Briget’s Blog

Well…nothing exciting is really happening these days. The kids are all in school. That’s why it’s been quieter around here. YAY!

Elijah, Scottie & Bryce have been in school for 2 months now. Arik & Jamie started middle school last week. They’re big kids now. Middle school isn’t as scary as I thought it would be (for me). I thought they would have a million different classes to go to from one end of the campus to the other. They have 7 periods (one of which is lunch), and they actually only have a couple of classrooms. They only have 4 classrooms (1 of which is the locker room for PE). I was terrified their first day. Seth took them that day…good thing it wasn’t me. I wouldn’t have come home. I probably would have walked them to each class and fed them their lunch. Leave me alone! I can’t help it! Seth told me that he had a hard time not pointing Arik in the direction he needed to go while he was looking at his little map of the campus, setting off to his first class. A teacher walked by Seth & recognized that “worried parent look” and told him, “You have to let him go”. But seriously…I prayed ALL DAY! (I know some of you were praying for them too…thanks!) They came home safe & sound. I know, because I checked them thoroughly! No scrapes, bumps, bruises, emotional distress…They were great. They even met up with some old friends that they knew from preschool through 2nd grade. I wasn’t nearly as worried about Bryce going to kindergarten as I was about Arik & Jamie going to middle school. I mean, I’ve had 4 other kids go to kindergarten. This is my first time parenting middle schoolers.

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Here’s a little incident that happened last week:

Seth had to take the car to work (we only have use of one car for right now), so I decided to walk to the boys’ school to pick them up in the afternoon. I told them that they could start walking home if they didn’t see me right away and that I would meet them somewhere along the way. When I pick them up, I drive to the back of the school andmeet them at the park that’s directly behind the campus. It was pretty hot, but I enjoyed the 1.3 mile walk. (That’s one way. Yes, I measured the distance with the car’s odometer.) I took the dog, a bottle of cold water, and my iPod. When I was most of the way there, I started seeing a lot of kids so I knew they were out and that I should see them walking soon. I got all the way to the school and didn’t see them AT ALL. I already started freaking out!! I looked at the time and it was 2:05, so they had been out for 10 minutes. I used my eagle-eye-mom-vision to look down the road I had just walked, trying to recall what colors they were wearing. Jamie had a red backpack and I couldn’t see it. By the way, I have perfect vision, so I could see down the entire street. The only problem was that there were A LOT of kids. So, I was panicking. I really shouldn’t have been out in the heat anyway, but I need the exercise and didn’t have the car anyway. The heat and stress started giving me a migraine. I felt so sick, I almost threw up on the side of the road several times. (Sorry…I know that’s gross, but that’s how worried I was.) They have never walked home before and they had only gone to school a couple of days, so I started to question whether they even knew their way home. I asked Arik that morning if he was positive of how to get home. He said he was, so I had him explain to me the directions to the house. Sounded perfect to me. So, anyway I was almost running back home and scanning both sides of the street & praying that I just missed them along the way & praying that they were safe.

At one point, I thought I saw Jamie’s red backpack turn the corner toward home, so I had a little hope. As I turned on our street I thought I saw a little movement in front of my house, but I thought it was just the leaves moving on the tree. When I was about two house from home, I saw them! I hugged them and told them I was worried sick!!

They went down the street that’s in front of their school and Arik told me that was the only way he knew to go…even though he explained to me that morning that he knew the way I drive every day. Uugghhh…Well, I felt MUCH better knowing my boys were home and that they were safe, but I was irritated with Arik. When I’m overheated (which I most definitely was), my body has a really hard time cooling down. I was hotter in my house (at a cool 76 degrees) than when I was walking. My migraine was full blown by that time and I was not able to function for the rest of the day. They thought they were in trouble. Poor kids. It was just a horrible misunderstanding. I’m so thankful that they were fine. The worst things started going through my mind. It might seem a bit dramatic, but I am always so worried about my babies. I would just die if something happened to them.

Here’s a little illustration to help you understand what went wrong:

That’s all I have to report. I probably won’t blog again for another month! LOL! The Mother-Daughter Retreat is coming up in 4 weeks!! Scottie & I are SO excited. I’m sure I’ll have a blog to post after that weekend! Hopefully it won’t involve having a suitcase fly off of the top of the car on the freeway (again) and trying to run out into traffic in an attempt to recover some lost items (again), or almost getting into a crash with a semi-truck (again).

Don’t shoot me, but this is about Bryce again.

Here’s where the genius brain his comes in:

He explained to her in detail that he was selling candy and it was $20. Then he retracted his statement and said, “Well there are 20 in a box and they’re $1 each. You can buy a box of candy for $20, or you can buy them for $1 each.” So, my sister giggles and says, “Are you trying to get Auntie to buy a whole box of candy?” Bryce giggles back because Auntie is no fool. (Well we thought not.) He has never sold candy for school and the other kids have never sold candy for school. Where did he even get this idea?!?! My sister is a single mother of two on a very tight budget, so she told Bryce that when she got paid this week she would send him a couple dollars for candy. Yesterday, she went out and bought a little blank note card so she could send Bryce the money. I knew NOTHING of that conversation with my sister until last night. Sometimes they go into their bedroom to talk because it’s usually too loud in the living room. Remember, I never heard a word of this.

Last night, the whole time my sister was telling me about what Bryce said, I was glaring at him. His eyes were locked on mine because he could heard my end of the conversation with her, and he knew he was BUSTED. I didn’t know whether to be really angry or proud of him for his advanced math skills. He’s only 5 and figured out the whole cost of a box of candy at $1 each! That’s no big deal for you or me to figure out, but that is advanced for a kindergartner.

My sister & I had a good laugh about the whole thing. Seth seriously scolded Bryce for lying and trying to cheat his auntie out of money. Of course, Bryce had to apologize and ask for her forgiveness too. He got a good lecture about how sinful it is to lie & steal. When asked why he did it, he said he just wanted a dollar to go to the Dollar Tree. OK..that’s a good enough reason, right??

Well, Auntie decided just to take the envelope she had and send all of the kids some money to buy themselves some candy. We haven’t decided yet whether Bryce gets any of the candy. It IS a gift from his auntie, so maybe he will. We’ll see…What a sweet aunt.

Scottie just shared with me that she has made a profession of faith. She has decided to follow the Lord and ask Him into her heart. When she shared this with me, I immediately stopped what I was doing and asked her exactly what she prayed. She said that she knows she is a sinner and that Jesus died on the cross for her, and that she prayed to be forgiven of her sins and for Jesus to help her stop sinning. She said that she loved Him with all her heart and wanted to be with Him forever and ever in Heaven.

I asked her if she knew what it means to be saved. I asked her if she understands that she has to live the rest of her life trying to honor and please God. I asked her if she understood that she has to hate her sin and always try not to sin and do what is right by God. She said that she understood that. I also asked her if she was sure she was ready to do that and follow Jesus as long as she lives. Her eyes opened WIDE, and she said she was ready. Then I asked her how she felt now. She told me that she was really happy and that she felt funny in her tummy (cute).

Ever since Scottie had the simplest understanding of salvation, she has prayed to be saved. Every prayer included, “…and please let me be saved. Amen.” I have been praying for her (and the boys also) to understand what it means to TRULY follow the Lord.

This is such a touchy topic with me. I grew up knowing many “saved” children who didn’t have the slightest idea what it meant. You all know what I mean. So, as excited as we are that she has made a profession of faith, Seth & I will continue to shepherd our daughter’s heart through building her relationship with Jesus. We will also encourage her to continually examine her heart and actions. It’s touchy because I know that it’s really between them and God. I know that he sees their hearts. I also know that we should be able to see it on the outside.

We have been through his with all of the older boys as well. Jamie has come back from church camp TWICE saying he was saved…yeah…See what I mean? Seth & I have sat up many late nights with Elijah answering questions about the Bible & who God is. Elijah has said that he accepted Christ also. Then he said he wasn’t sure. Then he said he was. I’m glad that he is searching deep into his heart and not just saying “the prayer” and forgetting all about it. Arik is a whole other story. He also has said that he is saved, but it was right after the other boys. I haven’t really seen a changed heart in any of them, except Elijah. So….pray for them all please.

Of course I want all my children to accept Christ as their Savior. I want them all to grow and have a close, personal relationship with God. I want to see them reading their Bibles every day (without being told to). I want to see them respond to their own sin without me telling them to go pray about what they’ve done. Oh goodness…Parenting is hard. It’s amazing to me the the Lord has entrusted us with 5 little hearts to shepherd. We’re really in for it!

My dear friend, Karyn,  pointed out that all of my posts are about only ONE of my children. I do (still) have five of them. I haven’t killed any of them (yet) and they’re all still hanging around here somewhere. If you know Mr. Bryce, you know that he is usually the guy who keeps me on my toes and is usually the kid pulling blog-worthy stunts . Unfortunately, the others don’t do much for me to report. The best I can do (for now) is just tell you a little bit about each of them. So, a time of reflection…..

(12:06 a.m. is probably not the best time for this, but it IS the quietest time around here. I really enjoy late nights (and using parentheses).)

Arik Branton Addison: My main man, numero uno. He’s 11, so he’s the least exciting of the bunch. He’s such an awesome boy. It kills me to watch him grow up! My baby! He’s becoming less & less dependent on Mom & Dad. I know he still needs us, but it saddens me just to know that he can do SO much without our assistance. The Lord has truly blessed us with this kid. I never have to worry about what kind of trouble he’s getting into, what he’s doing behind my back, who he’s hanging out with, ect… (Fast forward into the future: I’m bailing him out of jail because he’s selling stolen jewelry & bootleg DVDs out of his trench coat the corner of Hollywood & Vine, and he stole his Nana’s minivan to get to L.A.) I’m proud that he has developed the ability to make great choices in friends. I hate to use the term “judge of character”. I just don’t like the way it sounds, but that’s really what I mean. So, if you’re my friend, you must be “A-OK” & consider yourself a “chosen one”. No…seriously…I think we have a way of looking into the hearts of people before letting them too close to ours. That’s not always a good thing, but it sure has kept me out of some sticky situations. Arik (& Jamie) is starting Middle School next month…Uuuggghhh, I feel old…so, I’m sure there will be TONS to blog about when that time comes. I don’t know what else to say…HE ROCKS!

James Emidio Addison~Jamie: James was named after his (and all of the childrens’) paternal great-grandfather. (I hear he was a great man, though I never had the pleasure of meeting him. He passed away when I was a 7,000 months pregnant with Arik & on bed rest, so I wasn’t able to meet/visit him before died.) Interesting middle name…I know. Emidio is one of their grandpas (Grandma’s husband after getting re-married. Since I mentioned the other grandpas, I guess I’d better mention Grandpa Wanye too…their natural paternal grandpa. This is getting confusing!). Anyway, this is supposed to about Jamie. Jamie, Jamie…my 2nd/3rd child. What a sweet, amazing, loving heart he has. Never a complaint, always obedient and eager to please. He always has a hug and a big (toothy, cheesy) smile every time I look in his direction. The thing about Jamie…he always AMAZES me. If you know him, you know what I mean. Don’t EVER give up on Jamie! He knows WAY more than he lets on…stinker. My favorite thing about him is his heart…tender, pure…especially when we have our heart-to-heart talks about life. Life before I was his mommy. My other favorite thing is when he (surprise) hugs me from behind and tells me I’m the best mom in the world. It means so much more than when the others say it….you know?

Elijah Thomas Addison:(This is who Bryce is gonna be in 5 years.) Elijah…my other 2nd/3rd child. Mr. Muscle Man. Artistic. Multi-talented. Sweetie Pie. This kid is gonna grow up to be someone important. I think he just might be president one day. Seriously! I was really worried about him when he was younger. He was crazy! Never sat still! Once we discovered his love of drawing and writing, his whole world changed. (Soon, I’ll try to post some of his stories & drawings.) Elijah can write! He adds sound effects to his stories! It’s hard to explain without having an example on hand. (I’ll work on that.)  One of my favorite Elijah moments-A couple years ago for Christmas, we bought Elijah a new Bible. He was so sad that he left his at church camp that summer. Someone had given us a Barnes & Noble gift card so I used it to buy the Bible and we wrapped it up as a gift. When he opened it, he was SO EXCITED! He started to cry, but he had the funniest face. He looked confused. This was the first time he had ever cried tears of joy, so he was really boggled by this emotion. He said that it was his FAVORITE gift (even though he received a GameBoy and some other pretty cool things that year). Seth & I loved seeing the joy he had from receiving a Bible…something other children would have tossed aside for the electronic goods. Just wanted to share that sweet moment. (On a side note: Elijah found the Bible he lost at church camp the next summer. He never came home with it though, because he lost it again…Oh well.)

Scottlynn Rain Addison~Scottie: Beautiful name, I know. But I can’t take credit for chosing it. My 4th. My only girl. Beautiful princess. What can I say about Scottie? She has recently informed us that she is a “tom-boy”. She thinks that she is a tom-boy because she enjoys “non-girlie” things too. I’m still trying to convince her that she isn’t, but I’m not so sure that she’s buying it. She used to be the Ultimate Barbie Girl. I’m not sure that was my favorite phase, but I miss it a little. Scottie always loved playing with cars & “boy things” until she discovered Barbie. We got her a Barbie cake for her 2nd birthday and she was SOLD! She has never liked baby dolls & still doesn’t. (So, just a heads-up. Don’t buy her one for a gift. She would graciously accept it & say “thank you”, but it would never come out of the box.) She actually doesn’t really like babies of any sort. When Bryce was a baby, she totally ignored his existence. I don’t know if she just wasn’t impressed by the little person, or if she actually didn’t like him. She was never mean to him. He simply didn’t exist to her. Last Christmas, someone who loves her bought her a My Little Pony baby Pinkie Pie. She loves My Little Pony, but this one wore a diaper and had a bottle. We ”re-gifted” it to cousin Madi, since it never made it out of the box, and Madi is a lover of all things pony! Scottie is special in so many ways. I had to quickly learn to be the mom of a girl when she came into our lives. It was not easy, I must confess. I just didn’t know how much of my heart to give her (or Jamie). I didn’t know how long I would have to pleasure of being her mommy. Well…she has had it for 8 wonderful years. I have treasured (almost) every minute of it. She’s my sweet, one & only, baby girl.

Bryce Robert Louis Addison~Biscuit: I’m not gonna say a whole lot about him. You can read all previous posts. He’s my baby. Number 5. Bryce will be starting kindergarten in 2 days. Sad Glorious day for Daddy & Mommy. He’s about to lose his first tooth (it’s dangling by a thread). Our little boy is grown up now *sniff, sniff*. He will even ride the big yellow school bus What will I do without a littl’n in the house. Well…I’m not too excitedsad yet. Kindergarten is only half-day. He went to Pre-K last year, so it will be about the same number of hours. I’m broken in a little. I’ll celebrate cry next year when he’s going to school all day. His kindergarten teacher is in for a treat!

Well, that’s all I can give you for now. I’ll really try to keep up with the happenings around here (for those of you who care). I just didn’t want Bryce to be the only featured Addison. Thanks, Karyn, for calling me out on that. I’m a horrible mother You’re a terrific friend for letting me know. I got NO sleep, because I had to write this ridiculous post!! (hee hee hee)

I guess it just doesn’t seem like much happens around here…HA…yeah…right!

Warning! I’m hitting “publish”. Please excuse the misspellings & grammatical errors. I did a quick proof-read, but gave up about half way through. I’ll look it over again tomorrow/today/whatever. I’m super-tired & should be able to sleep now. I really enjoyed the time I took to think about my children individually )

Good night (er…morning). It’s late…I’m sure I’ll sleep well.

“Puppy” is a polar bear once again. Bryce named it Shiver, after the cute little character on the Barbie & the Magic of Pegasus movie. I convinced him that if he wanted to name him Shiver, then he had to accept that the stuffed animal is a polar bear, not a puppy. I know that I now have another hurdle to jump since Bryce loves Barbie movies, but at least we’ve made progress in the area of correcting his stuffed pal’s species.

No word yet on whether the “potty train” reached it’s destination. But us moms know how it takes time, love & plenty of patience to potty train.