Auction, Bed switch, internet and more

Since moving into the apartment, we have been able to pick up internet from our wireless, but it isn't working now.  I am on Ben's computer to write this blog and say who knows when I will be able to update pictures. 

For those of you following, you all know that we have had some bed issues with the kids.  Well, this weekend we stayed with my parents in Columbia and the kids were all in the same room.  Surprisingly, it went so smoothly!  Henry goes to sleep first and once asleep, the twins will head in there.  As long as Emily has a flashlight, she is fine with no lamp on! 

So, what did I do when we got home on Monday?  I moved Henry's bed into the girls room.  Henry's room is now a playroom.  The kids LOVE it and I love all the toys in one room.  And really no more bedtime fights.  How long will it last?  Who knows?  But I like it now!

For those of you who follow my blog, you have read about Leigh a lot lately.  I was able to visit with her this weekend and hear her passion about adopting a little girl from Africa.  She has some great auction items going on and if you haven't checked them out yet, you NEED to this week.  There are some AWESOME things up to win!  Entries are $5.00, get 6 for $25.00.  The button for the auction is on the right.  "Bringing our Baby Home"

Bedtime Update

So it would seem that my children decided to change our bedtime routine all on their own.  And for the better!!  Four nights ago, Sara decided that she wanted to sleep in Henry's room.  Knowing that Emily and Sara keep each other up when they are together, we said go for it!  Ever since then, Henry goes to bed.  Sara and Emily will play for a little while and then Sara goes and climbs into Henry's big boy bed (Henry is still in a crib so this works quite well). 

All is well with Sara and Henry.  They are asleep by 7:30 and sleep through the night. 

Now Emily is another story- light must be on, door cracked, need food, water, more food.
So it is up down up down up down.  Stories don't help.  If you try to lay down with her, she talks nonstop.  She isn't fussy or crying, just can't fall asleep.  She usually will give it up by 9:30 or 10, but crawls in bed with us around 2ish. 

Oh well, it is better.  There isn't a struggle between the girls and Ben and me. 

And tonight, it is a little after 8.  Sara and Henry are peacefully sleeping and Emily is tucked in snug in her bed looking at books.  Perhaps she will fall asleep before 9 tonight? 

One can dream...

Awesome Giveaway... awesome cause

   

When you have a few minutes, mosey on over to the blog above and register to win some awesome giveaway/raffle prizes. Each entry makes you one step closer to winning some fabulous prizes, and also makes Leigh & Gray one step closer to bringing home (adopting) their sweet baby girl, MG.

Entries are $5.00 each, get 6 for $25.00!

Stop by, help the Ladds bring home MG, and win some fabulous prizes!

Time to go to bed...

"The bed is a bundle of paradoxes:  we go to it with reluctance, yet we quit it with regret; we make up our minds every night to leave it early, but we make up our bodies every morning to keep it late."  ~Charles Caleb Colton

I need some advice on how to help my twins go to sleep at a decent time.  These girls have never really liked to go to sleep, but lately it is like a slumber party every night in their room!  They go to their room around 8 every night, but neither one will give it up until around 9:30 or 10:00 pm!  I am worn out from night time battles.  

Luckily, our little guy Henry is a sound sleeper.  He goes down around 7:30 and I usually don't hear a peep from him until after 8 am the next day.

But the girls... since they don't go to sleep early, they sleep in usually until 9:30 or 10:00!  Now I don't mind the extra sleep in the mornings, but I would rather have a full day with them than the night drama!

I call it drama because it is... one excuse after the other.  "I'm thirsty"  "I'm hungry"  "I want to play"  "I need this stuffed animal and this one and this one"  "where's such and such"  and the list goes on.

I think this would all change if the girls had separate rooms (or maybe then it would be a battle because they want to be together.)  However, in our little 3 room apartment, they must share a room. 

Any advice out there on how to get them to go to sleep at a decent hour? 

Houlie Cousins Visit

Yesterday, we had a wonderful visit from Grandmother and Granddaddy and the kids' cousins Elizabeth and Claire. Ben's parents had been to visit in Atlanta because Claire and Elizabeth's older brother Patrick is very sick.

He was admitted to the hospital in Atlanta on Thursday night and so far the doctors have not been able to determine the cause of Patrick's symptoms. He is very weak and can barely walk. His appetite is very low and he has had no energy for almost 4 weeks. They thought for awhile it was Lyme's disease because Patrick had several ticks on him, but all the tests for that have come back negative. Since in the hospital, he has had a cat scan and MRI, all which praise God have been negative.

Please join me in praying for God's healing presence with Patrick and that God will help the doctors determine a course of action to restore health to Patrick.

In order to allow Patrick's parents to be with him, Ben's parents are taking care of Claire and Elizabeth for a few days in High Point. We are grateful that they were able to stop by and visit with us despite the circumstances.

Claire, Emily and Grandmother

Cousin Claire

Elizabeth reads a book to Sara and Emily

Granddaddy reads a book to Elizabeth and Sara

Wish you could have heard him sing!!!

I tried to get a picture of all 5, but needless to say none turned out quite right.
Oh well!
Elizabeth with Emily on her lap, Henry and Sara on Claire's lap

I am in LOVE

With a little boy named Zachary who makes me smile and laugh and thank God for the gift of life.

I am so grateful that I have had the joy of watching this little boy grow from the moment he was born prematurely. He has grown into a sweet, loveable 3 year old who teaches his family and those around him how to be a better person.

Being away friends like Zachary and his family is one of the hard parts about moving, but we were so blessed with a visit from Zachary and his mother Vicki last week. The kids had such a good time and cannot wait to play with Zach again. And I had such a wonderful visit with my friend Vicki, whose relationship I miss dearly as we used to see each other every day at the preschool.

Thank goodness for friends who keep in touch. We are now planning on another visit from Zachary and Vicki and hopefully Amelia and Daniel (Zachary's siblings) will be able to join in our fun! And of course this now means, the Cox crew needs to plan a visit to Charlotte soon to spend time with friends like these. I miss you all!

Isn't he a cutey!

Zachary, Emily and Henry

Playing in the wagon

Cute little smile!

Zachary, Sara, Emily and Henry

Vicki pulling the kids

Maybe it is Sara that is in love with Zachary?

Zachary's turn to pull the kids

All 75 pounds of them!

Henry is getting so big

It is hard to imagine that my little boy is over 2 years old! He is doing so much these days. Henry thinks he is as big as the girls and in size he is! He weighs more than his sister and is barely an inch shorter that Sara. And I notice yesterday his feet are bigger than the girls!

These pictures were taken and Ben's parents. I thought they were so cute and really shows Henry's fun personality! He laughs all the time and is just a bundle of joy to have around.

We are so blessed with our 3 sweet, funny, energetic kids!

The Giveaway has begun

Check out my friend Leigh's blog for some awesome giveaways for the next few weeks!

Who has the longest hair?

I couldn't resist posting these cute pictures of Ben reading to Emily and Sara. The question in my mind- Who has the longer hair- Daddy, Sara or Emily? I didn't bother putting Henry in as a choice because he by far has the longest hair!

Daddy, Emily, and Sara

Emily is in blue and Sara in pink

Fashion Friday

I have a good friend, Leigh (she is the one trying to adopt a baby from Ethiopia- check out her giveaway blog link on the side!). Leigh always does a fashion friday blog with fun things like kid clothes, earrings, dresses, etc. Well, since everyone has been asking about the twins and their hair. I thought I would do a fashion Friday based on their new do (and cover ups for the do!) More hats to come, maybe even some bows!

Let me know which one you like by commenting!

Option 1: No hat, just the short hair!

Option 2: Hats from the Children's Place

Option 3: Sweater hat shown on Sara above the ear

Option 4: Sweater hat shown on Emily pulled over the ears

A Day at the Farm

Henry, Sara, Emily

This week, the kids and I spent a few days with my in-laws. Since the weather was nice, we took the kids to the family farm above Pilot Mountain for the day. They had a BLAST running all over the place, climbing in the old hay loft, helping Granddaddy with the garden, playing with Chinese money with Grandmother and being pulled in the wagon. Here are a few cute pics from our fun day!

Helping in the garden

Playing in the barn

What a face, Sara!

And Emily's silly face

Henry

Ready for a giveaway???

My dear friend Leigh and her husband Gray are in the process of raising money to adopt a child from Ethiopia. They were approved for the adoption in mid-August and now have the task of raising money to bring their baby home. They are holding a great giveaway fundraiser to help raise money. You can find out more by clicking on the link below or the link to the right in my blog.

Join me in prayers for Leigh and Gray as the seek to bring their baby home. I hope you will be inspired by their journey!

Sunday after the hair incident

In order to try and do something with the hair, I took the girls to Snip-its today. Thank goodness for a kid's hair salon being open on a Sunday!!! After the trauma of watching Sara's hair be cut with clippers, my nerves are now settling and I am beginning to laugh. We went by the Children's Place after the haircuts and picked up two hats for each of the girls. I am thinking lots of hats will help us make it through the fall and winter. Please send hats!!!
I know, I know, it really isn't that bad, but their hair is just so SHORT now!!! At least hair grows...

Now on the results from the haircuts!

Emily is pictured first with before, during and after shots. Apparently they didn't do as much damage to Emily as to Sara. Emily's hair was not touched in the back and when they cut it wasn't too close to the scalp.

Emily Before

Emily During

Emily After

With Sara, the girls cut deep into the sides and into the back, causing it to be harder to cut. The stylist had to break out the clippers on her!!! She also has the double cowlick thing going on in the back so I imagine most days it will be sticking up straight!

Sara Before

Sara During

Sara After

Emily and Sara

Emily and Sara

Thank you to all for your sweet notes and comments on facebook and here. Please keep the encouragement coming. And seriously, if you come across some cute hats send them my way!!

Snip Snip

Oh, how I love my children! I adore the cute things they do, the way they make me laugh and smile. But tonight I don't quite know whether to laugh or cry. My girls, who have beautiful hair, took their little safety scissors and thoroughly butchered their hair tonight! You can see from past blogs and pictures how cute their hair used to be, but not so anymore!!!

Are you all ready for this???

Emily

Sara and Emily

Sara

They are so happy! Goodness!