The Abbi experience

Hannah was really a laid back, quiet, did what she was told type of child. She was so easy. Then comes Abbi, and you had not lived until you had butted heads with a 3 year old. When she started getting around and getting into things we should have known we would be in for it.
From picking up dead horseflies in church for her daddy, putting a lizard in her pocket to go to big church with her, chasing the pastors wife with a frog, and "Going to bible school to shake her booty" we should have known things had began to get interesting in the Holmes house.
When Abbi was 2 she got her first stitches and slept through the whole thing. Then in kindergarten she broke her pinky finger. It was that night at church when we realized something was wrong after we had been to ball practice, grocery store and church. Her finger was black, but she never complained about it. Then in first grade Abbi had to get a stitch in the back of her head because a swing got her. By this time we have transitioned from the parents who take their child to the doctor/ER for every little bump and bruise to the parents who ask "Is this an ER moment or a band aid moment?" It has always been the same, something hurts her and it is ALWAYS followed by the same sentence, "I'm alright!" That's a for sure sign we are going to the hospital.
The accidents haven't been what the Abbi experience is mainly about. Abbi even today is a child that will spend more time trying to get out of doing something than it actually takes to get whatever it was done. From when she was old enough to talk it has been this way. Abbi is extremely smart, but if the TV is on she is in a different world. She has literally walked into a wall watching television. (Now that is blond!)
An amazing thing about Abbi is that she has a heart that is enormous. She had this beautiful long blond hair. I had no intention of ever cutting it. She saw a picture in the paper for a lady donating her ponytail to "Locks for Love" and she wanted to do this in 1st grade. I wouldn't let her, mama just didn't want that hair cut. Well, over the course of the summer she asked a few more times and I gave in the weekend before school started. They cut 24 inches off and donated it. The local newspaper had stopped by and took pictures and that Sunday's paper had her on the front with these large eyes that looked as to say, "What have I done?" Not the case, Abbi was excited to donate it and loved the short hair now.
When I refer to the Abbi experience its her as a whole. Its just an interesting thing how two kids could be so different, Hannah and Abbi, even though they come from the same genes. My grand mother in law said once, "Your first child is a direct opposite of your second. None of them will be the same." She was definitely right.

History lesson 1

I grew up basically an only child even though I have two older sisters and an older brother. They are really old enough to be my parents with the closest one to my age having a 15 year difference. I always that I missed out on having the sibling rivalry that others had and the closest I came to that problem was with my nieces and nephews. Christmas was not a really big ordeal with just me being the only kid in the house. We did the tree, dinner and gifts but that was it for years.
Fast forward a few years, I am now 16 and pregnant. I was starting my own family now. Me and Tim were very young (and dumb) with very limited finances and resources. On December 24, 1990, introducing baby number 1, Hannah Elisabeth. We had said after we had this baby that we would wait until we had enough money before we would ever venture down this road again. Nine years later we realized that there is no way we would or could ever have enough money for a child. So in comes baby number 2, Abigail Grace. By this time we had decided we wanted a large family. When we were grandma and grandpa we wanted a house full. Kids, grand kids and eventually great grands. Sounds wonderful.
In 2003 we had our first son, Timothy Kyzar Holmes. We figured the spacing was a good thing. Timing was right, we weren't getting any younger. God knows what He is doing in these matters, He is the giver of life and not us.
Two years later, in 2005, we have Titus Brady Holmes or as I like to call him Ty Brady. He is the wild man. Joking with people we would say, "If we woulda had him first there woulda been no more!" Deciding that this would more than probably be out last we called it quits. Or so I thought. In 2008 we learned that we were expecting number 5, through no fault of our own. (wink wink) Talk about people and their comments that must have sounded good in their heads but not coming out of their mouth. We heard everything from,"are you guys Catholic" to "don't you have a TV?" People can be so rude! We didn't see this much rudeness when we had Hannah in our teen years.
In June 2009 with an already large family waiting on his arrival, in strolls Tuff Oliver Abel Holmes. Yes, you read it right. His name is Tuff (that story is another blog for another day).
Now we are a family of 7, not counting the pets that my kids think should be added into that equation. So begins life at The Crazy H....