Revelations of a 4 Year Old

Malakai is so funny. It is amazing to watch his mind work through things. He's really smart but that stinkin brain development only allows him to get so far...

Our bedtime convo was spurred on by a photo he saw on facebook. A few weeks ago there was a fundraiser for a local christian school that allowed people to meet Duck Dynasty Willie and a few others from the family. One of the families in our church got to meet and take a photo with them. He was amazed! How did they get in that photo?! I told him they met them and took a photo w/ them. "They're REAL?!" Yes, they are real. "But they're on TV!????" Poor kid, he thought he had this whole real/pretend thing figured out. On TV=not real. 

Summary of our bedtime conversation...

He wants us to take a day (b/c I told him it would take at least that long to get to where they live) and drive to their house, knock on the door, & meet them. It's okay that we don't know them because when we tell them our names, we will. Plus, we watch them on t.v. so we already know them. 

My attempts to explain his flaws... 

Just because we watch someone on t.v. doesn't mean we know them and definitely doesn't mean they know us. Plus, it isn't polite to go to someone's house without permission. 

...were futile... 

"Call them," he said. And since we don't have their #? "Just type all that stuff in and get it." If that doesn't work, apparently we can just knock on people's doors til we get it. 

DUH! Why didn't I think of that???

Oh, and if we drive there and knock on their door & "he" answers & says, "Hi, Willie!", I will be very angry. Well, not angry but disappointed. But not crying. I won't cry. I will tell him, "My name isn't Willie! It's Malakai!"

Then he asked why "they" (the people in the photo) met them. Do they know Willie?

I explained, no, they paid $ for tickets to go to an event & meet them.   And the million $ question, folks....

"Why do we pay money to meet people we don't know?!"

Hahaha! Love his little brain! He's smarter than most of us!

I feel a little bad about how confused he was when he went to sleep, though.

His final request...

Take the day- TOMORROW- and drive to see, "What's the name of that man with all the animals that Nana always watches? Oh, yes, Dr. Pol." He wants to go meet The Incredible Dr. Pol. I said, "But you're not an animal." "NOOOOO!!!! I don't need fixing! I just want to meet him!" 

This whole real people on t.v. thing has opened up a whole new world of possibilities for him!!! HAHA! 

Caca- to eat or not to eat?

Once upon a time (a week ago tonight) there was a little boy named Malakai. This little boy was as curious and mischievous as Curious George. Most of the time his mishaps mostly require a clean-up, timeout, or lesson. On Tuesday he thought he'd step it up a bit... although it took a few days to take affect.

Have you ever wondered what a hand rail might taste like? Or maybe you just wonder what it would feel like on your tongue in chilly fall weather. Would it stick? Would your tongue freeze? 

It is unclear what exactly was running through my son's head last Tuesday night. Whatever it was caused him to reach out his tongue and taste the hand rail. Did I mention this hand rail was on the bleachers at a high school soccer game? Oh, no? Well then, yes, it was on the bleachers at a high school soccer game. 

Malakai seemed confused when we reacted with such horror at his act of curiosity. After the past few days, I now know, I should have poured a bottle of sanitizer in his mouth. (notreally) (okaymaybe) One after another my children have dropped like flies due to being infected with Hand Foot & Mouth Disease (aka Coxsackie virus aka it comes from POOP!) So my son tasted a little poop. #yum 

Unfortunately my girls are having to endure the terrible consequences of their brother's caca ingestion. And I fear, my nephews are as well :( (sorry Whitney!!!!) Praying all the parents can manage to stay well #aintNOBODYgottimefodat #justsayin and yes, I enjoy using useless #hashtags in my blog posts. #hatersgonnahate

On a super positive mama note: I love sicky baby cuddles. They are pitiful and pouty but are absolutely the sweetest things.

whine, whine, whine, sleep.

Mommy will you pleeease hold me in the rocking chair?

**Also, just a little reminder about my personal Soldier Care Packs fundraiser**

Loving the Little Things

Requesting YOUR help!

Many of you reading my blog are well aware that my husband is currently serving overseas with the military. Our time apart has had it challenges but truly, God's grace is sufficient. I am blessed to experience a peace that surpasses all understanding. Even the rough days are not what I could have imagined. I am learning everyday to count my blessings. Learning to love the little things and enjoy all the good.

One of the challenges we face here at home is knowing the best ways to assist our soldier while he is gone. We want to support him in every way we possible. Since he left, we have begun to prepare care packages that will be able to bless him and the soldiers he is serving with. Even our community is willing to step up and help us collect items to send to the troops. Complete strangers donating items to support my husband- How fabulous is that?!

Unfortunately we may hit a road block. Plain and simple shipping is expensive. Therein lies the issue. As wonderful as these dear people are, no matter how many items we collect, they don't make any real impact on the soldiers unless we have the funds to ship all of them. In order to make sure we have enough funds to at least ship through the holidays, I am hosting a fundraiser through my Origami Owl business. 

How does it work?

The easiest way is this:

1. Go to my Origami Owl replicated website: Click Here

2. Choose the jewelry you like the very best for yourself or as a gift.

3. When you check out, click on Soldier Care Packs under Jewelry Bar Info.

4. Wait for your product to arrive. (This has to be the hardest part, haha)

100% of the profits will be applied to shipping cost associated with send care packages to my husband's unit.

I hope you will consider helping us out! Please email me at littlecains(at)gmail(dot)com with questions or for more information on other ways you can help! (a super easy way to help is to share this fundraiser with all your friends!!! )

The Show

So I was just going to post these photos to facebook but then I decided it was too funny and should be documented in el blog. 

One should always fear quiet happy children in the playroom. (I believe there is even a meme for this) This is especially true for my 3 that have been stuck in the house bickering for a good part of this rainy day. This afternoon however, my son, the artist, chose the 2 most adorable canvases with which to display his latest works.

It went like this...

M- Mommy, remember when you took pictures of Lilly when she drew on herself?
Me- Yeeees.
M- Why did you do that?
Me- kind of ignoring bc I really don't want to encourage this behavior.
M- Mommy? Why? Why did you take her picture when she drew all over herself? Are we allowed to do that?
Me- No, you aren't allowed to do that. And just because. I wanted to.

M- LOOK Mommy! She's ready for the show!

::enter:: Ava.

Me- Oh.my.soul. Is this why you asked? You drew all over her?! What in the world?! ugh. 
M- But Mommy! But Mommy! She's ready for The Show! Look! She's ready for the show!
Me- shaking my head

::enter:: Lillian.

Well, you get the point. And he continued to insist they were ready for The Show.

Me- Are you wanting me to take their pictures? Is that why you keep talking about The Show?
M- YES!

So- you're welcome. Consider yourself entertained.

The Artist

**Disclaimer- He used completely washable markers and all of it came off with ease)**

But who's counting?

I've been a bit absent on the blog as of late... whatever. It's my blog. I do what I want. :) 

But seriously. 

Anyhooooo....

We just spend a glorious 4 days with my husband. He's been away training so it was wonderful to spend some quality time as our little family unit. 

Unfortunately, he headed back to meet up with his unit on the eve of our 6th wedding anniversary. Saying good-bye... again... pretty much sucked. Me and airports are not exactly friends right now. just. sayin.

Parts of today were really hard and at other times it was just another day. Truth be told, the Lord has truly given me peace over the past month or so. Single parenting is NO JOKE and I've had some total mom fails. And if you decide to stop by unannounced... well, let's just say, don't judge and be prepared to step on a few crumbs. :) All in all though, the transition has been far better than I could have imagined. 

As proud as I am of my solider, he isn't just a soldier and it isn't all I'm proud of. He has grown a lot over the years and the military has encouraged that growth in a lot of ways but I loved him before the uniform and I will love him after. He is and always has been one of the most loyal and kind men I've ever known. He is passionate about anything he puts his mind to. He is supportive, encouraging and genuine.

Six years is just a blink compared to the years I hope to spend as his wife. As wonderful as these few years have been, I can only hope and imagine what is in store. I trust God for his safety and wait in anticipation for a glorious homecoming.

Michael, I love you forever. You are my favorite and my best. Thank you for choosing me and loving me through thick and thin. 

#lately

A little glimpse of our life lately... in #hashtags... because isn't everything more fun with incomplete sentences?

#quotes #seminar #army #yellowribbon

#austin #texas #love 

#nature #walkswithdaddy #kentucky

#haircut #curls #selfie

#wewearredfriday #yellowribbon #remember #merica #soldiers

#warriordashkentucky #mud #mykidswouldntletmetouchthem #strong 

#visitors #family #friends #leaving #600miles

#ducklips #avoidinghernap #goodthingsheiscute

#cousin #deck #summatime #bikes #cute

#family #goodmen #generations #sweet #appeasingthewomenfolk

#twins #cute #avaandlilly #fountain #kentucky

#momma #kisses #fountain #pleasedontgetmyhairwetmomma #lillyquotes

#misskelly

#besties #coffeemate #kentucky #woodfordreserve #loveher

#bestbuds #poppop #woodfordreserve

#barrels #funpics #awesometour #woodfordreserve #kentucky #bourbon

#justbecause #heisakeeper #headphones

#nature #siblings #dontgetwet #okaygetwet #kentucky

Yes He Does

So today my girls decided they didn't want to nap. 2 hours of trying and I finally just told them to get up. Whatevs. It happens. But then of course, they WERE tired and they went from one thing to the next... driving me just a bit more towards insanity. Fighting, spilling (aka- intentionally dumping drinks on the floor), screaming, crying, temper-tantruming. You know- normal tired 2 year old stuff. 

And then...

I had a weak moment. 

They broke me with colored bubbles. OhmygoshCrayola. I hate you. My carpet and knees hate you. The grout between my tile hates you. And did I mention- mykneeshateyou. Please take your spill "resistant" bottle & SCREAMIN' GREEN somewhere hot. Also, whoever gave me those- don't ever admit it. I might share them with you. 

::Enter:: Momentary freak out.

As I threw MY threenager tempertantrum... my girls repeatedly told me, "it's OKAY momma!"

I assured them it is definitely "NOT okay"

As I threw out my "not okay's," Malakai pulled out the big gun...

"But Jesus still loves you, Mommy."

Oh man. Kicked in the throat by a 4 year old. 

::deepbreath:: Yes He does.

For the Journey

Only a few short weeks ago we packed up all of our stuff & headed to Kentucky. As confident as I was /am that this was/is absolutely the right thing for our family, I was left with a big fat hole in my heart. The feelings of loneliness and sadness that filled my heart kind of took me off guard. Thankfully, I had people speaking truth to me AND the assurance that this IS the right thing. "bloom where you're planted. bloom where you're planted. bloom where you're planted." Okay! But how??? I felt lost. And forget blooming- I just wanted my coffee partner back.

This past week Michael left for his first week of pre-deployment training. I felt pretty anxious before he left but after the first night, I knew something had to give. I had to stop living in self-pity & get things together. Starting point? Get-in-the-Word. And just in time for a brand new study, I hooked up with #shereadstruth again... "Women In the Bible Part II" It helped. A lot! I was able to fill my journal with truth instead of songs of sadness. That's not to say it completely ended my complaining but at least gave me a refreshed perspective.

Enter Sunday morning. I have been really praying for community. Friendship+. For just a brief moment, I looked around the sanctuary and wondered when it would feel comfortable again. When I would walk in and remember people's names... Have connection with them besides just hearing the same sermon that week. It seems weird to even be admitting this... but surely other's have felt this way before. And it isn't so much a feeling of if I would make those connections but when. I don't know, it's all just so weird. And the sermon was all about God as Father. Our perfect father who cares for all our needs.

Fast forward to the afternoon. I began writing some of my thoughts down to clear my head before I got into a devotional. I had skipped a couple of days so I started on what should have been Friday's devotional. Quickly, it became evident that God was showing me- I AM his child. He really does care about me and all my needs. He WILL provide everything I need and more than I could ask for. As I began to read about Elizabeth, the mother of John the Baptist, I was encouraged that God brought Elizabeth & Mary together for a significant part of their pregnancies. During this, what I can imagine to be, difficult time in their lives, he brought them together. Mary to help care for Elizabeth & Elizabeth to impart wisdom & I can only imagine how my they just enjoyed being on the ride of their lives together.

Click this image to read the devotional post

So here I sit, praying for vision, connection & purpose. And I am confident that the Lord who made the way, will continue to lead me & guide me. In this, I have peace & joy looking forward to what is to come.

And here are some (unrealated) Playing in the rain photos :)

'Murica

That would be Lilly taking a gutter shower- ew.

**Small edit- I want to make sure to mention that there ARE in fact wonderful friends & family here in Kentucky. Please, KY peeps, do not think I do not value or cherish my relationship w/ you all <3 **