All In the Family!

After a morning full of soccer, we piled up in the truck and rode to West Monroe to celebrate my sister's 40th birthday! We met up with my family at my all time favorite pizza joint, Johnny's Pizza! If you haven't tried it, you should!

It was wonderful getting together with everyone. There are eight grandkids.....that's more kids than were in Hayden's class last year! The kids were wild and loud, but that added to the fun.

Chris & I stayed at a hotel with out the kids that night. It was very nice to sleep in with out being woken up by monkeys.

On Sunday we gathered up all the cousins for a family photo. It is VERY stressful getting my 3 kids to cooperate for a photo....so I was dreading dealing with 8. But - surprisingly, it went very well! The kids were in good moods, which helped a lot. My sister's father-in-law was our photographer, and I have a feeling he got some great shots!

Looking forward to the State Fair!!!!!!!!

No picture, or Chris will kill me!

I wanted to take a picture of Chris to post with this entry! He would have rung my neck though. He came home for lunch early. I knew something was up when he came home an hour early. He said very little, just slid into bed..... next to Had, who is home b/c she still isn't feeling good. "You need a doctor?" Had asked. "Yes" daddy replied. Chris is sick, fever and all...... The picture opp? Well..He is wrapped up to his ears under the covers, one big fluffy cat tucked in next to him, two stuffed dogs near his side. All complements of "the doctor." While I took his temp, and took note that I was taking it with a Sponge Bob thermometer that plays the theme song when it is done, I thought "this would be a cute picture!!!" I'm sure he is not in the mood for a flash bulb, so I'll resist.

We have HAD it with this bug that is going around Brandon. Hadley brought it home from school Thursday. It hit me Friday night and DID ME IN all day Sunday. I spent Monday taking it easy, homeschooling Hali took all the strength I had, but I felt like I was over the battle. Today I left the house to run some errands - and it hit me just how worn out I was. It really took a toll.

Hayden has really had a tough time with nose bleeds lately. That occupied a lot of the day yesterday.

Hali is the ONLY one of us who is healthy at the moment.

You know, it really got me thinking today...just how blessed I am. God has really blessed us with healthy happy days. Healthy happy kids. A healthy happy marriage. Do I thank him enough for the "little things?" Being healthy isn't something little to a family who deals w/a toddler with cancer....or a mother, or father..... Do I take this for granted? What else do I just take for granted and "forget" to be thankful for? Am I teaching my children to take these things for granted?

Today, while homeschooling Hali in Science, we discussed things in the Old Testament that were predicted and proven true later, in the future. I love this Christian based curriculum that we are using for General Science. Last year I was thankful for the times during the day that all the kids were in school and I had some time to myself. Today, I'm thankful for having this special time with Hali. Funny how things change...

Super Had's 1st Week of K-4!

Hadley had a GREAT first week of school! She only goes three days, so her school week has ended already. She has got to be my most well adjusted kid. She doesn't even miss a beat. She just goes with the flow. She loves her teacher and really enjoys all of the "hard work" that she has to do every day. On her first day, she was telling us all about a bus that she colored, which, by the way, is very hard work. The bus had a stop sign on it, and "guess what Ma, I can spell 'stop'." Ok Had, spell it..... "H - E - B" Ma replies "Very close, Had....very close."
Wednesday on the way to school I heard her making clicking sounds in the back seat. I looked in the rear view mirror to see that she was 'tending' to check thinks off of her list, which is actually her hand held out flat. I said "what are you doing Had?" She replied "checking off my list." I said "don't forget to put milk on that list. We are out." To which she replied "Ma, I not making a food list. I making my things to do list. This one says 'go to school' and I checking it off cause we going to school now!" I'm glad she is so organized!!!
Today on the way to school she was telling me about a day that "Da" forgot to turn off the sound machine during the day and it made her think it was still night night time. She said 'That da sure is a bad man!' LOL! I called Chris right away to confront him on this! How dare he not turn off the sound machine! Neither one of use knew what she was talking about.....
I'll close for now. This has been a long week. Enjoy these pictures of Had, having a great week at school and soccer!

Our Dream House

Being in the Real Estate business, I see a lot of houses. Some houses make me very grateful for the one I have. Some houses make me long for something new. I think it is a feeling that comes w/the job. We knew moving into the house that is was a stepping stone for us. Honestly, we've lived here longer than I thought we would. The plan: to either move in to an existing home newer than the one we occupy today by the summer, or build.

The kids love my job. They LOVE to look at houses. The smaller two love to stand in all of the closets of houses. So, me being the fair "Ma" that I am, I ask "If you could have anything you wanted in a new house, what would it be?" Responses to follow:

Hali: "I'd like a walk in closet bigger than the one I have now. I'd like to push a button and have the clothes rotate around. I'd like my own private bathroom with a separate shower and tub. The tub should have jets and the shower should have a water fall for a shower head."

Hayden: "I'd like stairs. My room should be upstairs, and Ma and I would share a room. We'd have the biggest room in the house. Da could have a room to himself."

Hadley" "We need stairs and a big room so me and Ma can share it. Da sleeps by himself. I need a window."

So, two out of three think they should share the master bedroom w/me. Poor Chris, he can share the dog house w/Moe.

Winding down summer....

You can tell summer is coming to an end when soccer starts up, nights are filled w/homework and prime time tv gets good again! After two weeks of school and TWO separate illnesses, Hayden is in the groove and loving school. Had's school has been postponed another week due to the hurricane (flashback to Katrina when Hayden's school was also postponed, and Hali is in the full swing of homeschooling! The transition to homeschooling wasn't nearly as difficult as we thought it would be. Hali is a much stronger math student than I realized! Life is good! God is good!

Here are some pictures of Had's soccer practice. Also, today Chris and Hayden finished their fish puzzle that they have been working on since May!!! A perfect way to wind up summer! They've been sneaking out to the hot tub room here and there working on it. Hayden was so happy to have finished. Now I guess I will be going puzzle shopping for a fall puzzle to work. Hayden is in to country flags right now, as a result of the Olympics and his enrichment class at school. So I'm sure I will be looking for a flag puzzle. Chris & Hayden, my two peas in a pod!