This is Life!

All About Dalton

2011-03-19T10:22:00.000-07:00

This post is all about Dalton. He is growing so fast and at times he thinks he is already a teenager. He thinks he is really big stuff now that he has the only bedroom downstairs. It took a few weeks but we finally got the downstairs painted and carpet laid in Dalton's room and the play room. He couldn't wait to move in. Here are a couple of pics of his room. We haven't decorated yet but it will be a space theme as Dalton really wants to be an astronaut or a pilot. He has his heart set on going to space camp in a couple of years.
Dalton has had quite the learning experience over the last couple of months and so have we! He is reaching that stage where he needs more information about certain things if you know what I mean. So a couple of nights a week after the girls are in bed we have been having special time to talk about "older" things with Dalton. Oh the joys of parenthood! I was definitely not ready for this stage.

We took a short overnight trip to Pennsylvania during the kids Winter Break in February. We took them to the Crayola Factory!

This past week was the school's Academic Fair. Dalton had to choose a country from Asia. He chose Israel. I was really not looking forward to doing, I mean "helping" Dalton with this but I think his board turned out nice and we made Chocolate Matzoh, a Jewish passover snack for his project. He also had to give an oral presentation which went well.
Dalton and I can definitely have our moments. Homework time is not one our favorite times of the day. We have months that go by without any problems or issues and then out of nowhere we are reminded in not so pleasant ways that Dalton at times struggles with emotional and behavioral issues. The last couple of months have been one of these times. It should really be no surprise. We have had lots of changes and Dalton has even had changes at school as his teacher had to take an extended leave. We are working through it though. I'm just having to learn to stand my ground and not give in when I feel sorry for him. It's tough especially when I know the loving, caring, and sensitive kid he is. My prayer is that Dalton becomes confident in who he is and most of all in God who will never leave him.

Christmas, Snow, Moving, and a Blessing!

2011-03-18T07:54:00.000-07:00

I'm back! I know it's been quite a long break but I've had my reasons!

We spent a wonderful Christmas in Oklahoma visiting all our friends and family. I don't know how but I didn't get any pictures of my dad and Cindy :(

When we returned to New York we found not only 2 feet of snow waiting for us but we found that Santa Clause did not forget Dalton, Lyric, or Samara while we were away!

As soon as Christmas was over we started packing for the big move to our new house. We also played in the snow!

Well Dalton and Lyric did! Samara informed us she did not like the snow and was just as happy to stay inside and play on her slide. Unfortunately for her, the snow kept coming until we were all sick of it.
On January 14th we closed on our house and despite all the snow we moved on the 15th. Thanks to all our friends who helped us. It was a very busy and exhausting weekend. Needless to say our family spent the next 2 to 3 weeks recuperating as we all got sick right after we moved into our new house. No fun!! It takes a while for a family of five to get rid of the sick germ. We did get better and we spent the month of February slowly unpacking and settling in our new house. There is lots to do but we will eventually get there.

As if the move was not enough change for our family, we shared even bigger news with our kids in February. We are going to have a baby! I was a little nervous about how Dalton and Lyric would take it, but I shouldn't have been. I haven't seen two happier kids in my life! They could hardly keep the secret for 1 week and when we told them they could tell, well they told everyone who would listen. Samara was not so excited at first. She kept telling me that she was the baby but she has slowly warmed up and when you ask her where the baby is now she will say "mommy's tummy" or "in my tummy".
We feel so blessed to be expecting again! There is nothing like the anticipation of holding a gift from heaven. Our little bundle of joy will join us around September 7th. I'm finding being pregnant with 3 kids is quite a job. I had just started feeling better and was getting my energy back when I had a few complications and I'm now having a few days of bed rest. (No worries - baby is ok!) I think God was just trying to get my attention to slow down a little bit. If you know me, you know I have a really hard time with that.

So now you also know why I'm finally blogging. I'm bored! I have a post I want to do updating on each of the kids so....stay tuned! I will be back soon.

Home is Where the Heart Is

2010-12-02T17:09:00.000-08:00

I'm going to post pics of Dalton and Lyric during their school spirit week but I haven't got the pictures transferred from my phone to the laptop yet. Sooooo... that will have to wait.

Did you hear?! We are buying a house here in NYC! We are so excited! Well as excited as you can be about moving in the middle of January! We were actually thinking about it this summer but nothing really seemed to catch our eye. Then a few months later a friend of ours texted us a picture of a house they saw in their neighborhood. It was really cute but from the outside it looked pretty small. I decided to look at it anyway and was surprised at how big it actually was. I'm not usually a fan of older things (including houses) but this house has such character! Anyway... after about 2 months of praying, discussing, praying, inspections, more praying, we have finally signed a contract. We should close sometime in January and we plan on moving in very soon afterward.The house has some work we want to do to but it will take some time and don't plan on doing anything but painting and putting in new carpet in 2 rooms when we first move in.
Here are just a few things I love about the house:

The front yard is very cute with white iron fence.
The back yard is even better. No grass - all cement! It has nice white privacy fence and a flower bed that runs along the fence with a very cute fig tree.
The house has central AC (almost unheard of in NYC).
The house was previously split into a two family home so it has 2 kitchens. The basement kitchen is our favorite and opens right up to the back door (seen above). Perfect for summer grilling! We plan to eventually get rid of the upstairs kitchen and use the room for something else.
The house has plenty of room for our above average size of family. (4 bedrooms and 2 family rooms.) The kids will love all the new hiding places. They are running out of places to hide in our current location during hide and go seek!
The house has lots of storage and a very large attic.
We will have 2 bathrooms! Living in an apartment with 1 bathroom for a family of 5 is not always easy.
We are just blocks away from our closest friends and one block away from our favorite park.

We are so blessed. God has always taken care of us and once again he has made a way for us. Buying a home in NYC is scary. It is nothing like buying a home in OK. We are amazed at the series of events that have taken place to even allow us to consider this.

I really wish we could skip over the month of January. I really dread moving especially in the cold of winter but I know that it will all be worth it when this house becomes our home! The Penland Bed & Breakfast will be open in June of 2011! All friends and family are welcome!

I'm So Thankful....

2010-11-25T05:35:00.000-08:00

I'm so thankful for my Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. It's by his grace and mercy that I wake up every morning, that I know I am forgiven, and that I am blessed beyond measure.

I'm so thankful for my husband. I love him so much and feel blessed to be married to such a wonderful man and father.

I'm so thankful for my children. Dalton, Lyric, and Samara are each so special in their own way. They make life wonderful and remind me to enjoy the small things.

I'm so thankful for my parents. I'm thankful that they have always been there when I needed them and that I can still call them up with any problem I have. I'm also thankful that they each have wonderful spouses who I have grown to love dearly.

I'm so thankful for my grandparents and Dustin's grandparents. I'm thankful to still have them in our lives and for the time we are have been and are able to spend with them.

I'm so thankful for my church family and friends here in New York. They are truly family. It amazes me how you can meet some people in your life and just know that they were put in your life by God.

I'm so thankful for our special friends in Oklahoma. They have been there through the good, the bad, and the ugly and they are still there.

I'm so thankful for the health of my family.

I'm so thankful that both my husband and I have good jobs. I'm thankful that we not only have jobs but that we enjoy what we do.

I'm so thankful for God's provision. We have never wanted for food, shelter, or clothes. He has always provided.

I'm thankful for all this and so much more on this Thanksgiving Day. Happy Thanksgiving to All!

School Days

2010-11-11T12:33:00.000-08:00

It has been a great school year thus far! Dalton is in 3rd grade and he loves his teachers. I think they love him too! Dalton tested so high in Math that he gets to be a part of Math Olympics every Wednesday during recess. Giving up recess to do math is pretty impressive! This year Dalton was able to choose one elective class. He chose drama and he is really excited about his performance as "Tex" in the upcoming Christmas program. I wonder if it was coincidence that he was chosen to be "Tex"!? Twice a week Dalton attends the after school's Tae Kwon Do classes. According to his Master, Dalton is excelling. This year seems to be much easier for Dalton. He is no longer the new kid and everyone knows he belongs to Mr. Penland. He has a good group of friends and he is slowly getting used to all the homework.
Lyric started Kindergarten this year. She was very nervous about this as she started Kindergarten last year and due to the changes in her life we found it was not the right time. She had nothing to worry about though. She has wonderful teachers and she has not had any problems this year. Lyric is known to bring a smile to everyone's face. Her favorite thing to do at school is play at the playdough table. Lyric is starting to read and wants to know how to spell everything. I remember when Dalton went through this stage. I'm glad to see that she is finally excited about learning. Lyric is not in the same class as her best friend Eliana, but they spend plenty of time together throughout the day!
Samara continues to stay with Iris at the school. She absolutely loves Iris and all her little friends. Samara is learning her colors, letters, and numbers. She can say her ABC's and can count to 12. It depends what day you ask her about colors if she knows them or not! lol
That's our school update. Next week is School Spirit week and I will be posting pictures of Dalton and Lyric all dressed up.

Last But Definitely Not Least

2010-10-23T18:38:00.000-07:00

I really should catch up on Lyric's summer before its Christmas! I have been so busy/tired/really don't feel like blogging here lately. Lyric on the other hand is never too busy, never too tired, and always wants to do something fun! Seriously she asks me every single day, "Mom, what fun thing are we doing today?!" Her energy is exhausting but I wouldn't have it any other way. She makes me smile, laugh, and cry on a daily basis. I'm glad that she gave each of her grandparents a good dose of Lyric this summer. Lyric went to Oklahoma with Dalton and stayed 3 weeks before we came too. She had a great time but was definitely ready to come home. She later told me that I shouldn't have let her be gone for so long! I totally agree!

Lyric spends a lot of time with her best friend Eliana. They are best friends that love to fight if you know what I mean. They can't stand to be apart and can't stand to be together! Last year they were in the same class at school but this year they are in separate classes which seems to make their time together more fun!
This is a picture of Lyric on the 4th of July. Our friends invited us over. Their entire block closes the street for a block party. They rent a huge water slide that the kids absolutely loved!
Lyric's 6th Birthday party began with one of the things she loves the most....pony rides.
Yes...she is wearing a tiara. All princesses must have a tiara.
Lyric asked for a Ariel beach birthday party. We really couldn't disappoint so we drug cake, pizza, presents, and friends to the beach after the pony rides. It was a great afternoon.....sand and all!
Lyric got an Easy Bake and a purple guitar!

Lyric is a great sister. She plays well with Dalton and Samara. I love listening to her and Samara play with their baby dolls or playing dress up together. Lyric always wants to know why her hair is turning darker and she cracks me up when she gets upset that she doesn't have dots on her face. She can't wait to lose her teeth and just really wants to grow up so she can have a baby kitty! Lyric can tell a story about school that lasts an hour and she gets so excited when you mention anything to do with sweets.

It's hard to believe that Lyric is already 6. She was just 17 months old when she came to live with us. At that time in my life I needed her as much as she needed me. I'm so thankful for the laughter she has brought and continues to bring to my life.

Terrific Two!

2010-10-03T15:51:00.000-07:00

My baby girl turned 2 this summer. It is so hard to believe. I have loved every minute of her and wish I could hold on to her sweet babyness just a bit longer. Unfortunately she seems just as determined to get BIG!

We had a watermelon birthday party a few days before Samara's actual b-day. Samara loves watermelon as you will see. Gotta love her facial expressions. She is definitely her daddy's girl!

Bubba and Sissy hanging out in the little pool.

Samara chowing down on some watermelon. The pizza remained untouched...watermelon is much yummier.

Playing in the big pool!

Cake!

Presents!

This was Samara's actual birthday. We saved her presents from us to open at home. She got a play kitchen and shopping cart. She was so excited to play with her babies in her new toys.

We had a team from Missouri visiting the church on Samara's actual birthday. So that evening we once again had watermelon and ice cream cake. As you can tell, watermelon was Samara's favorite!

I just love this picture of Samara and her best buddy Marcus sharing watermelon. They are so sweet with each other and I love that they are so close.

Me and my girl on the steps of the church. Happy 2nd birthday Samara!

Samara hit several milestones this summer. She moved from her crib to her big girl bed. We bought her a little tinker bell toddler bad as Lyric already had Tinker bell bedding and it went with the colors we already had in their room. She has done well in her new bed.
Another major milestone is that Samara is fully potty trained! She wears big girl panties all the time except for nighttime and has had very few accidents. She probably won't even wear pull-ups at night much longer as she is usually dry in the morning when she wakes up.
Samara spent 3 weeks as the only child again while Dalton and Lyric were back in OK. It was a good thing that we stayed busy with teams working at the church. She was lost when we were at home without them. She even started peeling the paint off of Dalton's door during that time. Above Samara in Time Square after visiting the Hershey's store. She is truly my child as we dragged her all over NYC working and sightseeing until all hours of the day and night and she totally loved it! She especially enjoyed all the attention she received from those visiting. Below Samara "working" while we were painting the sanctuary of our church.
Samara had her 2 yr checkup in July. She continues to be completely healthy. We are so grateful for this. Samara weighed 27 lbs and was 34 1/4 inches long which puts her at the 75th percentile for height and 54th for weight. Just perfect I think! No shots (YAY!) but they did some blood tests and she didn't even cry! She surprised her daddy and I when the Dr. asked if she knew her colors and we were both like "no" and she looked at her dress pointed at it and said "pink". Which it was! Little smarty pants!
Samara is much more timid around water than Dalton and Lyric ever were. By the end of summer she had finally gotten used to it and didn't cry as much. Usually once she was used to it she would have a blast. Above is her first carnival ride. We took the kids to the Greek Festival in our neighborhood one evening and I just knew she would start crying and screaming once the ride started to move. But wouldn't you know she was just fine with her Marcus by her side. Dustin said they looked like an old couple out for a Sunday ride! Marcus calls Samara "Mara" and it is just too cute!
Crazy hair or should we say daddy's hair! That's what everyone tells me anyway. It has finally really started to grow and we actually had to cut her bangs a few weeks ago because they were hanging in her eyes.
Here's a pic of me, Deidre, Samara, and Marcus at Sesame Place. As expected Samara was not overly excited about getting too close to any of the characters.

Daddy and Samara at Sesame Place.

Samara has definitely had her "2" moments. As her daddy says she has my curiosity and her mama's stubbornness. She loves testing her boundaries and to be quite honest sometimes its hard to place those boundaries when she can be so stinkin' cute. The best part though is that as she has gotten bigger so has her sweetness. Just tonight she kept telling me repeatedly in her sweet little voice "I Love You Mama" and giving me those precious kisses. I wish I could just bottle it up. There is nothing in the world that feels like those little hands around your neck. 2 is most definitely terrific!

8 is Great!

2010-07-17T12:01:00.000-07:00

I can't believe the summer is gone and I didn't blog once! I'm a really bad blogger but I do want to catch up. We had so much fun over the summer. It seams like we never stopped. Since we celebrated 3 birthdays this summer, I want to dedicate a blog for each of the kids to let you know about their birthday and all the fun they had over the summer and how each of them are growing up.

Dalton's birthday came first. July 3rd he turned 8! We took a family trip with friends to Sesame Place. Dalton brought a special friend with him. We had a blast at Sesame Place. All the kids really enjoyed the rides and seeing all the characters. Dalton and his friend Kevin were able to ride the float during the Sesame Street Parade!

Dalton chose Chili's for his birthday dinner. Yum! We followed with a Hot Wheel Cupcake Cake.
Bubba and Sissy showing some sibling love! Dalton's favorite gift was his Nintendo DSI. We've had to put some major time limits on it!
Dalton and Elmo!
Dalton and his friend Kevin with Cookie Monster.
So what else did Dalton do this summer? He spent four weeks in Oklahoma and went for the first time to Kids Camp at Turner Falls. He was so excited about going to camp but I was so nervous. I kept telling him that he needed to remember to take a shower every day, etc.... because there would not be a momma there to tell him to always do those things! lol! Anyway he survived and had a really good time. We really missed him while he and Lyric were in Oklahoma. The house was really quiet without them. In August Dustin, I, and Samara traveled to Oklahoma to visit family and pick up Dalton and Lyric. I will hopefully post a separate blog about that trip. But I should note that Dalton went golfing with Dustin for the first time while in Oklahoma.

So we all returned home with about 1 month before school started back. During this time we did a lot of swimming which Dalton loves. He also spent lots of time with Dustin doing "man" things! Dustin let him stay up late with him one night to watch a UFC fight. I wasn't overly excited about that but I don't think Dalton lasted until the end anyway. He has really grown this summer and continues to mature out of the little kid stage. He is a great help and plays well with both of his sisters. He is a true saver and has saved over $70 from gifts and the tooth fairy this past year. Although he is a saver he is also very quick to offer to give his money for any need. This is the sweetest part of Dalton. He is always concerned about others. Dalton picked out a camouflage backpack and lunch bag to start 3rd grade. I don't know exactly why but maybe it is because they had an army theme at the kids camp he went to.

Dalton loves math and science and is already asking to go to space camp when he is old enough. He says he wants to be a pilot or astronaut when he grows up. Dalton also started learning to play the drums at church. He is still just a little bit small! Dalton had his eyes checked a few weeks ago and he no longer has to wear glasses to read. Woohoo! No more keeping up with glasses and fixing them with tape when he breaks them.

I'm so thankful for Dalton and his sweet nature. He is a blessing to our family. Looking forward to all the new things that come with being 8!

June...."Where Have You Gone?"

2010-06-29T19:13:00.000-07:00

I thought I should probably post about June before July was officially here as I know my blogging time will become even shorter. Isn't this baby girl so cute? Even with the spaghetti face! I love, love, love her!!!!

She got her first hair cut this past month. She really didn't need it other than her bangs were hanging in front of her eyes, but the hairdresser trimmed up the rest in hopes it would help her hair to grow in fuller. It worked! Her hair has really grown in since then. She sat up so big and never made a sound.

We spent many of our free days in June at friends swimming and playing in the sun!

Dustin and I celebrated our 11th Anniversary. We spent the evening on a dinner cruise on the East River and Hudson River. It was very romantic and we had a great time. I'm blessed to have Dustin as my husband and this past year has really been one of the best. It has been a year of new beginnings and peace. I can't wait to see what is in store this next year.

Our yummy dessert that was awaiting us after spending time on the back of the boat.
I didn't get a picture but do you remember when I posted about the jog-a-thon the kids had at school. Well, Dalton came home with a first place trophy for the most laps jogged for the entire second grade. I think we may see track in his future! He really enjoyed it and we are so proud of him. Way to go Dalton! Lyric also received a third place ribbon for the most laps in Pre-K. I guess all that energy has paid off!

More to come....

June Part 2

2010-06-29T19:00:00.000-07:00

June was also a time of accidents. Lyric "Miss Grace herself" had several bad falls. She fell down our driveway which is on a slope and skinned up her entire body and got a nasty bump on her head. About the time the bruise on her head was almost gone she ran into a tv stand at school and had a worse bump in the exact same place as the first. Picture above is from the second bump. About another week went by and she fell down our friends driveway and currently has large scabs on her knees that seem to constantly bleed no matter what we do because she won't leave them alone. I can not tell you how many times we have told her to slow down, watch where she is going, etc.
Samara must have been jealous of all the attention on Lyric and this past weekend she took a horrible fall down the stairs at our friends' house. Once again God had is hand of protection on her. We could barely find a scratch or bruise. She cried for about 10 minutes and then acted as if nothing had ever happened.
One weekend we spent the day at a nearby beach, Orchard beach. It was a great day of family time. Samara was scared of the sand and would cry when we put her down or tried to get her to come off of the towels. Finally near the end of the day we were able to get her to play in the water and then she didn't want to leave. The kids played in the sand, found seashells and other live things. It was such a fun relaxing time!

Dustin dug out this extremely deep hole and this is a picture of Lyric standing up in the hole.
Lyric graduated Pre-K last week. She looked absolutely beautiful in her fluffy pink dress and yellow graduation hat! They had a Hawaiian theme and it was so cute. Lyric received an award for reading the 3rd most books for the year and for being an energetic teacher! She loves to play school and is always the teacher. She tells me that she wants to be a ballet teacher when she gets big!

There was a Greek festival in our neighborhood last week and we took the kids one evening. We ate gyros, corn on the cob, chicken on a stick, and loukoumades. It was so good. They also had carnival games and rides. Samara rode her first ride and I was so nervous as she normally starts screaming any time we put her on the car rides in stores. But this night she had her best buddy Marcus by her side and they did so well! She sat up so big and held on where she was supposed to and eventually she even started waving. My baby girl is definitely growing up!
This is her writing with a pen in Daddy's classroom one morning before school started. She loved going to school and seeing her Iris and all her little friends. I'm sure she will miss them this summer.

So school is now officially out and I am so glad. I love not having to get the kids to bed extra early or having to get them up early every morning. I'm so blessed that I can leave for work every morning knowing they are well taken care of by their dad in their own home. In just a few day we will be in July and so much will be going on. Hope I can share with you more often but I'm not making any promises.

What We've Been Up To....

2010-05-26T04:22:00.000-07:00

This month has been busy as usual. Three kids tend to keep it that way. Everyone is getting ready for summer and school will be out in just a month. It feels strange to have the kids in school for the month of June. There are end of the year field trips which have really kept Dustin busy. I think he has gone on more field trips in the past few weeks than I went on a lifetime! He loves it though. The only negative is that most of them have been to Pennsylvania and they don't usually return until 9:00 p.m. We have been missing our daddy in the evenings and daddy is getting tired really fast.Speaking of field trips, Lyric's class took a field trip to ChuckECheese last week. I took off work to go with them. She had a blast! Dalton and Lyric are both continuing to do so well in school. Dalton took the state tests last week and Lyric was tested for Kindergarten. We don't have any results yet but I know both of them did well.

Last weekend our youth group came to the Bronx to help us all work on Pastor David and Cindy's yard. The girls stayed the nights at our house and both Lyric and Samara loved it! They were totally spoiled! Dalton was also excited that he got to spend Friday night with the guys at Pastor Rob's. He's only 7 but loves getting to hang out with the big guys. We got lots of work done on Pastor's yard but we were totally exhausted when Sunday rolled around.

Two weeks ago Deidre and I were treated by her mom to a day at the spa to celebrate our 30th birthdays! We spent the day at the Spa Castle with a group of ladies from our church. It was completely amazing. I have never been to a place like this and I highly recommend it. There were many different hot tubs, pools, saunas, and any type of massage, manicure, pedicure, or scrub you could imagine. I was so blessed to enjoy a day of total relaxation! Dustin and the kids enjoyed a day at home with a trip to the park.

Yesterday the weather was beautiful! We took the kids for a walk in the park following dinner. It was a wonderful evening and the kids had so much fun. Dustin taught Dalton a new trick on his scooter and I just knew Dalton was going to fall and hit his head (he didn't). However Lyric ended up with a scraped knee and Samara smashed her finger in the stroller. So when we got home it was bath time and then we had to doctor all the booboos.

Samara is growing like a weed and repeating everything we say. Her favorite thing to say last night was "That's gross!" Thanks to Lyric we heard that no less than 50 times. So that sums up our last few weeks. The last month of school ahead and much to look forward too!

Before I was a Mom...

2010-05-11T11:00:00.000-07:00

Before I was a Mom,
I had never tripped over toys
or forgot words to a lullaby.
I didn't worry whether or not
my plants were poisonous.
I never thought about immunizations.

Before I was a Mom,
I had never been puked on,
Pooped on,
Chewed on,
Peed on.
I had complete control of my mind
and my thoughts.
I slept all night.

Before I was a Mom,
I never held down a screaming child
so doctors could do tests.
Or give shots.
I never looked into teary eyes and cried.
I never got gloriously happy over a simple grin.
I never sat up late hours at night
watching a baby sleep.

Before I was a Mom,
I never held a sleeping baby just because
I didn't want to put her down.
I never felt my heart break into a million pieces
when I couldn't stop the hurt.
I never knew that something so small
could affect my life so much.
I never knew that I could love someone so much.
I never knew I would love being a Mom.

Before I was a Mom,
I didn't know that feeling of
having my heart outside my body.
I didn't know how special it could feel
to feed a hungry baby.
I didn't know that bond between a mother and her child.
I didn't know that something so small
could make me feel so important and happy.

Before I was a mom,
I had never gotten up in the middle of the night
every 10 minutes to make sure all was okay.
I had never known the warmth,
the joy,
the love,
the heartache,
the wonderment,
or the satisfaction of being a mom.
I didn't know I was capable of feeling so much
before I was a mom.

I had a wonderful mother's day! I am so blessed to have a wonderful mother and wonderful children! I can't imagine my life without them! The kids got me all kinds of goodies from their school. Dustin gave me flowers and chocolate! I am so spoilt! Dalton gave me this card he made at school. It melted my heart. He is so sweet!

Jog-A-Thon

2010-05-11T10:44:00.000-07:00

The kids school had a jog-a-thon last Friday. It is their fundraiser. I was glad I was able to attend. They had a great time and did a great job.

Lyric jogged 25 laps around the gym.

Lyric after she was done.

Dalton jogged 14 laps around the track. I was pretty impressed. It was a beautiful day and I'm so glad I got to spend it with them.

Girls Trip!

2010-05-11T09:55:00.001-07:00

The girls and I took a surprise trip a little over a week ago. My mom's family took a girls trip to Branson and we decided to join them. We kept it a secret for 3 months! Mom found out only a couple of days before the trip. We flew into OKC on a Friday morning to meet up with everyone and then we traveled to Branson all together. Road tripping with 16 women can be an experience! We had such a great time and it was well worth it to have moments such as this.

And This...

And this....

God is doing some amazing things in my sister's life. I'm so glad he gave us this weekend to enjoy each other and start a new reconciliation. I'm excited about what is in store!

We did so much in the little amount of time we were there. We saw the Sight & Sound musical of Noah. It was great and the kids loved all the animals. We also went to Silver Dollar City!
Riding the train.Samara had so much fun playing in the kids water area. She was totally soaked. The expressions on her face everytime she would get sprayed with water was priceless.

We also stayed up late, ate lots of food, and spent time together. I got to see my grandma, my aunt Deanna from Colorado and several of my mom's cousins. Lyric was so excited to see Jessie! Jessie babysat for us when we lived in Mustang. Dalton and Lyric both love their Jessie.

We also took an old time photograph as a group. It was lots of fun to dress up. Both Lyric and Samara were prancing and twirling around in their dresses with the big hoops! Samara especially loved it when she found out she could hide under our dresses.

Look at that Lyric posing! She is a character. Kuper had had enough and crashed while waiting for the picture.

On Sunday we traveled back to OKC. The girls and I stayed with Tanner, Amanda, and Ava. Wish we had more time to visit with them. Ava and Samara played so well together. My dad and Cindy even came by to visit as they were in OKC celebrating their 3rd Anniversary! Monday morning we were able to visit Dustin's Aunt Tammy. She took us to the airport for our flight home. We are so blessed to have such wonderful family that always helps us. Love them so much!

One last sweet visit was waiting for us at the airport. Winnie was traveling back from China and she met us at our gate as she was leaving the airport. Shame on her for making me almost cry! I miss her so much and can't even explain what her and Keith mean to Dustin and I.

So that was our whirlwind of a trip. I'm so proud of Samara and Lyric. They were totally out of their routines, we traveled so much by plane and car, and we stayed up late every night but they were so well behaved! I love my girls! Can't wait until our next girls trip!

If you are wondering about the boys...well according to Dalton they were so glad us girls were gone because they got to stay up late, sleep in, eat whatever they wanted, and watch movies. I'm sure they also played video games and other "guy" things! They didn't seem to miss us too much!

Sad News

2010-04-27T18:07:00.000-07:00

This past Sunday we received the sad news that Lyric's Pre-K teacher, Ms. Holden, passed away earlier that morning. Although we knew she has been battling cancer, we were not aware she was so close to death. She was such a blessing to our family over this year. She provided stability and love to Lyric during major changes in Lyric's life. She was full of love for her students but knew when they needed discipline. Lyric grew so much and learned so much as her student. She not only taught her academics but being in a private Christian school, she was able to teach Lyric about the love of God and to show it to her on a daily basis.

I dreaded having to tell Lyric about her teacher but as I told her that her teacher went to be with Jesus, Lyric processed as a 5 year old and not as an adult. She initially stated that she wanted Ms. Holden back because according to Lyric, Ms. Holden never yelled. Then she became more concerned with Ms. Holden having toys in heaven. She said, "Mommy, I want Jesus to give Ms. Holden a surprise with lots of toys!" So we prayed together and asked Jesus to give Ms. Holden a surprise with lots of toys because of the wonderful teacher she had been. It is amazing what a 5 year old thinks.

Monday the school principal and counselor met with Lyric's class and they had a party to celebrate Ms. Holden being completely healed in heaven. They even had her favorite food, Chocolate cake! They also made pictures and cards about what a great teacher Ms. Holden was.

I'm so thankful Lyric was influenced by such a wonderful lady and that Lyric is able to attend a school where they can talk about God and handle situations in such a great way. The next couple of weeks will be a hard time for the school and especially for the class. Sometimes 5 years olds may not necessarily say they are sad or miss their teacher but they may act out in various ways to get the attention they need. I know that all involved will be aware and provide extra love and care to each student as they need.

This post finally catches us up. I promise to have something fun and exciting to blog about next week. Can't wait to share!

A Day with the Fishes

2010-04-27T17:30:00.000-07:00

Since the kids didn't get to do much over their Spring Break we decided to take the kids to the Maritime Aquarium in Norwalk, CT on one of the cooler Saturdays. We had a great day together. The aquarium was a lot of fun. It had a ton of exhibits including sharks, otters, sea lions, penguins, and an area where the kids could even pet sting rays. There were so many hands on exhibits and areas for the kids to play. It also had an IMAX theater and we enjoyed a documentary on the Hubble space telescope. Dalton really enjoyed this as he is into space and flying.

Here is Samara driving the boat! We had to peel her away. She did not want to leave!

This is a flounder exhibit. (Don't know why this is blue and underlined but I can't get it off) It was neat because the kids could climb up on the glass and look down and try to find all the hidden flounders.They had a play area for ages 5 and under. Caught Lyric in this cute pose. This was another area we had to drag Samara away from. Don't you love those toddler moments?!Dalton caught some fish!And so did Lyric!PaPa and NaNa would be so proud of their little fishermen.

It took forever to convince Samara to climb in. She is so cautious. Once she did it though she didn't want to leave. What a surprise!

I got this picture with my cell phone. Can't believe how well it turned out. What a great memory!

Leaving the aquarium. We are tired and need a nap.

I LOVE THESE KIDS!!!!

2010-04-27T17:06:00.000-07:00

They are too cute and so much fun!
This is not a great picture but I couldn't resist posting. This truly depicts my girl right now. She loves playing dress up and she loves her purses! The bigger the better!

When the kids returned to school from Spring Break they had a sports day and wore their favorite team apparel. Of course ...Dalton and Lyric had to wear Black and Gold! Lyric is wearing my shirt and it looked like a dress.

I even put Samara in a Dodgers cheerleading outfit. She refused to put her bowl of cookie crisp down and was not in the mood for pictures. I really wouldn't be at 5:45 a.m. either. Notice Lyric's haircut? She decided she wanted shorter hair and I agreed. She hates having her hair brushed out everyday and she gets the most tangles by just sleeping. This shorter hairstyle totally fits her personality and has been much easier to manage.

The month of April has had some sunny beautiful days and some rainy cooler days. Such is spring. We took advantage of the sunny days by going to the park. The kids love the park behind where we live. They think it is fun to cross the walk over bridge that crosses a huge interstate.

I'm looking forward to many more sunny days in the park. Schools here do not let out for summer break until the end of June so 2 more months of school left.

Back to Easter....

2010-04-27T12:58:00.000-07:00

We were so tired from our trip and had so much going on Easter Sunday that we told the kids they could color their Easter eggs later in the week. The week after Easter was the kids Spring Break so they had the week off with daddy. They had trips to the park and the zoo planned but little did we know that coloring Easter eggs was about all that would take place that week.

Tuesday night Dustin and I became very ill with the stomach flu that all our friends had the week before. We got no sleep all night long. I tried to tough it up and go to work on Wednesday because I was involved in some training. I did not make it through the entire day and left work early. I ended up fainting on the subway. Not my idea of a great experience. I am thankful that I was not hurt and nothing was stolen. I don't however want to revisit that feeling of knowing I'm about to pass out and not knowing where to go or how to reach anyone. Dustin picked me up from the train station and we both immediately crawled into bed and slept the day away. It's all a blur now but the kids survived. I think Dalton played a part in that! It was one of those days when I definitely wished I was closer to family.

It took us almost a week to feel like normal again. We scrapped any trips to the park or the zoo. We did however let the kids color their Easter eggs that following Saturday. Samara didn't know what to think about it. She really wanted to drink the colored water or eat the eggs. She really didn't like it when she realized the color was all over her hands and she couldn't get it off with a napkin. Yes, she took after me in one way and does not like to be dirty!

Our final products!

Daddy's Girl!

2010-04-27T12:08:00.000-07:00

I often find Samara here.......

sitting in her daddy's lap reading a book. She loves books and for some reason favors her daddy reading them to her. She will sit and read with him so patiently.

Whenever Samara gets out of the bath tub and I am trying to dry her off I have to keep a hand on her or off she runs and I find her...............

sitting in daddy's lap naked and laughing at me.

Daddy's lap is her safe place when she doesn't want to get dressed, go to bed, or when she wants to get away from Dalton and Lyric.

It's also a good place to just chill out!

EASTER!!!

2010-04-27T07:32:00.000-07:00

We had a great Easter Sunday! I love this time of year and for once it was completely beautiful outside and warm! I also love that we focus so much on Jesus. It is a great time to really spend time teaching the kids and talking to them. We always sit down as a family and use the resurrection eggs to tell the story of Jesus dying on the cross for our sins. Thank you Aunt Tammy for this special gift you gave us several years ago. The kids get so excited to pull out the eggs and Samara even joined in the fun.

I was in charge of Children's Church since Roberta was still away getting married! We had an easter egg hunt (NYC style!) That is always something to try and pull off. I have absolutely no pictures but it was lots of fun.

We spent Sunday afternoon at our Pastor's house. We grilled hamburgers and hotdogs! It was delicious. The kids had a blast playing with bubbles and anything else they could get into. Overall it was a wonderful day!

Where has the month gone??

2010-04-27T07:06:00.000-07:00

I am sooo behind! But...I do have reasons. First our computer crashed, then we all got sick, and finally our home phone and internet service went out. So that was our month in a nutshell! No, not really! We did so much more! So I'm going to try and catch up with the next several posts because I know I'm going to have something very exciting to post next week!

We started off the month of April by going on a trip to Syracuse. Our state youth convention is the Thursday thru Saturday before Easter every year in Syracuse. Our friends and youth pastors thought they had better things to do, like go to Hawaii to see family and officiate their sisters wedding! (Congratulations Nelson and Roberta!!!) So Dustin and I, our kids, 5 other sponsors, and our youth group traveled to Syracuse for a fun filled weekend.
We went bowling, swimming, shopping, ate and ate some more, attended some amazing services, and had a fun time together. 4 of the youth gave their lives to Jesus for the first time! What a great way to spend the Easter weekend! I'm thankful for all the great sponsors we had. It was a very successful trip....all except for the stomach virus that attacked a couple of our sponsors. Our family escaped it during the trip but we weren't so lucky later on.

To say we were tired when we arrived home Saturday night would be an understatement. Unfortunately there was not much time for rest. Sunday morning was Easter and there was much to celebrate!

Hello Sunshine!

2010-03-19T10:57:00.000-07:00

Last weekend we had a huge rainstorm. I have never seen it rain and the wind blow as hard as it did. Lots of people were without power and dealing with flooding or leaks. We were safe with power and electricity. We decided to take the kids shoe shopping and then to Chuck E Cheese to play. The kids had a blast but just getting from the car to the store was a chore! We didn't get any pics at Chuck E Cheese (we were too busy staying up with all 3 kids!) but here is a pic Dustin got of Samara kissin herself in the mirror while we were at the shoe store!

One of the reasons I love living in New York City is the diversity that is celebrated. I love that there are so many different races and ethnic groups and that each one is celebrated throughout the year. Whether it be the Chinese New Year, a Jewish holiday, Three Kings Day, or a Greek festival there is so much to learn about others! It amazes me how important nationality is to many that live here. New York City is truly the melting pot of the world. I am always stopped and asked if I'm Irish. I always answer that I'm just pure mutt - a little mix of everything!

Saint Patrick's Day is a great celebration for the Irish who live here! The city has a large parade on 5th Ave. Stores sell corned beef and cabbage and green beer (but I know nothing of that!) Everyone is decked in green in some fashion or another because of course no one wants to be pinched! We joined in the fun. Here are some picks of the kids decked in their Irish green!

Samara seems to be saying...it is way to early for pictures!

Thankfully the yucky, cold, snowy, rainy weather gave way to some beautiful spring weather. We were more than ready! Actually temps here are about 20 degrees above normal... we will definitely take it! We spent several afternoons at the large park that is behind our apartment. It is a huge park. It has multile play areas, walking trails, ball fields, etc. The other side of the park (which is past walking distance) faces the Long Island Sound and has a beach called Orchard Beach. I can't wait to take the kids swimming there this summer!

Taking a rest!

The warm weather is exciting because Samara is old enough to play outside and have fun. It is interesting to watch her. She is so different from Dalton and Lyric. She is very timid, requires much coaching to do something new, and absolutely hates the swings! Hopefully she will warm up to it as she grows!

Unfortunately the day I took my camera, Dalton wasn't with us. He was having problems remembering to bring home his homework so he had to stay home :(

Thursday night the kids had their academic fair. They were able to show off their projects. Dalton's was on the State of Oklahoma. His teacher said he did outstanding when he gave his presentation. Lyric's was on seeds and plants. Thankfully our praying worked and her seed did grow and did not die before the fair!

We are looking forward to a fun weekend. The warm temps are supposed to last through Sunday! Woohoo!!!!

TROUBLE!!!

2010-03-01T04:41:00.000-08:00

We've been dealing with cabin fever after a couple of snow days, a long winter break, followed by another snow after just 3 days of school. We have all gone a little crazy! NYC has had over 50 inches of snow this winter. We are more than ready for sunshine, fresh air, and the outdoors!

While being holed up in our warm cozy apartment this past week we saw a new side to Samara! Our sweet innocent 19 month old became better known as "Trouble"!

I'm sure you are thinking....Not this sweet little girl.

But let me assure you... this child's wild side made a grand appearance!

Of course, she looks so innocent. She's just using the laundry basket to reach the fridgerator ........

And play in the water!!!

Who knows how all those scribbles got on the walls?

Definitely not by the same one found here playing in the toilet with a whole roll of toilet paper!

Definitely not!

After a few long days at home...we escaped for a much needed shopping trip. We also got to go to church on Sunday! That's always a highlight to our week. Samara gets to meet up with her partner in crime... and it becomes Trouble x's 2!

My Oldest

2010-02-24T11:14:00.000-08:00

I have been so proud of Dalton this past year. Of all the changes that has taken place this past year, Dalton has had to deal with the most as he is the oldest. He understands more of what takes place and he has more emotional attachments to places and people. Even though he was my first nephew and as an aunt I thought I would never love another niece/nephew as much, my relationship with him as "mom" has at times been difficult. It is not his fault...he has been through a lot emotionally and has dealt with so much at an early age that the word "confused" probably does not even begin to expain how he has felt at times.

Dalton is definitely our "sensitive" child. He is small for his age but has a huge heart. He can perceive my mood and always comes up behind me and gives me a neck massage when I am stressed or tells me he loves me when I need it most. He takes what people say to heart and he tries so hard to fit in with others. He loves to hang out and play video games with Dustin and where he used to always want to go with me shopping, etc now he prefers to stay with Dustin. Dalton does not handle criticism well and can be just as stubborn as me! He is a worrier and I can tell that he really thinks about things. His teachers all say he is a sweetheart. The way he plays with his sisters and takes care of Samara melts my heart. He is a very good big brother and his sisters are so blessed to have him on their side!

As he is the oldest, we have to face new hurdles and challenges with Dalton first. I'm finding that this can be a trial and error process and honestly sometimes I'm not sure what to do. Take for example the other day when I was getting on to him for something at a church function and in front of everyone he yelled at me, "You are not my mom!" I knew these words would come from him and Lyric one day but I was sooo not ready. And even though I knew they were said out of frustration they stung none the less. Thankfully I kept my mouth shut and let the moment pass. Note....I am not always this calm and understanding I have done my fair share of reacting without thinking it through. In a world that has been nothing but turbulent, I realize more and more that my reactions to his behaviour can either add fuel to the fury or can provide peace and comfort. It's not easy and I definitely have to ask for patience and help from God on a daily basis but the neat thing is I see great changes taking place in Dalton's life. He is growing up, he's thinking about his decisions, and he knows who to go to when he is in need. As I put Dalton to bed a couple of nights ago, he had a fever and was not feeling well at all. He turned to me and even though we pray every night he said, "Mom, could you please pray that Jesus will help me feel better?"

My friends that took Dalton to the Bronx Zoo with their two boys e-mailed me some pics. Here are the 3 boys being goofy!

Too cute!

Explorers on the look out!

It's a bear!

And another!

Dalton had a great day with his friends!

Winter Break Getaway and More

2010-02-23T11:46:00.000-08:00

Here in New York the kids have a February winter break. It is like an early spring break and at the particular school Dustin and the kids are at they have 7 school days off. Before you get jealous let me remind you that school is not out for the year here until the end of June. The break was extended further when school was closed 2 days prior to the break due to a snowstorm. Thankfully about a month ago Dustin and I planned to take the kids on a 3 day getaway at an indoor waterpark upstate New York during the winterbreak. We definitely had cabin fever and could not wait to get away and into a warmer climate even if it was indoors.

So we left on a Sunday and we even took the kids favorite "sitter" with us. We had a fabulous trip. We stayed at the hotel/indoor waterpark almost the entire time. It was perfect because we were able to go to the room and take naps or rest when needed. All the Looney Tunes were there and the kids loved dancing with them at the Valentines party and bedtime stories. Dalton and Lyric definitely love the water. They had a blast and went down every waterslide they could! Samara is much more timid. It amazes me how different her personality is. It took her a long time to warm up to the water and even then she was very cautious. We finally got her to go down the baby slide and I think she enjoyed it. Of course I forgot my camera...so there are no picures. On the last day we played in the water until noon. Then we cleaned up and had lunch and took the kids to an indoor moon bounce place. We let them burn off any extra energy before we headed home. Thankfully they were tired and slept most of the way home because it was snowing again and the drive home was a long one.

I had to return to work the next day and I was tired. But I am so blessed! Every day that week I came home to 3 happy kids and a wonderful husband who finished all our laundry and kept our house clean. He even helped Dalton finish his school project.

Dalton got to go to the Bronx zoo one day with some friends. He said he had lots of fun! I asked him if he was cold but I think he was just glad to be away from the girls!

The kids all had dentist appointments during their break. Dalton did great as usual. Lyric was such a big girl and actually let the dentist clean her teeth for the first time. I think it had to do with the Dora tv she watched while they cleaned her teeth and the ice cream I bribed her with! It was Samara's first dental visit and as expected she didn't like anyone looking at her teeth. But she survived and even told the dentist "Thank you" on our way out. Most important no one had cavities!

Dalton started running a fever this past Sunday. Thankfully he was better by Monday night and was able to go to school today. I think everyone was glad to get back to a normal routine today, especially Dustin. He does not like staying at home a lot but he has been wonderful!

I'm really getting ready for Spring. I noticed yesterday that our days are already getting longer. In the dead of winter here..it can be dark as early as 4:30 in the afternoon. Sunday was a beautiful sunny day and it did not get dark until almost 6:00 p.m. Unfortunately it has been cloudy and rainy since then and we are expecting another snow storm in just a couple of days. We have been watching the Olympics and helping the kids with their Academic Fair projects. Unfortunately Lyric's project requires that we grow a plant from a seed. We haven't seen anything come up yet but we are praying for this plant to grow! Lyric asks me daily if it has grown. I'm not so sure it will!

30

2010-02-21T16:55:00.000-08:00

So I hit the big 30 during the month of January. I was not really that excited about turning 30 but since then I have already learned to appreciate being in my 30's! As they say with age comes wisdom! So hopefully I'm getting a little bit wiser!

I was blessed to have my mom, Richard, and nephew Kuper visit for my birthday. We really enjoyed spending time together. We didn't do any sightseeing as they have done most of that already. We did however go to the mall on the day of my birthday. We took the kids to Robot Galaxy where Dalton built a robot and to Build A Bear Workshop where Lyric built a Hello Kitty and Kuper and Samara both built puppies. We also took the kids to see the new Chipmunk movie. They loved it! We did some shopping and after a long day we met with several friends at the Fire and Ice Grill for dinner. Oh I almost forgot my husband showered me with gifts as well. I received a beautiful bouquet of roses before leaving the house that morning along with a gift certificate to my favorite hair and nail salon. Dustin also surprised me by having the cutest cake made for our dinner that evening. I couldn't have asked for a better day!

I didn't take hardly any pictures the entire weekend. This is actually the only one I took and I forgot to download the pictures Richard took. So here is Mamaw with 3 of her grandbabies. I don't know where Dalton was. I have learned so much from my mom. She is a great source of strength to me. I love her so much and as I get older and face situations with my own children I am aware more and more of the struggles she faces as a mother and of the sacrifices she has made for me. I hope that I am as good of a mother to my children as she was and is to me. I am so thankful that she was able to be with me on my 30th. There are days when I miss her so much...like today.

Drama Queen

2010-01-29T11:52:00.000-08:00

My little drama queen has been keeping me busy! Last week I had a parent teacher conference with Lyric's teacher. She told me that Lyric was a bright child but that she could be a little manipulative. "What? Not my Lyric!" I said. According to the teacher Lyric refused to say her alphabet or even identify basic shapes such as a circle and then Lyric proceeded to tell her teacher with great drama and tears, her momma NEVER lets her practice her letters or her shapes and that was why she didn't know them. How could I respond to that! I really just had to laugh. Especially since I know Lyric knows all her letters and her shapes. In fact we had just practiced them all with flash cards and her Dora Shape book. Fortunately Lyric's teacher was well aware that Lyric knew her alphabet and shapes but I still felt the need to explain and justify myself. I guess we are going to have to work on telling the truth a little more than on our letters and shapes!

Lyric still gets some of her words confused. Particularly when this situation occurs. "Lyric did you hit Dalton?" Looking at me with big earnest eyes. "I did it on purpose mommy". Trying not to laugh, "Lyric do you mean you did it on accident?" "No, I did it on purpose, I didn't mean to" LOL....sometimes all I can do is just laugh.

The other night we were going to eat out and Lyric informed me that she did not want to eat any Mexicans! I expained to her that we don't eat people! I guess she is tired of the Spanish food around the corner from the church. I on the other hand love it!

Lyric has become the little mommy to Samara and Samara eats it up. They play house together. Lyric holds Samara, dresses her up, and pushes her around in the baby stroller (until it broke!). I love watching them play together and to see the bond they are developing.

Lyric is still the most energetic one in the house. Some days I am tired just watching her but I would not trade her for anything. No one in the world does my hair and makeup like Lyric!

18 Months and going Potty...What's next?

2010-01-29T11:36:00.000-08:00

I'm a total crybaby when I think about Samara growing up. I never thought I would be this way but everytime she does something new or outgrows something I get so sentimental. So even though most parents would be thrilled if their child decided to potty train themselves...I am a little sad that over the past month that is exactly what Samara decided to do.

We bought Samara a little potty and put it in the bathroom. I had no intention of potty training her until she turned two this summer but I thought it might be a good thing if she was used to it. I never tried to make her sit on it or even asked her if she wanted to go peepee. But one day about a week after Christmas she came into the bathroom and pointed at her little potty. I asked her if she needed to go peepee and she shook her head yes. So I took off her diaper and let her sit on it. I was not even really paying attention when all of a sudden the potty started singing! Apparently we bought the musical potty! Samara went peepee the first time she sat on her potty. She continued to go into the bathroom over the next week at various times and go peepee. I never made her go or pushed her to go. It was just something she wanted to do and has continued to do.

So at this point Samara wears a diaper at night. She goes peepee first thing in the morning and then I put a diaper back on her. When she gets to school her teacher puts her in big girl panties and she wears them all day. She does have accidents but overall is doing great! She even went #2 in the potty last week! I continue to put her in diapers when we are going to be away from home or school. I'm definitely not ready to take her to a public restroom and she is still so little.

My baby girl is growing up more and more every day. She had her 18 month check up last week. She weighs 23 lbs and is in the 78th percentile for height. She is totally healthy and continues to be off of all medications. She is saying more and more words every day. I love that she is learning to pray and ends her prayers by saying "MAN!" as loud as she can. From time to time she gives us a good glimpse of her wild side in the form of miniature tantrums. But they are usually very short lived and she usually goes to find Dalton or Lyric for sympathy. It is too cute! Oh...she also does this really cheesy but cute smile where she shows her front teeth when I take her picture.

PaPa and NaNa

2010-01-23T17:43:00.000-08:00

As I mentioned in my earlier post...PaPa and NaNa were supposed to arrive on Christmas day but due to a crazy Oklahoma bizzard they were not able to leave until the Monday after Christmas. So I was definitely a little sad on Christmas day but glad that we had kept it a surprise and the kids had no idea what they were missing. In fact we didn't tell the kids that NaNa and PaPa were coming at all and Monday evening when we went to pick them up at the airport, they actually thought we were flying somewhere and Lyric couldn't understand why we didn't take any bags! I thought I would die from anticipation when we were waiting for them to get off the plane. The kids were so surprised they didn't even recognize them at first!

Here is NaNa and her girls! I'm sure she will love me posting this one!We took NaNa and PaPa sight seeing despite the freezing cold temperatures. You can't go sightseeing in New York City without experiencing the subway! Dalton and Lyric are becoming pros! The kids loved playing on the BIG piano at FAO Swartz on 5th Ave.

One day the kids stayed home with the sitter and we went out for some more sight seeing. Here is PaPa trying on some NY gangsta bling while we were in China town.

We took a trip on the Staten Island Ferry to see the Statue of Liberty. The sight never gets old to me. I'm so thankful to live in America and to have the freedoms we have everyday.

We did more sightseeing in two days than I have done in a long time. From Central Park, Time Square, St. Patricks Cathedral, the Statue of Liberty, to China Town. Sightseeing is not all we did though. We definitely ate some good food! Dad had to try out the steaks at Ruths Chris Steakhouse and I don't think he was dissapointed. One evening we went with friends to Ninja NewYork. Dad heard about it on the Food Network and it was definitely an experience. I was proud of myself for trying food that I normally would never try. We had lots of fun!

Here is Samara and PaPa the day they left. Like the other grandbabies...she has learned that PaPa knows how to spoil with candy and backrubs!

We sent PaPa and NaNa home on a full stomach by taking them to Katz Deli and Veniero's Bakery just before taking them to the airport. We had so much fun and are so thankful that they came to visit. We are truly blessed to have them in our life!

Christmas...a little late!

2010-01-18T17:29:00.001-08:00

I know I'm way, way, way behind. But we've been busy ....and when we haven't been busy I've chosen to spend time just enjoying my family. I have lots to blog about and share! We had a great Christmas! We spent the holiday at home and it was nice staying at home and not traveling from here to there!

Daddy in his Steelers Santa hat getting ready to ready the story about baby Jesus Christmas Eve.

Me and the kids reading "Twas the Night Before Christmas".

This is the best we could do of the kids in front of the tree Christmas morning. Its a pretty typical picture...Lyric modeling and Samara trying to get away!

Dalton wanted spy gear for Christmas....

Lyric wanted a Furr Real Kitty......

I don't really know what Samara wanted but she liked her pony...

and her ball popper toy. It was actually the favorite!

The kids were supposed to have another surprise Christmas day...but unfortunatey a winter storm in Oklahoma kept that from happening. PaPa and NaNa did show up several days later to spend some time with us. More to come about their visit in my next post!

Lyric sang in church the Sunday after Christmas for the first time with her friend, Eliana. To say she is not bashful is an understatement! I am so proud of her! Lyric always has a song on her lips and is moving to the beat.

It's Beginning to Look Like Christmas....

2009-12-21T17:54:00.000-08:00

We have been busy with Christmas programs, baking, decorating, and digging out of the snow! Thats right we had about a foot of snow this past weekend. The kids absolutely loved playing in the snow and we even took them sledding. We had bought them sleds for Christmas and gave them early so they could play.

The kids can hardly wait for Christmas to get here. We are planning on having a lot of family time on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. I really want to just enjoy spending time together.
Unfortunately Dalton no longer believes in Santa Clause. He came home from school today and told me. I was really surprised he hadn't figured it out yet but he said a kid at school told him and he thought about it and agreed. I asked him what made him think Santa wasn't really real and he said that it was because reindeer really couldn't fly. When I asked him how he knew that he said "Because they don't have wings" LOL! Thankfully he has agreed not to tell Lyric or Samara yet!

Lyric continues to keep us laughing. Here are just a few of our recent conversations with her.

We put up a nativity set with the kids and each night we would put up one piece and read a story about that character. Lyric was so excited and everynight she would say who it was i.e. Mary, Joseph, the Shephard, etc.. then the night came where we pulled out the baby and she said.."It's baby Moses!" We gently informed her that it was baby Jesus!

Lyric came home from school and asked me if I knew the song, "Jesus born in Buffaloham"!

My mom sent the kids a package with Christmas ornaments and new toothbrushes. I was putting their new toothbrushes out and putting their old ones in a plastic sack to throw away when Lyric asked, "Mom, are we gonna send those to Kuper?" I informed her that we would not be sending Kuper their old toothbrushes! I wonder if she thinks he sent them his old toothbrushes?!

Much more to share including pictures but for now I have many present to wrap! Wishing all our friends and family a very Merry Christmas!

Santa

2009-12-06T17:39:00.001-08:00

Getting Samara to quit crying while sitting on Santa's lap......DIFFICULT!

Getting Lyric to stop talking to Santa for 5 seconds.......CHALLENGING!

Getting all 3 kids to all look at the camera while seeing Santa........IMPOSSIBLE!

Thankful...

2009-12-01T17:47:00.000-08:00

I am thankful for a love like this......

I am thankful for a miracle like this......

I am thankful for blessings like this......

I am thankful for joy like this......

I am thankful for moments like this......

and this........

and this.........

but most of all I am thankful for a family like this ..........

This post is a bit late. But I am truly thankful for all that God has blessed me with. We really enjoyed Thanksgiving this year. It was filled with great food, shopping, and relaxing at home together.

City Life!

2009-11-17T17:18:00.000-08:00

So you might be wondering just what our city life is like....

On weekdays Dustin and I wake up around 4:30 a.m. (That's right a.m.!) I wake the kids up at 5:35 and we are out the door by 6:15. Generally I ride with Dustin and the kids and they drop me off at the subway station by their school. Dustin and the kids go on to school and I take the subway to my office where I begin work at 7:30. The kids all go to school with Dustin and Samara stays in the class next to Dustin's classroom. There are 4 one year olds in her room and she loves going there! I get off work at 4:00 and I take the subway home, Dustin and the kids drive home after school and we are usually all home by 5:30. Then as most working parents know its a race to get supper cooked, homework finished, lunches packed, baths, books read, hugs, kisses, prayers, and all kids to bed by 8:00. One of my favorite times of the day is when the kids are all in bed asleep and Dustin and I have an hour or two (depending on how tired we are) of quiet time alone! One or two days a week I work from home instead of going to the office or working in the field. This really helps me keep things in order at home.

After school and work we head to the church on Friday evenings where we have services for kids, youth and adults. Dustin and I are currently helping out with the youth. It is neat to see some of the kids we had 6 and 7 years ago now in youth. Saturday mornings we have about an hour or two of "cleaning the apartment". Then we spend the day having family time unless we have something special going on at the church. Sundays we go to church which is close to an all day event here! Our church is located on the lower east side of Manhattan and we absolutely love our church family here. We usually leave church around 2:00, stop somewhere for food, and end the day relaxing at home and preparing for the next week.

That's just a quick run down of our new life. The kids are all doing so well. They are trying new things, eating new foods, and learning. Last week we purchased necessities, candy, and toys for needy children and Dalton and Lyric took the boxes to school. Dalton told me after school that day that he got up during Chapel and spoke in front of 2nd through 5th graders about how he felt about giving. Too say I was so proud is an understatement. Lyric has been memorizing memory verses at school and comes home so excited about what she has learned. I feel so blessed that they are going to a school where there is such diversity but also where they have teachers and staff that love them and where they can learn about God. I see Dalton and Lyric growing and changing so much. It is amazing to see this new life for them. A life where there is not constant uncertainty or worry of what will happen tomorrow.

This Saturday we are having family pictures made at Central Park. I'm really excited because it will be our first family picture with all 5 of us. Afterwards we will be going to the church and helping with Boxes of Love. A church in Greenwich, CT partners with our church and we pack about 40 to 50 boxes with a turkey, pies and canned goods to take to needy families in the area around our church. We break up in teams and deliver the boxes and pray with the families. It is a very rewarding experience and I am excited for Dalton and Lyric to be able to participate.

There is so much to do this time of year, baking, christmas shopping, decorating, etc...... and I still haven't finished hanging stuff in our apartment. Oh well! It will eventually get done. I'm looking forward to having some time off of work next week...to spend time with my family, eat some delicious food, and to decorate for Christmas. It will be a fun time and a sad time. We will definitely be missing all of our friends and family back in Oklahoma. Wish we could be with you all!

Fun, Fun, Fun!

2009-11-02T17:58:00.000-08:00

Last Tuesday we celebrated Dustin's 32nd birthday! We had dinner at Dustin's favorite restaurant, Edo's. We also had cake and Samara had her 1st taste of Chocolate Icing! She is doing so well and has been off of her reflux meds for over 2 weeks. No problems...just a very happy baby! The week was full of preparations for our church's Fall Festival. Which was on Saturday evening. The kids could not hardly wait until it was time to dress up. They had so much fun! Dalton was a super cute Mario!

Lyric was an adorable Strawberry Shortcake!

Samara was a beautiful Butterfly! I really wanted to get a picture of all three of the kids together but Samara wasn't having it. She is on the move and doesn't have time for pictures. Oh well...maybe next year!

Here are the kids and some friends from church...I couldn't believe they kept their costumes on all night and they totally had a blast at the Festival.

Here is Samara and me during the Fall Festival. Dustin and I helped organize volunteers for all of the games. It was a lot of fun and exhausting! There were so many kids and families from the neighborhood that came. It is really an awesome outreach. The last time we were in New York we held the Fall Festival inside the church but it grew so much that now they rent the outside area of a nearby school and all the moon bounce activities. They also provide cotton candy, popcorn, and a sack with goodies for every kid. I don't know what the total count was but I know there were a ton of people there even with the rain that came in around 8:00 that night.

I had to add this pic. Isn't this girl adorable. She was all dressed up for church on Sunday! Dalton and her were mad that they didn't have Sunday School this Sunday. It was cancelled due to the Fall Festival and clean up. They earned extra Sunday School dollars this weekend by helping out so much. They are really excited about that!

Hopefully this week will be back to normal. We are slowly getting into our new normal routine. Can't believe it is already November and Thanksgiving is just around the corner!

Where Does the Time Go?

2009-10-26T18:22:00.000-07:00

My goal was to update once a week....but I am already behind! Time is definitely precious and I've learned that my time with the kids is more important than being on the computer so I blog when I feel like it after the kids are in bed. The week before last we had visitors! I know we just moved and we barely had unpacked but it was sooo much fun! Dustin's cousin, Tanner, and his wife, Amanda, and their precious little girl, Ava.We had beautiful weather and then they came and brought all the cold and rainy weather they have been having in Oklahoma. We really enjoyed our time with them. Amanday and I went to see Mamma Mia while the guys stayed home with the kids. We had a blast! Especially because we had awesome seats in the 2nd row right behind the conductor! The next evening Tanner and Dustin went to a Yankees playoff game while Amanda and I stayed home with the kids. We watched the movie Mamma Mia and decided that the play was much better. On Saturday we took the kids to a Children's Museum in Manhattan. Here are the kids all bundled up waiting on the train (Subway). Dalton loved building things with blocks at the museum.
Samara is one crazy driver!

Lyric surprisingly did not cooperate this day for pictures. Here's a pic of Samara on the train. She's a true City Girl!

Tanner and Amanda left that Sunday and with them went the bad weather! Last week we enjoyed our first full week in New York without any visitors! It was nice to get into a regular schedule. The kids are doing wonderful at their new school. Our days start extremely early but the kids hardly complain. They are experiencing new things. Dalton loves watching all the cars and Lyric is curious about all the different languages that people speak. She asked me the other day if she goes to a "Spanish School"! I told her no but that she goes to a diverse school that has children from many different countries so they may speak different languages. There are not many blond haired blue eyed kids here and she is definitely noticing the difference! I think she really likes it because all the older girls at the school think that Lyric and Samara are SO CUTE! I do too! Dalton has to fix his hair by himself everyday. It is quite interesting because he takes forever to "fix" his hair and when he is finished I sometimes have to hide my smile. Let's just say he has been having some "fun" hairstyles.

I recently took Samara off of her acid reflux medication and this past weekend we gave Samara Spaghetti with red sauce for the 1st time. She did wonderful! She slept all night and I did not notice any problems!! She really enjoyed the spaghetti!

She loves macaroni & cheese too!

So we were busy this weekend looking for a 2nd vehicle. We didn't find one yet. I attended a bridal shower for a friend that is getting married in December. It was at a tea house in Manhattan. It was lots of fun getting away for a while and enjoying the tea party! Dustin took Dalton and Lyric to see Where the Wild Things Are. I think they had a great time. Samara stayed with a sitter. The rest of the weekend was spent going to church and preparing for the church's Fall Festival this coming weekend. I will share more about that later. We are all doing really well. I can't tell you how proud of the kids I am. They are really amazing!

Columbus Day Apple Picking

2009-10-13T18:41:00.000-07:00

My friend Deidre and I used to go apple picking every year on Columbus Day. It is hard to believe that 4 years ago to the day we signed a contract on a house in Mustang. After we got back home from apple picking that day we faxed the signed contract to our realtor. Now here we are back in NY four years later picking apples with 5 little helpers! The kids had so much fun picking and eating the apples. Even Samara and Marcus, Deidre's little boy, loved eating the apples. The weather was perfect fall weather and the leaves on the trees were absolutely beautiful. After apple picking we went to Chilis to eat dinner and then finished the day with some shopping! It was a great end to our weekend. It was even better when we returned home and found out that Daddy had finished all the house projects that needed done! I'm truly married to the greatest husband and father. Samara loved the Molten Lava Cake at Chilis. Got to love that girls' crazy hair!
Isn't this the most perfect picture. She loved sitting on all the apples that had fallen off the trees! The only problem was she tried to eat them even if they were yucky.

Dalton said he found the best tasting apple ever!

Samara and Marcus taking a break from apple picking to tast there hard work!

Lyric trying her apple.

All the kids with their apples!

Today was the kids first day at school. They all had a great day! I had a great first day of work as well. Didn't do much since my computer hadn't come in yet so I got to go home at noon! Can't beat that for a first day at work!

Quick Update!

2009-10-11T19:03:00.000-07:00

OK....so I don't really know where to begin but this is a very quick catch up!

We are all finally in NYC! Yes that includes Dalton and Lyric!
We enrolled Dalton and Lyric at Evangel Christian School. They will be going to the same school Dustin teaches at. Dalton will be in 2nd grade and Lyric will be in Pre-K. They are both so excited and everyone at the school was so nice to them.
Samara will also be going to the school with Dustin and she will be in a daycare class where there is 4 one year olds! They are all kids of teachers at the school. Her nursery is next to Dustin's classroom. The kids will all start school on Tuesday since Monday is a Holiday.
We are working on getting completely settled in our apartment. It will take some time but most of the boxes are finally unpacked.
My grandma helped me fly to NY with all 3 kids she has been here all week and leaves tomorrow. She has been such a great help.
I start my job on Tuesday.
Dustin loves his new job!
Tomorrow we are taking the kids Apple Picking! I'm sure we will get some pumpkins as well. The leaves up here are completely gorgeous.
It feels great to have my family all together once again and to be back in NYC!

I hope to keep all our family and friends back in Oklahoma updated more often.

Update

2009-09-07T04:46:00.000-07:00

It has been a long time since I blogged last and a lot has happened in that time. Just a quick update. My transfer to NYC has not been finalized and instead of getting upset over this I decided that God wanted me in OK for a while longer. So for the past few weeks I have been living with my dad and his wife in Elk City and traveling to OKC and staying with friends 2 nights a week. About two weeks ago I received a call from DHS that I needed to pick up Dalton and Lyric. It is a long story but I will not elaborate on here. I was in OKC at the time so my dad picked them up as well as Kuper ,my sisters 1 1/2 year old. My mom currently has Kuper and Dalton, Lyric, Samara, and myself have been staying at my dads. Dustin and I have filed for an emergency hearing to request that Dalton and Lyric move with us to NYC. This is a major step but one that we feel God is leading us in. We have already spoke with our landlord and we have received approval for Dalton and Lyric to attend the private Christian school that Dustin will be teaching at. Living in NYC with 3 children will be no small task but I know that God will be with us all the way.
I am currently in NYC helping Dustin get moved into our new apartment. I will return to OK tomorrow. I have enjoyed getting to see him over the past few days and Samara was so happy when she saw him....well actually she cried but sometimes that's what us girls do when we are happy! Speaking of Samara...she is walking like nobodies business! Yesterday she wanted to walk down the street instead of us carrying her. So we each held a hand and she walked down the streets of NYC like she was big stuff! Samara also absolutely loves having Dalton and Lyric around again. When they are wrestling on the floor she just gets in there with them.
Dalton and Lyric are doing well. Dalton is in 2nd grade and Lyric is in Pre-K in Elk City right now. They enjoy going to feed the cows with PaPa! Dalton has even helped bale hay!
I would like to ask for prayer for the following:
Please pray for us, Dalton and Lyric, the judge, and my sister on September 14th. We want what is best for Dalton and Lyric.
Please pray for timing regarding my job. I need to stay in Oklahoma until everything is cleared up with Dalton and Lyric but I also need to get to NYC as soon everything is finished. I'm not looking forward to spending another month without my husband.

MIA - Missing In Action!

2009-08-04T12:28:00.000-07:00

So what have we been doing? Packing, going to NYC, packing, going to MiMi and PaPa Tad's, packing, getting ready for a garage sale, ....have I mentioned packing?!

Yep...we have been busy, busy! Everything has happened so fast. If you haven't heard...we are moving back to NYC! Dustin accepted a position at a private christian school in Queens, NY. I always told him he reminded me of Doug Heffernen! Now he will be my King of Queens! Only we won't be living in Queens...we will be living in The Bronx! More about that later!

We had already scheduled a trip to NY in July and it worked out that Dustin was able to meet with his new principal and for us to take care of some things while we were there. We also took time to eat and enjoy our friends.

This is Samara and Marcus. They are six weeks apart. They both love to eat and this night was no exception!

Samara on our way to Pennsylvania. Eating again!

Samara and Marcus trying to figure out the hotel tv.

Our main reason for going to Pennsylvania was to see Dustin's sister, Amy, and her little girl, Rachel. Isn't she a doll? We hadn't seen Amy in over 5 years and were so glad to get to spend the day with them.

This is our new home! We will be living on the top floor. The first time we moved to NY it took us 3 months to find an apartment. We found this apartment in 3 days and I was way more picky this time around. I specifically asked God for 2 things - an apartment with a washer and dryer hook up (so I wouldn't have to spend time hauling our clothes to a laundry mat) and a parking spot (so we wouldn't have to look for parking on the street every day or walk a long way to our house at night). These may seem like things you would expect but in NYC they are a rare commodity. I need to take a minute and just say...God totally cares about those little things. Our apartment has a built in washer and dryer so we don't even have to bring ours. We also have our own parking spot beside the house! We are so blessed! Not only that but the landlord wanted to paint the entire apartment before we move in and he let me choose the colors! That is so amazing to me because one of the things I was sad about was Samara's room and it not looking the way it does now. There are many other awesome things God has done for us over the past four weeks but I will have to share that later.

This past weekend we picked Dalton and Lyric up and went to MiMi's (Dustin's mom) house for the weekend. We had a great time and even got to spend time with Dustin's grandparents as they came for the weekend as well. The kids swam, played with the animals, drove the chuckwagon, and did all sorts of fun things. We even got to stay in the travel trailer which the kids thought was fun! We were so glad to get away for the weekend and take a break from the move.

Samara loved her Papa Tad. She wanted to be with him the entire weekend.

Monday night I took Dalton and Lyric back to their mom's. They are really doing good and seem to be adjusting well. Of course things will never be what I wish for them but I feel like my sister is doing better than she has in the past and I know that Dalton and Lyric need to adjust to one household. I really wish I could just pack them up and take them with us but I know that is not to be. We will still go to court one last time in October but this was the last time we have them before we move. They are both getting so big and are full of life. It's hard to believe that Lyric will be in Kindergarten and Dalton will be in 2nd grade. They grow up too fast.

That's what I have been doing while MIA! I'm sure I will continue to be MIA for 2 more weeks. Dustin leaves August 14th. Please pray for him and Richard as they will be driving to NY with all of our stuff. Samara and I will continue to be in Oklahoma until my job transfer takes place. We will be staying with NaNa and PaPa! Oh what fun that will be!

1 Year Check-up and Pictures

2009-07-18T20:00:00.000-07:00

Samara had her one year check-up this week. She weighted 21 lbs and is 29 1/4 inches long. ShShe seems to be growing over night. Samara is in the 50th percentile for weight and height. She had to get 2 shots and her blood checked to see if she is anemic. That seems to get harder as she gets older, especially when she looks at me with those pretty blue eyes that are so sad.

I took Samara to have her 1 year pictures made today. They turned out great of course I think she is just the cutest 1 year old ever!

So shy......

Not Really!!

First Birthday Party and First Steps....

2009-07-13T19:29:00.000-07:00

Samara had a great birthday party. All her friends and family came to celebrate with her and I think she had a lot of fun!

Here is the big birthday cake! I think it turned out so cute! Birthday Girl!

She did not really care for opening presents. There were too many people and other fun things to do!

This box looks fun to play with!

Time for birthday cake! Not so sure at first. She just took little tastes with her finger.

Oh yay!!! Cake tastes yummy!

Forget being proper....I'm digging in!

Nothing better than a fistful of cake in the mouth....

except for being able to put your foot in it too!

All cleaned up now and riding my new horsey!

Samara was exhausted after her party...but she was one happy baby!

The day after the party we went to church and Mamaw and Peepaw stayed the night so they came with us. Then we had lunch at Pops in Arcadia. We ate outside and it was so hot! That afternoon after Mamaw and Peepaw left we were playing with Samara and she took her first 3 steps! I though my heart would explode! I was so happy that Dustin and I both were there to see her first steps. She then took 2 steps but wouldn't you know the stinker wouldn't walk anymore when we got the camera out. She would just lean over like she was doing a belly flop because she knew we would catch her. I'm sure it won't be long before she is walking everywhere! She is growing up too fast.

Only God Knew...

2009-07-09T06:12:00.000-07:00

Only God knew.... the gift he had in store for us on July 9, 2008. It makes me tear up just thinking about how I had longed for a child for so long and was blessed beyond belief on this hot summer day. Samara Diane Penland was born at 5:59 p.m. She weighed 5 lbs 15 oz and was 18 1/2 inches long. I do not really remember her crying just staring wide eyed at me. I'm sure I was staring just as wide eyed back.

Only God knew.....the way we would worry about her constantly and check on her countless times throughout the night just to make sure she was okay.

Only God knew.....the special place she would have in her daddy's heart, the smiles she would bring into his life, and the tender moments that daddy's and little girls share together.

Only God knew....the way I would love her so much that my heart would feel like it would burst, the excitement I would feel everyday when I picked her up out of her crib, and the special way she would hold my hand at night.

Only God knew....the joy she would bring into our lives.

There is no way to describe the past year except such blessing. Every day with Samara has been special and I will never take this gift for granted. I only wish we could hold on to her and this moment a little bit longer.

Today we celebrated her birthday with just the three of us. We let her open her presents and we sang Happy Birthday to her about a million times. She loved it! Saturday we will be having her actual "party" with friends and family.

Just a side note...we had a diaper blowout and the birthday onesie was no longer wearable!

Here are some things about Samara as she turns 1.

Samara has only 2 bottom teeth. She got these when she was 9 months old. I keep thinking she is getting some more in but not yet!
She still does not have much hair although she is really working on it! Her hair is still light and in the sunlight it looks like she might have some red in there.
She is pulling up and wants to walk really bad. She tried really hard today but not quite yet. That being said, she can crawl faster than I ever imagined.

Samara loves to climb and mastered her first set of stairs at PaPa's last week. She about gave me a heart attack!

She can say baby, mama, dada, nana, dog, no, turtle, and tickle-tickle.
Her favorite toys are her baby dolls, stuffed animals, and her walker.
Samara loves to eat big food and is learning to drink out of her sippy cup. I do not know of any foods she does not like.
Samara is very alert and is interested in everything and how it works. She can be very serious. (Don't know where that came from!)
She loves kids but is not so sure about strangers. She does not really like being touched by people she doesn't know. I guess that is a good thing.

Turning 1 is such hard work!

Birthdays, Fireworks, and Independence

2009-07-06T18:48:00.000-07:00

It was a crazy busy weekend but we had a great time celebrating our country's Independence! We ate great food, spent lots of time with family, popped fireworks, and just enjoyed being together. My grandma had to have an unexpected surgery on Friday and thankfully everything went well. She was released from the hospital today and is doing great.

Samara had a great time celebrating the 4th. She really wants to play with all the big kids. She even stayed up for the fireworks which is something for her since she is usually asleep by 8:00. Fortunately the fireworks did not scare her one bit. She was such a good baby all weekend and was so happy to be spoiled rotten all weekend by her grandparents!

Here are some pics of our little firecracker!Our family!PeePaw & Mamaw with the grandkids! We bought them all Old Navy t-shirts! Samara was too interested in other things!Friday night we celebrated Dalton's 7th birthday! Happy Birthday Dalton!Saturday morning, Samara and I took a swim in Mamaw's hot tub. She had turned the heat of earlier in the week so it wouldn't be hot. Samara was fascinated with all the bubbles the jets made.Kuper! He had played hard!Here is my precious Lyric! She was lots of fun as usual!

Isn't that a cute 7 year old!

It was hard not to think about this time last year. I was 9 months pregnant and we were greatly anticipating the birth of our baby girl. It is amazing how much change a year can bring. It was much more fun celebrating the 4th with her in my arms compared to in my belly!

Father's Day and other Stuff

2009-06-24T19:43:00.001-07:00

This past weekend was lots of fun! Friday night we went to Dalton's T-ball game and picked him and Lyric up. I missed them so much! Lyric just cried when she saw me. It totally broke my heart. Samara was just as happy to see them too.Saturday we took them to the Science Museum. It was a good day. They did everything they could. Unfortunately I didn't get many pictures because we were so busy. Saturday evening we just stayed home and watched a movie. Sunday we went to church and then we went out to eat with friends at Red Robin. The kids love Red Robin and they all had to get a balloon on our way out! That afternoon their mom picked them up. It was hard to see them go again and to realize how much they are already changing.

For Father's Day Dustin got a new driver. He was so excited and I am glad that he liked it! He is such a good dad and Samara is so blessed to have him as her daddy! I love it when I'm working from home and I can hear him playing with her while I am in my office. Here are a few pics of Dustin and Samara playing together on Father's Day!

Peek-a-boo!

I love her eyes in this picture. Speaking of eyes..... Samara is going to have surgery on her tear ducts tomorrow. It is a routine surgery but still they will be putting her to sleep and all that not fun stuff. I'm sure all will go well and we can finally be done with yucky infected eyes! I know Samara will be glad when everyone quits rubbing and massaging them all the time.

Here's a pic of Samara right before she went to sleep tonight. She is so much like me. She likes to go to bed early! Speaking of...I need to get to bed we have to be at the hospital by 6 a.m.

This is what Samara did.....

2009-06-22T18:59:00.000-07:00

while we were away. Samara spent most of the week at my dad's and the weekend at my mom's while we were away. Everyone said she did great. She loves to be on the go! My dad's wife Cindy took pictures the entire week and made me a little picture book of what Samara did while we were gone. She also gave me the digital pics so I could post for your viewing pleasure!

It looks like Samara had as much fun as we did!

Playing with the kleenex!

Playing in the tent Nana made!Going to the farm with PaPa!

Driving the tractor!

Taking a piggyback ride!

Helping with the laundry!

Playing with NaNa!

Now time for some rest! No better place than PaPa and NaNa's bed!

Samara is so blessed to have such great grandparents! Thank you Dad and Cindy and Mom and Richard for watching her and loving her like you do.

Haleakala Crater and Other Pics

2009-06-22T18:11:00.000-07:00

The rest of our trip to Maui included a road trip up Haleakala Crater, a large volcano that hasn't erupted in many years although they say it is still active, and lots of fun on the beach. I don't have many beach/water pics because we were having so much fun that I forgot to take pics. I might post some more pics when I get my water camera developed. Here are some pics of the rest of our trip!

Dustin enjoying a smoothie with his breakfast. He loved the fresh fruit on the island.

View of ocean and another island from our room.

Banyon tree. This tree was huge. Couldn't completely capture it with my camera. It looked like many trees but it was just one. It would grow out and then down.

I'm on top of the world!! Well on top of Haleakala Crater. It was so windy and extremely cold. It was so cool to be above the clouds though. It was very desolate and the soil was a very unique brown/black color.

These plants are called Silversword. The only place they grow in the world is Hawaii. They only bloom once and then they die. It takes them about 20 to 30 years before they bloom. It was one of the most unique plants I have ever seen. Here is a picture of a young Silversword and then one after it had bloomed. Unfortunately they were not in bloom while we were there. I am sure that it would have been really neat to see in bloom.

One last view from the volcano!

Finally, Our Beach! Maui has great beaches and we loved the beach right where we stayed. We spent our last day playing in the water with Boogie Boards. So much fun! We can't wait to go back and take Samara when she is older.

Road to Hana

2009-06-21T18:02:00.000-07:00

According to my husband, I am sometimes obsessive compulsive and when I get home from vacation tends to be one of those times. I think I need to get everthing done yesterday. I totally drive Dustin crazy getting "caught up" and doing house projects that I think need done immediately! So I am way behind on blogging about our trip but I have totally painted Dalton's old bedroom and turned it into my new office, rearranged our kitchen, and made Samara's birthday invitations! So I am feeling somewhat accomplished although I still feel the need to clean out our garage, put up some of Samara's too small clothes, and just organize. But enough with my need to clean and organize. Here is more about our trip!

The day after our anniversary we planned on taking the Road to Hana but Dustin woke up not feeling well. What we thought was food poisoning or a stomach virus turned out to be a trip to the ER and a kidney stone. Not very much fun for him but we are so thankful that he did not get ill while we were traveling to or from Hawaii and that he recovered within 24 hours and we only lost 1 day of our vacation.

So the very next day we took off on the Road to Hana! It was a 13 hour road trip that started with some humongous pancakes. I don't think this picture even does justice! We sure wish the waitress had told us how big they were because we ordered 3 all together! No we could not eat it all.

The Road to Hana is very windy, curvy roads on the back side of the island. The road has over 50 one lane bridges and many blind curves. There are many places to stop and hike to waterfalls. Here is one of our first stops - Twin Falls. There were two water falls. The second much larger. You had to wade through water to get to the water falls.

This picture is taken from underneath the water fall.

Here are some other waterfalls we saw along the way.

We stopped at a really cool black beach. It was made of little black stones and sand from the volcano. It was beautiful. The water looked so blue up against the black. The waves were crashing right onto the shore because this side of the island faces the open ocean.

Then we made it to Hana. But it is really not anything to write about. Just a small town with one General Store. The real attraction was Homoa Beach just outside of Hana. It is absolutely beautiful and was so fun to play in! I don't have any pictures to post because we used our water camera and we haven't developed it yet. Here is a pic of us along the way.

We made it to Hana but do you think we stopped when we saw this sign on the road?

Nope. We just went around it. Lucky for us it was a weekend and they were not doing any road construction. We made it to our final destination...Oheo Gulch also known as the 7 sacred pools. Here are pics of 2 of the lower pools. We did not hike to all of them. It was late in the day and we still had to retrace our way all the way back.
In fact it was so late and we were so tired by the time we got back to civilization that we decided to go straight to our hotel room to get showers and we just ordered in pizza for the night. It was a fun day spent together!

Maui - Vow Renewal

2009-06-11T19:10:00.000-07:00

We had a great time in Maui! So much to show and share but as you are aware so much work to do when you get home from vacation. ugh! So I will post several times over the next few weeks about our (mostly)wonderful trip. I will explain more about that later.

Here are some pics of our vow renewal on Ulua beach. At first I was a little unsure of how well it would turn out but it was so much fun getting dressed up and just having fun together! There were several people who watched from a distance. I think they thought we were actually getting married!

We had a lei exchange. It was lots of fun! Especially all the kissing involved! Apparently when you give someone a lei you kiss them on each cheek and then on the lips. I left those pictures out!

We also had a sand ceremony. Our colors were black and gold. Don't know why we chose those colors! Basically we each had a vase with black or gold sand and we poured the sand together symbolizing our unity. Then the minister took some of the sand we were standing on from the beach and put it on top! We were able to bring the sealed vase home with our black, gold, and Maui sand.

The first picture above says "Just Maui'd" Sorry I had to post one picture of us kissing on the beach. Shortly after a big wave came and got us a little wet!

Here we are at sunset enjoying each other and the beautiful scenery. It was a wonderful evening and we ended it with a awesome dinner at Ruth's Chris Steakhouse. We ate so much. It was absolutely delicious and a great way to celebrate 10 years of marriage!

Our Ten Year Journey...

2009-06-02T20:13:00.000-07:00

Dustin and I will be celebrating our 10 year anniversary this Friday. We leave for Maui tomorrow! I am excited about getting away. It was hard to leave Samara at my dad's tonight but I know that she will be spoiled rotten by the time we get back. I also know that it is good for Dustin and I to get away from everything and reconnect.

We are going to renew our vows in a beach ceremony on our actual anniversary. We have a few things planned that we want to do but a lot of rest and relaxation as well. We have finished packing and it is time to get a good night sleep before our long journey tomorrow. One of the journeys we have planned is the "Road to Hana". I have read several travel guides about this trip and they all say it is about the journey not necessarily the destination. Sometimes this is true of marriage. The journey is what makes a marriage special. I have been blessed to share my journey for the past 10 years with Dustin. He has been such a blessing to me for a number of reasons but for starters here are 10.....
1. I never ever doubt that he loves me. He tells me every day.
2. I know that I am the number 1 woman in his life.
3. He makes me laugh when no one else can.
4. He would do anything for me....yes even move back to Oklahoma
5. He gives the best back and head massages I have ever had.
6. He does not worry about what other people think and stays true to himself.
7. He picks out random (sometimes strange) songs and plays them to me while I cook supper. (Sometimes he sings too!)
8. He is the father of our beautiful baby girl, Samara. He loves her with all of his heart and he is a good dad.
9. The way he cares for and relates to his students.
10. For always being by my side no matter what the situation. He has been there for good and bad. For rich and poor. In sickness and in health.

God is Faithful

2009-05-31T17:59:00.000-07:00

That was the title of the message at church this morning. It couldn't have come at a better time in my life. I needed to hear the words that were spoken. Once again God began to heal the broken places in my heart. I have let myself believe lies and become bitter over Dalton and Lyric's situation. I even thought to myself on the way to church this morning, "This whole mess was for nothing." I felt angry, hurt, and bitter.

It is amazing how God can know our hearts before we do. The last bible story I read to Dalton and Lyric was the story of Joseph and how his brothers plotted to kill him and ended up selling him as a slave. In the end Joseph was not bitter and loved them despite how they had treated him. This story has stuck with me over the past two days and then today the speaker stated the following, "Don't be bitter, be better. God is faithful to be our comforter."

I am thankful for all my friends and family that prayed for us this weekend. I am thankful that God is with us every step of the way and that He is there to be our comfort. I miss them terribly even though they have only been gone for a day it is the knowing that they will not return and our life will change. It is so strange to always be making plans and caring for 3 and then to suddenly only have 1. The house feels empty and strange. I went back to their bedrooms to finish picking up tonight and they are so empty. I could not help but remember painting and decorating each of their rooms and the many nights we laughed and loved together. I know that as time passes it will not be so hard. I just have to focus on God and today and let Him take care of tomorrow.

Here are a few pics of the kids the morning before they moved.

I don't know what was up with the arm thing! They were being a little silly!

I promise my next post will not be sad and will be about something fun and exciting!

I Will Miss Them

2009-05-29T20:06:00.000-07:00

I have dreaded this night for the past 2 years. It is now here and I don't even know what to say. We had a wonderful night at the park. We made sandwiches and cookies to take with us. They had lots of fun and when we got home we all got baths. That was the easy part.

Telling Dalton and Lyric "goodnight" and praying with them for the last time before they move to their mom's house was heartwrenching. In fact I cried. I have not cried or showed any emotion to them about moving until tonight. I could not help it. Actually we all cried and then we prayed. I somehow straightened myself up enough to tell them goodnight on a happy note but the minute I left their rooms the tears started pouring again.

Tomorrow will be hard but it is all the days and weeks that follow without them that I will miss the most. Tonight a friend said to me, "Won't you miss Lyric's laugh?" I will most definitely miss her laugh among other things....
I will miss.....
their smiles
I will miss Lyric's mischievious laugh
I will miss the way Lyric calls me "mommy" and the way Dalton calls me "momma"
I will miss Dalton's sweet hugs
I will miss the way Lyric says to Dustin "me and mommy are the princesses and you and Dalton are the kings"
I will miss the way Lyric tells us a story about her day and it gets larger than life before she is finished
I will miss the way Dalton tries to be just like Dustin
I will miss watching them both dance while we are watching "American Idol" or "Dancing with the Stars"
I will miss the way they love and entertain Samara
I will miss Dalton telling me about his dreams every morning
I will miss playing hair and makeup with Lyric
I will miss all the bedtime stories, prayers, and kisses

I will miss them. They have forever changed my life and will forever hold a special place in my heart. I love you Dalton & Lyric.

Our Last Weekend....

2009-05-26T19:24:00.000-07:00

...as a family of 5 was all I had hoped for. We had so much fun! I am so thankful that we were able to really enjoy every day we had!

Saturday we took Dalton and Lyric to Frontier City. The weather was perfect. Warm enough but not too hot. The park was not that crowded and we were able to ride the rides with very little wait. It was so much fun. Dalton and Lyric are little dare devils! They both rode every ride that they could including some "big" roller coasters.

Sunday after church we took the kids to the zoo. It was very busy but we had a lot of fun! Dalton really enjoyed the dinosaur exhibit and Lyric as usual loved all the animals! Samara was not quite sure what to think but she had a good time and was a really good baby especially for missing her nap and it being pretty warm outside. Here are pics of the kids ready for church. I think they are absolutely adorable!

At the zoo!

That evening we had movie night and ate pizza while watching Mary Poppins! Dalton and Lyric had never seen it and it had been so long since I had watched it.

Monday we stayed home and relaxed! I set up the kids swimming pools in the backyard while Dustin finished up some work at the school. Wish I had pics of the kids playing in the water but I forgot. Samara didn't want to get in her pool. She would hold her legs up out of the water when I tried to put her down in it. We grilled out that evening with friends. It was a great way to end our long weekend. Great memories were made. In fact Dalton lost his 2nd tooth Monday night. He actually pulled it out and the tooth fairy not only left him money but a note under his pillow! He was so excited! I still remember when the tooth fairy left me a note.....that was quite a few years ago but the memory has never gone away.

Just an Update

2009-05-22T19:36:00.000-07:00

This momma has been sick. I did good just to make it through the week. Dalton and I both came down with strep throat on Monday. We are finally feeling better although my head still hurts in the evening. So that has been our week in a nutshell.

Samara did have her 10 month check up last Friday. She is growing, growing. She weighed 19 lbs 4 oz. and was 27 1/2 inches tall. I do say this alot here lately but time really is flying by. I can't believe I am starting to plan her first birthday. As Dustin would say, "tear". She has started walking with her push toy and walked across our entire living room without falling but she is not brave enough to let go yet. Although she is not walking she can move fast. A couple of days ago she crawled into our bedroom and shut the door and then cried because she couldn't get out. She still only has two bottom teeth but she knows how to use them! We are really looking forward to spending lots of time with her this summer.

Dalton and Lyric are doing well. They are excited about the end of the school year and all the fun activities that brings. Last week I attended Lyric's Pre-K slideshow/graduation. It brought tears to my eyes. It amazes me how much they grow and change their first year of school. I also attended Dalton's Reading Restaurant. He was my waiter and read me some great poems and stories written by none other than Dalton! It was a fun day!

I can't believe it is just one week until the big move. We are starting to pack more of their stuff and I can tell that it is going to be a tough week emotionally. We are finally going to be able to take them to Frontier City tomorrow. It looks like the weather will finally cooperate. I am really looking to a fun day with them. I am trying to focus on good things like my remaining time with Dalton and Lyric, our upcoming trip to Hawaii, and of course my little one. The next couple of weeks will be really busy so that will help me focus on other things. I always do better when I am busy. I hope everyone has a great memorial weekend!

One other thing....we are baby sitting Tuffy this weekend! My cousin called and asked if we could watch him since they are going out of town. He is acting like he never left! It feels weird. Samara absolutely loves him! She wanted to hug him but he was not so sure about that!

Just a Week Late...I am a Mom

2009-05-13T19:48:00.000-07:00

Okay so this post is just short of a week late but I have been a busy person and honestly with the week I have had Mother's Day was a little tough to write about.

I was so excited about this Mother's Day! For the first time in my life I was not just a caregiver, a foster parent, an aunt, or expecting to be a mom. I am a mom. I know it's silly but for the first mother's day in my life I feel like I can stand up and be acknowledged as a mom. Oh, I know I have been a mom for the past three years, but Dalton and Lyric have never been mine to keep and even though Lyric has called me "mom" since she was 1. I felt that I always had to clarify that I am actually her "aunt". Why? I don't know really. Maybe it was my way of preparing myself and her for the time when I would no longer be her mom.

But now.....well I am a mom. On July 9, 2008 a beautiful baby girl was laid on my stomach. She was mine. I don't have to pack and send her away on the weekends. I don't have to share the title "mom" with anyone else. I don't have to worry about the day when she will have to move and leave our family for good. She is mine as long as God sees fit to love and cherish and raise. I thank God every day for her. I don't know how I would be getting through the next few weeks without her. Her smiles fill my heart and reminds me of all things good.

Samara will never replace Dalton and Lyric. They were well....my first. They taught me more than I probably ever taught them, including what being a mom is all about. Oh...how I love them. My heart breaks thinking about the silence and emptiness that will soon envelop our house. I will never forget the first time Lyric called me "mom". She was in her high chair and we were getting ready to go to some DHS classes so that we could be approved to keep them long term. I couldn't believe my ears. In some ways is sounded like music to my ears as we had been trying to have a baby for a couple of years already and I longed to be called "mom". In other ways it made me want to cry when I realized all that my sister was missing out on. I tried hard to get Lyric to call me "Auntie" but if you know Lyric you know that when she has her mind made up about something she is a hard one to change! And so I have been her "mom" and will always be her "mom" when needed.

For some reason I didn't get a picture with Dalton on Mother's Day. I think he was too busy playing. I have not always done everything right but one thing I have done right is love Dalton and Lyric with all my heart. It is hard to deal with the change that is happening and I am ashamed that at times I react in hurt and anger. I only hope that I can lead Dalton and Lyric by example in love. I pray that they will both have the relationship with their mom that every child longs for. I pray that they will know the love that only a mother can give every night as they fall asleep and every morning that greets them.

Here is my sweetness. We were both so tired after a long flight home from NYC!

There is no mom like my mom. When we arrived home she had washed all of our dirty laundry. She is always thinking of me. Our relationship has always been very close and more than a mother/daughter relationship we are friends. I only hope I will have the same with Samara.
You can't see it very well. But Dustin totally spoiled me and had a mother's ring made for me. It is absolutely beautiful! It has all of our birthstones and our names are engraved in the ring as well. I am so blessed to have a husband like him.

Going Back

2009-05-12T18:49:00.000-07:00

Last week was quite unusual and so I am just now getting slightly caught up. Samara started running a fever on Monday and that night it kept getting higher and she would not drink or eat. So I took her to the dr. on Tuesday. Poor baby had a double ear infection and had to get a shot. Unfortunately she ran a 104 to 105 temperature all day Tuesday and Wednesday. Thursday her temperature was lower but I stayed home with her since she had been so sick and we had no sleep for the previous 3 nights.

Here is a picture of Samara's eye. It was so swollen and matted when she woke up Tuesday morning. I felt so bad for her but she had a smile for me anyway.

Tuesday night we received one of those phone calls that you always dread. We had just gone to bed when we received a phone call from our best friends in NY. Gee Yip, a board member and very good friend from our church there had suddenly and unexpectedly passed away. They later determined it was a heart problem that he never knew about. We felt so torn but knew that we could not travel to NY with Samara being so sick and with ticket prices over $450 per ticket. So we accepted that we could not be with our friends in there time of need. On Thursday night I received a phone call from my best friend. She stated the funeral was on Friday night and asked if there was anyway possible we could make it. I told her Samara was better but we could not afford tickets unless they were under $300. I told her I would check again but really didn't think much of it. Too make a long story short....we got tickets for a little over $200! At 8:00 on Thursday night we started packing and making preparations to go to NY the next day. I would love to write about all the awesome things God did to allow us to make it to NY in time for the funeral but you would probably get tired of reading my writing so I am just going to say that God granted us favor with the ticketing agents we met and even though we were not scheduled to arrive in NY until 9:30 p.m. that night we were there at 5:15 and was able to attend the funeral at 7:00.

I must admit that I was so nervous about this trip that I almost made myself sick. Even though I hadn't slept for nights I could not sleep the night before leaving. We have not traveled back to NY since Samara's accident and I kept thinking, "What if something bad happens again?" "What is Samara gets the swine flu?", "What is she gets sick again and won't sleep and the trip is a nightmare?" I even suggested that Dustin should go alone and I would stay home with her but he told me I needed to get over my fears.

It amazes me when I think back to this fastest trip ever to NY how God's hand was upon us. We definitely wished we were going under different circumstances but it could not have went smoother. Samara did wonderful! She is quite the little traveler! She did great on the planes, she handled well the many, many people that loved and held her that she didn't even know, she took her naps when she got tired, and she slept all night both nights we were there. We got to love on our friends that suffered such a great loss, we got to see friends that we had not seen the last few times we had visited, and we were able to visit Iris (Dustin's 2nd mom) who had a major surgery that week. We even squeezed in a couple of hours of relaxation with our best friends Robert and Deidre the night before we left. The trip was super busy but we felt so fulfilled as we traveled home. I am so amazed that after 3 years our family in NY welcomed us with open arms and it felt like we had never left. We are so blessed to have such wonderful friends. To Mildred, Millicent, and Alyssa - we love you! We are praying for God's peace and strength during this extremely difficult time.

Here are some pics of Samara when we first got to NY and playing on the plane! She was so good!

Reflections

2009-05-04T18:57:00.000-07:00

I came across this poem and it spoke volumes to me as I have been reflecting on our journey to have a child as well as our journey with Dalton and Lyric. It reminds me of myself and the many conversations I have had with God over the past few years.

Wait
By Russell Kelfer
Desperately, helplessly, longingly, I cried;
Quietly, patiently, lovingly, God replied.
I pled and I wept for a clue to my fate . . .
And the Master so gently said, "Wait.""Wait? you say wait?" my indignant reply.
"Lord, I need answers, I need to know why!
Is your hand shortened? Or have you not heard?
By faith I have asked, and I'm claiming your Word."My future and all to which I relate
Hangs in the balance, and you tell me to wait?
I'm needing a 'yes', a go-ahead sign,
Or even a 'no' to which I can resign.
"You promised, dear Lord, that if we believe,
We need but to ask, and we shall receive.
And Lord I've been asking, and this is my cry:
I'm weary of asking! I need a reply."
Then quietly, softly, I learned of my fate,
As my Master replied again, "Wait."
So I slumped in my chair, defeated and taut,
And grumbled to God, "So, I'm waiting for what?"He seemed then to kneel, and His eyes met with mine . . .
and He tenderly said, "I could give you a sign.
I could shake the heavens and darken the sun.
I could raise the dead and cause mountains to run.
"I could give all you seek and pleased you would be.
You'd have what you want, but you wouldn't know Me.
You'd not know the depth of my love for each saint.
You'd not know the power that I give to the faint."You'd not learn to see through clouds of despair;
You'd not learn to trust just by knowing I'm there.
You'd not know the joy of resting in Me
When darkness and silence are all you can see.
"You'd never experience the fullness of love
When the peace of My spirit descends like a dove.
You would know that I give, and I save, for a start,
But you'd not know the depth of the beat of My heart.
"The glow of my comfort late into the night,
The faith that I give when you walk without sight.
The depth that's beyond getting just what you ask
From an infinite God who makes what you have last.
"You'd never know, should your pain quickly flee,
What it means that My grace is sufficient for thee.
Yes, your dearest dreams overnight would come true,
But, oh, the loss, if you missed what I'm doing in you.
"So, be silent, my child, and in time you will see
That the greatest of gifts is to truly know me.
And though oft My answers seem terribly late,
My most precious answer of all is still . . . Wait."

Samara's reflux is doing much better this week. I did not have to take her off the medication which was a big relief. Thanks to everyone who prayed for her last week.

4 Weeks Left

2009-05-02T19:09:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I started going through Dalton and Lyric's stuff. Throwing away junk, taking stuff they don't play with anymore to give away, and packing up the stuff they still play with. My sister met me and helped to decide what she actually wanted the kids to take with them. It was a hard thing to do but I handled it very well. I really didn't think about what I was doing so much as I need to get this done.

My sister packed up a lot of their stuff. I only kept a few things for them to have here until they finally leave. That is exactly four weeks away. We only have 2 weekends left with them. My mind is racing, constantly questioning and second guessing all that is happening. Should I let them go? Is this the best thing for them? Have I made the right impact on their life? Will they miss me? Will they understand? Will they be safe? What if this is the wrong thing to do?, what if I'm not there for them and they need me?, what if this is all a big mistake?

I cannot really wrap my mind around what is happening. I know this is real..... I know they will not be here to wake up in the morning....I know they will not tell me daily stories about the good and bad things that happened at school.....I know Lyric will not play hair and makeup with me at night.....I know Dalton will not read to me every day after school.....I know I will not be able to read, pray, and kiss them goodnight. I know all this but it hurts to much to really believe. It feels like we are just preparing for them to go on an extended visit somewhere and they will be back to stay. I don't know...only God does that's why I'm just trusting Him.

So we are trying to make the most of the last 2 weekends we have with Dalton and Lyric at home. Next Saturday we are taking them to Frontier City. It's a surprise! They have never been and we are really hoping for good weather. My mom is coming up to watch Samara so we can really enjoy the day with them. I'm so looking forward to this time. It reminds me of 2 summers ago when we took them to Disneyland. It was an awesome trip....one that we had hoped to take again with them. It may not be Disneyland but I'm sure we will make lots of special memories together again.

National Infertility Week

2009-04-30T18:20:00.000-07:00

I saw this posted on another blog and had to post. This is something that is near and dear to my heart. As most of you know it took Dustin and I 5 years of trying before we were blessed with our beautiful daughter, Samara. I know first hand the pain of longing for a child and the roller coaster ride it can be. I remember so vividly the hurt and emptiness that came. Dreams that felt destroyed and a love that had no where to be poured out. It was a very trying time in our marriage but I look back now and know that it only strengthened us and made us better.

Infertility affects more people than most realize and it can be a very difficult thing to talk about. So this week I hope everyone will remember those that are dealing with infertility in prayer. Whether by adoption, foster care, or pregnancy I pray they are each blessed with the most precious gift of all...a child.

Samara Update

2009-04-29T19:29:00.001-07:00

I mentioned in my previous post that Samara had another episode on Saturday. This was very disappointing especially after the dr had increased her medication earlier in the week. Everything has seemed to get worse. She is spitting up more/throwing up at times. She is very fussy and cranky and has not slept well for several nights. I called the GI dr back but she wants me to take Samara off of the medication to see what happens and I am just not ready for that. I'm going to giver her 2 more days and if she is not better by this weekend I will quit giving her the medicine to see what happens. At least I will be home with her this weekend. So please keep her in your prayers. It hurts me to see her in pain and I am so confused as to why she has gotten worse all of a sudden. Although she has not been very happy here lately, we did have some fun last night while getting ready for bed! The first pic is the best I have gotten of the two teeth that are coming in on the bottom. She loved playing Peek-a-boo with her washcloth. She is my sweetheart and I love her so much!

Fun at Mimi's

2009-04-29T19:04:00.001-07:00

We took the kids to see Mimi and Papa Tad this weekend. They had so much fun...I wish I could say the same. Unfortunately Samara had another episode and the transmission on the Beast went out. So we spent an extra night and made it home on Sunday thanks to Mimi and Papa Tad letting us borrow their Tahoe. The Beast had to stay in MacAlester and will hopefully be fixed soon. Dalton and Lyric didn't let anything slow them down. They made the most of their visit and had so much fun. The kids and Dustin on the Chuckwagon. They rode this thing all over. Even Dalton and Lyric drove it but that was ...well, a little dangerous. Mimi and Papa Tad bought them each fishing poles and we went to the pond and had a picnic. They cooked hotdogs and fished. They waited ever so patiently for that fish to bite!

I had to go back to the house and take care of Samara and when I got back this is what I found.....Dalton and Lyric in the pond! Yuck!!! I'm a city girl even though I was raised on a farm and swimming in a pond is a little much for me. They sure had fun though. I got one picture of Samara with Mimi Sunday morning before we left. She was feeling better and loves to stick her fingers in everyones mouth right now.

So even though things didn't go as planned I am thankful for the following: 1) The beast broke down while we were in MacAlester and not while traveling on the way there or on the way home 2) The Beast is still under warranty by 4,000 miles!!! 3)Dalton and Lyric had so much fun 4)We had a vehicle to get back home and the kids all slept because they were so tired!

Baby Boo's Blues

2009-04-22T18:23:00.000-07:00

Okay, so I am posting a ton of pics of Samara tonight. Sorry!, but this past week has been so much fun and so much change in her life. Crawling really changes things. Here is a pic of one of the first times she started crawling. We went to the GI dr today. We got good news! Samara has grown so much that she has actually outgrown the medication she was on. She weighs 18.5 lbs!! The dr. has now increased her meds and stated this may have been why she had an episode a couple of weeks ago. We are hoping that was what caused it. The dr. also stated that some babies' acid reflux does not get better until they are 2. So we will be praying for no more episodes and that she will grow out of it quickly.

Don't you just love those baby blues! I think they are beautiful! They seem to get brighter every day...especially when she smiles.

Samara is all dressed up to go to Ava's birthday party! Ava turned 1!!! It was so much fun! Shoes are so much better in the mouth than on feet.

Now that Samara can get around, she loves to look out the back door and watch Dalton and Lyric play outside.

This is Samara's new favorite toy. It is one of Lyric's baby dolls. She hugs it, kisses it, plays with its eyes, sucks on its feet, and beats it with other toys (I call it love pats!). She absolutely loves this baby doll. The baby can suck its thumb, but Samara will have none of that! Everytime we put the baby's thumb in its mouth she gets mad and immediately yanks it out.

I couldn't resist this one. Now that Samara has started crawling she has been putting toys in her mouth and crawling with them that way she can take them with her!

Good Morning Shoe Shine!

2009-04-21T18:50:00.000-07:00

Here are some great things Lyric has said lately. She keeps us laughing!

Last week we were driving by the State Capitol and I pointed it out to the kids. Lyric got excited and said, "Look Dalton, it's the State Cafeterial!"

A couple of mornings ago, I was getting Samara out of her crib and Lyric came in and said, "Good Morning, Shoe Shine!" I couldn't help but laugh. I can't believe that all this time she thought I was saying shoe shine instead of sunshine when she would wake up in the morning!

Yesterday afternoon Dalton and Lyric were in the car and Lyric wanted me to roll down the window. She started yelling out the window and I asked her why she was yelling. She told me she was trying to talk to the men across the street that were building a new house. I told her they probably didn't have time to talk since they were working. She said, "No, it's because they talk Spanglish." I said what did you just say? She replied, "You know, Spanglish, Uno, Dos, Tres." Once again I could not keep the laughter inside. She is too much sometimes!

Here are some new pics of the kids! Hope everyone is enjoying this warm weather!

We Are On the Move!!!

2009-04-15T16:50:00.000-07:00

Samara started crawling!!! She is going everywhere! I can see our life changing right before our eyes. She decided to go wondering through the house today.... I found her in her bedroom :) There is no stopping her now.

She has also finally decided it is time for teeth. She is cutting her first tooth! Yay!!! I can feel it but it is not all the way through yet. There will be pictures coming although she really doesn't like anyone messing with her mouth right now.

Samara still has a clogged tear duct. We went to see an eye specialist last week. He said we could go ahead and do the surgery or give it another 3 months. We opted for the 3 months. So hopefully some more time and massaging will do the trick.

I can't believe how fast she is growing and changing right now. Each stage is something new and exciting. It amazes me how much she has changed since she was born. Since we have got her acid reflux under control she has really calmed down and is such an easy baby. She is definitely indepedent, but...she didn't really have a choice about that with having me for a mom. I love how she watches things and how she has big bright blue eyes. I love listening to her jabber and the way she has started making funny sounds with her tongue. Well I gotta go ....she is into something again!

Easter

2009-04-14T18:39:00.000-07:00

I have so much to write about. The past week has been busy, fun, and exhausting. Thursday night we colored eggs. The winds here were fierce and right in the middle of us coloring our eggs we start hearing a loud noise in our backyard. We all ran to our back door and watched our swingset blow over and crumble. The kids were sad and it looks like Dustin has a new project!

Our finished product!

Friday night we had our Community Group Easter Celebration. We had a great time letting the kids hunt eggs in our front yard (due to the mess in our back yard) and playing Cranium with friends.

Liam was having fun!

Emery was finding eggs!

Saturday we headed to the mall. I had the kids Easter pictures made and they had to say hi to the Easter bunny. That afternoon we met Dustin's family at Toby Keith's restaurant. The food was great. We all went to the Bass Pro Shop. The kids looked at the fish and played. MiMi and PaPa Tad brought the kids lots of candy and Easter goodies. Then we went to the Saturday evening service at our church and served in the kids ministry. It was a long and fun day.

Sunday we got up early and headed to Elk City. We went to church with Mamaw and PeePaw. Their church had an Easter egg hunt after the services and of course we had to stay for that. Then we went to PaPa and Nana's house for dinner. More Easter goodies followed. We spent the afternoon relaxing and enjoying our time with family. Samara got to stay the night at PaPa's house but the rest of us had to head back to Mustang. We had work and school the next day! I'm exhausted just thinking about everything we did this past weekend. We did save the best for last though.

Mom, what did you put on me?

My little Easter bunnies!

Easter was the first holiday that we had Dalton and Lyric. This one made our fourth Easter together. The first Easter they were with us, Dustin's aunt bought the kids Ressurection Eggs. It is a plastic egg crate of different colored eggs. Each egg contains a different object that symbolizes the story of the death, burial, and ressurection of Jesus. The kids absolutely love their Ressurection Eggs and we have made it a tradition to specifically sit down as a family and talk about the story as we go through the eggs. This year was no different. Sunday night when we got home we pulled out the Ressurection eggs and started talking about Jesus. This is by far one of the most special times I enjoy with the kids but this year seemed even more special than past years. Dalton and Lyric were both able to help tell the story and they seemed to understand it better now that they are getting older. I must be truthful, I have really been struggling the past couple weeks with the fact that Dalton and Lyric will no longer be with us on a daily basis. I struggle to understand why I was allowed to care for them as my own for this long to only lose them to a situation that is far from ideal. But I must cling to the truth that I do know and that is this. "For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." John 3:16 Jesus came and died on the cross to bring reconciliation between a loving God and a world that was lost. I do not know the answers, I don't even understand the situation, but I do know that I want reconciliation in my family and I am committed to trust the one who brought reconciliation to the whole world. He did that by giving up His son. How hard that must have been. I'm so blessed that God loved me enough to let go of His own son I am blessed that He will be right by my side as I let go of Dalton and Lyric.

So tonight I will end this blog by asking you to pray. Please pray for my sister and her boyfriend. Pray that they will turn their lives over to a loving God who loves them no matter what. Pray for Dalton and Lyric. Pray for their safety. Pray that even though they do not have the power to fully understand what it going on that they will have peace and will know they are loved. Pray for me and Dustin. We are each hurting in our own way. Pray that we will learn from this and use it to grow closer to God and to each other.

Bathtime Friend!

2009-04-06T19:20:00.001-07:00

Samara gets really excited when she sees herself in the mirror. She starts talking to herself and waves her arms and grins! It is so much fun to watch. Well tonight I was giving her a bath and she started acting all excited and talking like she does when she sees herself in the mirror. Then I realized that she could see herself in the metal plate!! It was hilarious. She tried to touch the baby, she tried to kiss the baby, she was so excited!

First Easter Celebration!

2009-04-06T16:31:00.000-07:00

We celebrated Easter with my mom's side of the family on Saturday. It was so much fun...just too much wind. We ate and ate. Most of my cousins and their kids came. There were 14 kids at my grandmas. It was so much fun. They hunted easter eggs and played outside and

inside and had a blast. My grandma always buys them kites for easter but it was way too windy. Just getting a picture was a major task.

Here they are all lined up at a nearby park. The guys hid over 200 eggs! Kuper couldn't wait and he got a head start!

Dalton found one!

Samara chillin in the stroller. She didn't mind though, plastic eggs are so much fun to suck on!

Lyric and Kuper played in Grammy's fountain. They were soaked!

Samara had her first Peep. I didn't do it, Mamaw did! It didn't last long, Samara devoured it.

We ended the day by relaxing and playing cards. It was a great day! We are looking forward to celebrating more this week!

Disappointment....

2009-03-28T10:51:00.000-07:00

Everyone faces disappointment in life. Some disappointments are small. Like the one Dalton and Lyric woke up to this morning when there wasn't enought snow to build a snowman. I must admit that I was just as disappointed. I love snow! I miss living in NY and having at least 2 large snow storms a winter.

Other disappointments are larger and affect our lives in a bigger way. Lately I have had some major disappointments in my life.

Dalton and Lyric will be leaving in nine short weeks. Even though I've known it was coming,
reality hit me full force while they were gone for Spring Break. I can't explain the disappointment I feel with life in general regarding this situation. I love them so much! I remember the day I picked Dalton and Lyric up from the DHS worker. They were so little. Lyric was just 17 months old and Dalton was a curious 3 year old excited to get to stay at auntie's house. I remember the first time Lyric called me "mom". I remember standing outside of Dalton's door at night while he cried for his mom. I remember the first week of dropping Dalton off at day care and how he was not the only one crying. I remember standing in the mirror with Lyric and her turning around and saying, "Mommy you are so pretty, just like me!" I remember the trip to Disneyland, trips to the zoo, and movie nights at home. I remember when I brought Samara home from the hospital and how I held Lyric and cried because it felt like she had grown up all of a sudden. I remember thinking that they would be here until they were grown. But that is not to be, and I am left disappointed with life, with the court system, and with my own sister. The only question that keeps running through my mind is "How can you love and raise 2 children for over 3 years and then just let them go...?"

I dealt with another big disappointment just yesterday. After not having an episode for almost 3 months, Samara had one. It was bad. I had taken her to the dr. to check her iron, it was much better. On the way home we stopped by Walmart to pick up some groceries. While in the store I noticed she was sitting funny. I kept saying to her, "Samara why are you sitting like that?" While in the check out line the lady behind us said, "Your baby looks really tired." About that time her head kicked to the side and her eyes rolled back. She started screaming and I picked her up. I was trying to comfort her and finish checking out when she started vomiting everywhere. It was a mess. It didn't help that I was trying to carry her, push the buggy to the car, and the wind was blowing a hundred miles an hour , Oh and did I mention that it was raining! Samara's episode lasted 7 hours. The only medicine that they give her makes her sleep And she does sleep as long as I hold her and she is not vomiting. I am thankful that it has been so long since she had an episode but I am disappointed because I was really hoping she wouldn't have anymore. I feel completely helpless when she goes through these and although dr's are aware of these problems, they do not know exactly what causes them other than severe acid reflux and they do not have many medications to treat it. Their advice...she will eventually grow out of it. I pray that this happens fast.

I know this is not the most upbeat blog, it is just what is really on my heart. I'm not depressed or in a bad mood. I am thankful for the many blessing God has given me. I would not have traded the past years with Dalton and Lyric for anything. Not even to erase the immense pain I am going through now. And even though it seems like Samara has had her share of problems during her short life, she is nothing short of a miracle. So as we all do throughout life, I am learning how to deal with dissappointment. There is a saying, not sure who said it, but it goes something like this, "It's not what happens to us in life that makes us who we are, it's how we handle the things that happen to us." So I'm trying my best to handle these disappointments the way God wants me to. I'm enjoying these last few weeks with Dalton and Lyric to the fullest. I know deep down that it is God who will protect Dalton, Lyric, and Samara during the trials of life. And for the days when I can't seem to keep it together, thank you Dustin, Mom, and Winnie for helping me get through anyway.

Spring Break Week!

2009-03-24T18:43:00.000-07:00

Where do I begin?! So much has happened over the past week and I was planning on blogging sooner but you know how that goes.

Samara spent her Spring Break week days with daddy! They had a great time bonding and daddy has some great diaper stories to share! Monday evening we went over to some friends and had dinner. Yum! It was delicious! Samara enjoyed herself even though she does not like their dog, Molly. Molly is a weenie dog and wouldn't hurt a sole but Samara is not so sure! Tuesday after work we went to the mall and then over to Dustin's cousin and wife's house, Tanner and Amanda. Once again we ate some delicious food. We were feeling pretty spoiled at this point, 2 nights in a row without cooking! Samara had a great time playing with Ava. It was fun to see them in the floor playing together.

Unfortunately Samara got an ear infection during the week. At first we thought she was just teething but realized that it was more that that. So we took a trip to the dr. and got antibiotics after a couple of days with medicine, Samara was feeling back to her normal self! We spent these evenings doing some Spring cleaning and just plain relaxing at home.

Friday night we went bowling with our Community Group at Redpin down in Bricktown. It was lots of fun! Samara even went and she did not know what to think about everyone making so much noise. Saturday morning Samara went with Mamaw and Peepaw for her first overnight visit! Mommy took it a lot harder than she did. In fact Mamaw said Samara slept all night without any problems. So Saturday we had no kids and we took full advantage. I scrapbooked all day with a friend and Dustin played golf with a group of men from our church. After we finished we had dinner at Chili's. It was a great day! We got up early Sunday morning and drove to Elk City to pick up Dalton and Lyric. Have I mentioned I missed them so much. Then we went to church with Mamaw and Peepaw and picked up Samara. I missed her too! We spent the day in Elk City visiting family and returned home that evening. It felt so good to be home with all of the kids again. I was ready to get back to our normal routine. Breaks are good but I am always glad to get back to "normalcy". Here are a few pics I took of Samara during Spring Break.

8 Months and Growing

2009-03-14T06:25:00.000-07:00

Samara turned 8 months old this week. She had a check up and was 17 lbs and 27 1/4 inches long. She is growing like a weed, she won't slow down! Where does the time go?

Samara had a blood test and she was anemic so she is taking an iron supplement. She also has a tear duct that is clogged in one of her eyes. The dr. said it is time to have an eye specialist look at it and determine if it needs surgery so we will be seeing that dr. in April. I am praying that it clears before then. Only 1 shot this time, thankfully. I hate watching her get shots.

It seems like it was only yesterday and she was a tiny baby. Now she is rolling, rolling, rolling everywhere. She is trying to crawl but hasn't quite figured it out yet. Her attempts usually result in a face plant into the carpet.

Daddy is on Spring Break this next week so Samara will get to spend the week with him while mommy works! This should be an interesting week. I remember the first time I

left Lyric with Dustin when she was a baby. Great things happen when mommy is gone!

Dalton and Lyric are spending the week at their moms. This is a trial run of whats to come. It will be the longest that they have ever been away. The house already seems so quiet. Samara misses them too. She keeps looking around like "where are they?" I guess I will use this time to catch up on some rest and spend some quality time with my hubby! Have a great weekend!

Spring is in the Air!

2009-03-09T19:20:00.001-07:00

I've really enjoyed the great weather we have had the past couple of days. It has been so much fun getting outside with the kids. Samara is getting to see and experience all kinds of new things, like swinging!

I love this picture of her fingers holding on tight!

The kids played outside all weekend while we cleaned out the garage and worked in the flower beds. Saturday morning we went to the auto show and had a great time looking at cars!

After the auto show, we took the kids to the local feed store and let the kids see the baby ducks, turkeys, and chicks! Lyric loved it. She is such an animal lover. Dalton was not all that excited about it and Samara didn't know what to make out of the little creatures.

Daddy got to enjoy the warm weather with some time on his motorcycle. Here is a picture of mommy and Samara on daddy's bike!

Mamaw and Peepaw came over Saturday afternoon and spent the night and went with us to church on Sunday. It was a great weekend and we are looking forward to more warm weather!

Just the 3 of Us

2009-02-21T09:15:00.001-08:00

We also had family pics made as well since we do not have many pics that include Dustin! There is something definitely missing in these pics and its our 2 other little sweethearts. They will be going to live with their mom in May and this is quickly becoming our new reality. So this is the 3 of us.

Pure Sugar!!

2009-02-21T09:07:00.000-08:00

Here are pics we had made of Samara on Valentine's Day! She is the sweetest thing! This past week she learned to stick out her tongue and she does it constantly. I will have to capture a few pics of that and post later.

My Valentines!

2009-02-16T08:15:00.000-08:00

This past week I took off to attend each of the kids school Valentines Parties. Lyric's party was on Thursday. She had a great time. Here are a few pics.

Following the party, I took Lyric to lunch for a date. We rarely are by ourselves anymore and I wanted some special one on one time. And special is exactly what I got! We ate at McDonalds's (Lyric's pick). We ate at the really tall pub style tables which made Lyric really happy. While eating our meal I noticed that Lyric couldn't exactly sit still because she was dancing to the music playing in the background. So I started dancing with her and we laughed and ate our food while I'm sure others around got a good laugh at us as well. After we finished eating Lyric said, "Mom we both look alike and we are both beautiful!" She is a doll and oh how much I love her. Here are pics of us together. We both had haircuts a week ago and she had to have hers cut like mine!

Friday was Dalton's party. Samara had to attend because she was not feeling well and was home with me all day. I planned on taking Dalton out for a date but because Samara was ill we had to take her to the Dr. We had a lot of fun playing in the dr's office and took some great pics on my new iphone but I don't know how to download those pics yet. I will have to ask Christy to show me. We plan on making up our date soon! Here are a couple pics from Dalton's party.

Friday night Dalton and Lyric went to their moms for the weekend. So that left just the three of us for Valentine's Day. It was a great one! We went to the mall and had family pics made. I can't wait to post them. We shopped for a while, had lunch at the food court, and headed home. Samara and I took an afternoon nap while Dustin worked on school stuff. That evening we made omelettes and watched movies together in the comfort of our own home. It was absolutely great! I wouldn't have had it any other way.

Moving Clouds and Stinkin Tomatoes!

2009-02-11T20:21:00.000-08:00

Lyric has always been a lively child and constantly keeps us amused with her sayings. The past few weeks she has not disappointed. She is always especially talkative while in the car, I guess because she has nothing else to do. We were driving to school Monday morning and Lyric was being unusually quiet. The sky was still dark from the rain that had came through earlier during the night and parts of the clouds were breaking up and you could see the light blue sky coming thru. Lyric all of a sudden said, "Look Mom, the clouds are moving apart so we can see God and where he lives." It totally warmed my heart to hear the awe in her voice and how excited she was to see God.
Yesterday morning we were on our way to school again and Dalton was concerned that he would not get to play outside because of rain. I told him that I did not think that it was going to rain during the day but it was supposed to rain that evening. Lyric proceeded to let us know, "I don't want no stinkin tomatoes tonight. They make me scared and I am not going to go outside" Dalton and I laughed at Lyric calling tornadoes, "tomatoes". Little did we know what the day would bring. We are so blessed that we were not hit by the bad storms that came through the area. I am always a little nervous about storms because growing up we lived in a trailer and when storms came through we would always rush to the cellar. I pray that God will be with all of the families that lost their loved ones and their homes.

Fifty, Fifty!!

2009-02-11T20:10:00.000-08:00

Sunday we celebrated my dad's 50th birthday. The family met in Clinton, OK at Montana Mikes for a yummy meal. Here are a few pics of the great evening we had.

Hope you had a great birthday dad!

Babies Come From Vitamins!

2009-02-06T14:59:00.000-08:00

Couldn't resist blogging about the conversation I had with Lyric this afternoon. She came up to me and said, "Mom, I'm never gonna become a mommy." "Why do you say that?" I asked. "Because I haven't been taking my vitamins. Babies come from vitamins and I haven't been taking them because I sometimes spit them out and today you didn't even give me one." So needless to say I quickly got her a vitamin for the day and she ate it. She was happy. "Now when I grow up there will be babies in my tummy!"

Truly Blessed

2009-02-05T18:19:00.000-08:00

I'm tired of being at home and of having sick kids. Last week we were all snowed in and the kids did not have school for 3 days. Lyric was also sick with the stomach bug. This past weekend Samara started running a fever and was very congested. Thankfully I took her to the Dr. on Monday and found out that she had an upper respiratory infection and the RSV virus. It was hard to see my baby so sick. She could barely breathe through her nose or mouth because of her congestion. I am happy to report that she is now doing much better and we are looking forward to enjoying a warm weekend! No more sickness!!

My grandma came up on Monday and stayed the past four days with us taking care of Samara and helping me with the kids in the evenings. Dustin has had parent teacher conferences in the evenings this week and has worked late most nights. I have always had a close relationship with my grandma and she has always been there for me when I have needed her the most. She taught me to sew (kind of!) and play cards, and best of all she showed me by example how to stay close to God. I always gain bits of wisdom from her whenever I am with her. This week was no exception. I greatly enjoyed our talks, playing rummikub after the kids were in bed, and most of all just having her presence here. She is and has truly been a blessing to my life.

This Little Light of Mine...

2009-02-01T12:57:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I was rocking Samara to sleep and singing the song "This Little Light of Mine". While singing I had a God moment. You know that moment where He speaks to your heart ever so softly and you just know it was him.
I was at the part that goes "Don't let Satan (blow) it out, I'm gonna let it shine". As a child you make the blowing noise and imagine a real light being blown out but as I sang the song yesterday a whole new meaning came to mind. Recently I have let circumstances, situations, and just life blow out my "light". Satan doesn't physically come and blow out our "light" but he sends things our way and how we handle those things affects our "light". I don't want to lose the "light" God has put in my heart, but at times I am afraid I already have.
It's up to me to keep that "light" shining and that's what I intend to do. It's not about what happens to me in life, it's how I handle it. Most important is staying close to God, letting him once again light up my life.

Ice Bunnies

2009-01-28T16:55:00.000-08:00

Like everyone else in this area we have been staying home and enduring the cold weather. To say the least we all have had a little cabin fever and I think the kids were even a little disappointed when they found out tonight that there is still no school tomorrow. Here is a few pics of the kids when they ventured out on Tuesday. It was pouring sleet and they did not stay out very long because of how cold it was. Dalton and Lyric were a little disappointed that they could not make a snowman because it was mostly ice. Although they did enjoy sliding down the slide that had a solid sheet of ice on it. That is until Dalton landed the wrong way and got ice burn. Owwwwww!

Today while I was feeding Samara some sweet potatoes she fell asleep! I couldn't resist taking a picture.

Loving this Baby Girl....

2009-01-26T19:02:00.000-08:00

I just wanted to write about how much I am enjoying this phase of Samara's life. She is so much fun right now and every day brings on something new. She giggles when I tickle her, when I growl at her, and when I laugh at her. Her jabbers are becoming stronger and more like words. I do believe I heard her say "McDonalds" the other day. I don't know where that came from but I do know I had a strong McDonalds craving during my pregnancy! She has started to clap and loves to gurgle when she has something to drink in her mouth. The best is the fake cough that she has come up with the past couple of days. She is even sitting up without any support for a few minutes. I love to watch her explore new objects to see her thinking "how in the world do I get that in my mouth?" She still doesn't have much hair, and even fewer teeth. But her toothless grin is the prettiest smile I have ever seen. She is learning to hug and kiss and shake her head "no". She is all I had ever hoped and longed for. She is sweetness and the joy of my heart!

Overnight Getaway

2009-01-19T18:40:00.000-08:00

We took the kids for an overnight trip. After church yesterday we headed to Tulsa and stayed the night. We had a great time. The hotel had an indoor pool and we took the kids swimming. It was the first time Samara had been in a pool. After swimming we ordered in some pizza, the kids watched cartoons and we watched the Steelers/Ravens game.

Sidenote: First let me just say, "GO STEELERS!!!!" Yeah, we were pretty pumped. We were also glad to hear the Cardinals won their game so either way we will be happy with who wins the Super Bowl. Kurt Warner is an awesome person. When we were in NYC he gave us 15 free tickets to take the kids we worked with to one of his games when he played for the Giants. After the game he met with all of us and talked with the kids one on one. It was awesome. After the season was over, he paid for all of us to go to Dave and Busters and provided a meal and played games with all the kids. He talked to them about how important it is to have a relationship with God. He is an awesome person!

Today we took the kids to the OK Aquarium. They really liked getting to touch the stingrays and the tunnel with the sharks. The exhibit with Oklahoma fish was pretty neat and you wouldn't believe how large some of the fish caught out of Oklahoma lakes are. Overall we had a great trip and hope to have more this year!

Working 9 to 5 ( I wish)

2009-01-09T19:14:00.000-08:00

Wow the past week has flown by. So much to blog about and so little time. So here are the highlights....

On Friday, January 2nd we held a surprise 77th birthday party for my grandma in Elk City. It was the first time in about 15 years that all her kids and grandkids and now great grandkids were together. I was able to see some of my cousins and aunts that I had not seen in many years. It was a long day, we went to the church at 8:00 that morning to decorate, the party began at 11:00 and everyone did not leave until 9:00 that evening. It was a great day and the best thing was seeing my grandma enjoy herself so much. She really means a lot to me. She has been through a lot in her life but has been faithful to God despite everything. I love you grandma!

Here is a picture of my grandma, her kids, and her grandkids.

Happy Birthday Grandma!

On Sunday Tuffy went to his new home. Yes we gave Tuffy to a cousin of mine. We had talked for a while about giving him away to a good home. Life has become very busy with 3 kids and he has not been getting the attention he needs. It was very hard since he has been my baby for 7 years now. I especially missed him when I worked from home a couple of days. The house was very lonely without him. His new home includes a cat and 2 goats! He should have lots of fun.

On Monday I started back to work after six months of maternity leave. I was both excited and nervous. The transition has gone extremely smooth. I am back to work just a little more tired than usual! My day begins at 5 and by 9 I am usually out. Dalton and Lyric started a new daycare and they love it. Especially Lyric because they have all kinds of little critters like gerbils and mice. Every morning she tells them "good morning" and every afternoon she tells them "goodbye". My biggest relief has come with Samara's adjustment to her babysitter. She seems to have transitioned without any problems. She stays with my friend, Christy. Christy has two very cute little boys. Samara seems to love them. She does not even seem that excited when I pick her up at the end of the day. What a blessing this is. I do not worry at all about Samara while I am at work, yes I miss her but I know that she is safe and enjoying herself.

On Wednesday, Samara had her 6 month check up. She has had quite the growth spurt. She now weighs 14 lbs 13 ounces and is 25 1/2 inches long. She grew 2 1/2 inches in 2 months and went from the 10th percentile to the 50th percentile for height. She loves eating food and wants big people food so bad that anytime she sees someone eating she starts to holler. Samara has not had any "episodes" in almost 4 weeks. This is a miracle. We are so excited that she is doing better.

Today was my 29th birthday and Samara's 6 month birthday. It was a great day. I have had so many phone calls from family and I enjoyed lunch with my grandma and aunt from Colorado. We had a good time at Community Group and I am just about exhausted from the week. Tomorrow I need to tackle my list of a hundred things to do before Monday gets here so...I am going to try to get some rest.

Tis the Season for Friends, Family, and Love

2008-12-31T05:52:00.000-08:00

We started our Christmas celebrations the week before Christmas with school parties and our Community Group Christmas Party. It all seems like a blur now but they were all a lot of fun. The Saturday before Christmas we headed to Elk City to have Christmas at my mom's. My sister and her boyfriend and his kids, my aunt and uncle, my grandma, and one of my cousins and his kids all came. There were kids everywhere! Samara surprised us when she grabbed the wrapping paper on her gift and went to town! It went straight to the mouth! Samara got a Jenny Jump Up and Dalton and Lyric got a large swimming pool for next summer. PeePa has some work to do in our back yard! We went to church with my mom and Richard on Sunday and enjoyed seeing many friends that we had not seen in a while. After church we all went out to eat at Montana Mikes in Clinton. The steak was delicious!

On Monday we went to stay at my dad's. I was able to spend some time with my Grandma. We went shopping and had lunch it was a great time. On Tuesday my sister and her bunch came over for Christmas. We had a great meal and a fun time together. Cindy had a huge shadow box made with collectibles from my dad's life. It was really neat and I think he liked it. Dustin won the annual coin guess. My dad and Cindy always fill a jar with coins and the person who has the closest guess wins the jar. Here is a picture of me and my sister and our kids.

Wednesday morning we headed to Woodward to spend the day with Dustin's family. We had a great time seeing his grandparents, mom, and aunts, uncles, and cousins. Dalton had a great time playing the Wii and Guitar Hero that some one brought. Dalton really wanted a Wii for Christmas!

We headed home Wednesday evening so we could spend Christmas morning at home. When we got home and unpacked we read "Twas the Night Before Christmas" and the real Christmas story about baby Jesus to the kids. They put out cookies and milk for Santa and hurried to bed so he could come. I really thought Dalton might figure out the whole Santa thing this year, but if he has he hasn't let us know! Of course, Dustin and I were up really late for some reason that night! Christmas morning was great the kids woke up not too early and we had a great time opening up presents. There were toys and wrapping paper everywhere. I made a big breakfast and we spent the whole day in our pj's playing with toys!

Here are the kids Christmas morning. It's amazing how well they take a picture when they know they are about to open presents!

Lyric got a guitar with microphone, a v-smile pocket, a Dora sud n surprise doll, and clothes.

Samara rolled over and started opening her presents all by herself! She got a cd player, some toys and an outfit!

Dalton got a v-smile pocket, spy gear, clothes, and comic books!

Thanks to MiMi the whole family got a Wii!!!!

Later Christmas day we prepared Dalton and Lyric and packed their bags once more to go spend a week with their mom. This is the longest they have been away in the three years we have had them and it was hard to see them go after all the fun we had together but they were happy to spend time with their mom and the kids there. Dustin and I have been recuperating from the holiday run! Our house is quiet for now.

My mom and Richard visited the weekend after Christmas. They watched Samara Friday night while we went out on our first date since Samara was born. We had a great time! We ate at Red Lobster and went to watch Valkyrie but it was sold out so we settled on Marley & Me. The first half was so funny I cried and the last half I really cried. Saturday my mom, Samara, and I went shopping! My birthday is around the corner and this is our tradition around this time. We had a great day and everyone kept stopping us to say what a beautiful baby Samara is. I totally agree!!! That evening the four of us played cards. It was a good time.

Dustin and I have really taken advantage of the last few days at home together. We have rested, attempted to accomplish a few things around the house, rested, taken down Christmas decorations, and rested some more. We are playing on having a quiet New Year's Eve at home. This will be the first time in forever. Soon our life will get back to normal and we will be busy with work, school, and other good things. Happy New Year!

All I Want For Christmas.....Is My Two Front Teeth!

2008-12-15T05:20:00.000-08:00

Sometimes really strange things happen.... Saturday Dustin and I were Christmas shopping. Dalton and Lyric were with Mamaw and Peepaw for the weekend. We were driving along and I made the comment to Dustin that I could not believe Dalton had not lost a tooth yet. He is now 6 1/2 and we have checked several time and he has not even had a loose tooth. Not even 10 minutes after I had said that we get a phone call from Mamaw. DALTON LOST A TOOTH!!!!!! Unfortunately they think he swallowed it. They looked everywhere and couldn't find it. The toothfairy came anyway. We told Dalton she found his tooth for him during the night. I hope they all come out this easy...I just hope he doesn't swallow them all!

You Better Not Pout....

2008-12-12T12:20:00.001-08:00

I love this picture of Samara. She has a really big pout face! We have been singing " You better not pout, You better watch out. Santa Claus is coming to town" to her all month long.

We really can't deny it anymore. Samara is looking more and more
like her daddy. We finally got one of his baby pictures and sure enough there is a resemblance.

Here is Samara with a happy face!

Here is Lyric posing for the camera. She is getting ready to go spend the weekend with Mamaw and Peepaw!

6 Random Things

2008-12-10T06:53:00.000-08:00

I've been tagged by Amanda, so I'm joining in!
Here are the rules:
1) Link to the person who tagged you. Amanda Upchurch
2) Post the rules on your blog (copy and paste 1-6).
3) Write 6 random things about yourself.
4) Tag 6 people at the end of your post and link to them.
5) Let each person know they have been tagged and leave a comment on their blog.
6) Let the tagger know when your entry is up.

1. I have always wished I was a brunette.

2. I do not like any type of salad. I wish I did, but I don't.

3. I traveled to Brazil on a missions trip when I was 14 years old. Every since then I have wanted to travel/live somewhere overseas. Doubt it will happen now.

4. I was raised on a farm/cattle ranch but am a city girl at heart. I really don't like country life.

5. I turn into an evil person after 10:00 p.m. Actually I am not a night person at all - just ask Dustin. I either get really mean or really, really goofy.

6. I once ran into a motorcycle and a dumpster on the same day. It was a bad day but now it seems hilarious. I was 16....what can I say. I am happy to report I have been accident free for more than 5 years (except for that mysterious pothole that jumped out and got me a couple of weeks ago!)

Now I tag Chele, Christy, Winnie, Janet, and Andrea.

What Have You Done?

2008-12-10T06:43:00.000-08:00

I stole this from a friend of mine (Thanks Christy!) and thought it might be fun to see what everyone's done. My total is only 46.
RULES: There are 100 statements and you bold the ones you have done. Grab it and play for yourself!!
1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii (I plan on going next year)
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity.
7. Been to Disneyland
8. Climbed a mountain.
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child (close enough)
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept in an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitchhiked
23. Taken a sick day when you're not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse (solar)
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo's David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Pari
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten cavier.
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chicken pox
89. Saved someone's life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby (finally!)
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a lawsuit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee
100. Read an entire book in one day

Resting in His Arms

2008-12-04T18:59:00.000-08:00

I'm so tired...today was another one of those days. Samara woke up having an "episode" whatever that is. All I know is that it is not good when my baby is in pain and all I can do is watch her cry. I realize I must focus on the positive of this day so that is what I will do.

*My great friend, Winnie, took time out of her day to be with me when I needed her. I love you Winnie, you are the greatest!

*Samara's episode was a lot shorter that previous episodes.

*My mom and her husband came and spent the day with me. They are so much fun to be with.

*We met a new GI specialist who seems to really listen and want to help us.

*Samara gets to start solid food!!!

*Even though it feels at times like I am walking this path alone, I know I am not. Not only do I have friends and loved ones that surround me, I have God carrying me in his arms.

Bittersweet Holiday

2008-12-01T19:09:00.001-08:00

Today we put up our Christmas Tree. It was a lot of fun. Dalton and Lyric are really able to enjoy it now. Usually I am busting at the seams with excitement at this time of year but this Holiday season is bittersweet for me.

It is sweet because Christmas is my most favorite Holiday. I love everything about it. Christ's birth, family, food, decorations, gifts, music, and I could go on and on. I love Christmas. It is also sweet because Dalton and Lyric are old enough to really enjoy it and they still believe in Santa Claus although I'm sure Dalton will figure it out real soon. The looks on their faces is priceless when they see all the decorations and gifts. It is also Samara's first Christmas and I look forward to all the Christmas' that she will get to enjoy.

But this Holiday is also bitter for me. It signals an end to my 6 months of maternity leave. I will be returning to work in January and will be leaving Samara in someone else's care during the day. I feel very blessed that I have been able to take the time I took off and I also feel very blessed that I have a wonderful Christian friend that will be caring for Samara but a part of me cringes every time I think about all the moments I will be missing while I am away at work. The other reason that this Holiday seems bitter is because I realize it may be our last with Dalton and Lyric. They will be spending the first week of Christmas break with us but will be spending the 2nd week with their mom as part of their reunification. I am very happy for them and my sister but my heart breaks thinking of our quiet house when they are gone and even though I know next year is a long ways away I also know that if things go as planned they will be living with their mom by next Christmas. As the kids pulled out their ornaments that they have from each year they already bring back so many wonderful memories from the past three years that we have shared.

I have heard the saying before that being a parent is all about learning to let go. I'm already learning that and I don't necessarily like it. As usual I'm learning to let go and lean on God. So even though I am feeling kind of sad at the moment I know that I will thoroughly enjoy this season and cherish every moment because He is at the heart of it all and He will never let me go.