Happy 2009

As the year is coming to an end I have been "reflecting" on the past year and how the kids have grown and changed.
Meagan: she is our go-getter. There is no challenge that she cannot beat. She has such a confidence in herself and her abilities that she will take on anyone challenge that is placed before her and usually will do it with a smile on her face. This confidence can come off in a bad light at times and we are trying to direct her in a more positive way of asserting her abilities and "knowledge". This is a nice way of saying she can be bossy and a know-it-all and we are working on that with her. She is sweet as can be and loves to help others. She has a heart of gold and loves to learn and has a desire to push her self to be the best. She has grown so much this past year in herself and academically, she has moved up to honor roll and one of the top students in her class. She also finally lost her first 2 teeth right before Christmas, she was so excited, she felt like she was the last girl in the world to still have all there baby teeth. We are so proud of her and look forward to what 2009 will bring to her and us.
Jacob: He has begun to come out of his shell and have a little more confidence in himself. He is still extremely shy, Not as painfully shy as he used to be. He is home with me this year and I will have to admit he has driven me crazy at times, and other times I have really enjoyed having him here and our great conversations we can have during the day. He is still a tender hearted guy and hates to hurt anyone on the outside or the in, it is almost hard to discipline him when he has hurt someones feelings because he tears himself up so much. We are working on his confidence in himself and his lack of a desire to do anything that is "too hard". I have a feeling we get the confidence up the other won't be far behind. He is a Joy in our lives and we look forward to 2009 and his start of Kindergarten and the new growth that comes with that.
Ryder: Oh, boy!! He is an energetic little boy to say the least. He has really kept me on my toes this year. He is all boy, very rough and loud and energetic. His favorite thing to do is to throw or hit, if it can't be thrown or hit he doesn't want anything to do with it. I think that he will be our ball player. He's had many accomplishments in 2008 as well, from crawling to walking and talking and running. He is definitely a mommas boy but has recently become really clingy to daddy and I think he would just enjoy to have us both stay home all day together. He really misses any of his family member if they are gone for the day. When Meagan is at school he will call for her "Meanan" Meanan" and he puts his arms to both side like he's asking "where is she?" He is very sweet and is definitely doted on by everyone in our household. We look forward to what 2009 will bring to Ryder.
Hope everyone has a blessed and Joyful 2009

Yippee hooray whoo hoo!!

(Ryder and his cast)

So we got back from the cruise on Sunday December 14th at about 1:30 a.m. with a sick boy. Everyone in our house ended up with this nasty stomach bug, and our house was shut down for the week. BUT...... Since this bug was so nasty it caused horrible diarhea (gross I know!) and it oozed down Ryder's leg into the cast!! Double Yuck!! So we went to see the Doc and the Doc said CAST OFF and STAY OFF, yeah!!! So Ryder is cast free, but he still is not walking right. Weird. He won't bend his knee when he walks, They say this is normal and he should adjust himself shortly. For now it is very cute to watch his gimpy walk.

Thanksgiving traditions

Ryder decided he liked the view from John's shoulder's rather than the stroller.


The past few years on Thanksgiving morning our family has gotten up early and headed downtown for the Grateful Gobbler walk, roll, or stroll. This has become our Thanksgiving family tradition. The kids look forward to it every year. We are still trying to figure out a christmas tradition that is as fun as this turkey day one.

New Friendship's Made Old Friendship's Renewed

Beth,me and Kristy, We decided when we were (18?) That when we turned 30 we would take a trip and I think we even said a cruise (Right girls?) We were just a year late following thru on our deal but still did it and it was great to spend time with them.


"THE BOYS" Ryder, Isaac, Landon, Jacob, and Aiden. This was the only picture I got with Ryder in it, he wanted to do a funny face too, but he wouldn't stay still long enough to get a good picture.

"THE GIRLS" Outnumbered!! Meagan, Madison and Macie. Meagan and Madison really hit it off and enjoyed there time together on the boat, Macie was as sweet as could be, She amazed me with being able to sleep anywhere and seemed to be able to sleep through anything, what a great baby.

Meagan and Isaac building a sand castle at Castaway Cay (Disney's Island)

Meagan and Madison.

still sick and spreading!!!

So Jacob is still sick, no more vomitting just the other (you know!! ugh!) Ryder woke up last night with the vomitting and today John is sick!! So Meagan and I are awaiting our turn and praying that it passes us by!!

This was supposed to be our Christmas picture and it may still be!! Jacob was very mad because he wanted to wear his sweatshirt for the picture, so he would not smile or stop crying!!


Formal night.

Leaving the "Golden Mickey's". (very cute show)

Along with crusing with John's whole family we also got to cruise with my two great friends and their families. The kids had great fun and so did the adults.

First day of the cruise, getting ready to depart!!! Yippee!!!!

WAITING

We are back from our cruise. We had such a fun time. John has all the pictures on his computer so I am "waiting" for them so I can post them on my blogg. We had a great time the whole week and then realized on the drive home we were missing a bag and my cell phone!!! So Disney is shipping the bag and someone on the next cruise found my phone and called us this morning at 1:30 :) lovely!!! The drive home was also an adventure in itself, Jacob brought a bug back with him and we had many stops to dump the bucket!!! Our car was very odorous!!( is this a word, I am not sure but that is how I would describe the stench!!) So we are back with piles of laundry to do!!!

Cruisin'

Vacation here we come!!!! Tomorrow we leave for Florida to start our 7 day Disney Cruise on Saturday!!! We can't wait for beach and sun and lots of R&R. We have a cast cover for Ryder so hopefully he won't miss out on any of the fun. I will have lots of fun pictures to blogg about when we come home.

Ryder

Ryder has been very difficult to get down for a nap lately. I haven't changed the routine he has just decided he doesn't want to be out of my sight lately. I read him two books and sing a song as I am walking him to his crib. So yesterday we did our routine, (I knew he was tired too because he was falling asleep during lunch) I lay him in bed and he is fine, but as soon as I close the door he is up and screaming. So I decide to go and take my shower (yes late in the day, we were having a lazy day) Jacob did his books on tape and coloring while I was bathing. Well, I heard this really shrill cry from Ryder (which is not too uncommon when he is mad, he will really let you know) I kept listening and there was nothing. Then his cry got very loud and sounded closer, I went in the hallway and could tell that Ryder was crying from his door. I open the door and he is sitting on the floor at the door which is kinda strange, I tried to get him to stand and he wouldn't put his right leg down (weird). I rocked him for awhile (he was very upset and I could tell he hurt). He fell asleep and when he woke up we hiked it to the ER. Little Ryder broke his leg, he was such a trooper at the hospital, the Doctors kept commenting on how calm he was, unless you tried to take him from my arms. So Ryder has a cast for 4-6 weeks and today he keeps saying "walk" and falling when he tries. This will definitely take some adjusting.

Fall Fun!!!

John and I were Thing One and Thing Two for our Church Trunk-or-Treat. We are really scary looking aren't we!?!?!? We had a really cool trunk, John makes his trailer into a maze for the kids to wind thru. This always seems to be a hit and we always have kids coming back to go through several times.


Jacob's Pumpkin carving, the stinker wouldn't let me get his picture!!



Our three treats!! Mr Jacob the "incredible Hulk", Mr Ryder the cutest scarecrow ever!!, Ms. Meagan the "cute witch".

More Fall Fun

Meagan gutting the pumpkin, she enjoyed this, she seems to like the gooey parts, and doesn't mind getting messy.


Ry-dawg our little punk kid!! John was playing with the kids hair paint and decided to experiment with Ryder. He loved it!!



This was sooo cool, we went to a pumpkin patch and they had a corn maze and petting zoo, and two pits full of corn kernels for the kids to slide into, they all really enjoyed themselves.

Camping FUN!!!!!

Check out this tongue!!! We went camping down in Georgia at F.D. Roosevelt State Park, and there is a wildlife safari park nearby. So we went and fed the crazy animals!!! It was hilarious and so much fun!! We rented the parks van which is the zebra painted picture below and there are bars on the windows to keep the animals heads out, (because even with the bars they tried to get their heads in!) We had so much fun, it was funny to watch the kids because every time the animals tongues would come in they would squeal and scoot closer to the middle. Ryder rode with big eyes the whole time, by the end he wanted to throw food out but only to the small animals. GREAT MEMORIES!!!

Hot cocoa around the campfire!! We had a great campsite, all the neighbor camping kids would come down and hang out at ours, we had great trees and logs and stumps to climb on , the kids stayed busy all day and asked to go to bed at night!!! I Love Camping!!!!

Random Pictures

We went on a camping trip on fall break, I have much better pics I am trying to download but my computer is not recognizing my camera for some reason. (still working)

Meagan and a silly pose!

Meagan and Jacob got to take a scuba diving class a few weeks ago and loved it.

Ryder just being Ryder!! He is such a character! He loves to laugh and play and cuddle!!

31

Well I am now officially into the thirties!! Last year was just a trial year to see if I liked my thirties or not!!?? So I guess I like them because I am now thirty-one!!! I had a wonderful day and had to post about it. I was very selfish and planned a day to pamper myself. Although I had to squeeze in a troop leader meeting (girl scouts) but that was fun as well. So here is how my day went. I woke up to sweet message written on my mirror from John, got the kids ready and it was out the door. Dropped Meagan at school and the boys at mom's and went to Starbucks for coffee!! Then it was off to the meeting. After the meeting I went and met John at Red Robin (so good). It was so nice to meet him for lunch alone, and he gave me the book the Love Dare. (side note) We went to see the movie Fireproof and are doing a bible study at our church with other couples based on the book/movie, so he thought that it would be fun to do the dare for each other. He wrote the sweetest note to me in the book that I am positive I will love looking back over the next 100 years :). So after lunch I browsed around the mall and bought a few things and just enjoyed a leisurely afternoon alone. After my mall time I went to get my hair done and then to get a manicure and a pedicure ( I think that I could get used to all this pampering). To top the day off my mom and the kids made me a dinner and cake. It was a wonderful day and I feel so refreshed after getting some alone and pampering time.

Our first drink!!!

So on our first date at Harding John and I went to Midnight Oil, this awesome coffee shop within walking distance of campus. The drink we had was called "hot apple pie in a mug" this is so good and we have mastered our own version of it. You have to try this it is so delicious!!!!
Hot apple cider, caramel, 1/2 and 1/2 and topped with whipped cream and drizzled with caramel. I know I know sounds full of fat, but you can lighten it up, sugar free apple cider mix, fat free 1/2 and 1/2, sugar free caramel (already ff) and fat free whipped cream, it actually taste's a little better with the sugar free stuff.
ENJOY!!!!

Sleepover

So Meagan had her first sleepover, she invited two friends and it was a princess themed night. John and Jacob were out of town for the weekend so it was a girls night (in) with Ryder of course, but he went to bed early.

I was a little worried because it was everyone's first sleepover so we had the #'s ready to call, but they stayed so busy and just finally crashed around 12:30 and no one wanted to leave the next morning. I was exhausted and crashed as soon as Ryder did for nap.

SEPTEMBER

How are these months passing by so quickly? September was a very full month for us we stayed very busy having lots of fun. John and I got to have lots of good quality date time and we even got a weekend away on a marriage retreat with our church. This was a wonderful weekend, spending time together visiting with other Christian couples resting and relaxing and just rejuvenating our marriage. The weekend before this we actually got to go on a date for free!!! We just got a Red Robin here (whoo hoo, so excited!!!) and somehow we got on the mailing to come to there trial run and get a free meal!!! We had free babysitting and free food you can't beat that!!

Meagan is staying busy with school and has really started to excel with reading and math. She actually won a gift card to the book store because she had so many AR (accelerated reader) points. She was so excited to go pick out new chapter books to read. She is also playing fall softball so this keeps her busy on Tues and Thurs with practice and games. We just recently signed her up for Girl Scouts with me volunteering for troop leader!!(yikes) I am excited and she was really excited about this, it will be good quality time together for us.

Jacob is home with me, we couldn't make up our minds about Kindergarten, (he'll go, he won't etc.) so we lost our spot at our WONDERFUL preschool. He was doing a mother's day out, but it was just feeling like such a hassle and it really wasn't a "day out" for me, so he's home and we are working on reading and writing and math and other "kindergarteny" things. He is also back into gymnastics one day a week which he loves. Next month will be his first meeting at the "bug club" The bug club will be just what my bug catcher needs, ALL summer long I was brought and still am any and every new bug he finds to see what it eats and where we can keep it because it is his new pet. The bug club will teach him all about Bug's every question he's had about bugs should get answered here. He's excited!!!

Ryder, is 18 months and busy busy busy.. He will climb anything and everything. He is our ball player I think. If you can throw it or swing it that is what he does, he always wants to play catch or hit and he actually has it down how to hold the bat. It is very impressive to watch. His personality is just really coming out and is so fun to watch him develop and grow. He gets so frustrated if Meagan or Jacob are doing something that he can't, he doesn't understand why he can't do whatever they are doing. He keeps me on my toes all day long.

Oluve you!!!

I was cooking dinner with Ryder grabbing my legs saying "num, num" so I popped open a can of olives and he was satisfied :) he loves his olives.

summer fun

These were taken on one of the last days of summer vaca. before school started ( a month and 1//2 ago) The kids wanted me to take silly photos of them. We had a lot of fun!!!

WHAT IF......

........ (you fill in the blank with some random crazy question).... These are the words I hear probably 50 times a day. Jacob has so many what if scenarios it is crazy. He is fascinated by tornado's since last year at pre-school they did tornado drills. So I have gotten a lot of what ifs about tornado's lately. I can usually get away with an answer of "well what do you think would happen?". But if it's a real what if we have to have a long discussion about it. ( my brain is fried at the end of the day from a 5 year old's questions)

Jacob has also been saying some very funny things again lately. He is fascinated with water and diving and scuba and really wants to learn to snorkel and scuba. (he practices in our kiddie pool and the tub). He is constantly having me count and watch how long he can stay under water. He came out of the water the other day and said "how come God made it so we could only breath on the land, I NEVER want to come out of the water."
We were sitting and talking on the rug the other day and he was being silly and I said Jacob you are just so funny and he said "no, mommy I am COOL!!!!". (my bad!!)

Meagan is SEVEN!!!

I cannot believe my little girl is seven, she seems to want to grow up so fast and I feel like it is a tug of war to try and keep her a little girl for a while longer. She is sweet as they come and loves to help whenever needed, she has a heart of gold and loves unconditionally. She has yet to meet a stranger and this both makes me proud and a little afraid. We went to the family reatreat with our church and had to leave in the afternoon for a few hours and Meagan really wanted to stay so we left her with friends there. They broke off into groups to do a team building get to know your brothere and sisters exercise and Meagan ( not knowing half the people in the group) stood up and said " I would like to be the leader of the group" (wonderful people that they are, they let her be leader and had a "co-leader" with her). I got back in time to watch her in action and my heart swelled with pride!!! She is so confident in herself and her abilities. I pray that she will always be proud of who she is and what she can do big or little and that she will continue to stand for what is right. I can't believe God gave me such a wonderful gift as her to call me Momma.

July Overview

WHOOSH>>>>>>> That's what July felt like around here... Man were we busy. I really cannot believe it is August and Meagan has only 1 day left of summer vacation.... Well I wanted to remember all that happened in July so I thought it would be a good record for me to post it on my blog and have it to look back at. So here goes.
July 6th we were supposed to drive to St. louis to leave Meag and J for cousins camp but John got a job so we ended up getting there sunday the 7th after leaving at 4am. John then left Monday for Montana, (driving) and I turned around and drove back home (after about 2 hours sleep because Ryder has decided anywhere else but his bed is not worthy of sleep). So July 7th -13th it was just Ry and I and you would think having just one child at home would be soooo much easier than three!!!! I guess in some ways that it is but he is so used to the constant attention and noise here that he was under foot all day long, I really didn't mind too much though because I hardly ever get to just sit and cuddle him and read and do blocks etc. I had a whole list of things to do though and only finished 1/2 of 1 item on my list!!!!! Meagan, Jacob and John arrived home on Sunday the 13th (Meagan's 7th birthday) John had driven 24 hours straight on Friday to Saturday from Montana (he and his memphis partner drove together and switched off drivers, but still how restful is sleeping in a car seat) .
So week three of July started off pretty relaxing we went to the pool and the lake and then Meagan got a stomach bug and woke John and I up at 2am SCREAMING!!!! I CAN'T BREATH!!!! we were startled because we were asleep, but not too worried about the not breathing part since she was screaming so air was getting in !!! Anyhow so we cleaned her up again and again and we stayed home for two days. Saturday July 19th we had Meagan's birthday party and did the waterslide, and a water balloon war kids vs. dads, this was fun and fun to watch. The next week the kids did a summer camp and had an awesome time and can't wait to go back next summer, this was busy running around for me since we live forever away from civilization!!! (not really but it sure feels like it sometimes). The last week Jacob went to aquarium camp, he had a lot of fun, he is fascinated by fish, amphibians, any sort of water thing, and has wanted to be a diver for the past two years since he saw one in the aquarium. But this was Jacobs week to get sick, so we stayed home while everyone else went to the ball game (UGH). The first week of August started off great, we went swimming with friends on monday and Tuesday we went to the lake and Tuesday afternoon was my turn to share in the sickness ( my kids are great at sharing :)) So yet again I miss out on the ball game with the fam, and my bro and his wife and son were also in town so it was a double miss!!! Saturday it was John and Ryder's turn to share with us!!! Oh what fun we have here and I wouldn't trade it for the world!!!!

July 4th festivities!!!

We had such a fun 4th of July celebration. On the 3rd we went to the baseball game and after it was over everyone got to go down onto the field to watch the fireworks (so cool!). On the 4th we grilled hamburgers and hotdogs and made a flag cake and topped it off with sparklers with the kids. FUN FUN FUN!!!

What nine years and three kids looks like on us!!!

Oh kay!!!! so we have both put on the same amount of weight!!! (ugh) but for some reason it looks so much better on John than on me!!! It will take me 6 months to lose mine and probably only 1 for John maybe even less ( so unfair!!) We have had such an awesome journey together, I look forward to the next nine years and new memories we get to make together.