'Tis the Season

1. for allergies and respiratory problems and breathing treatments... 2. for school Thanksgiving programs and Will the pilgrim

3. for a busy, growing boy who is getting into everything now!

4. for getting together with family (in savannah for thanksgiving with pa pa)

5. for rides around uncle scott's farm in an electric jeep (provides hours of fun)

6. for a new experience- riding a horse for the first time! a big step for this cautious boy

7. for church Christmas pageants- bakey the barn bunny and will the shepherd

8. for gingerbread-house-making.....finger-licking good!!

9. and, for Christmas card sending...... Merry Christmas friends!

Happy Halloween!!

from a cowboy, a princess, and a pumpkin!

Summer Re-Cap

(if you are still reading this blog, I applaud you. I considered kicking it to the curb but there are a few *ahem* family members who would join together and all but dis-own me if I did that. so in order to stay on their good side I'll keep it going. I'm not making any promises for the future, though.)

My sister got married in August. We spent two days in Athens without our kids and it was glorious.
We took a last minute trip to the beach. The weather was perfect and we practically had the beach to ourselves as most kids were back in school.

Football season started. Like any good southern girl, I must dress my children in the colors of my team and make them pose in ridiculously humid conditions with the sun shining directly in their eyes. This picture is the result of that obligation to team.

Lastly, here is Henry at 8 months. He is getting so big I really must update on him more often. I know I am biased toward all my children being pretty cute, but oh. my. goodness. I could eat this little face up. He really is the cutest Maxey by far. I hope my other children don't hate me for saying that one day.

Q: So, Kat, when do you plan on updating the blog again?

A: Who knows?? We've got a lot of major decisions coming up and are in the middle of a particularly stressful period right now. More on that later. Just pray for us.

New Ears

The long awaited tubes are in! Annely Blake handled it all very well and has been (mostly) back to her old self today. Thanks for your prayers and calls today.


(and what is it about a small child in a hospital gown that makes them so pitiful looking??)

Here's hoping for an antibiotic free fall for this one!!

Bye Bye Mullet

It's gone! It's gone! I finally got tired of the mullet Annely Blake has been carrying around for months now. I hated to cut her hair since she has so little of it, but it needed to be trimmed up all around and one length. Here is the before shot...hard to believe it really was this long!!

New "do" from the back-

side view-

she seems pretty happy about it! got to make sure there is a bow in at all times so people don't think she's a boy!

front view...not bad for my first job!

Something about this is vaguely familiar....

Henry - 6mos. AB- 4 mos.

In this world.....

life seems to happen all too fast. there are at least two loads of laundry a day. the dishwasher gets unloaded....only to be loaded back up at the end of every day with the same dishes. the trash piles up. the moments pass by in greater speed. but...........summer's heat gives way to late nights on the porch, and chasing fireflies, chatting with the neighbors next door, sipping wine on the back patio, eating ice cream on the bench at the place around the corner. yes, they fly by......

but then, there are moments like this. when a sleepy babe can't quite finish the last sip of the bottle. and who would want to wake him? pure bliss. and the never ending questions of this curious four year old. the, "why can't I take my cars to heaven," and "why did Jesus have to die?" talking eternity with a child. the moments that matter.

suddenly, I have a momma's girl. I thought she'd never leave her daddy. she has a tender heart. caring for her two brothers in ways big and small. moments I catch when she doesn't know I'm watching her.

and he's almost a sitter! look at that smile! I can't get enough of that boy. can you? Lord, don't let me forget these moments.

June Update

June is almost over and it has been busy, busy, busy. A trip to the mountains, visitors, a stomach bug and another trip to the lake with our small group. The summer is going by way too fast! We leave June a little more rested, tanned, tired (thanks to Henry and his new tooth :)) and refreshed. The pictures tell of our travels...

Mountain trip- my mom and AB walking the roads lined with blueberry bushes.... Pontoon boat ride on lake Burton with my family....

Dinner out, the five of us in the mountains........

MiMi and PaPa come to visit.......

Will and AB in the summer heat, talking about flowers and waiting on daddy to get home...

Our 2nd annual small group lake trip- staying up way too late and having way too much fun....

Will's first swimming lessons- waiting his turn- he did everything the teacher said and didn't cry a bit!!......

AB was a different story ! She cried the whole time but got in and swam a little......

Summer Lovin'

Why I haven't blogged more lately

Three words: lack. of. time. Yep, with three little ones all vying for my attention, there's barely enough time for dinner these days, much less the blog! Here is a little update on those three reasons why this blog has been ignored.

1. Will. Out of school for summer! Next year it's five days a week in the 4k class and then on to kindergarten. It hardly seems possible! He has been absolutely delightful these days. Full of conversation and questions, extremely helpful and obedient and so, so funny! His latest obsession is the matchbox cars and his cowboy outfit. Almost every weekend his favorite thing to do is dress up in the cowboy outfit and watch Bonanza. I'm not kidding!! His four year check up was perfect, and much to my surprise he passed his hearing screen with flying colors. I was convinced he had a hearing problem, but "4 year old boy ears" was the doctor's diagnosis :) He also landed on the charts at 97% for height for his age. We knew from the beginning he was going to be a tall one.

2. Annely Blake. Still the diva. Still throwing fits, demanding her way, wanting to do everything herself. Yes, she is definitely two. The newest thing with her is the start of potty-training!!! She is doing great! So far only one accident since we started on Wednesday! (Well, one #1 accident....the #2 is a different story :) So far that has yet to land in it's appropriate destination.) She is getting more into dress-up and still loves her baby dolls.

3. Henry. Baby Henry is continuing to keep me on my toes! This boy loves to be held and entertained. It seems like the more chaos that's going on around him, the happier he is! He's started rice cereal and bananas, which he loves, and is grabbing at rattles, going to town in the johnny jump up, and rolling over to his side. His four month check up is in a few weeks so we'll see where he is in terms of weight and length.