. Mondays come quickly and I wanted to savor our Sunday. We watched movies, played, and just enjoyed each other so much. Chad and Cooper did make a quick trip to get groceries for dinner but Claudia and I never left the house. By the evening, we were rested and had really loved being home together. After lunch, while we were cleaning the kitchen, I glanced in the den and snapped this shot. Claudia was on the couch reading to Cooper. Now, they are typical siblings and don't always get along but sometimes you get these moments and they are precious and worthy of remembering!
These pictures are almost two weeks overdue for a post but I could not leave them out. The Saturday before, we went to Brad and Kristal's house for dinner and football and got to spend the evening with this golden haired princess...
The kids had so much fun playing and wrecking their house! The parents had so much fun eating ice cream pie and laying around watching the tigers! We had to leave before the game ended because Cooper had reached his limit and we had to head home. We were afraid we were headed for a loss when we left but they pulled it out in overtime! Thanks guys for having us over...it was BIG fun and we treasure memories we make with you!
AUBURN friends...
Claudia was there, I have no idea why there are only three pictures and not one is of her...oh yeah, because she was the ULTIMATE sitter that night and ran after Maddie and Cooper all night! We couldn't have watched the game without her! Thanks Claudie Bug for being such a helper for Mommy and Kristal! You are the BEST!
Stay tuned for another post soon full of more football because around here...
IT'S HOMECOMING WEEK!
And around here, we do Homecoming really BIG!
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