Belated Prayer Request

I just wanted to do a quick post to ask everyone to keep my father-in-law in your prayers. He had his other knee replaced yesterday. He had his first one done in Feb. It has helped him so much that he decided to get the other one done. He is doing well, and we can only hope that in a few months he will be like a new man. I am asking that you all say a prayer for him and a speedy recovery.

Car Ride and Haircut

Lily got this Cinderella car for Christmas when she was 2 (right before she turned 3). Last summer she was just to little to handle it, but this year she is turning into a pro driver...well she can at least push the gas and turn the wheel. Avery decided to bale after just about a minute. It must have been pretty scary for him cause we all know how obcessed he is with "Cars". I am glad that Lily is enjoying this car now, cause it was a pretty expensive present from Santa. Actually my mom and dad got it for her, cause I refused to lay down that amount of money for something that I wasn't sure she would LOVE. Luckily, she does love it, just a year and half later.

We really wanted to spend the whole evening outside this evening...WAY TOO HOT!! Avery is usually walking around the house saying "outside, outside". Once we had been out for about an hour he was holding on to me whining and saying "inside, inside". So we got in the pool for all of about 2 minutes...it is just still to gross. We just can't seem to get it clean. I might have to have my dad come out and work on it. He is a pro at opening up the pool. We are going to be needing it SOON!!!
Lily had to pose with her car!!

Most of you probably remember a few months ago when I posted about Avery's fits when I take pictures of him (here). What a difference a few months makes. Now every time he sees the camera he say "cheese". It is so adorable, and makes for GREAT pics!! Love it!!

What a cutie pie!!!

I gave Avery his second ever haircut this evening. I've been threatening it for a while now. The problem is, he has the thinnest, finest, whitest hair ever. VERY VERY hard to cut. Last time I just buzzed it all off. But I wanted to leave a little of the length on the top. I ended up shaving his neck a little above his hairline. I just didn't want to cut it again for a while. I think it turned out okay, but it was not easy. I just hate, hate, HATE the idea of paying someone $15.00 to do something that I can do myself. I have always cut Adams hair and have given Lily all her haircuts except 1 (when she decided to chop it off herself...I had to have help straightening it up). If I knew someone that could cut my hair, I wouldn't go to the beauty shop either. Don't know anyone though.

New Shoes

The kids spent the day with my mom and dad today. I had a very relaxing day. I mowed the yard this morning, then I took a 4 1/2 hour nap...yeah that's right 4 1/2 hours. It was so WONDERFUL!!!!! They had a great day. They always do!!! When they came home there was just enough time to give them a snack before bath and bed. I don't know how working mothers do it...I hardly had any time to see them, much less play with them. It makes me so so happy that I have them at home with me all day!!!!!

I got a few pictures of them eating some cookies (nutrishious snack - huh) before bath.

For some reason, Lily insisted on me taking pictures of her with cookies in her mouth. I don't understand it, but they turned out kinda cute!!!!

I don't know if I have ever mentioned my obession with shoes before, but here goes. I think it is my mission in life to find great shoes at a great price. My kids have more shoes than I do. Little shoes are just so much cuter than big shoes (kids shoes vs adult shoes). I don't think that I have ever spent more than $15.00 on any single pair of shoes for the kids. I figure why pay $60.00 for 1 pair when I can get 4 or 5 pair for the same price. Well, it never fails that a childs foot grows overnight. Avery's has all of a sudden gone from a 5 to a 6. To top it off, he has got the fattest foot ever. I have taken more shoes back to stores than I can count, cause they rub blisters, or they are just to tight. Well, I have found that the croc style shoe is the best. But it can't be the kind with the moveable strap in the back. It has to be solid. The ones with the moveable strap have a little button thing on the inside that allows it to move, and that button thing rubs blisters. I wouldn't even have noticed if my friend Stephanie hadn't mentioned it to me. Her son Cole has the same problem. Those shoes went quickly back to Wal-Mart. That was a couple of weeks ago. So I have been on a mission for the last couple of weeks to find him some shoes. Lily and I went to Silver Dollar City last week, so we stopped by a couple of stores while we were in Branson. I went to the Crocs store first, cause I knew they had a type without the button thing. The only pair I found was the green pair (pics below). On sale for $12.99. Not bad for REAL Crocs (not that I really care about the brand, just the style). Next I went to the Sketchers store. I found some shoes for Lily there (I got her some of the Jibbitz things at the Crocs store). She really did not need shoes, but we were on our way to SDC and for some reason the shoes that she was wearing were hurting her feet (I think it might have had something to do with the fact that we were buying Avery shoes, and she thought she needed some, too). They were on sale Buy 1 get the 2nd 1/2 off. They were marked $14.99 a pair, but with the discount they ended up only being $11.25 a pair. Not to bad (they really are cute!!). I got myself some shoes while I was there, I needed some. No pics of them, just not as cute!!! Next was Stride Rite. Very pricey shoes in that store. I would not have gotten any, but I found a pair of 6W brown sandals (perfect for church) on clearance for $12.49. They are really cute. The only shoes left that I wanted to get him was a pair of the Cars clogs. Every time he sees them (or anything Cars) he thinks he has to have it. I have had no luck for the last couple of months since we first saw them finding them in his size. So I finally just went online and ordered them off the Payless website. Adam needed some shoes too, so he ordered them. He could have just went to the store and gotten them, but if he ordered them then we wouldn't have to pay shipping (a definate bonus). A few days later I ended up in Branson again, so I went by Kohls and found 2 more pair of shoes for Avery. Both pair were on sale for $9.99. The first was a pair of Carters that are blue with 2 straps on the top and a strap in the back, so they are totally adjustable. The second pair were Osh Kosh and were also totally adjustable. So I found Avery 5 new pair of shoes for the grand total of $60.45 (the cars shoes were full price at $14.99). Of course, I had to pay taxes on them, but I don't really count that. Not to bad for 5 pair of shoes, and it has been total fun for me!! Anyway enjoy the pics of great shoe bargains. Oh yeah, Avery loves his Cars shoes the best and it has been hard to get them off of him!!! Love you all!!!

Lily's shoes with the Jibbitz she picked out at the Crocs store (Princess - who would've guessed).

Lily's new shoes. She really does love them. But she is devolping her mothers unhealthy addiction to shoes. I guess I need to start being more careful!!!

The new shoes!!!

Croclings - that is what these are called. The band is stretchy, but not to tight. They fit Avery's fat foot REALLY well!!!

Stride Rite Church Sandals!!!

These are the Carters shoes. I thought they were adjustable in the back, but I don't guess they are. They are still perfect for his feet!!!

These are adjustable in the back. He didn't really need another pair of brown sandals, but they were cute, and I want to save the other pair for ONLY church!! So he can wear these elsewear!!!

The beloved Cars shoes. These have been a smash hit. And although they were the most expensive pair in the lot, they have already been well worth the money!!!

Long Time, No Post...

First, I want to say that we have been so busy around here...that is why I have not posted lately. I really shouldn't be doing it right now, I have a million other things that I need to be doing, but I felt like I just needed to get it updated.

In March I took Lily to see Horton. She loved the movie (it was pretty cute), but the best part was seeing her friends. I put on that post that I had taken pictures on my phone, but had to get them loaded on the computer. Well, here they are, just 3 months later!!!! They are all awfully cute!!!

From left: Claire, Melina, Caroline, and Lily

I know that I have posted bath pictures of the kids in the past, but they just love their baths. I don't think that they will be able to take baths together for much longer. Lily is really starting to notice things, and I think that their childhood innocense won't last as long as I would like for it to. I guess they all have to grow up, don't they. I wish that I could just bottle them up, and keep this age, so I won't ever forget just how wonderful they are right now. I try to keep up with pics and such like, but I am so afraid of them growing up and not remembering how precious and wonderful they really are. I hope I'm not the only overly-emotional person out there.
Lily loves Avery so much, and I have to say that he loves her just as much. How lucky I am to have kids who get along. When Lily isn't here, Avery is just lost. He will walk around saying, "Sissy, Sissy". Of course, they have their moments when they get on each others nerves. But, don't we all!!!
Avery just loves to ham it up!!!

So does Lily!!!!!

I took these pictures a while back. Lily was gone to spend the day with my dad, so it was just Avery and I. We actually had a fantastic time playing with his cars. He loves his cars. He has just recently really gotten into it. He got this BIG dump truck and a BIG dozer for christmas, and they have just sat for the last few months. But now he is suddenly really into them. Which is great, cause I was feeling like I had wasted money on them. I just really enjoy watching the differences in them. Lily is such a girl, and Avery is definately boy. It is so amazing that even though he has to watch a lot of princess and he sees even more princess, he is still not interested in princess. He loves cars, and electronic devices...how boy is that?!?!?!

Ok...I know this isn't the best pic of me, but he looks so stinkin cute I just had to share!!!

He got the car ramp for christmas from some family member (don't really know who). He really loves it. Though, he really tries to get ALL of his cars to go down it, and it is only designed to take the cars that came with it. This is the new dump truck that he is really starting to love.

Crawdad days was on May 17th. Lily's class had their last performance on that day. They were all so cute.

These pics are of Lily and her friend Ana. They are probably not all that good for each other. When they get together you can see mischief written on their cute little faces. But they do have fun. Ms. Christy figured out in the first couple weeks of class that those 2 could not stand by each other, or it was complete disruption. I think that you can tell by the pics that they are a little mischievous when together.

What a pair they make!!!

Lily was so exhausted this day. She had spent the day before with my dad, fishing all day. I really do think this was a good pic of her though. Her class did a great job at Crawdad days. They are all just so cute to watch.

Between My mother in law - Ginny - and I we got some great pics of the kids!! I love them so much. I have to say that the ones of Avery turned out so well!! I just love how beautiful my children are!!!

This is my nephew, Zane. Pretty good picture, if I do say so myself. Ok, Ok, I can't take credit, Ginny took this one!!!!

Avery loved watching Lily dance. He is so entertained by her.

What a cutie pie!!! That is my daughter's rear. She was turned around so she could watch the bigger kids dance. She is so comfortable anywhere she is. I am glad that she is so outgoing and doesn't have any real reservations. She actually LOVES to be the center of attention!!!

From left: Brooke, Lily, and Avalon

From left: Ana, Brooke, Lily, and Avalon

From left: Ana, Brooke, Lily, and Avalon

Brooke, Lily, Avalon

Ana, Brooke, Lily, Avalon, Kylee, and Kyle

We have had VBS this week. We had a great time, but we are all so tired. Neither one of the kids have been in bed before 9:00 since Saturday. And for some reason, they have had a hard time getting to sleep for naps. I'm not sure about that one. I do know that I am going to put them down for a nap here in just a little bit, and just pray that they get some sleep. They are both going to my parents for the day tomorrow. So they will REALLY be worn out by tomorrow night. That is one thing about summer...we are always on the go, so the kids get all messed up. They should get somewhat caught up next week, here's hoping anyway!!!

I hope that you have all been doing well. I love you all!!!!