I USED to...

...say "vanilla" envelope instead of "manila" envelope cause that is how I thought it was said since I was about 5 yrs. old and NO ONE corrected me until I was in my 20's...boy do I feel sheepish. Maaa maaaa!

...think that surely a parent could keep scissors and writing utensils away from children and keep them from writing and cutting things they shouldn't...then I had kids!

...want a horse, but my dad always said "No"! and in my frustration I said "When I grow up I am getting MY horse and NOBODY is gonna STOP me!!!" Now I have a dog that is as big as a Shetland pony (ok not quite, but he is big) and now that I know how much work it takes to own a pet, I NEVER want a horse! ha ha! My dad always gives me the "I told you so" look!

...love Buffet Restaurants, but now I can barely finish eating a full plate so it isn't worth my money.

...have trouble getting to sleep at night, but now I am out within minutes...when I actually get to bed! :)

...dislike Russians because I grew up at the end of the Cold War Era, so I didn't trust them, but then I married someone who lived there for 2 years who loved the people. Then I met a few myself and have learned that a countries people are separate from their politics.

...think that I would be the one to teach my kids about the computer, but have found that they know WAY more than I do and one day Chad at the age of 4 had to show ME how to do something!

...think that I would have a perfectly clean house, but soon learned that it was either the kids being happy learning, exploring and having fun or me yelling and being frustrated all the time.

Only 2 more days left to enter my First Giveaway! If you don't want to enter you can still vote for the new blog name!

My Girls

I took my girls to see Harry Potter! The older two. The youngest stayed home with daddy and a bottle! :) We all had a blast despite the Dr. Pepper spilling all over my pretty white shirt just as the movie started and the popcorn that spilled on the floor and every so often a crunch, crunch could be heard as the lady next to us repositioned herself in her chair AND two of us had to make a quick dash to the bathroom, while leaving the other kid during the build up of an intense moment, because we drank WAY too much too fast! :o My arms were gripped by my gals during intense moments and my ear talked off as they analyzed the movie walking to the car! Of course I LOVED it all!

I look forward to more date nights and the time when Miss Laney will join us. I look forward to future shopping trips, girls weekends and when my kids have their own kids and our friendship will be taken to a new level, but I know that one day I will miss what I see in this picture. They will indeed grow up and this will all be memories that are forever cherished. I love sharing their childhood and seeing them grow into good and loving people. I LOVE my girls (and boys too)!


Hosted by Cecily and MamaGeek

Happy Mother's Day!

My family before I came along.
Mother and Father in law

Happy Mother's Day to my mother and mother in law. Happy Sister's Day to a GREAT and loving sister! Love you!

This mother's day in Relief Society we had a great lesson and talked about Tender Mercies from God. Through this lesson I was reminded of a deed a 2nd grade teacher did for me through inspiration from God. Last years Mother's Day post sums it all up nicely and I am sure I couldn't do it justice the same way this time around. You can read it here.

I was also reminded of a time in my life when things were very rough and I felt that I had no one there for me and a family, whom I have grown VERY fond of over the years, became involved in mine and my families lives and I in theirs. They have all been great examples and a great help to me throughout my years of being a mother when I had very few there for me and have tried to be a good part of my kid's lives. Thank you, B family!

I am also truly grateful to the close kindness shown to me through acts of service through the rough times of hubby away at school and new baby. Meals have been brought, hands ready and willing to hold baby while I take a breather, people taking my other kids while I get rest and the many calls I have received to check in on me and my family. This is mothering. I am grateful for such an organization where we can use our mothering gifts not only for our own families, but for the good of others. I am VERY grateful to you all!

With that I wish you all a Happy Mother's Day!

It's that time of year again

It's that time of year again where you color Easter eggs (these are pics from last year cause we haven't colored eggs yet)!

Make them beautiful and create a mess that takes forever to clean because the glue you put on the eggs to hold the foil is almost like SUPER glue!

Where at least one of your kids gets mad cause they aren't getting what they want (oldest boy on right and I have no idea why he was so fussy!)!

ANNNND we create fun traditions that will last a lifetime (despite those bahh humbug Easter kids)! ;)

Hosted by Cecily and MamaGeek

Sunday

These are the Sundays we enjoy!
They all played really well together and the only fighting we had were from the girls over decorating their doll house. They both obviously had their strong opinions on the matter. They had been together a bit too long so we had them come downstairs and change up their activities. So they all decided to dust off some games and have fun!

Shhhhh! Don't tell him they are set up wrong. 1. He won't believe you and 2. He has no clue what they do anyways! :)

I am still unsure if she knows all the rules and wonder if Chad takes that to his advantage, but you can't argue when they are having fun!

He takes his games seriously!

Later that night we had our Family Home Evening because Tyson was going out of town the next day for a business trip! Bria had our activity and decided we should play hide and seek in the dark. I sat out and watched this time around cause my pregnant body was too tired! Normally I LOVE to play with them, but this time around it was nice to just sit back and see them in action! It was fun to watch them joking, hear Heath try his hand at counting to 23 missing half the teens in between, having them throw out clues as to where they are because they wanna be next and to just feel that we are a family!

When I was a youth my step siblings, brother and I Loved this game and would look forward to the weekends my dad and step mom were gone because we had the house to ourselves! We totally became Hide-N-Seek in the dark experts! We would cover all the windows that were near any outside sources of light with thick, dark blankets, even going to the extreme of covering all clocks in the rooms we would be using and make the person counting go in a very far corner of the house and listen to blaring headphones so as to not have ANY clue as to where people might hide! Yes, we probably took this game to a whole new extreme, but it was AWESOME! My brother would sit in the middle of the very dark living room or against a wall out in the open and watch or sense us walking around him trying to find him. I was known for being able to squish up and hide in the tightest spots or I would scale the door frame and watch as the person who was it would walk underneath me! Others would hide just by laying on the couch or a bed. The only room off limits was the Master Bedroom. You DIDN'T dare go in there! :)
After we would have fun chatting and laughing about who hid where and the events that had unfolded. It created some special memories and bonds between us. I am glad that this is a game my kids can enjoy together and pass down to their children! Good traditions always make for happy times!

The Impersonation Game

One night we all went as a family to Game Stop and allowed the boys to go in while we girls hung out in the van! We decided to play a game. The girls would do their best impersonation of what ever someone told them to. One was of an old man, a sexy lady(under the direction of Bria)...yes my kids know that word, but don't really KNOW that word, yet! They say it all the time... "Sexy Hot" or "Sexy Cool" ...as Bria likes to say! :) The things they pick up from who KNOWS where!
Anyways, we decided to impersonate people we know. So, I said to impersonate their daddy and this is what was said,

Alyssa: "I am going to count to three and if you don't shape up..."
Bria: "come here and get a spank!" She used a pretty good manly voice too!

I laughed so hard, especially after the next one!

Me: "Now do mommy!"

Bria: in her sweetest voice "I Love you!" Awwwww, I know! Sweet isn't it?
Alyssa: "You better stop that...Go to your dad to get a spank!" ha ha ha! That just cracks me up! The things you don't realize you just might do and say...it all comes out from the kids in the end! :) Of course Tyson was sad thinking that they look at him as the bad guy, but it was rather funny!

Later on when the boys got done with their shopping. They wanted to continue doing this game. Usually we do movie quotes. You say a quote and then the rest have to figure out what movie it comes from.

We decided to do a Barbie impersonation and Alyssa was awesome at that one. Then someone did one that totally blew Alyssa out of the water and they said "Hi! My name is Barbie! Tee-hee-hee!" It was HEATH!!!!!! The 3 yr. old!!!!!!!We were laughing so hard (all of us)! My boy amazes me sometimes! :) I am going to have to try and get him on video...too funny!

Nikolai--my first baby!

This is Nikolai he is part tabby, part Siamese. His little blue eyes even cross and he has the grumpiness to prove the Siamese part. When I was 7 months pregnant with my first I was walking home from my job when I heard a little meow in a sidewalk drain and realized what it was. I tried to lure him out, but there was no way the little thing was going to be able to get up that high (or that I could lay belly down to try and grab it), so I called the fire department and they were nice enough to come out and rescue my little beauty. All I had to repay the firemen with was an unopened box of Little Debbie Oatmeal Cookies ( ahhhh, the simple days of livin' on love). LOL
Tyson came home and I said with great enthusiasm and slight paranoia that he'd disown me, "I have a surprise for you in the laundry room." He took one look and sighed, "Oh Great!" I quickly responded "I'll find a good home for him!" ha ha ha! And here he is 10 years later!

One day Tys and I took a trip to Atlanta for the weekend and when we came back Nikolai wouldn't talk to us. When he was mad at you he'd do a bite and run, usually hiding under the bed after wards. My kids adore him and he is the best cat I have ever owned. He is so cuddly (on his terms--ya know CAT), he loves the kids and endures being man handled by them and used to run out and greet them when they got off the bus and race them to the house! Now that he is older he doesn't do that as much.

He hasn't been acting real normal lately (looks like an infection from a cat fight) and he disappeared for 5 days. We wanted to take him to the vet and now that we found him that is what we are going to do! Here's to a swift recovery for our loving feline!

You're gonna POKE someone's eye out!!!

It's all fun and games until someone gets hurt and believe me my kids push the envelope! I always tell my kids that when they choose to rough house they need to be careful or else they might just poke someone's eye out. For instance yesterday Chad and Heath were playing light sabers (Picture a 3 year old being soft--yeah ain't happenin') and Chad yells and runs down the stairs with hand over his eye and says in a very offended tone "LOOOOOK! Heath turned me into Anakin Skywalker now!" He pulls his hand down to reveal a red line over his brow and under his eye! I manage to keep from laughing (for a moment, he's always creative in his descriptions)!

They LOVE and I mean L-O-V-E to wrestle! Heath will get down in what we call his "Sumo stance" and launch at ya, Chad will run up and grab you ready to tackle you hoping you will turn around and attack him, Bria follows big brother and Alyssa has to be in the mood, but there are ways to do that! :) I grew up wrestling and rough housing my brothers and Dad so I guess it's no surprise why that is one of my (our) favorite ways to spend time together.

There's always one that gets offended at someone for catching them off guard and then hollering starts or someone (Heath) gets a bit too excited and bulldozes with his head and then the real fighting begins! In the meantime it is tons of fun and we usually love every minute of it, but I have to admit that although it's not fun to hear the fighting when someone gets miffed about something...it can be over funny things!

It just so happens that I actually have pictures of the wrestle time. It cracks me up especially the one where Chad is offended by, you guessed it..Heath (and look at that mischievous grin the young padawan learner has)! LOL

And the Winner is...

Those who commented have guessed right! I am 7 weeks pregnant! I have craved dill pickles, black olives and anything with protein! I have been a bit nauseated, but not as sick as I normally get(Thank Goodness)--you know laid out ALL day either barfing or wishing to barf for 3-4 months!!! Though as the days go by I am getting a little more sick(mostly in the evenings).

The kids all jumped and shouted for joy when we announced we are preggers ! My belly has been kissed and patted more than Madonna! The kids kept it a secret for almost a full 2 weeks until we could go to the doctor to find out how far along we are. I was amazed! They are great kids! :) Of course they are all happy they can spill the beans now!

I just worry that I won't be able to juggle it all and that I won't have a social life! But God is good and he sends blessings to those who accept His will and try to do what they can and endure along the way! So, I am ok with it and am excited to shop(anyone wanna join?)! I had gotten rid of several things because I was determined to prove the man upstairs that I was DONE(or maybe convince myself)! Obviously didn't work! ;) LOL

Growing Pains

I can't believe that my baby is in preschool! I thought I'd be partying after I said "Bye", but I left feeling a little sad and torn over leaving him(even parents feel the growing pains)! :) He did a great job for the most part and got time out for being loud...at least it wasn't for him peeing on the playground like a dog or running around naked!

Overall he had a great day and talked more about his playground time than anything else! Isn't he just so cute?

And now for the million dollar question(more growing pains)...
Can you guess what this, this and this


mean?
More GROWING pains! :)

Grandaddy

Even Superman Needs a DAD!

This is a picture that was given to my husband one year. I think it is so fitting for the special tribute to men this Sunday!
Happy Father's Day to the Men in my life!!!

To the first man in my life:

My Dad!
Yup, he had my mom at "HELLO!"
Still strong and fun with the kids!
Gotta love my "cool" glasses and my dad's awesome perm!
I love my dad! He has instilled manners which I am EXTREMELY up tight about with my kids and get frustrated when people around me have NONE(maybe it's a Southern thing)!!! He is hilarious, loving, kind hearted, a great granddaddy, doesn't interfere or give advice unless asked and fun to be around! He was the only parent I really ever knew and he did the best he could and I am grateful he had enough courage to take on 4 kids alone after my mother passed away when I was 5!

To the men in my life who taught me mischief!
My Brothers:
Doug
He has always been there for me and has helped me through some of the toughest times in my life and we always get good laughs together! He uesed to do Indian Rug Burns on my legs, do the turkey peeping over the log(if you don't know what that is, you'll have to ask me sometime) and many more things of that nature! LOL He is absolutely one hilarious person! He can be intimidating, but he really is a big teddy bear!!!
Brent
He used to let me walk on his back, talked me into sneaking out to get him and Doug food at the BBQ shack across the street when I was supposed to be home sick from school( I was 11)! Has been there for me when I needed someone to talk to, feathered my hair for me when I begged him to so I could look like him! I thought he was the COOLEST thing in the WORLD!!!

To the man in my life who helped raise my best friend:
Dad HorrocksHe has such a punny and always clean sense of humor. If you know him you know what his humor is like. It was passed on to Tys! :) He is such a good person who did such a great job at raising a good man!

To my best friend, husband and great father to my children:
TysonWe were sooo young!


No post with Tys in it can be complete without some goofy picture! One day when he was over for lunch at mine and my siblings apartment, while we were dating, he helped do the dishes and tried to help wherever he could. My sister and I looked at eachother and said "He's a keeper!" 4 kids later and I would say he is still a keeper! :) He has always been there for me and listens to me. He tries to help me see other people's points of view---though I am not happy about that in the moment! He still tries very hard to help me and tries hard to show me that he loves me! Love you Tyson!

A life touched by angels!

my mother and I the Easter before she passed away.
My mother passed away when I was 5 years old. She had been getting progressively worse with her diabetes and had gone into a diabetic coma while we were away visiting my Dad. She was 36.

During 2nd grade I remember we were drawing pictures for our mothers for Mother's Day and I was sitting looking at all the other kids cheerfully coloring. I had no mother to give mine to, so I did nothing. My wonderful teacher noticed and knew about my circumstances and sat beside me and asked me a few questions and during our little talk she suggested that we celebrate my sister. That this should become our Sister's Day. I don't think that teacher realizes how much she has influenced my life for good and I am grateful to her forever! Mothers Day was harder for me after my first child. Especially since everyone else around me had their mothers when they had babies and I have had to learn many things through trial and error, but God has a way of sending people into our lives that give us a little bit of what we may need and a little love!

Nothing can replace a mother, but I am grateful that I have a sister and that she loves my children and loves to play with them and give me a little sane time here and there!

my brother Doug, sister Michelle holding me, and my brother Brent!
There are a few women who are very dear to my heart for the things they have done for me as I have grown up(especially my dearest, Aunt Carolyn) and there are those that have taught me through their examples through my adult years(I'd list y'all but it'd be a long one!)! So, Happy Mother's Day to all the women who have been angels to me and have touched my life in some way! Happy mother's day to my mother in law who raised a GREAT man! Happy Sisters Day to my loving and kind hearted sister, Michelle! Happy Mother's Day to a woman who lead her life the best she knew how and has left a great example and big shoes to fill, my dearest and kindest mother!