The Glassford Gang

Switching Over

2009-10-12T15:09:00.002-04:00

The mere thought of handling two blogs seems near impossible, so if you have my blog listed in your column of blogs you read, it's time to change it. It's not necessarily new, but the address is www.mariaglassford.blogspot.com. This one is and will be written in on a much more frequent basis!

I Need to Remember These Things

2009-04-30T19:17:00.002-04:00

- Carter told his daddy tonight, "your my best friend."
- Carter told me yesterday, "Drue's my boy."
...Ahh, there are so many more from today and yesterday. Hopefully I can remember them and update with more tonight!!

Kyla's Answers.

2009-03-11T18:00:00.002-04:00

My mom interview with Kyla. It was fun to hear her answers!!

1. What is something mom always says to you? I love you.
2. What makes mom happy? Cleaning up my room.
3. What makes mom sad? If I don't clean up my room.
4. How does your mom make you laugh? Tickling me
5. What did your mom like to do as a child? Kiss my dad
6. How old is your mom? I dont know. "Guess", (me). 16.
7. How tall is your mom? 6000 feet.
8. What is her favorite thing to watch on TV? Football.
9. What does your mom do when you're not around? Go shopping.
10. If your mom becomes famous, what will it be for? Marrying somebody. (huh???)
11. What is your mom really good at? Playing soccer.
12. What is your mom not very good at? Playing soccer when her legs hurt.
13. What does your mom do for her job? Makes her bed and folds laundry.
14. What is your mom's favorite food? chocolate chip cookies
15. What makes you proud of your mom? when she blows kisses
16. If your mom were a cartoon character, who would she be? Minnie..then Cinderella
17. What do you and your mom do together? Play board games
18. How are you and your mom the same? Were both girls
19. How are you and your mom different? God just makes us that way.
20. How do you know your mom loves you? Because God made her to love children.
21. What does your mom like most about your dad? We both watch TV together.
22. Where is your mom's favorite place to go? The ice cream store.

Everybody's Doing It.

2009-01-28T17:37:00.004-05:00

25 Random Things About Me.
Rules: Once you've been tagged, you are supposed to write a note with 25 random things, facts, habits, or goals about you. At the end, choose 25 people to be tagged. You have to tag the person who tagged you. If I tagged you, it's because I want to know more about you.

(To do this, go to “notes” under tabs on your profile page, paste these instructions in the body of the note, type your 25 random things, tag 25 people (in the right hand corner of the app) then click publish.

1. I never dreamed I would be a mom to 5 kids. In fact, as a kid, I never dreamed of being a mom like most little girls. Although now, I couldn't imagine any better job.

2. I am not an emotional person and my husband and sister always make fun of me for it. I truly think I am quite an optimist, so when things are bad or seem sad, I try to find the good, rather than focusing on the bad.

3. I am a neat freak and don't mistake that for a clean freak. Things at least have to be picked up.

4. I love love love yardwork and could spend all day outside doing it.

5. I love cookie dough. Like, A LOT.

6. I am a reality TV junkie and really don't watch anything but (Biggest Loser, American Idol, Bachelor, the TLC shows, etc.).

7. I never answer the phone if I don't recognize the number.

8. My husband is absolutely amazing. He is so great to me and the kids. I'm so grateful God placed him in my life to be the person I get to spend forever with.

9. I have decided to become an avid moviegoer..in hopes to slow down my shopping addiction.

10. I plan on driving my expedition until it dies (hopefully many, many years). I love it and never want a car payment again.

11. I still talk and am friends with my best friend from Kindergarden.

12. I just started eating vegtables (besides corn and green beans) and am quite proud of myself. I had never tried broccoli until last week and I can actually handle it.

13. I LOVE where I live, my house, my neighbors, etc. We, without a doubt, have some of the best neighbors ever, who we love hanging out with.

14. I secretly hope all of my kids love and excel in soccer...and play competitively.

15. I love board games and would play them every night with my husband, if he would let me. :)

16. I truly think I have some of the best friends in the world. I am extremely grateful for all of the wonderful people in my life.

17. I knew I was going to marry my husband within minutes of meeting him, and therefore, as the manager of the place he applied to, I hired him.

18. I am an investigator, plain and simple. I investigate everything, research everything and could spend hours doing so, which is why I majored in criminal justice. In fact, I found my husbands biological mother within a matter of minutes doing a google search.

19. I was the biggest tomboy as a kid and was never into anything girly. I spent hours playing outside and in the woods everyday with my boy friends.

20. I would probably have one more kid, if I knew it would be a girl (don't get me wrong, I LOVE my boys). Mainly, so I could give Kyla a sister because I couldn't imagine not having one.

21. In middle school, my friend and I would sneak out of her house whenever I spent the night and ride our bikes to friends houses (we even got pulled over by the cops one night, and after that, we never did it again).
ps. to think I have a middle schooler now scares me to death!!!

23. I am a very impatient person, although I am trying hard to change this.

24. My favorite stores are Target, Old Navy and White House Black Market.

25. I love God and am always so grateful for His Word, grace, humor and timing. I am thankful for the work He is doing in my life, as well as in my family and friends lives.

My Little Genius

2009-01-27T20:50:00.002-05:00

Kevin is brilliant. Plain and simple. His intelligence is truly like none other. He wants to be a scientist of some sort when he grows up and I have no doubt he will do something absolutely wonderful with his brilliance.
However, there are so many quirky things he does because he lacks common sense. In fact, I can't even tell you how many times Kirt and I start cracking up because of this. Ever read those Amelia Bedila books when you were little?? He is just like her! Everything you say, he takes literally.
I'm getting to my point of my Kevin funny for the day. He was showing me his homework, and I had a few peices of paper that were garbage in my hand. I asked him to go throw them away. Most of us would just walk to the garbage can in the kitchen and toss them. However, seconds later I hear the front door open..yes, you guessed it. Kevin was going outside to our trashcans on the side of the house to throw away the papers. I love that boy and am so thankful for humor he provides to us on a very regular basis!!

My Little Chatterbug

2009-01-17T13:57:00.002-05:00

Carter has ALWAYS been a talker. Ever since he was a baby, he always seemed to know exactly what you were saying and listened probably better than all the older kids. Now that he is 2.5 his vocabulary is incredible, at least in my opinion. The sentences he puts together just make me laugh so hard sometimes because he seems so little to be talking like a grown up. Some funnies from this week (and the thing is, is that they aren't really "funny", just "funny" to hear him say them :)).

.."Mom, are they going to yell at me for being dangerous?" (talking about climbing out of the Target cart and onto a clothes display). My response was "yes, in fact, they may take you to jail."

.."Mom, you really need to be careful with that".

.. Me: "Carter, it's naptime."
Carter: "Mom, don't say that word. I don't like that word.

These are just a few from the past few days. Carter is such a breath of fresh air and I just love love love hanging out and spending time with my little man!!!

Four Years.

2009-01-13T23:37:00.002-05:00

January 13th, 2005 will be a day I will never, ever forget. The details of the day play over in my head so often and the fact that we are left with so many unanswered questions just makes it that much harder. Today is the day, four years ago, that my wonderful, truly remarkable mother in law passed away in the middle of surgery. I'll never forget the phone call, the emotions, the most dreadful feeling you can experience, the hurt and the shocking pain as I found out my children, and future children would no longer have their grandma in their life. More than anything, my heart broke for them. My heart aches knowing Carter and Jonah will never know them and the only memories Kyla has with her are pictures. My heart aches for Sean and Kevin who have experienced so much loss, so young. I wanted them all to know her, and I mean KNOW her, remember her and treasure her like we did. I wanted her to see them grow up, play with them, spend time with them and love on them. I wanted them to know how giving she was, how selfless she was and how loving she was. She had so many characteristics I idolized and really wish I carried. My kids loved her and she cherished them like any doting grandma would.

There are so many memories we had together, and although I know I will never be able to remember them all, I am going to try to remember a few special ones...
The first one I would specifically label as a memory, but more so a ritual we did on a weekly basis. At least once a week, we always met up for lunch at one of her favorite local restaurants. She was always throwing the kids quarters for bouncy balls and the games which were often broken. We had SO many conversations over lunch and I am so thankful for this. Another great memory was when Kyla was born and her being in awe of her granddaughter. She came in the room as soon as I was moved to my resting room and was just so excited. I'll never forget all the things she spoiled our baby girl with. A funny thing, that most people who knew her know about was her obsession with catalog shopping. She dreaded any trip to the store, but would buy so many random, funny things from catalogs. We always joked that when we went to her house it would be like Christmas all over again. She was constantly giving us stuff. I'll never forget living with her for a few weeks before we moved to Cape Coral. Great memories and great talks. I'll never forget the many trips and days spent at the beach house. I'll never forget watching her read books to Kyla and the boys as they sat on her lap. I'll never forget her wacky sense of humor..she was all about fun. Another great memory was our trip to Orlando together. We had such a great time, with the exception of the flat tire on I75 at 2 oclock in the morning. I'll never forget her laugh, smell and absolute pure love for her family.

Forever I will treasure the memories that were made and forever I will be saddened that there weren't more. We all miss you, the kids miss you, your sons miss you. You were an amazing mom, and fabulous grandma. We know you are watching over us and trust that one day we will see you again. We love you mom!!!

These are a few of my favorite things...

2009-01-03T15:46:00.002-05:00

...listening to Kyla sing. She has a really great voice. :)
...watching Jonah identify his body parts, especially his tounge!
...watching Kevin interact and take care of his little brothers. He loves them!!
...seeing Sean grow up and change into a teenager..who still loves his momma!
...hearing Carter make his ship and gun noises as he flies them through the air.
...Carter's unbelieveable personality. He is such a fun, fun person to be around.
...watching Kyla dance through the house. She is my little princess!
...Jonah's smile. It is really precious and very contagious!
...seeing Sean's face stuck in a good book.
...Kevin's knack of learning every possible fact..and remembering them for years.

Life is truly great and I feel so blessed to have such wonderful and unique children who brighten everyday and make our house into a home filled with such special life.

Six Years Ago Today..

2008-12-24T23:50:00.002-05:00

we found out we were pregnant!!! It was also that same day that my gut instinct said girl, and sure enough, we now have the princess of our house!
I'll never forget December 24, 2002. It was the best Christmas Eve I will probably ever have. We had tried to conceive for the previous 3 months, but that morning, as soon as I woke up I decided to test just for the heck of it. Little did I know our lives would change forever from that moment forward. Excitement, nervousness, happiness, and so many other emotions instantly hit. It is one of those days you never want to forget. You don't want to forget each little detail or feeling you experienced at each ticking second. It's hard to believe it's been 6 years already, but it has truly been the best 6 years of my life. I love being Kyla's mommy and feel so blessed by God to be given the chance to raise her, teach her, and most importantly love her every second of every day!! I love you Kyla and am so glad you came into our lives and forever changed our hearts!!

I just have to share...

2008-12-13T23:38:00.002-05:00

what I woke up to at 6 o'clock in the morning.

As a mom, I think it's normal to want to have special memories or treasured stories that you can reflect on, laugh at, and share when you child grows up. Well, what I woke up to this morning is one of those very stories that I will treasure and keep and tell in the years to come.
So, this morning, I had plans to be somewhere at 7, so I was planning on getting up around 6:25. However, I was abruptly woken up by our extremely loud musical mice (12 mice that literally play Christmas songs by banging on a bell) at 6am. Kirt jumped, I was confused and then we both knew instantly who it was and what was going on. You see, for some reason our dear, dear Carter is so confused with time, and thinks he really should be up around 5:45 or 6, when really we believe in the sun rule (you don't wake up until the sun's up). Ugh, why does he have to be like I was when I was a child?!?!
Anyway, back to the story...I walked out of our room, and find Carter sitting on our barstools watching the mice do their thing, and seeing his happy face grin from ear to ear. You see, he wasn't supposed to be out. He figured out how to open his child proof door and snuck out. The funny part to me, was that he not only has the Christmas toons going, but he also made sure he plugged the Christmas tree for the full effect. The boy is just so hysterical. I am so grateful God blessed me to be the mother of a precious little boy who is so fun spirited and loves to make people laugh!! I love you Carter and although I am not very thankful for the 6am wakeup call, know that I am beyond thankful for your humor, love, wit and charm. You are truly one special little boy!!!

Exciting Weekend

2008-11-26T10:08:00.002-05:00

My list of excited things for Thanksgiving weekend:

1. Kirt has four days off of work! Yay!!
2. One of my best friends', Natalie, is coming down from Virginia today!! I am so excited to see her!!
3. Black Friday. Enough said.
4. Time with family and friends. Doesn't get better than this!
5. Turkey and potatoes. So, I'm really quite plain and simple when it comes to food. I LOVE the mix of turkey and potatoes.
6. Mayer Christmas Party (a tad early..). Can't wait to go to Natalie's house for a wonderful time!!
7. My sister and I are planning on working at the flea market one day this weekend. The hand stamped charms I have been making have been huge sellers, so I figured we would try another avenue on top of online. You can see them here:
http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=6350155
http://www.bluepaisleys.com/category_60/Handstamped-Jewelry.htm
8. I'm really excited about what has been happening with Blue Paisleys. I have been so busy and am so grateful!!! I never would have imagined something I dreamed up less than a year ago is doing what it is doing today!!

So, Happy Thanksgiving!!! We truly have so much to be thankful for. Even though times are rough in so many people's lives right now, we are still being shown constant blessings. We need to remember to never let those pass us by.

The Terrible Horrible No Good Very Bad Day

2008-11-24T08:37:00.002-05:00

Friday was one of the worst days I've had in a very, very long time. Almost made me want to write my own book titled, "Maria (or Kirt) and the Terrible Horrible No Good Very Bad Day". Everything started of normal. I was getting the kids ready for school and the younger boys ready to run a few errands after our school drop off. Around 8:30am, my phone rang and it was Kirt freaking out, but like in a shaking and I don't know what to do kind of way (not yelling and out of control). He tell tells me that his tools have been stolen out of his truck. Bags and bags of tools and expensive ones at that. If he were to estimate it would be around 4K in tools of his own, and about 8K of the companies. We have no idea when or where it happened. He swears his truck was locked over night and there was no sign of entry whatsoever. He stopped at a gas station and ran in quickly and the door was unlocked during this time. I'm not a thief and I know they can do crazy things, but I just find it so hard to believe that they would climb into somebody's truck and take so much stuff during a super quick trip into a gas station (..and he was parked right in front). Who knows. However, I do know that I feel very violated. Now, somehow we have to come up with thousands of dollars in tools so he can continue to work. The rest of the day wasn't great either, but it was totally minute compared to the morning.

Regardless of circumstances, I am so thankful I have a God who I know will be with us during this time. I am so grateful for my faith and I can't even explain the feeling knowing that even when things get tough, we will not be forsaken. I am certain He will provide and will reveal Himself through this difficulty. I also pray for those who did this to us, that they may experience His presence, seek His grace and be saved from the only thing that can save them from whatever their circumstances may be.

My Carter Funny of the Day

2008-11-18T21:35:00.002-05:00

Carter is so hilarious and is pretty much defined as our family clown, and he knows it. He makes the funniest faces and says the funniest things. Most dinners, all 6 of us are staring at him laughing at his crazy antics. Today, he found some of Kyla's pink lipstick, put it on and then ran to me telling me "I have to go show the mirror". It was too funny. Thankfully, he wiped it off right afterwards saying it was disgusting.

If you walk away for a second...

2008-11-06T13:15:00.002-05:00

you get Jonah's wonderful post below. He typed it and posted it all by himself while I was on the phone with my dad. I'm a proud mom. :)

In difficult news, a friend I grew up with passed away November 1st after a 3 year battle with breast, lung and brain cancer. She was a single mom to a 6 year old little boy. We made many childhood memories together, including school, soccer and birthday parties. The last time I saw her, about a year or two ago, she was doing quite well (I think even in some sort of remission) and was so very happy. In fact, one thing I will always remember about her is how happy she always was and her constant smile. My heart breaks for her sweet little boy and how his life will now forever change because of this awful cancer. I pray for her little boy so he may find comfort during this difficult time. Rest in peace Lisabet..we can celebrate your passing knowing your in the most amazing and pain free place, unlike anything we can imagine.

b nmvvvnnnnnnnn bv:}HB

2008-11-06T13:07:00.000-05:00

Here it is.

2008-11-03T21:57:00.003-05:00

I have been pestered quite a bit lately regarding my blogging, or lack thereof. So, this will just be a random blog, likely containing a lot of jumping and random thoughts. Speaking of which, I love when I hang out with my sister and husband at the same time. You see, my husband can only have one conversation at a time (typical man) but my sister and I have about 6-8 random conversations going at all times. We jump around and are constantly distracted by any new detail brought into the conversation, leading to another conversation, yet still holding on and not finished with our other conversation. Got it? It drives my husband nuts, but I love how my sister and I speak the same "language".

Anyway, in other fabulous news, much to my surprise Kyla got her ears peirced yesterday. Kirt took her out for a bit and my little pricess came home with some brand new sparkly earrings...REAL ones (as she would say). They are adorable and I am super proud of her for doing it, especially like such a big girl. She didn't move, flinch and took it like quite the big girl. In fact, she now thinks she is so big that she is now the "wife" of her daddy and I am now the "kid" of the family. It was quite funny. Some may think this is weird, however, my husband took full advantage by telling her that wives scratch backs and give massages. She obliged.

Right now I am absolutely loving Target's frosted SPRINKLED sugar cookies (they are by the bakery bread for anyone wondering). I absolutely love sprinkles..probably more than my kids do, which is scary. These cookies are so delicious and right now my absolute weakness.

I am happy this election is over tomorrow. I still do not know who I am going to vote for, mainly because I really am not a fan of either. I feel like Obama is a really great politician (but seems like a liar and pretty picture painter- of himself- to me) and McCain for me, seems okay, however, I would really, really worry about Sarah Palin as a possible president should anything happen to McCain. I really, really like her, but I don't think she knows truly what she is doing. So, I am up in arms, and still unsure.

I hope this post will suffice for now(Alicia). I need to go figure out who has my vote tomorrow. Make sure YOU get out and vote tomorrow!!

BEST Birthday EVER.

2008-10-24T12:57:00.004-04:00

I seriously had the most amazing birthday ever this year. I really want to write about it just so the memories can be stored in a place I can always go back to and read. Kirt and I went to dinner on Sunday (the night before) at Tokyo Bay and then to the movies afterwards. It was fun, romantic, and just so nice to be away from our crazy home lives. We definitely need to do this more. We know that for our kids sake, and for our relationship, we need to never lose focus on each other and the love that we have.
Monday was my actual birthday. I took the kids to school and then did a little shopping with Carter and Jonah. They were really good, which was so nice! To make things even better, both boys took awesome 3 hour naps when we got home. PEACE and QUIET- such an AMAZING thing. I love my life and love my kids, but I also love how absolutely quiet and still my house can get at certain times of the day. Anyway, that night my dad, sister and I went to Outback for a wonderful, long dinner. We just hung out, ate and chatted for hours, reminiscing on the past, bringing up great memories, and just having such a blast. I love my dad and sister so, so much and we always have the best time together. My dad is so smart, intelligent and has so much wisdom to share. I could listen to him talk for hours because after each meaningful conversation, I just feel so enlightened in life. He is such an amazing father and I love him soo much!
On Tuesday, I had plans to go to Carrabbas with my sister for dinner. Little did I know, she had much different plans in mind. Not only was I going to dinner with her, but also many of my great friends!! It was such an AWESOME surprise and we had SOO much fun!! We did so much talking and laughing and it was such a perfect birthday dinner. I still can't believe she pulled it off! Thank you so much Alicia for the best birthday surprise ever. :) You totally did an amazing job. Thank you, too, to all of my wonderful friends who came to suprise me and celebrate with me!! There is nothing better than great friends sitting around eating some great food! I love you all so much and am sooo VERY grateful for each and everyone of you!! :)

Fireproof

2008-10-20T13:38:00.003-04:00

Kirt and I went to see this movie last night for my birthday night out. If you have not seen this movie, GO SEE IT NOW!! It is such a great movie for any married couple to see. I really don't want to give too much of it away, but Kirt and myself both loved it and will definitely be buying it on DVD. It is so refreshing, encouraging and an awesome reminder as to how we should live missionally in our relationships. I know I am often "on mission" for other people, whether it be friends, family or even strangers, and after seeing this movie, I realized I really need to be more missional to my own husband. How easily we can get so caught up and distracted in our everyday lives and let the most important things get pushed aside. This movie really makes you think and is so relateable to most of us. Anyway, here is the trailer. I'm serious, go see this movie before it's out of the theaters!!!

http://www.fireproofthemovie.com/

Here is also a link for "Fireproof my marriage".
http://fireproofmymarriage.com/index.php

It's been WAY too long...

2008-10-15T13:54:00.002-04:00

I've been a bad blogger the past few weeks. I feel like I have been putting everything to the "side" and quite frankly, not accomplishing anything. Let's see, I have about 8 loads of laundry to do, as well as baskets of clean laundry that my family has been digging through the past few days (okay, I'm lying..like 2 weeks now). I absolutely despise laundry. Because I despise it so much, once I actually complete it, the sense of accomplishment is so satisfying. Yet, there it sits. Why do I struggle with something so easy and mindless as well as very rewarding?? Anyway, enough complaining about it, but my goal is to have it all done and put away by tomorrow. :)
I really have no news to report or updates to give, because I feel like I've been lazy in life lately. However, next time I post will hopefully be with a better attitude as well as tons of pictures with my new amazing camera. :)

Convictions

2008-10-02T15:37:00.002-04:00

Being convicted is a lovely thing. Seriously. Lately God has been pressing on my heart so hard over certain things going on in my personal life. I have been praying for Him to show me his desires and speak to me His wants for my life. Thankfully, this past week I finally heard Him convicting me of quite a few things that I needed to take care of or change. The blessings in return have just been amazing and wonderful and I know they will only get better. Not all convictions reveal immediate blessings, but thankfully God chose to not test my patience too much during this time (I'm sure he knows patience is one of my weakest qualities..). I am so happy to be at such a wonderful point in my relationship with God where I am finally hearing Him and responding to the desires and wants He has for me. I am thankful for such a wonderful, forgiving and compassionate God who truly wants to bless us during our short time here on earth. Unforunately, all too often we are found with our eyes closed, ears covered or both and miss out on all He truly desires for us. I pray he reveals Himself so clearly that we may not miss it, and yet we respond so obideiently that we don't miss the blessing he has in store for us.

Heartstrings and Other Business Ramblings

2008-09-30T23:05:00.004-04:00

I was excitedly surprised yesterday when I got my mail to find a new, updated Heartstrings Jewelry catalog. They have many new products, including a great deal of embroidery. Although I'm not sure to when I will exactly get around to uploading it all, I am excited the option is there. Currently, we have about 300 products on www.bluepaisleys.com, with the goal of adding 50 new items each month. That seems like a lot each month, but considering the hunderds I have, I feel like it is never ending (because it isn't and I like it that way :)).
In other news, it seems like the nights (or more like mornings) I stay up late plugging away, are the same mornings my precious babies decide they would prefer to get up wayy before the sun is even close to rising (LIKE 5 AM EARLY!). I love them dearly, but my goodness, I need my sleep! I guess I never realized when starting Blue Paisleys how much continuous work would be needed. Let me tell you, it doesn't end when the products get listed! Anyway, I sound like I'm complaining, but really I'm just really loving what I'm doing and where we're heading. I am so blessed and thankful for this opportunity!! With that said, considering midnight is fast approaching, I need to hit the sack, while I pray my kids sleep until at least 7. :)

GOOAAAALLLLLLLLL!!!!

2008-09-27T13:22:00.002-04:00

Kyla scored her very first goal today in our soccer game. She had a great break away and took awesome advantage of it. I was so impressed she didn't get shy or scared, but rather was full of confidence the second she saw the opportunity! She was SOOOO excited when she scored it- it was priceless! I was so happy too because my dad "secretly" came to the game and was watching without her knowing, so he got to see it as well. Anyway, I know it's totally minor, and not really a big deal, but to me it's huge. :) As a former soccer player, who devoted hours and hours of my life to practices, games, and tournaments, I am so excited to see what path soccer may take her down. Many of my best memories surround soccer and all the traveling and what not that came along with it. I would be MORE than thrilled to get to go through it again with my daughter. :)
PS- I also love the fact that my little girl (and boys) are playing soccer on one of the same fields I grew up on!!!

Happy First Birthday Jonah!!

2008-09-20T22:00:00.007-04:00

It's hard to believe that a year has passed already since you came into this world and so wonderfully blessed our lives. It has been a challenge, a joy, a blast, difficult, but oh so sweet. We are so in love with you, our little man. We are so proud of you, excited for you and are beyond blessed to be able to be your parents.

I'll never forget that day in late January when the absolute biggest surprise of my life happened. I thought maybe I could be pregnant, but truly didn't I was. I mean, it took us a year to conceive your little brother. I told your dad to just stop and grab a pregnancy test on his way home from work, just so I could make sure I wasn't. You see, I was what they call "control" freak- I always have a plan, with a beginning and ending. I always have everything figured out as to how something is going to work out, what is going to happen and what the next step will be. However, this afternoon, when I took this test, I quickly came to realize I am *truly* not in control. There is something SO much bigger, and I needed to be reminded of this. After the positive sign instantly came, so many emotions ran through- most of all shock. I'll never forget going to tell daddy right away, a balling mess (you know, because my plan wasn't playing out my way..), and as soon as I tell him all he can do is smile from ear to ear, so happy, grateful and excited for such a wonderful surprise. This helped matters to know he was so excited, but it truly took me months to come to terms with our expanding family. Most importantly, I want you to know it's not because I didn't want YOU, I just didn't like that things were going my my gameplan. :)
The day you were born sweet Jonah, was just so amazing. For fun, we decided to not find out the gender, and we greatly looked forward to the surprise at your arrival. You came into this world at 1:54 pm on September 20th, 2007, and right away, daddy said, "Oh my gosh, it's a boy!!!" It was the most wonderful feeling to hold you and to have you in my arms. There is nothing better than the first day of seeing and holding your brand new baby, especially after carrying them for 9 months.
Jonah, although you were a surprise, you were the most amazing surprise we could have ever hoped for. I, without any doubt, could not imagine my life without you in it. You complete our family and just add such an element to our family that we never had before. We are grateful that God placed you in our lives and I thank Him so often for this. You are my constant reminder that God truly has His own plan, with His own purpose and we must be the ones to live accordingly. I know God has great purpose for you in this world, and I am so excited to see the plan He has in store for you.
I thank you for all you have taught me in our journey together the past year. I thank you for teaching me and helping me with the patience I so desperately needed, Jonah. I love you so much! Happy Birthday buddy!!!

Kevin's Prayer

2008-09-17T22:21:00.002-04:00

Below, in the previous post, I mentioned Kevin's constant run in's with trouble. I absolutely despise that he is in trouble so much, but I also cannot allow or put up with his choosing to not follow directions, the lying, the disobeying, talking back, etc. He is a GOOD kid, just a stubborn one. :) Today though, I think we both finally had a much needed breaking point. He has been in trouble since last Friday when he hid his two (failed..because of not following directions) from us. Tonight, before he was going to bed (after working on his homework for 4 hours) I had such a great, much needed talk with him. I told him that we need to pray for him, he needs to pray for himself. We need to pray for direction, guidance and simply the help in choosing right from wrong in his life. After I told him all this, one of the most touching moments between the two of us happened. He told me "I pray for this stuff everyday. I don't want to be like this." What?! Really!? It just broke me to know that he DOES care, he DOES want to truly be the best he can be. I, no kidding, instantly felt all of my anger and frustrations fade away when hearing this. I feel like tomorrow will truly be a new start, a new day and possibly even a new Kevin. We had a nice, long hug and I just told him how much I love him and how much I truly want him to do well, be happy and enjoy his childhood while he can. Although, I'm sure rough patches will come again soon, the most important thing WE (yes, even Kevin!) have is the power of prayer to get through this together! God is SO good and we are so grateful for his wonderful grace in our lives.

My Little Carter..

2008-09-16T12:09:00.003-04:00

..is so hilarious and just does the most funny things. Yesterday, my dad was over at our house and we were just hanging out in the living room, playing with the kids. My dad, just because Carter is two, was asking Carter "Where is Kyla?" and "Where is Mommy?", and went through everyone else in the room (including himself and 2 dogs). Then, he said "Where is Kevin?" and Carter's response..."In Trouble". We were cracking up like never before.
To most people, it probably isn't that funny. However, if you knew Kevin and his routine trips to time out (heck, even Carter sees it and he's 2!), you would understand. Most would think that being grounded for weekends, and losing TV or gameboy, one would learn to NOT repeat their offense, so they don't get in trouble again. I'll tell ya, he's more stubborn than most and although it makes life a little rough now, I PRAY it will end up benifiting him when he's older.

New Beginnings

2008-09-13T22:50:00.004-04:00

Many new beginnings recently in our house. First off, today was AMAZING as we won our U-12 (Seans team) soccer game 2-1. It was a tied game until the last minute and we ended up scoring off a corner kick. Exciting, unbelieveable, and amazing doesn't even come close to the feeling after the second goal was scored. You see, we (no joke) have not won a soccer game in this league for 3 years. THREE YEARS. Finally, after much complaining on my part (I truly felt the teams were stacked), I was given a fair team with actually decent players. Last year when my sister and our friend coached (I was on maternity leave..usually the 3 of us coach together) they were given about 5 obese kids (out of 10), and then 3 others who really had never even touched a soccer ball before. It was rediculous. This year, our team is pretty much the complete opposite. Everyone knows what theyre doing, everyone is actually quite decent and we are just loving, loving, loving how much fun we're having this year. I, as well as my sister and our friend are so excited and truly looking forward to our upcoming season. There is nothing better in life than exciting moments, but I guarantee you it's even sweeter for us after our ordeal. I'm sure after the win we looked quite rediclous, as we looked as if we had just won the Super Bowl of U12 soccer. Frankly, it may have looked that way, and you know what? It felt that way too. In other news, as I posted below, Kyla got a new puppy for her birthday. It is an Australian Shepherd/Calhoun mix and is SOOO adorable!! I *think* she has named him Charlie. We are excited to see how he impacts our lives (not including the lost sleep from 3am walks..) in the future. Kirt and I went today and picked it up while Alicia watched the kids (thank you!). Kyla was SOOO excited when she saw the puppy for the first time. I am glad I have it on video. :)

Kyla is Five!

2008-09-13T22:39:00.004-04:00

Kyla's big day was so much fun for her and she truly (that day) acted with a different presence...a presence of that of a 5 year old. All of a sudden (for that day) she had the most amazing manners, amazing behavior and well, acted the way she thought a 5 year old should behave. In fact, she even noticed she had grown about 5 inches overnight. You know, because that one day between 4 and 5 makes all the difference. I can say though, quite positively, my sweet angel is back to her normal self. I love it.
On her birthday, we had bible study in the morning. I kind of felt bad that she had to spend 3 hours of her birthday here, but then realized what a perfect place to be! A place where not only many of her friends are, but also the one place where she can become more familiar with her Father. After church, we met Aunt Lele and Boppa for lunch at Target. We hung out for a bit chatting and eating and had a wonderful time. Then, I took the little boys home and Kyla stayed for some shopping time with Boppa (jealous much? yeah, me too...especially because I was at home cleaning.). She picked out some great new and fun toys!! That night we celebrated her birthday with some cake and presents. I told Kyla she could invite one friend for her "real" birthday so she picked Ellie. It was great having a playmate to share her excitement with. Kyla got a new game, new puzzle, some pretend food (she loves the food network), Disney Princess Wii game, the new Ariel Beginnings Movie, the new Barbie movie, a fashion stamp set, and a new puppy..yes, a new puppy. However, I will save that for the next post...
Happy Birthday Kyla!! I can't believe your FIVE!!

Happy Birthday Kyla!

2008-09-11T00:22:00.000-04:00

Happy Birthday my sweet baby girl!! I cannot believe you are turning 5 years old today. FIVE. I am so excited for you, and although I keep telling you I am sad your getting so big, you keep promising me that "you'll still be my mom". I think this is the hardest birthday I've had yet with you. Five just seems like such a milestone. Five just seems so big, when you really should still be so little. No kidding, I feel like we were just celebrating your first birthday at Boppa's pool. I think what really makes this birthday hard for me is knowing the "baby" things and milestones of a toddler are over. Every birthday before, I always had something to look forward to as each year went by. Not that there isn't anything to look forward to this year, because there are plenty, but I guess I just feel like it's all going by so fast! I remember thinking when you were little that I "can't wait until your one or two or even three". Each age had a "special" reason behind it. I couldn't wait until you were one so you would start talking more, etc. This year I am now telling you not to turn five, and although you laugh, it just makes me sad knowing you will never be 4 again. It's a reminder to live each day and each year to the fullest, because you can never get it back.

Kyla, Mommy is so proud of you. I am proud you are so loving, caring and considerate. I love how always ask me, "mommy do you still love me?", and I get to tell you, "Kyla, I love you SO very much. You are my absolute favorite daughter". You are beyond upset if anyone is mad at you, and all you want to do is please people. I love that you are a God loving little girl with a prayerful heart. Every night before dinner we say a family prayer and then you must always say your own before anyone can eat. Every time your scared, whether it's bedtime or your sad or your in timeout, you come to me and ask me to pray with you. You love God and I am so excited for this. I pray your love for him and your relationship with him only continues to blossom as you grow. I love how you love your brothers. Whenever you know mommy is stressed, you always have a motherly instinct to pick Jonah up and take him into your room to play without me asking. You love your friends, you love your family, and you will never know how much we all love you.

I love you beyond words my little princess! Happy Birthday Kyla! Enjoy being five!

Jonah's First Ice Cream Cone!

2008-09-10T14:49:00.004-04:00

..and boy did he LOVE it!! We went to Chickfila with some friends last week and because Jonah was already a mess, I decided to let him splurge. Besides, he is *almost* ONE and he hasn't really had anything sweet. This was so much fun for him and you could see the smile behind every little bite he took. :) I love that boy sooo much and couldn't imagine life without him!!

Traditions

2008-09-10T13:54:00.006-04:00

I've been meaning to post this for a week now and just haven't gotten around to it...

Last Saturday, during the rainy weather (again!) my dad and sister came over for Bingo and Candy Day. It's a childhood tradition in our family that we played when we were a kids, and my dad played when he was a kid. It may seem so minor and not really a big deal, but it is a wonderful tradition holding many special memories. I remember many Friday nights spending time with my dad playing these silly and fun little games. It's quite simple really. We just play a game of Bingo and if you win, you win a peice of candy. We then take breaks every once in a while so we can play a game called "hide the candy" (the name says it all). The kids go in their room while we hide the candy throughout the living room and they have to find it. It's pretty much like finding Easter eggs on Easter. So, it really doesn't sound all that exciting, but it really is!! The kids have so much fun, and even us adults do as well! It's a perfect thing to keep the kids attention during a rainy day. :) Anyway, here are some pictures from our special day.

Rainy Day Fun

2008-09-10T12:06:00.007-04:00

Thankfully, Hurricane Ike has moved further south and is missing our area with the worst of the storm. However, we're still seeing plenty of rain from the outside bands. It has left the kids a little bored, especially Carter and Jonah who would prefer to be outside all day, everyday. We decided to work on some puzzles together. Carter is a pro at them now and gets super excited every time he puts a peice in. Jonah on the other hand, things they make wonderful chew toys and was pretty bored with it all. We then decided to get the rollercoaster down for them play with. It is a special treat to have out and Carter was SO excited to get to play with it (it's been awhile..). Jonah has never been on it, so I was excited to see his reaction. Surprisingly, Carter was quite scared of ride on it and had a much better time just the cart and watching it go. Jonah, on the other hand LOVED it and just couldn't stop laughing and smiling. It was great!
Carter and I also spent some time looking at his old baby pictures. He thought every one of them was Jonah and I had to keep telling them that it was actually him in the pictures. He loved watching little movies of himself from his baby days. It was great to look back at some old memories of my little man.

Random Ramblings

2008-09-02T21:32:00.002-04:00

I am super excited for football season. I LOVE watching all sports, but I particulary LOVE just watching football all weekend long. From now until January, I am completely content spending weekends at home. :) I am also really excited for the new tv season. My poor Tivo hasn't seen much action the past few months (besides the regular Regis and Kelly, The View, Dr. Phil..and these are only recorded so I have something to watch if I get bored..).

Kyla and Jonah's birthday's are both in the next 3 weeks. I cannot believe Kyla will be FIVE and my little Jojo will be ONE!! I am trying to decide what/if were going to do for their birthdays. I'm leaning towards a joint birthday party at either my house or my dads pool area. I better get thinking though because it is quickly approaching.

I was a total housewife today. :) I did 7 loads of laundry (I despise laundry), baked cookies, played with the kids, and did a lot of other random cleaning. The random cleaning was mainly cleaning up after Carter and his lack of interest in potty training.

The other day I met my friend Nichole at Kohls (love that place) and got an amazing hammock with stand for 90% off. It was $200, marked down to $20. Yes, TWENTY dollars. It is heaven laying in that thing reading a good book. I have always wanted a hammock so I'm excited to just lay around in it while the kids play on the deck. :)

I am stoked that my boys soccer team ROCKS this year. Seriously, they are GOOD. After much complaining that I have not been given fair teams the past few years, it seems they have finally got my point. I am so excited for games to start!!

Time of My Life..

2008-08-29T23:03:00.010-04:00

Thanks to the most wonderful entertainer ever...KENNY CHESNEY!! My dad, sister and I went to the West Palm Beach concert last night and had the most amazing time. I have seen Kenny in concert the past 4 summers and seriously, every year he just steps it up and his shows get better and better. If you ever go to one of his concerts, its easy to see why he always wins entertainer of the year. He puts on one HECK of a show!!!
Before the show, we met up for dinner at Carrabba's and some great food. We then drove to the concert, took our seat and just hung out for a little bit. We hadn't seen our dad for 2 weeks (a LONG time for us!) because he has been traveling for work and playing in a few golf tournaments, so it was really nice to catch up for a bit. Miranda Lambert opened up for Kenny and she is one crazy girl...I think every song talks about her drinking and guns, lol. She was great fun though. Then, it was time for Kenny. I can never get enough of him. Seriously, the man basically goes on a 4-5 month tour each year, plus puts out a new cd practically each year and his success just continues to grow. His ability to remain successful is really true to how great he really is. I have been to a decent amount of concerts and nothing even compares to the show he puts on. How he has the energy to put on a 2 hour set with as much energy as he does is just unbelieveable. Anyway, after the AMAZING show, we drove home...and oh man, was it a longgg drive. ugh. We got home at 2:30 and for practically the whole day today I felt like a walking zombie. It was totally worth it though. :) Anyway, here are some pictures from last night....

6th Grade Changes Everything

2008-08-27T17:28:00.003-04:00

Ever since my kids started school, I have always checked their homework when they completed it. I'm the mom who makes sure every problem is right, every writing assignment is neat and quite frankly, I am picky and have high standards for their work. However, this has quickly come to a halt as the second week of middle school rolls around. Sean started 6th grade this year and everyday when I check his homework, I just look at it and and tell him, "good job!" and close it up. Ya know why?? Yes, ladies and gentlemen, it's because I have NO idea how to do those crazy math problems anymore. Math was always my weakest and I'm sure at this point, Sean (who is a math whiz) knows what he is doing much better than I do at this point. It's quite embarrassing. Surprisingly, he hasn't said anything to me yet about not checking it like I used to, and quite frankly I'm a little too prideful to tell him I have no idea what his work is about. :)

On that note...he has called me from school and/or his friends cell phones 3 times this week. He is now telling me that he needs a phone. Coicidence? I think not.
I can officially say middle school changes everything..but it's so exciting none the less!

Blue Paisleys News!

2008-08-26T22:08:00.002-04:00

I am so excited about one of the new vendors we are now carrying- Sugarpie Bebe!! If you go to www.bluepaisleys.com and search "sugarpiebebe" in the search box on the bottom. You will find some awesome diaper changing totes, adorable blankets, bibs and burp clothes in some fantastic prints!!

It really makes me want to have another baby, especially a girl, just so I can buy all these super cute baby "supplies"!!! Perfect and justifiable reason to reproduce if ya ask me! :) Also, be on the look out, we will be having quite a few more new products and companies in the very near future. SO exciting!

On that note (and I don't even know if any of you read this), I want to thank any and all of the customers who have been so wonderful and accepting of my crazy little idea of my Blue Paisleys store, that has turned into a wonderful reality! THANK YOU!!!

In other exciting news, Jonah finally referred to me as his "mama" today on numerous occassions! Yay!!

AMAZING Weekend

2008-08-24T21:38:00.002-04:00

After much debate and a great deal of mind changing, we decided to head down to our condo on the beach. We decided it was the only weekend that we had very little to do and very little scheduled, especially as soccer season begins this coming week. When soccer season begins, life gets crazy to say the least. Anyway, we left Friday night for the beach and basically just hung out eating dinner, playing the wii and watching TV. The rest of the weekend we basically just swam in the pool, swam in the ocean, layed out, played in the sand, got lots of sun and then woke up and did it all over again. :) It was so fun, so relaxing and just a great vacation away from home. I loved sitting out on the lanai, listening to the waves and reading a good book. It was absolutely wonderful.

On Saturday late afternoon, I left my wonderful husband with all the kids while I went to a super fun card party. I love love love those!! I love scrapbooking and card making, but with 5 kids, never sit down enough and open my craft armoire to work, so having a scheduled day/time to go and do this is great! We also went to Chili's afterwards and a great time was had by all. :) I am so glad I got to go!! Thanks again Nichole for being the most wonderful host for this parties! :)

Anyway, it was a fun weekend. The kids all had sooo much fun and got plenty of sun. So far, I think, besides myself, everyone else is sunburn free though. Yay!
I can say the best part was the fact that we woke up Sunday morning knowing that although our "vacation" was ending later that day, we only had a 20 minute drive to get back home. :) As always, it's good to be home and once I get some pictures uploaded I will be sure to post them.

It's Been a LONG 11 Months...

2008-08-19T20:08:00.004-04:00

BUT Jonah is FINALLY SLEEPING!!!! You read that right- Jonah- my little baby who decided it was best to be awake all the time for the first 11 months of his life FINALLY LOVES SLEEP. Praise GOD!!! I am not joking when I say that he would nap for maybe 30 minutes a day (broken up between 2-3 naps) and then maybe sleep 2-3 hours at a time during the night until just recently.

Now, Jonah sleeps ALL night, from 7 or 8 (depending on if he has 1 or 2 naps) until 7 or 8 the next morning. That is TWELVE hours...TWELVE WONDERFUL hours!!! He also naps 1 or 2 times a day, and each nap is now between 2-3 HOURS!!!! I can't even begin to tell you how exciting that is. He is so much happier, I am so much happier and our household is much more pleasent now. :)

To make things even better, I have basically always nursed Jonah to sleep (nap and bedtime). He now eats, and then I lay him in his crib AWAKE and he falls asleep on his own. I'm impressed. My little baby boy is ready to turn into a toddler and I am more than ready for him to start acting like one. :)

PS. Hurricane Fay was a doozie- thankfully. We lot a lot of wind and rain, but no damage. We just have a few big, skinny trees that fell down on our fence in the back. We also lost power sometime in the middle of the night. Thankfully, it came back on around 1pm though today. Back to school for the kids tomorrow! Woohoo!

Our First Day of School

2008-08-18T21:12:00.002-04:00

Today began the 08-09 school year and everything went really well. I got Kevin up at 6:45, and drove him to school at 7:30. Then, came home, got everyone else ready and drove Kyla and Sean to school around 9:30. It was a big day for them because Sean was starting middle school and Kyla was officially moving to the "big" preschool.

Anyway, all 3 had great days. Kevin really seems to like and admire his teacher. He has the same 4th grade teacher Sean had, which is nice. Sean seems to really like all of his teachers, and I think he is excited to just be a middle-schooler in general. I still can't believe it. I'll never forget dropping him off for his first day of Kindergarden and just coming home and crying for like an hour straight. He just seemed too small to go to such a big place everyday, almost all day. Now, here he is, almost a teenager, yet still the sweetest, and most loving little boy! Today was nothing but pure excitement and happiness on my end for him. He's come such a long way and I knew he was so ready for this new change. Kyla was really, really excited and pretty giddy about going to school this morning. She just couldn't wait to get out the door. Her teachers were great, and she was so happy when I picked her up. She told me all about her fun day and just kept going on about how much she loved the "big school". Although it's still preschool, she has now moved over to the "big" building (in her 3 yr old program last room she was in a tiny classroom across from where she is now). Kyla even came home and "played school" with some imaginary friends afterwards. I was happy. :)
So, because of Hurricane Fay, today basically ended up being a great practice day because school is cancelled tomorrow. :) Kirt is off work tomrorow too, and right now it doesn't seem like the weather will be all too bad, so it may end up being a fun day. However, until the storm officially passes, and we're still enjoying the luxury of electricity, I won't hold my breath. :)

Kyla lost a TOOTH!

2008-08-13T15:36:00.002-04:00

My almost 5 year old (where has the time gone...) lost her first tooth today!! It's actually quite sad to know her little baby teeth are starting to fall out. :( I was really worried at first because both of our boys didn't lose their teeth until they were 6. I remember losing mine at 5 years old. A little panicked, I called the dentist anyway. He said that her age is totally normal and that because she got her teeth in earlier (4.5 months) that she likely would lose them earlier as well. Anyway, I will be back with pictures from my toothless little girl tonight.

The Beach House

2008-08-09T21:54:00.010-04:00

My aunt, uncle and cousins are in town and have been staying at our beach house this past week, so we went down today to pay them a visit. We LOVE going down there and always have such a great time. Unfortunately, because we are so close to it, we rarely actually *stay* there; instead, it's always us visiting the people who are staying. While we were there today though we decided to book a weekend for ourselves. :) I'm trying to convince my husband to allow me to have a friend's weekend down there as well sometime in the near future. :)
Anyway, it was so great to see my aunt and little cousins. My cousins are the same age as my kids, so they love it too. :) The weather wasn't the greatest today, but we all had fun anyway. My cousins are so sweet and so cute and I am so happy we got to spend some time with them this past week. Here are some pictures from our visit today:

My Walking and Climbing Boy!

2008-08-08T22:00:00.009-04:00

I figured I should at least add a few pictures of my littlest man walking! There is nothing funnier than watching this little person figure out how to walk and take steps. It cracks me up!!
Here he is in all his glory!!

..and up he goes..

We have also discovered and mastered the art of climbing everything we are not supposed to at 10 months....

..and for comparisions sake, here is Carter at 11 months. :)

08/08/08

2008-08-08T21:38:00.006-04:00

I took the kids to an indoor playground today, which they really enjoyed. It was a great way to get some energy out, while not destroying my house, and at the same time staying in the much needed air conditioning! Here are some pics from our trip today:

...and then tonight, Carter felt the need to dig through my purse and make himself all pretty. :)

These are a few of my favorite things...

2008-08-07T13:19:00.005-04:00

in no particular order:

1. Cape Cod Chips. Thanks to the wonderful samples Costco gives out, I have now found my newest favorite snack food. They are sooo good and there is nothing better than a snack of salty chips mixed with some chocolate chip cookies! Love the salty sweet mix.

2. Summer. I LOVE the summer sun. I love going to the pool almost everyday and coming home to nap with the little boys afterwards.

3. My deck! Last year (May of 2007) when I was pregnant with Jonah, Kirt and I worked really hard for 2 days straight and built ourselves a nice, big (30x16) deck for our backyard. I absolutely LOVE that thing and am sooo happy we did it. I can let the kids out there to play for my own sanity and I also can lay out on it during the little boys nap. It's truly a great place for everyone. :)

4. Kenny Chesney concert!!! He is my favorite singer and I never get sick of listening to him. This will be my 4th year in a row seeing him and I am beyond excited because I have had nothing but the most amazing time every year I've gone. This year, I am going with my dad and sister at the end of this month. :)

5. School. Although I will miss summer greatly, I am excited for school to be starting in TEN days!! This is the first time in years that I myself will not be taking classes myself during the school year. I will miss my kids dearly as well as the simpleness of summer and the laziness involved, but will be happy to get back to a routine of some sort.

6. Birthdays. I love birthdays and am excited about Kirt, Kyla and Jonah's upcoming birthdays. However, I am still plan-less as to what I/we will do for them. :)

7. The Olympics!! I LOVE watching sports, really all sports (football, basketball, baseball, soccer...) so I am always so excited when the Olympics games begin. This year, as most, I am excited to see gymnastics, swimming and soccer most. I'm sure I'll be glued to the TV quite a bit the next two weeks!

8. My cookie dough scoop. I love to bake. LOVE LOVE LOVE it! It may seem rediculous but I finally found a cookie dough scooper that I love. It gives me the most perfect round shaped cookies. Unfortunately, I am probably the most unhealthy eater out there...

The Vacation Pics!

2008-08-06T20:48:00.011-04:00

Here are some of the pictures from our wonderful vacation. To see more, check out my facebook!

Kyla and her Bike

2008-08-05T09:17:00.003-04:00

This picture is actually from back in March, when Kyla learned to ride her bike. We were so so proud of her and so excited, especially because we're quite the "outdoor" family. We LOVE going on bikerides as a family, and it was getting a little rediculous to have 3 kids on the back of my bike (one in a seat and then two kids in the pull behind trailer). We finally decided to teach her how to do it and she basically did it instantly! However, the next day some crazy fear was instilled in her and she NEVER wanted to ride a bike again- unless I put her training wheels back on (which I would not do).
Fast forward to last night (more than 4 months later..) I told her she couldn't turn five without knowing how to ride her bike. Instant motivation. She went right out, hopped on and rode all over the neighborhood, and even to my dad's house (he's around the corner, less than a half mile away). Better yet, this morning she asked if we could go out and ride today. :)

Back to reality...

2008-08-02T21:24:00.002-04:00

Well, were back from our wonderful vacation and back to our world of reality (which is actually a good thing!). I LOVE going away, but I always LOVE coming home just as much. There is no place like home. Truly.
Anyway, we had so much fun, made so many memories and got to spend some much needed time with family. Everything went so great. The kids saw a few movies while we were there, I did some shopping, spent a lot of time on the Mississippi, visited the Lego Discovery Center in Chicago (all the kids LOVE lego's) and did a lot of eating. :) I'll post some pictures in a later post..there are a lot of them!

Vacation

2008-07-28T08:53:00.003-04:00

So far our vacation has been so much fun! The kids have been great and pretty well behaved, thank God!! Our flight was wonderful, as both Carter and Jonah slept the WHOLE time. We seriously couldn't have had it any better. I actually got to read a book and listen to my ipod for the first time on a flight in years. Pure heaven on earth! The first night we ended up going to my grandparents for dinner- sloppy joes and corn on the cob. Not just any corn on the cob, BUT Iowa corn on the cob. Seriously, if you've never tried it, it's to die for. The BEST corn EVER. We then checked into our hotel and fought the kids off to bed around 1030. After they went to bed, I headed out to my aunt and uncles house for some late night chit chatting with them and some of my cousins.
Yesterday, Sunday, we went to my aunt and uncles farm for the day. It was such a relaxing time, but so much fun. We rode four wheelers, ate lots of food, played basketball, talked, napped, and visited the new house theyre building. The kids always have soooo much fun on the farm. It's actually the highlight of the trip to them. So far vacation is going great and were having a blast!! Off to get the kids in bed..this is the not so fun part considering were all stuffed in a small studio type suite!

Best Deal Ever?

2008-07-26T01:31:00.000-04:00

It is, really. Okay, so many of my friends now I love good deals and many times fall for any good deal I find. Our vacations the past 3 years have been determined by which airfare I can get for $9 or $11 a flight through Spirit. :) Well, this newest deal is FREE. Seriously. They say nothing is free in life, but this REALLY is and it WORKS!! I've known about it for some time, but have never actually done it until now because I always thought it was too confusing. However, it truly isn't.

So, what I got for free is a one night stay at the Hollywood, Fl Ramada right on Ocean Dr, on the beach.

This is how, and is really is SO easy!
1. Go to http://dealsnare.com/BRG.aspx

2. Choose a city and date for your hotel stay.

3. This program will search and let you know if there are any available. (I'll explain this in a second).

4. If a hotel is listed when your search is complete, you can now proceed and begin the process.

5. From here, I will use my experience as an example. I searched Fort Lauderdale on August 9th. When my hotel came up, I clicked on it and was taken to kayak. com. Basically how the program works is that many hotels, such as Wyndham, Days Inn, Howard Johnson, Ramada, etc. all offer the Best Rate Guaranteed. This means, if you happen to find a better rate, they give you the first night free (and you can only stay that one night if you want).

6. I save the screen shot showing the lower price by pushing the PrtScn button and pasting it in a paint program. This is for verification purposes just in case they cannot find the better rate. Most times, this is NOT the case though.

7. So, from here you can go directly to the hotel website (ie. www.ramada.com) and verify their price is higher than listed on reputible site (orbitz, hotels.com, etc.). MAKE SURE ITS THE SAME ROOM (ie. nonsmoking, double beds, etc.)

8. You, then, book the room for the night. Keep in mind, it states that your card will not be charged until checkout and you can cancel up to 2 days before, just in case.

8. Go back to the homepage for booked hotel (ie. www.ramada.com) and you will see the Best Price Guarantee. Click that and go find the place to fill out a claim form. Just fill it out and you should hear back within a few hours. :)

9. You will then receive an email letting you know if the claim is approved (as long as you did it right, and they can verify their price is higher, you will get approved). They will also send a new confirmation email stating your total price will be 0.00.

Seriously, this works and is quite amazing. It's perfect for a Saturday/weekend getaway. There are no strings attached. Check it out, play around with it and see what you can find. :) Happy searching!

Hmmm....

2008-07-25T23:30:00.002-04:00

So, just because I'm nursing and what not, I decided to take a pregnany test just to make sure that I wasn't pregnant again before our vacation.

My husband just asked what the results were. They were negative. I told him I was a little disappointed, just because I would have been really excited to be pregnant again. I asked him if he was upset. He said no, I'm not upset, I'm just not really anything.

Then...drumroll please...........

he said, I would be excited if you were. WHA??? Yes, this is the same guy who swore we were done having kids just last week. :)

On that note, I think they *may* eventually be a number 6 to our gang....at some point.. :)

And we're off....

2008-07-25T13:11:00.003-04:00

to Chicago and Iowa first thing tomorrow morning! We don't really have anything planned while were gone, just spending time with family, hanging out, and going to the farm for a day. The kids are all so excited. Carter is watching me pack and keep saying things like, "are you packing for the airplane tomorrow?". Even though he is only 2, he KNOWS that we are going on an airplane tomorrow and because well, he is obssessed with them, he cannot wait to ride on it! He's been on a few plane rides in his short life, but none that he can remember, so this should be fun. It will be even more fun (for me :)) if they let me bring his carseat, so he can sit in that during the flight! :)
So, tomorrow, we arrive in Chicago around 2ish, I believe, and then will drive 3 hours and make our way to my "home" (more like "birth") town where all my family is. It is going to be a long day, so here's hoping and praying that the kids behave and deal with the traveling well tomorrow!

BTW, I'll be posting while we're up there since our hotel has internet. :)

Life Updates

2008-07-21T22:28:00.003-04:00

Life is great! God is good!! I am truly enjoying summer and everything that comes along with it (yes, even being with 5 kids all day long..).

My best friend, Natalie, was in town last week and she, along with her sister, hosted a wonderful cookout on Friday night. Not only was I excited to see Natalie and Michele (her sister), but I was really excited to finally meet Nate, Natalies boyfriend. I had heard so much about him, and Natalie would tell me how perfect he was for her and how he is the one. I was a little skeptical (sorry, Nat :)) at first, mainly because she had just gotten out of a 5 year relationship. However, after meeting him, talking to him and getting to know him I now am beyond excited about their relationship and their future marriage. God is so good and I know He is going to do the most marvelous things in their relationship. Anyway, Friday night was great. We stayed up talking until the early morning hours and I just had a blast spending time with her. I truly wish we lived closer, but I am sooo grateful we are able to maintain such a wonderful friendship despite the thousands of miles.
Kirt was on call last week so we just basically hung low all week. We've spent a lot of time with friends, spent plenty of time in the sun and just enjoying the ending of summer. It's hard to believe that summer is over 4 weeks from today. I am excited about getting back into our old routine, yet a little sad summer is ending. I LOVE summer.
In other news, we leave Saturday for Iowa/Chicago. We are all really excited about going and visiting family we haven't seen since last summer. I just pray the travel and sleeping adjustments go well for the little ones. The thought of vacation is grand and exciting, yet when I think about these types of little details I tend to stress and get a little worried. Well, I am exhausted, so I'm off to bed.... :)

Excited to Announce..

2008-07-16T22:58:00.002-04:00

We are excited to announce that we have added a new vendor to our site and are now offering beautiful headbands, bows and beanies for little girls!! They are sooo cute and quite popular these days!!
Check them out under the Bows and Beanies section of our site....www.bluepaisleys.com.

..now, if only I had a little baby girl to make frilly and play dress up with!! Kyla no longer wants her mommy picking her clothes at the tender age of 4...

Naming Rights

2008-07-15T22:10:00.002-04:00

So, I LOVE baby naming. I could look and make up baby names for an imaginary baby for hours. Tonight, as I was compiling a list (weird, huh?) the only names I was drawn to were boys. I always thought girls names were easier, especially after poor little Jonah was nameless for 4 days! However, right now here are the names I'm loving...

Reid
Rhys
Thane

I think *if* we were to have another boy (or baby, for that matter), I would use my maiden name of Meyer for the middle name.

Sean, Kevin, Kyla, Carter, Jonah and Reid Meyer
Sean, Kevin, Kyla, Carter, Jonah and Rhys Meyer
Sean, Kevin Kyla, Carter, Jonah and Thane Meyer

...oh the things I do while all my kids are sleeping and my husband is out working...

Painting Projects...

2008-07-14T14:00:00.011-04:00

So, the past few months have been filled with A LOT of much needed painting in our house. I love painting, and the idea of it changing a whole room. However, after about 10 minutes I question why I even started this project that I must now finish. I repained our bathroom, bedroom, Kyla's room and then Sean and Kevin helped me paint the living room and dining room. Why I was not smart enough to have them help with the other rooms, I don't know. What kid wouldn't love to pick up a roller and paint a wall? They absolutely had a blast, thought it was so cool and it saved me a lot of time and work. Anyway, I am so relieved to have this done, although, there are still a few more things to paint (under the bar stool area, kids bathroom, kids hallway, etc.). So, here are some before and after pics. I don't think I have any before pictures of Kyla's room on the laptop, so I will have to go and add those later.

Okay, here's one somewhat of her room...it was yellow and I hated it. :)

Kyla's room after (Benjamin Moore Ribbon Pink)"

Here are some pictures showing the living/dining rooms before (it was a flat pinkish beige hideous color):

And After (color is Benjamin Moore Rich Creme):

Busch Gardens

2008-07-13T16:21:00.003-04:00

Well, my mom and I took the four older kids to Busch Gardens for the day yesterday. The kids had fun and loved the new Jungala area they recently opened. We went on a few rides, saw a few shows and did way too much walking. We finally went on the Congo River Rapids this time after Kyla's constant asking. Here I am trying to stay dry, while my kids are all dying to get soaked on the ride. Guess who ends up dripping, sopping and walking in wet clothes the rest of the day? ME. My kids walked away with damp shirts from a little bit of water and here I am DRENCHED. It was fun though and the kids thought it was hilarious. Of course I brought all of them changes of clothes, and forgot a change for myself. We also took Carter on the train ride there which he has never gone on. Thinking back with all our trips to Disney, I'm not sure if he ever went on that train either. He had so much fun and thought it was so cool! All in all, it was a great day filled with family, food and fun..what more could you ask for!

Dress Like a Cow?

2008-07-11T20:54:00.009-04:00

We had a great day today! Ali and I went to Chick-fil-a today for lunch with the kids. It was Dress Like a Cow day which was quite interesting. However, we all got free lunch and the kids got to play in air conditioning for about 3 hours. The kids had so much fun, and Ali and I had a nice time talking. Kyla and Emma loved chasing the big cow character around- I'm sure he was quite happy to see us leave. Chick-fil-a is one of my favorite places to go with the kids because I feel like I can actually relax and not have to be in a constant kid chasing mode.
Anyway, afterwards, we came home, the little boys napped, while the rest of us hung out. Tonight, we went and celebrated my brothers birthday at Arizona Pizza. It was really good! We had so much fun and so did the kids.
Tomorrow I'm off with the older 4 to Busch Gardens for the day (my mom is coming with though to help. :)). It should be a great time! I'll leave you with pictures from our day today (Ali, feel free to take any you want :)).

Helping AJ blow out the candles!

Kirt, myself and the little two :)

Sister, brother, myself and Ky

Kyla, Emma and Carter (with their cow friend)

Carter-the swinging cow..and Madeline watching in the background.

Madeline, Emma, Carter and Kyla chowing down!

Pictures of my Walking Boy!

2008-07-11T20:50:00.004-04:00

Here he is in all his glory. :)

Yay!! He loves to clap!

My happy boy!! I love him SO much!

Baby Steps.

2008-07-10T17:06:00.002-04:00

Jonah officially took his first two little baby steps today. Sean, Kyla, Carter and I were cheering him on to walk to me and he FINALLY did it! Kyla walked the day she turned 8 months and hasn't slowed down since. Carter walked right after he turned 9 months. I'm thinking Jonah will be a 10 month walker. I'm excited for HIM, but for myself, I was selfishly hoping he didn't walk until after one. :)

John 9:3

2008-07-09T23:17:00.000-04:00

I just love these words Jesus spoke and find them comforting to stand on whenever need be.
John 9:3- "...but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life."
There are so many cases with myself, family and friends where you wonder "Why, God?" and then later God reveals his answer. I LOVE testimonies like these. I LOVE hearing "God stories". I LOVE his work. My prayer is that we never negatively question Him "Why" in His ways. Rather, hand Him all your trust, faith and praise in each given situation. God has a plan, a perfect plan. Just remember when things aren't going the way WE think they should, HE is at work and His marvelous plan will be revealed in perfect timing.

If I only knew...

2008-07-09T23:06:00.000-04:00

A cheap, no name cd player- $30.00
A Baby Einstein Lullaby CD- $8.00
A baby who has slept through the night 3 times- PRICELESS!!!

So, if I only knew this would solve our sleeping problems with Jonah, I may have been a little more sane the past few months, or should I say year (where has the time gone!?! I HAVE been awake for most of it!). Seriously, the boy just doesn't need sleep. He's completely fine with two 15 minute naps a day (however, I am NOT.). Ever since I bought this darn CD player at Target two weeks ago, we have had major success. Jonah has slept through the night 3 times and the nights he doesn't, he only wakes ONCE.
Don't really know if it was the CD player or the fact that he realized he is almost one and therefore, he REALLY doesn't need to get up 5 times during the night any longer. I also decided I probably should have been praying about this for the past 9 months. So I did. I am a much happier mother these days and am sooo thankful for great nights sleep again. :)

I just have to share...

2008-07-09T16:57:00.001-04:00

...the way I found my boys sleeping during their nap today. It was so precious!

(Carter climbed into Jonah's crib and fell asleep next to him.)

Our Trip to Home Depot

2008-07-09T16:45:00.002-04:00

Our Gang...minus the littlest!

Here are some pictures from our Home Depot trip this past Saturday. The first Saturday of each month they offer a kids project, which the kids love. Carter probably loved it the most though because for the first time in his life he was actually allowed to use a hammer. Most of the time him using a hammer involves a chase and continuous yelling of "No!". He was in heaven and is always trying to be like his daddy! :) Anyway, the kids made super cute birdhouses. We had a great time and can't wait until next month!

Another summer day gone by...

2008-07-08T23:42:00.001-04:00

Boy, summer is FLYING!!! I cannot believe a mere 5 weeks until school starts! Anyway, we had a great day today. I took the kids to the library for storytime. We met up with Vicky and her girls, like we have practically every week this summer. After picking out a few books and some movies, we decided to make our usual after library trip out to lunch. I'm actually surprised we've done this every week (lunch, that is), because the thought of 2 adults with 7 kids is quite frightening. I love meeting up with Vicky. Not only is her daughter, Ellie, Kyla's best friend, but I just enjoy spending time with Vicky as well, so it's a win-win situation. :) It's hard on Kyla to be surrounded with 4 boys at all times, so a great girlfriend she can play Barbies, Princesses and house with is so important and fun for her. Some of my best memories as a little girl are playing house with my sister on our lanai. It was great fun, and more than anything I want Kyla to have that little someone to be able to pretend with. I think it's so important. Anyway, after lunch, we came home, little boys napped. Kirt got home early today so I ran around making numerous returns to various stores that had just piled up in my car. I am so relieved that is done. As for the rest of this week, we are plan free but are sure to keep the kids busy for my own sanity. My mom is coming over Thursday to watch all the boys while Kyla and I go get our hair cut. I'm excited for a little mommy-Kyla time! Our biggest news of the week is our day trip to Busch Gardens on Saturday. The kids (as am I) are very much looking forward to going there this weekend, as they had an absolute blast last time!

John 6:27

2008-07-07T23:57:00.000-04:00

I come here to post tonight what God has been laying on my heart recently. Until tonight, I haven't truly embraced it. However, when I was reading His Word tonight, the knock on my heart was finally loud enough. I have been letting my laziness of summer come into my relationship with the Lord in the past few weeks, and have truly struggled to stay atop of my reading. Finally, I decided I would sit down and start reading John again, as basically a fresh start after my hiatus. For the past few days, I have really realized that, as bad or as weird as it sounds, I am a bad shopper. I buy everything I want and don't need and truly struggle with this. I don't mean I put ourselves in debt, because we are not. I just spend, spend, spend without any true need. I have no problem buying my 85th pair of shoes, or that shirt that may actually just sit in the closet. Basically, although I do have self control, I have a spending problem. God had been totally laying it on me that I need to stop and start exhurting the self control I do have. There are SO many people on this earth, SO many people God created that have TRUE need and here I am buying another pair of shoes. Talk about rediculous. However, I tried to ignore and block out what God was telling me. Tonight, when I opened up to John 6:27, I realized God has probably had enough of this and he is going to lay it out right here in front of me. John 6:27 reads "Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you." Now, I'm not talking about food here when reading this. I'm referring to all of the non-necessities of life that I buy on almost a regular basis. So many clothes sit in my closet with tags, I have so many pairs of unworn shoes and my kids have so many outfits that are only worn once. My husband is working so hard and here I am buying all these things which spoil and without any true benefit. We rather need to put our money in places where benefits can be reaped. As I sit here in my lovely home, that has everything and more than I could ever need, I just think of all the poor starving children, children who have lost parents, people without clean water. Those people are in need. Heck, there are many people I'm sure within a 20 mile radius of me that are in desperate need. So, I am making a vow to stop spending frivolously. Until our vacation on July 26, I will not purchase anything I do not need. Although it's a short amount of time (19 days), it's a small start. I pray God uses me to fulfill his desires of my purpose here on Earth as I fully surrender to His will and purpose. All the glory is His, and I give Him all of my praise. Heavenly Father, free me from the trap that is set for me, for you are my rock of refuge.

Weekend

2008-07-07T15:37:00.000-04:00

We had a great weekend. I love when my husband has 3 day weekends. We did a lot of shopping, a lot of hanging out, and a lot of spending time with our kids. Some highlights would have to be taking the kids to Home Depot for the monthly building project. This weekend they made super cute birdhouses. I am excited to see them hanging thoughout our yard. We also watched the LONGEST Wimbledon EVER. In fact, it was so long our TIVO didn't even record it all after 6 hours of record time! It was the most fantastic match though and my husband and I truly enjoyed watching it. We also did the typical Fourth of July fireworks. It was a little sad knowing that exactly one year ago we had arrived for our summer vacation in Iowa. Last year we were surrounded with soooo much family, and this year, all of our family in town actually left. It was weird not having any family in town.
Speaking of Iowa, we thought we would not be taking a trip there this summer. However, thanks to Spirit's wonderful deals, we got $11 flights. Needless to say, now we are going. :) The kids are ecstatic and I am super excited as well. We leave July 26 and come back on the 31. Two weeks later, school is back and session and summer will come to a close. I've actually enjoyed summer thus far, not having anything to do or places to be. It's been so relaxing and fun, even with 5 kids all by myself all day. I do look forward to the school year thought. I'm a little sad about Kyla going to school for such long days though this year. Well, my husband is home and my babies are awake, so I'm off to get some dinner started...

Baby Fever!

2008-07-05T22:56:00.001-04:00

Man, there are so many days where I feel like I can be done having babies (because truly I would probably just keep having them..). Although I don't know if complete would be a great word, but satisfied and grateful for the children I do have. However, the second I look back at my little kids baby pictures, this feeling of satisfaction disappears and instant baby fever sets in. It makes me sad to know that I can never get those days back when my kids were teeny tiny and depended on my every ounce for their being. I carried them for 9 months, nursed them for another year and spend each and every day playing, laughing, crying, punishing and most importantly loving on these little guys. I'll leave with the oh so tempting pictures that may just coax me enough to take advantage of another blessing for the big man Himself!

My Boy is Growing Up...

2008-07-04T09:20:00.000-04:00

My big boy that is..Sean met three girls at our little Third of July celebration and this morning when he walks out of his room, hes wearing jeans, shirt and a backwards hat. Coincidence? I think not. He's 11 now, going into middle school next year, and I have totally seen him shift from the not caring cootie stage of girls to the hmm, I think I'm starting to like one (or three) of these I've always said whoever gets Sean is one lucky chick because he is seriously going to make the BEST husband. He's a lot like his daddy, and I'm definitely one lucky wife. :)

Happy Birthday America!

2008-07-04T09:08:00.000-04:00

What a special day today is when you truly think about it! Last night we went and "celebrated" the fourth somewhat by watching the fireworks that were displayed at Miromar. We usually see them every year, however, this year we went to our church parking lot with a group of friends. We had a great time and so did the kids!!
We are beyond blessed and grateful to have such wonderful friends in our life. Life is so much sweeter when surrounded with good people. I can only pray that all of my kids are surrounded with as great of people while they are growing up. I wish for them all to be God loving leaders in life, and I pray they never stray from this path due to influence from others. May God always be the biggest influence in their lives. Therefore, I also pray that we, as parents, continue to be influenced and led by God daily so we can lead our children through example.
Happy Birthday America!! What a glorious place our God has made for us!!

The Cutest Thing

2008-07-03T13:00:00.000-04:00

So, I'm sitting here watching The Wimbledon and my cute litttle Carter is watching and playing in his own little match. He jumps up and hits the ball constantly(as if he's playing in the match) saying "Mommy, watch!". This boy already loves watching ANY sports more than any cartoons or kids show. His favorites are tennis, football, golf, basketball and baseball. In fact, he knows the names of all the sports, too. So, if he sees one on TV (I LOVE watching them..) he'll say, "Mommy, golf!" or "Mommy, basketball". I know in my old blog I had a post about Carter and his golf obsession. The kid just loves loves loves sports, all sports, more than any kid I know. At such a young age he was playing baseball and golfing like it was nobodys business. I can't wait for him to turn 4 so I can start signing my little man up and he can REALLY play!! For now, I will enjoy his huge amount of cuteness and sweetness in his small little body. I love my boy sooo much!!

Good Weekend

2008-06-30T08:21:00.000-04:00

We had a pretty good weekend, although it went by a little too fast. Saturday we went to the pool with Vicky and the girls for a bit and had such a great time. I LOVE going to the pool. I feel like I get to relax, even with a pile of kids. Later I went shopping with Jonah for a bit, which was quite fun. Usually I take at least 2 kids with me somewhere (Jonah and Kyla most of the time), so it was nice to only have one while going through a few stores. Better yet, one who can't talk and walk. :) I got a few tops, which I am excited about. I've worked pretty hard over the past month or so (using Weight Watchers) to shed the last of the baby weight. I have dropped 12 pounds and thankfully I can tell my regular clothes no longer fit anymore. Great excuse to get out and get some new ones. :) Saturday night I went to a Auction Dinner to benefit Lawton, Alicia's coowner of their insurance agency. After a very violent attack on him, he is on the mend, which is great news. I went to the dinner with my dad and had a really nice time. I couldn't believe how crowded the place was and how many people same out to support Lawton. It was amazing and fantastic! I am so proud of my sister and the work they did to put this party on in such a short time! Very impressive. Sunday, we really didn't do a whole lot. My sister and I went to Calastoga for a tasty lunch and then did a little shopping at Target and Babies R Us. We finally got Kyla a new carseat so we can get Jonah out of his infant seat.

Speaking of Jonah, where has the time gone!? He is so close to being ONE already and I cannot believe it. I just remember sitting in the hospital like it was yesterday waiting to get into a room, talking about if we were going to have a boy or girl and what in the world were we going to name this baby.

Anyway, last night Sean and I worked on our painting project. We are painting a lot of the inside of our house. So far this year, we have done my bedroom, my bathroom (both areas), Kyla's room and are almost finished with the dining room, living room and hallway areas. If you ever get overwhelmed with the idea of painting, put your kids to work! My kids LOVE it!! They are so excited when I ask them if they want to roll out some paint, especially when they get to stay up much past their bedtime. It's a totally win-win situation! Anyway, one more night of work and the project should be finished, for now. However, because Bachelorette is on tonight, I will have to wait to finish until tomorrow. As for today, I see about 10 load of laundry in my future...

Here we go again...

2008-06-29T11:14:00.000-04:00

Well, after being quite devestated that my previous blog got deleted I have decided to start over. I love to read other people's blogs, sometimes people I don't even know, so I figured it would only be fair if I kept one (and actually wrote in it regularly..) as well. Memories like these are just something I never want to forget...

So, here we begin. I'll start with a quick "label" of each kid. It will be fun to look back in a year or so and see the differences and similarities. Sean, our oldest, definitely displays the oldest child charactersitics. Not only is he our biggest helper, but he is like the second dad in our home. Being I am the oldest in my family, I totally can relate to the natural role the oldest child typically has. I always tried my best to be perfect, make the right decisions and play the mother role to my sister and brother (and still do, which drives them nuts :)). Sean loves sports, loves playing with friends, playing outside and video games. He is a good little gentlemen and whoever marries him will be one lucky girl. :) Kevin is one of the most challenging. Probably because we are both pretty stubborn, so we bash heads much more than my liking. He is extremely smart, exceptionally creative and a huge science nut. He loves to experiment, build, create, and steal anything and everything of mine in order to do so (thi is where the bashing of heads comes in..). He has a bright, bright future. Kyla is my little princess. I will never forget the day I found out I was having a little girl. Ecstatic, disbelief, happiness, and about a thousand other emotions were running through my body. I wanted so badly and just remember praying throughout the entire beginning of my pregnancy that God would bless me with a little girl I so desparetely desired. I have never wanted anything so badly in my life. Kyla is really quite girly considering she has 4 brothers. She loves princesses, dancing, dolls and barbies. However, she definitely can hold her own in a spat between her and the boys (more than likely because my older boys know better than to fight with her :)). She loves coloring, playing, movies, swimming, friends, gymnastics, reading and jumping on our trampoline. She is very active and so much fun. I love, love, love having a little girl. Carter, Carter, Carter. He is my sweet little man. He is spunky with so much personality but he can be the sweetest, most caring little boy as well. One word to sum him up would be, without a doubt, FUN. Kirt and I just smile at each other all the time out of amazement for our little boy. We are so proud to be his parents. We love this boy sooo much. Then there is Jonah. He is a little surprise sent by God that am beyond thankful and grateful for!! He is the biggest momma's boy out of them all (since I AM his food source, this may have something to do with it..). He is playful and active and is still trying to figure out what the word sleep is. As I finish this now, he has just woken up from his first 15 minute nap (I seriously think my husband sleeps more than him!).

The Glassford Gang

Switching Over

I Need to Remember These Things

Kyla's Answers.

Everybody's Doing It.

My Little Genius

My Little Chatterbug

Four Years.

These are a few of my favorite things...

Six Years Ago Today..

I just have to share...

Exciting Weekend

The Terrible Horrible No Good Very Bad Day

My Carter Funny of the Day

If you walk away for a second...

b nmvvvnnnnnnnn bv:*}*HB

Here it is.

BEST Birthday EVER.

Fireproof

It's been WAY too long...

Convictions

Heartstrings and Other Business Ramblings

GOOAAAALLLLLLLLL!!!!

Happy First Birthday Jonah!!

Kevin's Prayer

My Little Carter..

New Beginnings

Kyla is Five!

Happy Birthday Kyla!

Jonah's First Ice Cream Cone!

Traditions

Rainy Day Fun

Random Ramblings

Time of My Life..

6th Grade Changes Everything

Blue Paisleys News!

AMAZING Weekend

It's Been a LONG 11 Months...

Our First Day of School

Kyla lost a TOOTH!

The Beach House

My Walking and Climbing Boy!

08/08/08

These are a few of my favorite things...

The Vacation Pics!

Kyla and her Bike

Back to reality...

Vacation

Best Deal Ever?

Hmmm....

And we're off....

Life Updates

Excited to Announce..

Naming Rights

Painting Projects...

Busch Gardens

Dress Like a Cow?

Pictures of my Walking Boy!

Baby Steps.

John 9:3

If I only knew...

I just have to share...

Our Trip to Home Depot

Another summer day gone by...

John 6:27

Weekend

Baby Fever!

My Boy is Growing Up...

Happy Birthday America!

The Cutest Thing

Good Weekend

Here we go again...

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