Taking time out

EXHAUSTED.  That's the word I would use to explain our family at the moment.  I feel like a tornado has picked up our family and has twirled us around for months and FINALLY put us back down.  What is the name of this tornado?  Football.  This was the first year for tackle football for us and it had us in a tizzy!  It is finally over.  Do not get me wrong, I LOVE watching my boys play football, absolutely love it.  It was a blast to watch G-Man out there and see his face light up when he became the champions b/c they were undefeated.  It was such a joy to watch Randy get out there and tackle and see the love for the game grow inside him.  It's just been exhausting.  

The other day, I signed the boys up for basketball.  I learned that G-Man and Randy wouldn't be on the same team due to their age differences.  They also have different "seasons."  This means G-Man would play for a while and then after he was finished, Randy would pick up.  When that was over, baseball would start.  I had a mental breakdown.  

Randall got home and I discussed my thoughts with him.  I told him how that night was the first night in a LONG time that we had at home.  We cleaned, played, curled up and watched tv, laughed, and even had a home cook meal.  It was GLORIOUS!  The kids were enjoying each other and just loving the time at home.  We decided to skip basketball season.  I thought for sure Randy would not be happy. I was in tears thinking about telling him.  But, guess what?!  He was all for it.  Even at his young age, he realized how much we needed that time at home, together.  He said he wanted more nights like the one we just had. 

Please don't get me wrong, I LOVE watching my boys play sports. However,  I saw the need that our family had.  We needed time TOGETHER.  Not on a field, or on a court.  We needed togetherness.  Our family was craving it and we didn't even realize it.  Everyone was on edge.  Everyone.  I told Randall I felt like I was being selfish.  He told me, "What part of wanting to be together is being selfish?"  

A couple of days later, I pick up the boys from school and I hear Randy say, "YAY!  Tonight is fun night!"  I asked him what that meant.  His response was, "You know, a night like we had the other night, playing and enjoying time at home!"  

Yes, I think it is safe to say we made the right choice.  Will I miss basketball season?  You betcha.  I love the sound of the ball dribbling up and down that court.  However, I love the sound of my children laughing and enjoying time together much more.  

I don't know what it was that got our family in this rut, but I am thankful we saw the need to climb out.  Some families can do it and still find time together, but I felt like our family was falling apart.  We were all frustrated with each other and just not focusing on our family and the Lord.  I am excited for some quality time together, which is MUCH NEEDED!  

Fishin'

I have to admit, growing up, I was quite the tomboy.  Fishing, shooting my BB gun, playing in the dirt, playing with cars and trucks, and riding my bike was just what I liked to do.  As I got older, things just changed.  Now that I have children, I want them to experience those things.  Fishing wasn't something I thought I would enjoy again, but boy was I wrong.  We've fished here and there a few times, but this summer, we all fell in love with the hobby again.  

Randall decided to take us all fishing.  We loaded up, took our dog Jack with us, and headed to the creek.  We were not really prepared, so it was a mess, but we sure had fun.  We started it off with choosing a really small place for us four, plus a large dog, to fish.  As we are going down the muddy slope, Jack took off and Randy was holding the leash.  Randy fell down the slope and almost landed in the water.  He wasn't hurt so we all sat and had a good laugh while brushing the mud off Randy.  We had a good time, and caught a few fish.  

Randy after his fall:

Ruthie caught a few fish that night!

The next night, we loaded up our kayak & canoe and decided to go down the creek and see what we could catch.  We had such an amazing time that evening.  The sun was shining and it was just such a neat experience!  I can't wait until it warms up and we can go back out and do it again!

Check out that light!

Daddy helping the kids out with a fish!

Even though I hate photos of myself, my kids need to know I am there too!

Just a collage of the rest of the evening.

Winter, hurry up so Spring can come along and let us fish again!

2015 Camping Trips

Camping has always been something I LOVE to do.  I remember so many camping trips with my cousin Eli, Maggie, my mom, and my aunt.  Those truly are some of my greatest childhood memories.  I think what made them so special was the time spent with cousins.  I want my kids to remember our camping trips and all the memories they created with their cousins and aunts and uncles.  We had so much fun!

Our first trip was kind of a spur of the moment trip to Cove Lake.  I wasn't too thrilled with the thought of Cove Lake at first.  It didn't have electricity and we were there in the heat of the summer.  Arkansas summers can be straight up muggy and sticky.  I'm not a huge fan of the heat.  Turns out, it was one of the best camping trips I could remember.  We had the best camping spot, with a little cove all to ourselves.  The kids were able to hop in the canoes and kayaks and just paddle around.  What an adventure!  Fishing was a favorite as well!  My absolute favorite part of the whole trip was just about an hour or so before sunset, we would paddle to the swimming area.  During the day, it was quite busy, but in the evening- completely empty.  We would cool off from the hot day and then paddle back to camp during the sunset.  I was always in awe of God's creation.  One night, Randall and I went out on the lake at dark.  It was absolutely gorgeous being in the middle of the lake at night and looking up and seeing all the stars.

Our second camping trip was in the fall at Shoal Bay.  We have camped at Shoal Bay many times.  This time didn't disappoint!  We had a great time!  Again, paddling around was the favorite for the cousins.  Biking and skateboarding came in second.  It is such a blessing to watch these kiddos create these memories together!  One of my favorite things was watching Randall teach the kids how to rappel.  Watching him in his element was such a fun thing for me to see.  It was also neat to watch the kids start off being scared, then move to being confident in themselves and finish down the rock.  We had fabulous weather that weekend.

Once again, it's been a LONG time

I keep starting to come back to this blog and start a new post, but then I quit due to time constraints.  Well, last night I sat on my couch and read my blog posts from years back and I decided I shouldn't just let it go.  I had too much fun going back and reading my words and thoughts from long ago.  So, here I am.  This blog might be just for me, since I am probably the only one reading it, but I enjoy reading it, so here it goes!

First up, things are GREAT!  Randall got a new job.  He is now working for the same school district as I am.  He is a bus driver and works in the bus garage.  It has been a major change to us, even though it has barely been a month!  He is home every single night, doesn't work nights, and he will be off on the holidays!  We are super excited for this new journey the good Lord is allowing us to be on.  We have prayed and prayed for a new position for him.  The Carbon Plant was so good to us.  They were great with families.  We will definitely miss the Christmas parties, Easter parties, and the people.  However, we are super excited to work for the same company and enjoy the perks together!

Ruthie is loving 4th grade.  It amazes me sometimes how well she adjusts to new things.  When she was little, she really struggled with it, but she has overcome that and really excels when it comes to changes.  She is such a gorgeous young lady, inside and out.  I am thankful that God allows me to be her mom.  She is a hoot.  She never fails to make us giggle. She is quite the character- very witty!

Randy is doing great in 1st grade.  He loves school too and enjoys his teacher.  He makes friends with everyone.  I just realized I never made a post about the greatest moment in his life- his salvation!  That's right!  My baby boy accepted Jesus as his Savior in June at church camp.  I'll have to devote a whole post to that!  He is quite a character himself, but sometimes I don't think he realizes what a goof he is.  He is so clumsy too- always has been.  He is such a great young man.  He loves to take care of us and he likes to be known as the man of the house when Randall is away.

Fostering is still a work in progress. I hope and pray we will be fostering within the year.  We have had a lady come over and explain what all we need to do.  We still need to take our PRIDE classes, but we are hoping to do so in January.  The house still needs some work, but we were pleasantly surprised to find it wasn't as much as we assumed.

So, there is the update.  I will share a post later (hopefully not in the next year!) about Randy's salvation and baptism.  What a glorious night that was!  I will leave you (or me if nobody is reading) with some recent photos of these precious kiddos I call mine!

Visiting Pops & Granny

It seems as though this past year has been so busy.  We had very little time to even relax as a family.  This year, we are striving to focus on our family a little more.  This included Randall's dad and his wife.  They live in Oklahoma, about a two hour drive from us.  We haven't been out in what seemed like forever.  We scheduled a trip, grabbed Grandad to come with us, and headed up there.

The kids and I in the back seat:

Randy didn't make it too long:

 As always, it was a great time.  I always enjoy spending time with them.  I captured some great memories with my phone.  I was sad that I didn't have my camera, but grateful at what I did capture.

Randy is such a little man.  He cracks me up.  He wanted to be right in the middle of his dad, Pops, and Grandad.  Pops has a room with guitars on every wall.  Randy was immediately drawn in and wanted to play all of them.

My favorite part was listening to Pops play and Grandad sing.  What a special moment that was.  This group of Qualls men are such a great family to be a part of.  I am thankful they consider me family.  I love them all to pieces!

Ruthie enjoyed her time up there as well.  We were a bit under the weather so she watched a lot of tv and rested.  I happened to catch this photo of her checking out the back yard.  They live right on a lake and their view is nothing short of spectacular!

These two snuggled up on the couch made me smile.

Later on during the day, Pops took us out to look at his farm.  He & his buddy Walt have done a fantastic job.  It was a miserable cold day though, so Ruthie and Grandad kept each other warm!

Trips to Oklahoma are few and far between.  Time with family is such an important part of life.  We are going to strive to make it more often.  

{2014} Year in Review

I was basically absent in 2014, but believe me when I say, it was a BUSY one! Here are a few (more like many) of my favorite photos from 2014!  These are in a crazy order!