Mean Old Turtle!

Madeleine's first trip to the Mcwane Center was very eventful. She touched her first snake, saw the eel being fed, watched the octopus playing with its basket and got scared to death by a mean old turtle. Right after I took the picture on the bottom a turtle swam up and bit a fish right in front of Madeleine. Of course the fish moved fast and the turtle chased it. Madeleine cried and would not go near the fish tanks again. I hope she isn't scarred for life. Maybe she will have forgotten by the next visit. W

September 13 Luke turned 5! Happy birthday Luke! You are growing up so fast. You have really turned out to be such a sweet, fun and smart big boy. I am so glad we became a family. I can't imagine my life without you in it. You know how to make me smile and laugh. I love to hear your jokes and especially love to hear you sing Joy To The World! You are the biggest brother and have alot of responsibility and you carry it well. You are a great role model for your younger siblings. They will be able to look up at you and see the example you set. Keep being the sweet boy you are. I hope this year is your best year yet! Happy Birthday my Lukie!

Birthday Party Fun

The boys had a birthday party to go to. It was a bouncehouse party and they had a blast. Even Madeleine got to bounce until daddy got too tired. It was a fun day. Parker was too scared to try the big, big slide. Luke and Caleb would run up the slides then jump and fall down. They had so much fun. Of course the cake was the best part.

Our Weekend

Saturday ended up being a great day. Auburn finally won and my husband was happy. Even though Alabama lost it was a great game. We had some good friends over for dinner last night. Michelle and I had some good girl talk while the guys watched the kids and he game. We tried on shoes, looked through pics and just did girly stuff. It was great. Caleb and G.G. played all night long and had a great time. Food, wine, friends and a great time. What more could you ask for.

Midnight ramblings

Tonight after I put Madeleine to bed I was playing on the internet and thinking about what all God has done for me. After having a rough first marriage He sent me a wonderful Godly husband. A man who takes care of me and loves me more than I could ever describe. I have 4 beautiful and wonderful kids. My boys are fun and tell me all the time how much they love me and how beautiful I am. My daughter is so sweet and brings me joy everyday. I have a great house and loyal dog. I almost sound like a country song. The Lord has blessed me so much. I don't understand how He can be so faithful when I am so disobedient. I feel more like a rebellious toddler than someone who has been a christian for so long. Am I the only one who feels that way? I was humbled this week by something God revealed about me. I ask Him to show me my weaknesses and when He does I get mad at Him. I know it is only because I see how flawed I am and my flesh doesn't like it. I know sanctification is a life long process and will never be fully achieved on this earth, but I feel like I am further away than when I started. I am hoping that means God is really working in me and I am seeing more and more of my sin. The more I walk in Him the more I see my inadequacies. Sorry for the rambling. I guess I needed to get this out. Basically I am thankful for the journey I am on. Even if it is hard sometimes. He still gives me so many blessings. My family, church and my friends. Alright hopefully I can sleep now.

Serenity Now!!!

Okay, for all you Seinfelders you know what the title means. For those of you that don't basically I'm saying AAAAAHHHHGGGGGGG!

Madeleine is teething and teething hard. This little girl is an angel 99.9% of the time, but for the last couple of days it has been a terror. I had forgotten the whole teething process and what it entails. I hate my little girl is hurting and I can't do much. I hate she has been having such a rough couple of days. Hopefully this will end soon, but until then Serenity Now!!!

Girls Day Out!

Tomorrow Madeleine and I are going shopping and having a girls day out. This will be our first one, but not the last. Caleb is in North Carolina with his Mimi so for once the girls out number the boys. I miss having my little man around, but loving this one on one time with Mad. We both may come home with new outfits and a pedicure.

Good Days!

Today has been a good day. Nothing great or bad just good. I went to Jamie's house for the boys to play together.(I really think Jamie and I get more out of it than the kids do.) We just talked and visited and held each others babies. I came home and the kids took 31/2 hour naps. I took a 2 hour nap and got some house work done. The house was already fairly clean. Some laundry and dishes and that was all. Scott got home fairly early and we had dinner together as a family. The kids were bathed and sent to bed. My sister is driving home tonight and I get to see her tomorrow. I love these good days. Sometimes they are scarce, but that makes them all the more valuable when they do happen. It is this type of day I think about when everything is going wrong. God really knows what you need. I forget that sometimes. He is in control of the good and the hectic. I pray I learn to trust in Him more.

Madeleine's Room

I love Madeleine's Room. It is so nice to have pink everywhere. We will eventually paint it pink, but with 14 foot high ceilings we will hire a professional. I can't wait to make it her Princess Room.

Rub-A-Dub-Dub

I love bath nights. The kids all love getting baths and are in a good mood. It is also nice because they usually take baths separately and I get some one on one time with them. I love getting to ask them about their day and see it from their perspective. I learned from Luke that Ethan is his best friend when he isn't being mean and Ms. Celia is the best teacher in "all of the land!" I learned from Parker that he wants to be a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle when he grows up. Raphael if you're wondering which one. I learned from Caleb that he wants to be a teacher when he grows up. Because he wants to help little kids learn cool stuff. These tidbits into the inner workings of our kids minds really lets us see them for who they are. I wouldn't trade bath night for anything. Okay, maybe a margarita once or twice a year!

Morphine isn't good!

I had my surgery 2 weeks ago. Everything went well and I got my two week check up that says I can clean and pick my baby up. I have learned a couple things.

1. Morphine makes me very loopy.

2. Percocet makes me act like I am from another planet.

3. No matter how much I have complained about doing housework, not having it done my way and done by someone else is worse.



I am very thankful my mother-in-law came to help out. I couldn't have done this without her. I am equally as thankful to getting my house the way I like it. I have never been so glad to do dishes and laundry. I actually enjoyed it! I also loved picking my little girl up in the morning and snuggling while she takes her bottle. AHHH! The joys of being a wife and mom. May I never take them for granted again..... at least for a week or two!

My Boot Scootin Superman!

Caleb loves dressing himself now. While usually he does pretty good every now and then he will wear something like this. I thought this was too good to pass up. And yes, he does have a cape on. At least he does wear clothes, right?

Nana and Papa!

While we were at Blue Spring Manor my mom kept the kids. They had a blast. Saturday they went to Papa's house and Caleb caught 5 fish. He is so proud. Papa fixed fried shrimp for Caleb and he ate over a dozen of them. Madeleine just hung out with Nana and had some girl time while the boys were fishing. They love being with Nana and Papa!

I'm 29!

Okay, I turned 29 on Friday. I can't believe this is my last birthday in my 20's. My sweet hubby took me to a bed and breakfast for the weekend. Sorry, no pics we were too busy doing nothing. I had a wonderful facial and took two naps! The best part I had nothing to do for 2 whole days. Our breakfast was incredible and the dinner Saturday night was superb. My hubbie knew exactly what I needed. A day of nothing!

Neighborhood BBQ

We had a barbeque with our cul-de-sac. It was so much fun. There are 5 little boys, including my 3, and they have a blast. We had a swimming pool and sprinklers out and the boys played for hours. There was so much food and it was delicious. We love our neighbors. It is a great little place to live.

Chicken Soup Please!

Madeleine got sick for the first time today. She had a high fever and was very cranky. She is always a happy baby and I knew something was wrong. I took her to the after hours clinic and her throat was very red. It might be strep throat. I hope not. Anyway I have one sick little girl on my hands. It is so pitiful to see her try to smile and know she doesn't feel like it. Hopefully she will feel better soon.

Memaw and Papaw

The kids and I visited my grandparents. They had not seen Madeleine and I wanted them to see her while she was still a baby. Of course, they loved her and ate her up. Caleb loves to go see them. He gets spoiled rotten. I am very close to my grandparents and love to see them show my kids love the way they showed me love. It is very special.

Back to normal....maybe?

Okay,
this month has been very hectic and busy. The reason I haven't posted at all. Was out of town for a while, busy with all the kids, sick kids, scheduling a surgery for me, and 2 days ago my husband was in the hospital. He was having chest pains and difficulty breathing. Thankfully his heart is alright , but we don't know why it happened. Hope things will settle down for a while. I will have plenty of time to blog while I am recuperating from surgery. 4 weeks of not doing anything including picking up my baby. My mother-in-law will be coming to help out. Will write more later.

My buddies!

Today we met a good friend of mine, Jamie, and let the boys play together. Tres, Bryant and Caleb love getting together and playing. They love when we go to Chick-fil-A and play in the playarea. They pretend they are Star Wars characters and blast off into the galaxy. This little girl kept kicking Caleb and instead of hitting back he came and told me. I was very proud. We saw her trying to find Caleb and Tres, who were hiding from her, and she kicked them right in front of us. Jamie went and told her in the nicest mommy voice not to kick anymore. That didn't stop her and I finally went around and found who she was with. She was there with someone other tham her parents. The lady was very sorry and very embarrassed. Thankfully they left right after that. We learned something that day. Don't go to a fast food restaraunt near an interstate that is the only route to the beach unless you want a chaotic lunch. Lesson learned!

Batter Up!

ME AND MADELEINE

LUKE, CALEB & PARKER

DADDY AND HIS BOYS

We took the boys to a Birmingham Barons game Friday night and had a blast. We had Pressbox seats and the best seats in the stadium. The boys loved it. It was a long game and we lost but we didn't care. We stayed for the fireworks show at the end and it was amazing. The boys loved every bit of it. Madeleine had her first baseball game and first fireworks that night. The way she just stared at the fireworks made me look at them like I was seeing them for the first time. It was a great night for us as a family.