Life has settled down a little this week...The boys started upward basketball last night. Robby had the fun job of trying to "coach" 10 5/6 year old boys. Mary Taylor and I watched for a little while and it was fun!! I can't imagine what a game is going to be like.

On another note...we took our new kitten to the vet today to have her "surgery". Mary Taylor cried bucket tears all the way to school worrying about Tiger Lily!! I tried to explain to her why she had to have the operation without too much detail but I'm sure the entire K-4 class will get a "play by play" of the surgery.

Hope everyone has a great day!!!

Karate belt testing

The boys had a wild birthday with all their school friends last weekend. It was complete with jumping lots of pizza and two different cakes. We went with a Transformer and Pirate theme this year. They are really two completely different children. The sweaty faces in these pictures say it all....we had a great time. I can't believe they are six years old!!!
And the birthday was complete with a cool tent from Aunt Kelly!!

MTs patriotic play!!

The week before school got out for Thanksgiving, we had MT's play at school. Each class dressed up like a character(George Washington, ABe Lincoln, Statue of Liberty, etc...) and they sang patriotic songs.

Lots of Posts Lots of Pictures

Today we spent the day with MT for her special snack day. They are studying the letter J so we had a Happy Birthday Party for Jesus complete with cupcakes and apple juice. Grandaddy showed them how to read the word Jesus and taught them how special it was. Grandmama read a book about the true meaning of Christmas. What a special day!!!

LOTS OF CATCHING UP TO DO:

I have lost my camera cord...so I'm going to SAMS today and get my pictures put on CDs...and then I will post the thousands of things that we have done lately.

We have had:
1-MTs play
2-Karate belt testing(we are now yellow belts)
3-Thanksgiving feast
4-Family day at daddy's work
5-lots of fun football!!!(GO REBELS)
6-Daddy's new cabin in the woods(This mom has mixed feelings but after I saw it yesterday I got really excited)

We are going to have a great week at home....we went to see daddy's new cabin yesterday and today I'm going to finish up Christmas shopping(minus the Toy shopping I'll do on Friday) We will have a low key day on Thursday and make the trip to Oxford Friday. Some in my house will be happy and others will be unhappy(let's just leave it at that..you never can predict the Egg Bowl..and I don't want to jinx it...but with a Bulldog husband and a Rebel for a wife and children who are mostly Rebels...it makes for exciting times!!!

And the best part is Saturday MY BOYS WILL BE SIX YEARS OLD!!!! I stand in awe as I watch the young men that they are becoming. I know how special they are and as I sat in church Sunday praising God for all my gifts I just cried and looked at them..They are what Thanksgiving is about.

THANK YOU GOD FOR MY BEAUTIFUL BOYS!!! I WILL POST MORE ON THEIR BIRTHDAY!!!

We have been really active lately..and I'm behind on my postings. I'm going to catch up right now!!

1st I'm thankful for the privilege to stay home with my children. There is no greater honor than this and I don't thank God enough for this blessing....

2nd I'm thankful for my precious family...As I picked the boys up from school today(MT had to stay late for kindertots)I sat and talked to them while we waited and just listened to every word they said and just looked in their beautiful faces and remembered how luck I am to have them

3rd I'm thankful for a mom and dad who live around the corner...I take that for granted too often

I have lost my camera cord...so I'm posting my only pictures so far of Halloween!!! Two Batmen and A Halloween Fairy...we had a great time trick or treating and celebrating Grandmama's birthday!!!

My family has been going like crazy lately. We had a wonderfuly Hoedown at school this past Friday. It was rainy on Thursday while all of the crazy parents were setting up. But, Friday was great. The kids had a great time playing games, riding horses, hayrides and picnics. Unfortunately, they all have yucky colds. I'm bribing them to take cold medicine and hoping they just keep a cold. I keep reminding them that running around without shoes and clothes on is a little crazy in this weather!!

I have been busy with school responsibilities and other things. Our principal asked if I would be interested in subbing some and I have ben busy doing that. I enjoy being their with the kids and today I got to have Matt's room. I love knowing what's going on in their rooms and getting to know the children!!

To do for the weekend:

NOTHING!!!!

It is one of those weekends where we have no plans!! No commitments, No ballgames!! Robby is gone to the deercamp. The kids and I are going to settle in with a movie tonight, sleep late and stay in our pjs tomorrow. I do have some housework but that's normal. And I'm really behind with some other work so i'll catch up.

Hope everyone has a terrific weekend!!

Today is the National Day of Rememberance for Miscarriage and Infant Loss. I read the quote below on someone else's blog today. Loss at any stage of pregnancy is a loss and should be recognized. I am remembering my sweet baby today and want anyone who has been in any stage of loss to know that I am remembering them as well.

Love,
Mary Ann


“Jacob, where do you find the strength to carry on in life?”

“Life is often heavy only because we attempt to carry it,” said Jacob. “But I do find a strength in the ashes.”

“In the ashes?” asked Mr. Gold.

“Yes,” said Jacob, with a confirmation that seemed to have traveled a great distance.

“You see, Mr. Gold, each of us is alone. Each of us is in the great darkness of our ignorance. And, each of us is on a journey.

“In the process of our journey, we must bend to build a fire for light, and warmth, and food.

“But when our fingers tear at the ground, hoping to find the coals of another’s fire, what we often find is the ashes.

“And, in those ashes, which will not give us light or warmth, there may be sadness, but there is also testimony.

“Because these ashes tell us that somebody else has been in the night, somebody else has bent to build a fire, and somebody else has carried on.

“And that can be enough, sometimes.”

~Noah benShea

WOW it's been over a week since I posted. We have been going non stop lately.

let's see...

1.We had a great photo session with Jeannelle last weekend and the kids looked so cute in their pumpkin outfits. We had a minor injury from taking pictures in the tree!! But, I think they will be too cute!!!

2.I have been spending way too much time at school for a non-paid employee(just kidding), it's a busy time of year with our school's annual hoedown and MTs play. I was asked to be the costume coordinator for the play so I'm frantically looking for patriotic costumes for these sweet children.

3.Robby has a big promotion coming up at work so I'm working on settling his nerves and reassuring him everyday. Lt. Colonel is a big step but I know he will be awesome and receive his promotion with no trouble!!!

And we are looking forward to a few weekends with nothing to do..Until next time

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ROBBY
HOPE TODAY IS A GREAT DAY!!!

So Robby and I took on a project this weekend. We bought MT new furniture for her room so we didn't need her armoire in there anymore. It was white. We have been wanting something in our keeping room forever for the TV. We had a baker's rack but I wanted something more "living room" looking, but you know finances and all!!! So I decided we would paint it black. Here is the finished product.





Ignore the vacuum cleaner, dora chair and all of the other clutter...you know 3 kids and all!!! I still need to get some knobs for it and then it will be done.

Hope everyone has a great weekend!! I"m looking forward to some family time and some football!! And maybe a few chores and errands thrown in there some where. This weekend is wide open with no real plans. MT and I are going to see our Rebels play tomorrow but I think the guys are going to stay home and watch the Bulldogs :(

Anyway, we are headed to my favorite place Chuck E Cheese(HA) after school and then home for a relaxing afternoon!

As I was walking at the gym today, I was switching between channels and stopped on the CBS morning show for a minute. Stephen Curtis Champan was a guest on the show today. I have read the headlines and seen the magazines but as I listened to him tell about their story and the faith and hope that they have I was brought to tears right their at the gym!!!. So, he went on to sing "Cinderella" and they showed a video of their family and again I cried.

As I watched that, I couldn't help remembering our own sweet little boy that went to live with Jesus 6 years ago. I too know the grief and heartache that comes with losing a child. As he spoke he talked about how they would enjoy their daughter's wedding with a mixture of sadness and hope for the future. And he reminded the audience about faith and how they would not have hope without that faith.

I sometimes wonder if I was able to portray that in my life. I spent many years so full of anger and resentment. Torn between what I knew was the Lord's plan and my human nature to just be angry at what I had lost. I began to balance those feelings and it didn't take long for me to see the Lord's plan for my life and how it has been orchestrated these past 6 years. I'm blessed with these beautiful children who I KNOW were given to me!! As I spend my days watching and teaching them, I only hope that I can show them Jesus in me.

I don't often talk about it but after watching that news program today, I just had to pour my heart out. Thanks for listening

Mary Taylor's party with her friends!!

Birthday Girl!!

The Birthday Cake!

So, did anybody watch the RNC last night? I like Sara Palin, I think she was a smart pick for John McCain. I am amazed how she could raise 5 children, take care of a husband, and run a state. But I'm proud that she can do it!!

Now, I've seen some opinions who would disagree that since she is a woman her place is not necessarily at the head of our country.

I feel like this election is so important. I'm not usually as up on politics as I should be but as I get older I begin to think of all the things that affect my family and future and it scares me. Being a military family we are very concerned with the future of our military(their strength, their pay, their deployments) all of these things will be affected by our new president.

So anyway I just wanted to see what your opinion was??

WEll, karate was a success!! I picked them up from school, took them to Chick-Fil-a and met my parents and then we went back to school for karate. They seemed to love it and even showed me some of their moves. We got uniforms and guess what we already lost a belt. Although my car is a deep hole...I really don't think we ever had a belt. I went back to school to check and no belt, so problem solved I have called for a new belt. WHEW!!

Now it's dinner time..we have homework(in kindergarten yes, two nights a week)...and I have done nothing in my house all day.

But, everybody's happy, healthy and had a great day at school.

Bye!!

The boys start karate tomorrow. They say this activity helps with discipline and channels all of their energy. Now, I must say they are doing great in school, no behavior problems and they seem to be learning. But, when they come home in the afternoon it's like the tasmaneon(sp??) devil on caffeine!!! All of them unleash all of their energy and loudness on my house. And eat me out of house and home.

So will this karate business help channel some of that energy?? probably not but they are really excited about it.

I'll post pictures tomorrow!!

The Birthday Celebration keeps on going...

Today, we went to MTs school and took cupcakes and apple juice for her birthday. I got to read to her class for the 1st time this year. My mom was able to go with us so MT was super excited to have us there.

Family, Friends, Fun and Football!!

Birthday celebration

Well, yesterday we celebrated MTs birthday with family. Today we went to "Mexico" as my children call it and let them sing to her. She was most unhappy when they put the whipped cream in her face :(. Next weekend we will celebrate with all of her friends at the new Courthouse JumpZone in town. I'm anxious to see how the party will turn out because I feel like I haven't done anything much to get ready for it but Robby has always encouraged those kind of parties where you just write a check and show up. Especially when he doesn't have to clean the house and do the yard to get ready for a party. :) HA HA

Anyway here are a few pictures from our weekend. OH and my next post having fun with the Rebels!!!!

Well, I saw my man off to work on this Labor Day...to prepare/assist for Gustav. There is potential that he'll be gone for several days(which he didn't find out until he was leaving this morning). Selfishly I just wanted him to get to have a day home with the kids. But the weather is so unpredictable. As I watch the weather they have just issued tornado warnings for the southern part of the state. I hope everybody has a safe day. I plan on spending the day getting my life back in order and preparing for the week like always

Our prayers go out to all of those who are experiencing the worst of Gustav including being evacuated from their homes.

Happy Labor Day!! Hopefully it will be a quiet one

Happy Birthday to You!!!

Happy Birthday Mary Taylor!!! 5 Years ago today, you surprised everyone by making your appearance at 11:37 a.m. But, I wasn't surprised you had been trying to get here for weeks.

I love you!!! You are a beautiful girl both inside and out. I love that you love life. I love how much you LOVE everybody!! I love that you will sit through an entire Ole Miss football game and cheer!!!

You are an amazing little girl and we are so proud of you!!

Happy Birthday love!!

We love you!!

Momma, Daddy, Matt and Will!!

Do you remember those days when you were cramming for a test and you made notecards to try to remember the info.?? Well, the boys had their 1st little "quiz" today, their teachers were going to ask them their 8 color words on an individual basis. We have been working on these for 3 weeks now. And I know it's not for a grade or anything but my stomach was in knots. I know I'm crazy it's part of my controlling nature!!! I would say 1/2 of us knew all of them and the other 1/2 knew some of them. I have racked my brain looking for creative ways to teach them because flashcards weren't working for some of us. Anyway I just don't want him to get behind because I'm sure they will be on to something else next week. Kindergarten is a little fast paced for me. HA! What am I going to do when they are in high school??


Anyway I'm anxiously watching the weather, praying for the storm to settle down, and really praying that our governor does not activate our guard. Don't get me wrong I'm so proud of him when he goes and helps take care of all that needs to be done. But Katrina sent him packing for about 3 months. And it's really hard here when he's gone. Meanwhile he getting the yard done and I will take care of a few last minute things just in case!!!

Oh by the way, Go Rebels!!!!

Gustav

Well, let's hope Gustav stays away. But, Robby was put on call today and may have to leave Friday for Camp Shelby to prepare for Gustav. Let's hope he(Gustave) slows down!!!!

It's a big weekend with MTs birthday Sunday and the 1st Ole Miss football game Saturday night!! I don't want Robby to miss anything and I certainly don't want our state to be hit with another nasty Hurricane!!!

I foolishly thought that once school started back I would be able to get caught up on projects around the house...I now realize that was a dream!!!

Today I dropped the kids off at school, went to the gym, went by the library(awesome book sale--a whole bag of books for $2!!!),dropped off clothes for consignment, ran in SAMS to buy a few things, stopped and picked up a snack for the kids(who are starving at carpool time) and came home.

Now, I have laundry, dishes, and general straightening up to do. And then tumble cheer at 4:00(MT not me!!!ha ha)

Who am I kidding I love it!!! Hope everybody has a great day!!

We had a nice relaxing weekend with not that much going on. The boys are fighting a cold after only one week of school!! But, I have medicated them enough that they are feeling better.

We have meet the teacher tomorrow night. We have to sit and listen to 3 different teachers all at the same time!!! Well, I will go in one direction, Robby another, and we recruited my mom for the other teacher. I've met them all and know pretty much how things work but I like to have an ear in every room to make sure we know what we are doing!!!

Anyway, have a great day!!

Today, I have to brag on Matt. We went to the park after school to eat lunch(or try to the ducks were awful!!) and I was asking about their day. I was doing my usual, how was your day? did you get a smiley face, did you keep your smiley face, etc... and Matt said I got a token because I was caught being good. SIGH!!!! I almost cried because I was so proud.

Matt is such any easy "go with the flow" child who tends to blend in because he just doesn't argue or fuss and I was so excited that he was recognized!!! He also came home and wanted to make an ABC book like at school. This is a major accomplishment!!!

I love you Matt!!!!

We have settled into our routine. I do so enjoy the kids being in bed around 8 or so. Last night I had the pleasure of laying in my bed and watching the olympics unil like 11:00 then I realized I HAD TO GET UP IN LIKE 6 HOURS!!!! I usually get up around 6 but I tried to get up at 5:30 today. I really enjoy sitting and drinking my coffee and praying for my children before they leave for school. It just makes me feel content!!!

Then I start the morning wake up, feed breakfast, get dressed, drive to carpool. I've been trying to go workout while they are at school, then I run home do a few chores, take a shower, and before I know it's time to go get them.

And yesterday, I found out that Kindergarten is real school. My boys have sight words, yes sight words. They have to learn 8 color words and two other words by the end of the month. We started with three words last night and they seemed to know them pretty well. So..any moms out there do you have tips on learning sight words. So far I have made flashcards on plain white index cards.....

Hope everybody is having a great 1st week at school!!!!

Well, I'm pleased to report a great 1st day at school:

Will--loved school!! Got his 1st birthday invitation of the year, and went to the treasure box

Matt--and I quote "Momma I don't know if I know how to mind the teacher" Today: "Momma I did know how to mind!! and I got a smiley face" :o)LOL

MT--Couldn't get to carpool line because she was kissing and hugging everybody goodbye.

Everybody's going back Monday!!!!

1st day of school!!

As I write this....we are 30 minutes into our 1st day of Kindergarten and 4 year old Kindergarten...I'm so proud to say that they were angels this morning..up at 6:30 and dressed and ready to go by 7:15. That's a little early so we will try to leave no later than 7:30 every day. But, of course I had to get pictures and Robby stayed home and went with me to drop them off today. I think they were so excited. They didn't look back when I dropped them off. Matt was so proud of his new backpack..he made sure to show his assistant teacher who opened the door for us. I can't believe I have two boys in kindergarten. Time is flying by. I of course took way too many pictures so I posted some below. Hope everyone is having a great 1st couple of days at school!!!!

Catch Up Time!!

We have been crazy busy the past week. We took the kids to Jellystone for the weekend, then we went to Gulfshores for a meeting with Robby and did some last minute beach/pool playing and shopping. Today we went to meet our teachers and drop off our supplies.

Tomorrow is the big day!!! The kids are so excited and I feel such peace about our teachers. The boys are in separate rooms this year but it's going to be great. I'm so lucky because my children really enjoy school and don't fuss about going. I may shed some tears tomorrow but I don't think they will!!!

Very little going on around here...MT went to cheerleading camp this week. She had a good time. She's a free spirit with dancing moves that came from some crazy place. She's really in her own world!!!

We have successfully completed check-ups(including 4 shots each, dentist visits, haircuts, school supply shopping, and new backpacks and totebag purchases. Now we are just waiting. I"m hoping to find out who our teachers are today or Monday, but definately by Tuesday night.

I think they are excited about school starting. Will wants an alarm clock for his room. If only it would be that easy.

MTs new furniture came yesterday and....she slept in her room last night for the first time in years(literally)!!!!

The boys bunkbeds are on backorder so they have a temporary bed with their new mattress, but they are still sleeping sloundly on their new mattress!!

Robby played in a golf tournament yesterday and his team shot 11 under and he won a door prize!!!

Until next time...

We have been up to a little bit of nothing lately....My sister in law and I had a garage sale with a little bit of success. We may try one more time in August at my sister's house. I usually just give everything away and what's left this time I'll give away. I just have so much baby stuff that I would love to sell.

We are trying to get things ready for school to start...did i just say that? I can't believe it's here. But, if I continue to deny it, it will just make it worse. School supplies have been purchased, new school shoes bought, plenty of clothes to start school with. I just need to get the boys a backpack and MT a tote bag. She is most upset that the K-4 kids can't carry backpacks. Anyway so I'm on the prowl for a tote bag.

I have signed MT up for tumble cheer. The boys want to take karate. I'm not sure about it because I know nothing at all about boy activities!!!

Anyway, I'm going to clean house...
bye bye for now

Before:


During




After(yes those ears are pierced)

A little bit of nothing....

That's what we have been doing this week. We had a terrific trip to the beach and now we are home for the rest of the summer...which is passing by really fast. I won't even count the weeks left because there are not that many. Which means all of the plans/projects that I had for the summer need to get done!! I decided I better review my children on some of the things they should have been working on this summer like writing, letters, etc...They have no interest!!!!

Anyway, the house is a mess as usual but I have managed to clean out drawer after drawer but you can't tell that I've done a thing.

On a brighter note..we finally went and bought new furniture for the kids bedrooms. MT had hand me down furniture and the boys had twin beds. But we knew that we were going to get bunk beds when the time was right. So we purchased a twin over double set of bunkbeds for their room and a daybed and chest of drawers for MTs room...I'm so excited. Hopefully they will sleep in their own beds from now on HA HA!!! I often wonder why we built a house with more than one bedroom because we all seem to sleep in mine!!!!

MTs Daybed:

MTs dresser:

Bunkbeds for the boys:

Happy Fourth of July!!!

Don't you love a little bedhead???




The proud new owner of a cool spiderman toy.





We had fun playing put put!!!




Aquaman and his beautiful children!!!