New Developments

We've been extra busy around here, I wish I could write more, but I have a bunch of laundry to fold before school starts this morning. Here are some pics I've been wanting to post. They're all out of order, but you get the point:

Young Warriors Christian Academy

The boys are starting at a new school next week; the previous one wasn't working out. They will now be attending Young Warriors Christian Academy. There's only one teacher at the school and she loves the children as if they were her own...because they are. I am so glad all my babies will be home with me full time again. I'm already loving the lesson planning and brainstorming I've been able to do; what an honor to teach my babies! The boys have already been learning pledges at their current school, and we are taking this opportunity to add one more to the list.

"I pledge allegiance to the Christian Flag, and to the Savior for whose Kingdom it stands: One Savior, crucified, risen, and coming again with life and liberty to all who believe."

"I pledge allegiance to the Bible, God's Holy Word. I will make it a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path, and will hide its words in my heart that I might not sin against God."

"I pledge allegiance to the Ripley Family, and to the Lord above. Where Mom & Dad direct me, I will follow and obey. I promise to honor God and Family, for the Lord ordained it this way."

"I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."

I will post pictures once our classroom is put together...my goal is to have it finished before Thanksgiving, so I can put up the Christmas decorations around our school stuff.

Back & Forth

Mommy dilemma: so I'm back to teaching a two year old about sticking with his choices. Vince and I were making a PB&J sandwich and I asked Anthony if he wanted one. He said, "No." I said, "are you SURE you don't want a PB&J sandwich?" So he finished his crackers, saw Vince eating his sandwich, and decided he wanted one. The tough guy in me says "NO" but the mushy mommy in me wants to give him one. I think I'll just make him wait a while and give him another chance to have a sandwich later. I welcome suggestions from moms & dads who have been there!

A Tribute to "It's Debby with a Y, Dammit!"

This was the title of a college paper my mom wrote about her long time best friend. I was a tween (back in the nineteen hundreds we called it "preteen") when mom went back to school, so I made it my business to insert myself in her school work. I remember the paper better than any novel or story I've read. By the time Mom wrote it, we had been living in Illinois for five or six years and it had been that long since we had seen Aunt Debby. They met when we all lived in San Diego; she and her kids, Shanna and David, became our family out there. Even after all this time, Shanna and I were just talking on the phone and marveling at how we all still consider each other family.

In the paper, Mom eloquently told of how she and Aunt Debby met at the bank of mailboxes at our apartment complex. She described the outspoken, decidedly candid woman she met there that day: the woman whose confidence and frankness came to influence my mom's once quiet and reserved disposition. Debby unabashedly corrected people who dared misspell her name, with a boisterous, "It's Debby with a Y, dammit!"

Mom has always said that Debby never knew a stranger; this was one thing they either had in common from the start, or Debby rubbed off on Mom in a significant way, because it's a long-standing family joke that Mom makes friends wherever she goes, even when she's supposed to be doing something else. Just last month Mom helped me travel to Georgia from Illinois with all three of the boys. We stopped for gas and found we had a serious snafu with the canvas luggage bag on the roof. Before I even finished assessing the situation, mom had recruited a seasoned trucker to secure the package for us and save a bunch of money in the process.

For the past month or so, Debby has been bed-ridden, plagued with a fatal brain tumor. She finally let go last week, just after her birthday. Her kids were at her side, she was surrounded with love, and she peacefully breathed her last as her family sent her into the arms of God. My heart aches for Shanna, David, their beautiful families, Debby's mom and sisters, and my own mommy, whose life-long friend left far too soon for our comfort. But I trust that not even a flower withers before God's timing, so I know that He who knitted her together in her mother's womb on His timing and in His will, also drew her into His arms on His own timing and in His own will. Of course this doesn't help us not miss her, or help us not want to hug her, or not wish she was still here to warm us with her incredible laugh (oh, how she could laugh! She had the most beautifully uninhibited laugh I think I've ever heard).

So, today, as her family and friends celebrate her life, I celebrate with them. And I am grateful for the boldness, the outspokenness, the unwillingness she had to simply keep her mouth shut when she saw an injustice of some sort, or when she knew you were about to make a mistake. She didn't hold back. She didn't just sit and "tisk" and watch you do the wrong thing. She was true to herself, and she was true to her family. She was a mentor to my mom, to me, and to countless others, and I will forever be thankful to God for my Aunt Debby.

Chocolate/Front Lean and Rest

Some of you may have noticed that from the time Vincent started talking, I have been training the boys to say "Yes, Ma'am" "No, Ma'am" "Yes, Sir" "No, Sir." They know to say it if I correct them, but usually they forget to do it the first time. So....I came up with a little "game" for Vince. I told him about it as if it were a new game, all excited and happy. So here's how the game works:
If Vincent says "Yes, Ma'am" or "No Ma'am" on the first response, he gets a piece of chocolate (one M&M or a little square from a Hershey bar...something like that). If he says, "Yeah" or "sure" or "no" or "NO!!!!" he has to do a Front Lean & Rest, which is the push up position. For several years I've been looking forward to the age when I can use Physical Fitness as a motivator, and it has arrived for Vince! I'm starting him out slow: he doesn't have to do the push up, but he has to get into position for 5 seconds. The only problem is, he enjoys doing that just as much as he enjoys the chocolate!!! He thinks it's fun! What a nut. He often catches it before I do, and jumps down into the Front Lean & Rest, and says, "Count, Mommy!" Then he gets back up and gives the answer the right way.
Now that we're in the South, everyone says "Yes, Ma'am" so I'm hoping it will catch on quickly. I told him the game counts even when we're talking to other people. Soon I will extend it to include being polite and not shying away from people when they talk to him. I find it rude for him to ignore adults when they're taking an interest in him, trying to engage him in conversation, and he chooses to "hide behind my skirt." It's one thing for a two year old, but Vince is past the age of this behavior being acceptable.
Anthony is not interested in the "game" at all. Well, I take that back: he wants the chocolate every time Vince earns one, but he refuses the Front Lean & Rest, so he doesn't get to participate.
Silas is still too cute for physical labor. :)

We've Moved!

We are all together in Columbus, GA! Dan is doing another year at Ft. Benning, so here we are! We now have two houses for sale (that's about 2 too many in my book!), and we are living in a lovely apartment off-Post. One of these days I will take some pictures. We are enjoying the weather, the scenery, our new home, and the peaches. I have eaten anywhere from one to three peaches each day so far. I can't get enough! We had a lizard in the house the first night we were here. That was a bit much. Other than that, we are adjusting well and having fun. While Dan was here the past year, he attended a local church, so we went there yesterday. We all felt very welcome and very blessed to be there! I am looking forward to participating in the book club (we'll be reading Same Kind of Different as Me, which I have started several times and haven't been able to find the time to read it all); there is also a MOPS nearby, as well as an Army Wives group at the church each week. Hopefully with those, plus preschool for the big boys, we will get plugged in quickly.

a little something I'm playing with

I'm still working on my settings on the little point and shoot camera I have, but I had this really sweet idea for a photo. It's not quite right yet, but it's close:

Home again

He's home! We are so thankful to be a complete family unit again. Welcome home, Dan.

"That's How He ..."

Vincent and Aubrey were discussing Silas's toy use yesterday. Aubrey asked why Silas was chewing on it, and Vince was trying to explain it to her, but it went something like this: "He just likes to chew on some things, Aubrey. Because that's just how he..." He seemed to be at a loss for the right explanation, so I interjected, "Vince, I think the term you're looking for is 'rolls. That's just how he rolls.'"

Injuries, illness, and general mischief

Anthony and Silas had Pink Eye in May. Very sad. Silas just had a very mild case, but Anthony's was pretty pitiful looking. I had to cancel a much anticipated winery tour to stay home with him. They only get sick/needy when I have big plans; they are usually such low maintenance kids!

For some reason Silas's crib became the hottest hiding spot in the house.

They love all shoes...even Nora and Anna's.

At first it just looks like a messy room, but Anthony has begun to throw out all of his goodies from his crib at night...including his pants and diaper, which he is looking at in this photo. I have since reduced the number of stuffed animals and switched him to "Little Keeper Sleepers": PJs that zip up the back and have a non-stretchable neckline.

First scrape of the summer, presented by Vincent

Anthony felt the dry erase board was not enough surface to color on, so he started with his body. Notice the mural in the background from another day...all my walls are colored.

This one is a little embarrassing, because it seems like this would have taken a long time to build up, but I SWEAR I just looked behind the couch a week before this pic was taken. My kids eat A LOT of generic NutraGrain bars, so it didn't take very long for this massive pile of wrappers to accrue.

Silas meets the Hartmans

Silas finally got to meet the boys' Godparents at the beginning of May.

Jacob and Vincent

Me and Val

Dan and Lacy with our precious Godchildren

Sam & Val with their crazy Godchildren!

Cousins! All present and accounted for...even if they are all over the place.

Big developments

Silas is growing so fast. I'm so glad I get to be home to see each new development as it comes. At his 6 month check-up the doctor was pleased with his progress and growth. Here are some milestone photos of my littlest man.

This is right after he rolled over for the first time, 5 days before he turned 3 months old.

Silas was my #2 date to Matt & Holly Danler's wedding.

Eating cereal for the first time at a little over 4 months old.

I have a very similar photo of Anthony as a baby, except Anthony fell asleep with a toy in his mouth. This was during Silas's short-lived thumb-sucking stage.

Chillin in the exersaucer, watching his brothers play. This exersaucer has served all three boys and is still in great shape. A wonderful gift from my former MID-CO coworkers!

Sitting up for the first time the day he turned 5 months old



"This little piggy went to market..." Silas grabbed Cori's foot and I could have sworn he was going to put it in his mouth! I love how she's just sitting back, relaxing, like "That's right. Entertain me, dude." They are great buddies!

Singing to mommy

Screeching to mommy :)

The Ripley Boys Visit The Farm

We visited "The Farm" last month. This was the boys' first trip to see the Lutton family in Ellsinore, MO. My Grandparents lived at "The Farm" as long as I could remember, and now Uncle Mike and Aunt Judie live there. Uncle Wes and Aunt Suzette live "next door" (for you city folk, that's actually about a quarter to a half mile away). The boys had an absolute blast, and they have been going on and on about it ever since. Judie is such fun and the boys loved chasing bubbles in the kitchen. I have such fond memories of playing under my grandma's feet in this kitchen as a little girl, so it was all I could do not to melt down watching them have such fun in the same kitchen, around that same table.





We went over to Wes's house and checked out his animals. There were sheep, goats, cows, chickens, bunnies...the boys were overwhelmed with all the fun! Vince tried on some farmin boots, and Aunt Suzette even had some of her boys' toys around for V & AJ to play with!






You'll see that Uncle Wes is holding a chicken here. He let the kids pet it, but somehow I didn't get a pic of it.




Needless to say, they are chomping at the bit to get back down there!