My Ballerina

There are several things Heidi Sage adores.

1.  Her tutus.  She has four that her Bebe made for her.  And as far as she is concerned, they go with anything and everything she has on.  

2.  Ballerinas.  All it took was one Angelina Ballerina video from the library and Heidi Sage was destined to become a ballerina herself.

3.  "Bawewina Show".   This is "Symphony Hall" on satellite radio.  She will listen to it all day and dance until her heart is content.


4.  Freestyling.  Her Bebe has taught her a handful of ballet moves (see pics 1 and 2) and Heidi Sage can do them all surprisingly well on command, but my little precious is a free spirit and she spends lots of time making up her own moves.

Halloween Kids

No sweet story...just a couple of cute pictures of the kids from October.  Clinton in his spider shirt that the thinks is "too awesome".  And Heidi Sage in one of her Halloween dresses her Bebe made for her.  Apparently I missed Rex in his Halloween gear...or he didn't have any.  Not sure.  Poor third kid.

I Hope

As I have mentioned, Heidi Sage is very expressive.  I hope she always is.  I hope she always feels free to just let out her excitement.  I hope she always stays so excited...especially about the little things.  Heidi Sage gets excited when I walk out of my room in a dress with make up.  "OH, Mommy!  You so bee-tu-full!"  She gets excited when she sees a flower and picks it for me.  "Mommy, wook at these pwitty flowers I found for you!"  And she loves to play in the rain...  "Mommy, this is so fun!"

I hope I always remember how endearing and heart warming her innocent excitement is.  And I hope some of it rubs off on me.

And I hope Clinton keeps his exhaustingly strong sense of curiosity.  My son asks question after question all day long.  He wants an answer to everything.  EV.  RY.  THING.  He needs to know why, wants to know how things work, needs things to make sense.  He reminds me of me.

He especially loves an opportunity to watch something of interest.  So when our neighbors added an extension to their driveway, Clinton sat outside for hours watching the trucks, the workers, and the entire process unfolding before him.

He made sure to take his own trucks so he could mimic they're every movement.  I made sure to take pictures.

He's Wrapped

...around her little finger.  "He" is Daddy, and "her" is Heidi Sage.  Rodney and Clinton always talk about how they are best buddies...and they are.  They do lots of stuff together.  Rodney loves all the guy things, and surely doesn't understand all the things of the girly world.  But that doesn't stop Heidi Sage from loving him with every ounce of her being, or him loving her.

Heidi Sage has very dramatic responses.  They can go either way.  Sometimes it's a massive fit that she has to take to her "red rug" until she can cool it, but sometimes it's an "OH MY!  That's so bee-tu-full!!!"  Her excitement is contagious and so heart warming...

...and her Daddy melts every time.  EVERY.  TIME.

Sometimes Heidi Sage is sad when she's been left behind.  On this particular day, Daddy just went to the drug store...which sits a mile from our house...and he was just going through the drive thru...but Heidi Sage was not happy.  So she sat and waited.  And waited.  And pouted.  And waited...

...but when she saw Daddy's car coming around the corner, she turned that frown upside down and she ran to greet him.

...you would have thought he'd been gone forever.

...but sometimes a girl doesn't want to be anywhere but in her Daddy's arms.  And sometimes a Daddy can't say no to girl who gets this excited to see him.  Oh, the days he has ahead of him...

Sleeping Beauty

Heidi Sage is a dress-up kind of girl.  She loves things that sparkle, with flowers, or have lots of ruffles.  She loves painted nails, lip gloss, and jewelry.  Don't get me wrong, she jumps right in the middle of all the action with her brothers...but for the most part she is a frilly, prissy, sweet-hearted girl.

Sometimes Heidi Sage struggles to draw the line of when dress up clothes should be worn.  As long as she is happy and feels good about herself, I don't quite care what she wears.  However, the night she informed me she would be wearing her dress up wedding gown to bed, I was worried about how comfortable she might be...but I guess it didn't seem to bother her.

My little sleeping beauty....

Rough and Tumble

I've been contemplating becoming a home designer for people with small children.  Every house will more or less be the same.  I'll start each house with padded walls.  But you can't use fabric, so it'll be some kind of upscale waterproof vinyl.   Something that will wipe down easily.

Next, will be concrete floors.  And they'll all be at a slight slant towards the multiple drains around the house.  And instead of a central vac, there will be central water hoses, so the floors can just be hosed down.

For a final a touch all the furniture will be custom ordered to suit the client, but it will all be in the sturdy foam covered in that soft plastic that is all the rage at mall and airport playgrounds these days.  And I know what you're thinking....what if the kids jump off of the furniture and hit their head on the concrete floor?  Oh....well, they're all going to wear helmets from here on out.

And...as a final hoo-rah, I may even start a campaign to bring back the outhouse.  I'm tired of scrubbing toilets.

Okay, okay....I'm being a bit over the top.  But sometimes I look around my house and I'm just amazed at how much damage these kids can do.  The finish is coming off the kitchen table, my $1200 chair is stained with blue food coloring and the piping is frayed, 3 pieces of furniture plus a wall and rug have nail polish damage, all of my walls are smudged with who knows what, there's a huge dent in the frame of my garage door where... (oh wait, my bad!), there are two interior doors with holes in the backs where the door stoppers went through, I noticed an art project on Clinton's bedroom door recently, two ottomans were tossed that suffered damage from a screwdriver, and need I get started on the 12,000 scratches in the hardwood floors?

Truth be told, I don't really sit and fret over the these things....however, I do refrain from buying ANYTHING new at the moment.  I keep thinking, "We'll wait until the kids are old enough to not destroy that."  And I do often feel like my kids would be better suited living in a gym....which brings me to my next point and set of pictures...

My sister and I always did tumbling.  In fact, we continued right up until we graduated from high school.  I like what it offers as far as working on coordination and things of that nature.  I also like that it gives Clinton one hour a week to act like a monkey.  At least if he knows there is a time and a place for it, maybe he won't be so inclined to do it at home.

He can be really shy, so I've been excited to see him join in with a new group of friends.  I've also enjoyed watching him learn new tricks.  And I love seeing his face when his teacher tells him he's doing a good job.

These are some pictures from the first couple of weeks back in the fall.  I need to take some more now that he's getting the hang of things.  He loves the class, his teacher, and his friends.  So, I'd say it's worth the monthly autodraft that visits my account when I'm not looking.

Showing of his self-taught front roll.

Learning to do a cartwheel.

TRAMPOLINE!  I honestly thinks he goes just for this.

...or maybe it's for the travel tramp.  Both are great fun!

Awesome finish, big guy!

Near perfect landing.

Awww, look at that sweet face just soaking in every ounce of instruction his teacher is giving him.  Don't you wish your child could be as perfect as this picture?  I hear ya...me too!

Picture Perfect Memories. Ha.

My kids LOVE school.  They have especially loved this year.  Clinton has a great tight-knit group of boys in his class, and he really likes his teacher.  And he won't directly admit it, but he's accidentally let enough things slip that I think he may even have his first crush.  But I'm not one to spill the beans.

Heidi Sage is also loving her school year.  She talks about her friends often....always listing all 5 of them by name, then finishing off with Ms. Kell-wee and Ms. Waurwa.  (Kellye and Laura)  She also talks about Ms. Deb often.  Ms. Deb is the music teacher and Heidi Sage thinks music is one of the best things ev-ah.

And while they are enjoying their teachers, their friends, their art projects and science lessons, and their playground time, they did not seem to be digging their first day pictures back in September that I tried to take before we headed out the door.

All Clinton cared about that morning was his Squid.  He wanted to make sure he had it to show to all of his friends.  He wanted to make sure I knew everything about it.  And he wanted to make sure it was in the picture.  And that was only the beginning of our problems that morning...

Yes, son, nothing makes a perfect picture like a giant purple squid and a loud roar.  Thank you for sharing.  Heidi Sage, dear, could you please join your brothers and look at the camera?  No?  Okay, perfect.

Well, Clinton, at least I can see your eyes this time, but Heidi Sage I can't see anything but your shoes.  Could you please come out from behind the curtain?  Maybe we'll get in front of the door...

Rex, you are 3 for 3 so far.  You might just be my favorite.  Okay, Clinton, we've now got a smile...not a good one, but still it's a smile.  Heidi Sage, look over here, please!  Heidi?  Heidi Sage?  Can you look at Mommy?

Rex, you're still doing great!  Clinton still holding that "awesome" smile.  Heidi Sage, why are you crying?  Wait...where are you going?

Wait....Rex, don't leave!  Where are you going?  You were doing so good!  Heidi Sage, what's wrong?  There's nothing to cry about!  We're going to leave as soon as everyone looks at the camera!  Umm, Clinton...still holding strong with that incredible smile, I see.  Awesome.

Whew!  Is anyone else hot?   Mommy's sweating.  Okay...Heidi Sage, look at Mommy!  Rex, turn around, please.  Clinton...seriously, are you channeling your inner Popeye?  Come on, guys, I just want one picture!  ONE.  PICTURE.

YAY!!  Heidi Sage and Rex, great job....you're looking at me.  CLINTON!!!  What are you doing?

Wait!  What happened?  Heidi Sage, Rex...turn around.   Look at mommy!  Clinton, please put the squid down!  Who wants a cookie???  IF you look at the camera, I'll give you a cookie!

Well, that turned some heads.  Now, scoot in and look at me!  Hurry, hurry...before Rex crawls away!

I think we got it!  Wait...CLINTON!  Look.  At.  Me!

And there it is!!  The money shot!  Heidi Sage isn't smiling, Clinton is somewhat hidden behind the squid, BUT everyone is looking and no one is crying.  Hoo-ray!

Okay, just one more!  Smile!  Aww, hell...

Heidi Sage roaming around her class room never looking back for Mommy!  She was off and running from day one and has sailed seamlessly through the year.

And Clinton, well, he's always Clinton.  Gotta love him.  (And, thank you, Ms. Tanya for loving him too!)

I know most people would just show you the one "perfect" picture of all their kids appearing to mind, dressed perfectly, and seeming nothing but happy about the day ahead.  But really, if I only showed you that you wouldn't know how hard I have to work every day.  And that's not really fair to me...now is it?

The Rainy Day Joys

It probably comes as a surprise to many, but we really do have rules in this house.  Not a lot, but a few important ones.  They mostly dwindle down to being kind, polite, loving, and a good listener.

They usually do not involve being super clean or anywhere in the vicinity of quiet.  Occasionally, this creates some self inflicted headaches, but overall it works for us.

Because we don't have a lot of rules about being clean, my kids adore lightning-free rainy days.  They get to splash around in puddles, dig in mud, and just feel the rain falling on their faces.  As a Texas native who is used to the ever present drought, I roll my eyes every time I hear someone complain about too much rain.  I want my kids to appreciate it for what it is.  It's life-giving to our world.  It's a gracious gift from God.  And it's just fun.

I imagine some people loathe it because they are forced to stay inside...but for us, that's not the case...  So we smile, put on our "play" clothes, and head outside.

Fore!

...watch out, it's coming!  I'm determined to get this blog caught up!  If things go as planned, this place will be catch up central for the next few weeks.  I've got lots of pictures...and a few thoughts...to share.  I know you're on the edge of your seat just waiting for all the excitement from the Williams' house.

While scrolling through my iPhoto files, I noticed a batch of pictures I somehow missed from almost a year ago that I must share.  Not because they'll make you laugh or pull at your heart strings, but because this is our family's journal and I want my boys to always know how much their dad wanted to spend time with them.

Since Clinton was born, Rodney has been trying to find things for them to bond over.  This proved to be difficult in the beginning seeing as Clinton's big activities didn't include much more than pooping, cutting teeth, and staying up late.  While Rodney helped with diapers he couldn't do it without dry heaving, he already had all his teeth, and he likes to go to bed early.  So, it was a while before they had interests in common.

Now that Clinton has ventured into his preschool years, he and his dad do many activities together.  They ride bikes, watch Scooby Doo, race Hot Wheels, and on occasion Rodney takes Clinton to the golf course.  I rolled my eyes the first time Rodney suggested this "knowing" it would be a disaster, but with two smaller children in tow it would be a bit silly of me to argue with someone who is willing to take the eldest.  So they went...

As always, Clinton is super stoked for a day out with dad all by himself.  He loves his brother and sister, but he loves having daddy to himself, too.  I was just excited I got him to wear that sweater!  I picked it up at one of the nicer kid stores I rarely visit and was disappointed to find Clinton growling at me every time I tried to get him to wear it.  But when his golf day came up, I told him it was a golf sweater and he had to wear it or they wouldn't let him on the course.  It helped that Daddy was wearing something similar.

Anything motorized makes this boy happy!  I don't even want to know if daddy let him drive.

I love this.  Looking at shots like this make me wonder if we're looking at the next Rory McIlroy.  There appears to be so much focus, intentional form, and interest.  Don't get me wrong, we didn't run down to The Little Course and sign him up for lessons...but maybe a seed was planted.  Golf can pay for college, right?

And doesn't every man need his drink on the course?  I believe his was Sprite.

Of course, while there is excitement about a day with Daddy and a golf course, and some interest shown in the sport, and maybe even a good attitude for a while....the truth is a 4 year old has limits.  So, at some point their cooperative spirit dwindles and their need for a snack controls their every behavior.

When they got home that day I just remember Clinton giving me the highlights of the day with such excitement in his eyes.  Daddy had taken him to do a "big boy" activity and he was all kinds of appreciative, even if he doesn't really know what that means.

I know Rex will be just as excited when he gets old enough to join them.  What will Mommy do when Daddy can take two kids and she only has the princess to hang out with?  Oh, I bet Heidi Sage and I will be just fine.  Just.  Fine.

The Tradition of Bloys

If you've known me for 5 minutes, one thing you know about me is that I love family traditions and heritage.  Last year when my grandmother Peggy died, we lost a true family matriarch who was the keeper of all the Cross-Creech family heritage.  She knew everything about everyone she had ever known within the family.  She took a lot of our family's history to the grave with her because we either failed to remember a story or failed to ask about it.  As we have sat around talked we have found we can piece some of these stories and some of our history together, but Peggy probably knew it better than anyone ever did and surely ever will.

One tradition within our family that she never let go of was our annual participation at Bloys Camp Meeting.  Bloys is a place I grew up going to and my children will be granted that same privilege.  It's not an experience everyone gets to have nor is it one that everyone can appreciate.  It's a week of walking on dirt roads, eating in cook sheds, sleeping on cots on a screened in porch, attending church in an open air tabernacle, and sharing stories on porch swings.  You hug necks you haven't seen in a year.  You let kids run free without fear.  You wear sweaters to breakfast and shorts to lunch.  You see more cowboy hats than ballcaps, and more cowboy boots than UGGs.  

I regret the many years we missed once we got in high school and college.  It seemed cheer camp, summer finals, and jobs seemed to keep getting in the way; but I always knew I'd find my way back.  Peggy was always so happy when she talked about Bloys.  I think it was her most favorite week of the year.  And I can see why...it's a week when time kind of slows down.  Life is more about each other and less about the jobs, houses, bills, and schools left behind.  It's when we just sit back and take it all in.

Little girls get to play outside and get dirty...even in cute clothes.

Little boys get to climb trees and wear their cowboy boots everywhere they go.

Running is allowed everywhere.

Being a cowboy is the norm.

Spending time with Great Uncles is savored.

And loving on grandmas is cherished.

Cousins get lots of bonding time.

And children seem to find a way to act quietly during church.

There's lots of time for the boys to be boys.

And the girls to get head injuries, because they're playing like boys.

But most of all, it's where we share lots of hugs, lots of laughs, and... 

a WHOLE lot of us share two teeny tiny bathrooms.

But we love it.  Since we left in August, Clinton has asked many times when we can go back to camp.  He wants to see his friends.  He wants to hang out with his Hop.  He wants to climb the mountain with his Daddy.  And I just want him to always love it the way he loves it now.  It makes me feel like he'll always have a deep connection to his Texas roots.  A deep connection to family tradition.  And a deep connection to Mama Peggy...because in the big picture he barely knew her, and he'll never truly know what he missed.