trunk or treating

here are the girls at the church trunk or treating.... Kyle was at a birthday party... More pictures to come from the block party tomorrow night!!!

We are the Champions!!!!!!!

Don't you think my mantle looks better now?

Way to go, Coach! I always knew you could take these boys to a championship game! You are a great coach and I know this is just the beginning of lots of great tournaments like these!! Love you lots, J-Bone!

Dad and Kyle together with their trophies! Two happy boys!

Look at those happy tired faces!!! We played baseball for over four hours straight to win those trophies!

Saturday Take 2

Have to give a shout out to Big Kyle-our team mascot, best babysitter when we get together and all around great big brother to the boys on the team. He's been a big help and we love him and his pig stories of little "Moo" that we hope will grow into big "Moo" for the livestock show! :)

The girls after the carnival with their tatoos and face painting and candy.

The Warriors Are the Number 1 Seed TWO Saturdays in a Row!!!

There's nothing better than cuddling with bubby after a long day of soccer and baseball. Now off to the carnival!

Let Them hear who's number one!

Warriors on three! "Warriors" and Team picture

My feeble attempts at decorating...

I promise more pictures!

So I mentioned that I got a camera for my birthday and here it is 19 days later and I haven't taken but 1 picture. So I will get better. I have a cold and I have no voice, but I am determinded to get caught up by the end of the month with my life. I finally got into Keira's room. I know I know-don't have a heart attck-my true friends that know how bad it was-just might! But it is workable now and I just have her closet left. I hate to admit that it had gotten that bad, but it was one of the things I had to let go of in all of this. I had to let go of the blue room too and so that is my next thing to tackle. I am not the perfect house keeper or organizer. I sometimes fly by the seat of my pants and I always have. Before I was a member of the church I loved that about me and for so many years I hated it about me. But as I have spent the last few weeks realigned my priorities I realize that there are important things and there are more important things and I will get there. I may not be the super moms/ bakers/organizers/decorators/church leaders that my friends are-but I like the qualities that I have found in myself lately. I have finally stopped comparing myself to everyone else. I still need to get in shape, but it is for me now not to look good so I am ok next to so and so.
I don't know maybe it is because I realize that I have entered a new phase in my life. But I watch Kyle as he is growing into a teenager and I want him to grow in confidence. I want Kelsey to grow with self esteem and self worth. I watch them play their sports and hang out with their friends each week and I realize that my time with them will be gone sooner than I think. I need to enjoy it and do it right.
I need to be a better mom to Keira. I need to help her more. I miss her now that she is in school. It just isn't the same at home. She is a shooting star and I hope I can tame her and help her fly not fall.
But most of all-I plan to take lots of pictures!!!!

Well I guess I was semi productive last week. I got a baby gift for a friend to a baby shower on time. I made a baby blanket for a friend and gave it to her BEFORE she had the baby! So maybe there is hope I am returning to the land of the living. My house is still a mess and I still have a ton of laundry to fold and stuff to catch up on, but at least I can say I accomplished something. I forgot to take a picture of the cute blanket, though. It came out even cuter than I thought it would-so I will just have to remember it :)
We all got our flu shots today. Dr. Massoud is such a great doctor! He listens and I am so grateful for that. Kelsey will have to have another VCUG and Keira will have to have a sonogram of her heart for her murmur, but the hardest part of the day was holding Kenna down to get blood drawn. She was not having that and it took three sticks b/c she was dehydrated to get a good draw-so she screamed quite a bit! So I guess it was just one of those days. Poor girl was stuck 4 times with needles today. She was not happy about it.
I will admit I am getting sick of all of this rain, though. Kelsey was rained out this weekend. But Kyle was able to play baseball on Saturday and they won 15-4 and 23-0. But the couldn't play on Sunday so they were declared the champions. So they got the points but no hardware. Maybe in two weeks....
I am reading these psch books that have me thinking about how I could shape my personality to be a better mom and not project things onto my kids. It has got me thinking.... That is for sure... Well-I will be posting more pictures soon! I have a girl's night out for my bday tomorrow! :)

A true story that was sent to me-It is a good reminder.....

There recently was a death of a 98 year-old lady named Irena. During WWII, Irena, got permission to work in the Warsaw Ghetto, as a Plumbing/Sewer specialist. She had an 'ulterior motive' ... She KNEW what the Nazi's plans were for the Jews, (being German.) Irena smuggled infants out in the bottom of the tool box she carried and she carried in the back of her truck a burlap sack, (for larger kids..) She also had a dog in the back that she trained to bark when the Nazi soldiers let her in and out of the ghetto. The soldiers of course wanted nothing to do with the dog and the barking covered the kids/infants noises.. During her time of doing this, she managed to smuggle out and save 2500 kids/infants. She was caught, and the Nazi's broke both her legs, arms and beat her severely. Irena kept a record of the names of all the kids she smuggled out and kept them in a glass jar, buried under a tree in her back yard. After the war, she tried to locate any parents that may have survived it and reunited the family. Most had been gassed. Those kids she helped got placed into foster family homes or adopted.
Last year Irena was up for the Nobel Peace Prize . She was not selected.
Al Gore won, for a slide show on Global Warming.

There was a cartoon with the email, but I couldn't copy it. But I think she is one of the heros of this time period that will get lost if we don't remember her. WWII was 60 years ago-but it changed the world. I am grateful for the example of righteous men and women like her that made a difference one life at a time.

Birthday WIshes

Well I am not the blogger I once was-but I am excited that Jeremy got me a little camera that I can carry around so I can take more pictures so I can post more often. At least for the grandmas anyway. :) Or maybe they will get their own blog just of the kiddos. :)
SO I am officially 37. I am closer to 40 than 30. You have to round me up now not down. I have had a hysterectomy and am postmenopausal-so I figure that makes me old-right? Well I was at dinner tonight with the kids at Chili's and was sitting next to this older couple late 50's and she heard the kids telling me happy birthday. She said it was her birthday as well but that she was much older than me. I asked her how old she thought I was-she said 28!!!! How great is that! I told her she was 9 years off and she said 36! So I guess she can't do math either! But any way you look at it-if I got in shape just imagine how young I could pull off! How fun would that be! Maybe I could hang out with Mandy Kitchens and freak out some 25 year old one day just for fun! :) Just kidding! I wouldn't do that! But it did crack me up if she thought I was that young sitting there in Chili's with 4 kids ages 12-2 being only 28. I mean what I had Kyle at 16 and Kenna at 26? Uh NO! I was 25 and 35 thank you very much! Plus I do have a degree and stuff. That is another tangent thanks to Kyle's teacher that made me mad today and then I got into it with Keira's teacher today so I guess Kelsey got it right I am still Mama bear-regardless of my age. ;)
But most of all I have been reflecting as I do...

I don't want to take my time for granted. Yet some days I do.
I don't want to waste my time yet some days I just want to do nothing.
I so want to run again-and now that I am cleared and feeling better-I can't wait to!
Free of monthly pain forever! YEAH!!!!!!
I want to become a better sewing person...for my kids and my friends.
i want to desperately reclaim my house from the past month
and clean it from top to bottom and make it sparkily barkily....
I want to be less prideful and more teachable...
I want to trust more and be a better friend...
I want to be cool and not closed off from everybody
I hope that my kids find that their place in this world doesn't have to come right now-that they have the time to find it....
I hope that love will conquer all fears, and doubts, and insecurities....
I hope that the impossible will become possible....
I watched an ambulance drive past me today and I thought about my children- what I would want them to know if they didn't see me tonight-
I love you with all of my heart. It was my great blessing and gift from God to be your mom. I want you to always believe in your self and know that you have great worth and that you are wonderful!!! You are beautiful and handsome and smart and intelligent and athletic and creative and funny and musical and loveable. But most of all you are the great blessings I could have. I was blessed to be a mom. No other worldly job compared to that of a mom. No paycheck would make up for the hugs or the kisses that I had. I got to see your first steps. I got to see the Shamu shows, the playdough mountains, and the trips to the zoo. I got to snuggle with you you were sick and stay up all night with you. Everyone always tells me-oh you've got your hands fun in a yucky tone-I turn it around and I mean it when I say-I am blessed to have my hands full in such a great way! I have great kids. i love you guys.

Jeremy I didn't leave you out either-I love you too-very much! Thanks for sticking with me all of these years. We are not as young as we used to be. But I love you more....