In the Life of This Mama

Long time no blog

2010-10-02T22:36:00.000-07:00

We've had a lot of changes in our lives -- mainly a new addition named Dane who's 4 months old now -- and I'll try to update soon.

Uh-oh, you caught me!

2009-05-15T14:29:00.000-07:00

As you can see from these pictures, Anthony loves sweets and chocolate. He does come by it honestly. LOL For Mother's Day, I got a Boo-Boo Kit (Mother's Day basket for fixing boo-boos), my favorite ink pens (I'm picky) and a BIG bag full of candy. The bag had all my favorites and then some -- KitKats, M&Ms, Toblerone, 2 bags of Lindt Truffles (the best!), 4 different types of Reese's peanut butter candy, Creme Savers, Jolly Ranchers, Werther's Originals, peppermint and probably something else that I'm forgetting. Here's what it looks like.

Well, I had put the bag of candy on the kitchen counter so that Anthony couldn't get it. Or so I thought. I was getting ready a couple of mornings ago and Anthony was playing. I heard a "thump" but didn't think much of it since he drops toys. I came out to check on him and see where he was playing a couple of minutes later and here's what I found. Doesn't he look pleased with himself?

He doesn't know how to unwrap the candy, so he was biting the candy in the wrapper and then sucking the chocolate out.

He had chocolate all over his face and hands, the kitchen cabinets and my gift bag.

Storms

2009-05-07T07:39:00.000-07:00

April showers bring May flowers, but what do May showers bring? Tornadoes! At least they did on Sunday. Adam was watching the weather xlosely (I was actually updating my blog) and I could hear the weather men talking about storms heading our way. We knew they were severe, so as they got close we headed to the basement. We had our radio on downstairs and they were announcing that there were 40-50 mph winds in our area. We couldn't see them yet, but it wasn't long until we could see it (we were watching out the door). Then the hail started. We were watching it bounce off the neighbor's driveway! We were only in the basement for about 15 minutes, but a whole lot of rain came down during that, along with a lot of quarter-size hail and quite a few tree limbs. We didn't have any trees down or damage on our street, but there was a confirmed tornado nearby and lots of trees down in the area.

We emptied the rain gauge right before the rain started and we got 1.75 inches of rain in 15 minutes!!

There was plenty of hail in the yard and it was quarter-size, as you can see. And yes, that's rain on my blinds. On the inside of our windows!

After the storms passed, we walked through the neighborhood to make sure everything was okay. This is our street and you can see how strong the water was as it washed down the street, it left a clear path of rocks and debris. It also became very foggy after the rain passed. Our neighborhood looked like a swamp!

We have so much going on!!

2009-05-03T11:47:00.001-07:00

Surprising, huh?

It's springtime, so that means new life. And boy, do we have plenty of that!! Here are a few of the projects we're working on right now:

It all started with the caterpillars we ordered for the boys' butterfly treehouses. I ordered 3 sets but the company messed up and only sent one. So, we have one set right now. And boy, do they grow quickly!!! Here's a few pics of the progress they've made so far. The last one is from today and they're forming their chrysalids now. We should have butterflies in a couple of weeks!!

Then, last night, our kitty brought us a surprise -- a kitten!! And then three more! We didn't even know she was expecting, much less had delivered! We've only had her a short time and just thought she was fat and healthy. Little did we know! So, now we have 4 kittens who appear to be around 3 days old. There are 2 black kittens and 2 white kittens and they are so sweet! They're currently residing in Michael's closet, too. LOL They spent a short while in our closet (that's the pic on the purple lid) but that was too dangerous for them since two of them fell off the container mama kitty had put them on. By the way, we think we've decided on a name for her now -- Midnight Mama!! We were already thinking about Midnight because she is black but I just wasn't sure about it. Well, now she's a mama and it was almost the middle of the night when she brought us her kitties, so I think she'll be Midnight Mama from now on!

And, last but certainly not least, is the flowers we are growing. Anthony and I have been working in our flower bed getting it ready to plant. We don't have anything planted yet but I'm hoping to get our seeds out tomorrow. The boys also got Egg Plants from Gigi for Easter and we've finally cracked them open and watered them. We should have seedlings in about a week. We'll monitor their progress, too.

Look at that sweet, dirty face. He loves to dig and play in the dirt but discovered that it doesn't taste too good.

Anthony LOVES to be outside and last week, he played on the slip 'n slide with his brothers. We undressed him and let him run around naked afterward. What a sweet little naked boy! Don't you love his new excited face! It's so cute I had to share it at the beginning, too.

Here's our own little Vulcan!

Halloween

2009-04-26T21:49:00.000-07:00

Yes, I know it's April and Halloween was 6 months ago, but I've promised updates so I'm giving them. Of course, this was Anthony's first Halloween. He actually wore two costumes. NaeNae found a really cute frog costume for him and it was really chilly on Halloween morning, when the boys had their fall festival at school. So, that warm, fuzzy frog costume that was a lot like a pair of pj's came in handy! And it was A LOT warmer than the red M&M Anthony had to wear out of tradition. Ninny and NaeNae made the M&M and Trent, John-William, Jackson and Michael all wore it for their 1st Halloween. The tradition had to continue!!!

Halloween was on a Friday, so of course Adam had a ball game to broadcast. Fortunately, it was a home game and he was able to take a quick break from the stadium to come home and go down our street for trick-or-treating with the boys.

I took photos of the big boys before school that morning, knowing that their costumes might not make it through the day. It's a good thing, too, since John-William got his dirty helping outside for the fall festival.

John-William was the late Dale Earnhardt, Sr.

Jackson had to be a football player, of course. I blacked out the name on the hat and on his costume. Don't want any of you crazy stalkers out there knowing where we live. LOL He couldn't put on his shoulder pads before getting in the car that morning, so he's just wearing his pants and shirt here. He added the shoulder pads, jersey and helmet when he got to school.

Michael was Spiderman.

And here's Anthony as the frog and red M&M.

All the boys together at Ninny's that night after trick-or-treating. We also went to the football game in costume, so that was fun and cute.

How can you not love this face????

2009-04-23T19:46:00.001-07:00

Is this Adam, or what?

A small update

2009-04-15T20:59:00.000-07:00

I haven't been around much lately with updates, so I thought I'd post a few pics to show that we are still alive. LOL I didn't call this a "quick" update because it's never quick when I'm choosing and uploading photos. It takes a while so that's why I don't get to it very often.

Three of the boys have had birthdays since my last "real" update. So, here's pics of their birthdays.

First, though, here's a photo of Jackson (he's #8) on the football sidelines. Isn't he cute?

John-William had his first sleepover for his birthday party. We had a few boys here that night! In this pic, they were all visiting our neighbors' goats who were, by the way, the only girls at the party. LOL Besides Ninny and me, of course.

The boys slept in the playroom that night. We had lots of boys, quilts, blankets, and electronic devices (PSPs, ipods, gameboys, etc.).

Anthony's first birthday party was just a small family (and a couple of close friends) get-together. He loves balloons!!!

Jackson also had a sleepover for his birthday party. I was a bad mommy, though, and forgot to take pictures of all the boys in the playrrom. I got some of his cake, though.

Isn't this a sweet birthday boy???

Happy Birthday, Ad!!

2009-04-08T10:03:00.000-07:00

Today is Adam's birthday and he's not been feeling well. Jackson was sick on his birthday and now Adam is sick on his birthday. I hope this is not a sign of things to come!

I know I haven't updated much lately but I promise I'm going to work on it soon!

Happy Birthday Jackson!!

2009-02-10T16:18:00.000-08:00

Jackson's 8th birthday today and unfortunately, he's sick. :( We went to the pediatrician and he has a sinus infection, so hopefully it won't take him too long to get over it. It's stinky when you have a fever and feel poorly on your birthday, though. I didn't even get to take his football cupcakes to him at school today because he didn't go to school. Hopefully, he'll be feeling better tomorrow and I can take them then. We're supposed to have his birthday party this weekend, so I sure hope he's feeling better by then! Happy birthday Jackseen!!

Bragging Rights

2009-01-16T08:59:00.000-08:00

I just have to say that I'm always proud of our boys, but sometimes they give me even more to be proud of! All 3 boys got great report cards last week! John-William had all A's on his report card this grading period! Jackson had almost all A's -- only one B! Michael had all S's, which means that he has satisfactorily met his requirements, meaning that he has mastered those skills. So, out of 3 reports cards, only 1 B!!! Woo Hoo!!

Also, John-William tested (on last year's SATs) in the top 5% of all 4th and 5th graders in the entire Southeast (a 16-state region)!! He received an invitation from Duke University to participate in the 2009 4th/5th Grade Talent Search!! This program allows him to participate in online enrichment programs, compete for prizes, take advantage of advanced academic testing and he'll also receive exclusive publications and recognition from Duke University!! He is very excited about this honor and so are we!!!

Happy Birthday Anthony!!!

2008-12-27T18:10:00.000-08:00

Anthony turned 1 today! I can't believe a year has passed by already. He's such a sweet, funny, loving baby boy who's turning into a sweet, funny, curious, loving little boy....he won't be a baby for long. He's pulling up, cruising along the furniture and starting to let go and stand by himself. He'll be walking soon and then running. I just can't believe it. I'll post some updated pics later, I promise.

Also, today is our 15th wedding anniversary! Okay, not the actual "wedding" (long story, but most of you know it) but we got married 15 years ago today. While most people say that it feels long than the actual time, it's hard for me to believe that we've been married for 15 years. I love him even more today than I did 15 years ago and I didn't think that was possible. But, not only is Adam a wonderful husband, he's a devoted, involved, loving father and that makes me love him even more. Happy Anniversary, Honey!!

A decade!!

2008-10-12T16:36:00.000-07:00

That's how long it's been since our first baby boy was born!! Wow, that's hard to believe!!! John-William is 10 now and he's becoming quite a young man, not a little boy anymore. He is getting ready to move out of the room he shares with Jackson and into his own room, he has braces, he had his first sleepover with friends (not just cousins), he's counting down the time until he gets his driver's license and so much more!! I just can't believe he's growing up so quickly!! I'm very proud of him, though. He is doing well in school, is a wonderful son, a great friend and a very caring big brother!! Happy Birthday, John-William! I love you!

Michael's Birthday Party

2008-10-04T17:54:00.000-07:00

John-William's birthday is quickly approaching and I haven't posted pictures from Michael's party yet, so I thought I'd better do that. We had his party at a local park on a beautiful, but hot, sunny day. When we planned it, the weather forecast was for the temperature to be about 81. On the day of the party, however, it was actually about 91. And humid!!!! It was so hot, in fact, that the candles on the cake melted without ever being lit!! The ice cream turned into a milk shake in no time at all, but we still had a good time.

The cake and the melted candles:

We had lots of little boys (and one little girl!) come to Michael's party. Can't you tell they were having fun???

Happy Birthday Michael!!!

2008-09-15T07:27:00.000-07:00

Our sweet Michael turns 6 today!!! I can hardly believe it but it's true. He's in kindergarten and LOVES school!! He's already reading well and doing great in everything. We had his party on Saturday and had a great turnout, even though some loved ones couldn't be there. I'll post pics later but wanted to make sure I said "Happy Birthday!" while I could.

Where has my baby gone???

2008-08-27T08:25:00.000-07:00

Eight months ago today, our sweet little Anthony was born. And while those 8 months have flown by (for me, anyway), it has actually been 8 months. And boy has a lot changed during that time! Anthony is now a big ol' chunk weighing just over 20 pounds and I'm sure he's close to 30" long now! When he nurses, he lies across me and then some -- a lot of some!! His feet hang down by my knees. He's sitting up, playing with toys and keeping himself happy. He loves the walker and can get where he wants to go, actually walking in it now. He plays in the high chair and feeds himself food, too!! We took a slow approach to introducing food because he just wasn't real interested in it to begin with. But, now he loves new tastes! He can pick up chunks of veggies and eat them and feeds himself puffs (which he loves!). He says "mama" and "dada" now, too. Mama was first, by the way!! He loves his brothers and watching them play or sitting in the floor with them will keep him occupied for quite a while. He loves to explore his toys and almost always finds the tag on the toy. He chews on the tag more than the toy!

So, here's some new pics of him. It's not Christmas in August, but Jackson found these antlers in their room and put them on Anthony. He thought they were hilarious! He loves riding in the stroller (doesn't he look like such a little boy and not a baby) and playing in the high chair. And what a busy boy! He didn't even move his cup, he just stopped drinking out of it and started playing with another toy. LOL

And here he is last night, feeding himself sweet potatoes and puffs. Look how serious he is! And, notice that there are puffs in both hands. Another two-fisted eater!

What do you think?

2008-08-26T19:32:00.000-07:00

Here's how I looked this morning:

Here's how I look now!

Brotherly love

2008-08-26T18:55:00.000-07:00

I just have to share this. Around 10:30 last night, I was sitting here at the computer finishing up a couple of things before nursing Anthony to sleep. All of a sudden, I heard John-William crying. This isn't completely unusual because he has night terrors sometimes and his cry is enough to give you a night terror!! He has a very distinct cry when he's asleep. So, I hear his cry and know that it's him and he isn't in his bed. I could tell that he was much closer to me than his bedroom. That really scared me because I thought that he might be sleepwalking with his night terror, as he's gotten out of bed before but I've always been in the room by the time it happens. So, I run into the kitchen and see him and Jackson heading into the hallway outside their bathroom. I ask what's wrong and John-William, still crying, says he's "going to puke." So, I usher him (quickly) into the bathroom. I step out and ask Jackson why he's up. John-William has never come out of his room by himself during a night terror or any other scary event and I had no idea why Jackson was up, too. Jackson had a very distinct look on his face -- one that was a mix between confusion (like, "why am I up?" and fear, like he was going to be in trouble). He just looked at me for a second and I wrapped my arm around him and asked him why he had gotten up. He said, "Because Bubba wanted me to come with him." Isn't that sweet???? Our 7-year-old son got out of bed with his almost-10-year-old brother because he wanted company as he thought he was headed to the bathroom to throw up. I just hugged Jackson really tightly and told him how sweet that was and how wonderful it was that he got up to help his brother. I also apologized that he had to wake up and told him that if it happens again, he can just call one of us. It was just so heartwarming, though, to know that hopefully we're doing something right!! I talk to them pretty frequently about loving each other instead of arguing and picking on each other. And, last night proved that they do.

What I found out this morning, though, made the story a little funnier. I was asking them about it and Jackson said John-William woke up him to go the bathroom with him and Jackson was afraid that John-William was going to fall down the ladder when he was coming off his bunk, so he got up with him. John-William said that he woke Jackson up by shaking him saying, "It's an emergency!! It's an emergency!!" I don't know why his potential vomiting was an emergency for Jackson, but apparently they both thought that it was. LOL

Laughing aside, though, it really makes me feel good to know that Jackson woke up, got out of bed and was going to help his brother. He could have just called one of us, rolled over and gone back to sleep. But, he got up to help Bubba. That's brotherly love.

High flying fun!!

2008-08-23T16:37:00.001-07:00

While we were at the beach, we had to make our annual trip to the go-cart track. John-William had told Adam that he'd ride the big swing (the Skycoaster) if I'd ride with him. Adam knows that there isn't much I'm afraid of, so he took John-William up on the offer and bought us tickets!! We waited in line forever, but when it was finally our turn we had fun. Anyone who knows me knows I really was enjoying myself!! First, a few pics of us in line and getting ready. We had to put on harnesses and those were actually what we were swinging in and what was holding us up. So, we got those on and got ready. If you notice the teenage girls in front of us and behind us in line, John-William had an ongoing conversation with them the whole hour that we were in line. :) They helped keep his mind off what he was about to do! LOL Notice the "chicken out policy" too!!

Almost our turn!! Look at John-William's face...

Getting situated and our instructions on what to do. Once you're secured to the steel cable, they move the stand out from under you and you just hang there. That's when it really gets real that you're about to do this!

Our videocamera wasn't working, of course, so Adam had to use the video mode on our digital camera. There are 3 different clips but make sure you watch all of them!! That's me screaming "Woo hoo!!" by the way!

Toes in the sand

2008-08-23T15:57:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago we took the boys to the beach. Our first night there, we went for a walk on the beach and to look for crabs. So, here's Anthony's first time in the sand. Even though he only had his feet there for a minute, it was his first steps on the beach!!

The boys played in one of the pools (there were 3!) at the condo on our first afternoon there. Aren't they cute!!

They also really enjoyed the outdoor hot tub. It was out where the "big" pool was, by the beach. The hot tub was actually big enough for the boys to swim in. Hence, Jackson's goggles.

It rained on Sunday afternoon and we experienced our first true wind storm with wind gusts of 40+ mph, if I remember correctly. And we were outside in it! We'd gone to the grocery store and it hit as were getting back with several bags of groceries and 4 kids to get in through the wind. Boy, that was hard!! It was like you see in the movies where someone leans against the wind and can barely move. No joke! Michael really had a hard time. And, the wind was blowing sand up out of the parking lot and it was stinging our legs, arms and even getting in our eyes. Not a fun time! But, we made it through and went to the pools that afternoon. I think we actually went to all 3 pools that afternoon. LOL Here's a pic of all 5 of my guys in the indoor pool:

Hello again!!!

2008-08-01T08:15:00.000-07:00

It's been over a month since I've posted but I've just been so busy!! Here's the pics of the boys swimming that I never got posted before.

They sure had fun jumping in that day!!

And even though it was the middle of the day, the moon was shining bright! Three of them, in fact.

Swimming

2008-06-24T09:21:00.000-07:00

With the warm weather we have in the summer in Alabama, we have lots of time to swim. Ninny and PawPaw have a pool. so the boys get to swim pretty frequently. Anthony has even been swimming! He got in once with Adam and me when the pool water was about 88 degrees and felt great! He wasn't sure what to think at first, but he ended up enjoying it. The pics of the boys are from Memorial Day when they played with Adam and Troy. I just have to say that I love the camera that I got for Christmas because I've gotten some really good pictures!!!

Braces!!!

2008-06-23T21:06:00.000-07:00

Believe it or not, John-William got braces today! They aren't full braces, yet, as he has more permanent teeth that need to come in. But, he has brackets on the four front teeth on top and bands around his molars. The brackets are supposed to help straighten his teeth a little first and then the orthodontist is going to attach a wire and spring to the molar bands to move his molars back and pull the front teeth in. At his next appointment (in 4 weeks), he'll get a retainer-type wire on bottom to start working on those teeth, as well. His teeth are a little sore, but he's so excited about having braces! I'm planning to document his progression, so here are a couple of pics to begin with:

Before any work was done:

Today:

Video...

2008-05-31T17:59:00.000-07:00

I had problems uploading the video in my last post, so I'm trying again...Okay, didn't work again. I'll have to try again later.

A couple of firsts

2008-05-31T16:27:00.000-07:00

Anthony's had a couple of firsts this week. Besides discovering his tongue (he sticks it out when he's happy) and finding his feet last week, he's also had a "big boy bath" with Michael and now plays in his jumper. On Tuesday, Adam took John-William and Jackson to the new Indiana Jones movie but felt it was a little too much for Michael, so he stayed with me. We went for a walk and had dinner and dessert at Sonic. :) Part of his special treat was that he got to be the first big brother to take a bath with Anthony. Anthony has taken baths with Adam and me but we usually just put him in the shower with one of us each night since we can get two showers done at once. On Tuesday, though, Michael got the privilege of having Anthony in the bathtub with him.

Anthony also played in his doorway jumper for the first time Thursday night. It only took a couple of minutes for him to realize that he was standing up (which he absolutely loves!) and also that he had the freedom to turn himself around and face whichever direction he wanted. Here's a couple of pics -- he likes to smile at the parts above him -- and the video of his first few minutes in the jumper.

Up close and personal...

2008-05-31T12:50:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday was Michael's last baseball game. While we were at the ballpark, I took pictures of all my boys. I think I got some really good ones of them up close --long hair, dirty mouths and all.

Busy, busy, busy!!

2008-05-26T17:59:00.000-07:00

I hope everyone has enjoyed today and remembered what it's all about. It's not just a day off work, but a time to remember, honor and be thankful for all the men and women who've given their lives to assure our freedom.

Having said that....

Today was a nice relaxing day and I'm thankful for it because boy, have we had a lot going on lately!! But, the boys are out of school and baseball and soccer are over, so I'm hoping to slow down a little bit!! I have several straightening/organizing projects I hope to accomplish over the next few weeks and I'm planning to enjoy some down time with the boys as well.

Happy (belated) Mother's Day

2008-05-13T12:41:00.000-07:00

I hope all you moms out there had a great Mother's Day!! We went to church in the morning, had lunch with my mom and sister (my dad was at work) and then came home. The boys all gave me gifts that they made in school -- John-William made a packet that includes a letter to me, a questionaire that he answered about me, his handprint and a photo of him. Jackson wrote two letters to me and one of them states that he loves it when I do laundry and likes it when I do dishes. Well, he ought to be happy pretty much all of the time since my washer and dryer don't get too many breaks! LOL Michael gave me a plate that has his handprint in paint and a card that he made in the shape of a purse and he glued beads onto it. Adam gave me a gift certificate for a massage!! I can hardly wait to take advantage of that! Instead of cleaning house like I'd planned (we'd had a busy week and I had some help at home, so I was going to take advantage of it), Adam, Anthony and I ended up napping in the living room while John-William, Jackson and Michael watched a movie in the playroom. As much as we needed to work in the house, we needed those naps even more! Adam and I hadn't planned to nap but both of us ended up falling asleep while we sat down to relax for a bit. Since it wasn't intentional, we didn't set an alarm and we ended up sleeping until 5 pm and missing the evening services at church! Boy were we tired!! Storms had rolled through during the night on Saturday and that kept Adam up most of the night between watching the weather, the weather radio going off and dealing with John-William and Jackson who no longer sleep through storms since the February tornado that rolled through our area. I was so exhausted that I slept through most of the storms, waking a couple of times when I heard the kids cry and the weather radio go off. Michael got into bed with me and he slept the rest of the night while his daddy and big brothers were up in the living room. Anthony slept through it all! But, we were all exhausted on Sunday afternoon and just ended up sleeping. It was nice, though, to be able to rest, even though it did cause us to miss church that night. I'll post pics later of the things the boys made for me.

Goals and a Grand Slam!!

2008-05-06T17:16:00.000-07:00

As you know, Jackson is playing soccer and Michael is playing baseball this spring. Thursday night, Jackson scored his first goal (unassisted). In fact, he scored two goals that night!! He played again last night and scored again! Michael had a game last night, too, and he hit a grand slam!!! Unfortunately, Adam and I both missed the grand slam because we'd walked down to watch part of Jackson's game since they were playing at the same time. But, Grandma and Grandpa were there and cheered him on. Adam asked him if everyone cheered for him and he said, "yeah and right at the end all the ladies were going 'woooooo!'" as he screamed. LOL

What's burning on the carport?

2008-04-30T23:58:00.000-07:00

That's what I asked Adam when I called him from our driveway tonight!! He got home before the boys and I did and when I pulled the truck into the driveway, I saw a pile of something black on the carport and a small flame under it. I thought, for some reason, that he'd decided to burn something and did so on the carport. Not that he's ever done that before, but that's what was in my mind since it was a neat little pile and none of the house was burning. He answered, "What???" Then I realized he hadn't started the fire and I said, "Something's burning on the carport!!!" He got out the back door as quickly as I got out of the truck. It didn't take long to realize that the two burned piles lying there were the boys' backpacks they'd left there this afternoon as they ran off to play with a friend who'd come home from school with us. Then, my thoughts turned to why the backpacks were burned and I wondered if someone had purposely done it to be mean. Then, Adam looked up. That's when he realized that the carport light had caught on fire. Apparently, when he came home tonight, he flipped the light switch on so that we'd have light when we got home. Since he was on his way in the door, he never realized that the light was dimmer than normal (I'll explain how I know that in a minute) because the light globe was full of bird nest. See, when I left for church tonight, I turned on the light and realized it was too dim and saw that the bird had returned and re-built his/her nest. I left the light off for fear of a fire. However, Adam was doing a good deed and turned the light on for us on his way in and never noticed that the nest was back. So, when we got home, the light had caught fire and the fire dropped onto the backpacks below. Well, the backpacks, recycling bin and baby swing. :( It must've burned pretty hot, too, because the plastic recycling bin is now a completely flat piece of plastic and the only way we knew that's what it was is the company's logo is still visible. The baby swing was sitting near the bin and the back support bar and leg were burned on it. The backpacks and everything in them are completely lost. That means the boys' binders that hold their homework, graded papers, notes to/from home and school, lunch money, etc. are completely burned. Along with two readers and at least one library book. But, it could have been worse. The light could have burned into the ceiling and spread through the attic very quickly. We're very blessed that it didn't. God was definitely watching over us this evening.

Here's where it all started, this is the light:

4 months ago....

2008-04-27T20:26:00.000-07:00

we were enjoying our hours-old new baby!! My, my, where has the time gone? I can't believe he's 4 months old already!! I took some pics earlier today that I'll try to upload in a bit. Just wanted to post and say that Anthony is 4 months old today!

Spring has sprung!!!!

2008-04-18T10:10:00.000-07:00

Spring has been "in" for almost a month now and you can tell!!!! We have spring sports (baseball and soccer), spring school activities (drama club, nature club, field trips and auction) and flowers blooming!! Here's some of what's going on:

Jackson's first soccer game and Michael's baseball practice:

Adam also threw out the first pitch for the little league baseball and softball season. This is him throwing the first softball:

I'll try to update with more pics as I sit down with Anthony. Here lately, that's the only time I get to spend on the computer -- when I'm nursing the baby!!

Happy Birthday, Honey!!!

2008-04-08T17:50:00.000-07:00

Today is my wonderful husband's birthday. He's a loving, thoughtful, caring (and so much more!) husband and father and I truly hope he's had a good day. He deserves so much more, but I've got his favorite dinner planned (and cooking as we speak) as his birthday celebration tonight: caesar salad, lasagna, garlic bread and homemade banana pudding for dessert!! I hope he enjoys it!

Home at last!!

2008-03-29T21:04:00.000-07:00

Don't get me wrong, we completely enjoyed our vacation. But, after being gone for 9.5 days (we left on Thursday night), it's nice to be home!! I guess I should start from the beginning, huh? On Thursday the 20th, we headed down to south Florida. We left that evening and drove through the night. It took almost 15 hours for what used to be a 12 hour drive! Of course, that was back before we had kids and we drove a car that got 30+ mpg and Adam only stopped for gas! Now, we have an SUV that gets about 18-20 mpg on the highway and kids who need bathroom breaks. LOL And, don't forget, a baby who has to be fed! Fortunately, his nursings coincided with planned stops all but once round trip! And, the boys didn't really cause us to stop either, except maybe once. But, there's a difference between stopping to gas up and stopping to gas up, let 5 people have bathroom breaks, nurse the baby and change a diaper!! Anyway, we got down there last Friday and really enjoyed ourselves for a week. There was no schedule to follow and we just did what we wanted. We got to spend lots of time with Gigi and the boys had a blast being on her turf. We haven't been down there in 5 years, so they really didn't remember what it was like last time we visited. Besides, where else do they get to swim in March???? The pool was still cool, but they swam anyway. We also went to Lion Country Safari and enjoyed watching all the animals. Gigi took us to several fun and interesting restaurants and we just relaxed. That was the main point of the trip anyway. Unfortunately, though, we did have to come home. We left early yesterday afternoon after sleeping in and a late brunch with Gigi. We stopped in Georgia last night after spending about 90 minutes in construction delays and only went 9 or 10 miles in that 90 minutes! About 7 hours of driving, construction delays and rainstorms today and we finally got home. It's nice to get away, but it's even nicer to get back home!! I won't share all the pics right now, but thought I'd post a few of the boys' first swimming excursion this year (it won't happen again for a couple more months!).

Horsing around (I just love that splash!):

Coming up for air:

Michael swimming "underwater":

Jumping right in:

Of course, Anthony is a little too young for the pool yet. Had it been warmer, I would have put him in. But, it was too cool for me so it was way too cool for him. But, his first trip to the pool consisted of napping and then lying in mommy's lap:

"Mommy, I wish you were an...

2008-03-10T21:43:00.000-07:00

octopus".....that's what I was told tonight!! LOL I was sitting at the computer nursing Anthony (pretty much the only time I'm on here for fun) and reading some stuff online and the boys were getting ready for ball practice. Michael needed his shoes tied and I told him he'd have to wait a minute while I burped Anthony. That's when he said it! He finished it with "....so you could hold the baby ad tie my shoes at the same time. Two hands for the baby, two hands for my shoes and one hand for the computer!!!" Boy, wouldn't it be helpful to have a few extra hands?!?!

2 Months

2008-03-07T13:26:00.000-08:00

Anthony's actually a little over 2 months old now, but we went for his 2 month check-up yesterday. He's gained 7 pounds and grown 3 inches in 2 months!!! He weighed 7 pounds, 14 ounces and was 20.5" long when he was born. He'd lost down to 7 pounds, 4 ounces when we left the hospital. Yesterday, he weighed 14 pounds, 4 ounces and is 23.5" long now!!!

Anthony's first laugh!

2008-03-04T12:09:00.000-08:00

I tried doing this yesterday, but Blogger lost what I did! It takes several minutes for each video to upload, so I didn't have time to re-do it yesterday afternoon. But, Anthony woke up in a very happy and talkative mood yesterday. He's been trying to figure out how to "talk" and coo and can usually only get one or two sounds out. Yesterday, though, he was talking up a storm!! And, after I started recording some on the memory card so that I could share it, he laughed for the first time!!! Please excuse the darkness of the video, my camcorder doesn't do well without full light and the sun kept hiding behind the clouds....

Anthony talking and his first laugh:

Very first "talking session"

All my boys....

2008-02-20T16:41:00.000-08:00

in my bed! School was out on Monday, so we slept in and relaxed. We all snuggled in our bed for a bit, too. Just had to get pics of all 5 of my boys...

Happy Birthday Jackson!!!

2008-02-10T19:54:00.000-08:00

Jackson turned 7 today!!! I can't believe he's 7 already. We had his skating party yesterday and made ice cream last night. Yum yum!!! We had a very nice day today, too. Though it was windy, it was a beautiful sunny day and we took the boys to the park this afternoon. Jackson got to try out his new remote control truck that flips over and they also took their scooters. We were going to fly his new remote control plane, too, but it was too windy. What a great afternoon we had together!

1 month checkup

2008-02-01T15:58:00.000-08:00

I took Anthony to the doctor earlier this week and he weighed 10 pounds, 12 ounces! That's a 3 1/2 pound gain in one month!!!!!! Typically, a baby should gain about 2 pounds during the first month, so I'd say he's doing well!!! He had also grown 1 1/2 inches, he's now 22 iches long! Guess that mama's milk is working!

4 weeks????

2008-01-26T15:34:00.000-08:00

I can't believe that it's already been 4 weeks since Anthony was born!! Okay, as of today, it's been 4 weeks and 2 days. He'll officially be 1 month old tomorrow!! Where has the time gone? I thought I'd share a few pics from the past month, mainly within the past week or so.

Blogger is being really slow right now, so I'm just going to share these for now. These were taken Thursday night, when he was 4 weeks old. Here he was, getting ready to smile. He smiles a lot in his sleep, but this is the first time that he attempted a smile while looking at one of us. He smiled really big for Adam last night. But, here he is -- about to smile, a small smile and then asleep within a few seconds. He would wake up and doze off over and over while he was in my lap. He doesn't usually go to sleep that easily, without nursing anyway, but I guess he was tired.

Snow!!!

2008-01-19T09:48:00.000-08:00

I know that a lot of people make fun of us here in the South because we make a big deal out of a few snow flurries. But, it's snowing today! We're taking a few pics that I'll try to post later. We were supposed to wake up to 2-3 inches of snow today, but it was still raining. The rain has now turned to snow and we're getting a pretty good little snow shower right now. I don't know if it will stick enough for the boys to actually go out and play in the snow, but they are planning to go out and play! LOL People in frequent snow areas always laugh at us, but you have to remember -- this is a rare event for us! In the past 15 years, we've only had snow that accumulated to a half inch 5 times!!! And the last time that happened was 2000!!! That means that Jackson and Michael have never seen anything more than a flurry falling from the sky. John-William was about 15 months old when it snowed in 2000, so he's been out to play in it but doesn't remember it. LOL So, this is a big deal to them. They were really looking forward to waking up to snow to play in this morning and were very disappointed when there was no snow. They laid their snow clothes out last night and everything! So, now they're dressed and waiting to be able to go out in it. I'll keep you updated....

My Birth Story

2008-01-04T22:02:00.000-08:00

In case you aren't interested in reading the details of Anthony's birth, you might want to skip this post. There's nothing real gory or anything like that, it's mainly just the timeline of what happened last Thursday. Just wanted to give you a warning, though, before you read it.

We arrived at the hospital at 6:20 am on December 27th. My induction instructions told me to arrive fasting (nothing to eat OR drink after midnight) and to be there by 6:30 am. I told the nurse my name and my OB’s name and she put us into a L&D room. She had me change into the lovely hospital gown and told me to climb into bed. About 30 minutes later, another nurse came in and asked, “So what brings you here today?” I kid you not, that’s what she said!!! I wanted to say, “Well, I’m almost 38 weeks pregnant and am scheduled to be induced by Dr. S today, what do you think brings me here?” but I didn’t. I just politely told her I was scheduled to be induced. She went on to tell me that they had me on the standby list, **if** they had room for me!! They already had 11 other L&D rooms full, so they weren’t expecting me to come in unless they called. However, my instructions said they’d only call if they were canceling or postponing my induction, so I got there when I was supposed to. I’m glad I did because I don’t know if we’d had our baby that day if I hadn’t. They were busy all day long!!! She got my IV started, though, and we waited on my OB to arrive. She came in about 7:20 am and checked me – still 3 cm dilated and 50% effaced. She broke my water at 7:25 am and headed to surgery while we started waiting on things to pick up. My OB knew that I wanted to try to go without pain medication if I could, so she agreed to see if labor would begin on it’s own without pitocin. After sitting in the bed for a while, I asked if I could get up and my L&D nurse told me no, I had to stay on the monitors since my water had been broken. I wasn’t even allowed to get up to go to the bathroom. She brought me a bedpan instead! Well, it wasn’t urgent so that wasn’t happening! LOL She said that I could ask my OB when she came back in to see what she said. My OB came in again a little while later and I asked if I could get up. She said, “Yeah” with a very nonchalant attitude like it wasn’t a big deal to her. However, when she realized that there was no way to keep me on the monitors, she said I couldn’t walk to try to get my labor going. She did agree to let me go to the bathroom, though, and suggested that I could sit in the rocking chair and see if that made me more comfortable. So, the nurse got the chair ready while I went to pee! I could tell that this nurse wasn’t accustomed to having women labor in the rocking chair, but she accommodated me. She was a very nice nurse who took good care of me but she’s a grandmother and I could tell that she’s used to having things go the way they’ve gone for a long time. We’ll leave it at that. She was going to start pitocin before I told her that we were going to try without it, too, because that’s how inductions are normally done. Since I couldn’t walk like I’d planned, I was hoping that being more upright in the rocker would help but it didn’t really. I had a few contractions sitting there, but nothing that really signaled that labor was starting. So, an hour and a half after my water was broken, the pitocin was started. I was disappointed but knew that it was coming because labor wasn’t beginning. My OB agreed to just start with “a whiff” of pitocin and let it go very slowly to try to keep me comfortable without pain meds. About 20 minutes after the pit started, I started having some real contrax. Gigi (dh’s mom) and the boys were there by this time, so that was a welcome distraction. My mom had been there for a while but having the boys in the room was nice. I wasn’t very uncomfortable yet and the boys were dealing with everything so well. I’d packed an activity bag with coloring books, crayons and their Gameboys for them, so that helped a lot. Even though I would normally **NEVER** allow them to sit on a hospital floor, the room was a little crowded so they colored in the floor. That kept them happy and in the room with me. We’d been told that they wouldn’t be able to stay, but since they were so well behaved, they were able to stay in the room as long as I wanted. In fact, we’d been told that family members could come in for short periods of time but would have to wait in the waiting room most of the time. But, we had a room full of guests for quite a while. No one was being loud or causing any problems, so our nurse let them stay. I’d started contracting some but it still wasn’t anything real bad. Around 9:40 a.m., my contractions started coming about 5-8 minutes apart. They were getting stronger, too, so that I needed to breathe through them. I’d told the boys that I would have some pain and wouldn’t always be able to answer them right away so that they wouldn’t be scared by labor. They were in the floor coloring most of the time, so I don’t think they really noticed when I was hurting. Around 10:20 a.m., the contrax started coming every 2-3 minutes and they were definitely getting stronger. I would close my eyes and really concentrate on what my body was doing. I was still without pain meds at this point but I wasn’t sure I was going to be able to remain that way. At 10:35, I decided that the contractions must be making progress and I probably needed to let the nurse check me so that I could make a decision about pain management, should I be making fast progress. So, I let the grandparents and all our visitors take the boys out into the waiting room for a while and I climbed back into bed. Unfortunately, I was still only 3 cm dilated and maybe a little more thin. I was certain I would be farther than that! Within just a couple of minutes, though, my contractions were every 1-2 minutes and much more intense. At this point, Adam stood by my bed, holding my hand and helping me breathe through the contractions. I had been getting a little light-headed after each contraction and my OB said it was probably because I was breathing so much that I was kind of hyperventilating each time. She pointed out that I was taking good, deep breaths but I guess it was still affecting me. I’m sure the pain from the pitocin didn’t help any. My OB had been in surgery again and she came back at 11 am and checked me again. This time, I was “a good 4-5” cm and now 90% effaced. The baby had dropped, too, and was now at –1 station. Contractions were still coming every 1-2 minutes and were VERY intense. At this point, I knew I couldn’t keep laboring like this. I wanted to go without pain meds and if my labor had been faster or had started without pitocin, I might have been able to make it. But, the pitocin makes the contractions come faster and harder than they normally would and it was just too much. I knew I was making progress and feared that once I really started going, I wouldn’t have time for an epidural. So, I let the nurse call the anesthesiologist. At 11:45, I got my epidural and was checked again, still 4-5 cm and 90%. The epidural brought relief within just minutes and I was able to relax a bit. The nurse told me to let her know if I started feeling pressure. The epidural takes away the pain and sometimes the sensation of the contractions. What I did feel felt like Braxton-Hicks contractions again. She certainly didn’t want me to ignore the pressure, though, since that usually indicates a need or readiness to push. During this time, we let the boys and everyone come back in for a visit since I was no longer in pain. They stayed in for a while and it was nice to be able to interact with my kids without being in pain. At 12:45, my OB came back in to check on me again and this time, I was 5-6 cm, still 90% effaced and the baby was around 0 to +1 station. So, definite progress had been made!!! I was able to nap a bit, too, and get a little rest. I’d been up since 4:15 and needless to say, didn’t get a lot of sleep prior to 4:15! Just after 1 pm, I had a contraction and felt pressure. I decided to wait and see if it happened again before I said anything. In just a couple of minutes, I felt it again and knew I needed to let the nurse know. So, I said, “I know it’s only been 25 minutes since she checked me, but I’m feeling pressure.” At 1:10 p.m., the nurse checked me and I was 9 ½ cm, completely effaced!!! I told you I go quickly when it finally starts!! So, I got Adam to bring the boys in one more time for one last kiss and hug while I was still pregnant. I told them that the next time they saw me, their baby brother would be here. The nurse got the room completely set up with all the delivery tools and sterile equipment. She made sure that Adam had everything he needed (cameras, etc.) on his side of the room because once she had everything sterile out, she didn’t want him to have to go through it. It took a few minutes to get everything ready and she said she’d check me again at 1:30. She did and this time, I was complete and ready to deliver!! She called my OB to come down to our room. The boys told me later that my OB went running through the halls to get to my room. She came in, suited up and we could already see the baby’s head! She asked if I felt the need to push and I said yes, so with the next contraction I pushed. He would have been born with that contraction, but I needed a small episiotomy to keep from tearing. So, she made one very small incision and with the next contraction, I pushed and he was born at 1:41 p.m.!! I never thought it would only take pushing through two contractions for him to be born, but it did. We had a mirror set up so that I could watch his birth and it’s still amazing, even after 4 children! As soon as his mouth was suctioned out, he was placed on my chest and we got to help dry him and warm him. Our nurse even finished suctioning him right there. My OB had given him to me so quickly that he still had a bit of fluid that he needed to get rid of. He laid there with me for quite a while because there wasn’t even a nursery team in our room yet. The L&D department was very busy that day and we had to wait a while for them to come in. That was okay with me, though. I got to just hold him and watch him for a long time. Our L&D nurse did eventually take him to the warmer and wrap him in dry blankets and weigh him. He weighed in at a healthy 7 pounds, 14 ounces. Adam also let me know then that the name Anthony Joel was fine with him. Up until this point, we still weren’t sure what we were naming this baby! I had picked out Anthony Joel and Adam had been telling me he wasn’t too crazy about the name Joel, so I had chosen Anthony Luke as an alternative. He told me then, though, that he’d just been giving me a hard time and Anthony Joel it was. After I was all cleaned up and presentable, Adam brought the boys in to meet their little brother. They were all amazed at how small he was and that he was finally here. After a little while, we let everyone else in, too. We had 3 sets of grandparents, 2 sets of aunts, uncles and cousins and my very good friend Cayce. Everyone oohed and aahed over Anthony for a while before the nursery nurse got there to finish cleaning and measuring him. By the way, his Apgar scores had been 8 and 9, so that was good to hear, too. The nurse finished his assessment and measured him – 20 ½ inches long with a 14 inch head circumference. He got his first bath and we let the boys stay in the room to watch. Then, he was given back to me and we got to get to know each other a little more. Around 4 p.m., I was moved up to my hospital room. Of course, we had a gaggle of family members waiting for us to get settled in so that they could pass the baby around. We hadn’t passed him around in the L&D room, just let everyone admire him from our arms. But, once we were upstairs and everything was set, everyone got a chance to hold him. After a long day of waiting, Gigi finally took the boys home around 5 pm and everyone else started dispersing then as well. I’m so proud of how well the boys did with such a long day at the hospital and not being sure of what all was going on. They were so good, though, and everyone talked about how well they did, even when they weren’t in my room. So, that’s the story of Anthony’s birth, hope you’ve enjoyed reading!

He's here!!!!

2008-01-03T15:55:00.000-08:00

I know it's been a week, but I've been a little busy. Our newest baby boy, Anthony Joel, arrived on Thursday, December 27th at 1:41 p.m. He weighed 7 lbs, 14 oz and was 20 1/2 inches long. My labor wasn't real long, only 6 hours from the time they broke my water until he was born, but only about 4 1/2 hours from the time that my labor really started until he was born. He's healthy and happy and we're thrilled to finally have him here with us!!! Here are some pics:

A few last pregnancy shots -- Christmas night at Kym's house and then the morning of his birth. I had to take one last belly shot before heading to the hospital. :)

Waiting patiently for his arrival:

The proud big brothers waiting in my room...

Normally, they would NEVER be allowed to sit on a hospital floor, but the room was crowded and they were keeping themselves busy by coloring, so it worked! There weren't very many chairs in the Labor & Delivery room and I certainly wasn't going to ask the grandparents to stand or sit in the floor. LOL So, the boys colored and they were so good during all of the waiting, it was just amazing. Our L&D nurse told us initially that the family could come in for visits but wouldn't be allowed to stay, especially the kids. I was afraid that she was going to try to make them leave, but the boys were so well behaved that she let them stay as long as I wanted. She even told us once they did go out for a break that they were so good. She said a lot of kids come in there and are loud and running around and she can't let them stay very long but she commended us on our boys' behavior. That certainly makes a mama feel good!

Okay, now for the baby's pictures. I just had to make sure that big brothers got their due, too. Anthony's very first picture, only a couple of minutes after he was born:

Daddy holding him for the first time:

Tomorrow is the day!!!

2007-12-26T21:33:00.000-08:00

I found out today that we couldn't move our induction to Friday, so we're having our baby boy tomorrow! I was a little disappointed that he won't have his "own day" since he'll be born on our anniversary (14 years, by the way!). Plus, this means we won't be able to go out to dinner on our anniversary for the next several years. LOL But, it will be worth it to stay at home and celebrate our baby boy's birthday instead. We're heading to the hospital early tomorrow morning and hopefully things will go quickly and smoothly from there. I'll post an update when we get home!

Merry Christmas!!!!

2007-12-25T23:52:00.000-08:00

I'll post pics later, but wanted to say Merry Christmas! We had a wonderful day and we were all very pleased with all the gifts we received. Our Christmas celebration and gift giving actually begins on Christmas Eve with my side of the family. We gather at my parents' house and eat dinner and exchange gifts there. We all came home with lots of goodies (mainly clothes but there were some fun things and chocolate thrown in there, too!).

Santa was way too good to us this year, as usual, and the boys were very excited this morning. It really is a good feeling when your kids get excited over clothes (even socks and underwear!) and books and it doesn't always have to be fun and games to make them happy. Santa brought John-William an MP3 player like he'd asked for, Jackson got extra Gameboy games and a really snazzy dress outfit for church (he loves to dress up) and Michael got a Gameboy like he'd requested. We managed to get our hands on a wii, so they were very excited about that as well. We enjoyed the day at home and had visits from grandparents to came to see all the loot. This evening, we went to Kym's house for dinner and shared more time with grandparents and family. We exchanged gifts there, too, and the boys had a great time and got way too much stuff there as well. Now, it's almost midnight and Christmas is officially ending. It's sad to see it go so quickly after we've waited so long and worked so hard to get everything ready. But, we've enjoyed our Christmas season and tried to instill in the kids that it's a time to be thankful for what we have, spend time with family and share with others. Hopefully, that message has gotten through. Of course, we try to keep those ideas alive all year long but right now is a good time to really good time to show it.

No baby today...

2007-12-21T11:24:00.000-08:00

I didn't do an update last night but that's because I wasn't in a big hurry. We found out yesterday morning that the amnio shows that the baby's lungs aren't ready yet. Or, at least they weren't when the fluid was drawn on Wednesday. So, no induction today. If he doesn't come on his own in the next few days, we have an induction set for late next week. It's actually set for Thursday but may be changing to Friday, I'll keep you updated.

Another baby update....

2007-12-15T22:31:00.000-08:00

Okay, not quite as late this time. We saw my OB on Tuesday and things are still looking good. I've made a little more progress -- am now 2 cm dilated and still 50% effaced. Amnio is still scheduled for Wednesday afternoon. Hopefully, we'll have the results by lunchtime on Thursday and I'll update as soon as I can then. The next update after that should be that the baby's here!

Baby Update

2007-12-11T14:30:00.000-08:00

Okay, I know I'm really late! In fact, I have so many other things to update that it's somewhat overwhelming and when I do have a few minutes, I don't feel like I can really even get started because there's so much to post. But, I want to post this update from last week. Yes, I know, I'm even a week late on this!! But, we saw the OB last week and not only did we find out that I'm already progressing (1 cm dilated and 50% effaced), we now have an induction date set!! Due to my history of fast labors (my entire labor with Michael was only 1 hour, 23 minutes!) and the boys coming earlier and earlier (3 days, 9 days, 11 days respectively), we've decided that it's best to go ahead and induce and try to avoid me going into labor on my own and chancing not making it to the hospital. So, on the 19th (one week from tomorrow!!!), we're having an amniocentesis to check the baby's lung maturity. We'll get the results the next day and as long as his lungs are mature, we're inducing on Friday the 21st! If all goes well, we'll have our baby in 10 days and be home in time for Christmas. Woo Hoo!! We go back to the OB tomorrow, so I should have a little more info then, at least on the progression. But, for now, we're planning to have a baby in 10 days. Boy, do I have a lot to do!!

Happy Thanksgiving!!

2007-11-22T21:42:00.000-08:00

As we end this day of thanks with full bellies and hearts from all the food and fellowship we've had today, I want to share something that was read in church last night. It really is a good prayer and thought we should keep with us each day. As I work to be more thankful for all that I have in my life and to be more aware of all the little blessings each day, I am going to try to remember this.

A Prayer of Thanksgiving

Even though I clutch my blanket and growl when the alarm rings each morning,

Thank You, Lord, that I can hear. There are those who are deaf.

Even though I keep my eyes tightly closed against the morning light as long as possible,

Thank You, Lord, that I can see. There are those who are blind.

Even though I huddle in my bed and put off arising, Thank You,Lord,

that I have the strength to rise. There are many who are bedridden.

Even though the first hour of my day is hectic, when socks are lost, toast is burned,

tempers are short, Thank You, Lord, for my family. There are many who are lonely.

Even though our breakfast table never looks like the pictures in the magazines and the

menu is at times unbalanced, Thank You, Lord, for the food we have.

There are many who are hungry.

Even though the routine of my job is often monotonous, Thank You, Lord,

for the opportunity to work. There are many who have no jobs.

Even though I grumble and bemoan my fate from day to day, and wish my circumstances were not so modest, Thank You, Lord, for the gift of life.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!!

Happy Halloween!!

2007-10-31T18:05:00.000-07:00

I still have lots of updating to do but wanted to say Happy Halloween!! I'll post pics of the boys in their costumes later but here's our pumpkins.

New Photos

2007-10-26T08:29:00.000-07:00

Last month, I took the boys to have their pictures made. It was just a short while before Michael's birthday, but he was still 4 at the time. I'm working on getting on a better schedule with the photos. Of course, with a new baby on the way, we'll be getting photos made more often anyway. So, here they are:

The boys posed themselves for this photo. While the photographer was setting up the camera, John-William and Jackson laid down on the floor and told Michael to lie down on top of them. Then they asked if they could take their picture this way! It was cute, so I said yes.

Aren't they a handsome bunch?

This photo really captures the boys being themselves. Or at least themselves while they're tickled. John-William's face really expresses what he's like when he thinks something is funny. And Jackson was in the middle of a good laugh and Michael thought it was funny, too. I don't remember if this is when the photographer was hitting herself on the head with a candy tin or what was happening, but they thought it was funny!

Pregnancy Photos

2007-10-19T18:15:00.000-07:00

I've also taken a couple of photos of myself in the last few weeks that I haven't shared yet. So, here they are:

Open House

2007-10-19T18:00:00.000-07:00

All 3 of the boys have had Open House at school in the last few weeks. John-William and Jackson had theirs first. Grandma and Grandpa and Ninny and PawPaw were all able to be there that night. Our first stop was in John-William's room, where each child had done a self-portrait based on certain things about themselves (gender, hair color, birthday and month, likes and dislikes, etc.). Each object, even the shape of the face, had a code to determine what to draw. John-William's portrait turned out like this.

John-William also had a story map that he shared with us:

John-William also showed us all how to look up his AR (Accelerated Reading) points in the computer and proudly showed his grandparents how many pointed he had accumulated at that time (I can't remember how many there were).

After John-William's class, we visited Jackson's class. On the outside of the classroom door, there's a picture of each child in the class. Of course, it's kind of dark behind the door so my camera didn't pick up the details real well.

Jackson also enjoyed sharing his work with his grandparents:

They also made handprints with poems and I love it!!

A few nights later, we had Open House at Michael's preschool. He had lots of work to share. I won't post every picture, but here are a few of my favorites:

Part of their booklet was about family. Here's Michael's family picture that he drew. Starting at the top right is Adam and then it goes in order to the left. Notice the family member at the bottom left -- he has four legs and is named Riese. :)

Happy Birthday NaeNae!!

2007-10-16T10:03:00.000-07:00

My sister, Tina, is celebrating her birthday today. I hope she has a great day!!

Have you ever seen a cuter goat???

2007-10-16T10:01:00.000-07:00

Jackson was in a play at school last week and he was one of the billy goats in "The Three Nanny Goats Gruff." I'll share more pics later, but just had to share this.

Happy Birthday John-William!!

2007-10-12T17:50:00.000-07:00

Today is John-William's 9th birthday. Can you believe that? And unfortunately, he woke up with a little bit of a cold. It isn't bad and the medicine is controlling his cough, which seems to be his only symptom. But, he went on to school and Ninny and I had lunch with him today. I also took cupcakes to his classroom and we shared those with his classmates. Then, he left a little early and came home with me. :) School got out early anyway today. So, we've had a pretty good day. We're going to the football game for a little while tonight and having his party tomorrow at a bowling alley. Should be lots of fun!!

Happy Birthday Michael!!!

2007-09-15T13:42:00.000-07:00

Believe it or not, Michael is 5 years old today!!!! We had his party in the park this morning and then had a nice lunch with Grandma and Grandpa, Uncle Rod, Aunt Kym, Christian and Autumn. We had a very nice time at the party and he really enjoyed himself and got some great presents. I'll post some pictures from the party later, I'm going to rest for a little while before we have to go to the football field for Jackson's first game!!

The closest I'll get to a little girl???

2007-09-03T19:34:00.000-07:00

Jackson colored some of his fingernails pink today. I'm guessing this was while he was in his bedroom, supposedly cleaning. Anyway, since this may be the closest I'll ever get to painting a little girl's fingernails, I had to take a picture!

A special Labor Day event...

2007-09-03T19:12:00.000-07:00

if you can call it that, LOL. The boys decided to put on a "play" for us this evening after dinner. They came up wirh the characters and costumes all by themselves. John-William was Peter, the 20-year-old husband and father. Jackson was Lucy, the 20-year-old wife and mother. Michael was Jessica, the 10-year-old daughter. Obviously, they didn't do much math when considering their ages!! Adam and I were seated and then the show began. The story was that Peter and Lucy wanted to go on a date without Jessica. Grandma (played by our very own Riese, the miniature pinscher) was going to baby-sit Jessica.

Does this look like the profile of a 10-year-old girl to you? In case you can't tell, that's a ponytail created from a pair of shorts and a bracelet!

Here "she" is from the front:

This is Lucy, the mom and Peter and Lucy hugging as they asked each other for a date.

Peter and Lucy finally decide to let Jessica go with them, so here they are telling her yes and then pretending to play checkers at the restaurant they go to for dinner.

A busy Labor Day....

2007-09-03T18:57:00.000-07:00

We spent the day at home today, working around the house. Adam and the boys trimmed the hedges (Adam trimmed, the boys cleaned up) and Adam mowed the lawn. After finally get some rain over the last few days, the grass needed to be cut for the first time in 3-4 weeks. Michael went to Ninny and PawPaw's house, which was a reward for cleaning his room and being helpful. We're really struggling with John-William and Jackson and their bedroom. They're very helpful, they just don't want to clean their room. So, I'm working on some organization ideas to help and they're working on getting it cleaned up. Anyway, we just did things around here but I have a few good pics to share.

While we were outside, Jackson caught a lizard that he carried around for a while. The little lizard would just cling onto his finger and hang there. Then Jackson discovered that the lizard would bite his finger (he said it didn't hurt, the lizard was very small) and hang on. So, here's Jackson experimenting with the lizard. Don't worry, he washed his hands very well when he was all done!

John-William mainly looked on as Jackson played with the lizard. He isn't as free-minded as Jackson is when it comes to bugs, lizards and things that can easily and quickly jump from one spot to another and be up your pantleg before you know it! LOL He held Riese (hasn't he grown) while Jackson played with the lizard, but he did finally hold him.

Have you seen me lately?

2007-09-03T18:28:00.000-07:00

These pictures are actually about 10 days old now, but I thought I'd share anyway.

Here's what you see when you pass me on the street:

Here's how my belly really looks!

I've been meaning to do a baby update as well. We went back to the OB last Wednesday and everything still looks good. We had our diagnostic ultrasound and there were no problems found. We saw the heart chambers, kidneys, bladder, toes (his foot measured 3.5 cm!) and lots of other things. He is definitely still a boy, LOL, and a thumb sucker! I don't have pictures ready to upload but I'll try to do those soon. They aren't as clear as the ones we got the week before. But, everything looks good and my OB did confirm that we'll have a baby by late December. So, definitely a 2007 baby! With my history of short labor and the boys coming earlier and earlier (3, 9 and 11 days early, respectively), she isn't planning to let me go past 38 weeks, if I make it that far. That means that we should have a baby by Friday, December 28th if all goes well!

Kindergarten Graduation

2007-08-25T22:27:00.000-07:00

Yes, Jackson is in first grade now but I still have to post his graduation pictures!! Of course, John-William, Michael, Adam and I were there along with Grandma and Grandpa and Ninny. Unfortunately, due to the timing (8:30 a.m.!), others weren't able to be there due to work and family obligations. It was a great ceremony, though, and the kids did a great job of walking aross the stage to get their diplomas. The kindergarten teachers put together a Powerpoint presentation of the kids and some of their activites during the year. Since most of the pictures were of multiple children, I won't post all of them because the other kids' faces are visible. However, here are a couple of Jackson from the presentation:

And his brothers waiting patiently for the ceremony to start:

The happy graduate himself, with his usual silly grin:

Can you believe it?

And, family photos when it was all said and done:

More Catching Up

2007-08-25T22:07:00.000-07:00

I have a few minutes, so I thought I'd catch up on a few things I missed in spring and early summer.

Jackson and Michael both played t-ball this year and enjoyed it a lot. Jackson did really well and he even made it to All Stars this year. Michael participated so well this year, it's amazing the difference between last year and this. He hit the ball all by himself and ran the bases without accompaniment (is that a word???). Here are a few pics:

Jackson playing during the regular season:

Michael playing t-ball:

Jackson during All-Stars:

We thought this was a cute shot of the All Star team, waiting on the game before them to finish. Jackson's number 8, sitting down.

I also have some pictures of the AR (Accelerated Reading) party that John-William and Jackson were both able to attend at the end of the school year. The party is for those kids who've read enough books and scored enough points on tests on those books. John-William had to have at least 100 points (some books are only half a point!) and Jackson had to have at least 25. I'm proud to say they both made it without difficulty. And, of course, since we spend a good bit of time at the school helping out, Michael got to join in the fun, too!

Water on grass and dirt make for dirty little boys but boy do they have fun!

Guess What?????

2007-08-23T20:11:00.000-07:00

I found out yesterday that a friend works in the radiology department of our local hospital. Knowing that our next OB appointment and ultrasound isn't until next week, she offered to give us an ultrasound to determine the sex of the baby. She would have done it yesterday, but Adam wasn't available and I couldn't go without him and the boys. So, we set it up for today. Here's what we found out....

Yep, that's right -- our fourth boy!!! And that's perfectly fine by us. John-William and Jackson were both hoping for a sister but Michael has wanted another brother the whole time. I won't lie and say that I haven't dreamt of having a little girl, but I honestly just want a healthy baby. And, according to the ultrasound today, it looks as though he's perfectly healthy!! We saw lots of movement and a perfectly beating heart with a rate of 146 bpm. He was drinking the amniotic fluid, sticking his tongue out (can you believe it??) and kicking and squirming around. We also saw him actively sucking his thumb. On top of all of that, he measured about a week ahead as well. We'll still have our diagnostic ultrasound at the doctor's office next week, but this was just a bonus ultrasound that we got lucky with!! Here are some pictures from today:

This is his profile with him looking up.

And, one a little more up close.

And, here's proof that he's a boy. We saw this several times and at different angles, there's no mistaking what he is!! That's his left leg with leg bones and foot bones visible just under the arrow. You can see a portion of his right leg to the left of the arrow. And, the arrow points to the "goods"!

This one is a little farther away but you can see the "I am a boy" at the bottom!

First Day of School

2007-08-22T19:11:00.000-07:00

Well, the boys have been back in school for a little while now and they're all enjoying it. Michael really loves preschool and looks forward to it everyday. John-William and Jackson started the day before Michael did, so I actually have two days of pictures from their first day of school.

John-William and Jackson on their first day of school and then Michael standing with them. For some reason, my camera never takes good pictures in our living room.

Outside on John-William and Jackson's first day.

John-William and Jackson both really enjoy school and love their teachers. Here they are, ready to start learning!

Michael's first day of school.

Michael's class wasn't ready to sit down just yet when we left him the first morning, so here's a picture of him and a really good friend. It sure helps to already know someone in your class!

Last Day of Summer Vacation

2007-08-13T18:15:00.001-07:00

I know I still have catching up to do, but I want to post some current stuff, too. School started back last week, so we had a fun day the day before. It was Trent's birthday (and my dad's and Tommy's, too), so I took the boys to Ninny's for lunch and then we swam that afternoon. We had a good day before they had to go back to school.

The boys floating:

Diving:

Michael swimming:

Jackson's Field Trip to the Zoo

2007-08-05T21:41:00.000-07:00

The kindergarten classes went to the Birmingham Zoo for their spring field trip. I was able to go and spend the day with Jackson, which was a very nice treat. While there, we had lunch (hot dogs and chips) and saw lots of animals, of course. Some of the more notable ones:

Butterflies! The zoo now has a butterfly garden that you can walk through and observe many different butterfly species.

Believe it or not, the butterflies are actually shipped overnight in these wax paper envelopes. The lady who was releasing them would slip her thumb in and flip the butterfly out (over flowers) in a way that she didn't touch it's wings.

Another new exhibit is the anteater. The kids enjoyed watching him roam around his area and get into the water.

Of course, we saw lots of different types of primates. There were a lot of monkeys playing and trying to entertain us. I think the funniest were the gorilla and orangatan. Here's Jamie, the gorilla. And Jackson, the gorilla imitator.

I don't know this orangatan's name, but he ate his broccoli for lunch. Did you?

One of Jackson's favorite animals has always been the cheetah, because it can run 70 mph. We went by the cheetah exhibit twice so he could get a good look.

One more new exhibit had fruit bats inside. The boys (Jackson and his friend Kyle) really loved watching them crawl around and eat the fruit.

Do you ever feel like this?

And you can't go to the zoo without seeing some green-slime covered animals. Jackson enjoys all animals (they're one of his passions right now) but he really likes the alligators. In with the alligators were little frogs, hiding in the slime. I guess that's a good way to protect yourself from becoming someone else's dinner.

Charlotte's Web

2007-08-05T21:25:00.000-07:00

Well, I'm trying to do some updates, at least one for now. In the spring, John-William's second grade reading group did a performance of Charlotte's Web. John-William had the part of one of the narrators. Here are a couple of pictures of him narrating. There are so many adorable pictures that I'd love to share, but since they include other peoples' children, I decided not to post them.

The kids did so well and enjoyed the play so much, the school has formed a drama club for the upcoming school year. John-William originally tried out to be an actor but then found out there were technology spots open, so he decided to join the technology team. He was very excited to find out that he'll be able to operate a video camera and use the computer to put together videos.

Have you forgotten me?

2007-08-02T22:47:00.000-07:00

It's been a while since I've updated and I still don't have time to do everything. I still have activities from the spring to get caught up on: school field trips, school activities, Jackson's graduation, baseball and probably a few others. And, there's summer activities like our trip to camp and the beach and who knows what else. But, I do want to post a couple of things:

Jackson is playing little league football for the first time this year. Evaluations started this week and practice officially begins next week. So, here's a picture of our little football player:

And, if you haven't seen me lately, here's me from the side view. Well, part of me anyway.

I let the cat out of the bag a few weeks ago but haven't posted anything on here about our pregnancy. As of today, I'm 16 weeks, 4 days and everything looks good so far. We had a check-up on Tuesday and heard a good, strong heartbeat. Plus, I have my own doppler here at home and listen to the baby that way, too. In fact, we listened tonight and the heartbeat was in the 155-160 bpm range. The boys love listening and John-William videotapes for me. We have our next check-up in 4 weeks and will *hopefully* find out the baby's gender. We have an afternoon appointment on the 29th and are taking the boys with us to that appointment so that they can see the baby on the ultrasound (they've never been able to do that before) and find out the gender, too. For the record, John-William and Jackson are both hoping for a sister and Michael wants a brother (I guess he doesn't know what it's like to have a brother, LOL). I would love to have a daughter but will love another little boy just as much. I'm mainly praying for a healthy baby.

Look what we did yesterday!

2007-06-26T22:40:00.000-07:00

I hate to admit that I'm two months behind on getting my flower bed planted, but we finally did it yesterday. The boys and I worked outside for about 4 hours yesterday afternoon. We pulled up the pansies that were still there (along with the weeds that were growing with them), prepped the soil with weed preventer, lime and organic humus and then mixed it all together and planted about 100 vinca and geraniums. The geraniums are already a good size and are blooming well, but the vinca is just now getting a few blooms. It shouldn't take long, though, for it to take off and for the whole flower bed to be in full bloom of red, pink and white. Here are a few pics.

Happy Father's Day!!!

2007-06-18T11:11:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to say a Happy Father's Day to all the dads I know. We had a good day yesterday -- lunch after church and then we gave my dad his gift card. Then we spent the afternoon at home relaxing before church again last night. Adam didn't actually get a gift because he's picking out a new golf club and I can't do that for him. I do actually have one more thing from the boys and me and unfortunately, it wasn't ready on time. Maybe it will be ready by the end of this week. We also celebrated with Adam's dad on Saturday afternoon and had a good time there. So, Happy Father's Day to everyone!!

Wanna see something cute?

2007-06-08T13:00:00.000-07:00

Last week, we had Trent and Grady over to spend the night with us. yes, we came home with 5 little boys!! Well, they all camped out in the playroom floor that night and believe it or not, they all went to sleep. Grady and Michael were tucked in about 10 pm and Trent, John-William and Jackson stayed up later. Much later! They had an Xbox tournament with Adam until 1:30 am!! But, here's a cute pic I took of them before I put Grady and Michael into bed. I'll post more later.

Happy Memorial Day

2007-05-28T22:33:00.000-07:00

I hope everyone has enjoyed their day today and, more importantly, I hope everyone remembers what the day is for. The boys and I did not attend the Memorial Day Service with Adam today like we normally do, but he did go. It's always a very moving service with a 21-gun salute and the Honor Guard playing Taps. They also recognize the veterans who are there and the wars/conflicts they served in. There is also a reading of the names of the servicemen and women from our area who have lost their lives serving our country.

I've started explaining the meaning of the day to the boys so that they understand that there are men and women who have given their lives for our freedom. They like looking at the flags on the poles as we drive through town and when they asked why they were there, I took the opportunity to explain it to them. Surprisingly, a few days later they still remember and were able to tell me what we had talked about. I hope they always remember.

Moving on

2007-05-25T22:50:00.000-07:00

Okay, I'm finally finished with Easter!!! I'll try to update more in the next couple of days with things that have happened since April 8th.

Easter Egg Hunt (once more)

2007-05-25T22:48:00.000-07:00

We always hunt eggs at my parents' house on Easter day, so here we go. Trent and Grady were there with us and we found lots of eggs and played on the swingset. All of the boys always get baskets of goodies from aunts, uncles and grandparents.

And then the hunt begins. Some eggs are hidden low, some high.

Some are just hidden in strange places.

Regardless of where they are found, all 5 of the boys always have a great time finding the eggs.

It was a cool, windy day but that didn't prevent everyone from playing for a while after the eggs were all found. The swingset that PawPaw made is always a gathering place for adults and children alike.

And this is what I call a barrel of monkeys.

It was also a time for family snapshots. It had been a while since my mom and dad had a picture taken with all 4 kids, for the 4 of us to take one together and for Ninny and PawPaw to take one with all 5 grandsons. But, we accomplished all of that on Easter afternoon.

We also got pictures of Troy, Amber and Grady...

Tina, Tommy and Trent...

and of course, Adam, the boys and me.

Easter Morning

2007-05-25T21:52:00.000-07:00

After all the fun of coloring the eggs, the Easter Bunny made a stop by our house on Easter morning. Here they are looking for the loot.

They found it!!

Easter morning bed-head...

The Easter baskets included lots of good things like Cadbury Eggs (yum!):

And silly putty...

...which Adam showed them was stretchy and would copy things from the newspaper.

Happy faces on Easter morning:

Coloring Eggs

2007-05-25T21:29:00.000-07:00

The night before Easter, we always dye our eggs. This year, we did 3 dozen (I think). The boys really had a good time with all the colors. Here's our eggs and our coloring cups.

We also ended up with colored fingertips.

The amazement of the eggs turning colors...

Can you tell we're having fun?

Whatchu lookin' at mama?

The Easter Bunny

2007-05-25T21:16:00.000-07:00

How long has it been since you had your picture taken with the Easter Bunny? When we were at the park for the egg hunt, we took pictures with the Easter bunny.

Hugs from the Easter bunny...

The bunny and the boys...

Who doesn't love to swing??

2007-05-25T21:05:00.000-07:00

Back in April (yes, April) when we went to the Easter egg hunt, we took the boys to the playground when we were finished hunting eggs. The swings were always one of my favorite playground activities as a kid and I still love them!! I love to swing with the boys and have fun. So, here we are. It's hard to see, but there's a pic of the boys and me swinging and then one of Adam and the boys swinging.

The boys had a great time at the playground that day. Jackson did really well on the monkey bars.

Michael enjoyed the tire swing, which his brothers wouldn't go near because Adam pushes them too high. He had fun, though. And then he tried walking afterward...

John-William and Jackson played on a bouncing bridge and it looked quite funny when they were jumping up and down, barely making their heads appear over the railing.

They also enjoyed going down the slide on their knees.

One more time on the swings...

Jackson bull-riding on the barrel with John-William giving him a wild ride.

Eggs, eggs everywhere!!

2007-05-14T16:29:00.000-07:00

Yes, I know it's mid-May and I'm just now posting Easter egg pictures. But, I'm trying to catch up...again. Jackson and John-William had Easter parties at school on the Friday before Easter. Jackson's party included an egg hunt in the outdoor classroom. Michael enjoyed hunting the eggs and eating the party goods with Jackson, too.

We also had an egg hunt at the park the Saturday before Easter. HUNDREDS of kids show up each year to hunt 6,000 eggs that the City "hides" for them. Most of them are hidden in plain sight, but it's still fun.

This year, the boys split up by age group (they've always stayed together so that I could see all of them at the same time) and it worked out that the field for John-William and Jackson was next to Michael's field, only separated by a walkway. So, I was able to watch all of them and take lots of cute photos. It was also very sweet to see that John-William and Jackson never had more than about a foot of space between them. They were always side-by-side and whenever one turned, the other went with him. In these pictures, they're right next to each other and that's how they were the entire time of the hunt.

Adam helped Michael hunt his eggs while I took pictures. Michael also found a prize egg and won a pack of sidewalk chalk, which was right up his alley!

The boys and their eggs...

Mother's Day gifts

2007-05-14T08:54:00.000-07:00

Wow, 2 posts in 3 days. That might be a record. I just wanted to share pics of my Mother's Day gifts. I had a great day -- we went to church with Troy, Amber and Grady and then everyone (Mom, Dad, Troy, Amber, Grady, Tommy, Tina, Trent, Adam, the boys and I) went to lunch. We had a very glamorous lunch at Pizza Hut. No kidding. I had made a "call ahead seating" arrangement with Outback Steakhouse and they did not have our name on the list. It was going to be over an hour for us to get a seat. We drove by Applebees, Ruby Tuesday's and even Western Sizzlin. Everything was packed!! So, we ended up at Pizza Hut because it wasn't crowded. It was still a good time with family and it was good food -- at least it was the best pizza available! I also got a very nice gift from Adam and the boys - a pearl and diamond pendant on a silver necklace. Pearl also happens to be my birthstone. The boys also made me handmade cards and Jackson brought me a handprint made at school. John-William brought me a gift bag of candy (including chocolate) made at school as well.

Happy Mother's Day!!!

2007-05-12T21:15:00.000-07:00

Happy early Mother's Day everyone. Sorry I haven't updated lately, but I'm trying to find some time to post pics. I've got a month + to catch up on. I know I have to do Easter pics and then everything that's happened since then. I may try to do that tomorrow, on my afternoon "off." Then again, I may just take a nap. :) I guess we'll just have to see what happens.

Happy Birthday Adam!!!

2007-04-08T19:15:00.000-07:00

Today is Adam's 35th birthday. Happy birthday, Honey! And Happy Easter to everyone else. I'll post some pics of our egg hunt and family pictures a little later.

Snow, anyone??

2007-04-03T19:48:00.000-07:00

Okay, now that spring is here and everything is blooming, I'll post some pictures of snow!! I never have posted the rest of the pictures from our ski trip. What I posted before were the pictures from our digital camera. We also had disposable cameras that we took on the slopes with us. I just had to remember to drop them off to be developed. So, here you go. Have a look at the fun we had. And, for those who may not believe us, here's proof that we skied!!

Here's a picture of one of us on one of the ski lifts and one of the lifts beneath. As always, I try to take a picture of us together, that we take of ourselves, wherever we go. Some turn out better than others. Considering the fact that we were riding up a ski lift in the snow, this one isn't too bad!

Unfortunately, being amateur skiers, we (I) spent more time lying in the snow than desired!! I ended up like this more times than I care to admit! I did get one quick snap of Adam as he was getting up out of the snow. He didn't fall nearly as many times as I did, though.

We managed to time our trip during a major snow storm that dumped over 6 feet of snow in just a few days!! A lot of that fell while we were skiing. Look at the snow in my hair and Adam's mustache.

One of the most amazing parts of our trip was the beautiful scenery. This is just a taste of what we saw and these photos don't come close to doing it justice! The small picture in the middle is actually the tops of trees. They look like saplings, but the trees are probably about 15' tall, just hidden under the snow!!

Adam and me skiing. Believe it or not, that blue spot right up under the trees is my jacket.

Spring is here!!

2007-04-01T16:20:00.000-07:00

I find it very hard to believe that Spring is officially here and it's almost Easter!!! Yes, the weather has been spring-like for a few weeks now, but Spring arrived 11 days ago and next Sunday is Easter. That's hard to believe!!! Along with Spring comes lots of beautiful flowers. Looking down our street last week, I saw the Bradford Pears in bloom...

In our own front yard, we have pansies still blooming nicely and azaleas.

Happy Birthday Troy and Barbara!!

2007-03-31T20:33:00.000-07:00

Today is my brother Troy's 30th birthday!!! I can't believe my "big little brother" (he's been taller than me for at least 15 years now) is 30!!! I feel like I'm getting old!! It's also Barbara's (Adam's other mom) birthday, too. She's 39 and holding. I hope you both had a great birthday!!

My boys...

2007-03-24T18:07:00.000-07:00

I know I haven't posted pictures from the aquarium yet, but I want to share these pictures we took earlier this month of the boys. I had them all dressed alike (which I tend to do, especially on Sunday) and we snapped some pictures of them and us. Here's my four favorite guys...

Adam also took some of me with the boys, though they didn't turn out as well.

Our Spring Break Adventures!!

2007-03-23T18:00:00.000-07:00

This week is Spring Break for the boys and we have been enjoying it!! On Monday, they spent part of the day with Adam and also went fishing with Ninny. John-William caught 3 fish and Jackson helped Ninny reel hers in before he finally caught his own. Tuesday, we went to Chattanooga. We had 10 people all together -- us, Amber and Grady and Tommy, Tina and Trent. I'll do a separate post with pictures from Rock City and the Aquarium. Amber took home 5 little boys with her that night. They had a good time jumping on Grady's trampoline and then they spent the night. Wednesday, they went to the museum (natural history) and to have lunch and play at the park. Thursday, the boys spent the morning and early part of the afternoon with me and then went to Grandma and Grandpa's. All 3 of them spent the night, believe it or not! They'd never stayed overnight with Grandma and Grandpa before, but they were all looking forward to it and had a great time. They had pizza, ice cream and cookies last night and waffles with ice cream and cool whip this morning!!! Grandpa took them down to his shop and they got to do "man things" with him for a while this morning. This afternoon they've been playing outside and just enjoying themselves at home. We don't have much planned for this weekend, just mainly staying around the house and spending time together. So far, it's been a wonderful Spring Break!

Rock City

2007-03-23T17:55:00.000-07:00

On Tuesday we visited Rock City and I have lots of pictures. I may have to do a separate post to be able to show all of them, but I'll do as many as necessary. Some of these pictures are really good (in my opinion) and some are okay. Remember, we had 5 little boys with us! It's hard to get all of them to cooperate at one time.

Here are the boys as we are getting started at Rock City.

We entered the Needle's Eye and took some cute pictures. However, Grady didn't stay in the picture for long, he was too busy climibing on the rocks.

Here's our group going over the Gnome's Overpass. Everyone had to stop and look down to see what was below.

We also went through Fat Man Squeeze and got some good pictures there, as well.

More Rock City

2007-03-23T17:53:00.000-07:00

You can't forget the waterfall that comes off the side of the mountain and can be seen from the highway.

Here's Amber and all the boys standing across the way from us in front of the waterfall.

Adam and Tommy "observing" at Observation Point:

We also went across the swinging bridge. Adam had a lot of fun jumpin on the bridge and making it shake for everyone else trying to walk across, including the people in front of us! Michael didn't want to go across by himself, so he held on to Tommy for support. Tina didn't like the fact that Adam turned around and came back to "help" her across!!

Continuing Rock City

2007-03-23T17:52:00.000-07:00

We all enjoyed looking out over Chattanooga/Look Out Mountain and seeing 7 states. You can see Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee, Kentucky, Virginia, North and South Carolina. The boys really liked looking out over such a vast area. There were telescopic viewers there, but Amber and Grady made their own.

We also went through the Undercliff Passage, which led to the waterfall we saw earlier in the pictures with the boys.

The rainbow is missing from Rainbow Hall!! There used to be colored windows lining this passage way but they weren't there this trip. Instead of a colorful walk, here's what we saw:

The last part of Rock City is the Fairyland Caverns and Mother Goose Village. My camera doesn't work well without a lot of light, so there are minimal pictures from this part of the park.

Other highlights from Rock City:

Wildlife and Flowers at Rock City

2007-03-23T17:50:00.000-07:00

Rock City has lots of beautiful flowers blooming right now. I won't list the names, but there are lots of colors and varieties.

We also saw more wildlife than we'd expected. Rock City has white deer there year-round but we also saw a squirrel scurrying across the rocks (or as Grady called it, a "squell") and there was also a groundhog waaaay below us at the lookout point. I had my camera zoomed in as much as I could and you still can't see it well. It was hard to spot with the naked eye, it was just a grey spot on the ground below. I don't know how Tommy ever saw it to begin with!

Michael Sings

2007-03-12T20:42:00.000-07:00

One of Michael's favorite songs is Little Fuzzy Caterpillar. Since he started speech class a few weeks ago, he is saying some of his letters (including f) much clearer. So, I videotaped him singing "wittle puzzy caterpiwar" while he still sang it in his little boy way. It's so cute...

Little fuzzy caterpillar, climbing up a tree
He wiggled long, he wiggled short
He wiggled right at me.

I put him in a box, now don't you move I said

But when I opened up the box

He was a butterfly instead.

Now I could never make one,

Not even if I tried.

'Cause only God in Heaven above can make a butterfly.

Michael also loves to sing the books of the New Testament, though he skips a few of those.

Matthew, Mark, Luke and John

Acts and the letters to the Romans,

1st and 2nd Corinthians,

Galatians and Ephesians,

Philippians, Colossians,

1st and 2nd Thessalonians,

1st and 2nd Timothy,

Titus and Philemon,

Hebrews, James, 1st and 2nd Peter,

1st and 2nd and 3rd John,

Jude and Revelation.

Edited to add: I haven't been able to get the video to upload yet, but I'm still working on it. It's so cute!

Good helpers

2007-03-09T21:00:00.000-08:00

All of our boys are good helpers. They don't always want to be when I want them to be, but they're always good helpers. One afternoon we were working in the house together and Michael offered to wipe off the table for me. I was washing dishes and looked up to see him on the table, scrubbing those sticky spots with his sponge. I had to grab the camera!!! His brothers were cleaning up their room, if I remember correctly, and there wasn't anything spectacular happening there (there usually isn't as that is their least favorite chore). But, I had to show how hard Michael was working!!

Feeling spaced out?

2007-03-09T20:32:00.000-08:00

Adam and I had a dinner to attend in Huntsville, so while we were there we went to the Space and Rocket Museum. Neither of us had ever been before, so it was very interesting. As you approach the entrance, this is what you see:

There are all sorts of exhibits based on the various space expeditions that have taken place over the last few decades. Before man entered space, monkeys went into space to see how their bodies would react. Adam loves monkeys and thinks you can't go wrong with anything if there's a monkey involved. So, this is a fitting description...

They also have interactive exhibits set up so that you can "experience" space. In this one, I was landing a space shuttle. I did so without crashing, by the way. Adam didn't -- he crashed before he got the shuttle back on the ground.

Outside the museum, there are all sorts of missiles, rockets and military planes. Here's a rocket, Adam standing under it, a space shuttle and an SR-71.

I usually try to take a picture of Adam and me together wherever we go. Sometimes, they turn out better than others. It was a cold, windy day when we were in Huntsville and the glare from the sun made it difficult to tell what we were photographing (especially since we were doing it ourselves). It's not the best picture we've ever taken, but I still like it.

The moon was out the day we were there, so I thought it was fitting to take a picture since we were at the space museum.

Do you recognize this car??

2007-03-09T20:25:00.000-08:00

I couldn't believe it when I saw this ad in a magazine. I just laughed out loud. I couldn't resist posting a picture of "Adam's car" from a magazine ad!! Obviously it isn't actually his car, but it sure does look like it.

Chuck E. Cheese

2007-03-09T20:12:00.000-08:00

On January 20th, we went to the party supply store to buy Jackson's birthday party invitations and supplies. While in the area, we decided to go to Chuck E. Cheese since we hadn't been in a while. Boy were they busy!! It was a Saturday evening and there was a line out in the door into the (cold) parking lot. You couldn't even get in to the place, much less find a table or easily navigate between the games. We went in anyway. We were there for about 2 hours but only because that's how long it took to get our food and use the tokens we got with our meal. That's how crowded it was!! The boys had a good time, though, and we enjoyed playing games and spending the evening with them. It was actually a good thing that we went because up until that point we were considering having Jackson's birthday party there. We quickly changed our minds!!! Even though it would have been an afternoon party instead of an evening party, it still would have been crowded. So, the trip was actually beneficial in helping us change our minds on the party venue.

Anytime we go to Chuck E. Cheese, I always use 3 of our 50 (or however many they give us with a pizza) tokens and get a picture with each of the boys. They have a little videogame-type machine that takes your picture and then sketches it on the screen and prints it out. They're cheap, but I love them! I had to take a picture of the picture, but it still came out pretty well. Here's me with the boys.

One more...

2007-03-04T22:37:00.000-08:00

By the way, I did lose weight while on vacation!! When I weighed this morning, I weighed one pound less than I did when we left. Yesterday, we slept in and it was a couple hours later than my normal weigh-in time and I guess my body was still adjusting to all the travel, so I weighed the same. Today, I weighed less! It's only a pound, but you gotta lose it one pound at a time, right? Plus, losing one pound is better than gaining a pound, or two, or three...

I want to share these photos with you since I haven't given an update on Riese lately. He has grown so much in the almost 3 months that we've had him!! He isn't a tiny puppy that fits in your hand anymore, he's a rambunctious (I have no idea if that is spelled correctly!) teenager now who hardly ever slows down!! One night, after playing all afternoon with the boys and missing his afternoon nap, he was so tired that we couldn't wake him! He was in Adam's lap and Ad was trying to wake him up for a while so he'd sleep all night and it was so funny, I got the camera out. No matter what position Adam put him in, he just wanted to sleep!

An apple a day...

2007-03-04T22:26:00.000-08:00

keeps the doctor away, so does a post a day get me caught up? I sure hope so!! I'm going to try to do one or two quick posts a day to catch up on all that has been going on since my last real catch up in January. So, I'll just go through the pictures I have downloaded and post according to what was going on. Most of the time, if it's worth mentioning on here, I have a picture of it. So, that's a good way for me to remember everything that has happened.

One warm Saturday in January, Adam and the boys went out to play football. John-William and Jackson had gotten football accessories for Christmas and they decided to use the no-glare strips to play that day. They were so cute!! Once again, my camera didn't detect the kitchen light too well (I'm looking into a regular digital camera with a flash instead of using my camcorder's still shot feature all the time), so you can't see them as well as I'd hoped. But, you can tell there are two little boys grinning ear to ear and ready to play football. They even tackled Adam before they got outside.

Brotherly Love

2007-03-04T20:11:00.000-08:00

Last night as I went in to check on the boys before going to bed, this is what I saw. John-William was sleeping in Jackson's bed with him and I found them snuggled up against each other, with Jackson's arm around John-William. I couldn't resist taking a picture. Of course, the pics looked much clearer on the camera, but this is the best I have.