Welcome Home BABY!!!

Some anonymous person left this in our front yard for us and it was very sweet! We have never had this done for us before, so a BIG "Thanks" goes out to you whoever you are...it put a smile on our faces and made this moment even more special!

I went in to be induced Tuesday morning & had them hold off on breaking my water (I was hoping that the PIT would help the contractions I had been having on my own be more real, but it wasn't working out that way) and the labor wasn't progressing as quickly as we would've liked so eventually they broke the water and 3 hrs later we had our baby! It turns out that Laney had a bowel movement in the womb and after her head came out I had to stop pushing so that they could suction her and then after she came out I couldn't hold her until the NICU nurses had looked her over and I am grateful that she didn't inhale it and that she is healthy and happy! I went through transition and pushing her out in about 25 minutes! If you count the labor from when my contractions were regular with the PIT then it was abt. 7 hrs. of labor, but if you count from the water being broken considering I was still really only a 4 then it was 3 hrs.

My personal labor and delivery entourage! 2 on the left were GREAT nurses and the awesome lady on the right is my personal friend and hired doula!

The most important part of my Labor & Delivery entourage and best friend that puts a little bit of the cuteness in our kiddos :)...Tyson!

The morning of having Laney before the kids went to school we all gave our hugs and had a family prayer for me and the baby. All the kids were cheerful and excited at the thought that they would soon see their baby sister! Chad said "Now I have bragging rights at school cause we are FINALLY having Laney today!" Alyssa and Bria rubbed my tummy for the last time and Heath gave kisses and hugs (probably not really understanding what was going on) and then we were off!

It has been great to watch all the kids enjoy their new sister, though Heath wanted NOTHING to do with her at first and insisted that Bria hold her and he do his own thing. He came back the next day and we were able to convince him that it was alright to hold her and he did and enjoyed it! Thank goodness! I hope he starts to be more into her when we are back home.

Chad kept saying that she was the cutest thing ever, so pretty and perfect and wanted to hog her all to himself, earlier in the week he said he would think she was alright, but I informed him that he would be wrapped around her pinky in no time, and boy is that already true! :)

Alyssa has the mothering down really well and is quickly becoming a pro at holding her. She also sang while rocking her and is just a natural!

Bria wanted her ALL for herself and was sad that she had to share. She even cried when it was time for her to leave because she wanted another turn. They all were not happy about having to go home without us and baby Laney!

Needless to say I am HAPPY that she is out and healthy! It truly is a miracle and we feel GREATLY blessed to have another beautiful child of God in our home!

Hosted by Cecily and MamaGeek

PSF--Daddy

My husband is usually gone every other weekend to school for his MBA. This month he has been out of town almost every weekend for school (it's the end of his 1st Semester) and was gone half of Spring Break for a business trip. It has been hard on us having him gone so much (partly cause I am due really soon with #5), but I have been noticing this has been more difficult for the kids. It's always hard to transition to change especially in schedule and I am sure it'll get a little easier when they are a bit more used to it, but we have had more tantrums, tears and frustration in the house because they miss having him around. So, for me I have had to learn a little more patience and try to make the time more pleasant by doing a movie night while daddy is away or go somewhere fun! My husband thinks it's unfair that we have so much fun without him! :)

We knew it would be hard to go to school, but knew the MBA program was something we needed to do to better the future career wise and signed up for it before we found out the man upstairs decided to send us another blessing, which we are now really looking forward to! During all of this I have also come to appreciate having a two parent home and tip my hat to all who are single parents that try their hardest to make sure their family is well taken care of because that is a HARD job and I can't imagine all that they go through! My mother was a single parent of 4 and it was very hard on her and I am amazed at all that she tried to do for us!

The night my husband returned from his business trip this is what the kids did (on their own) to welcome him home! They even sang a song just as he walked in the door, that they learned at church, "I'm so glad when daddy comes home, Glad as I can be!" then they forgot the rest which is kind of funny considering they sing it almost every year at church for Father's Day!

Of course Heath had such a busy day that we couldn't keep him up until 8:00 p.m. to see his daddy! But he was VERY happy to see him the next morning! Daddy brought home some donuts and fed us well for breakfast! We LOVE Daddy!

Hosted by Cecily and MamaGeek

Life Is Good!

Twas the early hours before school, when all through the place
all the creatures were stirring, with smiles on their face!

All the lunch boxes were set by the kids with care,

in hopes that the school bus soon would be there;

The children were eating their eggs and their breads,

while visions of playgrounds danced in their heads;

With Heath-y awake and his hair all askew, he was sad to see his siblings leaving for school.



When out of nowhere it was time to go, the kids grabbed each other with parents in tow!


The sun shown down and lighted the way, on the pavement and sidewalks to begin the day;

Then out of nowhere came tons of their friends, and parents behind them with BIG HAPPY grins;


With smiles and giggles they fidgeted and wiggled until;

Out of nowhere the bus came in view and all of the kids knew what to do;


All of them leapt to the bus with care,
taking turns to make it fair;

And away they drove off like the speed of light,
each parent sighed as they drove out of sight.

As the parents walked away, a bounce in their step, you could hear them say "Good morning to all and to all a FUN day!"


It's exciting that this is Bria's first day of Kindergarten and that they all were just as excited for school as I was and still am! I love theses beauties! :)

This Blogs for You!

This is my 108th POST!!! Ok, ok...I know that it is kind of weird to post a 108th post and celebrate about it, BUT I didn't get to celebrate my 100th and this will have to do! :)

I read one of my first blogs and I thought it fitting for this time to re read it considering it has stuff about my favorite place to go...JESUP(Georgia)!!! We will be heading down there in a couple of weeks and I am getting so ecstatic about it! I love seeing my dad and the kids are all talking about it more and more as the time gets closer!

I will dedicate this one to my kids, since they LOVE seeing goofy pics or videos we have of family! "This blogs for you!"

So here are the pics of my lovely family having fun in front of the camera!

The enitre time I was praying this thing wouldn't use the bathroom there!

That's my hubby's fam!

We love to dress up!
Love that face!
Ummm...Chad's idea! School Book Project-CPT. Underpants!
My Alabama girl!
I think Heath is making plans to make a dash from these freaks!
Homework can kill ya!I just love this one!
must be a Horrocks!
yes...he's gonna kill me now!
notice all my kids were blessed with large mouths!
Is it stinky breath or him being squashed!?!
gotta love the fogged up goggles!!!
That's my sexy beast of a MAN!!!

Back to the grind

Our family has been struggling with being sick since last Friday! Tys was first to get sick then me and the boys. The girls have actually managed to stay fairly healthy. Then throughout the week we(meaning me and the boys or...ummm...men in my life) have been feeling a little poorly, but yesterday I was doing better. Right before bed I started feeling a little achy. I woke up at 3 a.m. and couldn't get back to bed. I felt like I had been hit by a mack truck! now I have a tissue permanently attached to my nose and a slight dull headache that even the best of meds couldn't and haven't helped! So, that is my woe is me moment! lol Tys left a list of things the kids had to do since I was still in bed and feeling poorly, this morning and they actually cleaned and Chad was in charge and did a good job. He had a bit too much drill sergeant going on, but hey, he got the job done! :)

Next Tuesday I start my second round of school! Yay! I am pretty excited! I am taking the Interior Design 2 and then on Wednesdays my sister will watch the kids while I go to my History of Furniture class. Tys will be at Mutual during that time. baseball registration is coming up, then I will have one more 10 week stint of my classes and will go back for next winter to finish up my Architecture classes. Then I will be able to go to the board and defend my work to get my Certificate...kind of a nerve wracking thought! :) Then our summer will only consist of 2 short vacations. One at Myrtle Beach and then to my family reunion in July in the nice Georgian "die from heat stroke" weather. :)

SO, those are the plans for now. We will see how smoothly they go. When life gets busier you never know what plans will change and someone upstairs always seems to have His own plans too.

Christmas was great and relaxing! We had our dinner at 4 p.m. so that made it less hectic. The kids enjoyed everything that Santa brought and I think this is the last year that my oldest will believe. it's kind of sad, but I guess we all learn at one point or another. Let's just say that some people's kids just like to talk about it when they learn. Here are some pics of our Christmas!