Easter Morning

Soooo, you know those moms that take a million pictures allll the time....especially on holidays? Drives ya nuts, hu?! Well, I admit, I am one of those moms, much to the dismay of my family. They will actually tell me that their face hurts from smiling. Poor kids. One day they will thank me.....ha!
Below is several posts and my photo diary of our Easter Sunday. We went to church and then to the Troyer's for lunch and back here for dinner with family.....and you can be a part of all of it through the magic of digital cameras and the internet! Yippee!






Easter morning, 2006.









The boys, again. Kellen is saluting...why? I have no idea. It is his newest thing.






Awww, Mommy and Daddy :)










The boys in our back yard.









My little Kello-Mello.








My sweet, sweet Ethan! He is getting so grown up.....









Really.....have you ever seen someone so adorable? (besides my other 3 boys, of course)









Tarin said the sun was to bright so he HAD to cover his face....and I got this picture when he peaked out for a moment to see if I was still there. :)

Easter Day

After church this morning we all headed to our friends home for Easter lunch and egg hunt. The Troyer's were so kind to have us out to celebrate Easter with them!




The boys and Daddy eating their candy....and poor Colleen, trying to adjust her baby! See pictures below and you will understand....




Come on out, little baby!!!!!





Colleen is READY. She is hiding a few of those eggs in her shirt :)








Kell, in his socks, finding eggs in their yard.





Our Flammily :)







Pres showing off his find.









"What did you get?"










Ummm.....little Tarin, stuffing his face full of various kinds of candy. This picture is taken MOMENTS before he went inside the house promptly threw up all the candy he had consumed. It is apparent my kids rarely get candy/sugar because: A.) They gorge themselves when they get it B.) They throw it up minutes later.











Ethan searching for eggs......

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.