Easter!!!

This evening (Easter) Noy, Dawn, Maiza, Bella, Tom and Pat (Dawn's parents) all came over for an Easter dinner and egg hunt!!! We had a great time, and the food was yummy.....and the kids got on a massive sugar-high. Yeah, not seeing bedtime coming to soon......





The kids waiting just inside the door for the dads to hide the eggs. Poor Tarin has his eyes closed...he does not like the flash on the camera.






Pres and Bella checking each other out right before they went to hunt eggs....I think they were sizing up the competition.







Maiza finding the treasured eggs. What did the adults do while the kids were hunting? Played football, of course!











Kellen enjoying the spoils....










Tarin giving the football his best shot.....right into Noy's stomach.











Presley hiding over in the side yard eating the candy from the eggs.












Tom (Granddad to Bella and Maiza) and little Bella.













Oh, Pres is having fun now. That was only the 3,971 piece of candy today.















Tarin wearing the girls bunny ears. Nice.












Pres and the ears......Obviously before I chopped off all his gorgeous hair.

What Have I Done?!

Well, I did it. I cut Presley's hair off. He now looks like the 2 year and 3 month old boy that he is. Below are some before and after pictures. Josiah's comment, "Oh, there goes are little girl..." After he saw how short his hair now is. Time for baby #5, right?! :)





Presley a week or so ago.







Pres and Austin a week ago.....







Presley now!







Such a handsome little man!!!!!

Karen

While In Georgia a few weeks ago (see posts below) I got to hang out with my dear friend Karen. Karen and I grew up together. After meeting at around 10 years of age, we discovered we both were homeschooled...and we both loved to play soccer!!! I was also VERY happy to hear she had 7 brothers and sisters...I loved kids and was always more than happy to help babysit (well, until we got in our teens....by then we were FAR to cool to babysit). Shortly after meeting Karen I was invited to spend the night at her home. I was just mezmorized by all the chaos....I loved it!!! I was, between you and me, jealous of all the hubbub and wished I had another 5-6 little siblings. SO....I decided to tell Karen and her mom that YES, in fact I DID have more siblings. The deal was this: My brother Nathan and I were the only kids to live with my parents because we were just too poor to support all the other 8 KIDS. They lived with various random family members...and sadly, we rarely saw them. (yes, my imagination ran wild at that time in my life....well, it still does at times, I admit). After spinning a rather large web of lies, I finally came clean. There were ONLY 2 kids...me and Nate.


Did I mention that we used to (back in the day) go to Dunkin Donuts EVERY NIGHT for a Boston Cream....to eat it along with our box of Little Debbie's and Ranch Doritos????? (oh, and do not forget the Mento's) AND WE NEVER GAINED A POUND?! Our size 2's fit great the next day....unlike how it would be now....YIKES.

So MANY years later (ummm, not going to divulge that specific info, honey) Karen and I are still friends....after 2 husbands and 7 kids between us! Her family just moved back to Anchorage, Alaska to live the dream :) I cannot wait to go visit!!!!!

Oh, and YES....I did cut off all my hair!!!!

My Trip To Georgia!!!!!

In March I left all my kiddies in the capable hands of my hubby and Mom-in-law and flew to Atlanta for a week!!! WHY... You ask? Well, here's the deal. My friend Noelle and I are starting a business. We have a great plan for a high-end Maternity and Baby Boutique store here in Denver. The market out here is fantastic for such a venture and with the vast experience Noelle and I have working with pregnant moms and new babies...it is a perfect fit!
The next thing we ran into was the inevitable lack of funds. The plan is to spend this next year starting the business online and build a customer base. We will also be able to see what products sell the best and what is in demand. After a year we will hopefully have saved all our profits and will be able to open a "brick and mortar" store. We have the drive, ambition, experience and business plan.....so now we need products to sell!!! Hence the trip to the Peach State.
The Mart in Atlanta was my destination for the week; with Noelle and my Mom at my side. We met with dozens of companies....looking at products, talking prices, jotting notes and having fun :)
Hey, what else could any shopoholic ask for?! A week of shopping in 3 high-rise buildings! Yeah Baby.

Below are some of the moments captured on our trek to entrepreneurship.

Oh, and by the way....if anyone out there knows of someone with a little extra cash they would love to invest in a fabulous company (mine)....let me know!!!! :)


Oh, again.
Our newest "baby" is going to be called Quiver. Noelle and I love the verse in the Bible that says, "Children are a blessing from the Lord, and the fruit of the womb is a REWARD.............Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are children in a man's youth.....blessed is he whose Quiver is full of them!"
So our store will help parents protect their little arrows with a really cool Quiver! HA! :)






Some of the duds we liked. Just a few of the brands we saw... Noppies, Japanese Weekend, Juliet Dream, NOM, Ripe, Citizens, Bella Dahl, Liz Lange, Stacy Woo....and many many many more.





Noelle is modeling a maternity dress that we liked....she is gonna be HOT when she is pregnant!!!




Okay, I am trying on maternity jeans....AND THEY FIT. And NO, I am not pregnant. Next stop....the gym.









Below is my dear friend Tracy and her brand new beautiful baby girl Leila. I met them for lunch while in Georgia, and basically held her daughter the entire time.....what a DOLL. Oh....I am feeling the need for another little one around here.... :)




Me and Tracy....and little Leila.

The Capitol

While I was in the Peach State, the CPM certification bill was in the House ready to be voted on. SO....a ton of homebirthing families and supporters had "Homebirth Day" at the capitol to show our support for the Bill.

Oh....and did I mention that Claudia (my wonderful midwife that has been with me for all 4 boys births...at home), my mommy and myself decided we needed to go see the Governor?! Below is the picture:


Here we are with Gov. Sonny Purdue. We asked him to wear our "Bring Midwives Home" sticker to show his support of the CPM Bill. He even told us that him and his wife almost had their last two kids at home and that his wife always wanted to become a midwife!!! :)




Here we allll are, gathered on the steps of the Capitol (inside) listening to several different speakers...one being my magnificent midwife, Claudia.




It's me, chatting with my friends, Jennifer and Meg.




Little Beatrice had a good time that day....she was so curious! :)




I am checking out Laura's little girl....with my friend Jenn Bailey in the background with her little Emma.




It was SUCH a fun day....full of excitement! :) Oh....and the Bill was passed!!!!!!!!!! Now on to the study committee.....

The Wedding!

Everyone knows that my "little" (6 foot 4 inch) brother Nate married THE SWEETEST chick ever, right? Her name is Courtney, and they have been married for about 18 months now. SO....Courtney's mom Theresa has been single now for 20 years. She has committed to raise Courtney in the nurture of the Lord. Well.....a few months after Nate and Court tied the knot, Theresa met a great guy named Jeff. They have dated ever since, and on March 28th in a little chapel in Alpharetta, Georgia, they became man and wife. It was such a blessing to be there and witness the union between these two Godly people. Below are some of the moments I captured.





Jeff waiting for his bride!!!!










The vows....which she cried through...and he reached up and wiped a tear off her cheek. So yeah, at that moment there wasn't a dry eye in the room.











They take all kinds of dancing classes, so the happy couple was just gliding across the dance floor.








The bride and her bridesmaids....and my brother Nate! (His wife Courtney is the one he is holding!!!) :)










Noelle and I at the wedding.

The First Day of Spring

Welcome to the spring in Colorado! This is what is so cool about this state....today it snowed about 5-6 inches (for the first time this year) and by this weekend it will be in the 60's and beautiful!!!! So today we headed out with Daddy looking for some pretty sites. The pictures below just do not do them justice...but oh well! We enjoyed them!








Pres LOVES the snow....actually, he loves eating the snow :)
In his hand is his harmonica. He serenaded us the whole drive today with his music.






Here is a Country Club in the mountains (on a lake, obviously).











Out there is the Golf course. In the summer it is so green and gorgeous!










Our backyard....BEFORE the boys got their footprints all over!













Backyard trees...











The thermometer. In case you cannot read it, it was about 19 degrees most of the day!!!!! Happy Spring!!!!! :)

How Times Fly.....

Kids grow up SO fast. Below are some pictures from March 2004. Two years ago already! I remember taking these pictures like it was just last month. It hit me today (in church...like a truck) that Ethan is almost 9 years old. That means that if he moves out at 18....we are half way done with his living at home life! AH!!! Of course, he is welcome to stay as long as he would like to (I always kid with him that him and his wife/kids will have to live in our basement!) but I figure I will plan on him leaving the nest at 18 and if he stays longer I will be pleasantly surprised. Listen to me! He is 9! But hey....what am I doing TODAY that will impact him in the years to come? What are my goals as a parent? As the mother of 4 little boys? Do I make the most of every opportunity to teach them the love of Christ? To teach them to care and serve others above themselves? Or most importantly....to live for Christ and love Him above all else? Sadly, I do not. Now is my wake up call. Only 9 more years...........

Yes, I know. Pres was the cutest baby EVER :)





Tarin was sitting in Presley's baby carseat.





All the boys one Sunday morn before church. Hey! We lived in Georgia then!






My little Kell playing with my little Pres :) Notice one of Josiah's shoes compared to Presley....about the same size! Ha!






All the boys piled on Ethan's bed.

Random Pictures

Below are a few pictures of the kids in the past few weeks. Never a dull moment around here :)




Tarin and Presley right after a bath.



Kell goes from a cowboy to a "knight and shining armor" several times per day.





Today Ethan decided he wanted to do the dishes. On his own. Hey, who am I to complain?! :)
He did a fabulous job! What a sweetie!





I shaved Ethan's head yesterday. Here it is halfway done. He looks so much older now!!
We had planned to shave it for the summer, but he (and Tarin) wanted it shaved now. SOOOOO, we shaved it yesterday....and today it is snowing! Ha! And NO ONE is going to try and talk me into shaving Presley's hair....right?!






Presley is greatly enjoying his rice and beans.




What a mess!! But isn't he handsome?! :)

Not much Going On.....

I know, it has been longer than normal since I posted. Really....not much is going on here. The weather has been *perfect* and the kids and I have been going on walks and to the parks almost everyday.

Noelle and I are starting up an internet store (that will hopefully turn into a "real" store some day) and that is taking a good bit of time and effort. I will be letting everyone know more about it in the near future! :)

Josiah is working alllll the time right now....poor guy is SO tired!!! All he is looking forward to at the moment is our anniversary trip this summer....10 years in August!!! He will finally be able to relax then.

The boys are all just fine....playing outside a ton....although tomorrow night is it supposed to snow....and they are excited about that. Funny how snow can come after it being so nice and warm for so long....but neat, nonetheless.

SO.......if anything exciting, important, funny or out of the ordinary happens, you will be the first to know about it! :)