Christmas Card 2010

Free scrapbook created with Smilebox

A Much Needed Update

Wow, it has been a long time since I have written a blog! Mainly because I have been busy and partly because I just didn't feel up to writing, but tonight I am feeling the need to catch up on the happenings of the past 2 months, so here goes! 


Let me start with Aaron. As many of you know, he had been looking for a job in Winchester for almost a year and a half well at the end of the summer he found one. So we set a move date for the second week of September, which was so exciting to me because I had been wanting to move back to Winchester for several years. But as we started to pack and get things lined up for the move I realized that this was going to be a bitter-sweet move. We had been in Richmond for over 8 years. We have made friends, had a good church, bought a house, and grown pretty comfortable where we were. But in our heart of hearts we knew we wanted to be back home. All that to say, Aaron is now employed at Kingsdown as a manger (in training, for now) and we had a successful move.


I am staying at home with the kids and enjoying doing that very much! I am homeschooling Alaina (and Will whenever I can get him to sit still). I have joined a gym here and work out with two of my sisters, which is great for accountability and I am enjoying getting to see them and talk with them almost daily. I have also picked back up playing volleyball after not playing in almost 9 years. I am loving being on the court again!!


Alaina is turning 5 this month, and I truly have no idea where the time has gone. I am astonished everyday by how mature she is already and she is growing up to be a beautiful little girl. She is doing very well with school and she is eager to begin reading. She is an attentive student and picks up on things quickly, which makes it fun for me too! One of the most exciting things is that she is memorizing Scripture each week and as we do our Bible lessons she is getting curious and asking very insightful questions. I love hearing her recite her verses, it is the highlight of my day!


Will has made huge strides in the area of potty training, which is such a relief to us because we were wondering if he would ever use the potty!! Although he has a long way to go, I am so thankful he is starting to actually use the potty. Last month he turned 3 and since then he has really wanted to be a "big boy." We had a birthday party and also a dedication "ceremony" for him. My grandfather is a pastor and we asked him to say a few words to us and the invited guests to let them know we are dedicating Will's life to Christ. We want to raise him in the admiration of our Lord and Savior and we wanted our families to keep us accountable to that and to lift Will up in prayer as he grows up. Although Will is not officially doing school with me each day he is usually listening in as I teach Alaina, so he too has memorized some parts of her verses. It is fun to hear him recite them as well!


Teagan is now 9 months and is crawling everywhere. She is such a happy, smiley girl! She has just starting pulling herself up to her knees and a few times has even gotten up to her feet. I am always amazed at how quickly the kids grow up and it seems like Teagan is so eager to grow up as well. She loves to "play" with Will and Alaina and she always wants to be right where the "action" is. I don't think she realizes that she is still a baby!! She has also started saying "Momma" and I am thrilled every time I hear it!


Well that pretty much brings you up to speed on us. I am going to try to write more consistently now that we are all moved and settled in.

Alainas 5th bday

Click here to view this photo book larger

Teagan's Firsts

Teagan is 5 months old and I am amazed at how quickly she is growing up. I have been through this twice before with Alaina and Will, but with the thought that Teagan may be my last baby (the decision has not been totally made for sure yet) I think I am paying extra attention to the little things she does. Not that I didn't pay close attention to Alaina and Will, but I am sad to say I didn't record it. So in an effort to actually remember these things I am going to try to keep up with her "firsts" through blogging.


It started Father's day weekend with two huge milestones. When I went to get Teagan out of her crib I instantly realized that she was laying on her tummy instead of her back. So my little girl at some point during the night or morning had figured out how to roll over. The only problem being she has not yet figured out how to roll back over to her back. Then the second milestone came while we were sitting in a Chinese restaurant enjoy their buffet for Father's Day. We heard Teagan say, "Da, da, da, da, da." We thought it was cool that she started saying "dada" on Father's Day but we figured she wouldn't say it again for a while. But much to my surprise she says it everyday and several times a day. Now we just need her to understand who her "Dada" is. Even though she may not know what she is saying it is so exciting to hear her say it!


This week has also been filled with "firsts" for our sweet Teagan. I had gotten the go ahead from our doctor to give her rice cereal a few weeks ago, but I hadn't yet tried it. So a few nights ago we sat Teagan up in a booster with table and fed her rice cereal for the first time. This girl LOVED it and she was a pro at eating it right away! She has always been a eater and this step in the process was no different. (I guess since she had been eating 8 oz bottle starting at the 3 months - rice cereal was a perfect next step to help fill her up).

Also this week I put Teagan in her excersaucer and she stood up on her feet. Now this was not her first time in her excersaucer but usually when I stick her in it she immediately colapses her legs and hangs there. But this week she has started standing in the excersaucer, so this is very exciting.

Then Today, I hooked the baby swing up to our swing set and put Teagan in it. We all took turns pushing her and her face lit up everytime. She was thrilled to be in the swing and she stayed in it for quite a while. It was so cute to watch her smile as she went back and forth on the swing, she probably would have stayed there all day.

Well it is official as all kids do, our Teagan is growing up.

It is the Small Things (Part 7)

I asked Alaina today what her favorite restaurant was and she said, "Arby's ...... what ever that is."


Today Alaina was making rhyming words. She said, "cat, bat, mat, hat;" "dog, log, frog;" "flashlight.... (pause) ashlight." LOL! I love my little sweetie!


Alaina asked me if God sleeps. I said I don't know. I hear Will then yell, "God do you sleep?" "Sure do!" He answered himself. And then looked at Alaina and said, "Yep, God does sleep!"


While visiting friends who own cats one of the cats jumped up beside Alaina and she looked at me and asked, "Will it eat me?"


Will was singing, "I like to move it, move it!" When Aron started singing as well. Will says, "Me too!"


I was cuddling with Alaina on the couch the other day and I looked at her and said, "I just don't know how you got so big!" 
She looked right back at me and said, "I just don't know how you got so big!" 
So I said, "Yeah, me either!" Too funny!


There's a children's Bible song that goes, "Peter, James, and John in a sailboat"... well, Will (our two year old) was singing, "Peter Pan and John in a sailboat." This was after he had watched Peter Pan for the first time.


Aaron was playing "I spy" with Alaina, and she was trying to get him to guess the scale in the bathroom. When he couldn't guess it, she finally described it to him as "the weigher....you know, the thing that tells you how tall you are and how many months you are."

We went to the zoo the other day and Alaina was feeding a goat some animal food out of her hand and in her most mothering voice asked him, "Are you getting enough little camel?"

On that same trip to the zoo, Will saw the rhinos and screamed, "Mom look! Dinosaurs!"



Often times, Alaina and Will complain to us about the other one bragging to them. For example, Will might say, "I have my milk and you don't," to which Alaina would reply, "Will's bragging!"

All this to say, a few weekends ago, my brother and his family was in town visiting, and on our way to Chuck E Cheese (they were following us in their car), Alaina says, "I want to sleep with Kaplan tonight (her 4 year old cousin) because I've never tried that before."

Will chimed in, "Yeah, and I want to sleep with Logan (his 3 year old cousin)."
Aaron and I then explained the sleeping arrangements, which consisted of Alaina and Kaplan in different rooms, but a possibility of Will and Logan in the same room. This made Will say to Alaina, Logan and me are sleeping together but you and Kaplan aren't."

So Alaina said back to him, "Will, stop bragging!"

He replied, "I don't know what bragging means."

This prompted Alaina to launch into a full explanation of what bragging was. However, Aaron and I didn't hear much of it over our own laughter, as she started out her explanation with the following line:


"Will, bragging is when two people want to sleep with each other..."

What a Sweet, Sweet Sound

Recently I have written about how proud I am of Alaina and my precious cuddle time with Will, now I need to write about the sweet sound that brightens my day every time I hear it. My Teagan has begun to giggle and I find myself taking every opportunity to hear that sweet sound. I spend so much of my time trying to make her giggle it almost qualifies as my new pastime. It is so fun to hold her above my head and just watch and listen as she squirms and giggles, just me saying the word "giggle" to her several times in a row makes her laugh, and she really lets it out when we play peek-a-boo!  My number 1, favorite time to hear Teagan giggle is first thing in the morning when she wakes up and lays in her bed babbling and giggling until  I come to get her. My sweet Teagan now has a sweet sound and I am so blessed to be able to watch her as she grows and changes. I LOVE being a mom!

The BEST Part of my Morning

I have to mention what has become the BEST part of my morning. Before letting you in on my sweet pleasure let me preface by telling you about Will when he was a baby. I know I have mentioned it before but our Will had a cry that would make fingernails on a chalk board sound like a beautiful melody. It was so ear piercing that at 4 days old we had already moved him to his crib in his very own room. Now, before you moms out there start criticize me, let me say I always made sure he was feed and changed before putting him in his room to scream it out. All that to say I didn't get the cuddle time with him that I had enjoyed with Alaina and now enjoy with Teagan. There wasn't a time that I was able to nap with him as a newborn or pull him into our bed just to snuggle. By the time he had grown out of his screeching scream/cry he had gotten so used to sleeping on his own that he didn't want to cuddle or nap with me at all. Much to my dismay my sweet boy was a self soother who didn't like to snuggle with mommy to go to sleep. 


Now let me get to the reason for this blog, which at this point you may have guessed. For the last 2-3 weeks, my Will has woken up between 6-7 AM and come into our room, crawled up into bed with me and snuggled with me until it was time to get up. Let me say, I knew I had to break the habit of letting our kids sleep with us a while back when Alaina would come into our room in the middle of the night to sleep with us. After weeks and months of sharing a bed with a squirmy toddler I decided I needed to get up and put her back to bed. But I have to admit my little boy coming in for an early morning cuddle has become the BEST part of my morning! Yes, I know it will be a habit I will need to break in a few weeks but for now I am just going to enjoy it!!

Never Been Prouder as a Mom

As a mom there are many times I have been proud of my kids, but there are also those days I am not so proud of them. Lately, my two oldest have been fighting alot and not getting along. I have been chalking it up to the fact that they are 4 and 2 years old, but it has been very discouraging! There have been glimpses of hope when they have been playing great and things seem to be normal again. Today there were two VERY bright glimpses. Let me start with the first one. We were driving home from Bible study and I hear Alaina talking to Will in a very serious voice. So I turned down the music to listen in on their conversation. I also moved the mirror so I could see her as well. As I watched her sincere face this is what I heard her sweet voice say to her brother.


"Will, don't you know that God made us?" "We were babies and now we are big kids and a long time from now we will go to Heaven to be with God and Jesus!" She repeated things of this nature a few times until Will interrupted and asked her what was on his mind.


"How will we get to Heaven Alaina?" Will asked a little worried.


She answered very confidently, "Jesus is mighty! He has power in His hands, He will take us there!"


I must admit while hearing this not only was my face beaming with a smile, but my eyes were filled with tears. The smile was there because our little Alaina was professing a faith in Jesus that she is just learning about, but she already realizes that she wants to share it. The tears filled my eyes because I realized that I myself so often forget to share my faith with others with my words. But yet here my four year old was sharing what she knew about Jesus to her two year old brother. What a blessing it was to witness this conversation!


My husband recounted this second glimpse of the sweet relationship between a sister and brother. Later in the day during dinner Aaron heard Alaina talking to Will. She was encouraging him to use the potty like her because she is a big girl and he is a big boy now. She told him that if he used the potty he would get m+m's and that mommy and daddy would be so proud of him. As soon as dinner was over Will hopped down from the table and went straight to the bathroom and used the potty. This was the first time he had done that on his own. And All it took was a little "pep" talk from his big sister.


So like the title of this post: I have never been prouder as a mom! I love my kids and pray that God will always use them to positively influence each other. 

It is the Small Things (Part 6)

As I put the kids to bed tonight, I reached down to pick up a sock not realizing it was attached to one of Alaina's stuffed animals. When I asked about it she said, "Hippo was sucking her thumb." This of course was a strategy I have used with Will to get him to stop sucking his thumb and by the way it hasn't worked at all!!

My 2 yr old son, Will, asked for American flag cheese (otherwise known as American cheese). Too cute, right?

I asked Will what songs he knows. He proceeded to sing Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star. As soon as he finished, Aaron asked him what other songs he knew. He then sang, "Old Macdonald Had a Farm E-I-E-I-L-M-N-O-P" to the tune of Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star.

I woke up the other morning to find both of the kids "playing" with the hand sanitizer.

Alaina quickly says to me, "Will is eating the soap!"

I asked Will if he was eating the hand sanitizer he said, "Yes."

So I asked, "Did it taste good?"

He answered enthusiastically, "Yes! It tastes like ice cream!"

My roommate, Joie, from college came into Richmond for a visit and she asked Will why he still pooped in his diaper and he said, "Because I want to and I like it!!"

Will was playing like he was gonna "gobble" Grammie up!

Grammie asked Will if he was a animal. 

He said, "I am a monster, a whale."

Then Grammie says, "Do you live in the ocean?"

Will answered, "No I live in the forest!"

As we pulled into Aaron's parents driveway to visit them for Easter.

Will and Alaina were talking about surprising Grammie. 

So we asked, "What are you surprising Grammie with Will?" 

He answered by saying I am gonna hide my ring in my butt!" 

Aaron then suggested he hide it in his shirt. 

To which Will replied, "But Daddy my butt is a better hiding place!"

We took a trip to North Dakota last month and the kids said some of the funniest things on the plane:

As the flight attendant came around collecting the empty cups and snack wrappers Alaina says, "Mom, here comes the trash girl."

I quickly corrected her and said, "No Alaina, that is the flight attendant."

She looked at me and said, "Oh that's right she is the flight trash girl!"

Alaina always wanted to be prepared as the flight began and landed so before each of our four flights she asked me, "Mom when are we going to blast off into outer space?" This question always was followed by a few chuckles from passengers sitting around us. 

Will, on the other hand, would flap his arms like a bird flapping his wings each time the plane began to take off. Also causing the same reaction from those around him.

As Will and Aaron flew into Richmond on their very last flight Will looking out the window said, "Why does everyone still have their Christmas lights on? It is not even Christmas!!"

Day at the Park

What an amazing day that the Lord has made! We had a fun-filled day today at the park then returned home for a picnic in the backyard with my, hoping to become famous, onion burgers (only kidding, although they have received rave reviews from friends and family). I am so thankful for my family!!

We have had an interesting and busy last few weeks...I will spare you the full details but here is the shorten version. It all started three weeks ago when Aaron pinched a nerve in his back which is causing him so much pain that going to work, putting on socks and shoes, and sitting, standing, or walking for prolonged periods of time is now difficult. Then two weeks ago, three of the five of us got a 24-48 hour stomach bug (thankfully Teagan and Aaron were able to resist it). The healing process is still taking place for Aaron, but he was a tropper today and joined us for a day at the park. (Thanks Babe!) The kids had so much fun playing, playing, and playing some more!! We have been in the house for way too many days the past month so to get out in the sun and breathe the fresh air was good for all of us. This was even Teagans first visit to the park and although she didn't get out of the stroller I think she needed it as well. After playing we toured a Nature Center there at the park and enjoy looking at turtles, snakes, and fish. So my heart is filled with appreciation to my Creator for this beautiful day and love for my family that he has so graciously blessed me with! Here are some picture of our day. I also have a full album on facebook.

It is the Small Things (Part 5)

My mom was here visiting and helping take care of our new born daughter Teagan and she has helped relay some of these stories to make this issue of "It is the small things" possible. I guess 2 sets of ears are better than 1 because these antidotes accumulated quicker than usual.

Sword vs Teagan:

My mom bought the kids gifts out of the dollar bin at Target (Btw, she has done a fabulous job spoiling the two older children while she has been here-making sure they still feel special in the midst of the new arrival of Teagan). So as Will swung his sword from side to side my mom asked him, "Will, do you love your new sister, Teagan?"

He exclaimed, "I love my new sword!!"

Over hearing this conversation I chimed in and asked, "Hey Will, do you love your new sister more than your sword?"

He quickly responded, "Nope."

Fire Truck prayer:

My mom took Will to the store with her to pick up a few things. Alaina decided she wanted to wait on the porch when it was almost time for them to return home. So I said ok. (I may have shared before that growing up my mom always taught us to stop and pray whenever we heard a fire truck or ambulance.) This is a habit I have continued through to my adult life and I too have taught my children to pray during these times (which mainly occur while driving in the van). So as Alaina was waiting on the porch I heard her yelling something to me and as I got closer to the door I realized what she was saying was, "Mom we need to pray for the fire truck!" Apparently she had heard one pass by on the main road and she insisted that we pray for it and the people who needed help.

Pants on the ground:

Ok so I am sure that many people have heard of the newest craze about an original song sang in the auditions of American Idol. To my surprise my mom, who does not watch Idol, has heard of it too. And thought it was a good idea to teach it to my kids.

This is the same woman who at Halloween was teaching them to say, "Trick of Treat, Smell my feet, Give me something good to eat, If you don't I don't care, I'll show you my underwear!" So just as I said in October I looked at my mom and said, "What are you teaching my kids?"

As she sat chuckling at herself, then we hear Will running down the hall singing, "Hands on the ground, Hands on the ground!" He almost got it?

Big 'knockers':

Later that evening my mom asks Will as he is looking for something, "Are you going to use your eyes to find it?"

He answered "No, I am gonna use my really big knockers!"

Mom feeling very shocked that after the lecture she received earlier about teaching my kids inappropriate things that my son knew and said the word 'knockers.'

Just as she is about to address the issues she hears Alaina say, "Will you don't have binoculars!!"

Playing house:

So Alaina and Will are not typically allowed to play in our room, but one evening they had decided to go in and play house. Will was the daddy and Alaina the mommy and then they had 2 children (Alaina's doll, Kaylyn, and Will's stuffed animal, Doggy, who they both sleep with at night.) So as they got quiet I sent Aaron back to check on them (A very good mommy skill that I have learned.... if it is quiet you go immediately to see what is going on.) So Aaron goes in and sees Will and Alaina in our bed 'sleeping' and their 'children' are in Teagan's bassinet 'sleeping' as well. So as he walks out of the room to come report to me his findings. Alaina says to him, "Thanks for coming visitor!"

Here are a few more stories that I thought you would enjoy:

The kids have been very intrigued by the newest member of our family. Just a day after we were home I was changing Teagan and Alaina was observing. Then she pointed to Teagan's belly button which still had the piece of umbilical cord attached and asked, "Mom, is that her mabizzy?"

Alaina and Will have reached the stage in their relationship as brother and sister where they don't always get along and sometimes they are just plain mean to each other. So as an argument was about to take place over a puzzle my mom stepped in and said, "Alaina don't get mad."

Immediately Will chimed in, "Get glad!"

Mom and I were so surprised we looked at each other and both began to ask where he had heard that and before we could ask Will says with a huge smile on his face, "I saw that on TV!"

So as I sit out here typing this is the lyric I hear Alaina singing in her bedroom as she plays: "Praise the Lord I am happy!

And I have to agree!

"Thank you Father for all the many blessings in my life, none more special than my children and definitely none more humorous. It is good to laugh and be happy!!" Amen

Make a Smilebox greeting

My Sweet Teagan

I have never been more fulfilled or content to be defined by what I do. The moment we are born we are defined by what we do. Through the course of my life I have been defined in many ways; it began at birth for me when I became a daughter, sister, and niece. As I grew I became a friend, student, athlete, etc. . . In the last few years my roles have changed, as well, therefore changing how I was defined. I became an aunt, wife, daughter-in law, teacher, and then four years ago a Mother. Today, I have three children and as many of you know my newest bundle of joy is only a week old. So I thought I would take this time to introduce her and also share how she has already changed me in just one short week. She too has begun the cycle of being defined by what she does. She is already a daughter, sister and niece, which is right where I started 29 years ago. I am excited to know I will have the opportunity to watch and help her grow into these roles that are inevitable for her to be defined by.

In the delivery room 1 hour after birth

Our hospital room 1 day old

Teagan entered the world on January 20, 2010 at 1:31 pm after almost 5 and half hours of labor. Which was much to my surprise but believe me I was more than pleased not to have another 20+ hour labor. She was delivered at 9 lbs, 3 oz and 21 inches long, which is bigger than my other two children who weighed in at (Alaina) 8 lbs, 2 oz and (Will) 8 lbs, 12 oz. Teagan was born with no complications to her or mommy and was already alert, responsive, and smiling the day after delivery. She is very pleasant and hasn't quite found her cry; we have heard her cry, but it is very soft and not very often. We have not put our finger on who she looks like and will probably just have to say she looks like Teagan. She has similar features to Alaina in her eyes and nose and the shape of her face and dark hair remind me of Will. Speaking of hair, boy does she have hair!! Will had some hair and it was dark, but Teagan has a head full of dark hair. The funny thing is at my ultrasound when I was 36 weeks pregnant the technician said, "Oh my does she have a lot of hair!" Even though I knew she was going to have a lot of hair 4 weeks before she was born I still can't believe it and I haven't gotten used to seeing one of my babies with so much dark hair. Anyway, that brings you up to speed on the things I have learned about my sweet Teagan now let me finish this blog by saying how she has already greatly changed me.

Teagan's first smile caught on camera by Grammie at 1 day old!

Leading up to and since Teagan's birth I have had a renewed desire and passion to raise my children in an environment where they will thrive after Jesus as their Savior. Although, as I mentioned above, throughout my life I have been defined as many things I could have added the word "Christian" in front of all those labels. I am teaching my children life skills, manners, and many things throughtout the day. However, my greatest desire is to teach them about their Savior, Jesus Christ. The world defines us by what we do, but if we do not know and have a relationship with Jesus we have nothing. Looking at my children is a reminder everyday that my greatest reponsiblity is to show them by my example how to be a "Christian" in everything they do no matter how they are being defined in that moment.

"These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts.Impress them on your children.Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up." 

 Deuteronomy 9:6-7

Our first family picture

The Countdown

I have heard women say that every pregnancy is different and now approaching the end of my third pregnancy I can say that is a true statement. (Or at least it has proven correct for me.) So today I am sitting here in my living room 4 days from my due date and what has turned out to also be my induction date as well. I have time today not only to look forward to meeting her, but to reflect on the past nine months as well. Aaron has taken the other two kids to the gym with him so I am enjoying a rare moment of peace and quiet alone at home. (Thanks Babe!)

This seems to be the perfect time to write, especially considering the next week will be a whirlwind of emotions and excitement. So here is a snapshot of my experience this go around. The first 16 weeks or so I had what some would call "morning sickness," which for me was anytime of the day sickness. Several times a week I would be not feeling up to par, but the hardest part was hearing the kids tell Aaron as he walked through the door from work, "Daddy, mommy went blah!" As a side note with all the unpleasantness of getting sick I actually was losing weight instead of gaining. By the time I was half way through my pregnancy I was less weight than when I came in for my first visit.

As I found myself in my second trimester some other symptoms started to pop up. Some familiar and others just seemed to arrive so much earlier than in my past pregnancies. Not to dwell on them but just to name a few: acid reflux, sleeplessness, uncomfortable, lower back pain, numbness in fingers, headaches, and so on. However, what also starting happening during this trimester was I began to feel this little person moving inside me. From week 14 until now I have felt her move everyday and let me say she is a mover and a shaker! The neatest thing is how responsive she is. If anything or anyone touches my belly she will kick right at that spot. I like to rest things on my belly and then watch as she kicks and squirms moving the item all around. The remote control works the best and she has entertained many of our friends by doing this. At night when I roll over and my belly touches Aaron's back he can feel her kicking him. Alaina and Will have also been able to feel their sister move as they sit on my lap. It really has been amazing and fun! Let's just say we may have our hands full when she is born.

Now I am at the end of my third trimester and I feel better than I did a month ago. I am sleeping through the night (with the slight exception of getting up 3 to 4 times to use the bathroom), which is such a blessing to feel this rested so close to delivery. Interesting enough, although my belly is without a doubt bigger than it has ever gotten in the other two pregnancy I am still less weight today then the day I found out I was pregnant. Upon delivering I will be 10 lbs or so less than my pre-pregnancy weight, assuming my doctor is accurate on her prediction that this little lady will be close to 9 lbs.

All that to say I would like to try to articulate my current state of mind as we quickly approach the birth of our third child. There are the normal fears and anxiousness that come along with the process of labor and delivery, but also an underlying peace that my loving God will never give me more than I can handle with His help. The thought of how can I possibly love another child as much as I love the two children I already have has crossed my mind, quickly diminished by the fact that I already have such a deep connection and love for her that will only grow naturally as I meet her and care for her. The strong desire and calling that I feel God has placed on my life to be a mom is only heightened by this experience. The joy this precious girl will bring to our lives and others is immeasurable. Though unplanned in our minds, God has known and prepared for her arrival long before now. This fact only magnifies my overwhelming sense of responsibility to raise her in the love and knowledge of my Savior Jesus Christ. She is a gift from above, entrusted to us to love and cherish.

I can honestly say, that even though I am may not be in life where I pictured myself being at age 29, I would not trade this time for anything in the world. I am married to a loving and supportive man. I am blessed with two healthy, intelligent, humorous, and adorable children. Last, but not least, I am days away from meeting the newest source of delight in my life, my daughter Teagan Marie.

It is the Small Things (Part 4)

Alaina had her 4 year old well appointment the other day and had to get 3 shots. As she was crying Will came over, rubbed her arm, and said, "You're doing good Alaina." That makes a Mama's heart proud!

While riding in the van we heard Will say from the backseat, "Daddy help me I can't get my choo choo out of my pants!!" For the record he was talking literally about the toy train he had stuffed down his pant leg.

As we prepare for our third child to be born, I have been bombarded with questions from my 4 year old daughter. I was talking to her the other day and telling that they new baby will be here soon. She quickly replied, "I really don't know how she can get out of your belly!?!"

While we were waiting at my last appointment, Will saw a newborn in a carrier and points at the baby and says, "Look mom, baby Jesus!"

Alaina took off her shoe and said, "Mom my foot is crinkly!"

I responded and said, "It is ok. Your foot is just asleep."

She quickly laughed and said, "Mom! Feet don't have eyes!!"

We were sitting at the dinner table the other night and Will looked at Aaron with a huge smile on his face and excitedly exclaimed to him, "Daddy, I put corn up my nose!!"

Alaina was watching Aaron play his Super Mario Bros Wii game and she kept saying, "I am not sure about all this." "Ohhh I can't watch!!"

Bitter - Sweet

For years Christmas Eve has been a very exciting and highly anticipated evening in my family. It is a tradition my father started when he was alive and one I hope we carry on forever. Christmas Eve is the one night a year that all my siblings gather to celebrate Christmas. My dad knowing that as his 9 children grew older, married, and started our own families it would be more and more difficult to get us all together in one place. Although, the house I grew up in is small and not the most accommodating place for the Christmas Eve party it is a tradition and we all look forward to it each year! We have had years that over the span of 4 hours more than 150 people have squeezed in to and out of our home. In more recent years the numbers have declined significantly, but we have increased our numbers to try and make up for it. Here is a quick run down: My mom has 14 grandkids, 6 great grandkids, and one grandchild on the way. The majority of the kids are 5 years old and under!! So you can well imagine what a night crammed into a small house is like with just our kids alone. It is pure joy though, and we wouldn't have it any other way.

Tonight will be bitter-sweet. Last December 31 we lost one of the members of this crew. My brother Scott went to be with his Savior Jesus Christ in Heaven, leaving behind his wife and son. Even thinking back to last year is tough, but it was exactly a year ago today that I saw him last. We were all gathered for our Christmas Eve Party, never did I or, anyone else there imagine it would be the last time we would see him, talk him, hug him, or be able to tell him we love him. Thankfully, we took time to take a group picture (38 people) which will be treasured always!

So as I prepare to get on the road in just a few hours to head home for this very special evening. I couldn't leave without taking the time to write about my beloved brother who is gone, but not forgotten. My heart is filled with joy knowing that this year he will be spending his first Christmas in Heaven. What better place to celebrate the birth of our Savior than with our Savior Jesus Christ??

I love you Scotty and miss you!! I have to believe that on this very night you and Dad are enjoying a hot bowl of oyster stew.

Daddy, I love you too and miss you, know that your legacy will be forever carried on through us, your children!!

Make a Smilebox greeting

Catching Up...... Disney on Ice and Trip to Atlanta

Like I mentioned in my last post, which is hard to even consider a blog, because I am just quoting the funny things my kids have said over the last month. I am now prepared to play the catch up game on some of the fun outings we had in October (both of which Aaron was with us).

As a child my parents took us to see the ice capades in DC. When I saw that Disney on Ice was coming to Richmond I knew I wanted to take the kids. There were many reasons maybe not to go; the cost, kids sitting through it, and the fact that my kids have only seen two Disney movies (Cars and Cinderella). After waying all the cons with the one major pro: it would be a memory the kids (especially Alaina) would cherish forever. Not to mention, I was so excited about going as well. So because of a previous planned trip to Atlanta we decided to go on a Thursday evening.

Although Alaina had only seen the movie Cinderella, she knew all the Disney princesses, their names, and what color dress they wear. So she was excited and looking forward to catching a glimpse of the princesses and her personal favorite Cinderella. Will was immediately a fan because the show opened with Mickey, Goofy, and Donald - all characters he recognized from Mickey Mouse Playhouse. Instantly, I knew that the night was going to be a success. Alaina was captivated and as each princess made an appearance she looked at me with a huge smile and clapped happily as they each exited. Which made the night special for me to see my little princess cheer for her favorite princesses.




The next day we headed out to Atlanta (Columbus) for a friend's wedding. Actually, we needed to be on the road by 3am. So we hurried home put the kids to bed in their traveling clothes and caught a few hours of sleep ourselves. We were looking forward to driving through the night hoping the kids would not mind the 10 hour trip.

We were meeting up with friends from college so we decided to get a suite in the hotel we were staying in order to have more room to hang out and for the kids to play. So we had our bedroom with two double beds and then a living area and small kitchen. Some how the kids thought we had moved in there. Will kept saying, "I want to go home." Alaina said, "If we ever get to our home, I want to have a party." The funny thing is we were there for only 2 nights!!

This was also the first time the kids had slept in the same bed. So with eagerness they crawled into bed, almost not realizing how much they were chatting. After several reminders to stay quiet and some warnings from daddy they settled down. The last time Aaron checked on them Alaina said, "Daddy we just want to hug." So with arms wrapped around each other they drifted off to sleep.




On Saturday we headed to the wedding. The ceremony was beautiful and the reception was so much fun. From the candy table (in which you boxed up your own favors), good food, wedding party dancing to Thriller (including bride, groom, and mother of the bride) to the 4 minute sparklers we lit as they headed off - it was a fantastic night!!

Alaina and Will finished dinner in a hurry and hit the dance floor. It was so cute watching them dance. It was going smoothly until Will got a little aggressive and decided to hug the little girl he was dancing with (who happened to be the bride's niece). As he wrapped his arms tightly around her neck and started walking to towards her she toppled over backwards and hit her head on the dance floor. Ouch! Then it was time for the bride and groom's first dance so I rushed the kids off the dance floor, only to have them cry for the next few minutes not understanding why they couldn't dance. Alaina said with tears streaming down her face, "Why can't I dance with the beautiful princess?" It was a wonderful weekend with friends and the kids were great on the drive home as well.