Lots of Updates!

so, i realize it has been forever since i updated, so now you will get several updates. we have been very busy lately with the end of the school year. the newest update will be first and the older ones will follow. you'll see breaks and new headings for each post and there are a ton of pictures!!! so, on to the updates!

this will be the first one with 5 following (they are all fairly short but have slideshows). tonight was award night for latoya. her last day of school is tomorrow, but they are just going on a field trip to a local park. toya did great in school this year and made a/b honor roll plus got lots of award and 2 trophy's. what a whirlwind year this has been. i think they go by faster and faster each year. she is now officially a 3rd grader! i can't beleive i have a child in third grade. it feels like just yesterday i was graduating high school, now i have been married 9 years in june and have 4 kids! anyway, here are some pictures from today, as well as a picture of her report card:

Memorial Day!

well, we had a very busy memorial day! first, i got all the kids up and out of the house by 8:00 to go to a parade. we actually ended up seeing two of them though. the kids enjoyed the parade. the first one we went to was listed as a parade, but was basically a ceremony. the second was a small parade. here are some pics:

next we went home to pick up daddy (he worked till noon) and went to a family gathering of sorts on his side of the family. it was fun, but there were ALOT of people that i did not know which makes me quit uncomfortable, but i stuck it out for 2 hours. it really was fun, just uncomfotable for me.

after the family gathering, we then went out to eat at applebees (kids eat free on mondays nights) with my parents and my sister jessica who is home from college.

last, we decided to take the older two miniature golfing. we had alot of fun, we definitely need to teach jordan how to play mini golf though. here are some pictures:

To the Beach!

on saturday, we decided to go to the beach. i dragged my cousin along to help out with the kids as most other people had plans for memorial weekend. we haven't had very many warm days, so the water was absolutely freezing!! all of the girls, including the twins, went running in with no hesitation. they didn't even stop once. i hadn't planned on going in as i figured it would be way to cold and the twins would never go in, but boy did they prove me wrong! jordan was freezing (i think he is alot like his mom). he stayed in the water, but his teeth were chattering the whole time! we had a barbecue and went to the park they have at the beach and then took one last dip before changing and going home. here is the slideshow from the beach: (notice jordan's pic in the water :))

A Barbecue!

well, after the barbecue in the morning with jordan's class, we were invited to one of my friends house. i went to school with her in high school. if you look back, you will see we got together a while ago at a park. anyway, we got together with her and her kids at her house. the kids had a blast as you can see from the slideshow. they played in the sprinkler, in the kiddie pool, plus we went for a walk and they got to ride their bikes. we hope to get together more often as we really enjoy each others company. it's nice to have adults to talk to once in a while! in the pictures you will see my kids, and hers as well as some of her sons friends. we stayed there for about 5 hours i beleive.

Jordan is officially in Kindergarten!!

Jordan's last day of school was friday may 25th. he will continue to go to school 2 days a week in the summer, but it is a different program. the twins will also go one day a week!! anyway, he ended his school year with a field trip and a barbeque at a local park. this is the day it reach 92, but they still had a blast! i know that laura is in the same boat as me as our baby boys now enter school this upcoming year and turn into "little men". i know that she will enjoy these poems as some of you other's will. this one was sent to me by my mom:

My Son Has Grown So Fast

A boy is a mischievous, magical creature,

An angel with mud on his face.

A daredevil climber of trees and of rafters,

Who loves any game, any place.

You were six months old and full of fun,

With a blink of my eye, you were suddenly one.

There were so many things we were going to do,

I turned my head and you turned two.

At two you were very dependent on me,

But independence took over when you turned three.

Your third birthday, another year I tried to ignore,

But when I lit the candles, there weren't three but four.

Four was the year that you really strived,

Why, look at you now, you're already five.

Now you are ready for books and for rules.

This is the year that you go to school.

The big day came, you were anxious to go,

We walked to the bus, going oh, so slow.

As you climbed aboard and waved good-bye,

I felt a lump in my throat and tears stung my eyes.

Time goes so fast, It's hard to believe that

just yesterday you were home with me.

And tomorrow when the bus brings you home

and you jump to the ground,

You'll be wearing your cap and graduation gown.

So I'm holding to these moments as hard as I can,

Because the next time I look, I'll be seeing a man.

by Robert Fulghum

the next poem is shorter and came from a booklet that jordan's teacher made for each of the students. i am only going to scan the first page as this post is going to be long enough as it is. the book was made up like a scrapbook with pages of pictures taken throughout the year. this is the first page of the scrapbook. the poem is on the first page. i didn't even get two sentences in and i was balling. i hate that my kids grow so fast! so, here is the picture. i think if you click on the picture, it will be big enough for you to read the second poem!

here is a slideshow of some more pictures from his last day of preschool:

Hot Days!!

well, the last week or so has been very warm with a few extremely hot days. we have thoroughly enjoyed it. we are expecting lots of rain the rest of the week and into next week as well! the kids too k advantage of the nice days with a couple of them reaching the 80's and one even reaching 92!!! they loved playing outside and we bought a sprinkler that they played in for almost 3 hours!!! we definitely got our money's worth! here is a slideshow with some pictures we took from out hot days!

Welcome New Baby ~ Rilee Sue!

Rilee Sue ~ May 15, 2007

8 lbs. 12 oz. and 20 1/2 in. long.

my brother in law and his fiance welcomed a new baby girl into the family at about 1:00 pm. t.j. (my brother in law) has two boys from a previous relationship, so this was the first baby for alicia (his fiance) and t.j. together. poor alicia was induced on sunday night and after 41 hours of labor, had only made it to 3 cm. dialated. they decided to finally do a c-section. rilee sue was 2 weeks early and weighed in at 8 lbs. 12 oz. and was 20 1/2 in. long. here is rilee and her mom (she looks good for going through so much, huh?):

and daddy and rilee:


when we got to the hospital and were there for a little bit, jordan surprised me by being the first to ask if he could hold rilee. he didn't last long, but he had fun holding her. latoya of course lasted forever but she finally gave her back to her mom! here are some pictures of latoya and jordan holding rilee:


and her brothers holding her:




other news, toya had a tooth pulled today. she had one that was coming in behind the rest, so she had that pulled. i was so proud of her, she barely even cried and hasn't cried since leaving the office!! of course she had going to see the baby to look forward to so that helped! anyway, that is all for tonight. here is a slideshow with some more pictures:

Happy Mother's Day!!!!

My Grammy :)

A Mom's Prayer

Dear Lord, it's such a hectic day,

With little time to stop and pray,

For life's been anything but calm

Since You called me to be a Mom.

Running errands, matching socks,

Building dreams with wooden blocks,

Cooking, cleaning, finding shoes

And other stuff that children lose,

Fitting lids on bottled bugs,

Wiping tears and giving hugs,

A stack of last week's mail to read

So where's the quiet time I need?

Yet, when I steal a moment, Lord,

Just at the sink or ironing board,

To ask the blessings of Your grace,

I see then, in my small one's face,

That you have blessed me all the while

And I stoop to kiss that precious smile.

first of all i wanted to say happy mother's day to all the mom's!!!

next, i wanted to tell a little about my day! about a month ago now, my mom sent out a leeter to all her siblings and neices and nephews (my cousins). a little background ~ my grandmother used to make sure that every sunday her and her 9 kids were in church. today, all of her girls (there are 4) are fairly faithful to church, but the boys have stopped going for a while now. last year during mother's day, my grandmother was not expected to live. we were all thinking it was going to be the last mother's days that we would get to spend with her. through many prayers and miracles, she made it. so, this year as a tribute to my grandmother, my mom wanted to see how many of her kids she could get back to church to honor her. i am happy to report that seven of her kids were in the service along with spouses, grandchildren, great children, neices, and one of her sister's. the total number of family members in the service today was 41!!!!!! what a tribute to her!! we then all gathered and each brought a dish to pass and ate lunch together. there are way too many pictures to upload one by one, so i created a slideshow (the last 7 pictures are from tonight before bed):

i also wanted to show the picture of the t-shirt we got for my mom (the ultrasound is my sister's baby):



here's one last poem:
Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep (a mom's version)

Now I lay me down to sleep,

I pray my sanity to keep;

For if some peace I do not find,

I'm pretty sure I'll lose my mind.

I pray I find a little quiet

Far from the daily family riot;

May I lie back ... not have to think

About what they're stuffing down the sink,

Or who they're with, or where they're at,

And what they're doing to the cat.

I pray for time all to myself

(Did something just fall off a shelf?)

To cuddle in my nice, soft bed

(Oh no! Another goldfish ... dead!)

Some silent moments for goodness sake

(Did I just hear a window break?)

And that I need not cook or clean ...

(Well c'mon! I've got the right to dream!)

Yes, now I lay me down to sleep,

I pray my wits about me keep;

But as I look around I know ...

I must have lost them long ago!

Twins Times Two :)

last night was miserable. my oldest daughter had a earache and was up literally all night. after medicated ear drops and pain releiver were administered, she finally fell asleep from 1am-4am. that was all the sleep i got all night. i'm not sure what i'm running on right now, but it is almost 9pm and i am doing this! we were planning on going to our dr.s office today anyway as they were giving away free bike helmets to the first 200 kids, plus having other activites. i ended up calling the office first thing this morning to get an appt. for latoya. we got an appt. for 11 am, and didn't even get into the office till noon. it was crazy! we got out at 12:30 (she ended up having double ear infections) and the activities started at one, so we just stayed there. they all ended up getting brand new helmets, and here are some pictures (i didn't get any of latoya with hers on as she was just plain not feeling well and took hers off almost immediately):

Jordan

kelsey (f) and kaylee (b) ~ no, kelsey is not mad, the sun was in her eyes! :)

i think i have mentioned before that i had found another mom that lives close to me and has 4 girls including a set of twin. i found her through myspace and we have been talking for a while about meeting up, but just never had a chance to . anyway, while chatting with her last night, i asked where her girls went to the dr.s and it turns out it is the same as where my kids go. she didn't know about the activities today, so i told her about them and we agreed to meet at the dr.s office. we finally met and it was great, a little quiet as we are both shy, but i enjoyed it! i think we will find more to talk about as we get to know each other better. i have been wanting to find another mom of twins to get together with, just cause they know how you feel. her kids ages are 9, 6 (i beleive), and the twins are 16 mo. my kids are 8, 5, and twins are 2. so, we have alot in common as far as kids go. i think it will be fun to get together again and let the kids play. anyway, here are a couple of pictures. i can't name them as we just met and i don't know who is who, especially for the twins, but here are the pics anyway:

Pictures :)

Kelsey, Latoya, Jordan, and Kaylee

the picture above was the picture we had taken at toya's school. for their spring pictures, you can get family pictures taken as well. anyway, kaylee was a booger and just refused to smile, but it still came out good and i was pleased! these below are the ones that toya and jordan had taken the same day but by themselves. this is latoya's second grade picture, and jordan's pre-school and 5 yr. pictures:

there has not been a whole lot going on. jordan had his physical and did well. we have been referred to a occupational therapist although we are told that he probably won't qualify for services. that's a whole different situation! he was 48 lbs. (90th percentile) and 46 in. (97th percentile). basically we were told he is perfect, he is just going to be a big healthy boy :). we already knew that though!

this next picture is of my sister and her husband. she is currently 6 mo. along with her first baby. we have not seen them since christmas when she was only 1 mo. along (so she wasn't showing). she has not sent us any pictures of herself, but john's brother and his wife and kids just got back from visiting them and were kind enough to take a picture and pass it along. i keep in contact with them via myspace (see myspace can be a good thing!). she is going to hate me for passing this along, but i had to share it. i was so excited to see it. here it is:

this next photo is for my sister sarah because these are outfits that came from her that the youngest girls she nanny's for used to wear. the girls wore them to church on wendsday:

Kaylee and Kelsey

these next two are just cute pictures i took:

Kaylee ~ laying down

Kelsey using the nebulizer