This is a Test.

Let's see who actually reads my blog.


I'm pregnant,




but don't tell anyone ;)

Deep Thoughts from a Little Girl

Sometimes I forget Chloe is a child. Though she is my oldest, and just turned 6, she is truly a child. A child with a very old soul. Her sweet, compliant personality often hides the depth of her thoughts. Thoughts that, in this mamma's opinion, are too heavy for someone so small.

Friday night, I was out for the evening so Daddy was in charge. This is not so uncommon as to cause me concern, but uncommon enough that I called when I was on my way home to check that everything had gone smoothly.

Tony said, "I had an interesting conversation with Chloe." This can mean a lot of things. She often asks really bizarre things. She often asks really silly things. More frequently, she asks questions that blow our minds. Tonight was one of those nights. Since Tony is her preferred source Biblical information, I rarely get the questions that would bring me to a puddle of tears. This is good for everyone.
She first asked him if we were all going to die at the same time. (Reminder: This is the child who wanted to ask Jesus into her heart, but wasn't ready to die. It took us about 8 months to make her understand that asking Jesus into her heart wasn't a death sentence.) Daddy said that he did not know for sure, but that we would likely not all die at the same time. She then asked him who would die first.

Now, this is not a conversation that I would want to have with my 6 year old, but Tony's strength is answering her questions in a manner that will be honest, but not frightening. So he explains that likely Chloe will live longer than Mommy and Daddy.
Then she brings out the question that still brings tears to my eyes. She asks him, "Daddy, if we don't all die at the same time, how will I know how to find you when I get to Heaven?" Tony simply explained that she need not worry because when she got to Heaven we would be waiting for her, and God would work out all the details. The perfect answer from a great Dad.

Touching His Heart

Now that I am homeschooling Chloe, we spend lots more time together than we ever have before. (That is a little embarrassing to admit.) And because preschool has not started for the other two, we are all spend a lot more time interacting. We do not have a lot of extra time for videos, swimming, or playing. We are on a mission now.
One thing that I love to do with the kids is sing. I have always like to sing, and now that I have kids, I like to sing with them. Like me, the kids also enjoy to sing. And like me, the kids mess up song lyrics terribly. When singing the song Burdens are Lifted at Calvary, I used to sing "Jesus is rarely here" instead of "Jesus is very near." I believe that Jesus laughed in Heaven, knowing that He made me with this special gift of joyfully singing incorrect lyrics.
Well, He has blessed the children as well. Chloe was delightfully singing Final Destination which refers to Heaven. She was belting it out in the backseat. I turned down the radio, which I often do so I can enjoy their singing, and I realized something. The happy, praising words coming out of Chloe's mouth were "Final Desperation." Oops!
Camilla, nearly 2, has also gotten caught up in our singing. I smile as I hear her singing "Jesus Loves Me" knowing that our Saviour is pleased with her sweet sound. Then, Carson and I taught her Open the Eyes of My Heart. Taking after her mother and sister, Camilla sings "I want to see me" instead of I want to see You. The more we tried to correct her, the louder she sings me! Now we all sing along with her.
This song must have struck a chord in her little soul because she messes up another section in a way that I am sure pleases her mind and our Lord. Instead of singing "Holy. Holy. Holy." - a term that no doubt doesn't register in her brain- she sings "Hold Me, Hold Me, Hold Me." - an expression that brings her comfort. As I contimplate these mistaken lyrics, I wonder if Jesus doesn't have a huge smile on His face as this small child sing what He ultimately wants from each of us- the desire to be held securely in His safe arms.

Time at Home and then Back Home (man-his is really long!)

The kids and I spent two weeks in Illinois in June. In theory, it was a vacation. In actuality, it was an exhausting time of travel that I would do again in a heartbeat. Tony was unable to take much time off so he drove us to Illinois on a Friday, and then flew to Atlanta on Sunday. Then two weeks later, he flew to IL, and I picked him up at the airport.(and he got the easy end of the travelling madness)

The kids, my parents, my brother, his wife and I went to western Illinois, for a day. (This is Milla and Chloe at Culver's during a pit stop.) Then the kids and I went to central Illinois for the weekend. Then we came back home (my parents' home) for a week.

I must say that it is odd going home. Anyone else feel this way? I suppose it is like going off to college, and then coming home, but since I did not do that I cannot say. First off, I still call my parents' house home. I've been told by super holy people that I shouldn't say that. That home refers to where my husband and children live. My first thought- spare me. That is home, too. After we left home in Illinois, we drove to home in Georgia. They are both home. Has nothing to do with leaving and cleaving. Again- spare me!

It is odd though. What is even stranger is going back to the town you recently moved from. We went there for a few days. Wow- it was almost painful because it too, looks like home, but it no longer feels like home. The kids also seemed unnerved by this place that was home, but is now just a big city that has a Target and some (formerly?) dear friends we don't see very much anymore.

Equally strange is spending time with your in-laws without your husband. My in-laws are fine people, but in my brain they are ultimately my husband's parents. To my kids, however, they are Grandpa and Grandma, and they need to be visited when we are in town. So much so that Chloe had a running tally of the amount of time that we had spent with each set of grandparents. She later sat me down to explain that it really isn't right that we spent so much more time with Grandpa Bob and Grandma. She is going to be a great daughter-in-law some day. I tried explaining that those are Daddy's parents, and if she wants to spend more time with them, she should convince Daddy to take more time off. She looked at me like I needed to grow up and understand that Daddy cannot take time off whenever he feels like it. She is going to be a great wife someday. She is such a traitor.

The kids are also old enough that they want to be with cousins. This is a tough one for me to wrap my brain around. I'm not a play-date kind of mom. Well, I am not the call-the-friends'-parents-and-arrange-a-play-date kind of mom. I am certainly the sure-my-kids-can-come-over-and-you-bring-them-home-when-you-are-ready kind of mom. I found myself calling the sister-in-law and setting up time for the kids to get together. This led to cries of please can we spend the night. That is foreign ground to me.

In my brain, 5 and 4 is too little for a sleepover. And most of the kids' friends' parents agree with this. (I think that secretly none of us want to spend that much time with each other's kids, but it may just be me.) However, this is Aunt Tricia's house. That is a whole 'nother situation.

I still don't want them spending the night at people's houses. It is more work for people and I fear that the kids might not behave. I don't want them grouchy the next day. And then there is the Nervous Momma's Mantra- predators, burglars, and fires, oh my! So, I decided that, no, they could not spend the night. That really didn't go over to well. Not only were my kids crying like I had run over their puppy, the cousins weren't very happy, and I think Aunt Tricia took it personally. If nothing else, I confirmed my role as Uncool Aunt and Mom and Sister-in-law.

Finally, Tony returned to set the world back on its axis. Uh- not exactly. Camilla, my one true, faithfully clingy child, turned her cute little back on me. She refused to let me hold her. We went to the pool, and all she wanted was Daddy to hold her. I felt like Hell must have frozen over. This child, who clings to me to hold her closer, even at the grocery store, wanted, of all people, Daddy? No. No! This isn't' right. She is supposed to want Mommy. So I sat her down and explained to her that Mommy had spent all this time with her, being there for her, nursing her for almost 13 months of her 22 months of life. She looked at me like I needed to grow up. Daughters these days! (wonder if my mother is secretly laughing at me, believing that I got what I deserved for all those years of devoted service as Daddy's Girl.) I have to admit that it was kind of sweet watching her love on Daddy. I can say that now because she has come back to me!

So after two weeks of negotiating friends, family, and rain (did I mention all the storms we drove through- yikes!), we made it back home. - well Home in Georgia.

Things Are a Little Different Here . . .

Well- as some of you may have noticed- the blog has gone public. I'm not sure this is the best idea, but we are going to give it a try.

Kindergarten Honors Day

Today, Miss Chloe celebrated her Honors Day. They were told to wear their "Sunday Best," and she looked darling in her red Christmas dress. That is the joy of living in the South- your Christmas dress can also be worn in late May. Each of the five Kindergarten classes processed into the gym, and took their spot on the risers. Of course, Chloe was on the yellow risers. The yellow risers were the only ones blocked by the large blond hair sitting in front of me. I was able to scoot over enough to see her smiling face. The 5 classes sang a few songs: The Color Farm, The Math Macarena, The Whole Globe, and a soft little ballad I could see David A. (from American Idol) recording. She did a wonderful job- as much as I could hear her for the rather boisterous gentleman on the red risers.


Mrs. Joanne called Chloe's name to receive her "diploma." As Chloe pointed out to me later, "Said said my name wrong. She said Amstootz." Dear Chloe, when your last name is Amstutz you will just have to get used to that. Marry wisely, my child!


Along with her diploma, she received two additional awards. First, she earned her 10 AR points which means she read 20 books and got 100% on all of the quizzes for those books. She also completed all 22 word lists of sight words. (and received the much prized cake!)


The only award she did not receive was Perfect Attendance. I surprised myself. I am one of those parents, because my first thought was, "those are the loser kids who have nothing to do, but go to school." Followed shortly by, "that is where Chloe got those stomach viruses- from the kids who never stay home." Ya, I'm going to need to watch myself, or the next thing you know, I'll be bribing the music teacher to give her a solo.

The Poop Cometh . . .(and other assorted updates)

Well, I have been told that I need to be blogging more. I still don't think my life is particularly blog-worthy, but we shall see. And I am confused. Do blogs use formal English rules, or can I use contractions? Where are the blogger judges? Oh well- I will keep the contractions to a minimum to keep Dad happy, but leave some so I do not drive myself crazy editing. Fair enough . . .


So today was a big day at our house.

First up, Chloe Marie has only one more word list to complete. For those of you who aren't (are not) familiar, word lists are lists given out by Kindergarten teachers to determine whether or not you work with your child at home. They also help teachers to determine whether or not you looked in your child's folder. Of course, they do not (don't) tell you that is the purpose. The announced goal is to help your child read by having them memorize words that aren't phonetically pronounced. The list includes the words "I" and "ten." I must not understand phonics, but those are phonetic to me. Nevertheless, she had 22 lists of 9 words to learn over the course of the year. Of course, up to last week, she had 10 lists completed. So, with 15 days of school left, we had to have her memorize 12 lists. Today, she completed list 21. One list left. The excitement of it all!!! If she gets all the lists, she gets a cake- her true motivation. Stay tuned!

Today was also Carson David's last day of preK-3. It went well. His teacher cried. I cried. He asked if we could go to McDonald's. Men!

The biggest excitement of today was the result of Baby Milla's handiwork. Well, not exactly HANDiwork. She pooped in the potty while we were at McDs. She has been asking for weeks, maybe months, to go on the potty. I haven't (have not) felt it necessary to give in to those demands. She is still little, will be two in August, and quite honestly, I am LAZY.

I hate potty training. I just think it is the grossest procedure. I was waiting to potty train Chloe, but Tony was concerned we would have to to go Prom to change her, so I relented. (okay- that is an exaggeration) Took me THREE long, damp years to get it done. (that is not an exaggeration) I wasn't looking forward to jumping into it with the Baby. (ya, I can't believe I am sentimental about that, but I am.)

What changed today? My laziness won a battle with my laziness. I was standing in line to get some Cinnamon Melts (try those- worth the calories)when I noticed Camilla had that look on her face. You know the I-am-gonna-poop-so-my-eyes-kinda-glaze-and-my-eyelids-look-red look. My laziness was conflicted. I didn't want to deal with taking her to the potty, but the diaper bag was out in the van. AND- it was raining. I didn't want to run outside in the rain to get the bag to take her into the gross bathroom to change her on the floor because they have no changing tables. So, I took her to the potty. And the little princess that she is got up there and went poopy. Just like a professional (if there were such things as professional poopers)

I clapped. I cheered. She smiled. She clapped. She tried to stick her hand in the potty. We washed our hands and got out of there.

Yes. I'm a proud mama. Someday, my kids will change the world, and I will smile proudly. Until then, I will stand in the gross bathrooms, and cheer and smile at a job well done.

More of Easter

Not to be outdone my his beautiful sisters, Carson looked equally handsome (but less photogenic) on Easter!

Easter!!!!!

Well-it was 75 degrees and BEAUTIFUL on Saturday, March 22. So, we took pictures of the kids to guarantee we would get some nice pictures. Sure enough, Sunday morning it was barely over freezing, and, we were all COLD. Still, we were able to search for hidden Easter egss, and had a great day together!

Chloe Marie

Here is the darling Chloe. She just got her hair cut. Now with 5 inches less hair, she is looking far older than her 5 1/2 years. She continues to be the little Mommy and loves here siblings!

Carson David

This is Carson D. The little man turned 4 on March 13th. He loves school, and all things Cars.

Camilla Rose

This is baby Camilla. Also known as: Milla Rose, Milla Rosie, Rosie Toesies, Milla Zilla, Roz. As the baby, she is currently loving being the center of attention of everyone's worlds! As Carson says, "Camilla is the boss!"

Add us to the list

We now have a blog. I think my limited tech knowledge is going to become clear soon, but thought this might help us stay in touch better.