The Combs Krewe

Happy half-birthday, Piper! I can't believe she's 6 months old today!

I'm thankful for Thanksgiving. That we have a certain special times throughout the year when "real life" is forced to stop and recognize that there are more important things. When we sit mesmerized by gigantic balloons floating through a city hundreds of miles away. When we celebrate abundant blessings by seeing how much food we can fit on a paper plate. When we visit with people we only see once or twice a year (or decade) whether we like it or not. ; ) When we reminisce about simpler times--times when we were smaller and the world was bigger yet some how vastly less scary. When our hearts recognize those loved ones who are missing and, perhaps, appreciate those still here a little more. Friends and family and food and blue skies and no worries and Charlie Brown Thanksgiving on TV and tucking tired kids into bed and pulling the cover up over my cold toes and being able to go to sleep content knowing that God loves me. Thank You, thank You, thank You.

I'm thankful that know one cares that I'm combining days because I've been so busy and too tired to write at the end of the last few days. = ) Monday Jathan finally got to see his cousins. Ha ha. I laugh because he talks about his cousins so often and had only really met one or two of them when he was a baby. Then then the night that we got here we ran into some of Jackie's cousins at Cracker Barrel and they had their little ones with them so I was like, "Look, Jathan! Your cousins!" Then Monday we visited with Jackie's brother and niece and great nephew. Jathan and Ryland were both just thrilled. Jathan is definitely thankful for cousins! Wish we got to see them more often. Yesterday we went to another flea market (my favorite) where you can always find good cheap junk. Mom and Dad treated me to a new antique table and the cutest old yellow egg basket as well as a scarf and another big ole' ring like I always wear. The boys got more toys. (!...

For the record Keeleigh and I planned on going to church today but we got out-voted and ended up at the flea market instead. Would it be bad of me to say that I was glad to be there? I definitely miss seeing a lot of people from our Alabama church but it is nice to get to poke around at the flea market and find some treasures. I'm so thankful for my mom and dad , who have made their living at the flea market for 20+ years and who definitely spoiled me and their grandkids there today! I think Jathan's nana bought every toy he touched as well as some shoes and a bag of cotton candy. I got a couple of pair of name-brand pants for $2 (!) a piece, some make-up, some new perfume (Bloom by Reese Witherspoon smells like honeysuckle!), a cell phone case, and some delicious popcorn. Keeleigh also got some make-up, some super cute new shoes, a new ear ring, and a cell phone case. Ryland got some new toys and Piper got a hat and some hair bows. Keeleigh and I could have bought a WHOLE lot ...

Today I'm just thankful to have made it to Alabama in one piece. The kids were GREAT travelers. No one cried a bit, not even Piper. The only trouble I had was being so incredibly sleepy. Last night was kind of rough. I sort of waited until the last minute to pack and Piper wanted to be held. A lot. And the boys stayed up later than I counted on. Anyway, it ended up being midnight before I laid down then Piper got up at 3 to eat and Ryland woke up at 5 then went right back to bed. I wasn't able to go back to sleep, however, so I laid there tossing and turning until Piper ate again at 5:30 and Keeleigh rang the doorbell at 6 (she'd been at a lock-in). Fast forward to our trip. Warm car + road noise + really tired Traci = fighting sleep for 450 miles. I actually dozed off at one point and the van started to veer off the road! But, thank God, we made it! Thank You, Lord, for Your hand of protection over us today! After we arrived we got treated to a Cracker Barrel supper--yea...

Tonight I am up late packing for a trip to Alabama and straightening up the house. I've washed two loads of clothes and am about to wash another dishwasher full of dishes after cooking three meals today. I've given three kids baths and gotten one kid out of the bath after he jumped into his brother's bath fully clothed (guess who?). I've done all of this alone because this morning I dropped Jackie off for his trip to Israel. I was missing him before he even left but I'm so thankful that he had this opportunity. I can't imagine the things he'll see and learn; it really is a once in a lifetime experience! It was a blessing that the seminary offers this trip for such a low price and also a blessing that God provided in a very special way financially for us to be able to pay for the trip. Tonight I'll be lonely in our bed and I'll be waiting anxiously for his next text or call to hear that he landed safely.  But all the while, I'll be thanking God ...

The SWAP shop is a wonderful on-campus ministry. The "SWAP" stands for surplus with a purpose. People (anyone--on campus or off) donate clothes and other items including food and people can come in and choose whatever the need/want free of charge. It is a bit like a free Goodwill store; there's often A LOT of stuff and if you have the time and visit often you can dig through and find some great stuff! Since we've lived on campus, I've visited the SWAP shop. A lot. Not only has it met many of our needs (and wants), I believe it also serves as a sort of "retail therapy" for the ladies on campus, without the big cha-ching at the cash register, of course! We've gotten almost all of our children's clothes (and mine now that I think of it!) from the SWAP shop. We got our fabulous purple couch at the SWAP shop. We got Ryland's car bed (that match Jathan's which we bought off Craigslist) from the SWAP shop. We got Jathan's little TV at the...

Did you know that my family's income is below the national poverty line? It's true and yet we live in a nice apartment which is comfortably furnished and delightfully decorated. Tonight we'll sleep in that apartment and we'll be safe and warm (or cool, rather, since its still warm enough to run the air conditioning). Our closets are full of nice clothes and the boys had to clean up their toys several times today so that no one would trip over them. We have reliable transportation at our disposal any time of the day or night. Jackie is able to drive to work without worry. Today I used our van to drive to the grocery store where I chose several meals for our family---diverse, easy-to-prepare, healthy foods. We can prepare those foods with clean running water and will probably throw away left overs. I'm able to communicate these things to you right now because we have high-speed Internet. Even if we didn't, I could call you up on my cell phone or Skype with you...

Late last night I logged onto Facebook and saw that one of my friends had posted a grim status update: her 6-week old nephew had died earlier that day apparently a victim of SIDS. I absolutely cannot fathom losing a child. I get sick to my stomach just thinking about the possibility. I told Jackie about what had happened when we were out walking later last night. I told him that it made me not feel so bad about Piper waking up so often at night. It was as if she somehow telepathically heard me and decided to put my commitment to having a thankful attitude to the test because she woke up at 12, 2, 3, 4, and 5. Each time I went to her crib and gathered her little body next to mine, I thought of that poor mother who was likely awake with grief and suffering from breasts full of milk for the child she'd never nurse again. I wished I didn't need sleep and could somehow hold my precious baby all night. Piper finally slept just as it was time for me to get up. And she's slept ...

Last week Piper experienced her first stomach virus--a milestone I'd rather put off for a few more years at least. She was a little trooper through it, however, never so much as crying! The next day Ryland got his turn at the battling the bug and was, like Piper, a happy puker who could throw up then immediately resume playing. After a full day without sickness, I thought the rest of us had dodged it but then one evening Jathan started complaining that his stomach hurt. It was so crazy. He had played all day long just fine and then just said very matter of factly, "I need to go throw up." And he did. It's been another day and no one else has gotten sick. I'm hoping and praying and begging and pleading to God that the rest of us will not catch this bug especially since we all have travel plans at the end of this week. And especially because I'd pretty much do anything else in the world besides throw up. Going through sickness even one so small as a random s...

I am thankful for a hardworking husband who has a job! Yesterday was Sunday but Jackie was scheduled to work so we stayed home from church. I'll admit that I am always sad on Sunday-workdays and sometimes even a little resentful but I have to remember that there are so many people who aren't blessed with jobs right now. And this job truly has been a blessing to us. When we moved to New Orleans, Jackie didn't have a job lined up and he put in at least 10 applications over the first month with absolutely no reply. Then one day I wanted to check out Educator, a school supply store I'd heard about, and buy some flash cards for Keeleigh since we'd be homeschooling for the first time. Educator is a little bit like heaven for me; I could spend a million dollars there buying all of the workbooks and educational games but I'm pretty sure we left that day with only the flash cards and a job application. See, in the window they'd displayed a "Help Wanted" s...

She is 12 years old going on 30. She is the epitome of the term "free-spirited." She sings opera in the shower and can ride a bike with no hands and her eyes closed. She can beat all the boys at football at PE. She has her own style and isn't afraid to show it off. She dances for His glory. She can stand on her hands. When she laughs everyone laughs with her. Sometimes I look at her and my heart aches for the years past when I didn't always know what a treasure I had. She is growing--I get to see her maturing a little each day, growing not only in stature but also spiritually and mentally. What a treat it is to sit across from her each day and see the wheels turning in her head! She is the prettiest mad scientist I've ever seen. She is artsy and crafty. She is big sister  extraordinaire! She bickers and complains but without a doubt she loves and that love is returned.  She holds them close and asks for hugs and kisses. Sh...

It was chilly when I woke up this morning! I'm so thankful for sweater weather (finally!) and a hot cup of coffee. I'm also thankful for petite pants--if you're not short, you'll never understand! = )

I'm thankful for friends just one flight of stairs away who welcome my children in with open arms. I'm thankful that my children love them and their kids so much that they ran right in and never looked back. I'm thankful for a night out with my husband (and nursling), for an impromptu visit with friends experiencing the first weeks of parenthood, for blooming onions and steak with mushroom sauce, for strawberry lemonade, and for a cooing baby that makes everyone in the room swoon. I am thankful to get to come home to children who had a wonderful time and couldn't wait to tell me everything they did just as soon as I'd torn them away from their playmates. And I'm thankful that Mrs. Ashley sent home brownies with the children. (That sort of sets the standard high for babysitters, huh?) : ) Thank You, Lord, for this wonderful life!

Today Keeleigh called me into her room excitedly. She had a big orange balloon in her hand and said, "Look! The light is passing through it and it's just like our eye. The image is upside down on the other side of the balloon." Indeed it was. And this made me so excited. I am a big-time homeschooling advocate. I love it (98.5% of the time). I believe in it but I don't always believe in myself. Sometimes when the doctor asks Jathan how old he is and he replies, "I don't know," I leave out that part about us homeschooling. Sometimes when Keeleigh sits staring at her language book for an hour claiming to have no idea how to form simple sentences, I wonder if it's me. Am I screwing them up? But then! Then we have glorious moments when they see science inside of a random balloon! There was also a shining moment in math the other day when I understood the rule but not the concept behind the rule (it had to do with decimal place value). Keeleigh and I s...

The first time we visited campus for preview weekend we toured the apartment building where we would be living. I could have cried (I might have, can't remember). It simply was not what I was expecting. It was small and felt cramped and I couldn't imagine it being home. That first visit I had my eye on a different building. One setting on the street corner near the middle of campus with a cute little playground out back. Benches flanked the playground and moms sat talking watching their children play. I even took a picture of it! That building is now my building. When God blessed us with Ryland, He also blessed us with the opportunity to move to a bigger apartment. We have absolutely loved living here. Here we have the room for a school room, somewhere to store the dishwasher, a private balcony where I can grow my plants, and double the living space of our old apartment. We also have a playground right outside our door and now I'm one of those moms hanging out on the benc...

God is great, God is good, Let us thank Him for our food... Yes, it's Monday in NOLA and I'm thankful for red beans and rice! It is one of my favorite meals ever. Click here for a look back at how I make it.

I am so thankful that I've gotten to be a part of my church family. We became members at First Baptist New Orleans a few months after we moved here and I must confess that I didn't really want to join. I just wasn't feeling it and didn't know why Jackie was but he was certain that's where God was leading us and I trust his judgment completely so we went for it. That was almost 3 years ago and over the past 3 years it sure has grown on me. This morning I sat in the pew looking around at all the people around me. There's no way I'll ever know all of them and their stories but they are beautiful to me none the less. I love the diversity: young, old, and in-between; red, brown, yellow, black, and white; rich, poor; dressed up, dressed down; fancy french twists next to purple dread locks; hymns and electric guitars. We all come together, blending perfectly into a picture of worship. I love the heart that these people have for the city and for the world. Nev...

Tonight I am thankful that LSU and Alabama are playing each other. I'm not a football fan--I really could care less about it--but I am a big fan of my husband who is an Auburn fan. So an intense game between two Auburn rivals is a good thing because no matter who wins the other team loses. It's a win-win situation really and makes for a happy house and fun time around the TV tonight. = ) Plus there are nachos which are always something to be thankful for! Ha, ha.

I'm thankful for stolen moments like tonight when at 8:30 it was quickly becoming apparent that there would be no bike ride. The three little kids were awake (though one was crankily making his way to bed after a no-nap day) and Keeleigh had asked to have a friend spend the night. It has been a few days since Jackie and I have gotten to exercise together, something that we try to do every other night. For me it's about so much more than exercising, it's about having a little time alone doing something just for the two of us. Our lives are so busy right now. I take care of our kids, homeschool, and manage the home and piddle around with my crafting addiction  hobby and Jackie is taking a full load of masters level classes while working 33+ hours a week. It's a lot and when you have professors and bosses and children demanding all of you it sometimes seems like there's not much left to give to each other. By 9 p.m. only one child was in bed. I asked Jackie, "Wh...

Today I held Piper on the couch and she made it known that she was ready to eat. Now that she's older, she hugs me and her little mouth searches around making the cutest little excited inhale/exhale sound until I oblige her.Then her little body relaxes and half the time her eyes close as she prepares for her mama's sweet milk. Other times those big beautiful eyes lock with mine and I sit in silent awe of this amazing creation. It was then that I knew what I'd write about today. I am so very thankful that I'm able to nurse my baby. I am a huge breastfeeding advocate. It is without a doubt the best food you can feed your baby. The health benefits are innumerable. Breast milk helps to protect your baby from everything from SIDS, disease, and infections as infants to cavities, obesity, diabetes, and allergies as older children and adults. Studies have even shown that breastfeeding your baby can help them have fewer behavior problems as children. It simply produces healt...

I was really hoping that today I could write about how I was thankful that the three little kids took a 2-hour nap all at exactly the same time or maybe how Keeleigh finished all of her schoolwork in record time and asked to do more or maybe how a maid service stopped by and said I'd won free cleanings for a year. But guess what? None of those things happened. Not even close. In fact, pretty much the opposite happened. It was nearly 9 o'clock before we got up and going this morning and after 10 before we even started school. Our first subject--language--took forever because we had to make a preliminary outline for Keeleigh's research report and that involves writing--Keeleigh's least favorite thing--and I'm a mean mama and made her write in cursive. Plus I had to be really involved in helping her so I tried to get the boys to play in their room while Piper slept but all they want to do is be with us. They ended up sitting at the table doing school, too, until they...

I was inspired today by a friend  to celebrate 24 days of thankfulness. Another friend  is going to do 30 days of thankfulness but I figured I should start slow. ; ) Last night was Halloween and the second night of Trick-r-Treating for my kids so, needless to say, we have a lot of candy. A lot of GOOD candy. Not a cheap bite in the whole bag. Nope. Chocolate candy bars and peanut butter cups galore! Do I ever wish I'd dressed up. Don't laugh! I'm short, and I believe that with the right mask I could totally pass for a kid. Eh, there's always next year. But this year? This year I'm THANKFUL for a certain sweet-spirited little boy who peers into his bountiful bag and brings me Snickers and 3 Musketeers saying, "You like these, Mama?" (Is it wrong that I think it's funny that he refuse's to share with his daddy? Ha ha!) He's so often my little ray of sunshine--the one to come up to me with a hug and an out-of-the-blue "I love you". T...