Every mother should read this....

Christian forwarded this email to me the other day and I loved it. Enjoy....

"If you are a mother, you participate with God in His work of creation—not only by providing physical bodies for your children but also by teaching and nurturing them. If you are not a mother now, the creative talents you develop will prepare you for that day, in this life or the next."You may think you don't have talents, but that is a false assumption, for we all have talents and gifts, every one of us (see D&C 46:11–12). The bounds of creativity extend far beyond the limits of a canvas or a sheet of paper and do not require a brush, a pen, or the keys of a piano. Creation means bringing into existence something that did not exist before—colorful gardens, harmonious homes, family memories, flowing laughter."What you create doesn't have to be perfect. . . . Don't let the voices of critics paralyze you—whether that voice comes from the outside or the inside."If you still feel incapable of creating, start small. Try to see how many smiles you can create, write a letter of appreciation, learn a new skill, identify a space and beautify it."

Happy Birthday!!!

This past week has been filled with birthday festivities for both Luke and Carman. Luke turned 5 on March 26th and Carman turned 3 today, April 1st. This past weekend we had the first ever combined party for Luke and Carman at the Jumpin' Monkey. Although the A/C was not working that day everyone seemed to have a good time. What can I say.... I throw "hot" parties!

Luke and a few buddies....notice the sweat...no A/C.

Luke is now 5!!!!

A group shot with a few missing.

The party room.....where the A/C worked...thank goodness!

Carman's inner "Priss Pot" coming out b/c she got a "purse"!

I love these 2 squirts more than I ever could have imagined and I cannot imagine a single moment of my life without them. I love you Luke and Carman!

Silly Girl

I have to post this conversation between Carman and myself before I forget it. We were riding in the car together and she was talking and talking and talking. I had a very bad headache and this is how our conversation went:

Me: "Carman, can you please stop talking so loud?? Mommy's head hurts."
Carman: "Does your head hurt really bad Mommy?"
Me: "Yes"
Carman: "Well.... why don't you just take a headache...ok?"

Despite my headache... she managed to put a smile on my face. I just love her to pieces!!

The new addition to our family....

Well..I have always been a "dog person". I love most dogs and grew up with golden retrievers most of my life. Of course my kids have always wanted a dog ......so I gave in. A friend of mine offered to give us her 8 year old golden that was house trained, good with kids and in good shape. So we now have another girl in our family..... Abby!
She is truly the most well behaved and sweetest dog that I have ever been around. I just hope that she can survive Carman following her around and bugging the mess out of her. The kids fight over feeding her and brushing her. It is nice. She started off inside but due to my allergies has moved out to the backyard.
I also had to include this picture of Carman reading her favorite book: "Pinkalicious". She has it memorized.

It's been awhile....

Since I have blogged...so I have to confess why.... I am in love with another site.... Facebook. Although I have this new love, I do still love my little blog and I desperately need to update. So much has happened. So these pictures will capture what we have been up to these days.

The family went ice skating at Bladez on Ice in Greenville.
Luke absolutely loved ice skating and keeps wanting to go back.
Carman and Phoebe on New Year's Eve.
Carman fixing her daddy's hair while watching the New Years Day Parade.
Me and my babies during the BIG snow of 2009!
Carman and the neighbor dog Gunther being pulled on the snow board and Luke tearing it up on the John Deere.(below)
The family snow picture!
Bowling at ECU with the family and Taylor!

Luke jumped up like this every time he rolled his ball. It was funny!

Me and my honey bunny!

I just loved this picture of the kids acting crazy in our bed.

Christmas Part 2

On Christmas Eve we went over to my mom's house for supper and gift exchange. On our way over to mom's Luke said "we cannot stay at memaw's house long, b/c I don't want Santa to miss us." I thought this was so funny b/c anytime we go to memaw's and his cousins are there.... he never wants to leave. Once we got home from mom's, Christian and I anxiously waited for the kids to fall asleep. Once they did, our work began.

The Before Shot (it took over 2 hours to assemble the kitchen.... it was a late night)

The kids were very sweet to us and didn't wake up until 7:30. It was so priceless to hear and see them on Christmas morning.

"Luke... I am your faather!"

Unlike most children that toss gifts with clothes in them to the side, my darlin' daughter loves them and wants to put each new outfit on as soon as she opens it! (I see nothing wrong w/ that)

The After Shot (the damage has been done)

The new addition to our backyard.... Luke's trampoline!

After Christmas was over, I asked the kids what their favorite thing about Christmas was:

Luke- "Hearing Santa on the roof."

Carman- "The reindeer ate the carrots!"

I love it! Now that I have children, I cannot imagine what I will do when they grow up and don't believe anymore. I love the magic!

Christmas Eve!

This year we were the hosts for my mom's family's Christmas party on Christmas Eve. We were so excited about having all of our family in our new home. We had lots of good food, good conversations and fun w/ Dirty Santa(or white elephant, whatever you call it).

Good Conversation around the food table between: Sharon, Ken, Eva, John S(behind Alan) and Alan.

Partakers of the food table: Jay, Janelle, Nikki, Christian, Uncle Jack and Kathy.

"The Sisters" minus Kathy : Aunt Sue, Aunt Faye and Momma

My cousin Jay and his lovely wife Janelle who travelled all the way from CT. We were fortunate to have them with us and were thankful for Janelle showing us the latest fashion trend: massive hair bows, haha!!

Joy and Jill. I still wonder.....did Jill and I get switched?? They look just like sisters!The young set of cousins: Starting at bottom- Phoebe, Carman, Allie, Josh, Connor, Luke, Jack, Will and Nikki. Purty Youngin's!!

The older set of cousins: Starting at the bottom - Joy, Jill, me, John and Jay. I love this picture b/c John is half way smiling!!

The entire crowd (minus Alan and Sharon-the photographers) : barely visible Jay, Janelle and Uncle Jack!

Mommy/Daughter Baking

I do not know where my kids got their love for being in the kitchen and trying to cook. They sure did not get it from me. For that reason, I try not to discourage this behavior. I got some mommy and me aprons for Christmas this year and Carman loved them. Luke got a Santa one but he was easily distracted and left the kitchen before I could take a picture.

Mommy and Me aprons!

Miss Chef Boyardee!!

8 Things

Rules:

1. Post rules on your blog.

2. Answer the 6 "8" items.

3. Let each person know they have been tagged by leaving them a comment.

8 Favorite Shows

1. Lost

2. The Office

3. Jon & Kate Plus 8

4. Dancing with the Stars

5. Grey's Anatomy

6. American Idol

7. Lipstick Jungle (and it is getting cancelled)

8. Heroes

8 Things I Did Yesterday

1. Cleaned 2.5 bathrooms

2. Went last minute grocery shopping for party

3. 2 Loads of Laundry

4. Worked at Day Care for my sister

5. Made oreo truffles for party

6. Decorated house w/ fresh holly for party

7. Had momma over for supper

8. Took a break and looked at blogs!

8 Things I Look Forward To

1. Tomorrow morning when the kids wake up to see what Santa brought them!

2. Our Disney Cruise

3. Christian graduating from graduate school! (that will be a while)

4. Getting unsolicited "i love you mommy" from my kids

5. Date night w/ my husband!

6. Girls Nights Out!

7. New Shoes/Purses!!

8. A good meal that I don't have to cook!

8 Favorite Restaurants

1. Cheesecake Factory

2. Longhorn

3. Olive Gardens

4. Panera Bread

5. Cracker Barrel

6. Los Charros

7. Fresh Seafood from any Beaufort waterfront restaurant

8. University Chophouse

8 Things on my Wish List

1. Kids to be happy!

2. Kids to remain healthy!

3. Kids to choose the right!

4. Kids to get a good education!

5. Christian to advance in his career.

6. To get pregnant sometime in 2009 but lose a few lb.s before that!

7. A pair of Jimmy Choos

8. A Coach bag!

8 People to Tag

1. Charlotte Later

2. Regina Wait

3. Gloria Rowe

4. Kara Thayn

5. Emily Stinson

6. Kelly Rowe

7. Ami Jackson

8. Ashley Anderson

Noteworthy

I had to post this story about Luke so that I don't forget it.
Last week we went to the mailbox and we received a Christmas card from my good friend Jody and she has a little girl named Sarah. I opened the card with the kids at my side and as I opened it I said "Ohhhh, Sarah is so cute!" b/c there was a picture of Jody's daughter Sarah on the front of the card.
Luke then said "let me see"
After handing him the card, he looked at it and said "Oh look it's Sarah Palin!"
It made me laugh so hard. Granted he knows Sarah but he has obviously picked up on the election coverage that we frequently watched during October and November. I guess he is a natural born Republican!

It's the most wonderful time of the year!!

Christmas is upon us and I am enjoying all the joys of the season!
We started last week with a party on Thursday night with the ECU College of Business. It was at the Hilton and they had a very nice meal for us. After the party Christian noted that he doesn't think he wants to be a professor. Even though I am one, I must say.... it is a different crowd than a typical work party.
That same weekend was our Christmas party at church. It was very nice and lots of good food. Too bad that during the nativity re-enactment Luke kept saying "when is this going to be over? I am ready to play basketball." Well... he got it honest... the boy is Christian's son and sports run through his veins. Might I add that after the party, he was shooting hoops and did very good for a 4 year old. Carman was completely occupied during the party b/c Tommy and Allison sat with us and they had the babies with them. Carman tried to make sure that they had a pacifier in their mouth the entire night!



Luke, Jack & Carman before the Church Christmas party! (Jack spent the afternoon w/ us and went with us to the party. He was very proud of the rabbit ears)
Another before the party picture. I like how this one shows the tree in the background. Do you notice how all the ornaments are at one level? Can you tell that I let the kids decorate it? (they had so much fun and were so proud that I couldn't change it)

So.... tonight for FHE we decided to go and see Santa. All day Luke kept telling me "He is not at the mall.... he is at the North Pole." Despite my attempts to explain the situation, he persisted. He gets his hard head from me. So we made the trek to the Greenville Mall. We were unsure about how Carman was going to handle it b/c if you saw the pictures from last year you know that it didn't go too well. Carman is very timid. My girl is even scared of seagulls on the beach. But...... she did soooooo good tonight. She kept saying all day "I am going to shake Santa's hand." Well she did more than that.... she sat on his lap and told him that she wanted Dora. I was so proud of her. Of course Luke did well. As a matter of fact, in the pictures he looks quite relaxed in Santa's lap. He was a very friendly Santa!

Waiting their turn. I love how Luke's head is tilted in this shot.

They did such a good job!

Update on Carman's potty training.... the past couple of days we have revisited potty training and today she only had 1 accident. She even told me on 3 occasions that she had to potty and when I took her she did it. I have been beyond excited w/ her progress today. Maybe by Christmas she will be decently trained. That would be a great gift to her mommy!!

Photo Tag

Here are the rules:

1. choose the 4th picture folder on your computer

2. choose the 4th picture

3. explain the picture

4. tag at least 4 people to do the same

This picture is of Luke at 6 months old. Most of the pictures on my computer are of my children, b/c I hope to capture every single moment that I can, b/c I tend to forget what I had for breakfast, much less what my kids did 4 years ago. I do remember that Luke loved this exersaucer. His favorite thing to do was to gnaw on the green and blue attachment that sticks up. I can still hear him bouncing in that exersaucer. Sweet memories!! Thanks for tagging me Ami!!

I tag....

Leah

Alisha

Lauren

Colette

and whoever else would like to do it.... It is one of the better tags!!

Look Ma... No Training Wheels!!

Last Saturday, the 15th I decided that I was going to do my monthly exercise so I went for a walk around the neighborhood. When I got back I found Christian teaching Luke to ride his bike without the training wheels. At first I thought 'how did Christian convince him to do it?' Every time I ever mentioned it to Luke, he would quickly answer "No" with fear in his voice. But, Luke did a great job and so did Christian!! I tried multiple times to post a video clip and I couldn't get it to upload. Any tips on doing that?

I also wanted to post a picture of Carman with our neighbor Taylor. She is such a pretty girl and I am so thankful that the kids have such a good friend to play with. The last picture is of Carman in a dress that Taylor gave her.

Bunco turned to Yucko

Have you ever heard of Bunco? Well, I have heard of it but I had no clue what it was. A group of ladies in our neighborhood invited me to a Bunco night. I immediately told them I have no idea what it is or how to do it. Apparently it is a dice game (according to my google search). But, I thought it would be a good opportunity to get to know some of the women that live on my street. Well, I had put it on my calendar for last Thursday and I was kinda excited about the new adventure. Thursday rolls around and as I am leaving my last class and walking to my car on ECU campus, Christian calls and tells me his meeting in Winston-Salem has run over and he will not be home until after 8:00. Bunco started at 7:00. I was initially really ticked and then thought I could get someone to watch them. So, I am on my way to pick the kiddos up at my momma's house. I pick them up and I am in McDonald's(close to mom's house) drive-thru giving my order when I look back and Luke is vomiting into his hands. My first thought..."Serenity Now"! I go back to mom's to clean up the car and Luke. He was so pitiful. He is never still and quiet but he was at that point. I didn't mention that Luke vomited in Christian's brand new 2009 car! So after clean up, we head home w/ only 1 time pulling off the road. Once we get home he gets sick 2 more times. And I realized even if Christian gets home soon, I cannot leave Luke. Plus I was worn out! So that is how Bunco quickly turned into Yucko!! Maybe next month I will be able to explain how Bunco works???

Elf on the Shelf

I know it is a little early, but Luke and I were so excited about introducing the Elf on the Shelf to our family.

For those of you who don't know what "Elf on the Shelf" is. Let me briefly explain....I bought this kit from Hallmark that includes a book and an elf. The book explains the whole christmas tradition of "Elf on the Shelf".........So that Santa can see who is naughty or nice, he sends his elves to watch the children. A family can adopt one of his elves and gives it a name and then places it on a shelf in their home. The elf cannot talk (per Santa's request) but the children can tell him anything they want to. The children cannot touch the elf either or his Christmas magic will disappear. But the elf watches the children all day and at night while they sleep, he uses Christmas magic to fly back to the North Pole and give Santa his report. In the morning, when the children wake up, the elf is in a new location and the children have to find it.

Luke is so into this new tradition. As I put him to bed last night he said:

Luke: "Mommy is that elf really going to fly back to the North Pole tonight?"

Mommy: "Yes, he will"

Luke: "How will he do that?"

Mommy: "He will use Christmas magic."

Luke: "Cool, I am going to find him first in the morning!"

Sure enough at 6:45 am I hear "I found it... I found the elf first".

Then later that morning at the kitchen table I overhear the following conversation:

Carman: crying over something

Luke: "Carman, that elf can hear you and he is watching you!!"

Carman: No response (she doesn't really give 2 cents about this elf)

My thoughts are... maybe I should keep the elf out all year!! Nevertheless, I love this time of the year and the best part is seeing it through my children's eyes. They make it so much fun!!

Halloween 2008

The kids checking out their stash of candy from trick or treating.
Our family at the scary house on the block!
Trick or Treat!
Me and my babies!!
Carman, Luke, David G., and Phoebe!
Taking a break at Trunk or Treat!
Cinderella and Luke Skywalker the night of Trunk of Treat!!


I know that I shouldn't be a grump, but I am glad that Halloween is over. It was exhausting!! On Thursday, 30th we had Trunk or Treat at church! So as soon as I got off work, I went to the church. It was nice. The kids did a cake walk and then they went outside to trunk or treat. There was also classrooms in the church that were occupied by different families that decorated their room for halloween. Luke was excited b/c his cousins were there and David Grant from the first ward. Carman loved it b/c Luke loved it!!
The next morning, which was Halloween morning, I took the kids to their parties at the day care. They enjoyed seeing their friends and eating more goodies.
That afternoon, I got the kids ready for the big night. We first visited our neighbors and then we went to our old neighborhood to visit our neighbors there. Then we headed to Aunt Faye's for the real reason for halloween...... Kathy's birthday. I feel so lucky to have Kathy in my life. She means so much to me and I love her so much! My kids have caught the Kathy bug as well. They love her and enjoy being around her. Her sweetness is contagious! All the cousins were at Aunt Faye's and enjoyed being together! There was one guest who wasn't welcome.... "that mean ugly man". My brother-in-law, in the spirit of Halloween, got a hairy monster mask for his costume. He had it on was walking around Aunt Faye's house. I didn't think anything of it, but when I went in the back room of her house, I found my sweet Carman at the very back of the couch. I said "what are you doing Carman?". Her bottom lip started to quiver and her mouth turned to a frown and she said, as tears started to fall "That mean ugly man going to get me." It was so pitiful. She wouldn't let go of me for the next 30 minutes. She still talks about that "mean ugly man" getting her. Carman got past it in time to go trick or treating. We all had a great time. Kathy had a great time as well and she was the belle of the ball. We love you Kathy!!! (I am so upset that I didn't even get her a picture of her)

I had trouble formatting this post, b/c I am using the Mac and I am still trying to figure it out. Sorry!