Christmas Morning

Opening Stockings on Christmas Morning...

The only person in our family who thought the dog needed a present was Avery. She is such an animal lover!!



After opening all presents downstairs, we had one surprise present upstairs from Mimi and Papa... A WII! They were so excited. This is the kids opening some of the games.

Christmas Musical at Church

Avery and Sydney both had solos in the Christmas Musical at church. They were so cute and did great.

Twas the Week before Christmas...

And all through house, everyone was puking, just missed my blouse.
The stockings were hung on the wall with care,
Better be sure it's all even and fair.
The children took turns sleeping on mom and dad's floor,
In hopes that there would be puking no more.
And ma' in her sweats and dad on the pot,
Complaining his stomach sure hurt a lot.
When in the oldest's room there arose such a clatter,
I ran down the stairs to see what was the matter.
Away to the bathroom, I flew like a flash
When I opened the door, I heard a big splash.
When what to my wondering eyes should appear,
The toilet being missed and the splash far and near.
With a hunched over child calling, "Come quick",
I knew in a moment.. another one is sick.
The next morning, in my room they all came,
And I whispered and uttered each child by name;
Now Morgan! Now Avery! Now Sydney! Now Jordan!
We have to kick this sickness before Christmas mornin'
To the vitamin C, to the hydrating water!
Go my young son and my 3 daughters!
And, then in a twinkling, I heard down the stairs,
The screaming and fighting of which one is theirs'.
As I drew in my head and was turning around,
Down the stairs I came running with a bound.
They were not dressed or ready at all,
They still were in PJs from the big to the small.
I said not a word, just gave them a look,
When they got bored, I said "read a book".
And putting their finger inside of their nose,
they heard the exclaiming of "No!" and my woes.
We spent the day making and wrapping our presents,
We ended the evening by being quite pleasant.
Although it's not perfect and not everything is right,
Merry Christmas to all and to all a Good Night!!

Hanukkah

Our Troop walking in the Parade

This year, our troop decided to walk in the Winter Garden parade. I was so impressed that at the end none of the girls complained about being tired, asked to go potty or for a drink. They had a great time and we sang the the girl scout cheer the whole way.

Thanksgiving in Georgia

This year we headed to Georgia for Thanksgiving. As per our tradition for Turkey Day up North, we (daddy and Papa) raked all the leaves in the yard into one big pile and the kids all jumped in and started a leaf fight. :)

A stray cat wondered into the backyard and became the kids' favorite thing to play with all week. Even though Avery is allergic, she couldn't keep her hands off of Nibbles (yes, they named it).

Aunt Jaime planned 3 different crafts for the kids to do while we were there. This is the fruit kabob Turkey.

Roller Skating Party!

It's a milestone birthday and everybody knows what that means! A REAL party!! Avery choose the roller skating rink. We spent 3 hours there learning and remembering how to work all those muscles. Everyone seemed to have a good time and no one got frustrated or gave up. I guess we have a determined bunch of kids :) Here are some pics of the evening. Tomorrow, my girl officially turns 10. The party may be over, but the celebrations just keep going. She has birthday meals all planned out. On Friday, we are keeping the celebrations going by Cory and the kids heading to Georgia. She is gonna think her birthday goes on forever :) I guess you only hit double digits one time in your life.

Mommy/Avery Weekend Away

Last weekend, Avery and I went away for 2 nights (thanks to an awesome hook-up) for a mother/daughter weekend away. Last year, Morgan and I did the same thing for her tenth birthday and now it is a tradition. Sydney is already planning what she will do with me on our trip :)

Anyway, the purpose of this trip (besides having a fun and bonding weekend together was to explain to Avery all about the birds and the bees. I have a CD set by Dennis Rainey that is designed for a weekend and has a journal for the daughter as you listen. I love this set because it starts off by talking about relationships in general, moves to puberty and eventually covers all the details of sex. It makes it so much easier to listen to someone else explain and prompt discussion and questions then for me to go for it on my own.

My big goal is to be able to be the first person to explain and talk this subject over with my girls before a classmate or friends spills the beans. So far, that has been a success. Avery had no idea about ANYTHING! As hard as it was to take away a little of that innocence, I am so glad that she was able to hear everything first from her mom. We had some good discussions, but mostly she decided the whole thing is "odd and disgusting!". She also could not understand what teenager would want to do THAT!

She had a few questions but not too many. I expect that my deep-thinking little girl might come up with a few more in the next few weeks or months. She likes to process things and come back to me at some random time and bring it back up. I hope I'm ready :)

All in all, we had a GREAT weekend and lots of fun! We spent 5 hours at the mall on Saturday! I could hardly believe it. But, everytime I asked her if she wanted to go somewhere else or to another store in the mall... She would choose the mall. We also rented a movie for our hotel room and even ordered room service (with a restaurant.com certificate) the first night. She was so much fun to hang out with and was impressed by everything! She thought the hotel was amazing! She commented on the carpet, the bathroom, our view, etc... several time throughout the weekend. She also thought it was awesome when I actually would buy her something at the mall. And, like the little girl she is, she still loved going up and down the escalators. I just love that girl!

Her actual birthday is coming up next week and we are having a roller skating party. She is looking forward to it and I think we will have a great time!
We got all dressed up for a night out!
This is my sassy little girl
She fell in love with these sparkly clips at the mall. I still can't believe I actually bought them at $5/each!! She is lucky it is her 10th birthday :)
Attitude :)
Mommy's attitude
The awesome flip-flop extravaganza at Payless. They were all on clearance and BOGO 1/2 off!
Is she cute or what?
Love this girl!!

Avery and I had a fun time at a photo booth at the Mall. Take a look

I want you to take a look at: Avery/Mommy | Watch this Video | at The Florida Mall 

Morgan turned 11

My oldest daughter celebrated her 11th birthday last week. Even though we only have "parties" on milestone birthdays, she had a family celebration that consisted of about 30 people. She is not the easiest kid to buy for those days. Really, the only thing she asked for this year was a bulletin board for her room. So, we handled that and the rest was just guesses :)

She does still get to choose all her birthday meals and be free from doing any school or house cleaning. I mean, if that's not a celebration... I don't know what is. So, we had her birthday breakfast on Saturday morning at grandma and grandpa's - she picked out pancakes, waffles, bacon, eggs. Then, we had birthday dinner for lunch on Sunday - chicken pie, green beans, fruit salad and ice cream sundaes for dessert (she's not much of a cake eater just like her mama). Birthday lunch was on Monday (her actual birthday) and she requested sub sandwiches with all the works. So, somehow, she managed to stretch her birthday celebration over 3 days (just like her labor and delivery 11 years ago :)

Even though this year was not an official "milestone" year, it seemed like a big milestone to me. She has been a junior higher for about a month now. So far, it is not as scary as I imagined. The road ahead is still unknown, but I look forward to seeing her grow and mature in her walk with the Lord.

She has been more responsible than I ever thought possible this past year and I am so thankful that God choice to start our line of children with her.

Huey Lewis and the News - Date Night

My husband registers for all kinds of contests with local AM and PM stations. He wins stuff all the time and it just cracks me up. This time, he won 2 tickets to the Huey Lewis and the News concert in Daytona.

We went Saturday night and had a great time going "Back in Time" and thinking of the "Power of Love". It was a nice concert on the beach at Daytona. Afterward, we took a walk on the beach and watched the Labor Day fireworks that shot off from the Pier.

We enjoyed the time away and together and having the opportunity to do it all for free. I guess listening to the radio really does pay off :)

School is in Session

Well, we have completed our first week of school! The 1st day was a little bit of a rough start, but by the middle of the week, we got into a pattern and things seem to be running smoothly.

This year, I offered (ok, required) a lot more independence from my kids (especially the older 2). We have our weekly schedule of what subjects are required on which days. They are expected to look at the schedule, pick out their books and write down everything they accomplished for the day. They are allowed to pick which subjects to do first and what to save till the end.

With me still working some nights and Cory working during the day, I just needed them to be able to do some of this all on their own. So far, it is working out well. We have finished (or almost finished) every day before lunch time. I know that will change, but it made for a nice first week :)

Middle School

Yes, this year Morgan is entering the 6th grade and moving to Middle School. She is so excited about being in the Youth Group at our church. Her mom is a little nervous. After much thought and prayer and talking with my husband, I have decided to move from teaching the 2 year olds at church to being a Youth Sponsor. In some ways it won't even be that big of an adjustment. I know lots of teenagers that act like 2 year olds :)

I am so interested to see what this year brings for Morgan and for me. This is a whole new phase of our life and one that I have been anxious about. Before I know it, I am going to have 4 teenagers at once. Doesn't that sound fun?!

Jordan is 6

On June 27th, my little boy turned 6. He had a great day filled with big breakfast (his favorite meal of the week), Papa Johns pizza (he likes it better than the good stuff) and family and friends. He even had his 2 good friends, Jakob and Andon come for a sleepover. He really loves having more boys around. Between his 3 sisters, and 2 girl cousins, he is always looking for a little more testosterone to balance out. He had a lot of fun and I can hardly believe he is 6.

Jordan,

You have the sweetest disposition and I thoroughly enjoy being your mom. With 3 big sisters and girls at every turn, you have learned how to turn playing House and School into a super-hero game. You can be as easy-going as they come until you decide to take a stand and then no-one can change your mind. You are ALL boy and a momma's boy. You state very clearly that there is only 1 girl allowed to kiss you... your momma!

I look forward to watching you grow this year and I pray that your heart will become tender to a saving knowledge of Jesus. I am so thankful that God completed our family with you. We could not imagine life without you!

Relationships

Last month, my pastor preached a sermon about intimacy (spiritual, soulish and physical) in all our relationships. The timing was perfect for me and God spoke directly to my heart during the entire service. I have been struggling with life in general lately. I didn't realize how much MORE difficult it was going to be for me once Cory started working. Now, we are both working (opposite schedules) and time together is few and far between.

One of the main points that stuck out to me is the order our intimate relationships should be in:

God
Spouse
Children
Friends
Acquintance
Stranger
Enemy

It only took me one look to realize how out of order I had that. God has been on the back burner for a couple months now for me. I get to him when I can and intimate is definitely NOT a word I would use to describe my relationship with Him.
The rest of my relationships have not been in a very good order either. So, I look to Cory to fulfill something only God can fulfill and I look to my friends to fulfill something only God or my husband can fulfill.

Guess what?! It doesn't work out very well. I ended up trying to figure out why I was disappointed, let down and lonely. Well, it was because I was expecting things that were unreasonable and I didn't even know it. This continues to be a learning journey for me and I often have to do a self check and re-arrange again. My prayer is that God will continue to soften my heart toward him and make me sensitive to his calling in my life.

So, for my birthday this year, I decided I really wanted to get a tattoo. I have been wanting one for a couple years now but I just have never gotten around to it or been able to convince my hubby. Well, this was the year. So, my sister and friend (who have both already been inked) told me they would be supportive and get another one with me!! That's all it took to syke me up and I made an appointment for the evening of my birthday. We went to this great place that came highly recommended and was super clean.The night before I asked my brother to help me design what I wanted. I found a couple things I thought were cute but I just wanted it to be one of kind and I love that I can wear a piece of my brother's art work. My idea was small birds from a distance and we decided that it should be 4 to represent my kids. After he drew it and printed it out, I showed my kids and they each guessed which ones they were. The funny part is that they each guessed exactly the bird I intended for them. Love it!!

So, what you have been waiting for... the PICS

Here is my support team cheering me on!!The artist and me

The finished product

Kourtney and Sunday's feetWe certainly worked up an appetite after that ordeal, so we headed to Season's 52 (one of my favorite restaurants in town)
The brave girls of the night :)