All You Need is Love

Just for you Grandma

2008-12-21T19:34:00.000-08:00

they don't look so good but are surprisingly tasty.

SINGIN' & DANCIN' WITH DADDY

2008-12-09T05:05:00.000-08:00

Christmas Card Flub Ups

2008-12-05T05:28:00.000-08:00

Nature Walk

2008-11-16T04:59:00.000-08:00

Daddy and Abby went to Atlanta this weekend to see the Broncos/Falcons game and Miles is with his mom so Kenzie and I had some quality time with nature.

She enjoyed picking up pine straw and leaves and rocks and making a collection.

Isn't it beautiful? It really is my favorite time of year

2008-11-10T08:31:00.000-08:00

I know my blog is boring but since I've started FaceBook I just don't spend much time blogging. But Grandmas and Grandpas and Aunts and Uncle need updates so here goes.

Kenzie is becoming quite the Quicker Picker Upper.

The cats continue to find new and exciting places to hang out when the kids are running amok.

Kenzie and Daddy always find time to share a special kiss.

But sometimes she turns her cheek when she's had enough.

Headed out for our nature walk.

Picked up lots of pretty leaves to make placemats out of.

2008-11-02T16:56:00.000-08:00

So we've been potty training.....so not a lot of pictures...not that you'd want to see any PT pics..

Modeling her new outfit.

Here's the real pose.

And a little bit of cheese.

Abby and Mackenzie had a ball on Halloween. We got a late start so Mackenzie was pretty pooped out by house #5.

Not a bunch of smiles but still cute

Every time she walked up to a door the paper fell out of her belly. She thought that was funny.

And of course she had her own personal chauffer for the rest of the night.

Early Halloween

2008-10-27T14:52:00.000-07:00

We had the annual Fun Fest at church last night. Games, food, candy and trunk or treating.

Miles had to work one of the game boothes..I checked in on him a couple times and it looked like he had just as much fun as the kids.
Playing on the playground before Trunk or Treating began.

Daddy and his pumpkin

Abby is supposed to be Hannah Montana...But the wig went thru a little bit of trama. So we decided she's Hannah Montana first thing in the morning.

2008-10-21T08:44:00.000-07:00

When you say "No cookies for lunch"

This is what you get.

2008-10-20T09:43:00.000-07:00

So far So good!!

2008-10-10T18:17:00.000-07:00

So far so good. Guatoberfest is up and running...People seemed to enjoy themselves this evening. Tomorrow we're headed to the Aquarium with 100+ kids....should be interesting.

But for now Mackenzie is perfectly content laying in the big bed, watching Wow, Wow Wubzy.

As Promised...

2008-10-02T12:43:00.000-07:00

Grandma's been on my case about updating with photos.....But who has the time to take the photos let alone post them on the blog? Not me, but here are a few from the pumpkin patch that should tide her over until this weekend.

"Mommy, where are the chickens? You said there would be chickens?"

Okay so just after I took this picture a chicken came up behind her and scared her to death. But did I get that on camera? Of course not.

This cow was cool....she had utters and when the kids squeezed water came out into the bucket.

This was the highlight of the day for Kenzie.

This could've been a really, really nice picture but it was right before our picnic lunch and she wasn't real happy about being up there so she definately wasn't going to look at me and smile. She was nice and happy afterwards and would've gladly done it then but had cupcake frosting and sand matted in her hair, on her face, down the front of her shirt and in her shoes...I give up..this is why they have professionals.

The hayride was fun but the group of toddlers we took from the church didn't want to sit through the 20 minute educational speech beforehand.

Trying to hold her down while he was going on and on and on.

Can you beleive after all that I didn't even get a picture of her with the pumpkins? DUH

PUMPKINS

2008-10-01T02:41:00.000-07:00

Going to the pumpkin patch today with our church's preschool kids..... Should have some great pics to post this afternoon. Later.

DON'T FORGET GUATEMALA

2008-09-26T05:16:00.000-07:00

A while ago I had posted about a very important mission that I was to be involved in. Global Orphan Team.

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After a lot of prayer (and I mean this people, I did not take this decision lightly). I realized that being on the “team” as a leader in this mission is not what God has called me to do at this time in my life. This does not mean though that I do not support this “team” with all my heart. I love Julia and Kerry like sisters and will do everything I can to help them heed the call that God has for them.

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I urge you to take a moment away from all the things that busy you in a day and read these blogs………….
JuJu's Crew - http://www.thejujucrew.blogspot.com
Kerry - http://www.kerrycollinsblog.com
Global Orphan Team - http://globalorphanteam.org

Try to mentally go where they have gone, try to feel what these children are feeling, try to feel what God is feeling as He sees his children suffering. These two women have answered His call. Maybe He’s calling you too….
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WHAT’S GOING ON IN GUATEMALA?

Now that Guatemala has halted adoptions there is nowhere for the orphans to go. Babies are being left in grocery stores, children roam the streets looking for food. People who had orphanages and cared for these children have sent the kids away or simply put them on the streets and closed their doors because they are not making money any more.
What if this was your child? I think about this everyday. Would they be able to survive on the streets? If someone did stop to offer help, could they even communicate since many of them are so young they can’t talk yet? Can you imagine your child cold, hungry, sick, tired and lonely but still full of hope? It tears my heart out every time I picture Mackenzie in this situation. And let’s be real folks, this could be any of our children. Most of us reading this were blessed enough to be born in the United States. The children of Guatemala weren’t. Should they have to suffer for this? I don’t think so.
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Let’s help with what we can. Maybe you can travel on a mission trip, maybe you have an extra $5 a week to donate, maybe you have another service you could provide, maybe all you have to offer right now is prayer. That’s okay….Just help…….Spread the word. I honestly believe that none of us adopted from Guatemala by chance. I know that God planned that these children be ours so that we would become aware of the need in that country. Now that we know………how can we walk away? If your child was suffering, could you walk away? THESE ARE SOMEONE’S CHILDREN……….THEY ARE GOD’S CHILDREN. He doesn’t want us to walk away.

Pray about it……..that’s all I ask.

This is their reality!

FOOTBALL FRENZY

2008-09-25T08:31:00.000-07:00

It was Football Frenzy night at our church last night. Abby had a jersey on too but she was still at school when I took these pictures.

Is this the cutest little cheerleader you ever saw or what?

MORE PICS OF VISIT TO GRANDMA'S HOUSE

2008-09-22T14:20:00.000-07:00

Mackenzie was out of sorts with not feeling well during our trip to Indiana to visit Grandma but I was able to capture a few good moments on film between tears and tantrums.

Blowing the dandelions.

Grandma finally caught her.

Having fun on the patio.

The look on her face looks like she's thinking..."hmmm, what can I get into now? Possibly this plate that Grandma thought was safe."

Feeding the fishies.

Chillin'

FAVORITE FOTO FRIDAY-HOPE

2008-09-19T04:12:00.001-07:00

This week's theme is HOPE....I've gotta say any time I'm having a hard day.....I look at this face and find hope. Just look at the gift God has given our family. How could I see that every morning and not find hope?

Side note: check out the Global Orphan Team website. www.globalorphanteam.org for a wonderful story. My friends Julia and Kerry are in Guatemala right now and they have already seen some beautiful work from God's hands.

The Surprise Was A Surprise

2008-09-16T04:03:00.000-07:00

Well, we pulled it off. Actually, he (my mom's husband) pulled it off. My brother and I had some problems concocting stories so my mom wouldn't suspect but we managed to get her out of her house without her suspecting anything was up. But Aaron did all the real work. We just lied a lot and we weren't very good at it.

The little ones had a good time. This is Emily. She's almost three and a very sweet little girl.

My brother and my step brothers.

Uncle Kelly, Mackenzie and Emily.

My mom and Aaron. He flew my brother, Mackenzie and I out to Indiana for my mom's birthday present. It was so nice of him. Our arrival wasn't the surprise. She knew we were coming but had no idea about the party.

This is mine and my brother's attempt at getting a good shot by holding it out in front of us. Not so good but it's better than nothing. He's a goof ball but I do so love him.

AHHHHHHHHH

I know my mom was so happy to have her two babies here. Unfortunately my brother left yesterday. He had to get back to his family and job.

What the hurrican left us

2008-09-08T07:09:00.000-07:00

This is what the hurricane left us. Just a little water.

The winds weren't even that bad. Living this far inland we don't usually get too much. But I've gotta say I was expecting more than this. But thankful this is all we got.

The sun came out later that day but we stayed in our lounging clothes and relaxed inside all day.
Rarely do we have a day when we have nothing planned. It was wonderful.

This little one is growing in leaps and bounds and this pictures although is sweet and beautiful makes me sad because she looks so darn big. Where does the time go?

This is Ozzie a/k/a Othy as Kenzie calls her. Ozzie does not like Mackenzie whats-so-ever. I'm so proud of her composer during this photo session because I know she wanted to leap up and attack.

Favorite Foto Friday - OH BABY!

2008-09-05T04:44:00.000-07:00

OH BABY! OH BABY! OH BABY! OH BABY! OH BABY!

Mackenzie Lynne at 5 months (still in Guatemala)

Abigail Rene at Gams house (Lovin' the chunk)

Miles Davis (rockin' away)

Brian, my wonderful husband (what is he wearing?)

and... Me

This is the youngest picture I have in my pocession. My mom has the rest.

My HUBBY rocks!!!!

2008-08-31T04:20:00.000-07:00

I guess he thought I needed a break. So he called JuJu and arranged for her to take Mackenzie for the overnight and Miles and Abby were with their mom. And he takes me on a surprise overnight trip to Pinehurst.. He wouldn't tell me where we were going and that just added to the fun of it. We got there and ate a nice lunch. Then we checked into our little Inn and went shopping in all the quaint, little shops. Walked into the room and these beautiful roses were waiting for me with a sweet little note from my love.

We then went to a wine tasting...Neither of us are big wine coinesseurs but Brian has a friend that is a distributor and he got us tickets to the wine tasting. And then we went to dinner. And came home the next morning totally rejuvenated.

I gotta tell you all this....This was the first night I've left Mackenzie overnight. And surprisingly it didn't bother me. Partly because I knew she was in the best possible hands and also because Brian and I really needed some time together. It's amazing how much we had to talk about that wasn't about our children.

Anyway-We're back and now the laundry, cleaning, cooking etc...continue. But I do believe we'll be doing this more often. I love my husband so much and I'm so happy he's mine.

WATCH OUT COMIN' AT YAAAA!!!

2008-08-23T07:25:00.000-07:00

FAVORITE FOTO FRIDAY-STUFFED FRIENDS

2008-08-22T06:30:00.000-07:00

This is Monkey-also known ans MoMo....He is Mackenzie's sleepytime friend.

She also likes to wander into her sister's room and play with her stuffed animals

And she also shares her stuffed pals with the kitties.

Sometimes she can't choose which one is her favorite.

It's nice for her to have such good friends that she can always lean on.

HAVING FUN WITH BIG BRO

2008-08-21T05:31:00.000-07:00

Mackenzie doesn't get to spend much fun time with her brother because he always so busy. But today he took some time to play with his baby sister and she had a ball. I love to watch them play together. Her little eyes just light up when he comes into a room. He's just one of those guys that's just naturally good with kids. I think he'll be a great daddy some day. But not any day soon of course.
And she laughes at everything he does, including covering his eye with one hand. Who knew that was so comical.

HAPPY SATURDAY

2008-08-16T17:50:00.000-07:00

This is what a Saturday night looks like at our house. Nothing too exciting.

Just plain old fun. Miles is on a youth retreat for church. So we pulled out the Twister since he never wants a part of that.

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY

2008-08-13T16:39:00.000-07:00

And Georgia will never be the same.............

2008-08-12T19:46:00.000-07:00

After 6 hours and little to no sleep for the three toddlers we had in the car, JuJu and I made it to Georgia with Abby-Grace, John-Bryan and Mackenzie in tow.

Kerry's home is beautiful, Savannah is even more beautiful and Cameron is still a charmer. We saw little of Kerry's hubby the first night being as he's a very busy man, but the smidgin that we did see him, Mackenzie took an immediate liking to him and started calling him Daddy.

This morning was great.....kids watched a bit of Dora on the computer and then we shipped them off to the sitter's house so we could have a few hours to plan for Guatoberfest. Upon return to Kerry's house we were at an absolute loss as to how to handle the silence....10 minutes in and we got in the groove and accomplished quite a lot. Next thing we knew it was time to go get them.

Fed them some lunch, took them out side to play and then nite-nite-nappytime.

I left my camera at home so I had to steal these from Julia and Kerry. I hate that I don't have more.

2008-08-10T17:37:00.000-07:00

Not much happen' round here.

Just a little coloring.
A little cleaning.
A little TV watching
And a whole lotta smilin'.

We are super duper happy because we're going on a trip. Leavin' tomorrow to go see Kerry and Cameron. www.kerrycollinsblog.com Will post pics as soon as we can. Oh yeah, and JuJu is going too. www.thejujucrew.blogspot.com Should be crazy fun.

Sissy Did My MAKE UP

2008-08-06T20:12:00.000-07:00

IT'S AN HONOR JUST TO BE NOMINATED

2008-08-05T15:22:00.000-07:00

JuJu tagged me for the Brilliant Blogger Award and aaaaaaaaaaaallllll I can say

IT'S about FREAKIN' TIME.......

BLOG

ROCKS!!!!!!!!!!!

Just kiddin'....it's pretty lame and boring but so am I so wuttdaya expect? But since I've been tagged I will oblige.

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A. Attached or single? Married and lovin' it

B. Best friend?(s) To name just one would be so rude to another.

C. Cake or pie? Why can't I have both?

D. Day of choice? Sunday

E. Essential item? It's a toss between coffee and my lap top

F. Favorite color? Blue-it makes me happy

G. Gummy bears or worms? Neither -Sour Patch Kids

H. Hometown? Marion/Cedar Rapids, Iowa

I. Indulgence? Twizzlers

J. January or July? Jan - it's my anniversary month July-my baby girl's birthday

K. Kids? I have some but not enough of them

L. Life isn’t complete without? My faith and my family! I agree JuJu

M. Marriage date? Jan. 23, 2003

N. Number of brothers & sisters? 1 brother and 3 step brothers

O. Oranges or apples? apples

P. Phobias? bridges and cockroaches-if I ever come across cockroaches on a bridges-I'M A GONER.

Q. Quotes? "Women don't want to hear what you think. Women want to hear what they think-in a deeper voice. " Bill Cosby

T. Tag seven peeps! As always-everyone I know has already been picked

U. Unknown fact about me? I used to hate children

V. Vegetable? acorn squash

W. Worst habits? being too self critical- right JuJu?

X. X-ray or ultrasound? what's the difference? Either way there's something wrong with ya.

Y. Your favorite food? I'm so hungry right now- I can't pick one

Z. Zodiac sign? Virgo

EXPERIMENT WAS A FAILURE

2008-08-04T06:07:00.000-07:00

So last night my friend Katie called to tell me that her mother-in-law was in town and was going to keep Joel (the little boy I watch during the day) so I wouldn't have him. I thought GREAT!!! I can sleep in for a change...... SO I decided to let Miss Priss stay up late. When I say late I mean 2 full hours past her bed time. My thought was if she stayed up late she would sleep late as well, thus letting me sleep late......OOOOh she slept late all right. A WHOLE 12 MINUTES.

Here's Mackenzie enjoying her two extra hours of playtime last night.
And here she is this morning......In a grrrrrrrrrreat mood.

She buried her head in the couch for so long I had to move her cuz I thought she'd suffocate. She didn't even want me to look at her so she put a pillow in front of her face. ha ha ha.

Won't be trying this again.

Favorite Foto Friday - Bed Head/Crazy Hair

2008-07-31T13:46:00.000-07:00

This one really was bed head. She had just woken up from a nap. Luv, Luv, Luv it.

This was the day she walked for the first time. She had just finished a popsicle and ran her sticky hands thru her hair.

And of course the classic shampoo hair picture.

2008-07-30T19:35:00.001-07:00

My day started earlier than I would have liked with Mackenzie waking me up super early saying "milkkkk, milkkkk". So I brought her downstairs, gave her some milk and we fell asleep for another couple hours on the couch.

I've had bad headaches all week and haven't been sleeping good and this morning it was really catching up with me. So today I had all the plans to work on my laptop while lounging in my pj's in front of the tv, then run a few important errands and return home for a nap buuutttttt.......JuJu called and ordered me to get up and get ready and meet her at the pool...

So off we went. Did I get any pictures of the pool? None worth posting. But I do have a few others.

Abby looking as cute as ever. She was so excited this morning because her mom called and told her she was going to take her to the Jonas Brothers concert tonight. She got off the phone and immediately started planning what she was going to wear.

Now this picture of Mackenzie is her coming around the corner out of time out for the 7th time this morning. Can you see on her face that TIME OUT is not working? I can always tell if she knew what she did was wrong if she doesn't pitch a fit about going to the chair and if she pops up with this smile. Aaaaahh!!!

Skettie for dinner! I think they enjoyed it. Since Sissy was gone for the night and Daddy was working late...It was just me, Kenzie and Miles.... Miles always tend to get a little silly when Abby isn't around to fight with.

He was throwing around all these poses and Kenzie copied them all. They had a good time together. She really loves her big brother.

FINALLY-she smiles when she sees a camera....Only taken two years.

More Silliness

Aaaaahhhhhhhh

NO NEWS

2008-07-26T19:10:00.000-07:00

Nothing exciting here...

Just WORK, WORK, WORK

Favorite Foto Friday - FRIENDS

2008-07-24T19:53:00.000-07:00

FRIENDS

Where would we be without our friends? I know I'd be lost. They pull me out of my shell, make me laugh and cry. Friends are one of those blessings that should not be taken for granted. And when you find a good friendship, you should honor it.

I'm glad to see that my girl has found herself some special friends.

This John-Bryan www.thejujucrew.blogspot.com and Gia jajaandtheneenster.blogspot.com. This picture was taken before we even met our beautiful girl. They were her first friends and still are her buddies today.
I really love this picture. She looks like a little peanut.

Where it all began

One year later

Still friends today

BACK TO THE NORM

2008-07-22T12:33:00.000-07:00

Trying to get back to normal after vacation. Not doing so well. I'm still in slow-mo vacation time and I've got to snap out of it because I've got a million things to do. I won't bore you with my list but if you don't hear from me in a while that's the reason.

See the two band aids? Well that's a new nightly ritual. Every night after her bath she DEMANDS "boo boo's" as she calls them on her knees. This started when her cousin Jackson had a spill and needed them and then Sissy needed one too. We've already gone thru the box of Sponge Bob one and have moved to Dora. I think it's a battle not worth fighting. She's still going thru that phase where she freaks out over the craziness things that shouldn't be an issue but for some reason in her little two year old mind are BIG TIME IMPORTANT.

Her new microwave is her favorite toy THIS WEEK. She doesn't know how to work the knobs on her play kitchen stove and oven but the microwave buttons....she's got them all figured out. What does that say about the cooking techniques that she has witnessed in her short life? ha ha ha.

Gotta go........I promised Abby I'd play Operation with her before Mackenzie wakes up from her nap.

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MORE VACATION PICS

2008-07-20T07:52:00.000-07:00

Totally random pictures from the entire week. We had a blast with everyone here. They just left this morning and the house is quite and Mackenzie is missing her playmate Jackson.

Here's the whole crew except for GrandMolly who is taking the picture.

BACK FROM THE BEACH

2008-07-17T04:38:00.000-07:00

My brother and his wife and three kids flew in on Saturday. And then my dad and step mom came in on Sunday and then we all packed up and headed to the beach.

We had to take three cars down so we split up the kids to similar age groups. Worked out well. Jackson (my nephew) is 8 months older than Mackenzie. My oldest nephew Keegan and Jackson playing on the beach.

Daddy Walker chillin' on the porch of the beach house.

Jackson chillin' too. A rare moment. He's full of energy, just like every other 2 year old boy.

Mackenzie and Grandmolly (my step mom) having some snuggle time.

My cosmo girls

This is my 5 year old niece Rory. She's a delight. If I had a biological child, this is what she'd look like. She looks so much like my childhood pictures it's crazy.

My sister-in-law, Angie. Enjoying her a Diet Coke....

They have played so well together this week. It's been nice to have the distraction.

Okay so this picture....let me explain. My brother Kelly, Miles and Keegan and I were body surfing way out in the ocean. We had seen some jellyfish but weren't too concerned about it. We see Angie waving her arms frantically for us to come in. And we're like "it's just jellyfish, what's the big deal?" So then she starts looking really panicked. So we come in and there was a shark that was caught on the sandbar. FREAKED ME OUT.

My daddy.

This is what Mackenzie eating...That's all she did the entire time. HATES THE OCEAN...LOVES THE SAND.

DRESS UP

2008-07-13T19:08:00.000-07:00

Got into mommy's pretties.

First I found her jewlery. She helped me put it on.

And then look what I found.

I looked so good, I couldn't take my eyes off the mirror.

PARTY GIRL

2008-07-11T03:22:00.000-07:00

Mackenzie's birthday party was a success. It was a full house at the Children's Museum.

This place is so cool for parties. It's got all these little stations set up like a grocery store, dentist office, post office, dress up, bank etc. And the kids can just roam all over. My favorite part is that it's safe. They lock all the doors except the front entrance and that's monitored by an adult. So you can let your kids go free and not worry about them too much.

Mackenzie and Isabella. They have a love/hate relationship. I never know what I'm going to find when I walk into the church nursery. They are either glued to eachother or scratching the other's eyes out.

We started to sing and she just looked around like she didn't really know what was going on and then decided to join in and sang to herself.

Happy birthday to my sweet baby girl who isn't quite a baby any more. I have mixed emotions about this whole growing up thing. On the one hand I'm so thankful that she's healthy and growing big and strong and learning new things but on the other hand it hurts my heart that she's becoming more independent and eventually won't need her mommy anymore. I know she's only 2 but it doesn't look like she's going to stop getting older so I guess I'd better get used to this little ache in my heart.

HAIL TO THE QUEEN!

2008-07-09T03:36:00.000-07:00

So She's 2 Now!!

2008-07-07T06:47:00.000-07:00

Birthday morning snuggles.

Yesterday was Mackenzie's 2nd brithday and it was pretty low key because we are celebrating it this Thursday at the Children's Museum. Can't wait. She's gonna love it there.

A little fun in the pool.

And that's about it. She does enjoy saying "two" but has a really hard time doing the fingers....but tries so hard...It's so darned cute. More birthday pics to come later this week.

I've been TAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGED!!

2008-07-03T20:36:00.000-07:00

I don't know who started this one but JuJu http://www.thejujucrew.blogspot.com tagged me so I'd better comply. I'm supposed to list 5 things I can't live without...I guess that means not people so my family is out......hmmmm let me think.....

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okay

1. Coffee

2. my laptop

3. Scooby gummy snacks (they are the cure all for every sort of temper tantrum)

4. TiVo (well I probably could live without it but I CHOOSE NOT TO)

and finally

5. My body pillow

We're going to the beach in a week and Mackenzie is sooooooooo excited. Can you tell?

She's dragged this floaty all over the house

Fun with the camera at the baseball game tonight.

She didn't enjoy the baseball so much....Did however really enjoy the cotton candy, peanuts and french fries though.

And then the fireworks started and it was down hill from there. Too loud I suppose.

I love the 4th of July....One of my favorite holidays and there's something about living in a military town on the 4th that makes it even more special. As we were watching the fireworks tonight I just stared up in the sky and said a prayer of thanks to our God for allowing me to be born in this wonderful country where I can be what I want to be, say what I want to say and worship who I want to worship and what's even more that there are people that actually have made the ultimate sacrifice so that I may do these things.

Oh yeah, one more pic....ha ha ha..Miles not to excited about the camera on him. OOPS!!

THE OTHER DADDY

2008-06-29T18:15:00.000-07:00

Okay so I should probably explain why my husband's face is pasted onto a cardboard gingerbread cutout. But I'd rather just have your wonder...

We had Vacation Bible School at our church last week so for a couple weeks prior I was cutting out tons of things for all the crafts we would be doing. One of which was over 100 cardboard gingerbread people...

Daddy was out of town for a few days and Mackenzie wouldn't quit saying "Daddy". Every other word was Daddy......By day three I was seriously getting a little tired of hearing it but still thought it was cute that she missed him so much.

So since I had all these cardboard people and lots of extras I decided to make "The Other Daddy". Really I just did it to amuse myself as I needed a break from the monotony of cutting. I thought she'd smile and say "daddy" yet again. What I didn't expect was how she instantly fell in love with him.

She immediately picked him up and kissed him and hugged him.

Here she's dancing with him.

I do believe we'll be keeping him around for future times that the real daddy is away. I put him away the other day and she found him and put him in his chair. Ya know the one chair that every dad has that is positioned directly across from the TV. Now that's funny....I don't care who ya are.

This picture is just cute.

Favorite Foto Friday - SUMMER LOVIN'

2008-06-27T04:03:00.001-07:00

Mr. Bunny did a No No

2008-06-23T18:22:00.001-07:00

I wonder what Mr Bunny did.

she walks away.

comes back later, gets down to Mr. Bunny's level and talks to him about what he did wrong.

takes a second to pose for the camera,

Then gives him a hug and kiss.................Just like SUPER NANNY says to do....

Can you tell that Kenzie spends a bit of time in the Time Out chair lately? She's got the routine down pat.

PRAISE GOD

2008-06-22T04:24:00.000-07:00

The Wheeler's are with their baby girl in the hotel and she is fine. Wonderful news.

URGENT PRAYER REQUEST

2008-06-20T17:27:00.000-07:00

EDITED TO ADD: They are on their way this morning to Guatemala thanks to all the generous bloggers out there. Please continue to pray for their strength and peace as well as for Eliana's health.

PLEASE STOP WHAT YOU ARE DOING AND FALL TO YOUR KNEES AND PRAY TO OUR GOD WHO IS GOOD.

This is Chris and Lindsey Wheeler and their beautiful baby girl Eliana..

Eliana is still in Guatemala and is very, very sick and in the hospital.
Her parents are stuck here in the United States.....So many miles away from their little girl who so badly needs them. It's hard enough being away when you know your child is okay but in a situation like this it's got to be excruciating. Please pray for this angel.

To read their story go to their blog at www.thewheelerjourney.blogspot.com

The Wheeler's are are trying to pull the money together to get to Guatemala ASAP. If you want to help you can donate $$ for plane tickets by donating through your pay pal account at the pay pal site
give to
Lou0728@yahoo.com

URGENT PRAYERS NEEDED FOR THIS ANGEL BABY GIRL!

2008-06-20T05:42:00.001-07:00

I got this video in an email first thing this morning. What a wonderful way to start my day.

Here's the background story.....Well worth watching....and I thought it fit it nicely with today's theme of DADDY AND ME.

A son asked his father, 'Dad, will you take part in a marathon with me?' The father who, despite having a heart condition, says 'Yes'. They went on to complete the marathon together. Father and son went on to join other marathons, the father always saying 'Yes' to his son's request of going through the race together. One day, the son asked his father, 'Dad, let's join the Ironman together.' To which, his father said 'Yes' to. For those who didn't know, Ironman is the toughest triathlon ever. The race encompasses three endurance events of a 2.4 mile (3.86 kilometer) ocean swim, followed by a 112 mile (180.2 kilometer) bike ride, and ending with a 26.2 mile (42.195 kilometer) marathon along the coast of theBigIsland Father and son went on to complete the race together.

CLICK ON LINK BELOW PICTURE

http://www.godtube.com/view_video.php?viewkey=8cf08faca5dd9ea45513

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And of course I'm including the wonderfull daddy that lives in our house.

A little love look shared between daddy and his baby girl.

He's soooooooo wrapped.

Miles and Brian are two peas in a pod. The older Miles gets the more he starts to mirror his father. All I can say is he's going to keep his future wife in stitches from laughing so hard.

Kenzie Kisses

Abby always enjoys at night when Miles is in the shower because it means she and Kenzie get Daddy all to themselves for a short while.

This picture was taken in the hotel pool in Guatemala on our pick up trip.........I ABSOLUTELY ADORE IT and have it framed in her room.

He didn't get to go on any of the visit trips but the first so he hadn't seen her for 6 months......He was sooo in love and still is.

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY

2008-06-18T05:13:00.000-07:00

WHAT DID I MISS?

2008-06-16T11:32:00.000-07:00

As I was perusing my favorite blogs this morning....I noticed quite a few of you dedicated your blog post yesterday to your wonderful husbands in honor of "Father's Day".

And I probably could've, SHOULD'VE done that as well but I was so busy running around with my head up my hind end that I completely forgot to call my OWN father....WHAT THE???? He's like the best father ever, with the except of our Father in Heaven. I think my dad would understand how he can't compete with God.......SERIOUSLY, I'm an idiot...

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I'm not so good with remembering days, dates, special occasions, etc...I always forget if my husband was born on Aug. 3rd or 4th. I don't know how many times and have had to check his licence on more than one occasion to solve that mystery.

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When I was in college I forgot my mom was having MAJOR SURGERY on a particular day and my brother called me from the hospital and yelled "WHERE ARE YOU?? WHY AREN'T YOU AT THE HOSPITAL?"

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My anniversary I say with quite certainty that it's Jan. 23rd but what year??? could be 2002 or maybe 2003. I have to count it out every year.

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And if Miles didn't share the same birthday with me I'm positive I'd let that slide by because I don't celebrate my birthday.

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Anyway the point of my rambling is this.........I knew it was Father's Day when I woke up. The kids gave Daddy their giant card they hand made (those are the best ones, ya know) and we didn't go to church because I couldn't get it together in time to get everyone cleaned, ironed and out of the house in time (I'm not proud of it but it happens a couple times a year). The church service would've been a great reminder but we missed that. Then Brian's present was an entire day of golf uninterrupted by children or phone calls from me so he wasn't around and Miles and Abby went back to their mom's house, Kenzie and I napped all afternoon and I JUST COMPLETELY FORGOT WHAT DAY IT WAS.

I had all intentions of calling my dad...Ugh!! I feel horrible and will be calling him this evening...

Here's my daddy. He's the best. He didn't give me everything I wanted (I am so grateful for that) but he gave me everything I needed. He taught me how to pray and he prayed for my salvation..And that my friends is the best thing he ever did for me. I LOVE YOU DAD!!!

Where do the days go??

2008-06-14T16:59:00.001-07:00

Seriously folks.......I think somehow, somewhere, someone has actually deducted hours from my day........

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Now granted I have slept in for the last week because Baby Joel (the little boy I watch during the day) and his family are on vacation, but the first two hours of my day are usually spent drinking coffee and blogging and I have drank my coffee but I've done it while doing laundry..so really no time lost. But I'm telling ya, it's almost 9:00 pm and I feel like I've gotten nothing accomplished. I did at least spend a good two hours in the pool with all 3 kids though having fun. So at least the important stuff got done.

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Abby is spending the night at a friend's and Miles has a friend over tonight.....they're are still outside and Brian is out showing a house to a potential buyer. Mackenzie is on the couch with her milk and her good buddies the Doodlebops on the tube. I now have a few moments to blog but I have no pictures to post. So these will have to do....this is all I've managed to capture in the past few days.

NOTE TO GRANDPARENTS: I'll try to do better next week.

See the cat's tail.......she's running for her life as Mackenzie is in mid chase.

I absolutely love this one.....Miles lets her hold one of the controllers as he plays against the PlayStation....She really thinks she's doing something though.

Favorite Foto Friday - BLOOPERS

2008-06-13T06:13:00.000-07:00

This is a great subject.....BLOOPERS......we have tons of them............. with our Christmas cards photo shoot alone we probably have 20-30

I'm a goof ball
Oops
The Headless Wonder
The Headless wonder reappears

Merry Christmas..........Take this rediculous thing off my head. Santa has more patience than I do
Siblings fighting....do you see the look Abby is giving her brother?

I love this one...Abby is 5 here and she still has her baby chubby cheeks.....
Half asleep eating her cereal.
How's my hair?

NO WORDS AGAIN!!!!

2008-06-12T07:25:00.000-07:00

I'll fill in later

Mackenzie, Cameron & John-BryanAbby-Grace

I hate this song!!

2008-06-07T18:53:00.001-07:00

This particular episode of Yo Gabba Gabba is taped and it gets played at least 10 times a day....I tell ya if I NEVER here it again, it'll be too soon.
Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing - Photo Books

Favorite Foto Friday - Messy

2008-06-06T09:29:00.000-07:00

I had to chuckle when I saw what this weeks subject was because it actually relate to almost every room in our house right now, except one and that's because we haven't used it recently......But since this blog is supposed to be about my family I decided to give ya one with a little cuteness in it.

She's not smiling as it looks in the picture, she's shreaking with delight as she tosses noodles at the cats. They've hidden now and she keeps saying "mo, mo, mo" (more). Yeah, like I'm really gonna give her more so she can fling them at me. She's in a fiery mood today. A good mood but kindof crazy, hence the messiness in every room.

Happy Friday to Y'all!!!!!!!!!!

TAGGED!!

2008-06-05T07:45:00.000-07:00

8 Things I am passionate about:

1) God
2)my children and all children
3) My husband
4) my family
5)My church family
6) Guatemala
7) adoption
8) my friends

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8 Things I want to do before dying:

1) retire in the mountains
2) go to Guatemala again
3) adopt another child
4) witness the cure of cancer and the end of racism
5) walk on the beach in a bathing suit and not feel self conscious
6) see my children grow up and have children of their own so I can hear them say "You really did know what you were talking about"
7) get my parents to move to NC
8) enjoy every day

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8 Things I often say:

1) Good Morning Monkey
2) Bless her/his little heart
3) Good job Slick
4) See ya, Wouldn't wanna be ya
5) Nun Yub (None of your business) (mostly to the kids)
6) What do you Say?
7) Save your tears for something important
8) This one time........

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8 Books I've read lately:

1) The Shack (currently reading)

2) Fasting (currently Reading)

3) The Bible-Matthew

4) Good Night Moon

5) Bad Dog Marley

6) I Like Myself

7) Ten Little Fish

8)Pajama Party!

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Movies I have watched 8 times or more:

1) Steel Magnolias

2) Dirty Dancin

3) Pretty Woman

4) Beaches

5) Home Alone

6) Sixteen Candles

7) Pretty in Pink

8) Heathers

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8 People I'm Tagging:

I'm not because not very many people read my blog and actually leave comments so I don't know my readers and the ones I do know have already been tagged. Sorry.

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY-It is Wednesday, right?

2008-06-04T07:04:00.001-07:00

The fun is over

2008-06-01T05:05:00.000-07:00

Our weekend started out good. Friday Mackenzie and I went to the pool with friends.

She loved the wading pool part. We went with Miss Katie and her kids. Katie is the mother of the little boy that I watch during the day. But I won't post pics of them because I haven't asked her permission yet and I'm real funny about that. Anyway-we had a good time.

The pool wore her out so after her snack we headed home for a AWESOMELY long nap.

Then Miles had a baseball game so we went to the ball field. Mackenzie yelled her big brother's name the entire time. She'd run over to the fence and put her little hand through it to wave and called over and over "Mowls". So cute. The crowd got a kick out of her.

My in laws and their children play ball too so they were all there so The Walker's basically took over the ballfield. There's quite a few of us in town and with kids the same age we generally end up at the same places.

The kids have all been so good lately that we decided to treat them to their favorite pizza place. It's our favorite too. They have the best chicken barbecue pizza in town.

Saturday we Brian, Miles and I did yard work while the girls played in the pool.

As you can see from the wobbly sides we're gonna need to purchase a new one. There's a leak and so we couldn't get it full enough to have the sides stay up real well.

They girls didn't care though. I really enjoyed watching them play. Mackenzie copied everything Abby "Sissy" did.

See what I mean. This might be a good thing for when we get to the real pool. Maybe she'll learn to swim easier by coping Abby.

Kenzie cackled the entire time. When she gets real tickled she always covers her mouth. It totally cracks me up.

The fun is over though.....

later that afternoon both Brian and Abby started complaining about sore throats and Brian was having stomach pains that had him on the floor in the fetal position. They were both up all night. So today I am disinfecting this entire house. I can't let Miles and Kenzie get sick.

Favorite Foto Friday - Pajama Party

2008-05-30T13:32:00.000-07:00

I remember this day vividly. Mackenzie had kept me up most of the night for almost a week and this particular night she just would not sleep. She was up originally at 3:00 am.

I had been trying to get her to say "mamma" for like FOREVER and all she would say is "dadda".

So while she had me up while everyone else in the entire state was sleeping......She decided to make it worth my while and said it for the first time. Definately made my lack of sleep the not as big of a deal.

If I remember correctly we stayed in our pajamas the rest of the day. Because I'm pretty sure these pictures were taken in the afternoon the following day.

She was 10 1/2 months here. I'm really enjoying going back thru all the old pictures every Friday for FFF. If I was on the ball I'd have current pictures to use but I'm not.

What's Up with BLOGGER????

2008-05-26T18:44:00.000-07:00

F-I-N-A-L-L-Y!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I've been trying to load these pictures all night... And blogger is not cooperating. Now I'm too tired to write a whole bunch of details so SORRY.

Our weekend consisted of this:

Miles and Abby played keep away from Mackenzie with the DORA ball. Sounds mean but she enjoyed it.

Actually caught it a time or two so ha ha on them.

Miles and Dad got free ticket to the NASCAR race in Charlotte so they headed off Sunday morning and came home Monday morning. Had wonderful time I heard as they were just getting in as Kenzie and I were leaving to go to a pool party for Memorial Day. Abby and Miles went back to their mom's house and me and Miss Priss went to the party. (Daddy had to work)

I swear to you, no matter where we go.....she will spot the bubbles and make a b-line for them. She saw them right away and was fixated on them 99.9% of the time with a brief snippet of time where she ventured into the baby pool.

But then got out because she was getting splashed. The little DIVA then played lifeguard as you can see below.

And all of this worked basically zapped all her energy. She was done for the day.

There was a melt down shortly after this where as I told her she had to share the bubbles with the other children......She said no, no, no, no, my bubbles and I knew it was time to go home.

3 hours later and one great nap later........she was back and ready to go outside with Daddy to do what? You ask.....

BUBBLES of course

Finally Got One!

2008-05-24T18:02:00.000-07:00

Favorite Foto Friday-Only One

2008-05-23T06:07:00.001-07:00

We can only pick ONE favorite for today. Ooooh the choices.

She hated that hat but darnit she looked so cute. What a cute little munchkin. She was 8 months here.

URGENT PRAYER REQUEST

2008-05-22T05:08:00.000-07:00

Information taken directly from www.audreycaroline.blogspot.com BRING ON RAIN blog.

A lot of you adoptive parents out there may know of Steven Curtis-Chapman. He is a Christian artist who has adopted children and recorded the song "When Love Takes You In".

It seems that one of his older children was pulling the car into the driveway and didn't see his 5-year old sister (adopted from China) and hit her and killed her.

PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE pray for this entire family. I cannot imagine the pain they must be feeling.

Body Snatchers

2008-05-21T04:29:00.000-07:00

Okay--It's official the BODY SNATCHERS have come into our home while we were sleeping and taken our sweet baby girl and replaced her with a COMPLETELY DIFFERENT child.

I really don't know how to explain it. But she's just not the same girl. She's obstinate, disagreeable, moody and just not real nice lately. She doesn't listen, she's hitting, throwing toys and won't eat anything I put in front of her.

I know that she's almost two years old and that the terrible 2's is probably what we're experiencing here. I guess I just wasn't prepared for it this early.

Nothing seems to please her because she has no idea what she wants half the time. Yesterday, she laid down for her nap like normal on the couch and I took her shoes off (like I always do) she threw a fit so I put them back on. Shoot if she wants to sleep with her shoes on I don't care really, I was just trying to make her more comfortable. Anyway-she flipped out even more. She didn't want them on either. Turns out she wanted to hold them while she slept.

Little indosyncrasies like this are coming out of left field lately.

Please tell me the tantrums will go away some day and I'll get my girl back.

A little bit of THIS, A little bit of THAT

2008-05-17T17:44:00.000-07:00

The terrible 2's have arrived with a vengeance!!!!

Luckily she sleeps and when she does she looks resembles the angel that she used to be. I know this is just a stage but my goodness, she's as moody as premenstrual teenage girl.

Soup is a staple in our house. She love, love, loves it. I have to give her an entire can of it though as most of it ends up on the floor, the wall, her lap and a couple days ago I found a noodle on the back of one of the cats.

She cracks herself up. Which cracks me up and then she laughs at me laughing. Good times at our lunch table. Speaking of tables....look at all the crumbs on my table. Gross.
There she goes again...I forget what was so funny.

Gotta love the dollar stores. $2 will get you a set of wings and a wand and your daughter will love you 4-ever.

This is what happens in our house lately.

She turns from this face to..........
this one. What gives??? It was literally 2-3 seconds between shots. DRAMA
I have learned that keeping her on her sleeping and eating schedule is a major priority. She doesn't like change...And if you change things up she'll make you pay for it. High Maintenance......But I've created it because to be real honest I'm the same way.
Monkey Moo goes with her everywhere for the first hour after waking and right before bed. She not ultra attached to it. Like she doesn't have to have it all day long but when she's tired she does want her little buddy with her. It used to be as big as she was....One of her favorite games to play is to throw him down the stairs and then rush down to make sure he's okay. She'll pat him on the back, kiss him and do the whole thing over again until one of the cats walks by and diverts her attention. I wonder how long until she tries to throw one of them down the stairs?

Does anyone see what's wrong with this picture???? If you can't- let me explain.

I was blowing off the driveway after DH mowed...He comes up behind me saying, "Look Honey!" I turned around and he's tooling around the cul de sac with Monkey Head holding onto her with one arm.

Except in this picture she looks a whole lot more secure than she did when I first turned around. She was dangling. Granted, she was having a great time.

Look, he's pleading his case in this picture. He didn't win by the way.

Favorite Foto Friday #40 - Fun in the SUN

2008-05-16T05:32:00.001-07:00

I didn't have too many "fun in the sun" pictures for this year that I haven't already posted so I went back thru my archives and pulled these from July 4th weekend last year.

This was Kenzie's second trip to the beach and although she wasn't interested in getting wet she wasn't crying the whole time like she was the first visit. Maybe this summer she'll enjoy it a bit more.

Went shopping while we were there and of course the big kids were bored. This is where they sat and waited for us.

The Answer Is..............

2008-05-15T10:19:00.000-07:00

Bubbles...

Or should I say the lack of. She gets so excited when we get the bubbles out. She screams "bubbles, bubbles, bubbles" and dances all around. But the 20-30 minutes of temper tantrum that follows makes it almost not worth it.

If I were you guys looking at these pictures, I'd have thought she was being tortured or that she just lost her dog. I wonder what the neighbors thought.

She's so dramatic about everything. She gets that from her sister. When she gets upset, which seems to be more and more lately, she flings her entire body on the floor or against the wall and covers her mouth like she just can't take the pain of being Mackenzie anymore. Sometimes it goes on so long, it turns funny. As you can see from picture #3, Daddy's having a laugh at her expense.

That's our little DQ.

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY-Take a guess what she's crying over?

2008-05-14T08:48:00.000-07:00

Sporty Spice

2008-05-12T07:43:00.000-07:00

FewWORDS a lot of CUTENESS

2008-05-10T15:15:00.000-07:00

These are the EYES...It started out that we'd ask her where her ears were, arm, hand etc. and when we got to eyes she would give us this look. So now of course we ask her cuz it's funny. FInally got it on camera.

Saying the blessing

Favorite Foto Friday #39 - Mommy & ME

2008-05-09T05:54:00.000-07:00

I realized while searching for a picture for this weeks topic that I need to step in front of the camera a little more. I take a whole lot of pics but rarely get in them. Partly because I don't usually take very good pictures and partly because I'm always the one holding the camera.

But I need to hand it over to someone else every once in a while so I can capture more shots like this one. Mackenzie was nearly 8 months old in this picture. I love her little pudgy face.......Time has just flown by.....I miss my baby......but still enjoying the age she's at now.

2008-05-07T12:15:00.000-07:00

Before you read on ....... please check out www.thejujucrew.blogspot.com

for a Very Important Message

Mackenzie has been busy in the past few months trying out future career/job possibilities.

She's definitely a busy girl.

Computer Programmer

Personal Chef
Chauffeur

Dog Walker

Super Hero

Artist

Welcome to the CAR WASH!!!

Receptionist

Masseuse

I love how they copy E-V-E-R-Y-T-H-I-N-G you do at this age. We have to be careful these days.

2008-05-04T18:12:00.000-07:00

Not a whole lot to tell you about this weekend. Abby-Grace www.thejujucrew.blogspot.com had her first birthday party. I brought my camera but put it down somewhere and ended not remembering where until near the end. I took a lot of pictures but they were all with Julia's camera. So if you want to see the sweetest little 1 year old, check out her blog.

This is all I've got from the party. Eating pizza with her cousin Reese.

The big news in our house is that we switched Mackenzie's crib to a big girl bed. Last night was the first night. She only got out of the bed a few times. We could tell she was out because we could hear her knocking on her door.

You might think that switching here now is a bit too early considering she's not even 2 yet but what you don't realize is that she rarely even used her crib. I don't think she liked the confinement. She never liked her pack-n-play either.

She would sometimes go to bed in her crib and by 2 or 3 in the morning wake up screaming and end up with us for the rest of the night. Sometimes, more times than not actually she would go to sleep in our bed and I'd try to move her to her crib and she'd wake up in transport so I'd take her right back to our bed.

I know, I know, I know.........I always said I'd never let my child sleep with me. And she didn't always do this.... around 9 months we started to put her down for the night awake and she would stay in her crib until morning. No problems unless she was sick.

But when we lost the baby and the whole mood in our house changed and I swear to you people, she could sense it. I know she could tell the immense change in her mother. She started waking up a lot and crying without consolation. I was in such emotional pain that I wasn't able to deal so Daddy would get up with her and she only wanted Mommy. So he would bring her to bed to calm her down and there she would stay. And to tell you the truth.....I didn't mind. I wanted, NEEDED in fact, my sweet baby snuggled up next to me. It took away some of the pain. And if I'm gonna be honest here....I still don't mind but I know it's not healthy for her. But I do enjoy my cuddle time. With a busy toddler, snuggling isn't something that there's an abundance of during the waking hours and I was taking it whenever I could get it.

I know, pretty selfish. But darn it......I love her so much...I really just can't get enough.

Now tonight is the second night. And when we put her in her bed I knew it would not take long because she didn't nap today... 5 minutes of whimpers and she was out. Then an hour later -SCREAMING coming from her room. Daddy went upstairs to make sure she hadn't fallen out of bed (we put pillows on the floor). We were going to get that thing that clamps onto the bed so they don't roll out but that just made her daybed look like a crib so what was the point.

Anyway-an hour later (when I started this post) she was still crying, sobbing, whimpering, generally making me feel like the worst mother ever.....but now my friends all I hear is the sweet sound of the wave machine.

Here's hoping it lasts until at least 6:00 am.

Oh one more thing....we already put the door knob thing on the inside so she can't escape but a friend of mine told me to anchor all her furniture to the wall. Is that really necessary? Seriously, I'm asking. Please advise.

CHECK OUT LINK BELOW

2008-05-01T20:41:00.000-07:00

I was introduced to a blog this afternoon called Bring The Rain www.audreycaroline.blogspot.com. The author is Angie Smith wife of Todd Smith who is a member of the Christian band Selah. They are the parents of four beautiful daughters, the youngest of which has recently been taken by our Lord. If you are not familiar with their story, I strongly encourage you to read it.

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There have only been a handful of days in my life where I can honestly say that one particular day was life changing. But today was one of those days for me. This story spoke to me. It ministered to my soul in ways I didn't even know I needed. It made me examine how I really felt about certain struggles in my life. And mostly it made me cry out to God and ask for his strength and guidance. And praise Him that he's capable fulfilling my every need.

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Read it and you'll see what I mean. Only God could do what has been done through the short life of this baby girl. Glory be to God!!!

The Phone...The Phone is Ringing!!!!!

2008-04-29T18:08:00.000-07:00

Hello
They say they wanna see me dance.
Oh I dunno if I can....I'm too shy.
Welllllllll okay if you insist.
"Quack quack quack quack quack, quack-a-doodle-doo"
Shakin' my sillies out.

Daddy turned my music off and I'm not happy about it.
Mommy made it all better.

Weekend #63

2008-04-27T15:05:00.000-07:00

So I decided to count how many FAMILY FUN WEEKENDS we've had since MIss PrIss has been home. I count 63. Some more fun than others, but always special.

See this cat??? It's not ours. It's belongs to our neighbor. His name is Jonah and he hangs out all the time on our front porch to torture our cats. When I open the door he tries to come in. Here he is trying to get into the garage. Mackenzie loves him because he doesn't flee when she starts going for him.
Well look here- he made his way into the garage. My fear is I'll lock him in there one night and he'll pee all over everything. So we cashed him off and thought he was gone for the night....until................
We went in for dinner and he was on the outside window ledge of our kitchen. I feel sorry for him but I assure you we WILL NOT be taking on another cat no matter how much our neighbors don't take care of him. I'm just glad it wasn't dark out b/c those cat eyes at night can freak you out.
So Friday night we hung out in the drive-way.. Abby and her friend Madison rode bikes while the boys did boy stuff.

Saturday Mackenzie went to her boyfriend's (GAVIN) birthday party. Enjoyed the swing. SOOOOOOO wish we had one.
See this look? This is when I told her to come in for cake. I mean it's cake Kenzie lighten up girl.

Once she got it she was good to go. She was at least patient enough for us to get thru with singing and once he blew his candle out, she got out of her seat and handed her empty plate to his mom as if to say "Fill it please"
And then Sunday.....First I was working in the church nursery for early service, volunteered in the nursery for Sunday School, went to the late service and saw Abby sing with her youth group, had the potluck dinner, helped clean up and by the time we were done with that our MOPS group was meeting at the church so she went right back into the nursery. Poor girl had do nap. But since it was Anniversary Sunday, they had a bouncy house, clowns, balloon animals and face painting....as you can see she was a cat. She had a great day but it'll be an early night. In fact I think I'm gonna put her down now as she is tearing thru all the toys that I just put away.
Trying her best to smile for the camera but half asleep.

Favorite Foto Friday #37 SPRING has SPRUNG

2008-04-25T04:37:00.000-07:00

Forget Spring.....Kenzie's moving on to summer already.

We had gotten a bag of hand me down clothes from a friend and I was sorting thru it as we were trapped inside on a rainy day. Next thing I knew she had one of the bathing suits on. She's my extra incentive to lose weight so I can take her to the pool and actually wear a suit myself. I'd hate for my girl to miss out because I have no willpower.

Guess who came over today!!!!!!!

2008-04-24T10:54:00.000-07:00

Abby-Grace and John-Bryan came over and we had a grrrrrrrreat time.
Abby and I had a litte alone time today as Mackenzie and JB were napping. We laughed and played....she has such an expressive face.
A friend from church brought this slide over last night. Her sons have grown out of it..We were happy to store it in our yard for her.
Up and down the slide...over and over again.
And when that got old they started putting cups, toy dogs, sidewalk chalk, popsicles etc. down the slide.

Check out this cool little man. This is just one of about 6 pair of sunglasses that the Diva owns.

JB and I discovered this "LISAH" as he called it. He didn't want to get too close but he wanted to know where it was at all times.
I love this picture. You can tell by Mackenzie's expression how utterly excited she is to have playmates for the day.

2008-04-21T08:39:00.000-07:00

Before I start telling you about our weekend...........Please check out this link.... http://www.customlifebooks.com/ It's a business that two adoptive mothers in Maine have started. They put together customized life books for adopted children. I for one am looking into this. I was given an adoption life book as a gift and wonder if I send them that and all my stuff if they'd put it together. We'll see....Anyway-check it out.

Friday was a gorgeous day but unfortunately DH was stuck at the office so we brought him lunch. Spent a few minutes with him and we were off running about town on errands.

Then we spent the rest of the day and night outside in the front yard. DH made me grilled tuna steak and steamed veggies. MY FAVORITE. I didn't have to lift a finger also MY FAVORITE...Kenzie tooled around on her new bike

And discovered a new child safety seat. Surely her baby will be safe in there.
As she tried it out......seemed to work just fine.
We topped the night off with a popsicle and put her to bed and DH and I had a pleasant evening watching a FREAKY movie I AM LEGEND. Didn't like it so much...I screamed a couple times and that's not good entertainment to me. So since my movie picks have been duds that last few times I'm turning it over to Brian and that means the next few movie rentals will be sports related....UGH
THE TRUCK TOUCH....Our church did a fundraiser for the new playground...They had a whole bunch of trucks, vehicles, rigs, buses, etc. for the kids to explore....Bouncy house and face painting too. It was a success. Kenzie seemed to enjoy herself, except for this first picture. She wasn't pleased that she couldn't reach the handlebars.
Out of all the fancy vehicles there she was most enthralled with the regular old pick up truck. That's my girl...Keepin' it simple just like her momma. No frills for me just something to get me from A to B. If I had to guess why she was so fascinated with this one is probably cuz it was so clean. Don't know that she's seen a car like that before.

Got herself a lady bug on her cheek.

HONK HONK......move over people I'm on the road and if you think my Momma's a rough driver you ain't seen nottin' yet!

Favorite Foto Friday #36 SIBLINGS

2008-04-17T20:00:00.000-07:00

I don't get the three of them to sit still together too often but on the rare occasions that I do I quick grab the camera and snap. These two are my favorites. The one above is 4th of July weekend. And obviously the other is this last Christmas.

Abby and Miles are actually touching in this one. They pretend to like each other once a year and that's at Christmas.

2008-04-17T10:23:00.000-07:00

What Mommy? I'm jammin' to my tunes.

Doodlebops R-O-C-K!!!!

Don't bug me Momma. I've gotta practice for my American Idol audition.

But not before I brush my teeth. Ya know just in case I run into MIchael Johns.....OOOPS that's right he was voted off last week. Momma is still mourning that.

What do you think? Should I sing with the piano or ask the band to accompany me?

I don't know, you tell me.

These are my fans. Each and everyone of them says they'd vote for me.
I don't know though, maybe I should just hang up the singing career and just be a mommy. My momma says it's the best job EVER!

This is me with my new bike.
THis is me throwing a fit because momma made me share my new bike. What's that all about? She keeps saying "Sharing is Caring....Caring is Sharing" If she says it again, I'm gonna scream.

First I got to stay up later than my big sister.......so I got to spend good time with my big bro
Then he went to bed and I got Daddy all to myself.
He's such a cuddler. He must kiss me 1,000 times a day.
Smile Daddy, Momma's got that thing pointed at us again.

Here let me sneeze on you as you're going in for a kiss.
HOw'd ya like that? Ha ha ha ha...Momma laughed.

2008-04-13T18:14:00.000-07:00

Gotta give a shout out to Holly. I ordered some bows from her http://www.dahollygbow.com/ and they turned out wonderfully. You can't see this one too well but be sure that's it adorable. I've already told all my friends at church all about the website.

I love these bows so much that I've started planning Mackenzie's outfits around her bows instead of dressing her and then seeing if I have a bow to match. THANKS HOLLY!!

On Wednesday our church had a bike parade for the elementary kids. They had bubbles, bikes, popcorn, popsicles (Abby had three-I found out later) and a lot of fun. Abby's trying to the hoola-hoop and darn it if she doesn't have some moves. My camera went kaput after this so that's all I have.
Hey did y'all know that popsicles calm down toddlers who are have a tantrum? Me neither-but I do now and it's my secret weapon. I will now always have my freezer stocked.

Mackenzie has taken over her brothers skateboard ramp and has turned it into her own personal slide. She slides down and screams "WEEEEEEE" over and over again. It's so stinkin' cute.

I wish I had more pictures of this weekend but like I said camera's not working so well right now. But I have to share this with you. Our Youth Group a/k/a The Hardcore Jesus Freaks at our church did the service today. It was awesome. There were a few teens that got up and gave their testimony (glad I had tissues with me), they sang and danced and put on skits. Miles loved being up there. Brian and I were so excited to see young people loud and proud about their love for the Lord. Sometimes we forgot how hard it is to be a teenager in today's world and how so much has changed. They are dealing with many more serious issues than even ten years ago. It's important for us to recognize those strong individuals who go against the grain and say "NO" to what is wrong and say "YES" to what's right. Pronouncing your love for God is not always the coolest thing to do especially in this day and age and especially among teens so when I see these kids expressing their faith so outwardly I just have to be proud.

2008-04-11T06:03:00.001-07:00

Favorite Foto Friday - Topic is WHATEVER YOU WANT TO POST-due to Sarah being at the beach and having internet problems

This was taken last April. She was just starting to get more teeth and this was the first introduction to Cheerios. As you can see my her expression she was pretty excited. I cannot believe how much she has changed.

Oh yeah, we've added a new word to her vocabulary. DORK. Apparantly that word gets thrown around quite a bit in our house. OOPS-I guess it could be worse.

2008-04-08T17:36:00.000-07:00

It's time...I didn't want to admit it.....I kept saying she wasn't ready.....then I said I wasn't ready....then I finally gave in and put her on the potty and she is soooooooooooo ready.

I didn't start until today right before her nap....she went just a bit and then I put her back on right when she woke up and waah laah. Peepee in the potty, peepee in the potty..... So we sang the peepee song and danced around. SHE WAS ONE PROUD PEANUT.

My little monkey is growing up and although I hate it I'm enjoying the adventure. Every day she says a new word. This is the list..

hello

bye bye

mine

uh oh

pop

book

bubble

puppy

abby

doc (her brother's nickname)

dog

daddy

mommy

nana

milk

juju

juice

kiki (kitty cat)

pooh

stinky

love

shoe

shhhh

blue

joel

baby

please

thank you (her newest one)

play

ball

bowl
ouch

treat

cheese

2008-04-07T18:59:00.000-07:00

I've been so busy I forgot to post these pictures of our fun day last week.

We had the priveledge of watching JB and AG for JuJu while they got all packed up and moved into their new house. We had such a great time playing. Look Mackenzie is even getting better at sharing her toys. Although technically this toy cell phone is her sister's that she swiped from her room while she was at school but whatever.
Pretty girls. AG was a pure angel the entire day. And I'm still amazed that both of these children just laid down and took a nap when I put them in the crib and pack-n-play. No hassles. No crying...just napping. How does JuJu do this? What am I doing wrong?
Kenzie and AG sat at this window for a very long time bouncing up and down and yelling na, na, na, na, na. JB and I were in our own world playing.

Look at this happy guy. I swear he wears a smile 99% of the time.

Wow, Wow Wuzzby is what got this reaction. Good thing I taped it because he wanted to watch it quite a few times.

We really did enjoy watching them. All three of them were so good together and watching them I just kept stopping whatever I was doing to praise God for bringing them into our lives. Such a blessing.

2008-04-05T20:00:00.000-07:00

I'm so tired of our weather here. Is it gonna be pants, sweater and a jacket or will be shorts and flip flops?? Lately though it's been neither.....Just umbrellas and raincoats......You just never know what you're gonna get when you wake up in the Ville.

Another rainy day......so we stayed in all day. With one exception for me. I went to a GIANT consignment sale and came home with some real good finds. Number 1 on the list is this little kitchen set.
Got a great deal on it.
So since it was icky outside and we were stuck indoors...The rest of the day consisted of Kenzie washing her hands in the little sink, pulling her plastic food out of the oven

and feeding mommy and daddy while we lounged. It was a nice day......although tonight hasn't been good. Mackenzie is going thru a time of independence and just won't go to bed until she is darned good and ready.... Now I will admit......she usually goes to bed great on her own but will wake up in the middle of the night and end up in bed with us...Not proud of it but it's the way it is. I thought tonight would be a good night to take the first step back to Baby Boot Camp.....But she wouldn't even go to bed nicely like she normally does. She cried for well over an hour, at which point she was so hysterical that she was gagging. I went up to get her and see if she would lay down on the couch with me....And she wasn't having it. She still wanted to play with that darned kitchen. My issue is not the crying when I put her down but when she starts in the middle of the night.........It's so hard to listen to her cry for another hour. Any advice?

2008-03-29T18:46:00.000-07:00

Our little Monkey has been tagged by JuJu's Crew http://www.thejujucrew.blogspot.com/

The rules are you have to write 10 things about your little one then Tag 10 people. I'm not sure I can tag 10 people but I'll do my best.

1. I have a specific purple blankey and a stuffed monkey that I hold in my arms at bedtime and don't switch it up cuz I'll know the difference and won't go to sleep.

2. I love my brother and sister and nobody makes me laugh like they do.

3. I answer "no" to every question I'm asked and even questions that aren't asked directly to me. I just like the word.

4. My mommy and I have the same middle name--Lynne.

5. I like my mommy to sing Silver Bells to me every night before bed. Even though it's not Christmas.

6. My favorite book is Daddy Kisses.

7. When my big sister is not home I like to sneak into her room and take her purses and store all my stuff in them.

8. I like to chase my cats Ozzie and Murphy around the house all day until they finally retreat to the top of the kitchen cabinets.

9. I imitate everything mommy and daddy now so they keep saying they have to be very careful.

10. I have a boyfriend in the church nursery named Gavin. Although I'm thinking John-Bryan is pretty cute too.

See what I mean....isn't he dreamy?

I don't really know who to tag because I don't have any idea who has and hasn't been tagged.

2008-03-27T18:59:00.000-07:00

Well Grandma has left us. We had a very nice visit and we already miss her. It was fun while it lasted. We didn't do anything too exciting but it was fun having someone else around to talk to other than Little Miss.

We went to Walmart and got some finger painting supplies.....I don't usually do these messy projects because I hate the clean up but I decided to just go for it. So after nap we changed our clothes, pulled out all the supplies and headed outside to create our masterpiece. Since she's a genius I was sure she was going to arrange the colors just so beautifully on the paper so that we would be able to sell it to some major art museum and make loads of money for her college education. Instead we got this......And that's it and she didn't want to do it anymore on account of she doesn't like getting anything on her hands. DIVA!!
Wait Sis-you're going to fast.....My little legs can't keep up.
I'm gaining on you....
Darnit you won....Not fair you can just pick me up like that and get away with it. If I didn't have a diaper, that would be one heck of a snuggy.
On Grandma's last day we went to the park.......Mackenzie was having such fun I thought I'd try it out. I forgot how fun sliding is. It's fun being a kid for a while. I so enjoy playing.
Can you tell?
This faces lights me up

My monkey climbing the tree.
Yeeeeeeeesssssssss, we were crouched down underneath her....so don't get all panicky.

2008-03-24T06:21:00.000-07:00

HAPPY EASTER EVERYONE!!!

Easter was a lot more fun this year because Mackenzie really knew what was going on.
I thought we'd be able to hide just the plain plastic eggs without putting candy in them (mostly because I forgot to get some). Anyway I thought she'd think it was fun just to go find the eggs. But Gam brought a few eggs with candy in them and she quickly learned how to shake them and see if they were filled and if they weren't she'd throw them back down.
Sidewalk chalk one of the many things the Easter BUnny brought her.

Grandma Helen came on Thursday and she wore her out. The cat was pretty tired too.
We've had such a fun time so far I don't want her to go home. She's been helping with the never ending pile of laundry, she cooked Easter dinner and entertained the children. PLEASE DON'T GO MOMMY.

2008-03-15T17:43:00.000-07:00

Check this out.....I foun something to occupy my Monkey's little hands while I'm preparing dinner. Gave her a bowl full of beans and she spends a whole bunch of time putting them one by one in the tiny little hole on the top of the lid. I know you may think it's a choking hazzard but she's past putting stuff like that in her mouth. I wouldn't have done this a couple months ago but she's really grown up lately. It's the perfect distraction for her while I'm cooking and if I move her into the kitchen with me she really thinks she's helping.

Here's the proof. My girl likes to be naked. Pulling her pants down and pulling at the diaper is of common practice these days.
Now I put them on her head and starting singing...."Do your ears hang low? Do they wobble to and fro?....." You can see her dancing to my jig.

Still a Bronco fan even if they didn't have a great season.

ha ha ha...look at my laundry pile....It only sat there folded for a week or so. Actually it moved around the room from corner to corner before someone (okay ME) finally decided it was in the way and took it upstairs where it sat in our bedroom for another couple days. It doesn't usually get put away until someone runs out of socks or underwear. Can any of your momma's relate?

No reason for this group shot. Just that when they are clean and look nice, it's rare that it happens all at once so I have to capture it.

2008-03-14T15:44:00.000-07:00

Hurry home Daddy

The batteries in our camera are dead and I'm too lazy to go to the store for some more....So I'll go thru every toy in the house tonight and see what I can use. But for now here are some naked pictures from the last few weeks....Mackenzie is loving being free lately. She's learned how to pull her pants down and unhook her diaper......I have a feeling there is going to be some serious clean up going on around this house soon. If ya know what I mean.

2008-03-07T20:10:00.000-08:00

Favorite Foto Friday - One Year Ago

One year ago I had my baby shower. Mackenzie was under the weather. You can see it in her face that she doesn't feel good. But I had a good time. And she had plenty of women there who were more than happy to love on her and help her to feel better.

2008-03-05T18:05:00.000-08:00

Happy 8th Birthday to my little TURTLE

Abby at 6-7 months old......She was sooo cute!!!! Her cheeks were just so squeezable and kissable which is why to this day her Pops calls her Sweetcheeks.

Here she is at her 3rd birthday party. Still cute and cuddly. I cropped myself out of this photo cuz I looked like a monster. I surprised these two are even smiling standing next to the scary beast.

And now she's 8. Not as much cute as she is pretty.
At what point to our baby girls turn from cute, cuddly balls of fluffy cuteness to pretty young ladies that might possibly go out on a date one day? AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!
Why oh why do they have to grow up so fast?

Mouth full of cake-I'm sure she'll appreciate this picture when she sees it.

My cat has such a life of leisure.

And this pic is just because I think it's cute.

2008-03-03T04:32:00.000-08:00

No captions today......I have two fussy babies today so pictures is all you get. I'm pretty sure that's all Mamma Nanna wants anyway.

2008-02-25T05:18:00.000-08:00

Good Morning Y'all. This is the spot Mackenzie has chosen to glue herself to today.

And don't you dare try to move that ottoman or put her in the chair. If you even attempt to touch her stuffed monkey that's behind her legs she'll gettcha. Terrible 2's are coming a bit early in our house.

Look at her-see how she's blocking the monkey. She's like a little dog, very territorial...She got there first this morning, therefore it's her AREA for the entire day. It's only 8:33 am and I can tell it's going to be a looooooooooong day already.

Since I've been watching my friends little boy during the days I've tried to get Mackenzie to sleep in her crib during nap time instead of on the couch like normal so as she's not disturbed by him. But of course she's not used to this so we have to go thru the all screaming nonsense for a while. So after her distress calls faded, I went up to check on her and this is what I found. Looks like she attacked the stuffed toys and after conquering them all she passed out.

She's loving having a baby in the house to play with, although we are working on being gentle with him.

Look I've got a new drum momma, let me play you a song.

I'll even sing along too. I've learned a few things from watching American Idol. Simon is brutal but his advice is right on.

Oooooh- Momma don't let Simon hear you sing---he'd laugh you right off the stage.

Where's Mackenzie?????

OOOOH There she is....This was a fun game for about 20 minutes until she fell over in the basket and then the hysterics started.

FFF-Then and Now

2008-02-22T09:31:00.000-08:00

THEN- Mackenzie at a week old when we first visited Guatemala. I can't even describe the feeling when they placed her in my arms for the first time. But I guess I don't really need to....you all felt the same thing.

NOW- Mackenzie posing for the camera....She rarely does....an it's hard to get smiles in time for the flash but this is one that I managed to capture and I LOVE IT.