What would life be without Girlfriends???

There is such a great bond that occurs with girls and their friends. When you find a true friend, a really good friend; the bond is amazing. I have a select few that I have been truly "connected" with. These are the girlfriends that when you see them you don't leave exhausted, you leave feeling rejuvenated. They don't require "energy" to be their friend . You understand each other and no matter how different you are you have a common bond of friendship. You share memories; you share stories. You have shared the good and the bad and weathered through it all. They make you laugh. You truly have fun with these girlfriends no matter what you are doing. You feel blessed to have them as your friend.

I am lucky enough to have a group of friends that are that to me. I hope that they are getting the gifts of friendship from me that I get from them. Like Leigh Ann said "we are her oldest friends". It is hard for me to believe that we have been friends for over twenty years now! and some of us (LAH) have been friends for almost THIRTY!!! OH MY! We have all shared so many laughs and tears and been through it all TOGETHER! So much fun. I had to borrow Leigh Ann's pictures since I didn't get my camera out at the dinner table.. I figured since she already did that was good enough for me! )

Friday night we had dinner out, and yes I was extremely sunburned! Have you ever tried to get sunscreen on two kids and then keep them still long enough to get it on yourself? My kids were so busy running and playing at Wild River Country that once they had their sunscreen on, I had to take off to keep up with them... therefore I am burnt everywhere except of course where I had my sunglasses. UGH!! That is NICE. Don't you love our self portrait? The other two girls went to the bathroom so we decided we needed a shot of the two "lobsters de jour". At least LAH was smart and put sunscreen on her face!

I did take a picture of "the girls" in the movie theater. How fun is that! We went to see "Sex and The City" and laughed; and some of us cried (Kim) but we had a great time. Sorry the rest of you couldn't make it. What better way to have a girls night than going to see a total chick flick. Kim and I definitely enjoyed the movie , so thanks LAH and Abby for going to see it a second time.

We got out of the movie at 1:20 am!!! and I had to be at work at 6:30 in the morning. I had a very long 12 hour shift. I have been a night shift worker since 1995 and for the past month I have had to work day shift and I absolutely HATE it! I only work two days a week but getting up at 5am is a killer. God knew what he was doing when he decided night shift was my future! and how wonderful it is that he gave me kids that would rather stay up late and then sleep in the next day. AMEN for that !!!

On a sad note, please remember the Brown Family. Today was the funeral and tomorrow morning is the burial. It is so heartbreaking to me to think of those children without their mother.; and Mark has lost his wife and best friend. This will be a very tough time. Please pray for them in their grief.

Hope you all had a wonderful weekend!

Terabithia and other Things..

In previous post we have established that my kids have a very active imagination. Yesterday was no exception. While staying at my mom's house they decided that her front yard and ditch area looked like Terabithia. We made a seat out of sticks, Uncle Matt helped them set a flag up and once my nephews were present they introduced them to Terabithia. I am not sure the younger two shared their enthusiasm but Andrew (7) definitely got it and he helped with the planning. Ethan would be outside 12 hours a day, and he would be able to entertain himself for 10 of those hours. Here is a cute picture of all the kids sitting on the actual "Bridge" to Terabithia. It is so much fun to watch the kids come up with so many different scenarios and they bring home so many "treasures" according to Ethan. They may be nothing but trash but to them on their adventures they are treasures.

We ALL had dinner at my mom's house and when I say ALL of us.. I mean brothers, wifes, kids...ALL of us. Which means fourteen of us to be exact! I think my mom really enjoys getting us all together, although I am sure it is stressful, too. My oldest brother is leaving for Alaska on Sunday to work on an oil rig for four weeks before getting to come home for two weeks. Pray for him and his travel. Definitely pray for his wife, Angie, she will be home with all four boys by herself and I am sure that will be more than a little tough. Michael will be in Dead Horse, Alaska, which is at the "end of the world". It will be about as far North as you can go, 250 miles from the North Pole.. so it is cold, cold, cold! Population of 26!!!! That would be the worst part, there is nobody around, nothing to do. Better him than me, but I did leave him with the message to "not go crazy!".. I know I would.

He has vacation too be excited about. He comes home just in time to go to our second annual beach trip. All fourteen of us are traveling to the beach and staying in one VERY big house. We did this last year and had the best time. We are on a private beach and the house has a big pool so the kids are in heaven. The adults are in heaven because it truly is a week of relaxation.


Hope you all have a wonderful Friday! We are off to Wild River Country..I have promised them long enough that we would go.. so hopefully today it will go smoothly.

Do you ever wish...

Do you ever wish your kids would just stay small forever? I find myself getting so emotional over the fact that they are growing up. I watch old videos and cry, I see old pictures and get misty eyed. I just wish they would stay little for a little while longer. Sometimes when I get home in the mornings from working all night and the kids are in my bed (yes, I know.. again that is a whole other post) I pick them up and hold them like a baby. I miss that so much! I used to watch them sleep and I would cry just watching them.. okay, so occasionally I still do. They are so active, for so long that when they are asleep and look like little angels I enjoy that moment. They each had "their song" when they were little that we would sing to them every night before bed and occasionally I still get asked to sing "their song". I still can't sing it without the crying but I want to remember how special it was for me to hold them and sing to them every night. They both were simple songs that I made up but it became a nightly event.
Ethan's song was called "Sweet Little Boy"

Got a sweet little boy mommy loves so much, sweet little boy mommy loves,
every time I see him, all I say.. is Thank you Jesus, Thank you Jesus for the
Sweet Little Boy Mommy Loves!

That was it, just simple and short but he loves it! I think mostly because I tell him about how I would hold him and sing to him. Scarlett likes to her her story, too. Scarlett never liked being held as much as Ethan did. She was always very active. She wanted to be independent from the beginning; but it used to make her so mad when you laid her down and she couldn't do anything! Of my two kids. she was the easiest when it was bedtime. Scarlett even got to where we would put her in her bed, give her the little stuffed bunny that she loved so much and we all stood by her crib and sang to her. She immediately threw bunny on the mattress and laid her head on bunny and off she went to sleep. She loved her song, but she loved for me to sing "Hush Little Baby" to her, too. Scarlett's song was called "Night Night my Sissy Lou" and that was pretty much the words to it. You would tell her Night Night and Sleep Tight and she was out for the night!

It is also funny to me to how slow and just peaceful Ethan's song is compared to Scarlett's, but by the time Scarlett came along I was chasing a 19 month old around I was limited on time! ha! All this reminiscing was brought on by my sneaking in to watch my kids sleep this morning. Life is so fleeting and so fast I don't want to miss anything! I don't want to miss the simple things that I enjoy so much. Do I wish they were still my tiny babies that I sat and held for hours? Sure I miss that.. but I am so excited at watch the future holds for these two I know it will be awesome!

This picture was taken when Scarlett was one month old! It is still one of my most favorite pictures of them. I just love the innocence and how proud Ethan was of his baby sister. (yes, my child had curly dark hair.. go figure! it is now super straight and blonde)


Okay, so enough emotion out of me today! It is still early! ha!

Hope you all have a great day!

All I need to know...

Tonight was our last game of the season. This was Ethan's first year playing and he LOVED it! I knew he would, that child has not seen a ball that he did not enjoy throwing around.

Don't you remember those posters that said "All I need to Know I Learned in..." Well that could be the theme of my time in the dug out this season. I learned some very important lessons this season watching these cute five and six year old boys. Here are just a few of my favorites and most memorable as seen from a mom in the dug out:

1.) The best part about playing the outfield is that there is lots of grass to pick and throw in the air and when that gets boring, you just sat down in the grass.

2. ) A trip to the restroom is always more important than anything else you might be doing on the baseball field; and trust me there were times that this was truly the case.

3.) You always hit the ball harder and better if you warm up by hitting the ground in front of you with the bat repeatedly before the pitcher pitches. That seemed to be something the majority of boys did.

4.) Batting helmets are amazing inventions. You can hit yourself in the helmet with a bat over and over and over again and never feel a thing! or if you are lucky you can get a friend to do it for you.

5.) When there is a 10x4 fenced in area with 13 little boys.. anything goes! :)

I so enjoyed my time in the dug out. Over the last two months I have seen each child grow and mature. It has been such a blessing to me. I love being around children and watching my first born have fun is the best!

I got so lax in my picture taking during baseball. Hayden's mother took a TON of pictures! Just tonight she gave me a disc with pictures on it and it had a 40 minute slide slow of pictures of my child! That is dedication! Now you see why I never needed my camera. Hubby and I are so thankful we met this family. Here is my favorite picture from this year. It was so funny, the boys bat 3rd and 4th in the line up and they are some of our best hitters. That night they both got great hits and made it home.. ON THEIR OWN, they hugged and turned to walk into the dug out. Well, being the picture taking mothers we are.. we both went "AWWW!" and had to have a a freeze frame of the moment.

The best thing I learned this season is that no matter how dirty and sweaty these little boys were they could still be some of the sweetest kids in the world. Even after being coached to never volunteer for things I would do it all over again in a heartbeat.

After all was said and done tonight and the Ranger players had all left, Ethan and Hayden take time to sit down and reflect on their season. They tell a few tall tales, they toss a few balls, but all in all it was the end of a baseball season but the start of a great friendship.
Oh, and I almost forgot.. we closed on our house today. I had kept quiet it just to be sure and not jinx us, but it became official today. We signed the papers and got the keys. I took my camera to closing but hubby made me feel like a dork when he asked me if I was really going to take pictures in there.. so I just took a pic of hubby and the kids with our new loan/title paperwork.

Please pray...

A couple in our Sunday School class went to Cancun to celebrate their tenth anniversary and while vacationing there, the wife drown. This is a very sweet dear couple with two small children waiting for them at home. Please pray that God gives the husband the strength to face this horrible reality. Pray that God will help the children with understanding. Please pray for a peace that passes understanding. Pray for them in their grief. Their oldest is 9 years old and the "baby" is only three. These children have lost their mother, and I pray that God helps them during this time, I can not imagine how hard this is going to be. This is such tragic and sudden news. Please pray for this family over the next days, weeks and years ahead.

and you thought they didn't listen...

I am a total nut when listening to songs and lyrics. I want to know the meaning behind every song I hear. Well, not too long ago one of my favorite songs was very concerning to me. Hubby and I would talk about it a lot and I had said in talking ".. well I wonder if this is a true to life song, you know she got DIVORCE(D) right around the time she wrote this..." We continued our conversation and nothing else was mentioned. Flash forward to Thursday PM in my van with the kids and that same song comes on my IPOD. Ethan being the grown up that he is says, "..what is this song about anyway.. you think it is about "DA HORSE" (the horse).. you know she got "da horse" right around the time she wrote this song.. why would she be sad about her horse..." So, they are listening, maybe not understanding everything you say, but there are definitely little ears always tuned in to your conversations! I just laughed and said, "I don't know, Ethan, we can't figure this one out either"...

More baseball...

Well, baseball camp ended and the boys were sad to see it come to an end. They had the best time. Hayden, Tate and Ethan buddied up all week! This picture was emailed to me this morning.. how cute is that! I take it that was their good bye moment.. even though Ethan and Hayden were going to see each other in a short five hours! ha! and Tate was going home with us. They obviously learned a lot from what I hear. Ethan has been coaching me all week about how I should be hitting and fielding. Softball is a little different but I am sure I could learn a lot from the boys! Baseball was pretty much the story of our week. While Scarlett and I sat in the stand and visited the boys were coached. I took a few really cute pics of Scarlett and I thought I would share those since nothing else happened during the week. Scarlett did decide this week that she no longer wanted to take gymnastics. Maybe I was trying to live vicariously through her thinking she really enjoyed it. She is less than twenty feet from me on the mat and crying her eyes out telling me she "just misses me so bad!" That was her reasoning for not wanting to participate! Maybe I should really get away from my kids more if she misses me that bad from twenty feet. :) We will try it next week if she is not too tired and if she wants to but if not I guess that is the end of gymnastics. So, Leigh Ann if EG wants to take gymnastics and you need some really cute, unworn leotards.. I have them! with matching scrunchies for some!

Lastly, this is for the ladies of the blog. Ethan has figured it all out! MIRRORS??? Forget about 'em! Just lay your clothes out on the floor and draw your face and hands (yes he told me those were hands) and see what you look like dressed! Now, why didn't I think of that? I would always look great! I could take it a step further and find a poster of Gisele for the hands and face and then see how my outfit looked out! When he told me wanted to see what he looked like with his baseball clothes on.. I wondered why not just look in the mirror.. but now I understand! I might just have to try that that next time I am going out. ha!

Hope you all have had a great week! I know we have.

The Tooth Fairy

Those of you that know me may know that I am totally freaked out by teeth. After years of Emergency Room work it is the one area that has not gotten any better. Bones and teeth still really make me sick at my stomach! This morning started off nice and pleasant driving to baseball camp, McDonald's breakfast burrito in hand and then I hear sniffling from the back of the van. Ethan has bit into his burrito and his tooth is so lose it is bleeding! OH NO! I barely look at it.. give it a quick move to make sure it is definitely loose and then tell him to just leave it alone. I call hubby in a panic and he tells me that he is at work and couldn't help... I knew that I just needed to have someone to hear me freak out. Ethan worked on that tooth all day! Poor child, he had very little help from me. Finally when daddy got home he took him into the bathroom and after about five minutes here comes Ethan with his front bottom tooth missing! He was so proud and even more excited about the Tooth Fairy coming to visit. :) Here are a couple of pictures of Ethan showing off his missing tooth and his tooth just before he put it under
his pillow. For those of you wondering, I promise Ethan has his own macho bed.. but Scarlett and him sleep in the same bed most nights. That is a whole other post! We finally manage to get the kids out of our bed and now they both do not like sleeping alone. Two adults and two pretty big kids was way to much for our queen size bed! There is no way I am buying a king size bed.. they would just move back in with hubby and I! :) Lastly I wanted to share a super cute video of Ethan, but apparently I had my camera turned sideways and now I can't figure out how to turn the video.. so turn your head to the left and enjoy! :)

Travelin' on down to baseball camp and more

This week Ethan got the great opportunity to attend a baseball camp held by the Arkansas Travelers. Today was his first day and he had THE BEST time! One of his friends he met playing baseball this Spring told him about the camp and it was definitely something we had to attend. It was so organized and each kid went to different "stations" with real "Traveler" players showing them the ropes. They worked on base running, stealing, hitting and catching. All the fundamentals. Scarlett and I stayed in the stands and watched and really enjoyed watching the boys have SO MUCH FUN! :) Oh to be young again! The next two days should prove to be a lot of fun.


After all that playing baseball we just HAD to go swimming. Any excuse is a good excuse for the kids to get in the water. Just look at Ethan, it must be the life to just chill in the inner tube and relax all afternoon! :) Scarlett has decided that "gobbles" are the way to swim. She likes being able to look underwater when she swims. I finally convinced her to let me tighten them down when I realized she was coming up with a eye full of water every time she went underwater! We had a very busy afternoon and if all that wasn't enough we then went to my softball game and the Travelers baseball game that night! :)

The "Trav" were playing a home stand and if they won they would win the championship so it was a exciting come from behind win! :) It was one of the best games we have seen! Ethan and Scarlett had to be exhausted but they had a great time. Ethan's friend, Hayden, whom he met playing baseball this Spring has season tickets so were lucky enough to sit with them. Hayden is SO cute and has such wonderful parents! and I am not just saying that since you said you read my blog! :) Jack and I have really enjoyed getting to know this family! and Ethan and Hayden have hit it off! I am so glad that Ethan is able to make friends of his own and not just the kids of my friends..which is great and I am so thankful for.. but having some independence in friendship making is a wonderful thing. Poor Nancie, Hayden's mother, Scarlett kept her occupied with her mouth half the game! You know if Scarlett ever gets a captive audience she will talk NON STOP! Thanks "Ms. Nancie" for putting up with her! :) After the game the boys had their balls signed. They just loved that! They talked about it the whole way home. Our day finally came to an end at midnight! and we get to start all over and do it again tomorrow.

A belated Happy Father's Day

I need to give a shout out to my dear sweet hubby and the best "baby daddy" I know! :) He is so awesome with the kids. This from a man that had never even held a baby! He is more protective than me if that is possible. He obsesses over everything that could "possibly" happen. I have seen him spend countless hours in the back yard teaching Ethan the ins and outs of every sport imaginable. I have seen him worry and stress over Scarlett's hair and spend an hour brushing it very gently to make sure she had no tangles. The kids think it is a treat to go to the "garden store" with their daddy and pick out seeds and plants to put in our yard. They just enjoy being with their daddy. I love the fact that they are so close. I have been so blessed with such an awesome husband! I don't show him near often enough how much I love him and how blessed I am to have such a great man and great example for our children.

Hope you had a Happy Father's Day! I tried to make it special. :) I love you!

I hope all the daddy's out there had a great Father's Day!

So much to catch up on..

I have so much to catch up on and NO PICTURES to do it with ! I hate when I forget my camera and it seems that has happened a lot lately. We have been really busy having fun! :) Hubby and I actually had a date night. It was much needed and we had a lot of fun. We went to dinner and a movie. We went to the Market Street Cinema, which shows mostly independent films and we saw "Young @ Heart". It is a documentary about a singing group of older people, you must be at least 72 years old to join, and they sing current rock songs. It was an excellent documentary. The "feel good" type that makes you happy when the movie is over. Just proof life doesn't end at a certain age!

We have played softball and baseball and lots of swimming. Play dates and birthday parties for the kids. Concerts and reunions for me! and NO PICTURES! I hate that!

Hubby did get pictures of our nightly visitors. We have had this group of three or four deer that show up every night around 7pm and stand at the back of our fence. They mingle around and eat grass and then disappear back into the woods.

That is about all that has gone on the past week. I will try to get a lot better about taking pictures. I hate that I am so bad at it! Hope you all are having a great week!

"Summer of George"...and other things

Summer has begun around my house! Which means swimming and playing and lots of play dates. I am sure some of you have seen the episode of "Seinfeld" where George has a severance package from the Yankees for 3 months and decides to take the summer off and proclaims it "the Summer of George".. well that is a joke around my house. The kids and I swim, play and just generally take it easy so hubby likes to joke that is is the "Summer of George".

Yesterday we met some friends and we played all afternoon on this super cool water slide. The kids LOVED it! They were exhausted by the time we got home. I had a softball game at 7:30 and it was still really hot during the game.. so guess what we did.. we went swimming after the game, too. We love to swim around my house. We have play dates scheduled for Monday and Tuesday, more swimming and a trip to Wild River Country. So, the "Summer of George" has officially began. Poor hubby is having to work hard.. and don't get me wrong, I work hard.. it is just at night so I can play all day with the kids.

Our playset is finished and the kids have really enjoyed playing on it. We moved the play kitchen into the club house and that freed up a lot of room in Scarlett's room. If we are home the kids are in the back yard every minute possible. The clubhouse is HOT! I am not sure how long I would last in there. I tried sitting in it with them and playing "house" for a while but it got hot fast.

Hope you all have a wonderful "Summer of George". We have a lot going on so pray for us and that we make smart decisions and wise use of our time and money! :) Have a great weekend.

On a roll today...

Well, I am on a roll today, as if I have nothing better to do than to sit her blogging away on my computer. Leigh Ann and Kim's post with their beautiful kids got me to thinking what it is that I love so much about my kids features. It took me a while to narrow it down, just like I am sure it does for every mother.

I just LOVE Ethan's red curly hair. Growing up red hair was not cool and it definitely was not cool for a guy to have red hair. You just thought of a red headed guy and thought "EWW".. but I look at Ethan and I see gorgeous and adorable. I just love his hair, it fits his personality so well. Ethan is such a sweet child. Some days I really think someone handed out the personalities backwards at my house! My favorite thing about his face are the small freckles across his nose. They are so cute and the way he will crinkles his nose when he doesn't understand something. Those are just a couple of my favorite things about Ethan.

Scarlett is easy as well. I love her big blue eyes. They tell a story. Trust me you can read her eyes and know if she is sad, happy or just really mad. She doesn't hide her emotions very well and her eyes give her away. Just three months ago I would have said I loved her long blonde hair, but she took care of that one for me. I do love her short blonde hair just the same, it is just harder for me since we were used to pig tails and ponies. I love so much about both my kids. I feel so blessed to have two beautiful healthy children. I thank God for them everyday and feel so lucky to be with them everyday.

Twenty Things I will NEVER.. or probably NEVER do..

I saw this on a few peoples blogs and then when Leigh Ann did it recently on hers.. it reminded me that I wanted to do it and think about twenty things I thought I would never do. So, here is goes, and mine is in no particular order.

1. I will never like FROGS! I am so afraid of frogs I would rather see anything at my front door, other than a frog.
2. You will never hear me say that "I can't wait to go to work!"
3. I will never regret being home with my kids.
4. I will never enjoy eating or tasting fish.. if you can even get me to try it.
5. I will never drink milk (unless it is live or die.. then I would consider it)
6. I will never understand how hubby can watch every single football game that comes on TV
7. I will never ride a big roller coaster.
8. I will never use a lawn mower. I am scared of them, too.
9. I will never enjoy basketball as much as other sports.
10. I will never quit liking cheese dip and chips.
11. I will never sing in public.
12. I will never completely understand the male sex.
13. I will never forget to tell my kids how much I love them and how special they are to me.
14. I will never truly be able to let my family know how much I appreciate them.
15. I will never enjoy the "sand in your swimsuit" feeling at the beach.
16. You will never hear me say "Let's go ride the Ferris Wheel".. again the heights things.. EWW!
17. I will never be able to do a back handspring again.
18. I will never enjoy dieting!
19. I will never be the size I would LOVE to be.
20. I will never be able to stop saying NEVER... so "never say never" does not apply here.

I also saw the list of the twenty things you will ALWAYS do.. so think about your twenty you will always do. :)

Is it Summer yet????

Okay, I can readily admit.. I am not a good blogger. I get so busy having fun and then I forget to update on my pages. We have been doing more of the same. Playing, swimming and just hanging out. The kids are so excited that it is finally warm enough to go swimming. The beginning of June means just two months until we leave for the beach. We are the most excited about this! We can not wait. Here are a few pictures of the kids swimming. Now that they both can swim "in the deep" end and jump off the board they have a blast. I just love watching them laugh and play. I love this picture of Scarlett. She is so funny at the pool. Every single picture I took of her jumping in, her arms were wide open! and trust me she was yelling something crazy as she jumped in. Rather it be "cowabunga" or "cannonball" . She is having a blast. We are off to go swimming again. :)