Hudson and growth hormones

 Hudson has been taking growth hormones for about 7 months. In the 9-ish months between the top and bottom pictures, he has grown tremendously! He has gained about 4lbs and has grown about 4 inches!! We are so thankful they are helping our buddy!

Momagenda

  People often ask me how I stay organized with 5 kids. To which I'd say I am semi-organized.  Really it comes down to discipline. You can have all the resources and tools, but unless you determine to use them, who really cares? You'll often see me shoving, er ushering, my kids through the doors on Sunday. Anna Kate has the most spastic hair, so it will often be a hot mess. There may be some mac n cheese stuck to a shoe and Smith will most definitely have some spit up somewhere. I have long since let the perfectionism go. Probably left it around kid #3. However, I do have somethings that may be helpful to pass along. We have 5 kids ages 7 months to 7 years, so we are bound to have stuff. The key to keeping me sane, is that all of their stuff must have a spot and that spot must not me in the living room, kitchen, or dining area. I purge stuff a few times a year. The saying, "Less is more", rings very true in our family. Structure your day. Whether its TV time, play time, school time, or rest time, structure your day. At times I have rebelled against structure, mainly because of pride and the mentality that I can do it all on my own. Nah, the brain is overloaded. Everyone functions better with structure. It provides security and safety. Not rigidity, just structure.

The Beach

We took our first family vacation to Navarre Beach this year and it was a great trip. Hudson did send me into a panic attack when he started vomiting on the way down, but thankfully whatever he had stayed with him and only lasted 12-24hrs. We also went with Ronnie's parents and it was super helpful to have them there to keep an eye on all of our munchkins! So let's recap in photos:

The first experience

Being a " Yes" mom

I used to be fun I think. Now, to make this Parrott ship run, I've noticed myself becoming more structured and less carefree as the years go on. It's not necessarily a bad thing. Organization, structure and discipline are all good things that should be encouraged. There are 7 of us and if we didn't have the above mentioned, I'd be flat out crazy. :) Lately, I've been doing my best to say, "yes" when my kids get a random whim, within reason. It has paid multiple dividends and has been fun for all of us. So here are a few things we have done in our " yes" category:

Painted marshmallows with food coloring and milk

Ronnie tried to get Jack's tooth out with string and a golf swing. It didn't work.

Indoor camping

Staying up past bedtime 

Playing in the rain

Throwing things :)

Drama Queen

Believe it or not, when I was in high school I played two sports. The first was softball and I played at second base. The second was cheerleading and I was the captain during my senior year. Blah blah blah, people say cheer isn't a sport, but I beg to differ. I remember one basketball game in particular we were playing a rival and the score was neck and neck. The opposing team had a player that kept making dirty moves and getting away with them. Our school was fired up, we were all cheering, and on the inside, I was plotting. After our team won, the crowd went crazy and tons of people ran onto the court. I'm not sure what came over me, but I found that 6ft something guy, walked up to him, and shoved him down to the floor. I think the only reason he fell down was out of pure shock that this obnoxious cheerleader just took him out. I told him he was a turd and walked away. real mature, huh?  

Cereal

Someone tried rice cereal for the first time this week. I just wanted to see what Smith would think before we dive in in a couple weeks. I can't believe it's almost that time ago. He was just too cute!

Sugar and Spice and Everything Nice

Anna Kate is our little Mama...

     She loves helping others. It's in her nature that God designed. She genuinely loves to help and then loves to get the praise of a job well done. At this point, I'm thinking words of affirmation is her love language.  She loves to leave notes on Ronnie and I's mirrors. She is so thoughtful. This is obviously God's grace, because at age 3 I thought we were going to throw down :). I remember calling a mentor of mine and asking for advice and thinking Lord help me. She said just wait... around age 4 things will change. Sure enough, things did change.  Of course, she has her moments, we all do. She's got a little sass and its kind of cute...for now.
    However, I am loving this season with her because she is so fun. It's fantastic having a girly girl in the midst of all these crazy boys! She loves ballet, music, and all "cute" animals. I can already see the hand of God taking root in her and I'm so thankful.  We pray Anna Kate has a tender heart for Jesus and others.

Smithers

    Smith sometimes gets called, "Smithers". Poor thing, but it's really cute when Anna Kate says it! Smith is 3 months old and could not be any sweeter. He's been sleeping through the night for several weeks now and we are loving it. Sleeping through the night in the Parrott house is a minimum of 8 hours. He loves to be talked to and He loves talking back. He eats every 3 hours during the day and nurses for about 10 min at each feeding. It's crazy how fast he is. He is SO laid back. I even asked the pediatrician if he sleeps too much. He is our first child to be on the upper guidelines of sleep. Can I get a hallelujah?!  However, he is also the first to hate tummy time. I guess he can't be completely perfect.

The musings of Silas

Silas, aka the wild bull, is our fourth child. He came out with finesse and hasn't failed to disappoint.  He loves planes and trains, cars and balls, and pretty much does the exact opposite of what he's told the first time ;). He is hilarious. He marches to the beat of his own drum. I'm going to want this crazy 2 year old stage back, I know I am, but today he's giving me a run for my money. I'm told he's "normal", but I have my doubts. Ha. Today he decided to color on the van seats and I asked him,
"why?" He just said, "because" and shoved 2 cheese puffs in his mouth and walked away. I hear the song, "I'm the man" by Aloe Blacc in the background.

Follow up on Hudson

Hudson had his MRI this past Friday. I was so thankful to be able to go with him this time, since last time I was pregnant with Smith and couldn't go. Hudson's spine MRI came back normal and we couldn't be more thrilled! Again, thanks to the stellar radiologist, we found out right then and there. Major props to him for being so kind and  helping us be able to have a peaceful weekend. Now, we are just waiting for the neurosurgeon to review his brain MRI and spine MRI and decide if in fact she even needs to see Hudson.  She is going to give a yay or nay on something called Chiari Malformation.  You are more than welcome to google it . I really have a peace about this either way today. So for now, we are continuing Hudson's growth hormones. He wants to be basketball player when he grows up, and I am going to be his biggest  cheerleader!

What do we do when God doesn't meet our expectations?

My heart has been wrestling with expectations of God lately. It seems that's a theme amongst others I've been in contact with as well. According to my expectation of what I thought God should do, I should have my own syndicated court room drama on the CW. Can't you hear it, "Judge Marci"? And yet, here I am. I'm in Arkansas, a pastor's wife, with 5 kids, ha. Seriously, though, what do we do when we feel like God has dropped the ball? I have some specific instances that I prayed for, was sick over, and still did not get the outcome that I expected.

One of those was my sweet neighbor's daughter, Abigail. She was born premature, fighting for her life. I remember waking up at all hours of the night begging God to intervene and give her life here on this Earth. And, yet, she has been in heaven for 2 years. I've prayed for God to not send a diagnosis of down syndrome to a friend's daughter, I've prayed for healing for a little girl's traumatic birth injury, for cancer to be gone, for certain jobs. I expected my 5th child to be a girl, but I'm loving on the chunkiest and cuddliest baby boy. I fully expected God to hear my prayers and give me exactly what I asked for. Sometimes, it just doesn't go according to my plan.

Little Guy, Big Gift

If you haven't noticed, our 3rd son, Hudson, is on the short side. We have done numerous genetic testing, blood work, and X-rays to see why he has fallen off the growth chart. Finally, in January 2014, we did a MRI of his brain. The results came back that he has something called an ectopic pituitary, which to our understanding means that his pituitary gland never formed completely in my womb. There is no known cause, just something that happens. The treatment for this is growth hormones. We honestly were relieved to finally have answers to why our little buddy had been growing so slowly since he was about 15 months old.
   

Tulsa Thursday

It was the kids' spring break week so we wanted to do something fun. We did not make an overnight trip this week because we are going on a few trips between May and August. So we headed about 2 hours west to Tulsa. None of us had ever been before, so it was fun to see a new state. We went and ate at Ted's Cafe Escondido and it did not disappoint. They also serve complimentary cheese dip and sopapillas and both were scrumptious.

All in the name of love

I'm not really a romantic. I consider myself of a more practical person. Every now and then, it's nice though. I love it when Ronnie leaves me random notes or cards. When he surprises me with a manicure or cute pair of shoes. It's just sweet and fun. It's definitely harder to be romantic towards a guy. What do you buy? Golf balls, ping pong paddle, cologne, coffee? I seem to recycle the same gift ideas over and over. Ronnie has been talking about this coffee cup that he has really wanted from Onyx for a few weeks now. I thought that maybe this would be a fun surprise.... until I found out it was $22.  For some that's not a big deal, for frugal Marci, I basically just laughed. I'm the one who has a tough time paying $8.99 for the one from Target.  Anyway, Ronnie has been super sweet to me and I really wanted to do something nice. So I gritted my teeth and happily obliged and bought him this to-go cup. I left it on his desk for him to get as a surprise when he returned to the office. I will admit it is fun to bless others and I always like to see the joy a little unselfishness can bring when I get off my agenda. So without further ado, here is the cup:

Let's try this again

I am absolutely the worst blogger. I've tried, seriously. For whatever reason, blogging and I just have not clicked. However, I'm getting a smidge older and I cannot remember all the details of this life that I would like. Therefore, I am going to attempt to chronicle them here.

Smith was born just over 5 weeks ago. I cannot believe it. He has gained about 4lbs in these 5 weeks, and he is just over 10lbs. He was our smallest baby, but has quickly caught up to where his siblings were at this time too. People ask me all the time what age gap I prefer or I think is easiest. I really don't know. This has been our longest stretch between babies and it has been super sweet so far. It's been interesting to see the kids interact with a new sibling and show their different personalities. Some have already asked for another baby. I attribute this to Ronnie brainwashing them. : )