I'm Gonna Miss This......

Right now my kids are almost 15, 13, 11, 9, 4 and 2. My house is like Grand Central Station. There is never a quiet moment, never a second when some one doesn't have some sort of issue, need something etc. There are never just my kids here......they are extra teenage boys digging in the fridge and extra little girls trying to hold Zoe like she is still an infant....chickens running all over the yard, people in and out. The door must open and close about 100 times a day. Each kid must call my name 100 times a day....mom this and mom that. They hug me, all of them......they say I love you mom. Cassidy is a total goofy comedian with some sassyness like I have never seen, Zoe is into EVERYTHING, but says I love you mom about 1000 times a day. It takes all of us and then some just to keep up with her. Bronwyn is sweet and sensitive, yet a little drama when she needs to be, and Pres is my little mama who is more like me than anyone. She loves to read, she loves people and talking......cooking and sewing. Clothes and helping those in need. She especially has a heart for her Savior. Jarrod has come a long way.....he has recently become a mama's boy. Lots of what can I do to help, and hugs and love for no reason. He is getting into that pre=teen thing where he is doing a little testing here and there, but it's so minor. And he is so cute I don't even care! lol Richard has changed a lot this year. First year in school, going in as a Freshmen, playing football, went from being homeschooled and with me all the time to rarely seeing me at all, He is such a good person.....down to the deepest part of his soul he is good. I miss having him here.
I am going to miss the noise that makes me crazy now. I am going to miss being needed as they become independent more and more. I just pray that I can be the kind of mom that is here always, in the background when I need to be and right there ready for anything, cool enough to talk too.
When Richard was an infant, i would hold him and pray a prayer over and over again. Lord please keep us as close as we are today forever....let our bond be deep and our love be strong always. God has been so faithful.
I don't have an infant anymore....and I don't know God's plan, but it doesn't look much like I will probably have another. I already miss those days, I will treasure these.

Cassidy's Follow-up Appointment was today :)

Today we traveled into the city again to see Mrs. Denise for Cassidy's follow-up. This is a two hour appointment where she goes through her head looking for slippage and re-tightening.
Our loctician said Cassidy's hair is locking up really quickly!! She was being super silly today and here are some pictures of her goofyness!




Ipod helped for a bit, then she started singing and dancing and getting goofy....all the girls were so entertained by her today. What a hoot!
Hair looks great! 4 weeks we go back and then we will see where she stands for length between re-tightenings. But, her hair should be pretty close to locked by our next appt!! Whoo HOoo!!!

Fall is coming to a close.......

And I have no idea how I am going to get all the pieces of leaves out of Cassidy's hair!!
But it was well worth it :)

Today marks the "fall back" in time, the beginning of Nov....Christmas right around the corner. Finances have been strange to say the least since Terry started his business..and we hit an all time low recently. By the grace of God, we are pulling out and I just know we will be stronger on the other side...The season reminds me of change, and I look forward to lots of wonderful changes here at home in the coming months. All thanks goes to my Savior who carries me through the storms of my life and shows his mercies upon me....and who's love I see in each one of my childrens faces...enjoying His creation, here jumping in the leaves..reminding me they don't need everything, just each other and Him :)

~HALLOWEEN~

Cassidy went out as a "baby" for Halloween. Just to a few houses really close by :)





















Presleigh as "Little Red Riding Hood"





















Zoe being Zoe















And of course an updated loc picture :)

Bad Mama

I went against what was told to me and added some Taliah Waajid bodifing moisture spray to Cassidy's water spray bottle. It is still mostly water, but her hair needed something. So far, I have been doing it sparingly for a few days and I still contine to see budding on her ends and no unraveling or anything. Anyone else use something other than water in the beginning? Am I doing a major no no? Her hair feels and looks great, but I don't want to mess up the locks.
Thanks for any advice!!

Daddy's Thoughts as requested by a friend :)

So I was recently asked what Terry has to say about Cassidy's locs. Let's preface the whole thing by saying that I think I am a pretty typical wife and don't tell him how much everything costs. So his thoughts on the money are skewed a bit, but from what he does know, he says, "It's an investment that will last for years".
He is also a real mans man. As you can see from the very bad picture of him here (he normally doesn't look that rough!!) he is a building contractor and thinks like a guy!! So, I asked him if I could video him talking about Cassidy's hair and he wouldn't do it..but he agreed to tell me what he thinks and allow me to record it :) lol What a dork!

So, he says he likes it a lot. He doesn't understand exactly what they did, but it looks much neater and more organized. "I like how you don't have to spend hours making it look nice for us to leave". He also commented that he likes how she doesn't have to have her hair pulled into tight braids or cornrows all the time. He was always a fan of her afro, and would let her go "Foxy Cleopatera" 24/7 if I didn't have something to do with it :)

In the end, I gather he really likes it. He thinks it is a nice way to encourage her to keep her natural curls....and I love that about him :)

I think she loves him for lots of reasons!

Update Pictues

Cassidy's locs are swelling a bit and coming into their own......and we have been trying a few simple styles :)








Here I just did some twist backs with little tiny clips and let the go free :) Looks cute!

Starting to see some change :)

I am starting to see some growth, change and transformation now after the third wash.
I am liking them more and more. She does wake up looking like a wild woman, but nothing a little bottle of water won't fix :)
Here are some recent pictures of how her hair has been changing......maybe not her most photogentic pics, but some clear shots of how her hair is transforming!!

Cass does her own hair :)

Here is Cass with her cousin Gage huggin' and Zoë with the b-day girl, Gracie :)




Just a few pictures from Cassidy and Zoës cousin Gracie's birthday party this weekend. There is Cass with Mom mom and to the right is Bronwyn, Presleigh, Dad and Cass.