So Proud!!

John before and after the triathalon, he kept a smile on his face!!

Happy Birthday Ryder!!

Ryder blowing the candles out on his cake.  He knew exactly what to do with his candles.  He did well and only needed a little help from his brother and sister to get the last candle out.

It's official!!! Ryder is potty trained and loves his big boy underwear.  We started underwear the week before his birthday and he just took to the potty like a pro.  He wakes up dry 6 out of 7 nights of the week and everyday from nap.. He has done awesome I am so impressed.  The scarf is a daily addition, or something similar to it, he loves to dress up and act goofy! He's a funny kid.

Ryder

Ryder our baby is TWO....  TWO, how does this happen that these kids grow so fast!!!!! Today is his actual birthday, but we had a little family party Saturday(photos later).  He is TWO and has had some huge advances lately.  He moved into a big boy bed in December, (thanks to the breaking of the leg when he climbed out of his crib). He actually did really well when he first moved into the bed, we had a couple hard weeks afterwards, but for the most part he loved it and did great.  Now, he is wearing his big boy underwear.  He is very proud to be using the potty like a big boy and is doing an amazing job. He got some new Elmo underwear today and is very excited about those. :)

He is definitely a go-getter, he doesn't realize he is not as big as the other kids and wants to get right in there with them and do whatever they are doing.  He is a funny, spunky, social little boy and definitely keeps me on my toes,  I run after him quite frequently.  We love him dearly and look forward to the adventure's he will take us on this year.

Voting....

So I saw this bumper sticker today,  that I thought was very interesting.  It said "Vote Scripturally Correct"..  Is this possible?  It brought to mind the book The Shack, which I recently read and think will re-read again.  

Anyhow these were my thoughts.  How to vote scripturally correct?  It seems that really you have to choose between the lesser of two evils well, maybe lesser of two evils is too harsh but it seems like most candidates have some "un-scripture" like behavior.  Is this scripturally correct?  I'd love to hear anyone's opinion on this matter.  I have been pondering all day how to vote "scripturally correct"(well, not really all day but I have thought about it off and on )

A new post finally!!

I have not posted in quite a little while 1. because I was having computer problems (ugh! but those days are hopefully over, I got a new computer, yippee!!!) 2. because my children keep getting sick and instead of getting it all at once, yes that would be hard to have three sick kids for a week, but I think that it would be better than three sick kids spread out over three weeks!!!  We've run out of children's tylenol twice, and I can't get the smell of vomit out of my nose!!!  I am ready to get out of my house and breath fresh air!!!

  To top it all off John will be going out of town this week and will be gone for 10 days!! If this bug runs the course like it has been, I should get this nasty,nasty bug as soon as he leaves!! (lovely)  

The End..........

   I've vented and feel better!! :)

snow (well a little bit)

This picture to me is just pure "childhood". They were so excited for the snow and it was just fun to see them just enjoy the joy of being a kid.

They are saying "snow day!" Ryder really got into it!!

So we had some REALLY cold weather lately, they even closed schools because it was so cold. I think the high that day was around 5 degrees. The next week it snowed, not enough to build a snowman but enough to go outside and catch it on your tongue!!! The kids and I are still really hoping that we get snow again, enough to really play in!!

TOILET TALK

Okay, so Ryder is fascinated with the toilet bowl!! The other day I caught him "cleaning" the toilet with a q-tip (no this is not the way I clean, but what a great way to get all the missed spots!!). The next day he decided the toilet was too empty, so he filled it with a whole roll of toilet paper and some pads!! Then he decided it was too full so he should take the stuff out and spread it around the bathroom floor!! Luckily I had just bleached the toilet out so it was as clean as it can be!! So Ryder headed to the bath and then we mopped up the floor again!!

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!!