The Perfect Day

This was filmed in honor of Kimberly and Tara.

Our State of the Union

On May 25, 1996 Harold and I "tied the knot". Yes, for those of you who are doing the math, we will have been married for twelve years on Sunday. It never ceases to amaze me, that time can pass so quickly without us even realizing it. Harold, always says, "Times fun when you're having flies". Well we haven't exactly had flies, but we have been busy. I've posted a little pictorial journey of the past twelve years. It is a little view of how our family has grown. No, not weight, kids.
Here we are in 1993, our senior year of high school.

In 1997, Harold graduated from HS Bible College and we moved to TN. Harold attendend Moody Aviation. I worked as a CNA in a local nursing home and went to nursing school

In 2000, after having three miscarriages, God blessed us with our first son, Ethan.

Then just fourteen months later along came Collin.

In 2002 we moved back to Fl and began our ministry with Missionary Flights International. A year after that Landon, boy #3, was born.

Last, but certainly not least, came our fourth and final son, Dylan.

I've posted the video to the song "Holding Hands" by Steve Green. The longer we are married I find that the romance isn't so much in the warm, gushy feelings as it is in the commitment. I still remember the first time Harold held my hand. It took him awhile to get up the nerve to finally reach over and take mine. Oh boy, I don't think my heart could have pounded any harder. Now it just come natural. If we are walking along our hands just naturally come together without giving it any thought. I still love the romance of it, but I love the trust and commitment even more. Several years ago we were having an intense disagreement about something. I was very righteously indignant with my dear husband. He said to me, "Kayla we are going to talk about this holding hands". Since then we've made this our policy for any major discussions. So I can truthfully tell you today that the state of our union is strong, and we're still "holding hands".

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kdX15209s6A

The Dolls In My Past

Yesterday was a day of stunning revelation for me. We cleaned out what remained in our shed at our old house. This included the bassinet that all four boys slept in as infants and a box of my dolls from childhood. I very carefully set up the bassinet and decided to lay my dolls in it for safekeeping. Suddenly it struck me! My dolls were very decidedly male, or at least the ones that survived up to the present day. I made sure that my Mom was aware of this new information, since she was primarily responsible for my doll collection. I just have to wonder if this was some kind of foretelling of my future. The picture that you see here is of my two favorites. Does anyone else remember when every little girl had to have a Cabbage Patch doll or life just wasn't worth living. My parents did their Christmas shopping a little late that year so all that was left were boy Cabbage Patch dolls. His name was Xavier, at least that's what the box said. I named him Jaylen. The other dolls name is Joey. My Aunt Barbara gave him to me one year when she came to visit. My parents convinced me that I must take good care of him since he came from Belgium. I don't know if that is true or not, but he did survive quite well. There was also the doll that was supposed to be the same size as a one year old. He actually started off as a girl. The problem was that he/she had a long red ponytail that grew when you pulled a string on his/her back. We had lots of fun with her until the neighbor girl stuffed the ponytail into the hole it originated from. After that I just dressed him like a boy. Now the fact that the first doll I remember had red hair and was rather stocky must have some significance.

Now I must clarify that I did have some girl dolls, but I also had cousins. Since they are some of my fellow bloggers and can defend themselves, I will tell of the destruction that they heaped upon my dolls. First there was Kimberly, she never really played with her dolls much. They were used more for decoration and she always informed me that she didn't want them to get messed up. Well you should see what she did to the ankles of my Barbie Dolls by making them dance so wildly that their hair would swoosh around. I don't have a picture, but you can imagine how those poor rubber legs looked after being bent so violently in every direction. Next came Liz, whose Mom was working for a surgeon at the time. She took a black marker and made a nice little mid-line incision, complete with staples, down the belly of my little cloth doll. I have found it in my heart to forgive them, but now you understand why the only survivors are boys. The only conclusion that I can come to is that I was just made to nurture boys whether they be plastic and cloth or flesh and blood.

Note of Concern

Landon has taken quite an interest in the dolls that are now in our home. As you can imagine this is stressing Harold to immeasurable limits. His reaction when Landon tried to take the doll on a ride in the van was to be remembered. Last night Landon walked out of the guest room and informed us that he was "putting music on so the babies could sleep", I think Harold's eyes might still be rolling. Do you think that the fact that the dolls are boys makes any difference, or will I have to box them up and store them away again?

Still Alive?

Yes, I am still alive despite the fact that my last post had people writing epitaphs for my tombstone. (They were both older than me) I haven't succumbed to the evils of Facebook either, although I have had fun reconnecting with people I haven't heard from in years. My absence is due to the fact that my life is incredibly busy these days.

I started a new case a month ago that was supposed to only last for two nights. Well a month later it has ended. I ended up working almost everyday. I will say that it was the most fun case I have ever worked. The people were from GA so their Southern Hospitality extended to even the hired help. I got fed things such as fish and grits, and was called "kiddo" on a daily basis. You can only imagine what this did for my self esteem.


Then last week when I thought things were getting back to normal Dylan started coughing again for the fifth time this season. It kept getting tighter and tighter until on Monday after being up most of the night before I took him to the doctor. He was diagnosed with severe bronchitis that was most likely due to Asthma. Now after a week of steroids, antibiotics, and nebulizer treatments he is doing fine. Here you can see just how fine he is.




So with working, keeping up with four little boys, trying to keep my house somewhat presentable, along with doing my best to be a good daughter to my aging parents and a devoted wife to my hard working husband, time at the computer came to a screeching halt. I should probably be doing something more productive right now. Oh well, it feels good to sit for awhile.


This is for those of you who long for the ocean breezes of South Florida. It will also help you understand why I am not a beach bum. A few weeks ago someone told Harold that this had washed up on the beach, so of course we had to load the boys up in the van and go see it.



Yes, it is a 12ft Hammerhead. Someone had already broken the teeth out, so the boys didn't get that thrill. Makes you feel comfy, huh?



I had a whole Mother's Day post planned in my head, but never had time to get my thoughts together. When I have had time to clear my head I plan to be a little controversial and write a tribute to "working Moms". Until then you'll have to be satisfied with a picture of me and my crew on that special day. As usual Landon was having a moment of crisis and Dylan was concerned. Maybe one day we'll actually get a picture of everyone smiling.

As Alumni President Harold has to give a little induction speech every year at graduation. He just emailed me his speech for tonight to read over. He included the quote by Robert Louis Stevenson, "Don't judge each day by the harvest you reap, but by the seeds that you plant". This is not only a good reminder for those who are heading out into their fields of service, but for those of us who are Mothers. It is very easy to climb into bed every night exhausted and feel like you've accomplished absolutely nothing, like the people in the next room are still heathens. You'll sleep a lot better if you determine to plant as many seeds as possible during the day and count them before drifting off. It will make waking up the next morning a little easier too, as you look forward to the day when the harvest is ready.
I'll leave you with a few pictures of what life is like around our house. Enjoy!

I bought the boys butterfly nets with visions of little children running through fields of wild flowers with butterflies fluttering in the cool breeze. I should have know better.



These are my handsome and highly intelligent sons. They make me so proud, sob, sob. Okay, they were dressed up for Mix-Up Day. Don't ask about the facial expressions, they just thought they looked cool.



The goal here was to get a sweet picture of Harold reading to Dylan, but as soon as he saw the camera he started saying "sheese".



This is Landon in the helmet that he and his Pawpaw bought at the Thrift Store. He insists that it is NOT too big for him.



Ethan is smelling the coffee he just ground on his field trip yesterday. From the look on his face we may have another addict.