Playin' Chess!

I love to write; I really do, and I have really missed it. I can't begin to tell you how busy life has been since Bowen was born, but that is no excuse for letting memories slip away forever. So he is a funny from the other day...
I was upstairs trying to get ready quickly while Bowen (now 2) was by himself downstairs. I was hearing the tinkling of glass. Knowing that could mean a myriad of terrible things, I hollered down the stairs, "What are you doing Bowen??"
"I playin' chess!" his little voice replied.
The best part was; it was true. He had set up the glass board and was "playing chess" against himself. Then he dumped and scattered the 100 toy cars we have all around the house...

Mother's Day Video

In honor of Mel, who pours her whole heart into being a good mother.

Mother's Day

It is Mother's Day. I have a love/hate relationship on this day every year. I always feel so inadequate when I hear all the tributes and beautiful words spoken about mothers. I almost feel like a farce. I love this day though because it allows me to really focus on my beautiful family and nothing is more wonderful.
Carson - Is a responsible and conscientious older brother. He wants to do what is right. I am proud of the choices he makes.
Drake - Finds joy in the smallest of things. If you need a smile; talk with Drake for about two seconds. He is delightful.
Brooks - Is one SMART cookie. He really pushes me to be a better mom. I really enjoy our one-on-one moments.
Bowen - Is the glue of the family. Everyone will do anything for him and when it doesn't seem like there is common ground to be found, he provides that. He loves to play and he loves to learn.
Dave - Continues to lead our home with love while accomplishing miraculous amounts of works, church service, school, and fatherhood.

A copy of the email I just sent:

Hi (teacher's name),

Just this morning poor Carson fractured his Ulna clear through and has a small fracture in his Radius as well. An even bigger bummer is that it is his right arm. His biggest concern is that he has to sit out during P.E. (I didn't laugh when he told me this - but I wanted to) followed by not being able to write and color. Being a mom of four boys I am sure this won't be the last broken bone, but Carson is my guinea pig and so I have no idea what I am doing or what course of action we will need to take for school, etc. Let me know what we need to do.
I will be calling an orthopod first thing Monday so we can get him evaluated and casted. As soon as I know the time I will email you, but for now all I can say is he will be missing some school on Monday.
Lastly, thanks for doing the fun little party at school. That has been a highlight for Carson this holiday season. It was a bit of a rough birthday and Christmas for us. Carson got both the Flu, and Strep over the break. (There's nothing like throwing up at the doctors office on your birthday). He got over his illnesses just in time to break his arm :(.

Thanks,

Melanie Crockett

What's in a Name?

I had to make a lot of appointments and phone calls today. Not one person got my name right. It was pretty funny stuff. The various spellings I had were Melonie, Melony (the most common misspelling I see), Mealnie, and my very favorite...Melliane. For the record, not one of them missed Crockett.
Also, any ideas for raising a quick $7,600?? There is a neat eye procedure out there that will really help me someday but alas, today is not that day.

Halloween

We did the annual trunk-or-treat, plus the usual trick-or-treating this year. Costumes switched between the two events; I guess that is one of the perks of having a big box of dress ups.

 If the above picture doesn't capture the essence of their current personalities, I don't know what does!

Our first official family photo...

... that only took three months.

Bowen's Baby Blessing

Our parents were kind enough to come spend the weekend and take part in Bowen's baby blessing. It was a wonderful day. He had his own beautiful outfit again provided by Dave's mom.

 The whole group.

 For some good laughs, zoom in on Carson and Drake in these pictures.

Bowen's Hair

I figured Bowen's hair was epic enough, it probably needed a post of its own. Without further adiue...

 I promise we haven't combed or groomed his hair to look like this; however, the back looks particularly nasty in the picture above because of some spit up while laying down. I guess I should mention that Bowen is quite a spitty baby. I guess if you can't beat it, then laugh. I would tell you some stories, but I'd like to keep this blog PG or less :).