Addison's Rapping Debut

Well, at least our banner at the top of the page felt a little more realistic today.  I got up this morning to brave the streets to meet a client at 8 that had texted me she wasn't coming and I didn't see it.  I passed like three wrecks on the short drive to the gym and it was very slick!  Fortunately, I got there, everybody else cancelled, and I turned right around and went back home to my family in bed.  The only bad part about it all was that no clients means no money.  So the situation was met with very mixed, extreme emotions.  I was glad for the day off, but that was also $75 down the drain.  Oh well.  

It's been a good time around here.  Lots of laying around instead of the million things that needed to be done.  We had some meltdowns, attitudes, and spankings mixed in there a little but overall a fun day.  As I was making pancakes from scratch for dinner tonight I heard the sleet coming down outside and it sounded like crackling glass on the window pane.  So cool.  And looks like tiny glittery crystals.  We'll see how much is on the ground in the morning when I go to my class at 9:30.  

So here's this video... this is the kind of thing we do for fun.  This is one of the kids' current favorite songs to listen to in the car.  Addison has almost nailed that rap, so I just had to catch it on camera.  He was not as animated as usual, though.  He just kind of stands there and sings, but he does bust out some karate dance at some points. Cadence had us laughing our heads off because she kept dancing and trying to stick her bottom out to the camera.  Unfortunately, you don't see it a lot on this clip. For some reason that song called for a lot of bottom shaking- something she does well.  We'll have to watch that one :)  So, enjoy your Pate fix tonight.  We are off to play a mean game of Trouble before Addison goes to bed.  

And The Honor Badge Award Goes To....

My precious husband.  He is having a quite a weekend, and it's only Friday morning.   I teach a class at the gym at 8:15 on Friday mornings, and then I had a Pilates client after.  I left the house with Cadence snuggled in bed with Chris because she pops out of bed between 6:45 and 7:30am every morning ready to go.  In the course of the couple of hours I was gone, the following drama unfolded:

Addison wakes up and goes to get in bed with Cadence and Chris.  Addison and Cadence begin wrestling in the bed (a common occurence) and Cadence is under the covers.  Cadence proceeds to kick Addison in the mouth, causing the already loose front tooth to come out.  (ironic, because we were just discussing at lunch yesterday how it needed to come out)  Addison has lost only one of the five teeth he's missing naturally.  The other four have been forcefully knocked out in two different dramatic events, both of which I have somehow happened to miss completely (= Chris handling alone).  Blood all over the bed and screaming child.   Chris takes the comforter off to wash it and cleans the mess.  Sends Addison to the bathroom to clean up with the water running and leaves briefly to do something.  While washing his hands, Addison has to go to the bathroom very badly.  He cannot reach the water to shut it off.  He somehow reasons in his mind (and who knows how his mind works sometimes) that it's more important to stay there and try to get the water turned off than to go to the bathroom.  He can hold it no longer and has an accident, standing next to the toilet, trying to turn the water off.  The accident is on the bathroom floor and Cadence walks in at that precise moment, slipping on the now wet floor and falling in the bathroom floor.   Chris walks back in to two screaming children and another mess to clean.  And it's only a little after 10:00am.  Bless him Lord, bless him.  

And I have a training this weekend and I'll be gone the rest of this day, all day tomorrow, and a few hours on Sunday.  And Chris has three messages to prepare for Sunday, one of which the main service.   I believe that Chris is employing and overworking every single fruit of the spirit there is to muster... Just having the kids all weekend is enough in itself!  My prayer for him is this : that His grace is sufficient; that His power is made perfect in our weakness. (my paraphrase)  We are both coming to the absolute end of ourselves these days.  And also coming into a new strength at least I never thought was possible.  I suppose we have finally emptied enough to allow perfect strength to step in.  I guess I thought I was running on all eight cylinders all along until I ran out , was thrust suddenly into full throttle revealing I was only really on about six.   Amazing really.  It's a place I've never known and am loving.  The only problem is that we can't take one step without Him or it all falls apart.  Probably a good place to live.  

Peace and power to everybody trying to just do what they do today....we shall see what the remainder of the weekend holds.  

Processing and reflecting

Well I didn't really intend on starting the blog and walking away from it all week without at least a funny story or something.  This week is almost a blur.

This mommy's world is getting rearranged, therefore the family's world is getting rearranged.   It's actually very amazing and a "Thank You Lord" thing.  When I first started Pilates, I figured it would take a substantial amount of time to build up to the 15 hours a week I committed to in the beginning.  At the beginning of the week I had two clients and three hours a week.  Since the grand opening (in which I was at the gym for 10 hours straight) last Monday, which was a huge event and success, I now have 5 clients and 9 hours a week.  Add to that my 6 hours of Group Fitness I do, and I'm well on my way to what my full schedule is going to look like.  Just thought I'd have a little more time to adjust and get used to the change.  But it's such a blessing because not only is it a light at the end of the very long, difficult financial tunnel and an answered prayer, but I don't even consider it work because I enjoy it so much and love the opportunity to help people change their lives and be better.  I guess it's very much a job since I'm going to be working about 20 hours a week when it's all said and done.  And still being with my babies (which we both have always felt so strongly about). Still blows my mind.  God's plan, timing, and favor are worth the wait.

That being said, I'm feeling a little overwhelmed right now juggling that, school with Addison, potty training Cadence, church, leading my weekly life group, somewhat keeping up with the house, and Chris and I keeping our relationship strong.  And Chris is having to make adjustments of his own- things like having to learn how to do Cadence's hair (which Addison informed him he's not very good at) and graciously step in and take a bigger role at home with me being gone some evenings and early mornings.  Which he has already been doing and has been amazing, it's all just getting a little more intense.  But we praise God for it and know that everything in our life right now is ordained and planned by Him, therefore there is a way to make it all work and flourish in it, and the unbelievable power of grace to walk it out.  We're seeking Him like crazy!

Outside of our new schedule, the sum total of our little world can pretty much be defined in one phrase: Potty training.  It consumes us!  The (mis)adventures of this process with Cadence has been interesting to say the least.  She is doing a pretty good job, but she has this little issue:  she's afraid...no, horrified, of her own poop.  I guess it is a pretty scary thing if you think about it, especially for a two year old.  So we are having a very hard time getting her to go on the potty because she freaks out screaming about it and repeats over and over "We gotta flush it real fast..."  We are definitely ready for it to be done and big girl panties in place!  Debunking the poop monster myth has been a challenge, but I know we'll all laugh about it one day.  One day.  Not so funny for now... I made some spiritual parallels about potty training on our life group blog I have.  It has been a test of patience for both me and Chris, which is probably why it's being drawn out... knowing how God works like that :)

Our precocious and pensive son is going along for the ride.  He is currently going through a surprising stage of being very shy around people.  We didn't really expect that, but he is getting increasing self awareness so he's working through that.  He won't speak to anyone he doesn't know well- something new.  We saw our first glimpse of it at Bryan and Jenna's wedding when he was the ring bearer.  He freaked out at the rehearsal and almost couldn't go through with it. Not a manipulation or attention getting game- real and genuine fright.  But it was an amazing opportunity to talk to him about being afraid and how God helps us through that and we can go to Him.  He listened and agreed, but I wondered how much he would really take it to heart and believe God would give Him courage.  The day of the wedding, Chris asked him if he needed to pray with him so he wouldn't be scared.  He informed him that God had already helped him and he didn't need to pray about it anymore.  And that's all there was.  He did his job and was a different kid.  What I loved about the whole thing is that He gave God the credit for not being scared anymore.  His mind didn't reason it out and eventually decide that he was just better- he simply took us (and God) at our word and His word that His power helps us do things we feel we can't do.  A sign that perhaps his very literal and black and white way of thinking and processing will be an advantage for him in the things of the Kingdom.  Hopefully, with prayer, guidance, and building a biblical worldview, he truly will just take God at His Word because He said so.  And it's that simple.  I will do everything in my power to see that is not complicated and jaded by the things of this world.

I promise I will not always have such lengthy posts- I just needed to process some things since I scarcely had time to even think this week.  I forewarned you that this may lean towards a little self-indulgence at times.  I actually kept it pretty brief compared to everything floating around in my head right now :) It's very theraputic for me and sometimes writing things out helps put things into perspective for me.  And I have a feeling I will constantly be needing perspective with the pace of our life.  And potty training.  And I leave you with this...

(A song from our DVD Potty Power- "No more diapers for me.  I'm gonna use the potty, gonna give it a try.")

Welcome!

So I've been thinking a lot lately about how I'm already starting to forget some of the things I don't want to forget when it comes to my precious little children and family.  With this in mind I've decided to go cyberspace and document our little daily adventures.  The kids are constantly saying or doing something to make us smile, cry, laugh, pull our hair out, or think (mostly the full gamut on a daily basis). I look at the sparatic times over the years I've written some of these things down and I'm immediately drawn back into those moments.  Or I look at pictures (something I'm actually good about doing) and it reminds me.  But the pictures don't tell the whole story.  The little people in those pictures were in stages doing things we thought we'd never forget because at the time they were so much a part of them and became identified with them.  But there's this phenomenon called time that steals away our babies and replaces them with toddlers, children, adolescents, and then adults.  Okay so I'm only in the toddler and child part but even that has happened faster than my mind can wrap around and absorb everything I want to from it.

Thus, this blog.  I'll admit, this is mostly my own self-indulgence and quest to preserve our family stories.  And though I'm not expecting a large audience that would actually care much about our little space in the world, I did think in part when coming up with this idea about a small circle of people who we love a lot and love and are entertained by our children as much as we are.  And so this is also for you.  To bridge the gap in the miles and attempt to pull you into our living room as we're laughing and living.  And if you're new to the blog-o-sphere, there's a link below all the posts where you can leave a comment and give us some feedback.  I'll also be putting a link on here where you can subscribe by e-mail.  We'll see what happens.  I do know one thing.  In the Pate house, there's always a story to tell.