The Hulsey Family

Frozen

2010-01-08T11:43:00.003-06:00

It is FREEZING outside!! Lily was supposed to go back to school on Monday (Jan 4) but has been home for an extra week, because of snow and cold!! I don't know what the actual temp is outside, but I know it's cold!!! The kids have had a great week!! They have gotten along really well!! That has been quite a blessing. I can't even imagine how hard this week would have been if they had fought all week!! We got to go out and play in the snow a couple of times, but it has just been TOO cold the last couple of days to even think about it!! As I type this they are in Avery's room playing "baby"!! It is soo cute!!! I am getting a little stir crazy!! I have quite a bit that I could be doing, but am just blah, and really not wanting to do anything, but sleep!! I wonder how people in Alaska can make it!! How long is it dark there??? A long time!! Between the dark and the cold, I think I would just sleep the whole time!! I've been sleeping enough, as it is!! It is supposed to warm up enough to hopefully start melting the snow on Sunday, but the weather people also said no snow today, and it's snowing, so who knows!!!! I will be glad to get back into a routine!! I have tried to keep some sort of routine going, but it sure hasn't been as strict!!

We put Avery in a big boy bed about a week ago!! He is loving it!! He got new Thomas sheets for Christmas, and we bought him the matching comforter with some of the Christmas money he got!! He thinks he is just so big!! He has been sleeping in underwear at night!! He is waking up in the middle of the night if he needs to go pee!! I am so glad, cause we ran out of pull-ups and I really didn't want to buy more!! My baby is getting so big!!

I hope everyone is doing well!! We love you all!!!

Is it already time for another New Year???

2009-12-30T14:58:00.002-06:00

Ok...I admit it...I'm a slacker!! I can't believe 2 months have already passed since my last post. This has been a crazy, fast year!!! They say that time passes faster as you get older...I guess "they" are right!!!

Things that have happened since I last posted:

Adam turned 32 on November 12, and I turned 31 a few days ago on the 27th. I used to think 30 was old, but I still feel SOOO young!! I guess that's a good thing?!?!?!
Avery is completely potty trained. He actually has been for a while now, but the accidents are few and far between. He sleeps in underwear for his nap and never wakes up wet, but I am still putting him in a pull up at night. He is dry abt 85% of the time, but that 15% can be annoying at 2:00 in the morning!!! Avery is finally starting to grow, which we are happy about. At his 3 yr check up he was in the 65th percentile for his weight and 45th for his height!! He is still a VERY picky eater, but we are dealing with it. He will try more things now, and on occasion he might eat a few bites of it!! He likes deer meat, which we were very glad about!!! We have decided to go ahead and put him in preschool next year, so we are working on things such as sharing and not throwing HUGE fits, thought I have to say he will probably still be in for quite an eye opener when he does go!! I'm not really worried abt academics. He can say and recognize his ABC'S (he can only recognize the upper case letters, but I still think that's good)!!! He knows all his shapes and colors and can count as high as 25, though he still gets a little confused around 13, 14, 15, and 16!!! I am super proud of him and think he'll do just fine. In the meantime, I'm going to enjoy my little boy!!!
Lily is doing amazing in school!! She is in the GT (gifted and talented) program and the only kid chosen to participate in the spelling bee for Kindergarten. She automatically advances to the big bee with all the area schools in Harrison in a few weeks. We have been working on our spelling words and she is doing such a great job!!! Lily is a fantastic reader, and I really do think she could read ANYTHING if she set her mind to it!!! She is doing really well with math, too!! She got some flash cards for christmas and has been practicing her addition and subtraction (because she wants to, not because I'm making her!!)!!! She is loving Cheerleading!! They had their first competition a few weeks ago. They all did such an amazing job!! They got last place, but you couldn't tell it by all us moms reaction. We were just so proud of our girls!! It is amazing that 7 months ago they couldn't do cartwheels and now they are all doing backbend, kickovers, and jumps and stunts!!! It is absolutely amazing!!!

We had a fantastic Christmas!! I hope everyone else did too!!! Here's hoping that you all have a VERY Happy New Year!!

High Fever and New Hair

2009-10-07T09:33:00.004-05:00

So, Lily spent the night with my Mom and Dad on Friday (Oct 2). Avery and I went to Springfield to spend the day with Tracy, Lynden, and Spencer that day. My mom just took Lily from school so I wouldn't have to worry about being back by a certain time (It was 9:00 before we got back!!) We had such a fabulous time vistiting with the Coffmans!! Avery and Lynden played with and shared (grudgingly) their trains with each other all day!! I love Tracy so much, and was so glad for a chance to visit with her!! Well, anyway, guess Lily started running a fever on Friday night. Mom said it wasn't bad Friday night, but by the time she called me on Sat morning, it was rising. Mom gave her some Motrin around 5:00 that morning (when Lily woke up...UGH) but didn't have any tylenol to alternate. Adam gave her the Tylenol at 11:00 when he laid her down for nap. She woke up around 2:00 and her fever was over 103. Lily tends to run a high fever when she gets sick, so I don't freak out about it anymore. At this point she wasn't congested or anything, so I thought it might just be a virus that would have to run it's coarse. We alternated Motrin and Tylenol every 3 hours, keeping her fever around 103. It's scary to think what it would have gone up to if I hadn't been alternating the medicine. By the time she got up Sunday morning she was super snotty and congested. Her fever was down to around 101 - 102 (with medicine) all of Sunday. By Monday, I was READY to see the Dr. We waited for 2 1/2 hours. Her fever was 101.9 when they checked it. He said she had a little sinus infection, but he didn't know if the fever was because of the infection or if she might have a virus with it that was causing the fever. He gave her an antibiotic for her sinus infection and said to keep alternating tylenol and motrin for her fever. By Tuesday, her fever was coming down and she was starting to act more like her normal self. She woke up this morning without fever (she hasn't had medicine since 8:00 yesterday morning). I'm hoping this means that we're on the mend!! I'm praying for that!!!

Not in the mood for pics!!
"Mom, that light is SOOO bright!!!"

Smiling through the sickness

On a positive front...Avery seems to be totally potty trained now!!! He has gone pee on the potty with very few accidents for a few weeks now. This week he decided he would poop on the potty!! I couldn't be happier about his change in attitude!! It is sure easier when kids are potty trained!!! He has been waking up from his naps dry, and only a little wet at night. It looks like we may be COMPLETELY done soon!!! Can't wait to not have to buy diapers again for a while!!! I got him these super cute little boxer briefs the other day. He is so skinny that they basically fall off of him, but I still LOVE them!!!

Such a BIG boy!!!

I have been wanting to color my hair a burgundy color for years. I had a hairdresser tell me once that I shouldn't, because it wouldn't look good!! I finally took the plunge Saturday night. I had to go to Wal Mart to get some Tylenol for Lily and walked down the hair color aisle to admire my favorite color. But for the first time I picked it up and bought it. I went ahead and did it Saturday night, so I didn't chicken out. I LOVE it!! I can't even tell you how much I love it!! I've been getting mixed reviews from everyone else. My family doesn't really seem to like it so much, but other people seem to LOVE it!! To be quite honest, I don't care, I just LOVE it.

I'm not a fan of having my pic taken, but Adam cracks me up, so it wasn't too bad!!! Hope everyone is doing well!! LOVE all of you!!

Avery's 3rd Birthday!!

2009-10-05T17:29:00.011-05:00

Avery's 3rd Birthday party was on September 26!! We had it at the First Baptist Church Playground. It is so nice there, and we don't have to worry about other kids playing, cause there were none!! I think it was a HUGE success!! I have attached ALOT of pictures so be prepared!!

Cake and Decorations!!
Avery being silly...waiting (somewhat impatiently) for everyone to get there so he could have cake and open presents!!!

He was still waiting, but trying to decide if he wanted to leave the cake to play for a while. I always like rear view pics!! I got him these jeans at Tiny Tots for $6.00!!! I LOVE them!! Just nothing like a little Levi's rear!!

Avery and Mimi

Avery and Papa

Uncle Chris and Papa...Ginny took this picture...I LOVE it!!!

Ginny took this picture of Lily!!! It really shows her cutie pie freckles!!!

Reilee (Chris' stepson)

Trying to pose and reach for the bar at the same time...I believe that's called multi-tasking!!!

Cute cousins!!

Avery posing with his cake!!!

Getting tired of posing for pics!!

This is the shy face he gets when he's getting lots of attention...while we were singing Happy Birthday!!

Still a little shy (we're still singing!!)!!!

Is it time to blow them out yet???

1st attempt at blowing out the candles

2nd attempt

he just couldn't quite reach them, so he had to have a little boost from Mommy!!!

Red icing coving him...but he enjoyed his cake!!!

Avery and Zane enjoying some cake!!!

He had to have a little help opening this one...I have a tendency to use too much tape!!!

Wow...trains!!!!!!

Sooo many presents!!

Spiderman helicopter, which he loves!!!

New "Cars" track thing, that is Super cool, and he loves!!! I LOVE the look on Kendra's face here!!!!

Lily gathering loot from the pinata!!

Avery hitting the pinata!!!

Ava's turn...

...Lynden's turn...

...Lily's turn... ...Kendra...

...Melina...

...Reilee...

...and finally Zane broke it!! I worked out well, it was the last swing for the last kid. I don't think you could've asked for it to go better!!!

We all had a great time!! Thank you to everyone for coming...we LOVE all of you!!!

Kindergarten!!

2009-09-25T09:23:00.008-05:00

Lily started Kindergarten on August 19, 2009. She was so excited. For some reason I was really sad about it. She was in Preschool all year last year, so it seem to make much sense. I think the main reason was because Preschool was mandatory, and Kindergarten is. She HAS to go to school now. That makes me sad. I'm getting over it, though as we seem to get into a good routine!!
All ready for the first day of school!! Avery was a bear all morning that morning. I was worried we were going to be late getting to school because he just kept throwing fits about every little thing. But, we made it on time!!

I know I make her pose too much, but I just love getting pics of them!!!

Standing by her new desk in her classroom!!!

Lily and her new teacher Mrs. Phillips!! We really like her!! I'm glad Lily ended up with such a great teacher!!!

The first 2 full weeks of school were color days. Monday Aug 24 was red day. I didn't take pics that day. I just totally forgot...so not like me!!! Tuesday Aug 25 was blue day!!

Wed August 26 - yellow day!!

Thursday August 27 - Green day. I forgot to take a pic that morning, so I made her pose when we got home that afternoon!!!

Friday August 28 - Purple Day.

I absolutely love this picture of them!!! They are my sweetie pies, and I LOVE them so much!!!

Monday Aug 31 - Orange Day

Tuesday Sept 1 - Brown Day

Brown Day...Such a silly girl!!! I guess it's a good thing she likes getting her picture taken so much!!!

Wed. Sept 2 - Black Day

Thursday September 3 - Rainbow Day

This was one of my favorites!! She was VERY colorful!!! That Friday wasn't a color day, so I stopped taking pics every day.

Playdate with Nikki and Braedon

My good friend Nikki, from high school, came down for a visit with her family a few weeks ago. I was so glad when she asked to get our kids together for a playdate!! Her son, Braedon, is a couple months older than Avery. Good fun was had by all. I was just so glad to catch up with an old friend!! I wish she lived closer. So funny how people's lives lead them so far away!!!

Braedon and Lily playing on the swings.

Avery tried to swing on his belly like this. He ended up landing face first in the puddle, coming up soaking wet. So I took his clothes off of him. I was glad we were the only ones there, cause he is a little old to be running around in just a diaper, but I wasn't going to be mean enough to make him stay in wet clothes!!!

I didn't really get any great pictures, but this one was the best. They were all just moving too fast, and all the pics turned out blurry!!

My naked baby!!! He really is a cutie!!

Lily's New Room, and Hairbow Mania!!

2009-07-12T21:53:00.009-05:00

Wow...2 posts in 2 days!! I am on a roll!!!

We have been working on moving Lily downstairs! There are a few different reasons for this. The room that she was in is incredibly small, and she was just running out of room. It also had no closet. We had all her closet clothes in the wardrobe that we keep in our room, but thought it would be nice for her to have her closet in her room!! Also, we need a place upstairs for all the kids toys. So we are turning Lily's old room into the new playroom. This is going to be GREAT!!! It will be nice to have my living room back!!

This is the way the room looked before we started. It is the only room in the house that we hadn't done anything to, since we bought the house. Well, we did replace the carpet!!
So we painted her room this beautiful, cheery yellow!! We also went ahead and painted her ceiling (white) since it is the only ceiling we hadn't painted!!

We are all SOOO excited about her closet. I now dont know what to do with my wardrobe!!

Finally finished painting it!! Lily wanted to sleep down there Friday night, so we went ahead and moved a few pieced of furniture down there, so it would be a little more comfy!! She was so thrilled about sleeping in her new room. I thought she might get a little scared since she is downstairs by herself, but she isn't!!! Right now she is just SOOOO excited about it!!!!

First night in the new room!!! Can you tell she super excited!!!

What a little cutie pie!!!

Silly smile!!!

Finished product!!! We finally got it all done!!

Already looking cluttered!! She says she can't sleep if she doesn't have all her stuff on her bed!!

Still LOVING the closet!!!

I have been making hairbows. I am thinking about starting a little buisness!! Here are some pics of the ones I've made so far! Let me know what you think...I need the criticism!!!

Wow...Time Flies...

2009-07-11T09:46:00.008-05:00

It has been quite a crazy, busy summer!!! I seems like we're constantly on the go!! We have been to 4 VBS's this summer!! That has kept us on our toes, but it is so good for the kids. They have friends at all the area churches and it is so good for them to see that their friends go to church and love God, too!!

Lily started Cheerleading in June. She has practice 2 days a week! It's hard work, but she loves it! There was a cheer camp that was 2 FULL days a few weeks ago. It was VERY hot, and exhausting, but she learned alot, and had alot of fun!! As crazy as it has been this summer, I'm afraid it isn't going to slow down any when school starts. Lily will have dance and cheer, plus she is starting Kindergarten. I was a little worried about her taking on so much her first year of school, but she is so ahead of the game as far as school stuff goes, that I'm not really all that concerned about it. We will have something going almost every weeknight. Monday is dance. Tuesday and Thursday is Cheer, and Wednesday is church. Thankfully, none of these things are longer than an hour or so, so it really shouldn't be that bad!!

I have included some pictures of some of the things we have been up to this summer. My external drive that I keep most of my pictures on is not working properly right now, so I will have to post the older pictures some other time!!

We went to Rusty Wheels with Nana and Pa (Ken and Ginny) a few weeks ago. Avery was in Tractor and Train heaven. They had a ton of old tractors (that looked alot like trains). Then they had a little train that the kids could ride. It was so cute and they both had a blast!!!

My cutie pies!!!

This is a picture of Poppy Bobs (Ginny's Dad) Model A. The kids loved climbing in it!!

Pa (Ken) helping the kids get in!!!

Lily and Kendra waiting for the train to start!!

My blue eyed boy!!!

Still waiting to go!!!

Such a cutie pie!!!

My blue eyed girl!!!!

Such a little sweetie!!!!

Yeah, we had to wait quite a while for them to get the train going!!!!!

Nana (Ginny) with Lily and Kendra!!!

Nana, Lily, Kendra, Zane, Avery, some kids I don't know and Aunt Cindy in the back!! All FINALLY riding the train!!!

Zane helping Avery with this sand digger!!!

We have also had a lot of fun swimming the pool!!! It has been a great summer for it!! REALLY REALLY HOT!!!!

Lily playing on the ladder, one of her favorite places in the pool.

Kendra swimming around, and having fun!!!

Avery LOVES the water, and he is fearless!!!

Zane helping lift Lily up to look over the side, though I'm not real sure why she wanted him to, cause she can do it herself!!!!

Kendra is so proud to have taken off her life jacket and be swimming without it!!! Such a cutie pie!!!!

Zane helping Avery swim!!

Four very cute, happy kids!!

We got the kids some new goggles and they had to show them off for the camera!!!!

Silly faces!!!

We had lots of fun (as usual) at the fourth. Ken and Ginny always have a big blow out with good food, friends, and fireworks!!!! The kids looked super cute (as usual!!)!!!!!

Lily found a robin's egg and was pointing it out to the others!! They were all in awe!!!

Avery was throwing rocks up the tree!! I have no idea why!!!

She's so beautiful!!!!

Lily loves to dress Avery up in her dress up clothes!! The thing is that Avery loves it too. I might be a little concerned about that if he wasn't ALL BOY!! I think that there is no reason to worry about it!!!! To be honest, he just LOVES his sister and wants to play with her.

I do plan on trying to keep this updated a little more often. I know I keep saying that, but I really do want to stay on top of it!!! I need to just keep it on my "to do" list, for every day!! You all might get tired of me!!!! Love ya!!!!!

Lots To Say....

2009-05-28T17:23:00.010-05:00

Lily's Dance Recital was on May 16th!! It was so GREAT!!! It's amazing to see how far she's come in the past year!!! It's so hard to believe she's been dancing for 2 years now!! She was 3 when she started!!! Their tap routine was to "Good Ship Lollipop" and was adorable. I was very disappointed that it didn't record. I'm not real sure what happened to it. I did get the ballet routine recorded, though. It was to "Bushel and a Peck". It was equally GREAT!!! I am going to put it on here as soon as I figure out how to shrink it, so it will fit. I only got 1 picture of them on stage. For some reason, they just didn't turn out. I think it was a mixture of where I was sitting, and the lighting. That's all I can figure out!!

Lily is the one to the far left!!
It was quite an ordeal to get her makeup on. This was a first for eyeliner. We didn't do it last year, but they really need all that makeup for the stage lighting and stuff, or they just look washed out!! She looked beautiful!! But I think she is just as beautiful (more so, to me) without it!!
My beautiful Lily!!!

Brooke and Lily!! Brooke will be a cheerleader, too. They have been in dance together since the beginning, so we're excited!!!

Tia and Lily!! Tia started dance in January, and she will be a Cheerleader, also!! The 3 of them should make for a Super Cute squad. There are 4 others, I just don't know them!!!

We have birds that ALWAYS build a nest in the rafters of the back cover over the porch. We've torn down more nests than we can count. But it is SOOO cool to watch them hatch and grow up. The kids enjoy it too. Baby birds are so ugly, but in a few days this one should be big enough to be cute. I went out this morning to look at it and see how much it's grown and get more pics, but the Mama bird was NOT happy about it. She kept flying around my head, so I decided to wait for another day. I got a good enough look at it to tell that it has a few more days in the nest. Hopefully, I will be able to get a few pics of it when it gets cute!!!

Lily looking at baby birdie!!!

Avery's turn!!!

Tiny little birdie!!

It would fall down into the nest where I couldn't see it. So I would whistle and it would poke its head up and open it's mouth up wide!! It was kinda cute to watch!!!

Yep, it's ugly!!

We went swimming for the first time on Saturday (May 23). My mom and dad have a heater on their pool, so it's warm ALOT faster than ours. My dad came over the other day and helped me get ours drained and cleaned out. It has crystal clear water now, but it is FREEZING. So, a couple of weeks with the solar cover on it, and maybe we can swim in it!!! We all had a GREAT time. Unfortunately, it started lightning, so we only got to stay in there about 30 min or so.

My mom and dad's dog Sarah, is NOT afraid of the water. Apparently she will just jump right in and swim a few laps!! She is so cute. Avery was SOOOO excited to go swimming!! He just jumped right in to Adam. Once I got in, though, he held onto me. It's been awhile since we've been the pool, so I think he was a little timid!!!

Lily was also VERY excited. She just swam around and did her own thing most of the time. She still doesn't like to go under the water, but this is something we are going to work on this summer. I would like for her to learn to swim this summer!!!

Climbing up the ladder to jump off (Daddy HAS to catch her though!!)!!

So happy!!

1, 2, 3...JUMP!!!!

Avery jumping to me. He will just jump right in. He likes going under the water. It is so cute, cause when he comes up, he shakes his head around like a dog!!

Adam and I throwing Avery back and forth. Lily is just swimming around doing her own thing!!!

Here I come!!!!

Adam and Avery...Avery was crying for me...don't really understand that????

After we went swimming, we roasted hot dogs!! My brother and his new wife, LeighAnn, and her two kids Rylee, and Aiden were there, too. The kids all have a GREAT time together. It's so cute!!!

My Mom, Avery, and Adam roasting hot dogs!!! They were YUMMY!!!

They say smoke blows towards beauty, right!!! They are all getting a face full of it!!!

From left to right: Aiden (he is 6 months younger than Avery), LeighAnn (my new sister-in-law), Chris (my brother), and Rylee (he is about 6 months older than Lily)!!!

Aiden, LeighAnn, and Chris roasting hot dogs!!!

All having fun!!!

Chris and LeighAnn

Aiden, LeighAnn, Chris, Rylee, and my dad!!!

Lily got tired of roasting hot dogs, so she just sat and watched!!!

Lily graduated from preschool on Tuesday (May 26). I have to say that it was a VERY emotional night for me. I felt like such a baby, but I just couldn't control the tears. She did a Great job, and the program was ADORABLE!!!

Lily and her teacher Mrs. Robbie. When we got home that night, I think it hit her that she wasn't going to see Mrs. Robbie every day anymore, and she started bawling. Adam thought it was a little silly, but I can SOOO relate to her!!! I'm afraid she's going to be a lot like her mommy in that respect!!!

SOOOO excited about graduating!!!

Lily and Avery and their cousins Kendra and Zane!!!

All the kids that graduated!! I wanted a picture of all of them. I can keep it until they graduate high and use it some way!!! From left: Tina, Trinady, Andy, Lily, Alisha, Levi, Winter, Kaleigh, Damien.

Lily and Andy doing their speaking part...SOOO cute!!!

Sorry this is so long. It seems like I haven't had a spare minute in forever. But Lily is home for the summer, now!! I'm excited and am planning ALOT of fun!!! Love you all!!!

Crazy May....

2009-05-07T10:02:00.004-05:00

Lily's dance picture

So I'm wondering if May is as crazy of a month for everyone else, as it is for us??? I have to say that I will be glad when this month is over with and Lily is home for the summer. I have missed having her around every day tremendously!!! I am super sad about the fact that next year she will be in Kindergarten, and it isn't optional. This year, I have taken her out a day here or a couple of days there, because I can. Next year, I just won't be able to do that, and I'm super sad about it. I am so proud of her and what all she has learned this year, though. She can now write all her letters, big and small. She is reading easy to read books. In fact, she surprises herself sometimes with what she can actually read. I LOVE Dr. Seuss books. We have ALWAYS had a love affair with Dr. Seuss, but for a whole new reason now...they're EASY to read!!!! Lily is doing GREAT with Adding and Subtracting in her head (I can't even really do this very well...I was taught the point system, and still have to use paper or my hands to add and subtract). We have a few things to work on this summer, but nothing major. She needs to learn her phone # and address. I also want to teach her money and its value, and the basics of a clock. She does know her months of the year and days of the week, so that's good. She has also learned to tie her shoes...big milestone for us!!!!!

Now on to the busy month...This Saturday (May 9) she is in the Alpena pageant. We are borrowing a beautiful dress from a friend, and she is super excited about it. I am glad that they don't judge this age. The Headstart-Kindergarten age group isn't judged, they ALL get a crown and sash. SOOOO wonderful!!!! Sunday is Mothers Day...we'll be busy all day, most likely. Next Friday (May 15) is the Recital Rehearsal and immediately following is Zane's (my nephew) birthday party. Next Saturday (May 16) from 9:30-12:00 we (Lily and I) will be working a booth at Crawdad Days for Cheerleading. That night at 6:00 is Lily's Recital. Tuesday May 26th is Lily's preschool graduation at 7:00. After that...WE'RE DONE!!!! It doesn't really LOOK like that much, but I am stressed to the max about it all!!! In June, Lily will start Cheerleading. She is THRILLED about this!!! She will practice 2 days a week and she will have 2 camps over the summer. I think she will enjoy this SOOO much. She has been talking about wanting to be a Cheerleader for the last 2 years!!! I am SOO glad that Ms. Christy (Lily's dance and cheerleading teacher) decided to have a class for Lily's age group this year!!!

Avery is doing good. I have put a hold on the whole potty training thing until Lily is out of school. Mainly because he wasn't interested, and the process was REALLY frustrating both of us. I thought if I took a break for a little bit, we would both be a little more willing to have a go at it later!!! Avery and I just got in from playing outside. The rain has been relentless lately, so the break in it today was well received!!! Avery LOVES to play soccer. I have say, he might be a good little soccer player one day. We play every time we go outside, and he is getting pretty good at kicking the ball away from me, and even better at not using his hands. It's so hard to believe, that he is the age that Lily was when he was born. He seems so much younger than she was back then, you know???? I guess that's mainly because I've been holding on to him a little tighter. Not ready for him to grow up!!! We do plan on having another one, but not for a few more years. The unsteady economy has us a little worried to take that leap right now. I also have some selfish reasons for waiting. I would like for both of the kids to be in school before I have another one...I kind of want to have the baby all to myself during the day...selfish-I know!!!! I guess it's kinda pointless to try and PLAN things out...God will decide what's best for us, and when it will be the best. I like to think that I have some control over the things that happen in my life...but I know it's all in God's hands. I am just in constant prayer for God to do what's best for my family-just like I know he will!!!!

Okay, I had no intention of rattling on like this, but you all know how I can be once I get started!!! I Love you all!!!!

Cute Comments!!

2009-04-24T18:43:00.003-05:00

Avery is going through the cutest stage right now!! Everything that comes out of his mouth is so stinkin cute and funny!!! I wanted to post some of the cutest ones before I forgot!! I need to get the camcorder out and record him before it's too late!!!

Last Sunday at church Adam was waiting on the table and we had the usual "Hey Mom, look it's daddy", and "Hi, Daddy". Adam said he could here him talking to him all way up at the front. Well, when Adam sat back down, Avery jumped up in his lap and said, "It's so great to see you again Daddy, I missed you"!!! Like he hadn't seen him in days...so cute!!!
My SIL Cindy has had Shingles, so he hasn't been able to get close to her or play with her a while. When he saw her on Wednesday, the first thing he said was "feel better, Cindy???" He's so considerate!!!
Tonight he was playing with a baby doll. He was holding it and rocking it and singing to it. He was being so sweet. These were his words, "Rock a bye baby, you are so great, now throw it away", and he proceeded to throw the baby off the bed!!! We were rolling in the floor for quite a while about that one.

It's amazing how fast my kiddos are growing up!!! I can remember Lily going through this stage, and it doesn't really seem like it's been that long ago...sniff, sniff!!!

The picture at the top captures Avery's LOVE for all things trains. The hat was Adam's when he was a kid and he gave it to Avery the other day. Avery spent the rest of the day riding on his train while wearing his new train hat!!!!

Easter 2009

2009-04-13T21:00:00.006-05:00

I hope everyone had a GREAT Easter!!! We sure did (even though the weather didn't really cooperate)!!

We went to church with my Mom and Dad on Sunday April 5, so we could celebrate Easter at their house afterwards!! These weren't the kids Easter clothes, but they still looked adorable!!! Notice, Avery has his coo-coo (his blanket). We don't leave home without it!!!
This is my brother Chris and his girlfriends (LeighAnn) kids Rylee and Aiden!! Rylee is a few months older than Lily and Aiden is a few months younger than Avery!! They all get along really well!!

Lily and Rylee running for the same egg!!!!

Avery found an egg in the chicken!!!

She's loving the pink egg!!!

Avery was stalled...he decided he needed to open every egg he found!!! So stinkin cute, that one!!!

She was starting to get upset with me, cause I kept making her stop running around so I could get some pictures!! But I don't regret it!! I got some good pics!!!

I love this picture...you can see the egg and his little hand reaching down to get it!!!

Daddy and Avery...I also LOVE this picture!!!

The kids baskets!!! We decided to hide eggs in our bedroom and bathroom this year. Just to kinda change things up. It's really amazing how many hiding places you can find in a bathroom!!!!

Lily got the new Barbie movie "Thumbalina". She's REALLY been wanting it, so it was an easy gift to get!!

Anything "Thomas" will bring a smile to Avery's face!!! It's there, trust me, it's just behind the paci!!!

Like I said, there are a ton of hiding places in the bathroom!!!

Desperately looking for more eggs!!!!

They are all dressed up in their Easter clothes - kinda. I was WAY to cold for them to go like I wanted, but it worked. Avery's outfit had some khaki overall shorts that went with it, but we just put some black cords on instead. Lily got some tights and a sweater added to hers!!! They just looked so stinkin cute. I straightened Lily's hair for the first time ever. It looked really pretty!!! She has this very slight wave to her hair, so to see it super straight was super cool!!!

Oops, I forgot to take the red eye out...oh well!!!

The kids (Lily, Kendra, and Avery) were being silly and putting their baskets on their heads!!! Avery got mad and sat down to pout...not sure why he got mad, but that's just the way he is!!!! The girls were having a GREAT time though!!!

Avery found an egg on the back of the couch and then decided it would be fun to jump around on it, since he wouldn't get into trouble!!!! It's almost like he's saying "Ha, Ha Nana!!".

Yes, again I made her stop running around looking for eggs, and pose for a picture!!!

Surgery Update

2009-03-20T09:30:00.002-05:00

I decided it was about time to update this and let everyone know how things are going. I can't believe it has only been 8 days since the surgery...it feels like it has been weeks. I think I am going through an extreme emotional phase right now. Mainly because I haven't seen my kids for more than a few hours since last Tuesday!!! I just haven't felt comfortable taking care of them by myself, and Adam has to work, so my WONDERFUL parents (mine and Adams) have been watching them for us. I can't even tell you how much this means to me. It is so AWESOME to have family that you can count on in a rough spot. That being said, I miss my kids so badly it hurts. I spent ALL day long yesterday crying. I just wanted to see them and hold them and hear them laughing, all those things that I normally take for granted cause I am with them 24/7. When they got home, all my self control went out the window and I held them and loved on them until it was time for bath and bed (I'm not really supposed to be picking Avery up, much less Lily). I can tell this morning that I probably did to much, but I just can't explain how much I miss them. Okay, now that is off my chest, so I will fill you in on surgery details. They told me to be at the hospital at 9:00 on Thursday morning (March 12). We got there and they immediately got to work putting in the IV (the lady was SUPER at this, it usually takes a while, but she got it right in, and it didn't hurt) and asking a million questions. I met the Anesthetist, and my surgery nurse, then they gave me some stuff in my IV to "dry out all secretions" before the surgery. This stuff WORKED...it took days for me to not have dry mouth!! Then it seems like within 10 min or so they were giving me the "goofy meds" and telling Adam to give me a kiss. I have to say that I don't really remember much after telling Adam and my mom bye. I don't remember the journey from the OPS recovery to the surgery room, but I do remember them transferring me to the surgery table. I remember the nurse telling me to take deep breaths and looking at the HUGE lights on the ceiling, then he (the nurse, I think) put the oxygen mask over my face, and that was all she wrote. The next thing I remember is waking up with IMMENSE pain in my right shoulder (that soft spot between your shoulder bone and collar bone). I was trying to say that my shoulder hurt, but still had the tube in my throat. They took it out (which I remember!!) and I was trying so hard to tell them about my shoulder. It took me a while to spit it out. They said it was from the gas that they use to blow you up when you're in surgery. I have to say that was painful. I vaguely remember Adam and my mom coming in to see me. They told Adam to go to the pharmacy and get my meds, and when he got back it would probably be about time for me to go home. Then they unhooked me from all the monitors and wheeled me back to the same OPS recovery room I had been in before. They shut the curtain and left. Now, I was in and out of it, but I was fully aware of the fact that Adam had been gone for way to long. NOBODY came to my room. I didn't have the call button to get the nurses and didn't have the voice to scream for some help. Finally, I saw a lady walk past my room, and yelled as loudly as I could for her help. I told her that nobody had been in the check on me and I just wanted my husband and mom. So she went and asked the nurses at the desk, and they said he wasn't back yet. Then within 5 minutes, Adam and my mom were in the room with me and they (the nurses) were getting me ready to leave. Turns out, I had been in that room, with NOBODY checking on me for over 2 hours. I can't even begin to tell you how livid I am about this. Adam and my mom had been sitting in the waiting room for over an hour and a half. I just keep wondering, what if something had happened to me. They wouldn't even have known it. They had unhooked me from all the monitors, so there wouldn't be any beeping or anything if something happened. I just can't believe it. Now, I LOVED my doctor, and would probably use her again, but I do plan on sending a letter to the hospital about everything, just to let them know how incapable I think they are!!! So anyway, I came home and slept for the better part of Thursday and Friday, and am slowly getting back to normal. There are only 4 tiny little scabs on my belly (which is ridiculous for the amount of pain I was in the first few days). I went to the doctor on Wednesday, and she told me that the pathology report on my gallbladder was a chronically inflamed gallbladder. That explains why there was scar tissue on it (the gallbladder) and why it wasn't working properly. They don't know what caused it to be this way, but it was. She also said that is why it is taking me a little longer to heal, because for some reason it takes a person longer to heal if they have a chronically inflamed gallbladder. None of that makes much sense to me, but I'll take her word for it.

Right now the kids are with my mom and dad, and should be home sometime tomorrow afternoon. I am hoping that I will feel ALL better by Monday, so I can take over my responsibilities as their mommy!!! I REALLY do miss them!!!

Love you all!!!

Surgery

2009-03-11T17:17:00.002-05:00

Just wanted to let everyone know that my gallbladder surgery is scheduled for tomorrow (March 12) at 9:00. I would also like ask for your prayers that everything goes as smoothly as it's supposed to. I'll update again when I am up and around!! Love you all!!

Mommy Quiz

2009-03-10T18:56:00.002-05:00

I did this quiz on facebook and had to post here, so I could enjoy it later. I hope everyone else enjoy's it as much as I did!!!

I got tagged to do this quiz, and was excited to do it. Such fun to hear what your kids say about you!!!

Answers by Lily (5)

1. What is something mom always says to you?

"No"

2. What makes mom happy?

"Me and Bubby and Daddy"

3. What makes mom sad?

"When we're not here and when we're not doing what we're supposed to"

4. How does your mom make you laugh?

"Make funny faces or say something silly or tickle me"

5. What was your mom like as a child?

"Pretty and cute and I was looking down on you from heaven and I liked you"

6. How old is your mom?

"55, I don't know"

7. How tall is your mom?

"Really tall-all the way up to the ceiling" (Just thought I would insert here that I am only 5'3")

8. What is her favorite thing to watch on TV?

"Grown up shows"

9. What does your mom do when you're not around?

"Clean up the house"

10. If your mom becomes famous, what will it be for?

"Me"

11. What is your mom really good at?

"Bossing us, playing with us, and being nice to us"

12. What is your mom not very good at?

"being a tree"

13. What does your mom do for her job?

"stay home and watch us kids"

14. What is your mom's favorite food?

"Green stuff, not spinach"

15. What makes you proud of your mom?

"when you be nice to us and play with us"

16. If your mom were a cartoon character, who would she be?

"Wow Wow Wubby-you would be Widget"

17. What do you and your mom do together?

"play and read"

18. How are you and your mom the same?

"Brownish Blondish hair"

19. How are you and your mom different?

"you always have something that I never had-guess what mom-green eyes"

20. How do you know your mom loves you?

"when you say sweetheart all the time and when you give me hugs and kisses"

21. What does your mom like most about your dad?

"when he smiles and is nice to you"

22. Where is your mom's favorite place to go?

"Wal-Mart to buy groceries"

I got a kick out of most of her answers...so stinkin funny!!!!!!

Update and Hair-cute....

2009-03-10T10:10:00.005-05:00

I got a call from the doc this morning...apparently I have a "dysfunctional gallbladder". I'm just glad to know that it was actually something, and not all in my head...I was really starting to question myself (can you make yourself throw up everyday???). So I have a surgical consult tomorrow (March 11). I'll let everyone know more when I do.

On a seperate note...Avery has been in desperate need of a haircut for a while. I finally decided this morning that I was tired of waiting to feel better to do it, so I tackled it. I think I did a pretty good job considering the wind was blowing super hard. His hair is so stinkin blond that is makes it hard to cut, but I REFUSE to spend $15.00 to get his hair cut. So he will just have to do with "Mom" haircuts!!! It does look much better, and super cute!!!

Love you all!!!

Before...he was super excited to get his hair cut!!
The back...way too long!!!!

After!!! Isn't he such a little cutie pie!!!!!

Many Blessings...

2009-03-09T09:18:00.008-05:00

I mainly just wanted to take this opportunity to tell all my family and friends "Thank You" so much for being there for me lately. It is such a blessing to have such a WONDERFUL family, in both senses (biological and christian). I am truly blessed and I just wanted to say a BIG THANK YOU!!!!
Avery's Pop Tart mouth...just love this kid!!!

I took these yesterday before church...she's so proud of the matching dresses she has with her doll!!! I have to say that I also think it's pretty stinkin cute!!

I am still waiting to here back from the doctor about the tests they ran on Friday. As soon as I know something I will post and let everyone know!! I would REALLY appreciate all of your continued prayers for my health!!! I truly do LOVE all of you!!! Thanks again!!!!!

Sick Again!!

2009-02-23T08:46:00.007-06:00

Just when I am beginning to think that we are all getting better, we get hit again, HARD!! Lily went to school last Monday, and Tuesday, then woke up with a fever on Wednesday. Her and Avery had both started getting congested and coughing (again), so I thought it was just sinus junk again. I didn't take her in to the doctor, mainly just hoping it would go away (like that ever happens). By the time they woke up from their VERY LONG nap Wednesday, they were both running fever. Not real high, but it seemed to stay steady at 101 even with medicine. So I went ahead and called the doctors office to make an appointment for Thursday. Their appointment was at 2:15, right in the middle of nap...but I thought that would be better than being worked in that morning. When we get worked in it usually takes around 3 hours. Not fun with 2 sick kiddos. So, I woke them up from their nap, and off to the doctor we went. Finally around 3:30, we got called back to the office. By then, both of the kids (and myself for that matter) were in a Very Bad mood. When got in the room, Avery climbed up on my lap, and would have went to sleep if the doc hadn't come into the room so quickly. That is NOT like him, unless he is sick. So turns out, Lily has a SEVERE ear infection. In fact, Dr. Collins asked her if her ear hurt. When she said no, he told her that if his ear looked like hers, he would be at home, on the couch watching TV, and crying. She thought that was funny, but by the look he gave me, I knew he was serious. She hasn't had an ear infection since she was 18 months old (I don't think anyway). When she got the last one at 18 months, I remember him telling me that if she got one more she would need to get tubes. That was scary, and I have to say that I am so glad she didn't have to have them. Anyway, both of the kids have some nasty sinus stuff going on, but thankfully Avery didn't have an ear infection. I'm telling you this constant sickness in our house is getting old. I have been sick, well pretty much since the kids have, but I didn't go to the doctor until Sunday. I woke up Sunday morning, and my throat was SUPER SORE. I just knew I was getting strep throat, and I wanted to catch before I started running fever. Turns out, I just have an upper respiratory infection. I was glad to get some medicine, though. I am REALLY hoping that this week will go better. I HAVE GOT to get some housework done. It literally looks like a small tornado has gone through my house. I am at least 2 weeks behind on laundry, and haven't done dishes in a few days. My mother-in-law and father-in-law came over on Saturday to visit the kids, and the house looked AWFUL (sorry guys!!). I am hoping that I can get all the major housework caught up this week, then get back to my cleaning schedule next week. Please pray for wellness in this house, we need it!!!

On Thursday evening (we didn't get home from the doctors office and pharmacy until 5:00) Avery was so stinkin tired that he just crawled up in my lap, and would have went to sleep if Lily had left him alone!! After he sat in my lap for a while, he moved to Adam's, where he stayed until about 6:00 when we gave up and went ahead and bathed them and put them to bed. They were both asleep before 7:00, and slept until after 7:00 on Friday!!! That is one thing about their cough medicine...it puts them to sleep.

You can't even tell by these pictures that she is a VERY sick little girl. She is such a little ham, it cracks me up!! One thing about it, I have ALOT of pictures of her!!!!

Avery Update!!!

2009-02-16T07:47:00.007-06:00

I couldn't get any GREAT pics of Avery's pink eye...he doesn't pose for the camera like Lily does!!! It is starting to look much much better. Thank goodness...I'm ready for clear eyes again!!!

Avery's Pink Eye
I love this little guy!!! He LOVES Pop Tarts, as you can tell!!!

I love these looks...I actually get them quite often from him!!!

Avery absolutely cracks me up. He is talking up a storm now. If he can't say something or hears something new, he will keep trying until he gets close enough to the word. He is still in love with "Cars" and Thomas the Tank Engine. I think that he is starting to like Thomas more than Lightning McQueen, which is saying something. We have been doing Lily's birthday stuff lately and every time we go down the party supply aisle, or when we were looking at the cake book, he says "Thomas Birthday, Thomas Birthday", so I guess we all know what kind of birthday party he will get in September (if he still LOVES Thomas at that point)!!! He LOVES to play "Ghost", which means, he will put a blanket over he head and walk around making ghost noises!! He really gets a kick out of himself!! He also loves to play hide and seek (he can't stay hidden for long, and he always gives himself away!!), and tickle party (which is where we all tickle each other, in case you couldn't figure that one out)!! It is so funny and sweet when he comes up to me, seemingly out of the blue, and says, "Play tickle party" or one of his other favorite games. He also LOVES to pretend to be different animals. I think he favorites are frogs, and sharks. He likes to hop to around like a frog, and he loves to pretend to bite like a shark. He really is SOO stinkin funny!!!

We are not doing too well on the potty training front. I have to say that I think it is from lack of enthusiasm on my part. If I really work with him, I don't think it will take TOO long, but I just haven't really felt like doing it this winter. I have vowed to really start trying, though, cause diapers are so stinkin expensive, especially when he could be trained if I had been working harder on it. I did get him a new potty seat thing to go over the big potty seat on the big toilet, and it's "Cars", and he has gone a few times on it (I just got it on Friday). I think he really likes going on the big potty...he feels like such a big boy. I also got him some Thomas underwear. I haven't shown them to him yet, but I am hoping some bribery might work!!! Other than not being potty trained, he has reached and surpassed (by a mile in most cases) all of the stuff they're "supposed" to do at 2 years old. I couldn't be prouder of how smart and beautiful my children are. I can imagine that every mother feels this way about their children, but I am just such a proud mommy!!!

Lily's 5th Birthday!!!!!!!

2009-02-14T17:16:00.020-06:00

It's so hard to believe, but I have been blogging for a year now!! I have to say that I am so glad I decided to start doing this. Even though I haven't been keeping up with it as well lately, I am still so glad that I have these memories for my precious children!!!

We have been celebrating Lily's 5th Birthday this week!! We had her party at school on Monday Feb. 9, 2009 (when I noticed her pink eye). She had a great time!! I don't know if I've ever seen another kid that LOVES being the center of attention like she does!!!

Chocolate Cupcake Mouth!!!

So hard to believe that there are 5 candles on that cupcake!!!! It just doesn't seem like she should be that old already!!!

Lily and her best friend from school, Gemma!!! They were playing a wiggling game...they couldn't go outside to play cause it was raining!!!

Wiggle Game...it was SOOO cute to watch them all!!!!

Today was Lily's Family, Friend Birthday Party. I was a little worried about having it on Valentines Day, but it ended up being just fine. We had originally scheduled it for January 31, but because of the ice storm, and lack of electricity, I had to reschedule. I felt really, REALLY bad about it, cause I didn't really have a way of contacting anyone. Anyway, I decided to reschedule for today...It was the soonest I could do it. Not everyone was able to make, but that is understandable, considering it was Valentines Day, and there are still some people who don't have electricity, or just got it back. Lily had a FABULOUS time (as always!!) I want to thank everyone for coming, and helping us celebrate Lily's 5th Birthday!!!

Lily originally wanted to wear this crown for the party, but within 15 minutes of getting to the church building, it was gone!!

She was crawling and running around playing with balloons, while waiting for everyone to get there. She was so excited!!!! Anticipation can be horrible sometimes!!!

Lily's balloon bouquet!! I thought it turned out pretty good!!! As you can tell, the theme for the party was TinkerBell!! I thought it was really cute!!

Lily's cupcake cakes!!! We got them from Wal-Mart, and I couldn't have been more pleased with them. They were so stinkin cute!!!

Singing "Happy Birthday" with Zane, Brooke, Madison, and Kendra!!!!

Lily and Madison...2 peas in a pod!!! Madison's Birthday Party is tomorrow!!! Talk about a lot of celebrating this weekend!!!!

Lily, Madison, Kendra, and Brooke. I somehow didn't get pictures of Claire, but they were the cutest little group of girlfriends!!! It was precious!!!!

Playing with balloons!!!!

Pink Eye and Ice Storm

2009-02-13T08:48:00.014-06:00

It seems like when it rains, it pours!! I, generally speaking, don't like to be a whiner. But, I can not even begin to describe how much I would LOVE to have a few boring days. Lily, as you read in the previous post, had an ongoing urinary tract infection that took 2 rounds of antibiotics to clear up. Thankfully, it is gone. But in it's place came pink eye, and laryngitis. I noticed on Monday (Feb 9) when I got to her school for her birthday party (delayed from the ice storm) that her eye was a little red, and asked the teacher if she had noticed it (It was NOT red that morning). She said that Lily had complained about there being something in her eye earlier in the day, so it might just be irritated from that. Needless to say, it was NOT better the next morning. Also, when she woke up on Tuesday, she could barely talk. So off to the doctors office for a 3 hour wait we went. Luckily, they worked us in pretty quickly, so we were only there for about 1 1/2 hours. Doctor said it was pink eye (which I had pretty much already figured out on my own), and laryngitis (also already figured that one out). She has been on the drops now for 3 days, and she still has it. I am really hoping it is gone by Monday...she has missed so much school lately, we really need to get back in to routine of things!!!!

Taken on Tuesday (2-10-09) right after the doctors appointment!!
Taken today (2-13-09). Looks a little better, I guess!!!

We have yet to clean up the destruction left behind by the ice storm. We survived the ice storm fairly well. We blocked off the bedrooms, and bathroom from the rest of the house, and with our little kerosene heater, we were able to stay warm. We did loose all our food (fridge, freezer, and deep freeze). Thankfully, the insurance company is reimbursing us for that. I am just so glad that nothing to major happened. We lost a few sections of our fence and have some major tree damage, but nothing happened to our house, or vehicles, or really anything major. It could have been so much worse. Not having electricity for 7 days was a HUGE eye opener, I have to say. It is truly amazing how much we rely on electricity and various technical devices.

These pics didn't turn out very well at all, but it at least gives you the general idea.

I hope you are all well!!! Love ya!!

Lily's ER Visit

2009-01-17T10:34:00.003-06:00

I know I have been slacking on updating the blog lately. I am really going to try to start doing better.

As most of you know, we took Lily to the ER on Saturday night (1-10-09). We had plans for dinner with Jennifer, Phillip, and the girls that night at five. We laid the kiddos down for their nap around 12:00, and at that point they were both fine. I went downstairs to start making rolls around 1:30. I had just floured the counter and heard Lily WAILING. She was screaming that her stomach hurt. So I ran upstairs to find her doubled over. Talk about scaring the pee out of me. I could tell she was also running fever. So I sat her on the potty (thinking it may be just poopy cramps) and took her temp. 102.6. That is not all that high for her. When she is REALLY sick it goes from 103 to 104.7 (that's the highest it has ever been). She didn't go to the bathroom, but I pushed around on her belly and she did act like it was tender in a specific spot, so I thought it was just poopy cramps. I gave her some tylenol and pepto and she went back to bed. Adam and I discussed what we should do (I also called Jennifer and she suggested calling the ER to talk with our doc). We decided to just put her in bed with us and let her finish her nap. When she woke up an hour later, her fever was up to 104.2 and she was still complaining of her tummy hurting. It didn't seem to be as bad, and still didn't hurt in a specific spot. I decided that it was probably pneumonia or strep. She said her mouth hurt and she has had a cough for a while now. She had already been on 2 different antibiotics and 2 different cough medicines for the cough, but it hadn't gone away. So by this time, Mediquick was closed, and our only option was the ER. If it WAS pneumonia or strep, we couldn't just leave it until Monday, and there was still a little part of me that wanted to rule out appendicitis. So, off to the ER, we went. By the time we got there and they checked her temp, it was down to around 100 (figures, huh). They went ahead and ordered a blood test, urine test, and chest x-ray. First came the blood. I have to say that the lady that took her blood was AWESOME!! Lily never saw the needle, and I'm not real sure she even knew what was going on. Next was the urine. NOT FUN!!! They had to do an in and out cath. It was so awful. She screamed, and I had to REALLY fight back the tears. I knew that if I started crying it would make things worse for her. The started with a small child sized cath and it was too big...they couldn't get it in. So then they had to start all over with a newborn sized cath. To be fair to the nurses, how often do they really have to insert a cath into a 4 year old. But, it just seemed to take a bit long, and then they weren't even sure they were in until the pee started coming out. To say that the whole ordeal was awful would be an understatement. Next, the chest x-ray. Compared to the previous proceedure, the chest x-ray was a piece of cake. And, she got to ride in a wheelchair on the way down to the room, and on the way back. That was fun for her!!! So, we sat down and waited for the results. After a little bit the doc came in and said her chest x-ray was fine (hurray!!) her blood work was fine (hurray!!!), but she had a severe urinary tract infection (what????). Never, in my wildest dreams, would I have thought she had a UTI. I've never even had one. How would I have diagnosed that??? So, anyway, they gave her a shot, and a prescription for some antibiotics. I have been giving her cranberry juice for the last week, and just praying that when she goes back on Wednesday (1-21-09) it will all be a distant memory. She seems to be feeling better. I have asked her if it still hurts when she goes pee, and she said no. But I'm not real sure. She never told me that it hurt in the first place. My fear is, she has had this for a while, and wouldn't know the difference. It makes me feel horrible, but I really don't know how I would've known. I'm just glad they found it, and hopefully it is gone.

Sorry, about the rambling!! I hope all is well with everyone!! We love you all!!!

2008 Christmas

2009-01-03T22:01:00.016-06:00

I hope everyone had a Great Christmas!!! We definately did here!!! I have put quite a few pictures on here...I hope that they tell the story!!!!

The excitement that my kids showed on Christmas morning was so contagious!!! We couldn't have wiped that smile off their faces if we had tried!!!! It is always so magical!!!!
Adam was helping Avery open his present from Santa!!! The kids got entirely to much, as always!! I do have to say that we did much better this year (didn't get them quite as much as last year that is). It is so easy to get carried away!!! I really have to work hard to not buy them everything I see that I know they will love. The truth is they would love anything!!!
One of the MANY new "Cars" figures Avery got!!! He is lovin' them!! He can't just play with one or two, though, he has to drag them ALL out!!!! And he can tell you the names of all of them. It is TOO cute!!! Adam and I got a Digital Camcorder for Christmas so we are going to record him naming them all. I'll put it on here when we get it done!!!

Lily fixed her hair herself on Christmas morning!!!!!!!! She was so proud of herself, and I was pretty proud also!!! She is learning. I wonder how much longer I will be able to fix her hair for her!!!!

When the local book store went out of business, Lily found this HUGE, REALLY NICE train set. Adam and I were contemplating a train set for Avery for Christmas anyway, so we got this set that was originally $100 for $40. Since Lily is the one who found it and showed it to us, this was Avery's present from her. We got it back in August and she has remembered it since, so when it was time for Avery to open it, she was right there to watch his reaction and help him with it!!!! It was so cute!!!

Avery did pretty good at opening his presents this year. Once we got them started for him, he would rip the paper off!!! Of course, he had Lily to help, also!!!

Lily LOVES snowglobes. We really discovered it by accident. Adam got her a couple of miniture ones for Easter last year, and she LOVES them. So after some talking, we decided to start getting her a big, nice snowglobe for Christmas every year. We thought it would be a good collection to start for her!!!! We got her a princess one this year, and to say she loves it would be an understatement!!! You can tell by the picture how much she loves it, and is taking care of it!!!!

We took about 50 pics, so I can't post them all. Needless to say we had a GREAT Christmas, and I am so SO glad to have my house back to normal!!!!

CHRISTMAS AT MY MOM AND DADS

My parents are as bad, if not worse than us about getting the kids WAY to much for Christmas!!!! Their dog's name is Sarah!!! Lily named her. Shorty (our dog from when I was a teenager and still at home) had to be put down back in the summer. Sarah is their new dog. They got her in October, and she is SOOO much a puppy. Quite a change for my mom and dad who were used to Shorty who was quite old and would just lay around and snuggle. I LOVE Sarah, and I have to say that when the day comes that we have to put our dogs down, we will definately get one like her!!!!

Lily helps my dad play Santa. Now that she is starting to read, she can do it almost completely by herself. She just has to be slowed down a little!!! She loves helping him, and has done it since she was big enough to walk!!! SOOOO cute!!!

CHRISTMAS AT THE GOODS

We always have Christmas with Adam's mothers parents. They are so full of life, and wonderful to be around!!! They made this Gingerbread house for the kids. They did such a FANTASTIC job. We tried making one last year with Robb and Cindy (Adam's brother and his wife), and to say that we weren't all that successful would be an understatement!!! So it is even more impressive to me now, just how good of a job they do on these things!!!!

Robb and Cindy's kids Zane, and Kendra with Lily and Avery!!! Kendra is 5 months older than Lily so they are close. Almost like sisters. They can play and be best friends one second, and be fighting like sisters the next. I am so glad that they are so close in age, though. I hope that they will always be a good influence on each other, and be there to keep each other in line!!!!

CHRISTMAS AT ADAMS PARENTS

Of all the stuff that Avery got from Adam's parents (Ken and Ginny) he spent the entire night playing with a box of "Cars" Mac and Cheese. He doesn't even like Mac and Cheese, but he is just in LOVE with this "Cars" stuff.

Lily got this wardrobe!!! Adam's dad (Ken) built it for her. It is SOOO wonderful. It is built with one hanger pole on the left side and two on the right side. She can put her dress up dresses on the left side. And all her doll clothes on the right side. Then there is a drawer on the bottom to hold all her "accessories". This is SUCH an awesome piece!!!!! She can use it forever. I think I was more excited about this than anyone else. Just call me sentimental. I just think about how awesome of a story it will be for her to tell her grandchildren!!!!

Well, I hope this wasn't too long for everyone to read. I had a lot of stuff to catch up on!!! We will be back to the daily grind on Monday. I have enjoyed having Lily home for the last two weeks, but I have to say that I will be glad to get back on a schedule. It is probably going to be a rough week, trying to get the kids used to getting up early and going to bed early again!!! Here's praying for an easy transition!!!!

We love you all!!!!

Dodson Christmas

2008-12-21T21:13:00.010-06:00

I took these pictures this morning (12-21-08)!!!! I had the kids all decked out in their Christmas clothes for church and I had to get pics of them looking SUPER CUTE!!!!

We had Christmas with my dad's family last Saturday (12-13-08)!!! We, as always, had a GREAT time!!!! Avery was a little scared of "Santa" at first, but once he got a few presents he REALLY warmed up to him. Now he is talking about Santa non-stop!!! My dad's family always does too much for Christmas!!! The kids get so many presents, it's crazy!!!! Avery got a Lego set that had a train from the Thomas line. He has carried that "choo-choo" around ever since. He got so many other things it's hard to remember. He got a winnie-the-pooh golf set...it is SOOOO cute!!! Lily got a Bella Dancerella Cheerleader DVD thing. It is SOOO cool. She has been Cheering every night now. It is suprising how quickly she is catching on. She also got a Sleeping Beauty doll that has a skirt that twirls around, a little mermaid baby doll, and countless other things. Like I said, they got a lot of stuff. We are so blessed to have such a big family who loves us all!!! We really are a big happy family. It is not one of those family things that you go to, and are uncomfortable the whole time. We laugh, and joke around, and just have a fabulous time!!! It is so wonderful to be a part of such a loving family!!!!
My cousin, Stoney, was Santa this year. Both of his kids (Morgan, and Chat) are old enough, that they don't believe in Santa anymore!!! He did a GREAT job at it!!!

From left to right-Chat, Abby, Avery, Lily, Maddie, Morgan, and Cody (at the bottom).

Lily was SOOO excited to see Santa. She had to give him hugs, even though his hands were stuffed with presents!!!!

Avery was not super excited to sit on Santa's lap. Once he got his first few presents, he was only too happy to sit on his lap and get another one.

Lily was excited to point of being bashful (which she is NOT)!!! I couldn't have wiped the smile off of her face if I had tried!!!

We want to wish you all a VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS, and a HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!!

Love you all!!!!

Weeweechu

2008-12-17T15:39:00.003-06:00

It's a romantic full moon, when Pedro said, "Hey, mamacita, let's do Weeweechu."

"Oh no, not now, let's look at the moon!" said Rosita.

"Oh, c'mon baby, let's you and I do Weeweechu. I love you and it's the perfect time," Pedro begged.

"But I wanna just hold your hand and watch the moon." replied Rosita.

"Please, corazoncito, just once, do Weeweechu with me."

Rosita looked at Pedro and said, "OK, one time, we'll do Weeweechu."

Pedro grabbed his guitar and they both sang....."Weeweechu a Merry Christmas, Weeweechu a Merry Christmas, Weeweechu a Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year."!!!!!!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

Christmas Decorating!!!

2008-11-30T14:41:00.013-06:00

I know I have mentioned this before, but I LOVE Christmas!!! It is my most favorite time of the year!! It is snowing here today, so we all feeling festive!! In fact, when Lily looked out the window and saw it snowing this morning, she ran around saying "It's Christmas, It's Christmas"!!! It took a little bit of explaining for her understand that just because it is snowing, doesn't mean it's Christmas!!! The snow is so beautiful!!! I forget just how much I love the snow, until it snows again!!!! It is coming down really hard at the moment, though it was just spitting here and there up until now. It is looking like Lily may get another day at home with us!!! I kept her out all week last week. She just needed a break, and it has been WONDERFUL having her home. I don't necessarily think school will be called off tomorrow, but I DON'T drive in inclement weather...period!!! Anyway, I hope you all had a GREAT Thanksgiving!! We had a GREAT day!!!! We all ate entirely too much, though. On friday, my mom and I did our annual Black Friday shopping at Wal-Mart!! It was incredibly crazy (as always)!! But we got pretty much everything we went for. I can now officially say that I am done with my Christmas shopping!!! YAY!!!! Friday evening we went to HallMark to get our Christmas ornaments for this year. We have had our tree up for a couple of weeks now. Getting our ornaments is something we like to do together as a family!!! Friday was really our first chance to do it!! We had a good time. Of course, it took Lily at least 30 minutes to decide which ornament she wanted (this is a totally normal thing...they have a TON of girlie ornaments). It took Avery about 30 seconds. He found the Thomas ornament and that was it. Nothing else sparked his interest!!! Sooooo funny!!!! Well, I hope all is well with everyone!!! We love you all!!

This is the fourth in this series. Adam and I have gotten them all. We like to collect series ornaments!!
We were collecting this Dr. Suess series that they had. But they only had like 7 or 8 (can't remember for sure at the moment). So last year we had to find something else. We decided on "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" ornaments last year. We thought that would be something they would have every year. When we went to get it this year, it looked almost exactly like the one we got last year. Adam LOVED this "Muppet Show" ornament, so we decided on it instead!!!

We haven't found a series for Avery yet. They just don't really have any that I like for boys. Last year we got a Snoopy one, thinking we could collect that series, but I REALLY disliked the one they had in that series this year. So we decided we would just get him this Cars one this year. It is something that he loves, and maybe that will mean more than having a series.

We collect the Holiday Barbie series for Lily!! I collect the actual Holiday Barbies, so we thought it would be neat to get the ornaments for her. Luckily for us, she LOVES Barbie!!! And LOVES these ornaments!!!

This is the Thomas ornament that Avery picked out. It has been difficult to make him leave it alone. He wants to take it off the tree and play with it. He is getting it, though. Maybe by the time we take the tree down he will understand!!!!

This is the one that Lily finally decided on. It was on the list of her favorites, but finally after being in there for EVER I just made her pick one, and this was it. She isn't regreting it!!! I'm glad!! It is very pretty!!

Picnik Fun!!!

2008-11-26T20:07:00.007-06:00

Sooo, I want thank my beautiful cousin Katie for introducing me to Picnik!!!! I have had so much fun with it!!! I haven't had alot of time to work with it, but I did get these four pictures done today!!!! If you guys are interested in checking it out here is a link!!! Hope you all have fun...I have!!!!!

Which Kid Is It????

2008-11-14T11:01:00.005-06:00

Can you tell???

What We're Up To....

2008-11-12T08:43:00.007-06:00

I don't know if I've ever said this before, but I LOVE my kids!!! It seems like they do something everyday that just makes me smile. I am always so proud of them, and ALWAYS want to show them off and brag about the great things they do. So that is what this post is about!!!! They have been a little sick for a little over a week now. I think (knock on wood) that they are on the mend. Hopefully!!!!

I'll start with Lily. She is learning so much in school. It seems like everyday she has learned to read and spell a new word. She is writing like a champ. She has mastered just about every letter. When she pretend plays now, she plays school. She will sit and write out notes that most of the time are just a bunch of letter that don't make a lot of sense, but she ALWAYS has a story to go behind it. She will read it, like she has actually written a story, and is so proud of herself. There is always the words that she knows how to spell in there and she always puts them in sequence with the story. I am amazed everyday with just how much she can learn. Since she is in preschool, they don't have homework, so I have been giving her homework at home. I bought this awesome writing tablet at Wal-Mart that helps her learn to write her big letters, little letters, and numbers the correct way. I, apparently, have written some letters and numbers wrong my entire life. I have no intention of changing the way I write, but I want to make sure that I teach her the correct way. She is making so many friends. She has always been a little social butterfly, sometimes too much so, if you know what I mean. When I walk her into her class, all the kids are always like "Hi, Lily" and they run up to talk to her and stuff. I LOVE that for her. She has gotten her feelings hurt before, if someone doesn't want to be her friend. I can remember feeling that way myself, so I want to protect her against hurt feelings. I know I can't pick her friends, and shield her from all things bad, but I SOOOO want to. She is very much a leader, and hopefully she will keep that mentality, and be a leader and example to all the kids around her. I guess we probably all want that for out kids, though, don't we??? Lily is such a girly girl. She wants more than anything to be a cheerleader. She talks about if at least once a day. At Ms Christy's (her dance teacher studio) they have an all-star cheerleader squad. Their youngest is 8. So, Lily still has a few year, before she can do it. I have plans to take her one night to watch them. They practice after my exercise class, which is also at Ms Christy's. I just have to be prepared for her to skip school the next day since it would be after 9:00 before we would get home. She is doing awesome in her dance class. Ms Christy was bragging on her a few weeks ago to me. She said that Lily was the only in class that actually tries. She is always trying to get every move perfect. I am so proud of her tenacity. We are going to put her in soccer in the spring. She is excited about this, also. I love soccer. I love to watch it, and I can only imagine what great exercise it is. Christmas is coming up shortly, and I couldn't be more thrilled. We got Lily an American Girl-Just Like You doll. You order it to look just like the girl you're getting for. So we decided on brown hair with highlights, since Lily's hair is getting darker by the month. It also had blue eyes, and freckles across the nose, just like Lily. I can't wait to see her face light up when she gets it. I think this is probably the most exciting thing (at least it is for me) we have given her for Christmas, yet. I LOVE her so much!!! She is SOOO beautiful, smart, kind, and loving. I am SUCH a proud Mommy!!!!

Now for Avery!!! He absolutely cracks me up every day. It seems like he is doing something new every day. He is absolutely in love with anything that has wheels. Every day he gets in his toy box, and drags out ALL of his cars, trains, and planes. He will either play with them in Lily's Barbie house, or he will line them up in the window seal, or on a table. He hardly ever plays with the on the floor, not real sure why. When he goes to bed he picks out 1 of the 50 he is playing with the sleep with. Right now he is hooked on the trains (choo-choo's as he calls them). He also LOVES hats. It is so cute. He finds a different hat the wear every day. He has 2 baseball caps, 1 with Lightening McQueen, and one with Batman that he loves. He will also wear one of Lily's old Easter hats. It fits his head so well, I think that is why he likes it so much. Right now, though, he is into this plastic fire hat. He'll put it on and go around saying he's PaPa. My dad is a firefighter in Harrison. He gave Avery this hat, and now, all of a sudden (after like 2 or 3 months) he wants to wear it constantly. I think my favorite part of it, though, is when he says that he is PaPa. It is so cute. Lately, instead of telling me no when I ask him a question, he says "No Way". I don't know where he picked it up, unless it was from me. Sometimes if one of them is telling me a story, I will say "No, Way" in a "that's unbelieveable" sort of way. It is so cute to hear him say it. He has told me "No Way" before in a "I'm not going to do what you just told me to" sort of way, and it is not so cute then. But I have always found it so cute (and sometimes a bit scary) the stuff that kids will pick up from you. Stuff that you don't really even realize you do, until you hear your kid say it. Avery is doing such a superb job of the whole potty training bit. He will go ALL day without a pee pee accident. Sometimes, he will get in this weird mood and decide not to pee on the potty at all, but for the most part, he will pee on the potty every time. Now, he will NOT poop on the potty. He has never even tried. I put him on the potty one day, like every 10-15 minutes, and keep encouraging him to poop, and he just wouldn't. Then, when I layed him down for his nap, he decided to poop. I decided that I just wasn't going to push it right now. Especially since he is doing so great at the pee thing. Maybe it will just click one day. That is my hope. The good thing, though, is that he doesn't usually poop unless he is at home. So I am going to start taking him out in underwear, soon. I hope that goes good. We'll just have to wait and see. I am probably going to wait a couple more weeks, just for good measure (and because I'm a big chicken!!!!) He is such a big boy, and it makes me sad just how fast he is, well, how fast both of them are growing up. I want to capture them in a bottle. I don't want to ever forget just how wonderful and loving and just plain perfect they are. I know that rough years are to come, and I want to remember these times forever. Oh yeah, one more thing about Avery...He gives the BEST hugs and kisses. He will just wrap his little arms around my neck so tight, and give me the best little kisses. I just love it!!! He is so cuddly, and sweet, and even though he does have a tendency to try my patience from time to time, I wouldn't change anything about him. I LOVE him so much!!!!!

Well, I know that I have rambled on for a while. I just wanted to get all this stuff down, so I could remember it later. I love you all, and hope you are all well!!!!

"I am PaPa!!!!!"

His Buzz Lightyear jammies, and one of his favorite choo choo's!!!!

Lily found some old baby bibs, and decided she was going to be a baby!!! She has such an imagination!!!

I rolled her hair for church Sunday, which she really LOVES!!!

The back of her Shirley Temple hair do!!!!

Halloween 2008 / Avery's 2 Year Check Up!!!!

2008-11-04T10:44:00.006-06:00

I took Avery to the doctor on Friday October 31, 2008 for his 2 year check up. I have been waiting for this one for 6 months since, at his 18 month check up he was so little and there was a tiny bit of concern of his lack of growth. Well things are looking up. He weighed in at 28 pounds and he was 32 inches tall. He is in the 50th percentile for weight and the 50th percentile for height. I was ecstatic!!! I have been SOOO concerned with his pickiness. I am just so glad that he has moved up on the charts and is getting bigger. I talked with the Dr about his refusal to try new foods and was told that I am doing the right thing by continually putting foods on his plate that he won't touch, cause one of these days he might surprise me and actually try it. He said that if he doesn't before he goes to school, he most likely will once he is in school. He said that peer pressure in elementary is as bad as high school. If the other kids are like, "Why aren't you eating your ______?" then he might think, "Hey, they're eating it so it probably isn't so bad after all". I don't know if that will be the key or not. But at least I am trying, and I am doing the right thing. That makes me feel so much better. And even though he is picky, at least he is getting enough nutrition to be gaining weight!!!! Yeah for that!!!!

Now on to Halloween!! We went Trick or Treating Friday night, and the kids had a BLAST. We didn't go last year. Avery was sick, and the best I can remember our Trunk-R-Treat at church was the same night. Maybe not...I don't know. Whatever the reason, we didn't Trick or Treat last year, so this was Avery's first year of Trick or Treating. Well, we did take him when he was a month old, but he doesn't remember, and we didn't even get him out of the car, so that doesn't really count. Anyway, the kids had such a fabulous time!!! They were so cute!!! I didn't take the camera on the outing, but got a few before we left!!!!

LOVE this face!!!! He is running toward me to grab the camera, but he just wasn't fast enough!!!
I fashioned Lily a ring out of a twistie tie and she was SOOO proud of it. She said it looked like a REAL wedding ring, and had to show it to everyone at the houses we went to. I'm so glad she can be so pleased with something so small.

She, once again, wanted to go as something different. So this time she chose to be a bride. She did look adorable!!! I have decided that she needs to have a picture taken on her REAL wedding day like the one above!!! Wouldn't that be so cute in a frame!!!!

My Space Ranger is the cutest in the world!!! Far cuter than the REAL Buzz Lightyear!!!

Neither one of them were real excited about getting their pictures taken. Which is a bit odd, cause Lily usually hams it up anytime I get the camera out. I think they were just ready to go and get the show on the road!!!! I love them!!!!!

Well, hope everyone is well!!!! Love you!!!!

Red Ribbon Week!!! Halloween Party at School!!!!

2008-11-01T08:17:00.011-05:00

This week was red ribbon week at school!!! We had so much fun dressing up for the different days. On Friday (Oct 31 2008) Lily had her Halloween Party at school. My sister-in-law (Cindy) watched Avery for a couple of hours for me so I could go and help out. I could have taken Avery, but I would have spent the whole time chasing him around, and would not have been able to help out. So I am SOOO glad that it worked out for Cindy to watch him. We had a great time!!!! The kids in Lily's class are so stinkin cute!!!! You could tell that they were having an excellent time. They were so cute in their little costumes!!! We have had a busy week, but it has been lots of fun!!!!

Monday was Maroon and White day (school colors), but unfortunately my child with more clothes than me (not kidding about that) does not have anything maroon. So we weren't able to dress up on Monday. But Tuesday was favorite sports day. She (of course) wanted to wear a cheerleader shirt. We were in luck, cause she has a couple of them. I thought she looked super cute (but I ALWAYS do)!!!!

Tuesday was Pajama day. She REALLY wanted to wear a pair of jammies that had a robe with them. We decided on this pair. They were warm, and not too tight (like most jammies are supposed to be). She looked TOO cute!!! Most of the kids in her class were dressed up for this day. I guess they made a big deal over it in class, cause they were all so excited. They were so cute!!! I guess wearing their jammies also helped them sleep, cause Ginny (my mother-in-law) said Lily was passed out when she got there to pick her up (she picks her up on Wednesdays and Fridays, which REALLY helps me out!!!!!)

Friday was wear Red Day!!!! This day we could do, cause she has a few different red shirts. Again, I have to say she was a cutie!!! They had a ceremony at school to release red balloons that said "Alpena is Drug Free!!". The kids in Lily's class got to go and watch them release all of the balloons. I guess they got a big kick out of that!!!

Later that day was the Halloween Party!!!! They were going to have a mini parade around the school, but unfortunately it was pouring down rain, so they weren't able to. They decided to play a school type version of musical chairs. They marched in this circle around the rug and when the music stopped they had to look for a pumpkin letter on the rug. If it was in front of them they could pick it up and they would sing a little song. It was so cute, and they all REALLY enjoyed it.

Lily decided she didn't want to be a cheerleader this time (like she was for Trunk-R-Treat). So she decided on Snow White. I have to say that the investment I have made in her dress up outfits has been one of the best I have made. Lily has gotten the money's worth out of the all!!! She had so much fun trying to decide what to be for what Halloween party!!!

I'm not sure what kind of juice they had with their cupcakes and cookies, but they all had stained mouths after the first drink!!! I have to say they were cuties with their little juice moustaches.

We all had a great week!!! I hope you all did too!!!! Have a great weekend!!! Love you all!!!

Barbie Houses are NOT only for Barbies!!!!

2008-10-29T17:14:00.006-05:00

So today, Avery decided to take all the Barbies and Barbie Furniture out of Lily's Barbie house today and decided to use it for a Car house. I have to say it was so cute!!!
He plays with this house more than Lily does. Sometimes it houses his Little People, but mostly cars of some sort. He plays with the Barbies on occasion, also. But instead of combing their hair and dressing them up, he makes them fight and takes all their clothes off (must be a boy thing!!)!!!

He was feeding the cars out of the little pink dish. It is just so stinking cute to watch them play using their wild imaginations!!!!

I had to get a pic of his teeny tiny tushy in his underwear. He is doing so well on the potty training front. He will pee in the potty almost every time if I keep up with it (I slack on occasion). But pooping in the potty is a no go so far. He just refuses to go. They say that the poop thing varies between kids. Lily was pooping before peeing on the potty. Avery has yet to poop on the potty. So I guess we will see how it goes!!!

I hope everyone is well!! We love you all!!!!

Survey

2008-10-28T15:58:00.002-05:00

Thank you Nikki for tagging me!!! I actually haven't done one of these survey's for a while, so it will be fun!!!!

1. Where is your cell phone? In my purse
2. Where is your significant other? Work
3. Your hair color? brown/blonde/red (its actually a pretty good mix, when it isn't colored)
4. Your mother? The best in the world
5. Your father? The best in the world
6. Your favorite thing? Watching my children playing together and enjoying each other
7. Your dream last night? I don't remember
8. Your dream/goal? To raise my children in the Lord and watch them do the same with their children
9. The room you're in? Living Room
10. Your hobby? Scrapbooking, Sewing, anything crafty I'm up for!!!
11. Your fear? Messing up with raising my kids
12. Where do you want to be in 6 years? In a new house with at least one more child
13. Where were you last night? After Lily's dance class, we were home all night
14. What you're not? Self-absorbed
15. One of your wish-list items? To sell our house
16. Where you grew up? Arkansas
17. The last thing you did? Picked up Lily from school
18. What are you wearing? Track suit
19. Your TV? WAY to big
20. Your pet? 2 dogs - Hunter and Oscar
21. Your computer? Cost WAY to much (Adam being an IT geek and all -I LOVE YOU HONEY!!!!!!!)
22. Your mood? Content
23. Missing someone? My parents
24. Your car? Dodge Grand Caravan (I LOVE IT)
25. Something you're not wearing? Shoes
26. Favorite store? Gymboree (I can't go in there very often though, or I'd be in BIG trouble)
27. Your summer? Crazy
28. Love someone? Quite a few someone's actually
29. Your favorite color? Purple
30. When is the last time you laughed? Today
31. Last time you cried? Sunday (Extreme Makeover - Home Edition)

Okay, here are my 5 nominees:
Shelly
Tracy
Jennifer
Katie
Maggie

Trunk-R-Treat

2008-10-26T20:44:00.019-05:00

We had a GREAT time at Trunk-R-Treat last night!!! The kids were so cute!!! Lily decided to be a cheerleader, and Avery went as Buzz Lightyear!!!! We haven't had to buy Lily a costume in years. She has so many dress-up outfits, she just picks from those!!! We got Avery's last year at the Disney store on Clearance for $4.99. What an unbelieveable bargain. The great thing is that it is big enough that it will hopefully fit him again next year!!! They were both so stinkin cute!!!!
Avery loved the gloves to this outfit, but they were just so big that he couldn't keep them on. Lily had pom-poms to go with hers, so we took some of the ribbons off of them to put in her hair. I thought it was cute, and she thought it was awesome!!!

Cutie Pies!!!!

He came up to grab the camera, and I got this super cute pic of him!!!!

What a Superhero!!!!!!!!

Lily wants to be a cheerleader so bad!!! She likes to pretend and she is getting better at the whole handstand and cartwheel thing, thanks to taking tumbling over the summer!!!

I put that pink spray stuff in her hair. She thought she was something special!!!!

They had awesome prizes this year for the games. I really liked that they had prizes and not candy. They get so much candy at the Trunk-R-Treat part, that I prefer not to get so much during the games!!

Avery playing the ring toss. He did the best ever...made every one!!!

Waiting patiently for his prize!!!

Lily and her cousin Kendra!!! Kendra was an elephant (so cute)!!! It was a hot outfit, so she took it off during the games!!!

Avery got to pick out his own prize!!!

Patiently waiting for her turn!!!

Lily getting blindfolded for the pin the nose on the pumpkin game!!!

I hope everyone has a great week and a Happy Halloween!!!!

McDonalds Play Date!?!?!?!?!

2008-10-21T15:48:00.003-05:00

So, Avery and I went to McDonalds this morning for breakfast before I took him and dropped him off at Mothers Day Out!! I'm sure that you have all noticed that if you go to McDonalds between 7:00-9:00 a.m. there is usually a HUGE group of older people sitting around drinking coffee. I used to (up until today) feel so sorry for these people. I thought, "Man, these poor old people have nothing better to do than to come to McDonald's" I wanted to make sure that I never became like that when I got old. So today the whole lobby was PACKED. The only free table was one in the "old people section". Avery and I went and sat over there (there was actually a man there that goes to church with us). I just knew I was going to hear moaning and groaning about this ache and that pain, or poor Avery was going to have his cheeks pinched off. But NONE of that happened. My eyes were opened and when we left and got in the car I started crying over my stupidness. Here is a group of 10 to as many as 30 old people who genuinely love and care about each other. I heard not even one complaintabout their own health. Instead, I heard everyone asking about ****** because he was just put in the hospital with heart problems. The people who hadn't already been to see him were saying they were going as soon as they left McDonalds. They were asking each other how ****** was. He had just been released from the hospital. He had pneumonia, and had to be on oxygen and have breathing treatments, but he was planning on coming (to McDonalds) today, and low and behold, guess who showed up as Avery and I leaving - ****** wheeling in his oxygen tank and smiling from ear to ear at the hugs, kisses, and greeting from his friends. When someone got there, they had to make the rounds between the tables, to make sure and say hi and get hugs from everyone. No one left while we were there. It was as if time didn't matter. Once they were there, they were going to stay and visit with their friends. I can't really express in words the feeling of warmth and love that came from this "group of old people". I think that now instead of calling them a group of old people, I will have to refer to them as the LOVE GROUP!!!!! I also wanted to let you know that I HOPE beyond HOPE that when I get older, I can go to McDonalds EVERY morning to sit around and drink coffee.

I love you all!!!! Maybe we can all sit around and drink coffee together!!!!

Update!!

2008-10-15T09:55:00.013-05:00

First, I want to say a big "THANK YOU" to all of you for your advise on my last post. I am still worried about the fact that he won't try new things, but I am working around that. I will not force him to eat something he doesn't want to, not that I have done that before, just wondered if I should. I do think that he has some sensory issues (I would like to talk to you about this sometime, Jennifer!!!). I don't know if that is attributing to his eating issues or not, but it is something that I am taken into more consideration. I haven't had a chance to read "Happiest Toddler on the Block", yet, but it is on my to do list. I did finish "The Stong Willed Child" and feel somewhat more impowered now. I realize that I may NEVER truly understand what he is feeling, but I will do my best to offer the disiplined environment that he needs. He will no longer get away with stuff. It would be so much easier for me to give in to him, but I know that this would be worse for both of us later on. I can only pray that God is guiding my hand, and my mind. I need his help daily!!!

We have been so busy over the last few weeks. I feel like I am running on empty most of the time. I know that I need to get used to it, cause it will only get busier in the coming years. I am preparing myself for that. I have started selling stuff on ebay over the last couple of months, for extra money (gas money!!!). It is going really well, and I am enjoying having something to do that contributes to the family fund, instead of just taking away from it. Our budget last month was the tightest it has ever been. We had to pay for the new van, the sales tax on the van, and our personal property taxes. I was feeling so broke and sorry for myself, then I watched an episode of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, and just cried about my selfishness. It is so easy to get caught up in the greediness of this world, and I am praying every day that God opens my eyes to the blessings that we have. We are all TRULY blessed.

We are going to a birthday party for Claire today. She is one of Lily's friends. Lily is so excited, I'm sure she will take a GREAT nap. When we get home, my plan is to carve a couple of pumpkins. Adam is in the deer woods this weekend, so we will see if I can handle the extreme mess of carving pumpkins by myself!!!! I will definately take pics to share!!!

My uber-talented photographer mother-in-law Ginny took some family pics of us a few weeks ago. I have put them on this post. The ones of the kids and then the ones of Adam with the kids turned out great. I didn't realize how badly my hair need coloring, until I saw the finshed pictures, so I think we are going to take the family ones again, after I touch up my hair!!!

I hope that everyone is doing well!! We love you all!!!!

This tree was the backdrop for both of the kids individual pictures. They turned out so well!!! I was very pleased!!!! I sat Avery up in the tree, he thought he was SOOOO big!!!!
Lily decided she need to hand and swing from the tree!!!

They were picking those little blue berry looking thing off of the evergreens!!! Don't they look content!!!!

In the tree, looking big!!!

My favorite picture of her!!!! So beautiful!!!!

What a sweetie!!!

Avery just wanted to climb on me, nothing lovey dovey, like Lily!!! He is ALL Boy!!!!

My BEATIFUL children!!!!

We could Avery to stop pitching a fit and smile if we stuck our toungues out at him. So he and Adam had a toungue war!!!! Pretty cute pic, if you ask me!!!!!

If Lily had a "REAL" smile here, or even not a smile, this would be my favorite pic of all time. Even as it is, it is ranked WAY up there!!! How precious!!!

My Strong-Willed Child!!!!

2008-09-30T23:21:00.004-05:00

Isn't he just the most handsome little boy!!! I have (over the last few weeks) been listening to "The New Strong-Willed Child" by Dr. James Dobson. There are times when Avery is just the most loveable, cuddly, most wonderful kid ever. I don't know if he actually qualifies as a TRUE Stong-Willed Child. After listening (I have the book on CD - I don't have time to read a book, but can listen to it in the car!!) I realize how lucky I am that he is only mildly Strong-Willed. But when he decides he wants something his way, he will fight me to (his) tears to get it. If I have learned anything from this book so far, it is that you NEVER let the child win. I was doing myself, and Avery a big disservice by giving into him occasionally. It is just so much easier to let him have that cookie, than to listen and deal with the fit that will follow if I say NO. The biggest problem that I have with Avery, at the moment, is that he REFUSES to eat. Unless it is one of the few things that he likes, he will refuse to eat. I don't know what to do. I REFUSE to fix him a special meal. I guess what I am wondering is if I should MAKE him (by make him I mean I would have to force the food in his mouth and hold his mouth closed till he chokes it down) eat a bite of everything on his plate, or just let him go hungry. I am afraid that if I don't make him eat stuff and try the "NEW" things that he will only eat chicken nuggets and biscuits for the rest of his life. I have never had this problem with Lily. When we are eating, she will ask if she can be done, and I will say "Eat 2 bites of peas, and 2 bites of apples, then you can be done" and she does it, no problems. But then I don't make Avery!! She has started asking me why she has to eat that stuff if Avery doesn't, and I don't know what to tell her. Dr. Dobson says to pick your battles, and when you pick it you HAVE to win it. I just don't know that I want to spend 2 hours listening to Avery scream and REFUSE to even try stuff every night. It's not hard at breakfast or lunch. He likes pretty much all breakfast food (except eggs and meat), and for lunch it's just the two of us, so I usually just fix something I know he will eat, just to save the battle. I guess I am asking for advice from all you moms out there. What do you think I should do here????

Avery's 2nd Birthday Party!!

2008-09-26T11:08:00.008-05:00

So we had Avery's 2nd Birthday Party on Saturday (Sept 20). We had it at the big park in harrison. It was a BEAUTIFUL day. A little overcast, but no rain, and not at all to hot. We really couldn't have asked for a better day to have it. I was so happy the weather cooperated!! I can't believe that my "baby" is 2 already. Kinda sad in a way, you know. Anway, I took over 80 pictures, and it was REALLY hard to narrow it down to these six, but I thought I could tell most of the details with these!!

I made Avery's cake to look like a tire. He had a "Cars" themed party. Then I bought these cute little cars to decorate it with. He was not at all interested in the cake, he wanted the cars. It was so cute. Finally, Poppy Bob (Adam's Grandpa) helped keep him out of them until we were done singing. The blowing candles out concept was totally lost on him. Everyone was telling him to blow them out, and he kept trying to grab them instead. I ended up blowing them out for him. He then picked off the Lightning and Mater cars and ate a HUGE piece of cake.
I wish that I had taken better pictures of the cake, cause it actually turned out pretty stinkin cute. I didn't write anything on the actual cake (mainly cause there wasn't room) so I made a little sign to stick in it that had Lightning (His favorite from the movie) on it and Happy 2nd Birthday Avery. Sometimes, I am so proud of my brilliant ideas.
Avery LOVES the Cars movie. His 2 favorite are Lightning and Mater. He got a lot of Cars themed things for his birthday. He already has several different Lightning cars, so we got him a Mater truck. He LOVES it. The best part of it all is the way he say Lightning. He says "CarNing". He will say Lightning on occasion but CarNing is what he normally said. Anyway, he would open up a present, and gasp every time. It was the cutest little thing. Like he was surprised and in awe at the next "CarNing" present. I had to explain the whole CarNing thing to everyone, just so they would know that he was recognizing, and so they would know what he was saying.
We only invited family and a couple of friends to the party. So if you weren't invited, please don't be upset, it was just because I didn't want anyone to feel obligated to come. Some of our best friends are David and Joan Bell. Joan and I grew up together. We went to the same church, and hung out some too. Anyway, they have a daughter, Madison, that is 11 days younger than Lily. And their son Maddox, is only around 2 1/2 months younger than Avery. It is amazing to me how similar our lives have turned out. Anyway, Madison is Lily's very best friend. Avery and Maddox are still to young to have bonded real well yet. So after the cake, and presents it was play time. Lily, Kendra (her cousin, and also another best friend), and Madison were so cute. At one time, one of them (probably Lily) was overheard saying to the other 2, "Lets be best friends FOREVER!!!"!! That sounds just like Lily. She wants so badly to be friends with EVERYONE. Then, she gets upset if someone doesn't want to be her friend. She reminds me so much of myself it is funny. I am SOOO dreading Jr High. That was by far the worst time in my life. Mainly cause of the Friend fights, ALL THE TIME. I probably cried 75% of the time in Jr High. I was just so emotional. I'm afraid I am headed down the same road all over again with Lily. Anway, I tend to ramble, sorry. Maddox and Avery had a blast just climbing around and going down the slide. I am not exagerating when I say I took over 80 pictures. But here are a few to give you a little look at the LOADS of fun that the kids had!!! The picture above is of Maddox, right after getting off the slide.

Avery is so FEARLESS. It is amazing to me some of the things that he does. I hope that he will use more caution as he gets older!!! Otherwise, I will LITERALLY be a nervous wreck all the time.

Lily, Madison (in pink shirt and jeans), and Kendra. I think they had some kind of club thing going. But I'm not really sure!!

Pictures really are worth a thousand words!!!

I know it's been a while since I posted last. Just been really busy around here. I hope that all is well with everyone. We love you all!!

New Rooms!!

2008-09-11T08:53:00.008-05:00

So I spent most of last week rearranging and redecorating the kids bedrooms. I have been playing catch up in the rest of the house this week!! I just thought I would share some pics of my kids cute rooms!! Enjoy!!

I didn't really redecorate Lily's room (except for new blinds, curtain, and curtain rod), but we moved some stuff around so she has LOTS more room to play in there now!!
You can't really tell from the pics, but that's Avery's room where the Pooh bear is. And the door to my room is on the other side of the Cinderella clock. I love it that my kids are so close to me, but I hate that you have to go through Lily's room to get to Avery's. We have 2 1/2 bedrooms downstairs, but I just don't want to move them down there. Call me protective!!!

These walls have been painted like this since I was pregnant with Lily. I am not really liking the whole ragging technique anymore, but I REALLY don't want to repaint it, and Avery's Cars stuff goes perfect in here, so I am NOT going to!!

Cute little bed!! He is doing really well in his bed at night, but not for nap. I guess he just thinks he has free reign now. I can't even tell you how many times I've gone in there and he has his pants, and diaper off, and a pair of Lily's shoes on (Lily's shoes are in his room now). What's really funny is when he is completely naked except for a pair of Lily's boots!! I haven't taken any pics, cause I don't want to encourage it, but it is so stinking cute!!!

The bookshelf used to be in Lily's room, but we moved it in here to give her more room. I don't really know how good of an idea that was, cause I am picking up at least 2 whole shelves of books off the floor every night before bed!!

I hope everyone is doing well!! We love you all!!

Big Change!!

2008-09-01T22:05:00.009-05:00

So we have had to make the switch from crib to toddler bed. We decided on Friday that it was time. He can get out of the crib (though he hasn't while sleeping yet). But the main reason was that we were really afraid that he would tear the crib up. He is really good at grabbing the bars and shaking the bed, HARD. I just knew that he was going to end up shaking the bed apart. We had asked my mom and dad if we could use this fire truck toddler bed that they had. With Lily we were given a cot sized bed (which is a little smaller in width than a twin, but the same length). It just didn't work out to well with her, and we ended up getting her a twin shortly after. But, since we are wanting to build soon, and the kids will have bigger rooms, we want to get them bigger beds, that they can use and take with them when they move out. We have a queen bed that was ours before we got our king about a year ago. We'll probably end up giving it to Lily, and then getting a full for Avery. I don't know what we'll do. We did, however, get this fire truck bed for Avery to use now. It is super cute and he loves it. My mom and dad have had it since Lily was little. For those of you who don't know, my dad is a fireman, so this bed was fitting. They don't use it a whole lot, so it was no big deal for us to get it. Anway, we went on Friday night and picked out the bedding and stuff to redo his room. We told him that it was for his big boy bed and put the sheets and stuff where he could see them over the weekend. I didn't want it to be a huge suprise. So my mom and dad brought the bed over this morning and took the kids with them so we would have the day to redo the kids rooms. We spent all day on it, and only got Avery's room done. We took the changing table, crib, and a small bookcase out of his room. We moved in the new bed, and the big bookcase that was in Lily's room. Lily's room is so small that she will have MUCH more room to move around and play in there without the big bookcase. Anyway, we put up the new blinds and curtains, and just did some good cleaning under and behind all the furniture. It looks so cute. All I have left to do in there is put up some cute boy posters. We got 2 Cars posters, and one Superhero poster. I will try and take some more pictures later to show how cute and toddler boyish his room is now. This will be the first time since we've had this house that it hasn't been a "nursery". But when Lily made the transition I was pregnant with Avery so we just moved her out of that room, and left it the same for him. It's kinda sad!! Anyway, I knew that this would be quite an adjustment for Avery - he does NOT like change. So when we got back from mom and dad's tonight we let him play and investigate the new room for about 30 minutes before "bedtime". After laying him down, I left his room like I always do and shut his door like always. He was right behind me opening the door and following me out. So after doing this about 5 or 6 times, I took him back and in my very stern mothers voice "Avery it's night night time, lay down and go to sleep". I left, shut the door and he went to sleep. I haven't heard a peep from him since. I did sneak in there a little bit ago and took some very cute pics. I hope that my stong willed child will adjust well, and this will not be a huge deal. Pray for that, please!!!!

We love you all!!!!

Avery was not happy when Lily decided to crawl into "his" bed. He kept saying "Mine, Mine"!! So cute!!
He had to pull down the blanket to view the "Lightning" sheets!!!!!!

Cute kids in a cute bed!!!!

Sound asleep!! I decided to not put him under the blankets quite yet. He is so very attached to "his" blanket (coo-coo as he calls it??). I knew that the new blankets and sheets would just be too much for him.

I love pictures of my sleeping kids. They look so peaceful and happy!!!!

Sleeping Lily!!!

Destruction of Private Property??!!?!?

2008-08-25T10:46:00.007-05:00

So when I got back home from town this morning, this is what I found...

My big beautiful oak tree has been destroyed. Now I know that they have to do this for the power lines, etc. But, what I was really wondering about is that since this is private property and we don't live in town with any sort of city ordinances or anything, don't they have to let you know in advance that they are going to deface your property. This really couldn't have come at a worse time, we are fixing to put our house on the market. This tree is one of the very first things you see when coming into our drive, and now it looks just plain awful. I remember this happening to Jennifer here recently, and they have done this to this tree before, but it just never affected me like this before. I guess I'm just thinking about resale value, and if this will hurt it. And I really wasn't sure if they had to let us know in advance for something like this or not.
At least they are coming back through and cleaning up their mess.

Yesterday, we all looked so cute for church, and we got ready early so I had Adam take some pictures of us (he was sick and not looking so cute). The ones of the 3 of us turned out really well, but when I tried to just get Lily and Avery, of course, Avery started throwing a fit. But I thought I would share with you all!!!

"LET ME GO, SISSY"

How cute!!!

I need to fix the lighting on this, just didn't feel like it this morning!!!

Well, we have started our 2nd week of school, and Lily was just as excited this morning as she was last monday. I was glad she woke up excited and not grumbling and complaining!!! To answer you ? Tracy, we have decided to send her full time. But I will not have a problem pulling her out from time to time if I so chose. If face we are planning a day to SDC in a few weeks, so that will be fun for her!!! I hope you all have a great week!!

Oh yeah, please get my friend Jennifer Rackley in your prayers for the next few weeks. She is having some female surgery tomorrow, and needs your prayers for a quick and easy recovery. She has 3 year old twins and a 6 year old in first grade. I think we can all sympatize, so please remember her in your prayers!!! Love ya!!!!

Lily's first week of Preschool!!!

2008-08-23T15:50:00.009-05:00

Yes, my baby started preschool this week. I had a real hard trying to decide (in the spring and summer) if I wanted her to go to preschool this year. Well, I guess I should say "WE" had a hard time. Adam was as unsure about it as I was. I went and signed her up for the ABC program at Alpena. That is where we will take her when she starts BIG school. When I signed her up we were told that they were full and we were put on a waiting list. On Thursday 8-14-08, we went ahead and took her to their open house, so that she could see it and know what was going on. But, at that point (4 days before school started) we were still on the waiting list. We got a call on Friday night saying that someone had moved and Lily would be able to start school on Monday. Talk about short notice. I was just thinking I would have a few weeks to REALLY get used to the idea. NOT SO!! I really, to be honest, didn't even have to weekend to think about it. On top of being sick from on the antibiotics I had been on, we were trying to get the house as close to ready as we could, cause there was some people coming over to look at it on Monday evening. We don't have it on the market yet, but it was a co-worker of Adam's, and he knew we were selling it and they were looking so it just worked out that way. Anyway, Monday morning came and Lily woke up with a HUGE smile. Nothing would have wiped that smile off of her face. It was so precious. We all got ready (ALL of us) and went. I think the fact that I got there late and they were already reading a story helped me not start with the water works. I can honestly say I didn't shed a tear. Adam went in to work that day, and then turned around and came home so we could finish up work on the house. We worked ALL DAY long, so I had NO opportunity to really think about it, and definately no time for tears. She has had a great time. Short of the last few months that I have taken them to Mothers Day Out, they have NEVER been left anywhere. And, Mothers Day Out is only 5 hours 2 days a week. I was proud of how well she did, and how much she LOVED it. She is a social butterfly and this is right up her alley. I have to say that I think it will be good for Avery too. We (Avery and I) have never had the one-on-one time that Lily and I did, before Avery. We have had a good week. The only downfall has been how EXTREMELY tired Lily has been. She will get used to it though. Adam and I have said from the beginning that if she doesn't like it or it is to much for her, we will just pull her out. But, just judging from the first week, I don't think that will be an issue, or even a choice. She is loving it so much, and I have to say that I am super duper glad.

First Day Smiles!!!
Loving her new school clothes!!!

She had to show off her backpack and the fact that I spent the extra time to braid her hair (which she loves!!!!)!!!

There was NO complaining about going to bed that night. I think she was OUT as soon as her head hit the pillow. Once she actually goes to sleep, there isn't a lot that can wake her up. She 1 of only 2 kids in her class that didn't take a nap, until Friday. Finally exhaustion caught up and she took a nap on Friday. Hopefully she will get into the routine, and sleep will come easier to her. I hope so!!!

Passed out with her bible. How much better could it be??!!?!?!?!

I wasn't able to get pictures of Lily with her teacher, Mrs. Robbie, until Friday. It was just to crazy!!!

Lily and Mrs. Robbie

Lily putting up her apple attendance. They put up an apple on that tree every day. So cute!! I just can't believe how big she is!!!

I hope that everyone has had a great week!!! We love you all!!!

Interesting Week!!

2008-08-14T08:35:00.011-05:00

A whole lot has happened since I last posted on Monday. This is what I woke up to on Tuesday...

I knew that it was swelling through the night, I just didn't realize how badly. So Adam stayed home from work and called the dentist as soon as they opened at 8:00. They said for me to take 2 adult asprin that day and to make sure I kept a heating pad on my face, and to stay propped up. I went back to bed around 10:00. When I got up around 2:00 this is what my face looked like...
Since my eye was basically swollen shut the concern and fear was that the swelling would go on up into my brain. So the dentist sent me to my doc (Dr Collins) to get a shot of potent antibiotics and then to come into the dentist office for an emergency root canal. I have never heard of someone getting a root canal without pain meds, but I did. Because of the immense swelling the dentist (Dr Kernodle) didn't want to inject any more fluids up there. So he started the drilling, and I felt nothing. He went all the way up into the root (nerves) and no pain. Apparently when you have an abscessed tooth the tooth is dead anyway, so I guess between that and all the pressure from swelling I wasn't feeling any pain. Anyway, he drilled all the way up, and then filed it all out and NO DRAINAGE. He was disappointed to say the least. So he left the hole open in my tooth and hoped that it would start draining through the night. There were a couple of times that night that it would drain just a little bit of blood, but nothing major. But when I woke up yesterday morning (Wed) this is what I looked like...

Not 100% but better. So I went back in and apparently I had developed a huge knot of infection right at the gum. That made Dr. Kernodle very happy. He stuck a needle in it in 3 different places and apparently got ALOT of drainage out. He was pleased!! Then he packed the hole in my tooth with medicated stuff, and then since once again I had felt nothing he decided to just cut my gum open. So he got a blade and cut it open (I didn't feel it!!!). I have had this nasty disgusting taste in my mouth ever since. I guess stuff is draining, just slowly. YUCK!!! Anyway, this is what I looked like last night...

And this was this morning...

There is still some swelling under my eye, around my nose, and on my bottom jawline, but I have to say, I feel a world better. The gum on top of my tooth (where he sliced and diced) is still very sore, but even this pain is minimal compared to the pain I was in Monday and Tuesday. There were points in there I was scared I was going to die. And then there got to be times, that I was scared I wasn't. Sounds awful, but I couldn't take it anymore. The pain meds weren't helping, and I really felt awful.

Anyway, I am on the mend (thankfully)!!

Abscess Anyone???

2008-08-11T17:13:00.002-05:00

So I called the dentist this morning as soon as their office opened (they had probably not even had a chance to sit down yet, LOL!!) I had called on Friday, but they apparently don't work on Fridays, so after a very miserable weekend, I was ready to find out what in the world was wrong with me. My mouth - teeth - have been hurting for a couple of weeks now, but it seems like they have gotten progressively worse over the last week. It has been so hard to tell what exactly is wrong. I have had horrible headaches, which I was told by the doc was sinus, but turns out I have an abscessed tooth (probably sinus stuff, too). I cannot even begin to explain this pain...it is like someone is sticked very BIG needles up inside of my gums over and over and over again. The dentist gave me some Tylenol #3 which I am sure most of you know is Tylenol with codine. He said to take 2 of them every 6 hours, which I have done. I just got done taking it for the 2nd time, and to be honest, it is not working as well as I would like. I have also been alternating a heating pad and an ice pack. That seems to help as much as anything. So, anyway, I am on antibiotics to clear up the infection, then in 2 weeks I go back to start the grueling root canal process. I really am not a big fan of whine, but I really wanted to whine about this. I AM IN A LOT OF PAIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Thanks for listening, now I am going to go get the ice pack!! Love you all!!

Growth Spurt!!!

2008-08-10T17:20:00.002-05:00

I spent the most of last week with a splitiing headache. I went to the doc on Thursday and he said it was sinus, but I am still not sure. My teeth are also hurting, which can be a sign of sinus but I have never had a sinus headache this bad. Anway, one day Lily and I decided to go ahead and get out her new school clothes. In order to do that I made her try on EVERYTHING in her closet which caused a huge fit toward the end. I can't stand to try on that many clothes either so I don't really blame her.

So as it turns out she has taken a rather large growing spell this summer. I didn't even realize how much she had grown. I usually go through her clothes 2 times a year. Before spring and before fall. I knew from the spring try on that most of her jeans were going to be to short, but I left them out so she could still wear them for the summer. Well, why would she wear jeans when she could wear dresses??!?!? So I was super surprised the other day when every pair of jeans she owns were not only to short but also to tight. Most of her shirts were also to short and tight. I was in disbelief at just how many of her clothes she had outgrown in such a short period of time. Anyway, to save some money I decided to list them on ebay. I have listed 25 auctions, and that was only about 1/2 of the clothes. The picture above is all the clothes that she outgrew. I can't beleve how big my baby is getting. I guess they all must grow up, huh??? I just wish that it didn't cost so much money for them to do it!!!! Love ya'll!!!

Pool Play and Other Ramblings!!

2008-08-01T09:55:00.010-05:00

We have had a very difficult time getting our pool clear this year. All of the rain that we have had has just made near impossible. It is at least swimmable right now. We got in it the other day. It felt so good. It was one of those almost 100 degree days. The kids love to get in the pool. I just don't usually think to grab my camera. I did on this day and between Adam and I there were some cute pics taken.

The kids favorite game is jumping off the side and having one of us catch them. I think I was throwing Lily up in the air and catching her here. When she is REALLY happy it shows all over her face. I just love it!!
Adam is helping Avery "swim" here. This was his first time in his life jacket. We have tried a few different PFD's this year. It has been hard to find the right thing. He LOVES the water and wants to swim all over the place like Lily. We originally bought the one that Lily has been wearing (the gree frog one) for him, but it kept falling off of him (before getting in the water) that I was scared to let him get in the water with it on. So, next we got him so arm floatees. That is what Lily ALWAYS wore (until this year), but he moves to much and they just weren't keeping him from swallowing incredible amounts of pool water. So we bought this life jacket, and it does the job. It fits him really well (tightened up as tight as possible). We weren't thinking though, and just let him jump right into the pool before either one of us got in and he went spinning around from his back to his belly. It really scared me. Adam jumped in the pool (he had to push Lily off the ladder into the pool) and "rescued" him. I think it scared him as much as me. I KNOW it scared Avery. Avery just couldn't keep from spinning so he couldn't get a breath. Anyway, it didn't take him long to figure the whole life jacket thing out and he was off swimming and keeping up with Lily. It was so cute!!!

Lily striking a pose!!

Avery loved climbing in and out of the pool. He loves the gate in front of it. He kept shutting it and pretending to lock it. I had to keep an extra close eye on him though, cause he would open it up and jump in before I would even realize it. FEARLESS is a good word to describe him!!

Lily jumping off the ladder. She is not quite as fearless as Avery. She wants to make certain that Adam or I are there to catch her every time. She isn't scared of the water, but she does not want her head to go under. The funny thing is that she will hold her breath and put her head under on her own, but I guess it's different when you jump in?!?!?!?!

Avery was too quick. We never actually get pics of him "jumping". This was as close as we could get, but you can get the idea from it!!!

I have more to post later. My mother-in-law took the kids to a tea party a while back and we all went to the Butterfly Palace last week. My mother in law has the pics, I just need to go and get them off her computer, so I am waiting for that before I make those posts!! I took Lily to a birthday pool party last night. It was for her dance teachers little boy. It was fun. Funner for Lily than me. Being in my bathing suit in public is not my favorite, but I am not going to skip out on it for that reason. I don't want Lily to miss out on fun because of my insecurities, and I don't want to pass my negitive feelings about my body onto her. Anyway, she had a great time. I think it was fun for her to she her teacher, and friends from dance (tumbling in the summer) in a different environment!!! We have been debating on if we should put her in tumbling and dance this year. She has really enjoyed the tumbling class this summer, and it has helped her cooridination. But the delima is that she is also starting preschool this year. I can't believe that my baby is big enough to go to preschool. We have decided to just put her in the ABC school at Alpena. It is a government funded program, so it won't cost us anything which helps. I am just going to send her on Tues, Wed, and Thurs. But the tumbling is on Wednesday at 3:00 and dance is on Tuesdays at 3:00, so that would have me taking her out of school early 2 of the 3 days that she would be going. So I think we have decided to just put her back in dance this year and wait until next year to put her in both. She will take tumbling again next summer, so I think all will be okay. I wouldn't even be considering both if she didn't love them both so much. I just feel like I should encourage physical activity, especially since she is the one who wants to do it and loves it. But, also, this will be her first time to go to school. I think that doing both and school would just be to much for her. I have been taking them both to Mothers Day Out on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9:30-2:30. That has been a great thing for ALL of us. Avery is really starting to enjoy it. He walked into the classroom yesterday by himself and started playing. He didn't even care when I left. I am so glad cause the first time I took them he screamed bloody murder and I stood outside his class and cried. He has continued to scream, but I just drop him off and then take Lily to her class. By the time I get back to sign the papers he has stopped screaming. But the last couple of times I have dropped him off he hasn't screamed at all. It is good for him, I know that, but it has been hard for me to seek help. I always thought that I needed to do it all on my own with no help. I now know that I need help to keep my sanity. It has been quite a summer for us all!!! Lily loves Mothers Day Out. She has always been such a social butterfly. She has never had problems making friends, and this has just been total fun for her. I know that school will be easy for her. She will really enjoy it. I am excited for her about it (not for myself). It going to be hard on Avery and I. We rely on her more than I'd like to admit. Oh well, they all have to go to school sometime, right?!?!?! I know this has been a great big ramble, and I hope it all makes sense. I just had alot to say and it's easier for me to type it out as it comes in my head, so sorry if it is crazy!!

I hope that everyone is well!! I am done for now. I will try and post the tea party and Butterfly Palace later on this weekend!! Love you all!!

Playing in the Sprinkler!!

2008-07-25T18:44:00.011-05:00

After all the fun that was had with the power washer we decided to get a cheap sprinkler for the kids to play in. We turned it on the other day and they had alot of fun. Well, I should say that Lily had alot of fun. Avery wouldn't really get in the line of fire, but I think he still enjoyed it.

Lily REALLY loved it!! She was not the least bit timid about getting soaked!!!

Between Lily running super fast and the water most of these pictures are hard to see, but I know what they are and they are precious to me!!!!

Avery thought it was fun to take his hat off and get it wet. That is about as close to the sprinkler as he would get!!
I did finally convince him that he needed to "Get Sissy", so he chased her until he started feeling the water hitting him.

I don't know if it was the fact that she was soaked or if it was her in her bathing suit, but she looked so little in this picture. It reminded me of when she was around Avery's age!!! She is so adorable.

Avery was very interested in the "Tater" box we have sitting on the front porch. He kept running to the other side of the porch, getting some flowers, running back down, and putting them in the box, then sticking his head in there to "smell them". He played this game off and on for about 30 minutes. It was hilarious!!!

This picture wins the most beautiful little girl EVER picture!!! (I am a little biased)

Avery also loves to climb up and down the stairs (concrete stairs by the way). He does a good job, but he ALWAYS goes down them backwards. Even the steps in the house (theres 14) he goes down backwards. I keep wondering when he will discover how much easier it is to bump down on his bottom!!

I'm done for now...hope everyone is doing good!!

P.S. Adam made it back fine on Thursday night around 8:00.

P.S.S. Please continue to remember Emory Keys in your prayers. She made it through surgery good, and they are now recovering and waiting to get to okay to come home!!!

Power Washer Fun!!!

2008-07-21T15:24:00.009-05:00

Adam and I took the shutters off the house so we could power wash the house and repaint the shutters. The pictures at the bottom show just how dirty the house was. We have washed the front, but I haven't taken after pics so you'll just have to take my word for it. While we were washing the house we decided to spray the washer out into the yard for the kids to play in. They loved it. This little venture caused us to go and pick up a sprinkler the next day. I will post pics of them playing in it later. Anyway, they were just wearing their play clothes, not swimsuits, cause it was kinda a spur of the moment thing. Enjoy the pics!!! They turned out so good!!!

Avery's shirt is so big that it was covering his shorts. It was too cute!
Lily pulled the leaves off of a couple of branches so that she could have some pom-poms. She is really wanting to be a cheerleader.
It's a jungle out there. The yard was in need of a good mowing!!!

She was doing her cheerleader moves here. She comes up with some very interesting moves, and they have even more interesting names.

Pretty gross, huh!!

You can definately tell where the shutter were at!!

Well, I hope everyone is well!! Love ya!!

July 4th

2008-07-20T22:21:00.012-05:00

Okay, so I know that it is almost a month late, but I just haven't felt like posting lately. Adam left this morning on a business trip to Denver. He will be gone until late Thursday night. I thought since I had some time at the computer without Adam here, I would try to get caught up. We had a great time at the fourth celebration. Adam's parents always have a big party at their house for the fourth. It is great fun!!
Avery really enjoyed himself. The only time he threw a fit was when he was being held down for pictures. Figures, huh. This picture turned out cute, though.
Lily, as always, had to "pose". Most of her poser pictures look the same, but this one turned out so cute!!!

Lily and her cousin Kendra. They are so close. Kendra is 5 months older than Lily, but they are like sisters. They fight like sisters. It is so funny cause they can be fussing with each other, and then when we have to leave they cry because they don't want to leave each other. I love it that they are so close. I hope they are ALWAYS this close. They have a lifetime friend in each other!!!

They had these air rockets set up and both of the kids LOVED it. I think they enjoyed this more than the fireworks to be quite honest. You pump up the air chamber and then when you release it the rocket gets set off into the air. Avery would stand with his head up in the air just looking at the rockets. It was so great!!!

More rocket pictures!!!

By the time that the fireworks got started, it was getting late and Avery was getting sleepy. So his blanket was his constant companion. But he still loved the sparklers. His favorite of all the fireworks. This is a picture of my mom with him.

Lily was a little afraid of the fireworks this year, though you can't tell by this picture.

We really did have a great time this year. We always do. I have a couple of prayer requests for everyone, and then I am done.

Please pray for Adam to have a good trip and come back home safely.
Please pray for little Emory Keys. She is the daughter of a high school friend of mine. She will be having surgery on Wed. July 23rd. Please pray for a successful surgery. Please also pray for her parents during this time.
Please pray for my mental health. Though I am feeling much better, there are still rough patches. I am really relying on God to get me through this.
Lastly, please pray for my family and friends (which includes all of you). They have been a pillar of strength for me during this time. I wouldn't have made it through without the constant show of love from my friends and family.

I love you all!!!

Chemically Adjusted??? Maybe soon...

2008-07-05T09:57:00.002-05:00

Okay, I know I haven't been posting much lately. I thought I would give a Very brief explanation without going into great detail of what been going on. I am doing this mainly just to let everyone know that I am still alive, not to be a whiner.

About 2 weeks ago, I started feeling incredibly overwhelmed by life in general. It got to the point that I had to go to doctor to see about having my medicine adjusted (I have been on anti-depressants since Lily was born). For those who don't know Depression is an actual Chemical imbalance in your brain. It's not just whine. Anyway, I have had an immense amount of help from my family and friends. I don't know how I would be getting through this without them. At a few different friends suggestions, I have been taking the kids to Mothers Day Out on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9:30-2:30. That has helped me out alot. Just having 5 hours to myself 2 days a week has been nice. The doc switched my medicine, and even though I don't really feel like I'm myself, I am starting to feel a bit better. I am excited for the day that I wake up and feel really happy again. And at least now I kinda feel like that might happen for me sometime in the future.

I want to say a GREAT BIG THANK YOU to my parents, in-laws, and Cindy for all the help over the last couple of weeks, and the help in the future. I am forever grateful, and can't put in words what your love has done for me. I also want to say thank you to all my friends out there that have sent encouraging e-mails and cards. It helps so much to know that I have so many people that love me and care about my well-being. I love you all so much!!! Thank you!!!

Tagged

2008-07-02T16:46:00.005-05:00

My friend Nikki from high school tagged me. So here goes:

What were you doing five years ago?

I was about 3 months pregnant with Lily!!
I was painting and getting the nursery ready!!
Disappointed that my pregnancy will keep me from being a camp counselor for the first time in years (fyi - I haven't been able to go back since)
Stressing over finances and the decision for me to stay at home after Lily was born.
Wondering if she was a boy or girl (praying really hard for a girl!!!!)

What are five things are your To-Do List today??

Take the kids to play outside. (completed!!)
Paint the outside of the front and back doors. (completed!!)
Paint posts on back porch. (completed!!)
Take a nap. (completed!!)
Go to church.

What are five snack you enjoy??

Strawberries
Grapes
Ruffles-Cheddar and Sour Cream Chips
Banana Bread
My mother-in-laws Strawberry pie!!!

What are five things you would do if you were a billionaire??

Donate the majority of it to Children's homes, Green Valley Bible Camp (they could really use an update on their campus!!), and medical ministries.
Save for my children's college, wedding, and first house.
Build my dream house, and buy my dream car.
Make sure that my parents and in-laws could retire comfortably.
Put a little away for our own retirement.

What are five of your bad habits??

I drink entirely to much Mountain Dew.
Retail therapy.
Having to many projects going at once, and not being able to finish them.
Expecting to much of myself, my husband, and children.
Not taking enough time to stop and smell the roses.

What are five jobs you have had??

Wife and Mommy (the best one by a mile!!)
Small Claims Clerk at the District Court.
Telecommunications.
Collections and Invoicing at FedEx (AF at the time).
Wal-Mart (service desk).

Name five places that you have lived??

Harrison, AR
Alpena, AR
Morehead, KY
Kansas City, MO
Olathe, KS

Who are five people you want to tag??

Don't have 5 that haven't already been tagged, so 4 will just have to do. Love you all!!!

Belated Prayer Request

2008-06-18T07:51:00.002-05:00

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

2008-06-14T20:03:00.006-05:00

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

2008-06-13T21:20:00.017-05:00

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...

2008-06-12T08:13:00.030-05:00

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

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!!!!

Avery's Birth Story

2008-05-15T16:28:00.018-05:00

Lily was so overjoyed with Avery. She has always loved babies, and we made her feel like Avery was HER baby, so we could not get her off of him for the first few weeks!! She is still SOOO in love with him!!! It just makes me cry tears of joy to hear them playing and laughing together!! These pictures were taken the day after we came home from the hospital!!!

Warning: There are graphic delivery pics on this post!!!

When we found out we were pregnant with Avery, we made the decision for me to stop babysitting and just be a full time mom to our kids. I started babysitting out of our home when Lily was 5 1/2 months old. The extra money was nice, but I absolutely hated it. I felt like Lily wasn't getting the best of me, cause I had at least 3 other kids to take care of, though there were times that I had up to 6 other kids, besides Lily. So I quit babysitting at the end of April. So I had 5 months with just Lily and I. I really enjoyed that time with her. While I was pregnant I was so worried that I wouldn't be able to be as close to Lily as I was then!!! Seems silly now, but at the time it was a big concern of mine. My pregnancy went pretty normally, though there were a few scares in there. At about 25 weeks, I had my 2nd ultrasound, because I was measuring bigger than my weeks. That is totally normal for me. I just have big kids. Anyway, when I had the ultrasound they measured the fluid, and I was measuring low on fluid, so we had to go to Springfield to get a 3-D ultrasound. It was way more accurate, and it was so very cool!!! My fluid measured normal while I was there, so that made me feel alot better!! Because I had to have a C-Section with Lily, I was going to try for a VBAC with Avery. I had such confidence in myself, and to be honest, I didn't really think that anything could go wrong. The main concern was his size. We kept having ultrasounds to check his weight, and though they were pretty accurate, my doctor just didn't think he would be as big as Lily!! To understand, my kids take up my whole abdomen. I am VERY short waisted, and there is just not room in there for them. So I guess, because they are so curled up and cramped in there she just couldn't feel how big they would be. This is also the reason that I start having pre-labor contraction off and on, starting at about 33 weeks. Very annoying!! Anyway, the doctor was going to break my water on Monday Sept. 25 if I didn't go into labor on my own before then. But, I went into labor on Friday Sept. 22. I woke up at about 6:00 with contractions that were definately different than all the previous ones I had been having. So we went to see the doctor, and of course, there was no change. But she said she could tell I was trying to thin out with the contractions, so she wanted us to walk around in Berryville (where she was practicing) for a few hours and then go back and see her. So we did that. We went in to the hospital, and there was no change (2cm and 80%). So we went home for a while. We went back to the hospital sometime later that night...no change. I was getting very uncomfortable, and I was tired, and to be honest, I didn't want to hear "This is just early labor stuff that going on right now" anymore!! I didn't care if it was "early labor" and not doing anything I was hurting!!! So we stayed the night in the hospital where they kept me on Nubain (sp?) shots and such like. The next morning there was no change (UGH!!!!!) so Adam and I decided I would be more comfortable (being in pain) at home than in the hospital, so we went home. The contractions got steadily worse throughout the day. I tried to get some rest, though that was an impossibility. I was in and out of the bathtub all day. Although, the tub didn't totally take the pain away, it did make it more bearable. Around 7:00 that night Avery started stretching with each contraction. He would stretch out as much as he could in his cramped space. That mixed with the pain of the contraction was more than I could handle, and I broke down, and cryed. At this point I was ready for a C-Section. Adam called the doctor who sent us back to Berryville. Finally there was a change...2 cm, but 100%. They said that since I was completely thinned out I would start dialating faster. I got some sort of pain medicine, and went back home. To be honest, I didn't think it would ever be over with, and I just wanted to be in my house!!! So we somehow managed to make it through the night. It was another VERY long night. I was in and out of the tub. Adam was so wonderful to me. He did absolutely anything that he could to try and make me more comfortable. I fell in love with him all over again that night!!! At around 11:00 the next morning, I could stand it no longer. So off we went BACK to the hospital. They checked me and (GASP) I was 6-7 cm and 100%. They were all a little bit surprised (I was, too, to be quite honest!!). So when the lady told me how far dialated I was I said, "Oh, thank you Lord, I want an epidural). Up to this point I couldn't have one, cause I wasn't dialating. So when that very lovely anesthesia lady came in, I was overjoyed. They put in the epidural, and my plan was to try and get some sleep. But everyone was so busy trying to get things ready for delivery that I couldn't sleep. I very quickly dialated to 9. Then I stopped. At about 9:00 that night they backed off of the epidural, and had me start pushing. The doctor could just push the little bit of cervix that was left out of the way. I pushed through 2 or 3 contractions, not really sure. After that, the doctor checked Avery's heartbeat, and he did NOT do well with the pushing. His heartrate was all over the place. So because of the incredible long labor, the fact that I wasn't getting to 10, and the fact that he wasn't liking the pushing...they decided to do a C-Section. I don't think I have ever felt so defeated in my entire life. I was exhausted (66 hours of labor will do that to a person) and I felt like I was a failure. But, ultimately, I just wanted to do what would be best for Avery. So at 12:04 A.M. on Monday September 25 (the date the doctor was originally going to break my water) Jospeh Avery Hulsey made his entrance into the world. I can't even tell you the relief that I felt at hearing his cry. As soon as the doctor got in there where she could see him she said..."Heather, I was wrong about his weight". She said the same thing about Lily!!! They pulled him out and showed him to me, and I swear it was like deja vu. He looked exactly like Lily, to me, at that moment!!! Turns out he was just to big to come out vaginally. At least the next time I do this, I can just schedule the C-Section and be done with it!!! When they took him to get him cleaned up and checked out, it was all I could do to stay awake. I just wanted to hear his weight. They stuck their head in and said "9lbs 8 oz 21 1/2 inches long". I smiled and went to sleep. When they wheeled me to recovery they had him there waiting for me. That was a wonderful thing. And they didn't take him away from me the rest of the night. So much better for the pshchy than Lily's ordeal. My blood pressure dropped really low, while I was in recovery, so I had to stay there longer than normal. I was feeding Avery, and I can remember how I felt. I said something about being scared of dropping him cause I just felt so weak, so they lowered the bed, and Adam helped me hold him, so I could feed him. What a wonderful man!!! Like I said, Avery stayed with me until sometime later that morning when I was able to get up and shower. Avery was a champion nurser!! I had no problems with him. In fact, when the nurses would come in they would remind me that he was probably just sucking to be sucking, and that he could use a pacifier. But I knew that the more he sucked the faster my milk would come in, and then he wouldn't need to nurse as much. I had a dream a couple of weeks before Avery was born that he was born deaf. So I kept bugging the poor nurses about his hearing test. Of course it was fine, but I was concerned, and I know I drove that poor nurse that did the test nuts. Avery was a very happy content baby for the first few weeks. Then I think he discovered all of the stuff going on around him, and he got sensory overload. He started screaming at a few weeks old until about 6 months, when he could sit up and get around on his own. It is really just his temper that got the better of him, but I didn't know what to do with him. Lily slept for 3 months straight (exagerating). I can remember the first time that he threw one of his fits. I was in Wal-Mart with my mom (she was staying with me for a few days). Avery had just had his circumcision the day before, and I had to go to Wal-Mart to get gauze and a few other things. Well, things did not go as planned. He started screaming, and I had no idea what to do. I tried nursing him (in the middle of Wal-Mart), I tried everything. My mom couldn't get him to stop crying either, so we just left. I think we did manage to get the gauze. I have to say that trips to Wal-Mart haven't gotten a whole lot better. I can't go and do any major shopping with him. He just gets restless, and cranky. Anyway, Lily was very excited when we came home. We came home on Tuesday night (36 hours after delivery). I was glad they let me come home early. I just wanted to be home with my family!! Lily spent the whole day on Wednesday in bed with Avery and I. She was and is a WONDERFUL big sister. I couldn't ask for anything more.

Avery's head starting to come out!!!

Look at that little conehead!!!

And there he is!!!! Such a cutie!!!

Here is Adam cutting the rest of Avery's cord. Even though he weighed 9lbs 8ozs, he just looks so tiny here compared to Adams big hands!!!

Daddy and Bubby!!! What a pair!!!!

Even though he only weighed 5 ozs less than Lily, he was 2 1/2 inches longer, so he didn't look nearly as big as she did. Especially in the face. I think Lily carried 5 of her almost 10 pounds in her head. I'm not saying that to sound rude, I just really think she did!!!!

Tiny purple feet!!! It's always interesting to me how quickly their little hands and feet turn normal colored!!! But I like the purple pics!!!

Dr. Moffett (my doc) is such a wonderful lady. She went and got Lily when I got in the recovery room. She wasn't supposed to let anyone back except Adam and Avery. But Lily had been there all day with mine and Adams parents very patiently waiting to see Avery. By this time it was around 2:00 a.m. and she was sound asleep in the waiting room. But she wanted to come and see me, so Dr. Moffett brought her back to see us!!!

We were all in need of some serious sleep!!!!!

Daddy and Avery catching some zzzzzz's.

My kids are so beautifully perfect!!!! They let me put my own clothes on him instead of those awful white hospital shirts.

Both of my kids could hold their heads up on their own within hours of being born. They're either really strong and stout, or there was enough fat on their necks to keep their heads up!!!! This was on Tuesday night when we were getting ready to go home!!! That green outfit is one of Adam's from when he was a baby.

I was VERY ready to go home. VERY, VERY ready!!!!

Lily's Recital

2008-05-09T20:54:00.002-05:00

Okay, so I am finally getting around to putting pics of Lily's dance recital on here!!! Sorry it has taken so long, but it has been quite a week!!! We have been gone almost every night. I hope you enjoy these pics as much as I do!!! Some of them are a little fuzzy. Even though I had the camera set on the setting for lots of movement, they still didn't all come out real well!!!! But they are good enough to get the general idea!!!!

Happy Mothers Day to all you wonderful mothers out there!!!!

My Beautiful little tap dancer!!!!
From left to right: Brooke, Alex, Lily, Avalon

From top left: Brooke, Lily, Avalon

I think we all know how hard it is to keep a smile on your face for a long time. Lily tried really hard to keep smiling...I think she did a great job.

Top row, from left: Brooke, Lily, Avalon

Middle row, from left: Alex, Kyle

Bottom row, from left: Ana, Bella, Kylee

Beautiful, Beautiful Girl!!!!!

From left: Lily, Kylee, Avalon

The kids did such a fantastic job!!! Lily's class is 3 and 4 year olds, and they remembered what they needed to do just as well as the 5-8 year olds. Of course, their dances were easier, but I was still so proud of them!!!!

It's so cute to watch them, cause they all sing the songs and they get really into it, as you can see from this pic!!!!!

Ms. Christy told us to put ALOT of make-up on the girls. The stage lights were so bright that you can't tell how much make-up Lily has on, but believe me when I say that she had on ALOT. More than I ever even put on myself!!!

I really wish that this picture was less fuzzy cause it is so cute!!! Just the way that she is standing and the look on her face...I LOVE IT!!! I may try to figure out the new photoshop program we got, and see if I can clear it up some!!!!

I love their little outfits!! They all just looked so stinkin' cute!!!!

Hectic Week!!

2008-05-04T17:19:00.009-05:00

We have had one of those weeks. It seems like we haven't stopped since last Sunday. But it has been a good week, with no extreme attitude stuff going on. We played outside all day on Tuesday (after nap). We even ate our supper outside. It was such a wonderful day, and I just didn't want to go in. The kids didn't either!!!! We had Lily's recital last night, and I will post some pictures in a couple of days!! I haven't forgotten about Avery's birth story...I will do it as soon as I have a chance!!!! We hope you all have a GREAT week!!!! Love you all!!!!

My Boys!!!! Avery had a peanut butter sandwich for supper and it was all over his face. It made him look even more like Daddy!!!!
He managed to get sand on top of all the peanut butter, and because the peanut butter was there it stuck really well and it stayed until bath!!!!!

Lily loves to get her feet buried in the sand, and to bury our feet in the sand!!!!

Nice and packed!!!!

Oh no, I see some toes breaking through!!!!

AHHHHHH, there are feet breaking through!!!!!

Free at last!!!!!!

Avery wore himself out and had to take a breather!!!! This is Oscar, our silent observer dog!!!!!

Good Times!!

2008-04-28T08:44:00.010-05:00

We had such a fantastic weekend!!! The weather was so nice Saturday. It was a little chilly Saturday morning (I mowed the yard, and had to wear my jacket the whole time!) but by that afternoon it had warmed up just enough that we could play out without getting hot or cold. It was so perfect. My children absolutely love going outside. Avery has now started walking around saying "outside, outside"...it really is cute!!!! I took some pics of the flowers in my flower bed. I am not a photographer by any stretch of the imagination, but I tried. I think they turned out ok. I'll let Ginny (my mother-in-law) be the judge. She is a fantastic photographer!!! Enjoy the pics!! I hope you all had a great weekend and I hope you have a great week!!!

Love you all!!!!

The dark places on Avery's face are bruises. He is so boy!! He falls off everything, and then starts climbing again. He is so fearless, it scares me.
I think my kids have the most beautiful eyes. I am, of course, a bit biased. But, I have always been an eye person (Adam has beautiful blue eyes too [one of the first things that I noticed about him]). I love this picture. It captures the essence of Lily!!

Ok, I am awaiting critisism. I think they turned out pretty good! I really like the tulip pictures!!

The kids love, love, love the sandbox. This is only the 2nd or 3rd time Avery has gotten to play in it. He was of course to little last year. I think when we build our house I am going to have Adam put in a large sandbox, for the kids!!! They really love it. Avery has discovered, though, that when you eat sand it has to come back out, and it isn't so comfortable (or very easy to clean up!!).

We have 2 dogs. They are both miniture dachshunds. Hunter is the one in the pictures. He absolutely loves the kids and playing with them. The kids love him too. Oscar is our other one. He is not fond of playing with the kids. He isn't mean to them, but he definately keeps his distance. We got Hunter as a puppy, but we didn't get Oscar until he was 18 months or so. Unfortunately, he was picked on by a child where he lived before, and he has just never gotten over it. You can tell that he love the kids and would protect them from anything. But he is more of a silent observer, than a player. It was so funny, when I was pregnant, he would lay his head on my belly all the time. Then when the kids would move he would jump. But he would lay his head right back down on my belly...I think he knew, and he was bonding in his own way!!!

Holding Hands

2008-04-27T20:20:00.003-05:00

Avery has started grabbing our hands and dragging us around wherever he wants to go. It is so precious!! I love it! His little hand reaches for mine and he has the grip of death, so I won't let go. He has also started saying "Sissy" constantly. He will walk around the house, "Sissy, Sissy". If she isn't here, he is just lost. I hope that they are always as close as they are right now!!!
You can tell by this picture the grip that he has on Lily's hand. I just love this stage he is going through. Such a lovey dovey little boy!!!!

My beautiful kids amaze me evey day!! I love them so much, and watching them grow and learn new things every day is truly a testament to God's Awesome Power!!!!!

Lily's Birth Story

2008-04-24T16:39:00.014-05:00

I have seen some blog posts that have been on a child's birth. I love the idea, so I decided to do it. I'm starting with Lily and will do Avery's one day next week!!!

Lillian Marie Hulsey was born on January 28, 2004 at 6:25 a.m. Here is how her journey to this world began...

I had a very clear idea of how I wanted to give birth (as do most first time mom's). I wanted NO Drugs, NO C-Section, as little medical intervention as possible. My birth was going to be ALL-NATURAL!!!! At around 33 weeks, I went to the doctor for one of those normal check-ups and discovered that Lily was completely breech. Her little bottom was sitting on my cervix. And her head was under one of my ribs (totally painful!!). So the doctor had me start doing these exercises that were designed to turn a breech baby. I did them faithfully for the next 4-5 weeks religiously (they were very uncomfortable!) but they did not work. Lily would not budge. So on January 27, the doc scheduled the C-Section for Thursday January 29. At around midnight, I went into labor, so what was going to be a nice relaxed scheduled C-Section, turned into an emergency C-Section. I was terrified!! I had my mind around not getting a GIANT shot in my back, so I was scared of the whole concept! For those of you who have had C-Sections, I'm sure you share my feelings that getting ready for the C-Section is a lot harder than the actual procedure. First, you have to get the IV (ouch!), then you get completely shaved (they do not want to see ANY hair [the regrowth is interesting]), then they move you to the Operating Room. The make you sit on the table in the very COLD room, and they say, "now try not to move while we are giving you this shot" Nothing like putting pressure on the mother who is scared to death of the whole spinal thing in the first place. So the first shots were just to numb the skin so that the mother of all shots wouldn't hurt as bad. But there is nothing that can describe the feeling of that needle rubbing against your backbone. Once the spinal was in they made me lay down (quickly while I still had some feeling) and they propped me up sideways with this wedge thing, put in the catheter and started rubbing the iodine all over my belly. They were all talking amongst themselves and I was like "I can feel that". I could feel them rubbing the iodine on, and I was scared they were starting without telling me. But they weren't. I was so glad when they let Adam come back in...just having him there helped ease my anxiety. So it seemed like within seconds they said "I can see her"...what a feeling "Finally my baby is here"! And then I heard "My Goodness...that is one BIG baby". And my doctor was like, "Ummm, Heather, I might have guessed the weight wrong (her guess was 8 pounds max)", and then I heard my precious little girl start crying!!!! What an incredible feeling, the flood of emotions is so totally unexplainable!!! I was laughing and crying at the same time!! They put her over the little barrier thing and I saw her for the first time. She was a chubby, beautiful baby, and I was instantly in love!!! They cleaned her up, and then let me hold her for a few minutes and took her (and Adam) off to the nursery!!! They put a little bit of something in my IV, and slept for the next 45 minutes or so until they were done. I was still partially awake when they poked their heads in to say that she weighed 9lbs 13 ozs and she was 19 inches long. I smiled and went to sleep. Apparently they had some problems while I was sleeping. They took her blood sugar, and it was 33 (norm for a baby is around 45), so they gave her some sugar water, and took it again right when I was getting out of surgery and into recovery. So I was in recovery holding my new baby, nursing her for the first time, and a nurse comes in and rips her off my breast and says, "I have to take her". Talk about scaring me. So the nurse that was in there taking care of me went to go and see what the deal was. Her blood sugar had dropped to 13, very very low. So they were putting an IV in her head, and they were giving her a certain type of high calorie formula to bring her blood sugar up. I was upset about them giving her formula (I was not wanting her to have ANY formula) but it was going to be the best fastest way to get her blood sugar back up. So I just made sure that they didn't give her a bottle nipple to avoid any nipple confusion. They just gave it to her in a medicine cup...it was kinda cute to watch her drink it. She had the IV for the first 24 hours. And because they were forcing that formula down her throat she wasn't hungry so she wouldn't nurse. That night was horrible. I cried and cried cause I couldn't get her to latch on. I was already upset that I didn't have the birth experience that I wanted and my hopes of strictly breastfeeding were being squashed before my eyes. But thankfully, once her blood sugar went back up to normal, and I was able to stop giving her that formula...she started nursing like a pro!!! We went home on Friday, January 30. The trip home was awful. I was sore, the car was stuffed with flowers, and stuffed toys, and such like...and we had a brand new baby in the car!! We had to stop at the pharmacy to pick up my pain medicine before going home. Unfortunately, the pharmacy did not have my meds ready. So, Lily and I were stuck in the car for about 20 minutes while Adam was in the pharmacy getting my medicine. She started crying, and there was no way for me to get to her without having to move a whole lot of stuff...so I moved it and sat with her and we both cried.

I could continue with this story, but I think I will end it here. I love my daughter, and no matter how awful getting her here was, I wouldn't trade it for a thing.

Adam wore this outfit home from the hospital when he was born. Lily's little face was so chubby that we couldn't button the top button on any of her sleepers for the first few weeks of her life. I love pictures like this!! They just look so comfortable.
Lily was jaundice. Thankfully it wasn't bad enough to have to be under a light. I was ready to go home, and once we got there, I wanted to stay.

Mommy and Lily!! I was so in love with my beautiful baby!! I still am!!!!!!

Lily had an hemangioma under her left nostril. Because of where it was and the fact that hemangiomas can grow quickly we had to keep a close eye on it for the first year. For those of you who don't know, hemangiomas are considered benign tumors. They are a collection of blood vessels, and like I said they can grow quickly and cover an area!! It was a concern that it might grow into her nose and cut off air supply. But it never got worse than this, and now you can hardly even see it. I am VERY glad that it is gone.

Lily slept for the first 3 months of her life. Even when she was a newborn she would sleep for 6-8 hours straight, not even waking up to eat or get a clean diaper. I was worried about her sleeping so much!! She got

where she would hardly eat, and she was losing weight (thankfully she had some extra to lose!). So, afte a visit to the doctor, we had to start waking her up every 4 hours to eat. Waking her up was impossible!! We would jostle her, then tickle, then undress her and wipe her with a wet washcloth...none of this worked!!! So we would have to put her in a warm tub and that would eventually wake her up, though sometimes even that wouldn't work. She still sleeps hard like that. Once she gets to sleep, nothing will wake her up!!! I have to say that I am glad about that. When Avery was tiny he would scream, ALOT, and she never woke up!! She gets that from her Daddy. Unfortunately, I do not sleep that well, at all!!!

"Ahh, I can FINALLY stretch out. I am so Comfy!!!!!!"

Look at that cubby face!!! What a cutie!!!

They had to tie her arm down. She kept trying to rip out her IV. I have to say that she is still VERY, VERY bull headed. I guess in the long run that will be a good thing, but I dread the teenage years!!!!

Happy Family!!!!!

I forgot to put in here that Lily had a complete knot in her cord. Hence why she was breech and wouldn't move (it didn't help that she weighed almost 10 pounds and had NO room to move). The doctor said that out of the hundreds of babies she had delivered this was only the 3rd or 4th time she had seen this. If Lily had moved it would have pulled the knot, and cut off her oxygen and she would have died. The whole thing is truly a mircle!! It is really amazing that God knew what was best, and even though a C-Section was the last thing I wanted, it turned out to be the best thing I've ever gone through - it brought my baby to me safe and sound!!!!

The Virtuous Woman

2008-04-23T15:37:00.003-05:00

Proverbs 31:10-31
10 A wife of noble character who can find? She is worth far more than rubies.
11 Her husband has full confidence in her and lacks nothing of value.
12 She brings him good, not harm, all the days of her life.
13 She selects wool and flax and works with eager hands.
14 She is like the merchant ships, bringing her food from afar.
15 She gets up while it is still dark; she provides food for her family and portions for her servant girls.
16 She considers a field and buys it; out of her earnings she plants a vineyard.
17 She sets about her work vigorously; her arms are strong for her tasks.
18 She sees that her trading is profitable, and her lamp does not go out at night.
19 In her hand she holds the distaff and grasps the spindle with her fingers.
20 She opens her arms to the poor and extends her hands to the needy.
21 When it snows, she has no fear for her household; for all of them are clothed in scarlet.
22 She makes coverings for her bed; she is clothed in fine linen and purple.
23 Her husband is respected at the city gate, where he takes his seat among the elders of the land.
24 She makes linen garments and sells them, and supplies the merchants with sashes.
25 She is clothed with strength and dignity; she can laugh at the days to come.
26 She speaks with wisdom, and faithful instruction is on her tongue.
27 She watches over the affairs of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness.
28 Her children arise and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her:
29 "Many women do noble things, but you surpass them all."
30 Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.
31 Give her the reward she has earned, and let her works bring her praise at the city gate

This is one of my most favorite passages in the Bible. I do not know a single woman who wouldn't want to be this woman. I think we all are able to do this. Unfortunately, our society (and I am definately including myself) is way to lazy to rise in the morning when everyone is still sleeping, and then not let our lamps go out at night. I need to read this passage often. It kinda keeps me in check. It is a constant struggle for me, but how wonderful would it be if, when I die, my headstone read, "Hear Lies A Virtuous Woman"!!!

Now, I posted that because I have been thinking about it all day. Yesterday was one of those days that pushed me to my limit (with everyone). I felt like exploding on everyone. We had a great fun day planned. All except having to get the kids shots. I thought that if I got there early we would get right in and out, and I could take them to the Dollar Store to get some sort of prize before the library. So we got there at 8:25. Of course, I had to tell Lily that we were getting her shots, and she had thrown a fit on the way there. About every 10 minutes or so she would ask if it was her turn yet, and then she would say "I don't want to get shots" and cry more. Finally at 10:15, they called us back there. Yeah that's right, 2 hours later. I don't know what those people think. It's way easier to wait with a baby that has no idea what it coming. But a 4 year old, that just had some shots a few months ago, and KNOWS what is coming - AHHHHH!!!! I felt sorry for her, cause I know how agonizing that wait must have been. To say that I was pushed to my limit is an understatement. Then we get back there and she throws such a fit that another nurse had to come in and help me hold her down, so the first nurse could give her her shots. It didn't help that as soon as we walked in the room, all 5 needles were laying on the table as if to say, "Look at me!!!" And she had to get 5 shots. Yeah, that's right, FIVE!!! 2 in one arm and 3 in the other. So by the time that we got done and got to the library, it was 10:45 and storytime was over. We didn't even go in, cause we were meeting Lily's cousin Kendra at the park. So that was another meltdown. It wasn't fair that she had to get shots (it really wasn't, but I couldn't let her know that I thought that, too!!!!) and she had to miss storytime at the library. So we went to the park, and had a picnic lunch. Things were starting to look up. She loves to have picnics. So after we ate, the kids went and played (Lily, Kendra, and Avery). After playing for only about 15 minutes, it started sprinkling, so we had to pack it up and head home. That created the monster of all meltdowns!! I was mean, life wasn't fair, and so on!! I even had to spank her in the middle of the park. That just doesn't happen. She is usually pretty well behaved in public, and just giving her the mom look and threatning is enough, but not yesterday. You would think after all that she would have taken a decent nap, but alas, only 30 minutes or so. Which really only made things worse. I have to say that my favorite part of yesterday was when they were both in bed asleep for the night!! I am also glad that I will not have to do the shot thing again for a couple of years!! Adam has somehow gotten out of doing the kids shots. He has NEVER taken them. So, I think when it is Avery's turn to get 5 shots in the arms, I will give the job to Adam!!! I hope that I am not the only mother out there who feels like running away from time to time. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE my family, but days like yesterday make me want to pull out every hair on my head, or even better screaming at the top of my lungs, and then curling up in the fetal position and sleeping for 24 hours!!!! Thankfully, today has been the exact opposite of yesterday. We have had a fantastic day!! I am so glad!!!

Thanks to all for listening to me rant!! Sometimes it just feels good to get all of that off your chest!! I love you all!!!

Lily's Recital

2008-04-20T19:59:00.002-05:00

Tagged

2008-04-17T20:12:00.002-05:00

I have been tagged. My friend from high school Nikki (Nicole McIntyre) tagged me the other day. So here are the rules:
Link to the person who tagged you.
Post the rules in your blog entry.
Share 7 random, or weird, facts about yourself.
Tag 7 random people at the end of the post, linking to them.
Leave a comment on their blog so that they know they’ve been tagged.

I was a really sneaky child. My poor mom thought I was an angel. The sneakiness was REALLY bad in high school. I, unfortunately, made a lot of mistakes. And, my mom found out that I wasn't the angel that she thought I was. Lily is EXACTLY like me, so I know what to look forward to!!!
God blesses us all with a talent. Mine happens to be music. I was in band and choir in high school. I loved it, and really loved the competition. I made it to All-Region Choir as a senior. It was a big deal, because no females from our school had made it in a long while. I would say that they had never made it, but that school has been around for a long time, so I just know it had been a long time.
I have a broken tailbone. I don't know how long it has been broken. It started hurting after I had Avery, and so now I take an anti-inflamatory med 2 times a day. They won't do surgery to remove the broken piece because of all the nerve endings, and so on....
I absolutely HATE laundry. Not so much the washing and drying, but the folding and putting away. It is not at all uncommon for 3 or 4 loads of laundry to sit on my couch for a few days before I MAKE myself fold it and put it away.
I LOVE cats. Unfortunately, I am severly allergic. If it wasn't for the severe allergy I would probably be one of those crazy cat ladies.
I have a secret desire to be on Big Brother. I absolutely love that show!! I know I could make it to the end. I have the scenario all planned out in my head. If it wasn't for the fact that I would have to leave my family for 3 months, I would totally try out!!!!
If I have another girl, I will name her a flower. My mom's name is RoseMarie (Rose is a flower, for those of you who didn't know!!!!), my name - Heather (again, a flower), my daughter - Lily (a flower). Her name is actually Lillian but we call her Lily.

Okay, those are my 7 Weird and Random facts. Now I am tagging

I only have 4. I don't really know that many bloggers yet. Have fun!!!!

Running Away

2008-04-16T11:54:00.005-05:00

This is what just went down here...

I was in my room changing the sheets and I hollered for Lily a few times and she didn't answer so I came into the living room to check on her. She heard me and opened the gate and started downstairs. That is a BIG No-No in our house. So here is the conversation that transpired after.

Me: "Lily, what do you think you're doing. You know you can't go downstairs without asking me first!!"

Lily: (starts crying) "I'm leaving!!"

Me: "What?!?!?" (My heart just stopped)

Lily: (crying harder) "I'm leaving!!!"

Me: "Why, sweetheart, what's wrong??"

Lily: "You don't love me anymore"

Me: (knife to the heart) "Lily, why would you say that? Why do you think that??"

Lily: "Because you were yelling at me"

Me: (at this point I believe she took the knife out of my heart, sharpened it, stabbed me again and started twisting it) "Lily, you weren't listening to me. I had to yell at you to get you to listen to me."

Lily: "Yeah, but why did you make me stand in the corner?"

Me: "Because you lied to me, and you know better than to lie to me."

Me: "Lily, I love you very VERY much...You are my most favorite little girl in the whole wide world. I don't ever, EVER want you to run away from home. If you're upset about something, then you need to come and talk to me about it. I don't want you to ever be scared to talk to me about something. I really love talking to you about stuff, and I want you to love talking to me, too. Ok??"

Lily: "Ok, Mom. Can I pick out a movie to watch??"

Me: (shocked at just how quickly she got over this) "Ok, is there anything else you want to talk about?"

Lily: (happily, like she has not a care in the world) "No, I just want to pick out a movie"

It took me about 15 minutes to quit crying. But apparently she has all but forgotten about it. I don't know if she was just trying to get my attention or not, but what a way to knock me down. I really thought that my heart was breaking in two. I just don't know where she even got the idea. It's not like she watches anything where running away would even be an option. Actually, now that I think about it, I think she has a book called "I was just so Mad" and he "runs away" in it. I bet that's where that came from. Don't you love it when I type out my thoughts!!! I just needed to put this down so I would have a record of the first time she broke my heart - I mean the first time she tried to run away!!!!

I Think It's Time???

2008-04-15T20:38:00.002-05:00

Warning: Some of you may find my bluntness offending, but it is part of the story of "Our Family", so I am posting it anyway...Sorry if it offends you!!!

We have always been a very open family. I feel like if you are open and honest with your children from the beginning, then there won't be as many questions, and more importantly, as much curiousity later on. For instance, the kids take baths with us. It has been about 6 months or so since Lily has taken a bath with Adam, but they both take baths with me pretty regularly. If they are not in the tub with me, then they are standing at the side of it "helping" me take my bath. When they look at me, they don't see a "naked woman", they see mommy. It doesn't really matter if I have clothes on or not. Well, let me rephrase. Avery sees Mommy with her 2 food sources, and Lily sees Mommy with Avery's 2 food sources. (Please no negative comments about me still nursing him...I have researched and read enough material on breastfeeding to know what is best for me and my child!) Lily has never said anything about the fact that her and Avery's privates are different. She has never asked questions about the differences in my body and hers...except that she knows when she has a baby her boobs will get milk in them so that she can feed her babies. She hasn't said anything or asked any questions, that is, until today!!! She asked me this morning why I had hair and she didn't. Talk about blindsiding me. So, like always, I answered as honestly as I could. Well, tonight during their bathes (they still bathe together) she "noticed" Avery's privates. She, of course, asked why there was a difference. I guess that I knew this day was coming. She couldn't remain my innocent, naive, little girl forever. Though, I really wish she could! I feel like now, I need to sit down and tell her more about how things work. That God doesn't just put a baby in a Mommy's belly when the Mommy and Daddy want one and pray really hard for it (as we have told her up till now). But, to be honest, I don't know if I am ready for that. I feel like by having this talk, I would be losing my baby. Does that sound stupid??? How do I tell her that the world isn't all fairy's and princesses?? I want her to live in her princess world forever. I don't EVER want to expose her to the darkness of this world. It makes me tremble to think about the things that could happen to my children. How do I tell her about child molestation??? How do I tell her that not EVERYONE wants to be her friend??? How do I tell her that some people only want to hurt others??? I just don't know how to do this, and I don't know if I'm ready. Hopefully, if I pray about this for the next few days, I will come up with a way to approach this that will work for me and Lily!!! Pray for me, PLEASE!!!!

New Pics

2008-04-14T08:34:00.023-05:00

We took the kids a couple of weeks ago to have their pictures taken. Avery's 18 month and Lily's 4 year. They turned out so cute. I am probably going to have them redo a couple of the ones I ordered, though. The "FOUR" pictures are so cute, but there is background in both of them. For their year pictures I usually order what they call a delight picture. It's a 4 x 10 with 3 pictures in it. Well, Lily's is probably going to end up with that background stuff in it. So, I will probably just have them blow it up and re-print it. We'll see...I pick them up on Friday, so I guess I will see how bad it is then. I am feeling somewhat better today, though, I have this awful cough. I am fixing to call the Dr and see if they will give me an antibiotic without having to go in. It is really miserable to have to wait for hours with 2 stir crazy kids!!!
Enjoy the pictures!!!