Crazy Harris Family

2010-05-20T15:31:00.000-07:00

My Sweet little Tucker, how are you already turning 6 weeks old today?! You are such a good baby and we have enjoyed every second of your little life so far! I want to "note" some things about you so I can remember this short but sweet newborn stage!

At 6 weeks:

*You are such a laid-back baby. You go with the flow and are always very relaxed!

*You smile so easily! You love when we talk to you and usually have a big grin across your face as soon as we start! Taelyn ALWAYS gets you to smile! (you "officially" smiled for the first time at 4 1/2 weeks)

*You love to take everything in. You have got bright curious eyes and love to watch all the chaos going on around you!

*You are soooooooo adorable. Between Dave, me, and the kids, I am sure it gets said AT LEAST 100 times a day.

*Noise does not seem to bother you. You seem to actually sleep better with the door open so that you can hear the kids' chatter.

*You are so responsive to my voice. Actually to everyone who comes up and talks to you, but MINE seems to be your favorite! ;)

*You always have your hands up by your face and have ever since you came into this wide world! Both fists... right up under your chin.

*You have monkey toes. They are so cute! The nurses in the NICU used to say that you could climb trees with those toes!

*You LOVE your swaddler blanket!

*You have a love/hate relationship with the binky. If you are really tired, you will take it. Otherwise, you want NOTHING to do with it.

*We just broke out the infant swing, so far you seem to like it!

*You still sleep quite a bit. Usually you will be awake for a couple hours, 2 or 3 times a day.

*You like to have your butt patted hard when we rock you to sleep. (I know I shouldn't rock you, and I say every time that I am pregnant that I am NOT going to rock my baby, but I do. It's so hard to resist)

*You have always slept good at night. Generally you eat around 9:30 p.m. and then wake up and eat again around 3. You eat and poop a few times and then go right back to sleep until 7:00 a.m. Neither Daddy or I feel sleep deprived yet! =)

*Most of your meals consists of breast milk from a bottle. You favor the bottle over breast, which is fine. I pump around the clock and we make it work! The times that you have had to have formula, you are NOT impressed and tend to eat only half as much.

*You drink about 5 ounces every 3-4 hours. Sometimes you take as much as 6 1/2 ounces.

*You generally don't spit up. You've probably only spit up about a handful of times.

*Daddy and I enjoy watching our King Of Queen dvds every night when we are feeding/pumping.

*You poop A LOT and you poop LOUD! Usually it's as soon as we put a clean diaper on.

*You weighed 12lbs 13oz and measured 23 1/2 inches long at your appointment today.

*You've grown out of some of your 0-3 months clothes. I've just started pulling out and washing your 3-6 months clothes.

*You are loved by EVERY member of this family and we love to spoil you every day, all day. Thank you so much for being such a sweet little you!

Here are just a few of my favorite snapshots from the past couple weeks....

Welcome Tucker!

2010-04-22T05:40:00.000-07:00

Tucker Lee was born on Thursday, April 8th at 6:44 p.m. He weighed 8 lbs 13 oz and measured 20 1/2 inches long. He's got reddish hair and looks like an absolute angel! He definitely resembles his big brothers and sisters and there's no doubt that he fits in just perfect with the rest of our family! My heart is bursting with love for this little guy!

After a rough start, they admitted him to the NICU when he was just 4 hours old. He had severe breathing issues and a pnuemothorax (collapsed lung). He had a LONG 10 day stay in the NICU and made a full recovery! These issues are not something that we should ever have to worry about again! They simply had to do with his transition into the world and now he is a very healthy boy! Praise the Lord!

After MANY people praying for him, we were able to bring him home on Sunday, April 18th! What a WONDERFUL day!

Sunday was also the first day that his brothers and sisters were able to meet him since there are very strict visitor policies at the NICU. They ALL fell in love with him instantly! This is our first night that we were ALL together.

Tucker is 2 weeks old today! He is such a sweet baby and he is about as perfect as they come! He is a great eater and has already gained 10 ounces, weighing in today at 9lbs 7ozs! He smiles ALL the time. I know they are not "on purpose", but the boy constantly has a big grin on his face! He loves to be talked to and is very alert and curious. He usually has 2 times during the day where he will stay awake for about 2 1/2 hours. The kids all love to hold him and sing or read to him. He is a very lucky and loved little brother!

The Final Countdown.....

2010-04-06T20:24:00.000-07:00

I had my last check-up today with my doctor. He said everything is looking really good for being induced on Thursday! The baby has dropped considerably since I met with him last week. I am also dilated to 3 now! YAY!

This pregnancy has been awesome! Not that I haven't said it already on my blog! But at almost 38 weeks, I still feel amazing! Granted, it's not extremely easy to bend over or walk up the stairs... especially since the baby dropped last week! But I am so thankful that:

*I have been able to eat whatever I want...and MOST of the time, whenever I want it!

*I sleep comfortably at night. I wake up every couple hours to go to the bathroom, but I go right back to sleep!

*I have been able to keep up my energy throughout my pregnancy! I take my power nap in the afternoon and I'm good to go for the rest of the day!

*I don't have any aches or pains! I generally have absolutely no back pain! On a few occasions, if I have been up on my feet and runnin' around ALL day, my back will be a little sore at bedtime.

*I don't have any swelling.

*Besides one (pretty painful) UTI, this pregnancy has went perfectly smooth.

I LOVE THAT:

*Dave tells me everyday, all day, that he thinks I am adorable when I am pregnant. He rubs my belly every night. He is already head over heals in love with this baby... as am I! (I thank God for that man every day!) =)

*The kids love to get updates on the baby.... "What's he doin?", "Is he sleepin'?", "Does he have the hiccups?", etc. The girls and my littlest guys love to sit by me and rub on my belly. Even Ashton, being the oldest, has an awesome attitude about being a BIG brother for the 6th time! You would think this would get boring to him, but it doesn't! Bryson, my 5 year old, will say he's got a big hug for the baby and he will hug my belly! They are all so excited and talk about what/who he will look like, etc....

*Dave spoils me rotten! I am the type that usually will "over-do" myself. When he is home, he takes total charge and TRIES to get me to sit and relax as much as possible. Bless his heart... it usually doesn't work, because I am stubborn and like things done "my way"... but in the last couple weeks, it has worked quite a bit more than usual, and I am thankful he is such a sweetheart! He even gives me spontaneous foot rubs every couple nights! I likey!!! =)

*The baby is SOO wiggly! He is constantly moving still.... I have no idea HOW he has the room to move, but he is an active little thing! He pushes off of both hips and my ribs at the same time. He still has the hiccups SEVERAL times a day! And as I said, since he dropped, he is LOW, LOW, LOW... =) He already has his own little personality!

I have to admit, I am so sad to be at the end of this pregnancy. I enjoy being pregnant and feel blessed that God has allowed me to carry these 7 amazing little miracles! I enjoy every minute of the 9+ pregnancy months that I have gotten with each of my children! I know it sounds strange to a lot of women, but it brings tears to my eyes to think of NOT having my BIG baby belly with me everywhere I go and to NOT be able to feel his movements inside of me. So many times, I just sit with both of my hands on my belly and feel him. It brings a smile to my face. BUT the thought of meeting this baby face to face instantly makes me excited and giddy! He is so special to us and so loved (by so many) already! The thought of holding him in my arms and looking at his precious face does make it a little easier to "give up" the baby belly!

Big Mama... 37 1/2 weeks
(Dave said, and I quote, "You DO know that your belly is actually way more massive than it actually looks in that picture, right!?!?" HA!)

Bird's eye view

Anyways, our plan is to get things off and runnin' first thing Thursday morning. Pitocin started and my water broken right away! My longest labor (with pitocin) was 5 hours and my shortest was 2 hours. We are praying that this delivery will be as smooth and uncomplicated as my others were!

Please pray with us for a good labor and delivery and most of all, a healthy baby! =)

29 and Feelin' Fine!!!

2010-02-08T13:20:00.000-08:00

We had our 29 week checkup with an ultrasound today! We got to see our "little" guy and he was just totally adorable! Here's some details...

*There is only ONE lil guy in there! No other babies were hiding!

*He is one BIG (healthy) boy! BIG as in....He is weighing in at over 5 pounds already and is in the 99th percentile. (FYI-the average weight for 29 weeks is 2 1/2 pounds!) And BOY as in.... we saw "boy parts" again... 2 words for this fella... NOT. SHY.

*He is head down... YAY! He had his hands and feet by his face!?! (kinda as if you were changing his diaper and then some) Did NOT look comfortable at all!

*He has the CUTEST chubby cheeks that I already want to just kiss right off of his face!

*I will start seeing my doctor every 2 weeks now!

*In order to deliver him naturally, like I have all my other children, I will probably be induced at least 4 weeks early (by the end of March) if he has not come by then! =)

*My 3 little guys LOVED seeing him in the ultrasound! They were so excited! At one point, the screen went dark and Nevin totally panicked, saying "Oh no!! Where'd he go!??!"

On a side note, here's some other random facts (for my records mostly)....

*I'm still feeling awesome! Even though I do feel pretty "stuffed with baby" at this point, it hasn't slowed me down much. I do tend to ask the kids (more often) to pick stuff up for me off the floor... so I can avoid bending over!

*For the first time ever, I got acid reflux the other night. Come to find out, I can't eat sweets after 9:00 pm or this acid reflux rears it's ugly head at about 3 a.m.! YUK! So I avoid the late-night sweets now and it's all good! It's probably best anyways! ;)

*Even though I look like I've swallowed a watermelon, I've only gained 13 lbs so far. YAY!

*He still wiggles around... 24/7! They are different "bigger" movements now, but it is CONSTANT!

*He still gets the hiccups quite often. One day I counted 11 times! The kids love to feel the hiccups and my little guys think it's hilarious for some reason!

*ALL of the kids get more and more excited every day!

*Dave is still crazy about my belly! He is always rubbing it and trying to get him to kick...which usually doesn't take much! The other day when I walked into the bedroom, Dave started laughing hysterically. I asked him what in the world he was laughing at. He said, "Your belly enters the room way before you do!"

*We plan on doing some MAJOR baby preparation over these next couple weeks! Up until today, I was thinking I still had 2 1/2 months left to plan and organize! Now that we are down to 4 to 6 weeks, my OCD personality is gonna kick in and I WILL have everything ready ASAP! We need to buy quite a bit because a lot of our boy "hand-me-downs" had been handed down too many times, so I got rid of a lot. PLUS when we moved, we stored stuff in our unfinished, leaky basement and a lot of it got moldy! =( But it's ok....buying baby stuff is the fun part! I'm sure I will have a ton of help from my girls when it comes to shopping!

*I am already "whining" about NOT being pregnant already! I'm so NOT ready for this pregnancy to be over.... I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE being pregnant. Not that you didn't know that already!

*That being said... I also have this overwhelming feeling to snuggle, smell, and kiss this new sweet babe! I totally adore seeing my husband hold and care for our kids... especially our newborns! (ahhh... it makes my heart skip a beat!) I also enjoy seeing our older kids fall in love with their new sibling! Needless to say, this appointment got us even MORE hyped and ready to meet this little sweet face.....

(That's his right arm crossed over with his hand under his left cheek! It was so angelic looking! I wish the pic would have scanned up better, but you get the point)

And for the record... here's a pic of the big-belly Mama...

Thanks so much for all of your prayers and support! We appreciate it! =)

27 Week Check-Up

2010-01-21T15:02:00.000-08:00

I had my 27 week prenatal visit this week! This pregnancy is flying by! I did my glucose screening and I flunked it by 4 points! I had to go back and retake it by doing the 3-hour test at the lab. I have never had to retake it before, and after doing it, I am very thankful I haven't had to up until now! =) In the end, the results came back perfectly normal. Praise the Lord!

I have gotten BIG... FAST! I have only gained about 12 pounds so far and that has been in the last 2 months. When the doctor did my uterine measurement (which should've measured 27 because it corresponds with the number of weeks that you are pregnant), it actually measured 35!!! YIKES! That means the baby is measuring 2 months ahead! He said even a "bigger" baby would normally measure around 29. We are, by the way, absolutely sure about our due-date, so this really puzzled the doctor! Now I am scheduled for a sonogram in 2 weeks. They are going to check and see just how big he actually is and also make sure there is NOT a second little one hiding in there. The doctor said that he thinks there is only a slim chance that would be the case, but that it IS possible! I, personally, just feel like he's very big, but I will admit that this pregnancy has been almost identical to my twin pregnancies. I would be thrilled to find a second babe hiding in there, but I REALLY want to know that our "little" guy is healthy! That sonogram can NOT come soon enough!

It was so sweet to hear his little heartbeat again. It almost always runs about 147. He is STILL constantly movin' and shakin' around! He gets the hiccups at least 3 or 4 times a day still too.

As for me, I feel awesome! I sleep good, eat good, and have plenty of energy as long as I can sneak in a 15 minute nap on most days! I absolutely LOVE being pregnant and I'm sad that this one is already coming to an end. I definitely feel that God has blessed us so much!

The kids are also getting into the pregnancy more and more! My girls will sit around and feel him kick all day long! Ashton, Bryson, and Nolan always come up with their fair share of questions/comments about the baby too... mostly about what he'll look like and how fun it will be when he is out here with us! Nevin is totally into it and always tells me that he loves my big belly and asks if he can "pet" the baby. He is still insisting that he has a baby in his tummy too. His baby's name is Toby, he says. He is so funny!

I will be sure to update when we get some more answers! Keep us/him in your prayers please! We appreciate all of the support that we get from our family and friends! Thank God for all of you!

Here's a 27 week belly shot...

I couldn't resist posting this one.
"The View From The Top".....

Happy 9th Birthday!

2010-01-11T06:56:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, my baby girls turned 9 years old! Every time my children have a birthday, I am absolutely amazed at how time flies by! The girls have grown up so fast and I am so proud of the little ladies that they have become!

They are truly best friends and share such a unique bond! They are constantly playing together here at home, but at school, they have different best friends and are quite the social butterflies!

Right now, they spend most of their time reading, playing American Girl dolls, doing crafty projects, and playing with their little brothers! They are so great with the boys! They have such big hearts and love to teach the boys new things, usually while they are playing preschool with them! Both of the girls are SO excited about having a new baby brother! They are almost ALWAYS willing to help out (with a good attitude!) and have become a big help to me!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TAELYN AND MARIYA! WE LOVE YOU!!!

22 Week Update

2009-12-16T07:08:00.000-08:00

I am 22 weeks pregnant today! Oh my... the time is flying by! I feel fantastic! I always thank God for ANOTHER wonderful pregnancy so far! He supplies extra energy and a positive attitude for me everyday! As with my other pregnancies, I have honestly enjoyed every minute of this pregnancy! I wanted to write out a few things... mostly for my records since I am terrible about writing in my journal anymore!

It seemed like it took a little longer this time before I felt the baby move. In previous pregnancies, I felt the baby move around 15 to 16 weeks. This time, I was almost 18 weeks before I felt that ol' familiar flutter! I have just started feeling the baby kick "on the outside" now. So far, he is shying away from his Daddy and his siblings. They have yet to feel that kick! (Dave tries to feel him every night and usually he will kick as soon as Dave takes his hand off! He's a shy one, I guess!) I just can't get over how busy this little guy seems! He kicks all day long on most days. He also gets the hiccups several times a day.

We have tried to brainstorm and come up with his name, but have still not settled on one yet. We usually have our name picked out by this time, so we are getting a bit anxious! It seems like with the Holiday busyness going on in our home right now, it may not be settled on anytime in the next two weeks. In the meantime, we are keeping our ears and eyes open for that perfect name!

My belly is expanding in leaps and bounds and I love it! I enjoy being able to look down and witness God's new miracle for our family at any time of the day! I also love that Dave LOVES my belly! He can't seem to keep his hands off of it! He is constantly rubbing my belly and talking to our little boy! He tells me constantly how beautiful I am. No wonder we are on our 7th child, I am spoiled rotten!

Most strangers tend to think that I am due "about any day now", so when I tell them that I am due in April, they are usually pretty surprised! I have yet to gain weight at my doctor's appointments! (I'm sure that cutting off my coffee and night-time eating had something to do with that!) I do have an appointment coming up this next week, and I am sure I have had to gained some this month! Which is just fine with me.... carrying this big boy has to catch up with me sometime!

Here's a 22 week belly shot for the record!

I hope you are all enjoying the Holiday season!

18 Week Sonogram Info

2009-11-24T19:38:00.000-08:00

We had our 18 week sonogram last Friday and of course, it was full of all kinds of excitement. Dave and I actually let our 3 older kids skip school because it's a tradition that we all go into the sonogram room together. They knew that we would be finding out the sex of the baby, so they were totally pumped! We were fortunate enough to be able to have my Mom and Dad go into the sono room with us as well! My mom has been there with us for every single one of our kid's "revealing".... so it was important to me that she was there! My Dad was totally new at this! It was the first time that he has ever seen a sonogram! Needless to say, he was quite impressed with medical technology!

Our most exciting news was that we found out we are having a BOY!!!!! (I really felt deep down that the baby was a boy from the beginning, but I have definitely been wrong before, so it was really a surprise to me as well!) Obviously, we are THRILLED! We would have loved either boy or girl, but this Mama certainly has a soft spot right now for boys! We seem to be surrounded by little boys in this house, which is just fine with us! One of my best friends just had a sweet baby boy in July and my sister-in-law, Jackie, had a gorgeous baby boy on Nov. 5! And with this little boy coming in April, it will make 4 of our little boys 5 years old and under! How fun is that!?!?!??!!?

Ashton, my oldest son, and the girls, Taelyn and Mariya, were thinking that a girl would be nice. But they have been so awesome and accepting of this little guy! The girls said "Oh well, maybe next time!" They have already moved on to "helping" us come up with names! (Which is going to definitely be a challenge... but one that we are up for!!!!) They are counting down until April! We are all dying to meet him and see who he resembles!

We are so thankful and praise God that the baby looks totally healthy! Everything checked out perfect! The sonogram lady kept saying... "Oh my... look at the size of his feet!" I told her.... "That's a requirement in the Harris family!" He showed off for us like crazy! Moving around, kicking, squirming, putting his arms up over his head, hiccup-ing, and opening and closing his mouth the whole time! It was adorable and the kids TOTALLY picked up on all his little moves! It was just so fun! He weighed about 11 oz, which is a little big at this point, but my babies generally measure that way!

I didn't get a lot of "good" sonogram pictures, but I had to post a couple! We saw so many good views of his face, but we just couldn't get him to stay still long enough for a picture! (I am sure some things will never change!)

She gave me about 7 pictures of his legs and feet!!! Isn't amazing how you can count his little toes in this one? His other leg is behind... kinda like he was jogging?? =)

This is from about his waist down. Look at those long skinny legs! Just like the rest of us!

My personal fave... his sweet little profile picture....

I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving! =)

ALMOST Wordless Wednesday!

2009-10-21T08:17:00.000-07:00

My sweet little boys turned three last weekend! We've had the flu and bronchitis at our house, so their birthday post has been delayed! It'll be coming soon!

Wordless Wednesday: 13 Weeks Pregnant!

2009-10-13T14:44:00.000-07:00

Soccer Season 2009

2009-10-09T11:17:00.000-07:00

This soccer season has been so much fun! We have both Ashton and Bryson playing this year.

Ashton has been playing for 6 years and this is the first year that he has played in a new town. He has played defense for the last 5 years, but this year he has played a lot of offense. It has been so fun watching him learn and improve his soccer skills. Personality wise, he is not a real aggressive person, but in the soccer game, he has really surprised us with his determination. He is so fast too! His games are so fun to watch and keep ya on the edge of your seat!

This is his team picture... Ashton is 2nd from the right on the top row, with the blue soccer ball.

This is Bryson's first year! He has wanted to play since he could walk! He sure does have the energy that soccer requires! He seems to be a natural! His main asset is his speed (just like Ashton)! He loves to get the ball and run down to the other end of the field and score! He has scored 6 or 7 goals so far this year! Dave and I coach his team and we have really enjoyed working with this group of kids! They are all first-year players and all but one little boy, is just 4 years old! They have improved 100% since our first practice! His team is a lot of fun to watch as well, but more for entertainment purposes! There are definitely times we score for the other team! One time, one of our players took to ball to a whole different soccer field and scored a goal! Of course, we all cheered him on! =)

This is Bryson's team picture... Bryson is the redhead in the middle and of course, the good-looking coach in the back is my hubby! =)

Aren't they just so cute!!?!?

"Not Me" Monday!

2009-10-05T07:28:00.000-07:00

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. What a perfect way to get some things off our chest and admit some things we "didn't" do this week!

I did NOT resort to PINK Barney "big boy pants" for Nolan when I skipped my laundry day last week. I mean, he is ALL boy and I would never even ASK him to put on girl underwear. He definitely did NOT reply with a huge grin and enjoy wearing them for the rest of the day, even AFTER our "boy" underwear were clean and available.

I did NOT just put up my Fall decorations LAST NIGHT! I put my decorations up EVERY year during the 2nd or 3rd week of September because I absolutely LOVE Fall. 5 out of 8 members of our family have birthdays in the Fall... so we OWN it! That's just how WE roll! I am always right on the ball with Fall!

My husband and I do NOT absolutely love chatting it up with my OB-GYN doctor at my monthly appointments. That would be silly, right? They are just regular routine appointments and his upbeat, positive, fun attitude does NOT just totally make our day! And I did NOT just get overly excited to add my OB-GYN doctor as my "friend" on Facebook. YES, I do think he is one of the coolest people that I know and I would totally entrust my life to him if I ever needed to, but a friend on FACEBOOK??? Wouldn't your Ob-GYN doctor be a bit odd to have as a friend???

I am NOT getting stressed out about the HUNDREDS of odd little jobs that need to be done around the house. Everything from hanging a piece of trim to scraping paint off the windows to adding more shelves in some of the closets. For crying out loud, we totally gutted the kitchen and started from scratch and I didn't stress out then, why would I stress out over LITTLE tiny jobs that SHOULD take a fraction of the time and energy???

After sitting in the car-rider line for 15 minutes, Bryson got an urgent look on his face and said "I've got to go pee NOW!". I slightly panicked because Bryson... whom we call "Firehouse Pete"... waits until the very last second to go to the bathroom and peeing on the tire was NOT an option at this point! Looking around the van, trying to figure out what to do, I was NOT thrilled to find an empty water bottle! I definitely did NOT let Bryson pee in said water bottle and then tightly put the cap on it! I did NOT forget to throw it away as soon as we got home (as I had planned to). The next morning, when the girls got in the van... one of them did NOT ask if it is was a water bottle with one of the lemonade mix-ins. Yuck. Gross. Would NOT do that.

Have a great Monday!

11 Week Check-Up

2009-10-02T19:39:00.000-07:00

I am a little over 11 weeks along in my pregnancy and we went for my check-up today! We went hoping that we would get to hear the baby's heartbeat and we did! We actually got more! Dr. Shepherd brought in the little portable sonogram machine and we got to take a peek in there at our little peanut! Notice... I said peanut, NOT peanuts! Yep, it looks like there is ONE baby in there! Although our doctor would not give us any guarantees, he is "pretty sure" that there is only one! We are thankful for what God has given us!

We got to see him/her wiggling around. We saw arms and legs kicking all about and being so cute! The baby's heartbeat was around 160. Generally my boys have been around 160 or 170 and my girls were almost always in the 130's. I am feeling like it is a boy and Dave is feeling like it is a girl. Bryson, my almost 5 year old, says that he thinks it's a boy and we should name him "Chinese Harris". Yikes... that might confuse the poor kid! My doctor (who is by the way, one of my favorite people in the world) says he has a feeling it's a girl too! Guess we will have to wait and find out in November! I will be taking a poll before the sonogram!

It was just such a blessing and complete miracle to see our baby! God is so good to us!

Thanks for your prayers! We will keep you updated!

9 weeks and counting....

2009-09-20T19:41:00.000-07:00

I am so grateful for awesome friends and family that are so supportive of our pregnancy! Everyone seems to be so happy for us and often check on me to see how I am feeling! And by the way... I am feeling GREAT! Other than having to give up my nighttime eating and my morning cup of coffee (since apparently it did NOT agree with this pregnancy), I have felt so good! Thank you God!

With all of my pregnancies, I seem to have a day where all of a sudden, my belly just pops out! With the last couple pregnancies, it has happened earlier and earlier. Well, this pregnancy is no different! I had a "pop-out day" on Friday for sure! I absolute love watching my belly grow, it is such an amazing miracle! So I decided to take some pics and keep track of my ever-growing Baby belly!

So here's my 9 Week Belly shot....

So the crazy thing is....I had another "pop-out day" today! I think I have doubled in size since these pics were taken! Yikes! Ha! Have to do a new post with pics soon....

Frequently Asked Questions.... TWIN TALK

2009-09-01T18:57:00.000-07:00

When we go out to Walmart or anywhere that is in the public eye, we usually get hounded with attention and questions. It usually starts out with "Are these ALL your kids?", then comments about all of the red hair, and then once they figure out we have two sets of twins, the questions really come POURING out! Quite honestly, I can't believe how rude some people are... saying things like "Did you use fertility drugs?" or "Glad it's you and not me!" right in front of my children. BUT most people are very nice and friendly, and usually will compliment us on how well-behaved or cute the children are. Most questions that people ask, I believe, is just out of curiosity and not to be rude. We generally don't mind answering the questions that most people have. Dave and I have joked around about typing up a FAQ Sheet that we can hand out when people start asking questions! We wouldn't really do that... but since many questions are arising now that we are expecting again, I figured I would type up a few questions that usually get asked....

Question 1. Are these really ALL "your" kids?
YES! They are! Neither of us have been married before, neither of us have children with anybody else!

Question #2. What are their ages?
At the present time, 10,8,8,4,2,2....

Question #3. "Do twins run in your family?"
This question can be the most confusing.

~Dave's side has no PREVIOUS twins that we can find when we searched back several generations.
~My side has ONE set of fraternal twins. They are actually my first cousins, that are my age, and I grew up very close with them! Very sweet boys!

THAT being said...Here are some basic twin facts....
~Identical twins are NOT genetic. Identical twins are made up of ONE egg and ONE sperm. Once fertilized the egg splits. There is technically no rhyme or reason for the egg splitting. It just "happens".

~Fraternal twins ARE genetic. It runs on the woman's side. Usually a woman only releases ONE egg per cycle, but a set of fraternal twins takes 2 eggs and 2 sperm.

Our first set of twins was our identical girls. We were told that since they were in separate sacs when in utero, that they could be identical or fraternal. When the placenta was tested at birth, it came back that they were 100% no doubt identical. Since they were identical, we were told that we had NO chance of ever having twins again. At least, not any more of a chance than anyone else... which is about a 3% chance.

Fast forward, about 5 years later, we found out when I was 17 weeks pregnant, that we were carrying another set of twins. These twin boys were "set up" the same way as the girls were, so once again we did not know if they would be identical or fraternal. When they were born and looked SO much alike, we really thought they were identical. When we sent the placenta away for testing, it came back "inconclusive". We COULD have done DNA testing, but we really didn't care if they were identical or fraternal... we love them like crazy no matter what their "label" was. Once they turned about a year old or so, they really started getting their "own look" and we unofficially deemed them fraternal. They don't have the same hair color, which makes it easy to know that they don't have the same exact DNA!

Question #3 1/2. "Do twins run in your family?" PART TWO.....

Twins did not PREVIOUSLY run in our family. (the fraternal set of twins that were on my side of the family, genetically would have ran on the female side. I am NOT blood related to my Aunt, she was married to my dad's brother, therefore, I would not have any of her genes passed down to me.)

BUT.... since we have had our twin girls 8 1/2 years ago, my husband's sister had a set of fraternal twins and my brother and his wife had a set of identical twin boys!!! It's crazy, I KNOW!!??!?

Question #4. "Did you use any type of fertility drugs?"
NO. We do just fine on our own!

Question #5. "What are the chances of you having twins again?"
The statistics go like this:
~Once you have ONE set of fraternal twins, you are 70% MORE likely to conceive twins again.
~Oddly enough though, the chances of having 3 sets of any type of twins is VERY rare... only 1 in 500,000.

Question #6. "Were your twins born healthy?"
YES! Praise God! I had wonderful pregnancies and deliveries! I was actually out playing in the snow the day before I had my girls! With my girls, I was induced 2 weeks early, mainly because of my doctor going out of town and because the girls were getting "too big" to wait too much longer. They were both born naturally, weighing 5lbs 9 oz, and 5 lbs 14oz.
I went into labor exactly 4 weeks early with my boys. My doctor decided to proceed with labor (instead of stopping labor) since their lungs seemed to be developed already and they were "big" as well. They were both born naturally, weighing 5 lbs 13 oz, and 6 lbs 11 oz. None of my twins had to go to NICU. I have been truly blessed to have wonderful pregnancies and deliveries with all of my children!

I have some doctor appointments this week. I don't know when we will have our first sonogram. Technically, it's not suppose to be until I am 17 weeks. I am going to try to pull some strings and see if I can get an early sonogram. I just want a healthy baby. Period. If God wants to give me two...I will praise him twofold! Please pray for smooth appointments! I love the peace that comes with seeing/hearing a little perfect heartbeat!

Wordless Wednesday: Praising and Praying...

2009-08-19T19:23:00.000-07:00

"Not Me" Monday!

2009-08-17T08:57:00.000-07:00

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.

I did NOT ask Dave if I could use his dremel on my feet. My heels are definitely NOT rough like sandpaper from being barefoot as much as humanly possible. I have dainty, girly feet that are soft as a baby's butt. (By the way, Dave did NOT deny me of his dremel... in fear that I would burn up the motor.)

When taking our trip to the Indianapolis Zoo this week, we decided to stay on a very tight budget and spend next to no money. It was pretty easy, considering we already have a membership to the Zoo and we packed our own lunch. So when it was dinner time, we definitely did NOT drive right past a McDonald's that had 25 cent chicken nuggets and head straight towards a steakhouse where we spent $60 on our dinner. Noooo.... it would have cost us a mere $10 to eat at the McDonalds, we definitely would NOT have passed up that opportunity!

My 2-year-old definitely did NOT have a 45 minute pout fest one day this week. He would NEVER throw a fit over not getting a third cup of chocolate milk before 9:00 a.m.. He is NOT my most stubborn one of the bunch. My kids are very well behaved. Perfect Angels. He would NEVER do such a thing! His face tells the story of his innocence....

My husband has NOT been showing my kids Weird Al Yankovic videos on YouTube. Those songs are totally ridiculous and we only let our kids watch educational videos. The kids have NOT loved the dumb songs and begged to see more! My 2 year-old has NOT asked me 3 times today if we can "Pleeeeease watch 'Eat It' bideo".

Brown County FAMILY Vacation... Part One

2009-08-14T08:32:00.000-07:00

Dave and I usually enjoy Brown County for the peaceful activities that Nashville has to offer. We love the endless shopping, quiet evenings on the porch, meaningful uninterrupted conversations that we have, and being on absolutely no schedule. For those reasons alone, we have NEVER taken the kids down. MOSTLY, because we didn't think the kids would enjoy it. It's such a friendly place, but it's just not a "kid" place. Well, at least we didn't think it was until this summer.

While we were down on our "date" vacation, we made a point to look for specific things that the kids would enjoy. We talked to quite a few people and got their opinions on kid-friendly activities. One thing that was mentioned was The Abe Martin Lodge. It was located in the State Park and had a brand new indoor aquatic area. I thought it sounded great, but didn't get too excited. After all, as you can imagine, we stick to a VERY tight budget. I was sure that this would cost a fortune. But to my surprise, when we got home and I looked it up, it was very reasonable. I loved the fact you could rent family cabins. They family cabins came with 8 wristbands for the water park. I was also thrilled to learn, that our Brown County Visitors Card (which we had purchased for $12) would save us $18 on our cabin. It was 100% worth the money spent and we ALL had a blast! We spent a fraction of what we normally spend on vacations and the kids said that this was the best vacation ever! Here are some pictures of us at the cabin....

There are about 20 family cabins nestled deep in the woods in a little cabin "neighborhood". They are about 1/2 mile to the lodge and water area.

There are 2 bedrooms upstairs in the loft. One with a king size bed and one with a queen size bed. The kids loved picking which room they wanted and they enjoyed being able to look down at the living room area. The living room had 2 sofas with queen pull-out beds.

Off the back of the cabin is a large deck that overlooks the woods.

This picture was taken right outside of the Lodge area on our way to dinner...
(BTW.... we do color coordinate the kids. It's so much easier to keep track of everyone if they are all in the same color!)

Of course, being in the State Park, there is so much to see! There were BEAUTIFUL breathtaking views. It was amazing and I am sure the kids have never seen anything like it before. We had to stop and pose for a few pics....

We were only about 2 miles from Nashville, which is where we usually stay. There are so many shops and places to eat. We stopped by to visit with the fine people at the Cornerstone Inn, our "usual" place to stay. They have been wanting us to bring the kids in for quite some time. They seemed to really enjoy meeting them "in person". We tried to take the kids' picture outside of the Inn, but the sun was in their eyes...

They loved exploring though...

This is a picture of the guy that plays his guitar and sings. He will usually sit at the main corner in the middle of town. He seems to be a nice gentleman and has definitely got talent! We always enjoy sitting and listening to him.

Of course, having many train-lovers in the house, we had to take the 25 minute grand tour of the city. It is on a tractor/"train" and takes you around to see all Nashville. The kids LOVED it! Here we are waiting for the "train"...

Daddy and Taelyn...

Bryson and Ashton...

"All aboard"...

Dave and Bryson...

Nolan and Mariya...

Mama and Ashton...

Up next... our water park pictures....

Wordless Wednesday: Closet Fun

2009-08-12T14:04:00.000-07:00

"Not Me" Monday!

2009-08-10T08:01:00.000-07:00

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.

I absolutely did NOT let my 2 1/2 year old stand half naked and pee on the van tire in the middle of Menard's parking lot. If he had to go potty, I would have taken him back into the store and used the restroom in the privacy of his own stall.

I definitely did NOT justify us eating out after church yesterday because a nearby restaurant had a "Kids eat free" day. We did not have that planned in our budget and it would have been silly to take money out of our savings to eat out. That is so not necessary when we have a house full of groceries.

When we woke up to my 4-year-old peeing in the bathtub in the middle of the night last night, we definitely did NOT just let him finish and tell ourselves we would clean it up in the morning. As I already said, our bathroom manners are top notch and that would be totally disgusting.

In the last couple weeks, a lot of the work we have been doing has been on the outside of the house. We've worked on landscaping, painting, house repairs, fixing windows, etc. While we were working on the house, I definitely did NOT catch my kids playing with slugs and then continue to allow it. I can not stand slugs, they totally gross me out! I would never see them building a "Slug Resort" and actually think it was kinda cute. The fact that they were staying entertained for hours on end was NOT enough to convince me to let them play with these nasty little creatures.

Last but not least, I did NOT open up my back door about 15 times Friday evening just to gaze at our new deck. I have waaaay better ways to spend my time. I have 6 kids that need my attention, I would never stand and stare at inanimate objects!

Have a great Monday!!!

Small Town, USA

2009-08-06T13:51:00.000-07:00

As most of you know, our family has recently moved back to the small town that I grew up in. We previously lived in Danville for almost 11 years. We went from living in a town with about 34,000 people to living in a town with about 3,600 people.

My husband was born and raised in Danville. My kids were also born and raised in Danville. It's all they have ever known. None of them had a clue that living in a small town would be any different. Since moving here 2 months ago, they have been pleasantly surprised with the advantages.

I absolutely love the small town life! It feels good to be back to my roots! Here are some of MY favorite perks to small town life:

12. We live only a half mile from my mom and dad.

11. You can see the stars so clearly at night. It is amazing how bright they seem when you take away the city lights.

10. We are within walking distance to our church. The church that I have attended since I was 3 years old.

9. We are within walking distance to the grade school.

8. We got to know our neighbors pretty quickly. Of course, it's the type of thing where everybody knows everybody. One set of neighbors are the parents of a lady who goes to our church. The other neighbor is the lady that watches my cousin's kids. The other set of neighbors are friends with my Grandma and Grandpa. And the other neighbor is actually a girl that my husband grew up with. It's funny, because even though we had good neighbors in Danville, we never really got to know them (except for my BFF Shanda and her family). I have talked SOOO much more to our neighbors here than I ever did to our neighbors in Danville.

7. I feel comfortable letting the kids ride their bikes on the sidewalk out in front of our house.

6. The evenings (and actually, the daytimes as well) are generally very quiet.

5. My Grandma and Grandpa (whom I adore) drop by every now and then and bring us goodies from their garden.

4. Even though we are in a small town, we still have a McDonalds and a Subway!

3. If I need a last minute item from the grocery store, Dave can get there and back in about 8 minutes.

2. We can visit our newly renovated park and there usually isn't more than 2 other kids that we have to share it with!

Last, but not least, is my boyz favorite small town perk:

1. Just about any given time of the day, you can find a John Deere tractor driving down the road. The farmer is usually nice enough to give a wave to the kiddos and it just thrills them!

Here are a couple of my favorite recent small town stories...

One time, Dave went to pick up the pizza that we had ordered. When he got there, he realized that they didn't take debit cards. He came home literally shocked after they told him to go ahead and take home the pizza and he could bring back the money when we were done eating. I can still remember the look on his face! Ha!

Yesterday, Ashton and I went to the video store to rent some movies. As we were leaving, the cashier girl was talking to us and being friendly. As soon as Ashton and I got outside the door, Ashton says, "Man, I feel really sorry for that nice girl." I asked him, "Why do you feel sorry for her?" He said, "Because everyone must have just quit and left her there! She was the only worker in the store!" I said, "Welcome to small-town life, Ash!"

For the Love of Brown County.....

2009-07-30T08:47:00.000-07:00

Brown County (specifically Nashville, IN) is a place that is near and dear to me and my husband. Almost 11 years ago, we went there for the first time.... on our honeymoon. We fell in love with the place and the people instantly. Since then, we have been back several times to visit. In June of every year, we go on our "annual overnight date". My parents, Dave's parents, and one of my best friends, Kara, usually will divide up the kids and keep them. If you haven't been down there, it's hard to explain how different it really is. You must go yourself... I guarantee you will relax and enjoy every minute!

Here are a few of MY favorite things about our trip.....

THE SCENIC DRIVE...

It's about 2 1/2 hours from our house. We usually take the back roads and the scenery is gorgeous. As you get closer to Brown County, the more rolling hills and endless treetop views you will find!

I LOVE being in the car with my husband. I LOVE the fact that we get to have a 2-hour conversation WITHOUT being interuppted by "Hey Mom..."

THE RELAXATION TIME...
We usually stay at the same Inn everytime we go. It sits right on one of the main streets in the middle of town and everything is within walking distance. The people at the Inn are almost like family to us now. There is a nice balcony with rocking chairs where we love to sit and relax. Sometimes Dave plays his guitar and we enjoy the quiet evening air.

THE QUALITY TIME...
There is so much to do there. We love just being on our own time-frame and enjoying each other. Sometimes we sit and watch the people. Sometimes we take the town tour for the ump-teenth time. Sometimes we just goof off!

THE MIDNIGHT WALK...
Every year, we take our midnight walk. Let me tell you, at midnight, this little town is fast asleep. You can hear a pin drop! It's so nice to walk past all of the closed little shops that were once hustling and bustling thoughout the day. We plan out our route for the next day by discussing where we are going to eat, see if any new stores have opened, and do a little "window" shopping.

THE QUAINT SHOPS...
Brown County is chalk-full of adorable shops! We have certain shops that can expect our business every year. We have come to know a lot of the people and look forward to seeing them each year! Each shop has it's own individual personality.

This year we found a couple "new" shops that were tucked back in some "nooks and crannies". These were 2 of the "new" ones that we really enjoyed this year....

This is a 2-story building that is packed with several different shops, including one of my absolute favorite shops.... Kiss The Cook. It has everything that you could possibly want for your kitchen!

I escpecially love the shops with primitive decorations and antiques.

This is Dave's favorite stop! J Bob's Hot Sauce Shop! He stocks up for the year with many of his hard-to-find hot sauces!

This little Cafe opened up last year and we tried it out because of it's unique eclectic style. The chicken salad is awesome and the smoothies will keep you coming back!

They have live music every Tuesday, Friday, and Saturday! The bands are generally country or Bluegrass. We enjoyed the Peyton Brothers Band while we were there this year.

It's just a different world down there... and we LOVE it!

Coming up NEXT..... a post about the FIRST Harris FAMILY Brown County vacation!!!!

Wordless Wednesday

2009-07-29T14:31:00.000-07:00

Summertime Fun....

2009-07-18T21:30:00.000-07:00

We are having a BLAST this summer and I am enjoying every second of it! Here are a few pictures.....

Hangin' out at Grandma's pool

Our three 4 year-olds causin' trouble!

Mr. Bryson

Big Daddy and Mamasita

My innocent-looking nephew, Ty

Some random pics of my adorable family....

My sweet nephew, Coy

My niece (who is growing up waaay too fast), Laney

Nolan and Nevin....NUTS!

Ashton, playing it cool at a Summer Sounds Concert

The Fabulous Five...they are always up to something!

2 Amazing Men = 1 Happy Lady!

2009-06-21T21:00:00.001-07:00

I know I have been snobbing the blog but definitely NOT on purpose. We are just at crunch time on our house, so every day is filled with house stuff! We are getting ready have our house appraised so that we can switch our loan over to a mortgage loan. We are working around the clock to get as much completed as possible! Hopefully once that takes place, we will get around to getting internet at our house and I will be back on track! I had to take the time out to blog on Father's Day about 2 wonderful men in my life.

The first one is my father. As some of you know, he is technically my STEP-dad, but I have never called him that. He has been in my life since I was very young and has never treated me like a "step" daughter. He is such a fun, caring, and loving man. Growing up, he was always the more stern one of my parents. I knew that if I wanted something that I had to go to my mom. I dreaded getting the "ask your father" because I knew I really had to work him over in order to SOMETIMES get what I wanted! As a grown woman, I love him more than ever! He is so generous and giving. He LOVES my kids like crazy! Grandpa is a softy now! My kids can get just about anything they want if they have the right twinkle in their eye! He likes to wrestle and play with them, but he likes to cuddle and love on them even more! He has been our rock with this house renovation project. We have been able to go to him for advice and depend on him when we couldn't be right there. I don't know what we would've done without him being the Commander-in-Chief! I am so thankful to God that I have a Dad like him!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The second man that I thank God for is my husband. He is simply amazing! I can't even begin to describe how this man blows me away. I am so in love with him and I am excited to wake up with him every day! My kids are so blessed to have a dad that loves them the way he does. He is a hands-on dad 100% of the time! He nearly always has a child on his lap or at his feet and he loves it! He teaches them to garden, to do carpentry work, to be creative, and so much more. If my kids are having a bad day at school, he is right there volunteering to sit down with them alone and have a heart-to-heart talk. Every time they end up smiling and forgetting their troubles! I love him and everything that he gives to our family!

I recently surveyed our kids (one-at-a-time) and got their opinion on some things concerning their Daddy. I didn't give the kids any prompting or ideas for answers, therefore the 2 year-olds didn't have answers for some of the questions. (If they didn't totally understand the question, they would blurt out something like "bathtub", so I just left it blank!) =)

Here are the questions and their individual responses:

What is your favorite thing about Daddy?

He is very musical (Ashton - 10 yrs. old)
He does good things for us (Taelyn - 8 yrs. old)
He is silly and caring (Mariya - 8 yrs. old)
He plays G.I. Joes with me (Bryson - 4 yrs. old)

What is your favorite thing to do with Daddy?

jump on the trampoline (Ashton)
go on vacation (Taelyn)
swim in Grandma's pool (Mariya)
play transformers (Bryson)
go on roller coasters and waterslides and ride on the lawn mower (Nevin - 2 yrs. old)
run and sing songs (Nolan - 2 yrs. old)

(Please be assured my 2 year old has NOT been on a roller coaster. Not real sure about that answer!)

What is one word that describes Daddy?

Fun (Ashton)
Loving (Taelyn)
Funny (Mariya)
Looks good (Bryson) =)

What is one of Daddy's favorite things to do?

play guitar (Ashton)
play guitar (Taelyn)
play guitar (Mariya)
singing and playing cd's (Bryson)
building the dirt (Nevin)
buckle up (Nolan) ???

What is Daddy very good at?

playing guitar and drums (Ashton)
playing guitar (Taelyn)
fixing up our house (Mariya)
working at Commercial News (Bryson)
coloring (Nevin)
listening (Nolan)

Where is ONE place that Daddy would LOVE to go?

Famous Dave's Restaurant (Ashton)
Chickenfoot Concert (Taelyn)
Cracker Barrel (Mariya)
the bookstore (Bryson)
Menards (Nevin)
That way - Menards (Nolan)

If Daddy had a million dollars, what do you think he would buy?

a new guitar, a boat, and Indiana Beach tickets (Ashton)
a swimming pool and a new guitar (Taelyn)
a new guitar and a family vacation (Mariya)
G.I. Joe toys and the Chickenfoot band (Bryson)
Mcdonalds and Batman toys (Nevin)
doggies (Nolan)

They all adore their dad and we enjoyed spoiling him for the day! Thank you so much Dave for all the sacrifices that you have made for our family! You are so loved!

For Father's Day, I saved up my hard-earned money and took my Dad and Dave (and my mom) to Fogo De Chao. We also wanted to take my parents to show our appreciation for them letting us live with them for 4 months! (On a side note.... if you haven't gone to Fogo De Chao, you NEED to. At least ONE time! It is a crazy awesome Brazilian Steakhouse that is a one-of-a-kind experience! Google it and GO!!!!) Anyways.... We had a WONDERFUL time with just us four grown-ups! We didn't know how to act without the kids! It was so nice to sit, eat, and enjoy each other's company!

Happy Father's Day to all of the wonderful Fathers!

Sneak Peak (Part ONE)....

2009-05-20T08:47:00.000-07:00

Remember back in November, when I told you guys about our "journey".....

Well we are finally getting towards the "end" of that journey. We are just days away from moving in and I wanted to get some pictures of the house while it was empty. Of course, I will have some AFTER pictures once we get settled in! But here is a sneak peak of the bedrooms......

This is the stairway leading up to the bedrooms.... I fell in love with the color immediately. It doesn't show so great in the pictures since ~~my camera stinks~~ the lighting isn't so great.

The girls' room. One of my favorite rooms! The color turned out perfect! I can't wait to decorate it! By the way.... most of the people that have been through my house have commented that all of the colors are so "perfect". I have this huge process for picking my paint colors.

1. Take home 75 paint samples from Menards AND Lowes.

2. Pick out a general color. (Let's say it is purple....)

3. Go back and get EVERY purple imaginable.

4. Lay them all out together and start narrowing them down in a very scientific way. (Ok...maybe not scientific)

5. After being very critical of every sample, you have the PERFECT color!

Anyways.... my husband likes tease me about this process! I am definitely NOT one to over-analyze things, can ya tell???

The girls' closet. The bedrooms all have these large walk-ins. This is where the girls hibernate with their barbies!

Ashton and Bryson's room. This one is gonna be so cute when it's decorated! It will have a cowboy theme!

Nolan and Nevin's room. Farm animals and tractors to come. 'Nuff said!

Me and Dave's room. It's actually at the bottom of the stairs. Still a little work to do in here.

There you have it! I will be taking more pics of the house this week. Most of it is getting the finishing touches! More to come.......

2009-05-17T12:00:00.000-07:00

We have been loving these beautiful spring days! The kids love running around, soaking up the sunshine ALL day! They enjoy riding bikes, swinging on the swingset, playing with the dogs, jumping on the trampoline, making mud pies (if possible), and just being creative! God has blessed us with some awesome weather lately! We are looking forward to another week of sunshine. Just wanted to share a few pics....

Taelyn.... lovin' on Roxy.

Riya... always willing to stop and smile for the camera!

Nolan... with his sweet smile.

Nevin.... goofin' around.

Bryson... petting Bella Rose.

Ashton... getting creative.

He was pulling the boys in the wagon with his bike. They LOVED it!

Please Pray.....

2009-05-12T07:06:00.000-07:00

Please take a few minutes out of your day to pray for Kayleigh's family. Sweet Kayleigh was made whole again Monday, May 11th when she went to be with our Lord. She has had a long hard journey and is now resting in the arms of our Savior. I pray that God will give her family the strength to get through these most difficult days. What a blessing her parents are to so many. They are able to praise God.... even in this storm!

Annual Illinois State Twin Convention

2009-05-01T08:44:00.000-07:00

For the past 4 years, we have been able to attend the twin convention in our area. It has been held in Champaign twice and Bloomington. This year it was held in Arthur. We have had a great time every year and have met some of the nicest people! We look forward to seeing the same people every year and excited to meet new people as well!

The convention is always held on a Sunday in April. There is a lunch at noon and then a short business meeting. The best part of the convention is the Twin Contest. They have all different categories and age groups. It is fun to see them all get up on stage! Some of the categories are:

*Twins that look the most alike

*Twins that look the least alike

*Twins that travel the longest distance

*The oldest twins

*The youngest twins

There are twins of EVERY age there. From infants to 90 years old, every set has their own story and it's interesting to get to know them. The first year that my girls went, they were totally overwhelmed with having their picture taken! Everybody takes pictures of everybody!!! With the girls being younger, and so dang cute, they were a BIG attraction! Now that most of the people are not complete strangers, they handle it a lot better!

I wish I could post up some pictures from the conventions in the past years, but I won't be able to do that until I get my own computer hooked up at our new house.

Here are a few from this year.....

(Left to right) Taelyn, Nevin, Nolan, and Mariya

They have a Shriner's clown to make balloons for all of the kids.

This picture was taken during the Judging. I believe the category was Woman (age 55 and up) - "twins that look the most alike". I am so glad I am not a judge. Some of the categories would be so hard! (FYI... The set with the #2 won!)

My camera batteries died just in time for my kiddos to go on stage!!! I had an extra set, but I missed them onstage. They didn't have much competition because there was not many twins that were their age this year! The girls won "Twins that look the most alike" in their age group. They have won it for the past 4 years.

This is my sweet friend, Carrie. She has come for the past 2 conventions with her girls. They are gorgeous!

We attempted to get a picture of my girls with her girls. It was nap time and not an easy task! =) Next year we will do it EARLIER! It will be neat to compare them every year and see how they have grown!

We met these boys the first year that we went to the conference. Actually, the mom and I met that year. The girls could care less. Boys have cooties! Anyways, we take their picture every year too. Someday my girls may look forward to seeing these boys there! ;)

At the end of the convention, they get all of the twins up on stage and take pictures. This year was not a great turnout. Usually they can't all fit on stage! It is so cool to see them all together! (One of the ladies is holding Nolan because he had fallen asleep. Nevin is in front of the girls and Nolan is right behind the girls.)

I didn't get a picture of Nevin and Nolan with their medallion. They were a mixed consensus! Some said they looked alike and some said they didn't! I think they ended up giving them the "Twins that look the most alike" prize for their age group, but only because they had NO competition! =)

Next year, the convention is in Danville!!! I am planning on being more involved this coming year and the years after! If you know anyone interested, let me know and I will give them some information!

Easter....Part Two (THE HUNT)

2009-04-22T10:45:00.000-07:00

We usually have a HUGE Easter lunch at my parents' house. This year, since we are pretty much hogging every square inch of their house, we moved our Easter celebration to my brother's house.

We always have so much awesome food! I am blessed with a family full of great cooks!!! We had everything from homemade chicken and noodles to Italian beef/deer. (Did I mention that my family is also full of hunters?) And the desserts...oh my! I think we had more dessert than anything else!

It is so much fun to sit around and visit with all the family members! I think we had around 40 people there this time. We had 19 of the 20 grandchildren present. They are all between the ages of 2 and 14. So the annual Easter Egg hunt was very anticipated this year! I really enjoy watching all of the kids search for the eggs! It's especially challenging to get pictures of their little faces while finding the eggs! I definitely did not get everybody! Here's a few of the pics....

Taelyn... sporting a smile for the camera.

Mariya found one!!!

Ashton found a stash on the trampoline.

Nevin has a dog buddy for the egg hunt.... Josie!

Bryson was hard to catch! I have about 15 pictures of the back of his head. He kept running off before I could get a picture. Here he is with his cousin, Chloe.

Sweet Nolan. He had a hard time refraining from immediately opening the eggs and eating the candy.

My little nephew, Chance, spots an egg and takes off running!

My big nephew, Chance, up in the tree... getting eggs down for the little ones. (How he grew up so fast, I will NEVER know!!!)

Our little cousin, Macey, showing off her loot!

Our cousin, Jenna... one egg in each hand and running for another one!

My nephew, Coy, checkin' his eggs for goodies.

My nephew, Ty (Coy's twin brother)... with a mouthful of chocolate already!

I wish this picture would have turned out better. We don't get very many pictures with MOST of the grandchildren all in one shot. Here they are pictured with my Grandpa Beanie and Grandma Betty, my maternal grandparents and the sweetest, most awesome people on the face of this earth!

Easter...Part One

2009-04-16T08:31:00.000-07:00

We had such a great Easter this year! The kids woke up at 6:00 to see what was in their baskets. We definitely don't go all out on gifts for Easter. They got some candy and a couple games to share. We didn't make it to the Sunrise Service. Hopefully we will be able to do that next year! We did have a wonderful church service with a packed auditorium!

My pictures didn't turn out real great this year! We were in a rush and I just snapped a few shots as we ran out the door!

Ashton...cheesin' (he doesn't like to have his picture taken!)

Mariya and Taelyn.... my little sweethearts!

Bryson.... don't think for a minute that he has nice dress shoes on... he was sportin' his "broke-in" cowboy boots!

Nolan and Nevin. This is the only picture that I have of them from Easter!!! What goofballs! Nolan looks like a pirate... Arrg! Nevin looks like a space cadet! Oh well.... they're still my cuties!

And of course, we HAD to get a family shot! Not great, but serves the purpose!

Easter Part two coming up next! Including pictures from our annual Easter egg hunt!!!

Pleasing God at ALL times....

2009-04-08T19:56:00.000-07:00

Tonight as we finished up praying, I was chatting with the kids about some of the things that we have been talking about in our adult Sunday School class. We have been doing a 13-week study and it has been great! Last week, we talked about "Pleasing God". The main part of the lesson was basically if we are NOT pleasing GOD, we are pleasing OURSELF! It was a great reminder for me!!!

As I talked with the kids, I brought up the old saying, "There's just TWO choices on the shelf, pleasing God OR pleasing self!". The kids were very receptive and we talked about a lot of things. I asked them for examples and they came up with some great ones:

Ashton said ..... "If someone at school calls us a name, we should ignore them or tell the teacher...that would be pleasing God. If we called them a name back... that would be pleasing self."

(Good job Ash.... right on the money!)

Mariya said ... "If we are told to put on our jammies, we should obey and put on our jammies... that would be pleasing God. If we went and played around instead of putting on jammies... that would be pleasing self."

(Good job Riya... what a good listener!)

They said a few other examples that let me know they were right on target. THEN... my four year old, Bryson, chimes in .....

He says in a very serious tone... "If someone is mountain climbing, and there is an avalanche, then we tell them to RUUUUUNNNNN!!!!!!!"

Mountain climbing? Avalanche? Where does he come up with this stuff???

I'm thinkin' maybe he wasn't listening quite like the other kids! =)

Our lil Getaway....

2009-04-03T14:30:00.000-07:00

Last week we took a spontaneous trip to Lafayette, IN. When the weather is nice, we try to take mini-trips about once every month or two. Usually not very far, within 2 hours from home. This time, we went for two days and had an awesome time! The kids enjoyed swimming in the hotel pool and most of all, Chuck E. Cheese! Other than that, we just ate (at Texas Roadhouse on Friday night, Chick-Fil-A on Saturday) and hit up a Target! I figured I would post a few pics....

Mama, Nolan, and Bryson hanging out in the hot tub.

Most of the time Ashton was in the pool with the goggles, but I snapped a pic of him while he was sitting still for a minute!

My Bry Guy

Chuck E. Cheese...the next day!

Taelyn and Mariya...tryin' out the dancing game. They obviously get their mother's coordination skills!

The boys loved the water gun game.

My Riya...cheesin' for the camera! Whatta sweetie!

Nolan riding tandem with one of the girls. I THINK it's Mariya.

Nevin....Daddy's boy.

Oh my word....I can see it already! 14 years from now.....

Chocolate?? What Chocolate????

2009-04-02T07:07:00.000-07:00

Grandpa seemed to have left his box of chocolates

sitting on the table next to his Lazy Boy.

A few minutes after he left, the boys found them.

Of course, my "MISS MOM" volunteered to give them baths.

What would I do without my Sweet Tae and her helpful hands!?!?

And by the way.... you think the boys look messy???

You should've seen the recliner!!!

The Long and the Short of it (PART 2)...

2009-03-28T21:43:00.001-07:00

Speaking of haircuts... you know, since we were a week or two ago when my youngest, Nevin, went from moppy to shorty-short.

My oldest child, Ashton

(who, by the way, cares ZERO PERCENT what he looks like usually)

decided to go from a SHORT BUZZ hair cut.....

(This pic was taken just 7 months ago)

to the long and shaggy, Zac Efron look!!!

(this was taken just last week)

UHHH!??!?!!? Can we say "GREW UP OVERNIGHT?????"

But seriously, he is a CRAZY awesome son! If a kid could ever be so CLOSE to perfect,

it would be Ashton! He is so sweet, loving, helpful, and funny!

I wish I could have 10 of him! He is so fun to be around and

SOOOOOO much like his father!!!

2009-03-25T08:31:00.001-07:00

http://

The Long and the Short of it....

2009-03-20T13:45:00.000-07:00

My long-haired hippie boy, Nevin,

got a haircut.

Now he no longer gets mistaken for a girl.

BOYS = GROSS

2009-03-17T20:37:00.000-07:00

I was changing Nevin's diaper today and just as I got his new diaper on, he "tooted"! (That's generally how the big kids refer to it.)

Nevin gets a big grin on his face and says "Mommy, Mommy! I burped in my diaper!"

Nice visual, Nevin. Nice.

Totally Psyched!... PART ONE

2009-03-14T21:00:00.000-07:00

We had an absolutely amazing time at the National Hearts at Home Conference this weekend in Bloomington! A group of us girls went....Myself, Kara, Devin, Jen, Laura, Ann, and Stephanie. We had such a great "girl" time! The workshops were so awesome and the Keynote Speaker, Dr. Kevin Leman was FANTASTIC!!! We did so much laughing, but more importantly, we walked away with a wealth of knowledge! I left feeling RELAXED, REJUVENATED, and REFRESHED! It's a wonderful reminder that Christ needs to be the center of our life and our homes are OUR mission field!!!

One of my favorite parts of the conference was the entertainment! We saw Go Fish...live and in concert! For those of you that don't know, Go Fish is a group of Christian dads that sing (non-annoying) children's music! A lot of their music is based on the Bible. Some of the songs are just fun! But they sound GREAT!!! I encourage you to check this group out if you have young children! My kids absolutely LOVE it! They are already singing along!! This is no "Wiggles" ladies! You are gonna be crankin' this CD up even AFTER you drop off the kids!!!

Go check 'em out now!!!

http://www.gofishguys.com/

MORE TO COME........

Their Biggest Fan....

2009-03-10T21:53:00.000-07:00

For those of you who don't know, we are living with my mom and dad while we are finishing our house. Recently they got 2 little cocker spaniel puppies! They are so cute! AND popular too!!! The kids adore the pups! When the kids wake up in the morning, they skip snuggle time with us and go straight to the kitchen to see the dogs!!!

My little Nolan....he is a loyal fan. He is crazy about the dogs! His face lights up when he sees them! The problem is that he is so ROUGH! He tries to hold them, pull their tails, cover them up with a blanket, throw their toys AT them, etc...... He never does it to be mean, but he just gets too excited! It's quite exhausting to keep an eye on these three when they are all together!

Song for a Fifth Child

2009-03-01T21:35:00.000-08:00

I stole this poem from one of my very favorite blogs- www.mycharmingkids.net! I absolutely LOVED it and had to share it with you! How true it is!

Song for a Fifth Child

Mother, O Mother, come shake out your cloth,
Empty the dustpan, poison the moth,
Hang out the washing, make up the bed,
Sew on a button and butter the bread.

Where is the mother whose house is so shocking?
She's up in the nursery, blissfully rocking.

Oh, I've grown as shiftless as Little Boy Blue,
Lullabye, rockabye, lullabye loo.
Dishes are waiting and bills are past due
Pat-a-cake, darling, and peek, peekaboo

The shopping's not done and there's nothing for stew
And out in the yard there's a hullabaloo
But I'm playing Kanga and this is my Roo
Look! Aren't his eyes the most wonderful hue?
Lullabye, rockaby lullabye loo.

The cleaning and scrubbing can wait till tomorrow
But children grow up as I've learned to my sorrow.
So quiet down cobwebs; Dust go to sleep!
I'm rocking my baby and babies don't keep.

Just Say "NO!"......

2009-02-26T20:18:00.000-08:00

My husband started it years ago. I thought I was not interested.

Until I took that FIRST bite.....

the month before I started dieting......

with a spoon....

straight out of the jar......

Heavenly, creamy goodness that makes your eyes roll into the back of your head!!!

Now I am tryin' to eat "right" and that darn Nutella is callin' my name. I heard it today at Walmart! I resisted the urge and moved on. I just hope I can continue to stay strong! Maybe if I can lose 5 more pounds, I can reward myself??? Yeah...motivation!

Rock Star...

2009-02-24T21:16:00.000-08:00

I took Nevin and Taelyn into Convenient Care tonight because they had sore throats. Nolan wanted to come along for the ride and we also picked Daddy up from work since he needed to take a break!

We walked in and usually the waiting room that is EMPTY, had at least 15 people waiting! I was not planning on this, so I was NOT prepared! I usually pack a SUITCASE filled with books, crayons and paper, toys, snacks, drinks, etc...... just in case we end up waiting. Well, not this time!

So the boys horsed around for a while and then started getting really rambunctious! I asked the boys if they wanted to sit on my lap and sing a song! This will usually keep them sitting and quiet for at least 10 minutes or so! They look so sweet and angelic while doing so too! It's so sweet! We usually have a long list of songs we like to sing...generally it's Jesus Loves Me......Zachius......This Little Light of Mine.....Lord's Army.....Oh Be Careful.....Jesus Loves the Little Children....... mostly songs from Sunday School! So I sat Nevin up on my lap and said, "What do you want to sing first, Buddy?" (It's usually Jesus Loves Me or Zaccheus) Nevin blurts out in his wildness at the moment, "We Will Rock You!"

2 year olds...so unpredictable!

Whassa Goin' Ooooon?!?!?!

2009-02-21T21:15:00.001-08:00

I have been really wanting to post lately, but I am SO lost without MY computer! We are also so busy with the house, that we don't know which end is up! The busyness is all in a good way though. We enjoy working with the kids at the house and spending time hanging out with Grandma and Grandpa for sure! But mostly for my sake I wanted to jot down what exactly is going on.....

The House
We are sorta at a stand-still. We have worked on the roof some more to try to fix the leak. We have figured out that it is best to "test" the roof with a natural rain instead of the hose. We are suppose to have thunderstorms coming in on Wednesday, so that should be the day that we figure something out. Hopefully that something will be that the leak is fixed and we can go ahead and continue to hang the drywall and finish the kitchen!

We also have figured out that we have a second leak that is coming from the chimney. This is on the fireplace that we will not use...it is being covered up. So we have torn out the girls' wall upstairs, to expose the chimney. Hopefully on Wednesday, we will know more information about that leak too. We thought we were done with the "demolition chapter" of the house, but apparently not! That is fine though...we want to do things right the first time!

We have our new downstairs bathroom started. Walls are framed, plumbing and electrical is in! We had to wait for a while because our plumber was called out on another job. He came back yesterday and finished up what he needed to. Hopefully drywall will be going up in the bathroom this week! We have picked out our toliet, bathtub, vanity cabinet, and lighting. We plan on picking out our flooring and vanity sink tomorrow. Aaahhhh....decisions, decisions.

We have been blessed with some crazy good deals! Most people know that I am a MAJOR clearance/bargain shopper. It has been a hobby of mine since high school. Back then, I did it more for the thrill of a good bargain. Now, I do it out of necessity! Anyways, we got our vanity cabinet in Arthur, IL. I am totally in love with this cabinet warehouse over there! If anyone who lives nearby is looking for any type of cabinetry, let me know...I will give you the hook up! Anyways....our cabinet was originally almost $500, and it was marked down to $229. It was exactly what I was looking for! We also picked up some odds and ends on clearance, here are just a few....

Garbage disposal...regularly $179, on clearance for $59
Kitchen Faucets... regularly $169, on clearance for $90
Windows (we actually are getting them tomorrow)... regularly $129, on clearance for $65
Kenmore Elite Steam front loader washer and dryer!!!...regularly $1800 each, on clearance for $900 each! (They were marked down because Sears will no longer carry them in RED. They are the biggest front loaders that you can buy and I have drooled over them for the past couple months! We could have never afforded them at the regular price! Oh, the things that can thrill a Mama! =)

We generally have NOT bought anything for the house UNLESS it was on sale. There have been a few times that we HAD to and it about killed me! We have been blessed to get so many good sales!

School
The kids started their new schools this week. They had stayed at Northeast in order for Ashton to finish his Scholastic Bowl meets. Ashton goes down to Ridgefarm, which is just 4th and 5th grade. My mom works there, so she gave Ash the tour and hooked him up with the sweetest teacher ever! He is doing awesome! The teacher said that he fits right in and is very social with everyone! He generally has a tendency to like familiar things, but he seemed really laidback about this change! The girls go to a separate school here in town. They did great also! Mariya teared up the day that I dropped her off, but 2 of the kids in her class reassured her right away that they would help to show her around. The girls are in the same class now, so I really think that will work out better! I ran into their teacher yesterday and she said "They are such good girls! I wish I had a whole class of kids' that do as well as your two." The girls have already brought home little drawings from other girls in the class that say "BFF". They are so funny!

I will try to update more often! Hopefully soon I can post some more "before and after" photos!

Top 10 Reasons That Your House May NOT Be Ready to Move Into Yet...

2009-02-10T20:40:00.000-08:00

#10. You have 2 toilets. Neither are in the bathroom.

#9. You randomly drive by and wonder "Hmm....I wonder whose work truck that is?"

#8. You have to open the basement door with a crowbar and AT LEAST 2 other people.

#7. You have a 3-foot-high pile of garbage (including everything from a recliner to old heat ducts) waiting in front of the garage for the NEXT dumpster.

#6. Your husband was just on the roof with the 6th tube of silicone caulk this week.

#5. The holes in the windows are temporarily covered...with duct tape.

#4. You are using wood scraps and brooms to layout what you think the bathroom layout should look like when it's finished.

#3. Your kids run through the house with extremely muddy boots and you don't even try to stop them!

#2. When your mom walks in, she happily comments, "You know...I don't think that the smell is as bad as it used to be!"

#1. To get into your house, you have to go up a set of "dead end" steps, step across the "gap" and balance on the slippery plywood...just to get to the door!

FYI....

2009-02-03T21:46:00.001-08:00

Just so you guys know...I have NOT fallen off the face of the earth! It has been a week since I have posted! I have some posts that I am anxious to get up, but I don't have my computer hooked up yet!

We have moved into my Mom and Dad's house while we are finishing our house! It is absolutely wonderful! I mean, spoiled by Grandma and Grandpa 24/7...what is there to complain about??? They have a beautiful home and we feel 100% comfortable here. Even if we are cramming the 8 of us into 2 bedrooms at night! The rest of their house is very spacious, so there is LOTS of room for the kiddos to run around! They also have a full basement, so that has been a great place to set up the boys' train tracks! I am sure we will be ready to have our OWN house back, but in the meantime, we are definitely NOT suffering!

I am dying to get back to blogging, but for now, here a just a few things that I am thanking God for:

A Smooth Move.... Albeit TONS of hard work, everyone stayed safe and worked so well together. I had NO idea how much a family of 8 could actually have tucked into every nook and cranny!
A Non-Eventful House Closing... Everything went as planned. Loan stuff was threatening to get in the way, but in the end, we were able to keep our original closing date! We signed papers on Friday, the 30th. We were in and out of the office in 30 minutes!
Our Families... Both of our families have really stepped up to the plate and helped out! Dave's Dad let us use his big race car trailer for moving. He came over and helped us take a couple loads down! Dave's Mom helped with hauling boxes too! She is a tough little lady! She also generously babysat the boys ALL day on Friday. That was a HUGE help! My Mom has watched the kids and did a HUGE amount of work... packing up my entire kitchen! My Grandma Betty helped her out with that too! They were a great team! My Dad has played a MAJOR hand in helping with the remodel at the new house. Whether it was demolition (his favorite job) or meeting the plumber at the house, he has stepped right up and helped in more ways than I could have ever imagined! I don't think we could have done ANY of this without him! And of course, the blessing of my parents inviting us into their "once" peaceful abode...what a sweet sacrifice!
Our Church Family.... We were offered a place to live by at least 3 different families at our church. All for free and most of them furnished! We also had 2 very sweet guys give us their entire Friday to help us move! We were thankful for their muscles! It's funny, because any given Sunday, you can find Dave and I chatting up house stuff with everyone after church. It's nice to have our Christ-loving friends take interest in our little lives!
Our Health... As of right now, everyone is healthy! Praise the Lord! With a big family, the flu can set us back weeks! We are praying that we can stay healthy and strong so that we can remain mentally and physically active in preparing our house! There are a ton of decisions that need to be made and even more work that needs to be done over the next couple weeks!

Tattle Tale.....

2009-01-27T00:25:00.000-08:00

The other day as I was washing dishes, Nevin came running up the hallway with a very concerned/mad look on his face. Then he told me in his best 2 year-old "I'm telling on you" voice..... "Mo-om, Taelyn did dit. No-nan piddy!". He was down-right disgusted!

I turned around just in time to see Nolan walking up the hallway in Taelyn's light blue sweater, blue flowery skirt and Hannah Montana flip flops. It was clear, Nolan thought he looked G.O.O.D.!!!

Shame on Taelyn, she DID do it. She made Nolan "piddy" aka "pretty".

Happy 36th Birthday Dave!

2009-01-23T06:00:00.000-08:00

36 Random Things that I Love About My Husband

He watches our kids without complaining. He lets me go out with my girls and shop or just have alone time. He watches them and usually has a good time...including ice cream for breakfast or 11 p.m. bedtimes. He's a softie and the kids know it. ;)

He has really nice legs. I'm not usually a "leg" gal, but I've thought that since the first day I met him!

He puts me and the kids first! He has had his English degree from the U of I at Springfield for the last 10 years. Until last year, he has always worked a warehouse job. He is a very talented writer and enjoys it so much, but he wanted to do what was best at the time for his family. The job was very stressful. We thank God all the time for being so gracious to give him a job writing for the newspaper. It has really changed his life and he enjoys his work now.

He makes me feel beautiful. Always. I can be cleaning and sweatin' and he will tell me how pretty I am. He convinces me that he thinks I am the most gorgeous woman on the face of this earth! He was like that when we met and he is still this way....11 years and 6 children later!

He is such a great listener. He lets me ramble about my whole day! He genuinely listens and gives great advice. If I am frustrated about something, he usually makes me feel so much better!

He supports me 100% in whatever I do. Whether it's scrap booking, dieting, or even new ideas for raising our children. He never questions me and always offers to help in anyway that he can!

He loves his family. Not talking about me and the kids this time, but his parents and his sisters. He genuinely loves them and wants to take care of them, even if it would mean putting himself last.

Dave and his mama (May 2008)

He is a "glass half-full" type of guy. Never negative.

He has a good head. Literally. When he decided to shave his head, we both worried about it being "lumpy"! NOPE! Nice and round.

He is willing to grow as a Christian. I feel like we are in the same boat on this one. We are both a "work in progress" and love to talk with each other about things that encourage us in our walk with Christ.

He is nurturing. One example....He goes around to the kids' rooms and covers them up every night before we go to bed. If they look uncomfortable he moves them around. He always makes a point to do this.

He's a very gentle person. He hugs and kisses on me all the time. Every night when we lay down to go to sleep, he will lightly rub my back or arm until I fall asleep. He loves to cuddle the kids and love on them. He especially likes to snuggle up with them and fall asleep.

He has "Kacy songs"...aka songs that he hears that make him think of me...usually sweet songs about being in love. He will say..."Oh, I love this song....it's a 'Kacy song'!".

He is social! My friends and family all love him and get along with him. I love that he can meet someone and strike up a conversation and have a good time instantly.

He likes my cooking! He is always up for trying new recipes and he is always grateful for our meals. He will always remind the kids that "mommy is a great cook". How sweet!

He is 110% dedicated to this marriage and family! It's his life. Period.

He doesn't have a mean bone in his body. He is so "not judging" of other people. Unless they have really done him wrong, he will have NOTHING bad to say about anyone. He can't hold a grudge at all either!

He does the dishes. NOT ONLY does he do the dishes, he changes poopy diapers, cleans, makes lunch, feeds babies.....he is never one to shy away from the "dirty work". He is TOTALLY involved and splits the work with me. He has never been the type to come home from work and lay around on the couch all evening.

He's putting some meat on his bones. Not much, but a little. There's a little bit more to hug now. Going from a highly physical job to a desk job will do that. We are thankful for this job change!

He PLAYS with the kids. And I mean "down on the floor, getting into it", playing....GI Joes, doll house, coloring, video games, beauty parlor. Seriously...he has had some good make-overs! Ha!

Dave playing with the kiddos on the trampoline (August 2008)

He has a perfect goatee. It is one of my favorite physical features about him. I just think he is so handsome. He knows I LOVE the goatee, so it doesn't get shaved off. =)

He has to be the one to lock the house up when we go to bed or leave. Not me. He will go in and DOUBLE check to make sure it is locked. It shows that he is protective and feels responsible for making sure we are safe. It's cute...sometimes frustrating, but most of the time, cute!

He is a true gentlemen. He opens doors for me and others. He always goes around my side of the van when we are on a date and lets me in first. When we go out to eat or to the store, he always offers to drop me off at the door. He's always polite.

For the last ten years, he kisses me every time he leaves and every night when we go to bed. He never misses. Never.

He loves it when I am pregnant. (good thing, huh?) He always "eww's and aww's" over how I am so beautiful when I am pregnant. If we are out, and we see a pregnant woman and I am NOT currently pregnant, he'll say things like "I can't wait to give you "over the belly" kisses again!" or "I love when you are pregnant and I can fall asleep feeling the baby kick!"

He is self-less. More so than any person I have ever met. He doesn't hardly spend a dime on himself. Occasionally when he does, it's something he REALLY wants, which is usually a CD or GI Joe figure or something. I usually have to talk him into NOT feeling guilty for doing it!

He has a soft spot for babies. If we are at a restaurant and he walks to the bathroom, sometimes he will come back and say "OK....walk to the bathroom, and the second table to the left, there is the cutest little baby. She's got little chubby cheeks and she's all cozy in her car seat. Go look at her." I think it is so cute. This isn't even including how crazy awesome he is with our own kids!

He loves to make me happy. He lets me have my way....MOST of the time. If I want Olive Garden when we go to Champaign, I usually can talk him into it. If I want to paint the living room purple....I could probably have him painting it by noon. But watch out if something that he actually feels strongly about comes up. What he says...GOES. I like that....that he stands up for what he feels is important. Usually it will have something to do with the kids or me. For instance, it I wanted to drive to Champaign by myself at night, he wouldn't be having it! Otherwise, he doesn't sweat the small stuff.

He is not afraid to admit his shortcomings. He is the most open person I have ever known! He is not afraid to admit what he feels he "can't" do or is "not" good at. It's a good thing he's so dang close to perfect!

He is so gentle. Every night for the last ten years, when we lay down to go to sleep, he gently rubs my arm or my side or my back. I LOVE when he does this!

He is NOT a fighter. I am not a fighter either so this works well for us. (I am way more stubborn than I wish I was, but that's another post.) He hates drama. I can honestly count our "arguments" since we have been married on one hand. I know....sounds impossible. Believe it!

He laughs at me. He gets me. I can be a complete dork, and he is always entertained by me! He is so laid back compared to me and we definitely have our differences, but we have almost the same exact sense of humor. We can always make each other laugh. The kids appreciate this about him too. They are totally crazy about their daddy!

He is organized. I love the little things he does...from alphabetizing his Cd's to setting up his "toys" just the right way. And it has to be PERFECT. (He collects G.I. Joes, Star Wars, etc...)

He always lets the kids help. He is the type of Dad that will be trying to work on things for the house and will have a few extra sets of hands right there with him. He doesn't mind that it slows him down. He doesn't mind that he's not using time 100% efficiently. He doesn't mind that he will probably have to "do over" some things. He puts our kids first and lets them learn and have fun.

Nolan and Nevin helping Daddy set up

the Christmas tree (December 2008)

He has got mad musical talent. He can play those drums like nobody's business. He has got an AMAZING voice that I could never hear too often! His mom even had no idea he could sing! It is something that he is in the process of pursuing.

He soaks up information like a SPONGE! I wish I was that way. I will admit that many people would probably say that some of it was "useless information"....but you can have a conversation with him about ANYTHING.

He is dedicated. Not just to me and his family, but to whatever he sets his mind to. He wanted to learn to play guitar last year and started taking lessons. I talked him into teaching me what he would learn each lesson and then I could learn to play guitar as well! Good idea Kacy! That lasted 2 lessons. It was SOOOOO hard. He has stuck with it and has even taught himself SO much!

Thank you Dave for making me that happiest girl on the face of the earth! I appreciate you and everything you do for our big family!

Happy Birthday Daddy-O! You Rock!!!

Before and After Kitchen Pics Part 1

2009-01-19T19:43:00.000-08:00

We have come so far since August! We have put blood, sweat, and tears (literally all 3 of those things) into this house and we are so happy with where we are! The kitchen is our main priority and it is coming along quickly! Everything has ran very smoothly so far! We are at the point now where we are having the electricity installed and then we can see some drywall!!! Yay! I wanted to give you an update at the halfway-ish point.

Here's what we started out with.....

Remember this tiny, gross bathroom in the corner of the kitchen....

After some of this.....

And this...

And this.....

(chiseling the wall till our fingers were numb...dern tile!)

And a whole lotta this.....

We are finally getting somewhere!!!

We, of course, hired a professional to put it back together! We do great at the demolition, but we want things to be done just right. Thanks to Devin for loaning out her husband to us! He has done a wonderful job so far and we are completely thrilled with the work that he has done! If you have a need for a skilled carpenter...give me a shout and I'll give you his number! =)

We switched the back door and the window. This window used to be in that nasty bathroom. Now we switched it around so that I could have more freedom with my cabinets! One of the BEST decisions that we could have ever made!

The window on the right is where the back door used to be.

This is the window that goes over the kitchen sink. Basement door is to the left.

This is my FAVORITE thing that we have done so far!

This is the skinny doorway that lead from the kitchen to the dining room....

Now it looks like this! It gives the whole kitchen a very open feel!

I think it turned out awesome!

Same doorway, just from the dining room looking into the kitchen...

(Isn't Dave so cute? He doesn't usually work in church clothes

and a leather jacket. We just happened to stop by after church and

he couldn't resist doing a little shop vac-ing!)

Well, that's where we are at so far! We are expecting a lot of changes over the next few weeks. I will keep updating as we go! By the way....10 more days til moving day! My poor parents aren't going to know what hit 'em when they get this major lifestyle change....going from 2 in the house to 10 in the house! Ready or not Grandma and Grandpa....here we come.....

Yay Me!

2009-01-17T21:51:00.000-08:00

Ok...so for many reasons I have been wanting to lose weight. In no specific order they are.....

#1. To be healthier. My father died at age 37 because of heart disease. My maternal Grandfather has had a heart attack as well. Not something to mess around with. I want to be here as long as possible for my kids!

#2. I look terrible. Yeah... my husband will be so mad that I actually typed that out, but it's how I feel. You know how us women are... don't try to convince us otherwise!

#3. I am ready for another baby/babies! Actually, I have been ready for about 2 years, but it's finally feeling like it's almost the "right" time. Don't get me wrong, we need to get a few things in order first...mainly our house remodel! But I don't want to get pregnant while I am this overweight. I have been blessed with 4 awesome pregnancies and I want to be in better shape so that hopefully this can be a 5th awesome pregnancy. Especially considering that this could very well NOT be a single pregnancy. I need to be feelin' good so that I can keep up with my other rugrats!

So I started in on "dieting" about 2 weeks ago. I have already lost about 12 lbs! Whoop! Whoop! Mostly for my record, here is what has worked for me:

Writing down exactly what I eat...ON THE FRIDGE. I have wrote down in a notebook before, but this seems to work better. It's right in front of my face when I walk in the kitchen. I write down EVERYTHING. Even if it's one twizzler.
Eating breakfast. This is hard for me. I am soooo NOT a breakfast eater. Now I usually eat oatmeal and a banana or apple. Sometimes I just eat a granola bar.
NOT eating anything at all after dinner. Once I am up from the dinner table, I don't eat another bite. Dave eats all the time. All day long, all night long. He stays skinny though....so that's ok for HIM! A lot of times we would sit down and munch on stuff and watch our shows after the kids go to bed. Shame Shame on me. Now, I brush my teeth as soon as I get the kids in bed. That way I am not tempted so much.
Cutting back on my baking. Just for now. Once I lose the weight and feel like I have more self-control, I will go back to baking the goodies. I do miss it.
Eating just one helping at dinner time. It is pretty easy to eat light all day. At dinner, there is no way I can always cook low-fat or light for the whole family. I just make sure I do good all day and then at dinner, I eat only one helping of everything....including veggies that I am not wild about.
Snacking on fruit only. I do not buy any "light" snack cakes or "low-fat" diet snacks.
Allowing myself to cheat. I DO keep some twizzlers and laffy taffy around. Somedays I eat 2 or 3. Somedays I eat none. The most I have eaten is 6. I write it down though. That keeps me from downing half the bag like I used to! I am a CANDY lover!!! Also, if we eat out as a family, which we have done twice since I have started, then I order what I want. I just don't usually eat as much because my stomach has shrunk since I have started dieting.

I do want to start drinking water better. I go through phases with that.

I'm definitely not saying it is the perfect diet plan for everyone. It has just been working for me so far! I would like to lose about 15 to 20 more pounds! I just hope and pray I can keep it up! I am feeling good about it and think I can!

Close Call...

2009-01-14T21:12:00.000-08:00

Bryson, my 4 year old, was laying on the floor in the living room watching cartoons in the morning. Nevin walked up and kinda laid/threw himself onto Bryson. Bryson laughed and then got really serious. He looked right into Nevin's eyes and said:

"Nevin! When you walked up, I saw your shadow and I thought you were the Kung Fu Panda! And if you weren't the Kung Fu Panda, then I definitely thought you were a Storm Trooper!"

The kid cracks me up!

Happy 8th Birthday Taelyn and Mariya!

2009-01-11T19:44:00.001-08:00

Simply Amazing! That's all I can say to describe my girls! That's all I can say to describe what the last 8 years of our life has been! That's all I can say when I think about how God has been so gracious to give us these beautiful children, including my only 2 girls!

I remember when you two were just toddlers. I would look at you and try to figure out what you would look like when you got older. I could NOT wrap my mind around the thought of my baby girls actually growing up. It seemed like you would just always be my spunky little redheaded babies! So you two turning eight this past weekend just totally blows me away!

Here are the things I want to remember about you now:

Taelyn

You are my big helper. You are all about business when it comes to managing the household.

You are giving. You almost ALWAYS share your toys.

You like to sleep on the top bunk.

You almost always get up about 3 times every night after lights out. Once to tell me your head/stomach hurts. Once to tell me you can't sleep. Once to go potty.

You don't mind your hair in your face.

You like to go out to run errands with me.

You can put away the food like a grown man! You are usually willing to try new and unusual things.

You love to go down and bang around on Daddy's drums.

Your favorite foods are fruits and vegetables.

You sleep with a big entourage of stuffed animals.

You are shy around strangers.

You are a little thicker around the waist than Mariya and wear 1/2 size bigger shoe than Riya.

Mariya

You are an awesome big sister and you love to make your little guys happy.

You almost always help without complaining.

You love to sleep in whenever you can.

You love to make conversation.

You are very sensative.

You enjoy messing around on your guitar and occassionally Daddy's guitar.

You don't sleep with any stuffed animals.

You have a loud and contagious laugh!

You HAVE to sit with Taelyn at the dinner table. Every night you make sure of that!

You are an awesome eater. You eat just about anything. Sometimes you can be a little picky when it comes to vegetables.

You like a little less drama than Taelyn.

You like to make goofy faces to make people laugh!

Both of You:

Don't mind being called the wrong name. You are VERY used to it. Sometimes you correct people and sometimes you don't.

Love to play with each other. At school, you are not together all the time. At home, you are together 99.9% of the time.

Love music. You like Taylor Swift, Hannah Montana, and just about anything mommy or daddy listens to.

Love to play with your toys! Barbies, Polly Pockets, Dollhouse, GI Joes, Star Wars....

Love to eat salad. At dinner, it's common for you both to eat at least 2 or 3 bowls of salad. Lettuce, cheese, and ranch. Sometimes egg or green pepper.

Are social butterflies. You get along with just about anyone. You make friends lightening fast!

HATE cleaning your room. You girls dread me telling you to clean your room. It usually takes you about 5 times longer than it should because you are playing around.

Like holding hands when we are out and about. Most of the time with each other. You never mind holding Mommy or Daddy's hand either.

Like putting on make-up and dressing up. You have loved doing this your whole life...and still do!

Like to take baths.

Are so rough with each other! You love to wrestle around.

Have so much patience with your little brothers. You play with them and teach them all kinds of things.

Have no idea how lucky you are to have the special bond that you share. To you girls, being twins is "no big deal" and you don't realize how unique it is. I am so glad that you love each other the way you do.

You have brought so much happiness to this family. You are free spirits and very fun-loving little girls. I thank God every day for giving me such little beauties!

8 years ago today... The birth of my baby girls Taelyn and Mariya.

2009-01-10T21:30:00.001-08:00

Ashton was almost 18 months when we decided it was time for another baby. We got pregnant the first month. We were totally shocked! We had planned on it taking a while. I immediately knew that we were having a boy. I knew it. We went in for our routine ultrasound when I was 6 weeks pregnant, and I was just praying that everything was ok. I wanted to see that heart beat. I was ready to see that little "peanut" on the screen and know that everything was ok. When the sonogram tech brought up the screen she sat and stared at it for a minute. She didn't say anything and it made us a little nervous.

Me: (pointing) "Is that the little beating heart?"

Her: (pointing) "Ok, see this?"

Me: "Yeah."

Her: "That's a little beating heart."

(I felt a huge relief come over my tense body! Thank you God!)

Her: "Ok, see this?"

Me: "Yes." (I'm thinking it's a kidney, liver, lung, femur, something like that...)

Her: "That is another beating heart."

Me: "What? What does that mean?" Surely not?

Dave and I sat there totally stunned. The thought never even occured to us. It took a second and finally dawned on us at the same time. We both started laughing. I mean laughing hysterically. I have no idea why. I, personally, could not stop for the rest of the sonogram. Tears of joy and SHOCK rolled down my face. Our due date was January 24th.

On a side note - I have dreamed of having children my whole life. I can remember my high school English teacher asking me what I wanted to be when I "grew up" and I said a Mom. That's all I cared about. I was going to have 4 boys and 1 girl and live in a house out in the country with my sweet and adoring husband. (Well, needless to say... I DID get the sweet and adoring husband part right, but that was about it!) NEVER in all of those years did I EVER picture myself with twins. And I did A LOT of pondering on this subject. Hmmm... kinda funny.

Anyways, we left the doctor's office that day just bursting with joy! It was so fun to go and tell everyone!

Since it was two babies, I really had this maternal feeling that is was twin boys. I just knew it! So at 16 weeks, I was shocked again.... to find out that we were having twin girls! God really liked keeping us on our toes that year! He was reminding us that he was in control... not us!

My pregnancy was 100% healthy. Our doctor was amazing. He was so much fun and he always told me that I was his favorite patient! He had a great sense of humor and always made us feel so comfortable with his wealth of knowledge! With numerous appointments, we quickly gained a close and personal relationship with our doctor!

My stomach got HUGE very quickly to say the least. I enjoyed every single second of it! What an amazing feeling to feel all those arms and legs moving around all at once. Many times they would get the hiccups at the same exact time and both sides of my stomach would be boppin' up and down. Ashton loved to kiss my growing belly! We felt so blessed already and we had not even got to meet our new little girls yet!

I went in to my doctor's office towards the end of December. I was measuring very large! The doctor said he thought it would be "safe" for me to have the babies anytime. He was thrilled that I had made it that far! We set up a date to be induced on January 10th because he was going to Africa and we did NOT want anyone else delivering.

January 10th came and I felt wonderful still. In fact, just the day before I had been out playing in the snow with Ashton. (He had just turned 2 years old) We were so anxious to meet these girls.

We sat around in the labor room discussing and taking votes on what we thought the girls would look like. We were told the entire pregnancy that they were fraternal, so I pictured one with strawberry blonde hair and one with brown hair. We wrote down what everyone thought and had a great time visiting with my Mom and Dad, my Grandma and Grandpa, and my Aunt and Uncle. Ashton was with Dave's parents until later that day.

The doctor induced me at 8:00 a.m. They upped my pitocin every 15 to 30 minutes. Nothing was happening. It was 10:30 and I finally asked a nurse if the doctor could come and break my water. He showed up around 11:oo and broke my water. Contractions started almost immediately. (I had already warned the nurse that with my son, I did not have to push. He was nearly born in the hallway on the way to the delivery room!) So around 12:10 when I told her that I felt like the babies were coming, she did not even check me. She walked out the door and immediately returned with 2 other nurses that wheeled me to the delivery room. She had already buzzed for the doctor.

They set me up in the delivery room very quickly. Now with twins, you have 2 of everyone in the delivery room. Looking around, there were at least 15 people standing around me. It was cold. They have all kinds of equipment just in case there are problems. Dave was right there rubbing my head and pushing my hair back. He was SO nervous. My mom was there with me as well. She was about to BURST with excitement. I felt the urge to push! It felt like trying to stop a freight train! I kept asking "Where is Dr. Shepherd?". They kept telling me that he was on his way! I am set up...stirrups and all. There is a total silence of everyone waiting for him to bust through those double doors. Finally he walks in and looks in my direction only to see a baby crowning! "Wait! Don't have these babies with out me!" he says. He then looks down at his beeper, laughs and reads it outloud, "Ha! 911! 911! 911! 911!". He thought that was so funny!

He walked over said "Oh my, we have some red hair on this baby! And she has got a perfect little grapefruit head!" Within a few minutes, he was holding our baby girl up so that we could see her! She was screaming her head off! We were trying to eww and aww over her, but they swept her away. The nurse was using the sonogram machine to make sure that the 2nd baby was still head down. What a relief to know that she was! Dr. Shepherd broke her bag of water and said "Here comes our second redhead!". She came out very quickly. Too quickly! She didn't cry. She just wimpered and the next thing we knew they had tubes shoved down her nose and throat and machines were beeping like crazy! I was panicked. Dave was worried, but was "trying" not to look worried. I kept asking Dave what was wrong. Was she ok? I could see several people standing around her and neither Dave or Mom could see what was going on. Amazingly enough, Dr. Shepherd was so calm and caring and reassured us that everything was ok. For some reason, that was enough for me. Within 5 to 10 minutes, they told us that Mariya would be just fine and she was doing better. I held Taelyn and was absolutely amazed at how perfect she was. I will never forget how she stopped crying immediately when they handed her to me. She stared directly into my eyes and did not look away for what seemed like hours. I was wheeled out of the delivery room with only Taelyn. Even though I knew Mariya was ok, it was a feeling that made my stomach churn.

Mariya had taken in amniotic fluid because she came out so quickly. They kept her for awhile and I finally got to hold her almost 4 hours later. She was completely 100% healthy after a little rough start. Her two minute APGAR was only 2! I am so glad we did not know at the time.

Taelyn was born at 1:28 p.m. weighing 5 lbs. 9 ozs.

Mariya was born at 1:31 p.m. weighing 5 lbs. 14 ozs.

Ashton came in and met Taelyn first. A few minutes later, he met Mariya. He really could care less. He was just a little guy and he wanted his mommy!!!! We laid in the bed for a little while and watched cartoons and I hugged on his sweet little toddler self! He all of a sudden seemed HUGE! Wow....we were just calling him a "baby" yesterday! =)

When they brought Mariya in and handed her to me, I immediately wanted to hold Taelyn as well. Laying them together on my chest for the first time was something that I will never be able to explain. Saying that it was "simply amazing" is a major understatement. I realized then how much they looked alike! A nervous feeling came over me. Oh my gosh, how will I remember who ate? Who I changed? What if I forget who is who and I forever mix up their names? Thank the Lord for those hospital bracelets! The doctor came in and mentioned that he thought they looked an awful lot alike. He told us that he was going to send the placenta away for testing. (It eventually came back that they were in fact identical twins.)

The hospital stay was so great. I was up walking around and feeling almost completely normal 3 hours after they were born. Our babies were angels!

The girls were born and within 24 hours there were 2 other sets of twins and a set of triplets born in the same hospital. They were dubbed "The Magnificent Nine". We were put up on the 8th floor with the other families because there was so much media hype and they wanted to "up our security". The next morning we were being photographed with the other parents and babies. Our photo with "The Magnificent Nine" appeared in 72 newspapers nationwide and their photograph appeared on CNN News Channel and Regis and Kelly! Nothing like making your world-wide debut the morning after you've birthed twins!!! We were all treated like celebrities and we enjoyed visiting and getting to know each other.

We had family members visiting around the clock. We loved it! We had Ashton up there at the hospital quite a bit too. We were so used to being with him 24/7! We missed him so much when he wasn't with us! Ashton immediately took to the babies. He would come in the room and love on them in his little boyish, clumsy ways! He was already such an awesome big brother. We thought there would be some jealousy and there was NONE...from day one!

Two days later, we returned home as a family of 5. Just days before we were a family of 3! God blessed us in every way possible. What an amazing journey God had in store for us!

These pics are not the best quality and did not scan up well. It was before our digital camera days! =)

This is the only preggo pic I can find that's not packed away. It's got the crease through it which stinks. This was 4 days before I delivered the girls.

"The Magnificent Nine"

All 5 of us...ready to go home from the hospital!

Home from the hospital all snuggled in their cradle.

Tote Obsession...

2009-01-06T19:21:00.000-08:00

I have a tote obsession. I know this. I do NOT try to hide it. Dave loves to make fun of me for this! He calls me the "Tote Queen". I love to go down the tote isle. I love the smell of the tote isle. I make trips through there regularly. I come up with many excuses to buy totes. I love to group things and organize them, it's fun. Apparently my kids have taken over my tote-loving traits! ALL of the kids have loved totes, laundry baskets, anything small and confining! But they love them for other reasons....

I had to pull a couple of pics out of the archives. Most of the pics are of Nolan and Nevin and their tote/basket/box loving days!

I lOVE this one of Nolan in the laundry basket.

11 months old

Here's Nevin just a couple weeks later in the same laundry basket.

11 months old

It's usually this way...both in the same one. Most of the time shouting..."ALL ABOARD!"

19 months old

These are the "tote races" that take place in our house periodically. They are getting too big for the little totes, but they still love to get in there and have the big kids push/pull them around!

21 months old (with Ashton and Taelyn)

This is the "please pull us around" face. It works.

21 months old

Nolan was having a blast getting in this tote one night. The big kids called him "Nolan In Carbonite"....we are Star Wars Fans around this house!

(don't freak out, we never actually put the lid on all the way)

Almost 26 months old

The boys will play and laugh when they get in this one. They like to be all crammed in together. It must remind them of their "womb days"!

26 months old

Christmas morning. Why play with new toys when we have a BOX???? Nolan KNOWS he's cute!

26 months old

I am being so serious when I tell you that they sat in this BIG tote and watched Christmas cartoons for an hour! Poor little Mariya was sick, so she missed out on the sibbling closeness that night! Good thing...I am not sure where she would've squeezed in!

So in review...

I love totes.

My kids are incredibly cute.

I am not sure why we NEEDED to get a bigger house.

(maybe just so we can buy more totes?)

Happy Birthday Uncle Travis!

2009-01-01T21:21:00.000-08:00

Today my oldest brother would have turned 35 years old! He was just 10 years old when he wrecked his 4-wheeler and went to be with his Heavenly Father. I was only 5 years old when he passed away, but I can remember his sweet, laid-back, honest disposition. He was creative and smart, and had no enemies. Although he died at such a young age, we know that this was God's Will. Jeremiah 29:11..."For I know the plans I have for you..."

We are anxious to be with him in heaven again someday! My life is different because of him. My life is better because of him. I live my life to the fullest every day. I do NOT take for granted that I will always be on this earth. I do NOT take for granted that my kids or my family will always be on this earth. I love and appreciate my husband and kids in a way that I may have never known had this tragedy never happened. I can't wait for my kids to meet their Uncle Travis in heaven and see what an amazing person he is!

In Loving Memory...

Travis Keith Potter

January 1, 1974 - May 4, 1984

(Left to right) My brother Brody, Travis, and me

Christmas Cuties....

2008-12-25T20:52:00.000-08:00

We had planned on taking a family picture on the day of our Church Christmas Program. The 4 older kids all had a part in the program and would be all dolled up! Well it turned out that Mariya had the flu that day and we were not able to get a picture. The kids took turns getting the flu for the next week or two. We ended up trying to get a pic just a couple days before Christmas and had NO luck! The boys were grumpy because they were still recooping from the flu and pink eye and it seemed like out of the 57 pictures that I DID take, some one had their eyes closed or something!! We came up with a few cute ones, so I thought I would post them!

Their poor little pink eyes! I am so glad they are feeling better now. They are my little cutie guys but you can see they still had a touch of it.

2008-12-25T20:50:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas!!!

Small Update.....

2008-12-21T22:33:00.001-08:00

I know it has been just short of forever since I posted last! We have had a very crazy hectic week! The flu has hit our family hard. NOT the 24-hour flu....the 4/5-day flu!!! So Mariya kicked it off and then Bryson, followed by Nevin and then Nolan. Ashton, Taelyn, Dave and I have NOT gotten it! (knock on wood) I am faithfully praying that we DON'T! Like I said, the recovery time is not short, so I don't want anyone sick on Christmas! Wouldn't be the first time though!

The EXCITING news around the Harris' house is that we sold our house!!! I can't believe it. As you know we bought a "fixer-upper" in August and we put our house on the market toward the end of October. We expected for it to be on the market for a while. We were hoping in the spring we would get an offer. NOPE! God has other plans! Caught us totally off guard but we are thrilled to say the least! We only showed the house twice and the second person came to us with an offer immediately. We have signed the agreement and now we have to go through the house inspection and all of that. Hopefully that all runs smoothly and we plan to close on January 30th! Our new house is not live-able at this time, so we are going to move in with my mom and dad for a while so we can work on the house. We are focused on the kitchen and paint and carpet for the rest of the house. We had planned to do most of the work on the house ourselves but we are exploring some other options to speed up the process. Wow....God never ceases to amaze me! Praise the Lord!

Now we are ready to enjoy these last few days before Christmas with some crafts and baking!

Happy Holidays!

How can you NOT fall in love with these Baby Blues....

2008-12-15T07:57:00.000-08:00

I NEVER dreamed I would have a blue-eyed baby. Now I have two!!! Ashton has a handsome brown/green eye combination. Taelyn and Mariya have beautiful dark brown eyes. Bryson has pretty green eyes. This all makes sense because my eyes are brown and Dave's are green. Our parents have the same as us, as do our brothers and sisters. When Nolan and Nevin were born, they had blue eyes. All of our kids did. All of our kids' eyecolor had changed by the time they were 6 months old. So we waited and watched. Sure enough...both Nolan and Nevin's eyes actually stayed blue! And they are simply beautiful!

Here are some pictures of Nolan monkeyin' around at the kids' Christmas program. He is just a doll baby and I fall in love with him everytime I look into those blue eyes!

New Twins added to the family!

2008-12-14T23:57:00.000-08:00

My mom (aka Grandma) just got new puppies! They are 8 week old cocker spaniel puppies! My dad, who is generally anti-dog, finally caved and let my mom get not one, but TWO little cuties!

I especially love the new dogs at Grandma's house!!! We have NO animals here at the crazy Harris household. We do not plan on getting any pets any time soon! BUT we do enjoy getting to play with our relative's animals! We have Aunt Jami's pug, Frankie. We also have our cousins animals....3 dogs and a cat that we can enjoy! It works for me!

The new little pups are so cute, so I just had to share some pics! My kids are head-over-heels for this little doggies!

Two little girls....their names are Bella (left) and Roxy (right).

This is a terrible picture of me, but it is one of the only good pictures we got of Roxy! She is a hyper little fiesty gal! She wouldn't sit still long enough for us to get a good one!

Bella is a sweet little cuddly girl. She is pretty low key, but she does like to wrestle around with her sister every now and then!

My pretty niece, Laney and my sweet Tae spoilin' Bella!

2008-12-14T23:56:00.000-08:00

Of course, the girls had them all dolled-up!

My handsome nephew, Chance with Bella.

Bryson LOVED holding Bella. Roxy wasn't his style though!

Little Mama Taelyn. She's got the touch!

2008-12-14T23:55:00.000-08:00

Nolan was LOVIN' the dogs! I think he is going to be my little veterinarian someday!

Ashton with a wiggly Roxy!

My nephew, Coy givin' some love to Roxy.

I had to post this pic so that you can get an idea of how little they are!

A Nativity Scene from a Galaxy Far, Far Away...

2008-12-10T21:23:00.000-08:00

I LOVE to decorate the house for Christmas. We have everything from cartoon-ish snowmen to country Christmas decorations. I particularly like to focus on Nativity Scenes. We own 3 or 4 of them. 2 of them are put out for the kids to play with. One set is wooden and the other is a Fisher Price Little People set. I like to let the kids be hands on with these. Generally they stay in the same location, they just get rearranged. One night as I was picking up, I noticed I was missing the "stable" for one. I went back to find my highly creative girls acting out Jesus' birth.....WITH STAR WARS FIGURES!!! They've got some WILD imaginations.

I guarantee that you have never seen a Nativity scene like this one....

CAST

Han Solo as Joseph

Padme as Mary

Wicket the Ewok as Baby Jesus (aka Jesus Loves Me Baby)

Slave Leia, Luke Skywalker, and Boba Fett as The Three Wisemen

Mace Windu as The Shepherd

Leia as the sheep

Anakin as the cow

Logray the Ewok as the donkey

4 year olds are ALWAYS right....

2008-12-09T21:31:00.000-08:00

We will every now and then rent a movie on Tuesday night. Sometimes Dave has to do the Sports section, so he'll go to work for most of the evening. I had asked the kids if they wanted me to rent "Wall-E" or "Horton hears a Who". I THOUGHT all 4 said "Horton Hears a Who". I was mistaken. Bryson, my recently turned 4 year old, did not.

Here's our conversation:

Bryson: Mom, when are we going to watch Wall-E?

Me: Oh, Bry...I didn't rent Wall-E. I rented "Horton Hears a Who".

Bryson: Aaawww....I wanted to watch Wall-E! (very whiney voice)

Me: Well, maybe next time we can get that one.

Bryson: But I like robots and I wanted to watch Wall-E because it has a robot. If you go up to the store and get it, and put it in the dvd player, I will show you the robot.

Me: Well, not tonight buddy. We are only watching ONE movie and we will stick with the one I already rented. I will keep Wall-E in mind for next time.

Bryson: "Horton Hears a Who" has a robot too.

Me: Noooo.....I don't think that show has a robot.

Bryson: Yeah, it does. In the very begining. You will see it.

Me: No buddy, this one is a Dr. Suess show. You know...like Cat in the Hat?

Bryson: Yeah....and it has a robot.

Me: No, it has silly lookin' characters. I think it even has an elephant. It will be really funny. We'll pop popcorn and watch it in just a little bit.

Bryson: Yeah....and when we watch it, you will see a robot. You know, like C3PO on Star Wars.

Me: C3PO isn't on this movie though.

Bryson: Noooooo.....not C3PO, just a robot LIKE C3PO.

Me: Bryson, I really don't think there are robots in this movie.

Bryson: (very polite tone) Mom....can you PLEASE quit saying that there are no robots???

Me: Okay buddy.

We watched the movie and he loved it. He actually sat for the entire thing, which Bryson is not one to usually SIT at all. Never another word about robots. =)

Huh??? You said what????

2008-12-05T20:02:00.000-08:00

Having 6 small children in the house is quite entertaining in and of itself. Dave and I constantly catch ourselves cracking up at the things that our kids say or do! Many of their mispronunciations are so cute that they end up sticking around for quite a while! Actually, Dave and I find ourselves using some of these on a daily basis. Nevin and Nolan, being 2 years old, have developed some of their own language.... ;) Mostly for my records, here are some of the cute things they say now....

"Wah" ..... instead of "yeah"....not sure where the "w" came from. Nevin started it and Nolan now says it too.

"Meet-me" .....this is for "blankie". Again, Nevin started it, Nolan now uses it as well.

"Read it tee" ..... this is what Nevin says for "read it to me" when he is comin' at us with a book. I guess he combines the "to me".

"Punk punk" ..... Nolan originated this one for "pumpkin".

"Boozer" ..... Ok...follow me here. This is their word for "ghost". Get it? BOOOO? Bryson used this last year, and it has hung round. I have had many embarrassing moments in the Halloween isle at Walmart when the 3 little boys are all yelling "Look! There's a boozer!" We also have a beanie baby ghost, Nevin gave him his name... "Boozer Boo".

"Jesus-loves-me baby" ..... this is what Nevin calls our "Baby Jesus" in our Nativity Scene.

"Man-Man" ..... Nolan's word for "snowman".

"Choo Choo Pizza" ..... this is for "Jocko's Pizza Inn". They have a train theme throughout the restaurant. Again...I think Bryson came up with it and it has stuck with us!

"Beet House" ..... this is for the "Beef House"....a steakhouse that we frequent.

"Hamburger House" ..... this is what Nevin shouts out when he sees those golden arches!

"Am I Am" ..... this is for the Sammy Hagar song, "Sam I am". The boys LOVE this song and request it as soon as they get in the van. Soon after it starts, you hear.....

"Turn it Bup!" ..... this is how they say "Turn it up!".

"Harvester" ..... another favorite song of theirs..... "International Harvester" is frequently requested! They just blurt it out!

"Children. Parents." ..... We have a children's CD with Christian songs. Nevin knows all the words to "Children obey your Parents".

"Lightning Keen" ..... this is for Lightning McQueen". Big fans here at our house. =)

Here are some "oldies" that have stuck around.....

"Yeah-yeah" ..... Ashton would say this with such excitement for "yes". If you asked him if he wanted some juice, he would say "yeah-yeah!".

"Mud-tie" ..... this was for "muddy". Ashton would say "Oh no, my shoes are all mud-tie."

"Abre" ..... the girls loved Dora so they never used the word "open"

"Basketti" ..... this is the girls' word for "spaghetti". I can remember calling it that when I was young too!

"By purpose" ..... this is used by the girls still. Instead of "ON" purpose! You know...."She kicked me by purpose!!!" Some days I hear this more than others!

"Apples juice" ..... obviously "apple juice". For some reason, Bryson always pluralized "apple"...it makes sense!

"Buh-tar" ..... this is for "guitar". Bryson LOVES "buh-tar" songs!

"Comm trooper" ..... used instead of "Storm" trooper. Bryson is really getting into Star Wars movies these days! Chip off the old block! =)

I am sure that their cute little voices saying them is what makes it so cute, but I had to get some down before I forgot them! I have many more, but that will have to be part two!

My Studious One.....

2008-12-02T05:46:00.000-08:00

Nevin, my spunky 2 year old, LOVES his Thomas "puter". I will give that computer most of the credit for him being able to recognize almost all of his numbers and a lot of his letters!

Sometimes he likes to just go into his office, with his laptop, and have some alone time...

FIRST SNOW....By the numbers....

2008-12-01T18:59:00.000-08:00

1 ..... number of snows we've had this season

6 ..... number of kids at the Harris house that were DYING to play in the snow at 7:30 a.m.

12 ..... number of ears that needed covered before going out

60 ..... number of fingers wiggling their way into gloves

24 ..... number of socks to keep their feet "toasty warm"

6 ..... number of winter coats that got buttoned, zipped, and velcro-ed

2 ..... number of parents worn out from the "getting ready" process

45 ..... number of minutes to prepare a family of 8 for the snow

8 ..... number of smiling faces ready to have some winter fun

3 ..... number of sleds we dug out of the shed

2 ..... number of little guys who had their "first" snow experience

2 ..... number of snowmen that were built

4 ..... number of snow angels that were made in our yard

1 ..... number of slushy rivers on the side of the road from the snow melting so fast

3 ..... number of little boys playing in said river

2 ..... number of gloves that went MIA during our outing

16 ..... number of rosy red cheeks ready to go in and get warm

30 ..... number of minutes that were enjoyed in the first snow!

2008-11-30T19:01:00.000-08:00

Worry ends where faith begins.... (WARNING: LOOOOOONG POST AHEAD!)

2008-11-26T23:30:00.000-08:00

Dave and I have been praying for a bigger house for quite some time. We currently live in a small 3 bedroom ranch home that we bought in October 1999. We have LOVED this house from the day we laid eyes on it. No, it's not perfect. It's not a "model" home by any means. But we have put so much love and work into it! We have done most of the major things, from the furnace to the roof! Most of the inside has been updated over the years and we have made it our own! The "smallness" of our house has bothered everybody else more than it has bothered us. We have really truly been happy living here. Usually we are all in the same room anyways, so space is only an issue when it comes to "stuff". I have always believed the motto..."Love grows best in little houses." But with adding Nolan and Nevin to our crew, and knowing that we would like to have more children someday, we knew that we would need to have more space. So we started searching. We came upon many houses, but didn't feel right financially about them. We also had put an offer in on a house, only to have the sellers back out at the last minute. We had also at one point, sold our house. Then right before signing, the buyer did not get the job transfer they were hoping for and had to back out on their offer. We knew that God had a plan, but could not figure out just what it was. So we decided to take the "sit back and pray" approach.

My mom had been "eyeballing" a house in Georgetown for a while. It was a big house that had been sitting empty for over a year. We tried to call the court house to get information on it, but there was no information on record. That was in March.

In June, I picked up a small local newspaper, which I read about once every six months. I opened it to the "houses for sale" section and happened to glance over on the opposite page at the Public Notice section. That is when I noticed an announcement for a "Sheriff's Sale" on that EXACT Georgetown house! For those of you who don't know, a Sheriff's Sale is an auction sale of a foreclosed property held by the sheriff to sell the property to pay a court-ordered judgement. You buy the property...sight unseen. AS IS. You must have 10% cash down at the time of the sale, and the remainder within 24 hours. It is a big risk, but also a way to get a really great bargain!

So I started making phone calls and scouring the internet for information. I hit all kinds of dead ends. The internet was no help because laws vary by county. Everyone that I called and talked to had no information on the house besides what the taxes were and who had last purchased the home. We really had no idea on what took place at a Sheriff's Sale. It left us feeling clueless! We prayed....

We decided to take matters into our own hands one day....we snuck through the window of the house and looked around for ourselves! The house was filthy. It stunk. It had garbage and junk left in it. It needed so much work. And I LOVED it! Dave was not convinced as easily as I was. I have always been the type to look at something rough and see potential. Dave said he had to think on this one. After discussing it for a few days, we decided to just think on it and see what happens. We prayed....

We moved forward to try to get financing. We have excellent credit, which helped us, but only one income! We got approved, but it was for about $10,000 less than what we thought we would like to buy the house for. Well, we needed to sign the loan papers in order to take the cash to the sale. So basically, if the auction went for HIGHER than what we could pay, then we would have to immediately take our cash back to the bank and pay off the loan. BUT we would have to pay all of the loan fees out of pocket, which ended up being about $500. So there was a chance that we would walk away with no house and also lose $500. Wow...not comfortable with that, but was it a chance we should just take? We prayed....

The sale was to take place at the courthouse on August 7th at 10:00 a.m. We had gone through with the loan paper work and the only thing left was to sign the papers. My dad came up and helped with the kids and my mom and I took the loan papers down to Dave's work to have him sign them. We were pushin' for time and I needed to get the papers back to the bank in order to get the money. The sale was going to start and at 9:45, we decided that $500 was too much to lose and we changed plans. We kept the loan papers on us and decided to take a chance and go to the auction with just the proof of the loan and no cash. We prayed...

We (my mom and I...Dave was at work) met with the sheriff and a few lawyers in the lobby and the sale began. We asked the Sheriff if it would be ok to just have the proof of funds. He said he wasn't sure because he did not usually do this. He happened to be filling in for someone who was normally in charge of Sheriff's Sales. He said that since we seemed trustworthy, he would let us slide by as long as we had the cash to him within the next couple hours.

When it came time to bid on our house, there was only one other bid....which was an absent bid from the bank that had owned it.....and all we had to do was bid $1 over that bid!!!! It was actually almost $10,000 less than what we were approved for! What an answer to prayer! The paperwork and process went really smooth and we knew God had a hand in it all along!

The house is twice the size that we have now. It's a beautiful older home with tons of character! It used to belong to a popular attorney that lived in town. Everyone in town seems to have a "story" about the house. My grandma even spent the night there quite a few times when she was a young girl! Another lady shared how she took piano lessons there and always thought the house looked like a mansion. It's a shame that someone let the house go, but it worked out great in our benefit! We had to redo all of the plumbing, but the electrical and the furnace were both in great shape! We were thrilled with that! We are in the process of doing some major things to the house and that will be in posts to come!

Our "hope" is to be able to add an addition onto the house. We would add 2 bedrooms and 1 bathroom. We have had the estimate done and we are waiting to see how the rest of the house goes..financially speaking. If it ends up that we can not do the addition, we are totally ok with that! It's just another aspect that we are leaving in God's hands! I can honestly say that I have not stressed out AT ALL! That is a work of God! My husband has not stressed much either....that is an even BIGGER work of God! (He is generally the one that worries!)

The kids have been a HUGE help (more on that to come) and so have my mom and dad! My mom has been so generous to watch the kiddos if we need her to and my dad is right there with us doing all the major remodeling! I am blessed with wonderful parents!

In the meantime, here are some pictures to update you. They are not the best quality, but will have to do for now. DON'T PROCEED IF YOU GET SCARED EASILY! HA!

2008-11-25T23:17:00.000-08:00

The Girls' Room...this room looks way better in the pic than it does in real life. It just needs some TLC and it will be cute as a button!

This is Ashton and Bryson's Room. It's hard to get a good angle in this room! It does have 2 walk-closets...one on either side of the room. It's a cute room and just needs some paint and carpet/rug. These are hardwood floors, they are just currently painted.

This is Nolan and Nevin's Room. Needs some major lightening up! We are going to decorate with a cowboy theme....it will be so cute!

Upstairs Bathroom....it's been slightly updated. It needs a little work, but will do the job for now!

2008-11-25T12:51:00.000-08:00

The front of our house

The side yard

The back yard

2008-11-25T12:50:00.001-08:00

The door that goes down to the creepy basement...

Dave going upstairs...hesitantly....

All of the kids' rooms have walk-in closets...BONUS!...

2008-11-25T12:47:00.000-08:00

The Dining Room....this rooms needs the least amount of work. Just some paint and flooring and we are good to go. It already has new drywall and windows....

If we don't do an addition, this will be our master bedroom. It will have a bathroom and closet put in. It currently has a fireplace, but that will be torn out in order to make room for the bathroom. This room is connected to the dining room now but won't be for long! If we do the addition, this will be a toy/craft room. YaY Me!

This is the Family Room and it is huge! It doesn't look big in the pics for some reason??? But it is so much bigger than what we are used to now! This room basically needs paint and flooring and a leak fixed in the ceiling. We are on that project now! The fireplace and a few of the window panes need some attention as well.

This is the other part of the Family Room. It is an "L" shape. (Note the fireplace to the left of the picture.) This "area" will be used for toys and kids stuff. I am DYIN' to get some light paint on these walls and brighten this room up! SOOOO much potential!

2008-11-25T12:45:00.000-08:00

The Kitchen...the scariest room of all! We knew that this room would be financially the biggest challenge! We have this room well under way and I will be posting soon on it's progress! We did debate on tying to save the cabinets, etc....but NAH....if we are going to do it, let's do it right!!! (this pic was taken while standing by the back door)

Another view of the Kitchen. I don't have pictures of the other side, but it is actually pretty spacious! You will see soon enough! ; )

This is a small, inconvenient Bathroom off of the kitchen. Yuck.

This is a big homemade "bar" type thing that is in the kitchen. Ugly.

My Favorite Blog....

2008-11-21T21:45:00.000-08:00

Ok...I have to let ya'll know.... I soooo enjoy reading Mycharmingkids.net. It is absolutely my favorite blog to read and has been since about 6 months ago when I came upon it. (Thanks to Devin on that one!) God has worked some crazy amazing miracles in their life and Mckmama is an encouraging Christian Mom! I have sent many prayers up God's way for her little guy, Stellan!

So she is having a contest, and of course, I want to win it! She gives away some crazy cool stuff. Just to let you know, I have tied for 12th place on one of her contests! It doesn't sound THAT impressive, but I was proud of myself! So head on over and check out some good, clean, Christian fun at Mycharmingkids.net!!!

I can NOT figure this out!!!!

2008-11-20T23:29:00.000-08:00

I have absolutely NO idea where Bryson got his GOOFYNESS from.
NONE.

Maybe from his Father?

The Vegetable of Trees

2008-11-18T11:43:00.000-08:00

It's one of those things, when your kids are little and they say things wrong, and it's just too cute to correct. Now I will admit that most of the time, we do correct the children. I mean, I am married to a Journalist, with an English degree! I was also raised by my mom....aka Mrs. Reinier....the High School English Teacher. So needless to say, most of the time, we make sure they use correct grammar, etc. DUH?!?! Hopefully most intelligent parents do this!?!? But every now and then, the kids say something so cute and funny, it's hard to correct! That brings us to "The Vegetable of Trees".... In our area, we have a big event called "The Festival Of Trees". The girls have ALWAYS thought it was The VEGETABLE of Trees. I think last year was the first year they didn't call it that. BUT of course, Dave and I will know it as no other now.....

"The Festival of Trees" is a Christmas program where the area schools and businesses donate hundreds of decorated trees to put on "show" at our local Civic Center. Then the beautiful themed trees are put up for silent auction. There are also different things going on each night/day of the week. Everything from school choirs singing to Breakfast with Santa. It is usually fun to go and kick off the Holiday Season! We have gone every year since the kids were little. We usually see a lot of people we know and just enjoy the laid back atmosphere. The kids get SOOO excited about it every year. This year was no different. They were counting down until the evening that we went. They even gave up their School Skating Party to go to "The Vegetable of Trees"!

NONE of the kids were scared of Santa this year...that's a first! We usually have at least one cryin' off to the side!
(Nolan was terrified of Ronald McDonald though....Go Figure?!?!)

Check out Nolan eyeballin' the candy canes! Forget Santa...give me the candy!!! Which he did get and made a very sticky mess of!

Daddy and his girls. They have SOOO got him wrapped around their little fingers!

Bryson LOVED the train that was wrapped around a HUGE tree in the middle of the arena. He is a BIG train fan anyways, so this was where he spent most of the night! He couldn't get enough!!!

Me and Ash...watching the Westville High School Choir

We really enjoyed the evening and it made us look forward to Christmas time that much more! How we are truly blessed!

2008-11-17T10:43:00.000-08:00

A Day Late and A Dollar Short...
I know, I know...I'm a little behind on this one.... I wanted to post the pics of my Halloweenie Kids so that I can remember what they were dressed as this year.... Not the best pics...but I need to slap them on here while I am thinking about it.....

Our 3 little guys....Bryson as Batman, Nolan as Chewbacca, and Nevin as Darth Vader...

Our Angel/Devil Duo....
Taelyn and Mariya

Ashton as Squanto
AND...
my nephew, Chance and Ashton as
Halloween Birthday Boys!

Happy 14th Birthday Chance!
Happy 10th Birthday Ashton!

Priviledge Fridays

2008-11-08T21:41:00.000-08:00

We are trying to set up a system with the kiddos that will encourage and recognize good behavior throughout the week. This system rewards them on Fridays with something special. Anything from family movie night to "make-our-own" sundaes snack!

Last night was a priviledge night in which each of the kids (the older 4) got to chose where they wanted to sleep. It had to be in a bed and everyone had to be in agreement. This is the first time we have tried this. Our kids are on a fairly strict schedule and honestly, all 6 of them LOVE their own beds! This wasn't always the case, but for the last couple years, it has been. So we told them that they could swap beds for the night. We also gave them the option of sleeping 2 to a bed. (For those who don't know, we have two sets of bunk beds....one for the girls, one for the boys.) To my surprise, they all wanted to cram in one room together. We ended up with Mariya and Ashton in her bed, and Bryson and Taelyn in the top bunk. So here's all these kids squished in these little beds. We told them they could whisper quietly for 15 minutes and then they had to stop and be absolutely quiet. They were so cute, laying there, whispering amongst themselves. They all enjoyed it and slept really well! Bryson was wanting Ashton to sleep with him tonight, so we had to explain to him several times, that we don't do that EVERY night! =)

I love that they are close. They all have such a special bond and each individual friendship has it's own unique qualities. That's the advantage to having a big family and a little house! We are in such close proximity, that they have no choice but to play together! They have grown up being best buddies. Sure, they get frustrated with each other at times. Sure, they tattle on each other. If they didn't, I would be worried! It is so fun to watch the way each of them connect.

My Halloween Baby.....hittin' DOUBLE digits!!!

2008-10-31T19:23:00.000-07:00

Ashton's birthday was today! Wow...it's always a shock. You would think having 9 birthdays to prepare you, the 10th wouldn't catch you so off guard! But it does!

There is something so precious about your firstborn. It's something that can NOT be explained. My mom had always told me, as a teen or young adult, that there is something different about your firstborn. She was always at a loss for words when she tried to explain it. I NEVER understood. I knew she loved me and my other brother the same amount, how could it be different? NOW, I know.

Ashton is such a perfect firstborn. He is an amazing kid and as close to perfect as you can get! He is a HUGE help around the house and you never hear the first complaint from him! He will play with the babies non-stop when he gets home from school. He builds train tracks for Bryson. He gives in to the girls and plays what they want. He's laidback AND an overachiever! He gets straight A's....and in 4th grade, that is not an easy task. He scores lightyears over the other kids in his class and homework is a breeze. The teacher told me that she wishes every kid was just like Ashton. He's great at math too! He scored in the 97th percentile in the nation! Who would have guessed??? He did NOT get this from me or his father. We are thinking it was passed down from his paternal great-grandfather!?!? He is sensative and generous. He wants to please God. What more could we ask for?

Right Now.....here is what I want to remember about Ashton:

*You love Super Smash Brothers Brawl and Lego Batman on the Wii.

*You turn off the Wii when your time is up, no cryin', whinin', or beggin' for more!

*You love to have the neighborhood boys, Caleb and Austin Y., come over and jump on the trampoline.

*You are a very sincere, thankful person.

*You are very sensative. The very rare times that you do get in trouble, you WILL tear up...out of disappointing yourself usually.

*You are NOT a picky eater, but you like what you like and not usually NEW stuff. You eat everything that I cook....from casseroles to pasta dishes!

*You like your bread...nude. That's what we call it without butter.

*You love having your best friend, Austin C. spend the night. You two are so much alike and quite the duo!

*You enjoy playing "Crossbows and Catapults" downstairs with your dad and friends.

*You have an amazing creative side! Especially when it comes to writing or drawing. You have even created several of your own comic books to "sell" to your friends.

*You have gotten so good at soccer. You give it your all and are specifically good at defense.

*You still let me love on you.

*You always say "Oh good grief"...like Charlie Brown....when someone says something corny.

*You wake up at 6:15 almost EVERY morning on the dot! You grab a poptart and sit in the rocking chair to watch cartoons. You LOVE repetition.

*You are organized and observant.

*You like Baked Spaghetti and Mac-n-cheese.

*You don't like things to be different. Changing our daily schedule up makes you a tad nervous.

*You are a good leader. You love to be put "in charge".

*You are not very shy anymore. Wow...you all of a sudden grew out of this!

*You like to ride your bike with Chance when we go to Grandma's house.

*You are a hard, diligent worker. Especially at our new house!

*You are a wild sleeper and have been since you were a baby.

*You love to be funny. You have a sarcastic sense of humor that makes us all laugh!

*You are a FAST runner. I recently was trying to catch you while we were playing tag and I could NOT do it. You were WAY faster than me and I consider myself fast!

From the day you entered into this world, you have amazed me. I love experiencing new things with you. I am so proud of who you have become! You are a wonderful example for the younger children! Thank you for being so unique and bringing so much joy to our lives!

The Bry Guy turns 4!

2008-10-29T19:46:00.000-07:00

Today is my sweet little Bryson's 4th birthday! Needless to say, it does NOT feel like he should be 4! He has amazed us how quickly he picks up things and how smart he truly is! He has always seemed older than what he really is! This summer, when we were taking the kids to register at school, we were asked 3 times if Bryson was there to register for kindergarten!!! We were like "No! He's only 3!" He is so tall and slender, just like the other kids. Has big feet....size 12 1/2. He can be so well behaved when you need him to be! So many things have always made him seem so grown up! But I can still look at his face and see that little bity sweet baby face!

Here are the little things I want to remember about Bryson now....

*You are passionate about your toys...Thomas the Train fanatic and John Deere Lover!!!

*You love to have someone build tracks with you. Usually it's Daddy.

*You love watching Thomas, Max and Ruby, Tom and Jerry, and Sponge Bob.

*You are too rough most of the time. If you are on time-out, it's probably for playin' too rough!

*You have a love/hate relationship with Nolan and Nevin. You love them when they cooperate and play nice, but get so frustrated when they tear up your track or take your trains.

*You like to go outside with naked feet.

*You are truly the original "Mud Magnet"....if there is dirt to drive your tractors in, you are SO there!

*You love to bounce on the trampoline. Right now...it's off limits while your arm heals. It's killin' ya!

*You love to eat "little pizza" for lunch.

*You like to spank people on the bottom. You even spanked the nurse that wrapped your cast.

*You are a kisser! You LOVE to kiss the people you love. CONSTANTLY!

*You are T.O.U.G.H. A real trooper. (The whole broken arm/surgery thing has barely phased you!)

*You always say "I gotta good idea"!

*You admire Ashton. You will say...out of the blue..."I love Ashton"

*You let the girls dress you up in their clothes and you don't mind a bit.

*You like to play "preschool" with Nolan and Nevin. You are the teacher and they are the students. (usually takes place on the top bunk of your bed) When the girls get home, you play preschool with them and you are the student and they are the teachers. It's so cute.

*You love to sing and dance and put on a show. You especially love to sing, Mexico, Jesus Loves Me, and Zacchaeus was a wee little man.

*You love to DRIVE the Gator powerwheel.

*You love the song "We Will Rock You". You rock out that air guitar!

*You generally don't like to listen to songs that aren't "guitar songs".

*You get crazy excited about 2 people: Stevie and Jacob. Best Buddies!

*You absolutely LOVE to help. Cooking, cleaning, fixing things, you do it all!

*You have to "hide" everytime Daddy walks in the back door. Your hiding places are usually in plain site, with you curled up in a ball....Announcing...."I'm hiding!"

*You like to look me square in the face and say "I was a good boy today"....usually out of guilt, I think.

*You pick Olive Garden every time we ask for ideas on going out to eat. Must stem from my pregnancy cravings when you were in utero????

*You like to blurt out weird phrases to make people laugh. Something like..."it smells like ketchup". You're such a comedian.

*You are a faithful prayer warrior. You are almost always the first one to volunteer to pray for dinner. You always pray for: "Daddy's boss to feel better, the little girl who stole my M&M's at vacation bible school, Karen to feel better from cancer"

*You have a pop tart and chocolate milk every single morning when you wake up.

*You are on the go 100% of the time. No stoppin' ya!

*You LOVE Target.

*You are a good eater.

*You love to go to "Preschool Jr. Church". You recently told me that you really like your teacher with the "tall shoes".

*You don't like to drive "far" in the van.

*You don't like your picture taken.

*You have no idea of how crazy we are about you.

I love my times with you....when the babies are napping and the big kids are at school. I love to sit and kiss your soft face and give you big hugs. I love to stare at the profile of your face while you are intent at watching cartoons. You have been such a fun part of our family! You have added so much happiness and you are constantly making us laugh! I am so blessed to have you as one of my children!!!

My 30th Birthday!

2008-10-23T21:13:00.001-07:00

Well, today was my 30th birthday. Wow...I never thought I would be "in my 30's". Don't get me wrong, I am glad I am! I loved my 20's. They were awesome. I had our first son one week after I turned 20. THAT was a great way to start out my 20's!!! It kept getting better and better as he grew into such a wonderful young man and we added 5 more to the crew! But, I just always assumed, my 20's would last forever. Well, they ended today and I can honestly say, that I am TOTALLY ok with that!

Today was not REAL eventful. We had a great day though! We got the big kids off to school. I cleaned my mother-in-law's house ( I do this weekly). Then for lunch, Dave and I went to the Beef House and had a great meal with our 3 little guys. We ran into a "friend" and he paid for our meal! That was so generous. When the kids came home from school, they gave me their sweet homemade cards and 2 pairs of the cutest lounge pants I have ever seen! I LOVE lounge pants....they are a daily piece of clothing for me! Dave had to work, so he wasn't able to go to Georgetown with us, but that's ok. We went to Mom and Dad's house for an impromptu dinner and then to Revival at Church. A very good day!!!

Everybody has been sympathetic with me as I turned 30. But I have to say in return, 30 is not at all hard for me! I am at such an amazing point in my life. I couldn't possibly love life any more than I actually do right now! I am so blessed that God has chosen such an amazing husband for me. We have had 6 of THE cutest/smartest/sweetest/wackiest kids...HANDS DOWN!!! My parents, my in-laws, and the rest of our extended family are absolutely the most supportive and loving family that anyone could imagine. What would I EVER have to complain about?!??!!

So, here's to my 30's! I am looking forward to the next amazing decade of my life! Who knows, maybe we'll add another 6 kids in 10 years!

My babies are turning 2 today! AAGGHHHH!

2008-10-18T20:35:00.000-07:00

I can not believe that my littlest babies are turning 2 today! It seems like just yesterday that we brought them home in there little snuggly sleepers......we were on a crazy newborn twin schedule doing feedings every time we turned around.....the kids were begging us to hold the "babies" so that they could sit and stare at their tiny little faces and hands.....we would have to load up them in their infant carrier every time we took a trip out.....etc. etc. etc. They have turned out to be such sweet little boys that are so full of personality and happiness. I can not imagine our lives without the TWO of them! And to think that for almost half of that pregnancy we only thought we were being blessed with one little Angel!

Just for my record...here are some quick things that I want to remember about my little guys:

Nolan

You are my strawberry blondie...I thought the girls would be, nope...My Nonie is!

You have an innocent smile....melts my heart every.single.time.

You have been MORE stubborn lately than ever before. A phase? I hope!

You stroll when you walk. Laid Back Baby.

You love yourself some veggies. Every meal...at least 2 or 3 helpings.

You love to drink in the morning. You bring me that sippy at least 10 times before 10 a.m.

You are a breeze to put to bed. Have been since day one!

You are a quiet soul.

You love to sing and hum.

You have a soft spot for Tae and Riya. Many times, if I can't find you, I know to look for them!

You let the girls dress you up in their clothes...and you love it!

You like to put on hats/bracelets/purses....any accessories. But they usually don't last long.

You are not a big fan of t.v. Every now and then you will watch though.

You LOVE Grandpa. He is your favorite person in the whole world!

You pee on my floor every time you get naked.

You prefer to sit in the basket part of the cart, so you can stand or sit.

If you ever see anyone kissing, you pucker up right away for yours!

You like to jump on the trampoline with Ashton holding your hands.

You love to go under the big pine tree in the backyard and play.

You are in a throwing phase...usually things you SHOULD NOT throw.

You generally don't mind strangers talking to you.

You are a H.A.M. You love to be the center of attention. Class clown!

You are a BIG flirt!

You love to get into the bathroom and play in the sink with the water running. MeSsY!

Nevin

You have the brightest prettiest red hair...almost identical to that of your big bro, Bryson.

You have a smile that is contagious.

You almost ALWAYS have that contagious smile on your face.

You can be VERY stubborn and bull-headed (We know who you get that from.... HE HE!).

You always have a "skip" in your step.

You can be somewhat of a picky eater.

You love pasta.

You love when you get the chance to have chocolate milk (right now, it's about once a week).

You can be a PILL to get to bed! Sometimes you just lay down & go to sleep...sometimes...NOT.

You sometimes like to wake up at 4 or 5 a.m. and just cry....stubbornly....for bout an hour.

You prefer men to women, when it comes to people you don't know very well.

You can talk like NOBODY'S BUSINESS!!! You talk as well as a 10 year old sometimes!

You call ALL men, "Daddy"....which has been embarrassing more than once!

You have a soft spot for Ashton and Bryson.

You don't care for your carseat.

You don't like those "squishy/slimey/wiggly" balls at the store. You flinch at the sight of them.

You always want to sit in the "seat" of the cart, NOT the basket part.

You love the MUD. You bathe in the mud....head to toe, literally.

You enjoy cartoons-Thomas, Handy Manny, Diego, Yo Gabba Gabba, Wow Wow Wubzy, etc.

You love bathtime.

You hit your head...mainly forehead...and get bruises ALL THE TIME!

You like to just dump out totes of toys for no reason. I make you pick them up every time too. You always ask for "night night kisses"...even when it's not night time. And "Hug".

You are best buds with Bryson, but you can also clash with him since you two are SOOO alike.

Both of you

Love Thomas the Train, just like Bryson. The shows, toys, books...everything.

Love when "Daddy's big truck" pulls up.

Love the John Deere Gator powerwheel.

Love to be naked.

Love to go "Bye, Bye".

Love to try to escape out the back door. We have to keep it locked 24/7.

You guys have brought so much joy to our lives! You keep us busy and you keep us laughing! We love you so much!!!

Sassy Salsa

2008-08-25T18:58:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite things about summer is enjoying our small garden! I love to see Ashton trying to use the tiller to get the ground ready to plant. I love to see Bryson kneeling down beside Dave, working so hard on pulling weeds. I love to see the girls out there, picking cherry tomatoes and eating them in the hot summer sun.

But most of all....I LOVE picking our vegetables and making BIG batches of salsa! Dave started it years ago....and gradually I have hopped on board. At first, I helped because I could cut the veggies faster. But now, we have it down to an art! Dave is best at doing the taste-testing. He can always tell right away what it needs "more of" or "less of". We have used the same "recipe" for years. It's actually not really a recipe, but more of a concoction! The kids all love to join in and help. Even Ashton, who does NOT eat the salsa (or any kind of salsa) loves to pitch in! We let them peel the garlic, squeeze the limes, tear up the cilantro, etc... It is such a great way to spend time with each other, and work together as a team!

We always make a HUGE batch and share it with everyone! Sometimes my parents or Dave's parents, sometimes our neighbors and friends, and sometimes we even get orders to make it for family get-togethers (like July 4th or Labor Day)!!! Everyone is very appreciative when we share!

This summer, we had the priviledge of having our neighbors over to help us make the salsa! We had taken some over the previous week and they decided it only made them want more! At one point, Shanda was on her back deck, eating the salsa with a spoon!!! She had the idea of bringing over some of their own tomatoes and making some more! We jumped at the chance and invited them over right then! Luke and Shanda are a blast to be with! Two of the nicest people you will ever meet! (Shanda is one of my best friends in the whole world and it is hard to keep us apart!)
So that evening, while the kiddos played in the backyard, we cut and cut and cut our veggies and DOUBLED our BIG batch of salsa! Of course, after we were done, we hung around, eating chips and salsa, and talkin' it up!

Looking forward to our next salsa-makin' adventure....

Fourth of July Fun!

2008-07-05T20:38:00.000-07:00

We have had such a blast this Fourth of July! For one thing, this is Dave's first time in 8 years that he has had this day off. He has always worked either days or nights and was never able to relax and spend time with the families and/or watch a whole fireworks show! How thankful I am to have my husband with me this time! I am sure it sounds silly to some, but it never FEELS right when someone from our family is missing. Whether it's Dave at work, or Ashton at a sleepover, or someone's sick at home with Nan while we go out. Nevin and Nolan were both under the weather for part of the July 4th festivities. Thank goodness we had half a week of stuff planned, so they were able to join in the fun. Of course, they couldn't get sick at the same time, so they took turns!

July 3rd - On Thursday, Nevin was very sick. He had a fever and had been throwing up for the last day. Dave stayed home with him, and I took the kids over to Nan and Papa's for Monical's Pizza. When we were done eating, I went home with Nolan and Dave went back over to his mom's house to be with the big kids. I put the babies to sleep and had a few minutes of absolute silence. WOW....that was pretty cool. Dave and his mom and dad took the kids out in the back yard to watch the Turtle Run fireworks. Now this is a tradition. A tradition for Dave...his whole life. A tradition for our family....since 1998. Dave's parents live in the perfect spot. They have a couple acres so we drive the lawn mower (w/trailor) out back packed up with snacks, drinks, blankets, chairs, flashlights, and bugspray! We go out about 20 minutes ahead of time and get all set up. The kids run off some energy and wait on pins and needles until the show starts. Then the fireworks start.....the kids LOVE them! They will sit there and chat among themselves about their favorite ones/colors. We all snuggle together and usually each kid takes turns sitting on each adult's lap! Then once their over, we pack up and head out for the night. It is so much fun! I was so sad to not be there, but so happy that Dave could take part this time. The kids came home so excited telling me about every little detail. It was so cute!

July 4th - I am a HUGE sucker for traditions. So our norm on July 4th is....our neighborhood parade. We have a "little" neighborhood parade that is growing by leaps and bounds. I started taking the kids myself, because Dave would have to work, and then the next year had talked Dave's mom into going with me. The kids decorate their powerwheels...a Barbie Jeep and Dora 4-wheeler... and their bikes and wagons. This is so much fun for them! We meet one street over and walk a little over a mile to the "ending point". At the end, everyone gathers around and chit chats and they hand out the red, white, and blue popsicles to everyone. We have walked in extreme heat, rain, humidity...everything. This year it was PERFECT weather. We took Nolan and Nevin in their stroller with us. By this time, Nolan was getting a little blah. Even though they weren't feeling perfect, I think it was good for them to get out a little. We had a great time seeing neighbors, friends, and teachers that we haven't seen since school let out. The kids really like to be part of something like this. It gets bigger every year! This year we had a police car, firetruck, and a horse! People line up on the streets to see all the kids go by. I think it is great, especially for the older people that can't get out much. It's so nice they can go right out on their front lawn and see this parade of kids in their patriotic outfits!

Usually after the parade, we will go to Camp Assurance for the July 4th Rally. It kinda depends...sometimes we have headed straight to my parent's house. This year, we decided since the boys were a lil under the weather, we would just head home and let them nap before we went to Georgetown.

Around 4:00, we went down to my parents house for our annual July 4th family get-together. I LOVE this day. We grill out and have some crazy awesome food. Whenever my family gets together, there is WAY TOO MUCH food! We had pork chops, hamburgers, and hot dogs on the grill. We also had all kinds of GOOD homemade food- hashbrown casserole, potato salad, 5 cup salad, pasta salad, 7-layer salad...we like salads =) etc.... And yummy desserts - oreo dessert, texas sheet cake, chocolate chip cookies and so on. We are blessed with some excellent cooks in our family. After eating, we watched the kids ride Chance's go-kart and their bikes in the driveway. The little guys loved pushing their dump trucks and trying to keep up with the big kids! It was a little chilly...about 70's....this year, but the kids HAD to go swimming. Mom and Dad's pool is always in tip top shape with some new toys on the fourth! The kids lasted longer in the pool then I thought they would....big goosebumps, blue lips, and chattering teeth half the time! We got out and ate some more dessert and got on some dry/warm clothes and headed off to the fireworks. We rode (like always) in the back of Uncle Brody's truck. When we got there this year, we happened to park right next to one of my best friends, Kara. My girls LOVE her daughter, Addison, and Bryson and her son, Jacob, are BEST buddies! Needless to say, we had a blast and the fireworks were only half of the entertainment. Chance and Ashton were "rating" them on a 1 to 10 scale....sometimes being Simon Cowell! It was a blast! We headed back to Grandma's afterwards and put on our jammies and headed home.

Our Summer Daze.....

2008-06-14T22:01:00.001-07:00

So...many people will ask me... "Is it hard to have all your kids home for summer break?" or "Are you ready for the kids to go back to school yet!?!?". They are usually a tad shocked when I answer "No...I LOVE having my kids home from school on summer break!" It is such a special time when I get to have them all to myself to love and hug on ALL day! The older ones are HUGE helpers with the chores and babies, but they are also so much fun to be around! We have had such an awesome summer already and we are only 2 weeks into it! We have done some really fun things and have so much more planned!

We have:
~ had a couple of wienie roasts...complete with s'mores and staying up past bedtime.

~all taken part in planting the garden.

~swam in Grandpa and Grandma's pool.

~had some fun cookouts at Nan and Papa's house with their cousins.

~gone out to Steak N Shake for a spontanious milk shake date! (Which BTW, if you are looking to stay on a budget AND have fun....they have 99 cents kids shakes!)

~played in the mud...up to our necks, and jumped on the trampoline in the rain! Sometimes, you can't let the weather get you down...If you can't beat 'em...Join 'em, right?

~gone to VBS at our church and had a blast! Ashton even won Indiana Beach tickets for 2nd place in points for his age group! We all had a blast at the Friday Night Carnival!

~made some very interesting crafts for the wonderful Father/Papa's in our lives!

~had a totally LAZY rain day. That's right....no chores, no laundry, next-to-no cooking. We rented movies, cuddled in our blankets....all 6 kids generally rotate on my lap in the recliner...and did absolutely *kinda* nothing. This was very fun, but VERY different from our normal routine. It felt good....and I was ready to get back to norm the next day!

~hit some good rummage sales. Speaking of rain, Tae and Riya and I went to the "original" Catlin rummages during the rain storm. We had to "wade" in and out of sales. It was so much fun and the girls had a blast!

We are planning to:
~take the boys (2 of which are HUGE Thomas fans) to "A Day Out With Thomas" in Indiana. We took Bryson last year and it is awesome! The girls will stay with Nan, and this will be a special treat, mainly, for the little guys. Ashton is coming along as helper/entertainer! We even get to ride a real Thomas train!

~go camping in our tents at Forest Glen with Doug, Jami, Stefani, Stevie, and Schae. This is Dave's sister's family. They are great and so much fun. Jami is such a sweet person and she is one of my best friends. The kids will have a blast! We are going all out! Hiking, fishing, yard darts, s'mores and campfire stories...I can't wait!

~have great July 4th celebrations with our families. I LOVE this holiday. Usually we go out to church camp on the fourth and then to my mom's for a big celebration. We watch fireworks that night in Georgetown in the back of Uncle Brody's truck. On the weekend, we usually get together in Dave's parents' back yard and watch the Turtle Run fireworks. We drive the lawn mower with wagon and all our supplies out to the back of their acreage and "set up camp". We will usually have popcorn, watermelon, and some other goodies. The kids will run around and then sit in amazement once they start. I love traditions!

~send the kids to church camp. All 3 of them actually want to go! They will go to Camp Assurance in Georgetown, which is the camp that I started going to when I was 5 yrs. old. I went my whole life and LOVED every second of it. The kids have all spent time out at camp during family/church activities, but never for 3 days by themselves! Mostly, they are looking forward to swimming everyday, riding the horses, going down the zipline, and doing crafts. I am so glad that they have this opportunity! I am a control freak....so this will be a nerve-racking time for me. I am so used to being with my "babies"!

~take a family trip! This is still in the making! I know we are going to St. Joseph, MI....to the beach! We LOVE it there and decided that we HAD to go again this summer. We haven't decided what else we want to do. We usually like to try new things and also do a couple familiar things too! Maybe Indy Zoo, Chicago Rainforest Cafe, and/or going a bit farther north in Michigan. We are planning everything out right now. Financially, this year has been different from what we are used to. We are working on saving money and coming up with new ways to earn money for the trip!

~celebrate our 10th anniversary by taking a "Date" trip to Brown County, IN. For those of you who know us well, you know there are VERY few times that Dave and I get "alone" time. Once a year we venture off and go to one of our favorite places....Brown County....aka Little Nashville. It is so peaceful and romantic. Dave and I thoroughly enjoy this break. By the end of it, we are so ready to get back to the little ones! My parents will probably have Ashton, Nolan, and Nevin and Dave's parents will have Taelyn, Mariya, and Bryson. The kids really look forward to this time too!

~hopefully take a "girls trip" to Chicago! I have asked Nan (Dave's mom) to accompany us! We will take the train and go up to Chicago for the day. We will go to the American Girl doll store and spend the day! Yes...there is actually that much to do there. My girls don't know this yet! It is a surprise! We aren't going to tell them where we are going until we get on the train! They will FLIP out!

~hopefully take a "boys trip" to Indiana Beach! Dave, Ashton, and Bryson will go to the amusement park for the day. The boys will be spoiled by riding all the rides and playing numerous video games! The video games will be the BIG hit! The boys don't know about this trip either. We are still working out the kinks! Dave's Dad may join them.

~make some more crafts to give to those whom we love. My kids LOVE to use their creativity! They are darn good at it too! We have got some special projects planned. These simple things bring SO many smiles! I am hoping to start a special project with the kids very soon. They would be sewing stuffed animals to donate to the Emergency Room for children that come in sick or injured. I think this would be a valuable lesson and a great way to put those willing little hands to good use!

We have so many little things planned as well. I think that the little/"simple" things are just as important as the BIG things! Sometimes the best memories made are from the unexpected things!

My favorite thing is when at the end of the day....my 6 beautiful happy children come in....with dirty bare feet....scraped up knees.....popsicle faces....pink, sun-kissed shoulders....and a HUGE smile on their face! I love to hear them chatter and laugh together as we are settling in for the night. These family times are so precious and I know in the blink of an eye, they will be over. I will cherish my kids being....kids!!!

Jackie's Wedding Weekend

2008-05-23T22:22:00.000-07:00

What a busy weekend we have planned! Next to the crazy week we have just had, it will fit right in!

We are so excited about the wedding, but it really snuck up on us! Between getting clothes/shoes for all 8 of us to coordinate, we have had to mathmatically plan out a schedule practically down to the minute. The wedding rehearsal went pretty good tonight. Everyone cooperated and no blood was drawn. The kids did their job well, and I dreaded standing up there in that bridesmaid dress (sucking it in) for so long! We had pizza and pop afterwards....well, besides Bryson. When Aunt Jackie offered him a drink of her pop, he looked at her with big eyes and said "I'm not allowed to have that". What kind of 3 year old is he???? Surely not MY CHILD! He must get that obedient, non-rebellious side from his father! Anyways, the kids played in the gym and wore themselves out. Dave shot hoops with them and ran around like a big kid and wore himself out too! He came home and fell asleep at 10. I sent him to HIS bed about midnight. WOW...the ol' night owl is gettin' old! HA HA!

I am off to bed to get some sleep for tomorrow....that may be an interesting day!

KACY