The Greatest Day Ever!!!

Well, the long awaited Saturday arrived yesterday...the first OU football game. The kids were so excited because they were able to wear their "game day shirts." For those of you who don't know, for the past 5 or 6 years EVERYONE gets a new game day outfit. This is the outfit you wear EVERY game day and ONLY on game day. In the past we have waited until the Friday night before to purchase these shirts but not this year we went about a month ago. The shirts had been hung in our closet until the unveiling took place Saturday.

The morning was filled with excitement as at random times you would hear one yell "Boomer" and another respond back with "Sooner." Even Kaityn Mae chimed in every once in a while with a "Moomah". As you can tell we are HUGE Sooner fans and football fans in general.

I was excited for this day as well because I found out earlier last week that some of our friends were going and I was going to get to go as well. However, my babysitter (my Mom) was out of town. It's not easy (or cheap) to find someone who will watch four children. We had to get creative. We have some friends with kids around the age of our two boys so they went over to their house to play. Kaibryn went to her "bestest friend ever" Grace's house and sweet Kaityn went with our friends two little girls to her Mom's house. We have such good friends who were so helpful.

Well, we got to the game...game started...half time...POURING rain. They evacuated all 80,000 fans to under the stadium. We went down into the tunnel where the "Schooner" comes out on to the field. This was the first game for the new horses who pulled the Schooner. One of the horses got very spooked from the noise of the people and the thunder and lightning. One of them started bucking a little and his eyes were WIDE...I felt so bad for the thing. The "Rednecks" and security kept getting the fans attention to try to keep everyone calm and quiet so the horses would calm down.

After the game we were STARVING and I think for the first time in Chris's life he did not stay until the end of the game. We left after the third quarter because we had to get our kids and it was SO LATE. We had a quick bite at McDonald's...got the kids...got home and fell into bed a little after midnight.

It was such a fun day. And just think, we get to do this for three more months!!!!!

Thankful Thursday

1. I am thankful (believe it or not) that football season has officially started today.

2. I am thankful that when my husband talks about "AD" I know exactly who he is talking about (Adrian Peterson).

3. I am thankful that I know more about football now than when I was in high school and I was a cheerleader (pretty sad).

4. I am thankful that this first (short) week of school is almost over. It has been a little bit harder than what I thought originally...will be a challenge.

5. I am thankful that I am going to the OU game on Saturday with Chris and some good friends.

6. I am thankful for the friends who are willing to watch our kids so I can go to the game.

7. I am thankful that Labor Day is this weekend and Chris does not have to work on Monday. I love it when he is home.

8. I am thankful for a working air-conditioner. Sometimes you don't know how much you appreciate it until you don't have it.

9. I am thankful for our friends who came over to dinner tonight. It was loud and crazy but oh, so much fun.

10. I am thankful that every day is a new day and God's mercies are new every morning. He is faithful to love me and carry me through the rough moments of my days.

First Day of School

Last year (2007)




This year (2008) - Our school is experiencing some growth.

Well, we started school today. It went well. I think it took a little bit longer than what Christopher and Kaibryn were expecting. Christopher commented afterwards that he was ready for summer. Cooper is joining us this year and he acted as if it were the greatest day of his life that he was going to school.

This year will be quite a challenge for me...trying to teach the older two and Cooper at the same time and do it while Kaityn Mae (is supposed to be) sleeps. Hopefully, tomorrow she will sleep longer than an hour and a half. Day one is over and we have had 100% attendance. We'll see if that lasts all year.

Hope everyone is having a great week. We'll talk soon.

On My Toes

Kaityn Mae is a very busy little girl. I am always having to check and see where she is or what she is into. None of the other three were like this.

This week we are watching my parents dog Maddy while they are out of town. Kaityn LOVES this sweet little dog and thinks it is her child. She is constantly looking at her and shaking her finger and saying, "No" or "doh" (down).






Today Kaityn and Maddy were having a tea party.





Guess what THEY were eating...notice I said THEY!!!!

Nesting

I told Chris tonight at dinner that if I were pregnant I would have a baby tonight. No. I'm not pregnant. However, with preparing for school this year it feels like I'm having a baby. There is so much planning, research, scheduling, etc. that goes into it that this is my "baby."

We are starting school on Wednesday and for some odd reason I feel like EVERYTHING in my house has to be in PERFECT order...like it will stay like that...I can dream right? Today I finalized some plans, cleaned out the pantry, did all the laundry, cleaned out the refrigerator, began organizing my room, organized my coupons, read some books, played, went and paid a bill, cooked, and many other odd things. As I type this I am laughing at myself and my OCD when it comes to planning and scheduling. My daytimer is packed full of "To Do's" before school starts and only a couple of things actually deal with school. Oh well, I keep Chris laughing and saying, "As you wish." (Line from Princess Bride...probably the ONLY movie I could quote a line from and that's because we watched it this weekend).

It has been a busy and fun Monday. After dinner Chris mowed and we played in the backyard and then went on our walk. These are some pictures of our day. My favorite is of the dirty feet for some reason. I love my kids feet...as long as they are not touching me. :)

Hope everyone has a great week. Talk to you soon.

I thought I had more pics...they were mostly Kaityn though. I finally got her to smile AT the camera and not turn her nose up at me. She is SO cute though...so squeezable!!!!

Choosing Joy...A Good Habit

Our air-conditioning went out on Wednesday afternoon and it has been rather warm in our house. The Lord has been good. He knew that this would happen to us and gave us this cooler weather and nice breezes. As soon as the air went out on Wed. the Lord reminded me of the verse that says, "Give thanks in all things" and reminded me that in this small matter He is still in control.

We are also blessed that Chris's Dad has a friend who works on air-conditioners and is supposed to come out sometime today.

When the kids have gone out in the past I am constantly reminding them to shut the door. They are letting all the cool air out and the hot air in. Well, Christopher was going outside a little while ago to jump on the trampoline and he was holding the door open. I stopped myself before I told him to keep the door shut so he does not let the cooler air out. I started laughing...such a habit.

Hope everyone has a great weekend.

Choose JOY!!!!

Making Memories

OK, Chris and I, again stayed up late to watch the Olympics with all the millions of other people in the world. We don't need sleep, right?

As we were watching TV we heard a strange "cracking" type noise. The more we listened, the more we recognized the sound as a "dripping" sound. Well, our roof is
leaking. It's not like it's in the middle of the day, sunny, warm, perfect weather conditions; instead it is almost midnight, dark, a little chilly, and pouring down rain.



Chris went to investigate where it was coming from and thought he had found the spot and after calling his Dad decided to put a tarp covering the opening on the roof where we "thought" it was leaking. IN THE POURING RAIN, he placed a ladder on top of two benches and continued to scale the pitch of our roof (in the picture you will see how steep it is). He got the hole covered with the tarp and was not sure he could "scoot" down the roof. This is after I tried throwing him a rope (the "rope" was our garden hose and to the end of it was a boxing glove...call me "MacGuyver") to (I don't know how) climb down the roof. I didn't ask for details, I just went along with it...I'm such a good wife.

Chris yells down to me from the roof...

I'm in the back yard in shorts, flip flops, hooded jacket and Kaibryn's umbrella (quite a sight)... to move the trampoline in the pouring rain over to the house just in case he slips. I do as he says and pray harder than I think I have in a long time for the safety of my husband. Slowly he begins his "scooting" down the wet roof. Well, to my RELIEF he is able to slowly make it back down to the ladder and climb down without having to slide off the roof on to the trampoline. After which we both died laughing. Not 15 minutes before did we hear a news story about a chimney getting struck by lightning.

Well, Chris went back up into the attic and where he thought the leak was coming from was NOT where the leak was coming from. So (again, MacGuyver) we used a trash bag and nails to hopefully, stop the real leak until we can get the roofers to come out in the morning to fix it. Our roof is only a couple of months old so hopefully it will be an easy fix.

Now it is 12:42 A.M.

Kaibryn is sitting by me afraid of the thunder.

Chris (after almost falling through the roof...his foot slipped off the 2X4 in the attic) is now down and safe.

We are tired. And to be honest with you I am laughing right now. I wish we had a video of tonight. And as Chris's Dad always says in situations like this one...

"WE ARE MAKING MEMORIES."

Help Wanted

Does anyone know a good dentist?

While Blogging Just Now

"Summmmbody" (My MIL will get that) while I was blogging decided they needed a snack.





"Why are you looking at me? I'm hungry."

Tears in My Eyes

1. This is the face Kaityn makes when something is not going her way.

2. Notice the chocolate all over her hands and face...oreo bon-bons...she enjoyed hers.



She did the cutest thing today and I seriously teared up. (Sidenote: I have been very emotional today). We were at the store and she was riding in the cart. I was acting like my hand was hurting (not really acting, it was hurting) and saying, "Ow". I did this a few times and she thought it was funny.

Well, I stopped.

People were staring.

A few seconds later, on her own, she leaned down and kissed my hand. My eyes started to sweat.

Made my heart happy. She was good medicine for my hand today.

Growing Up

Sorry, this is a day late.

Yesterday was Christopher's 7th birthday (did I just say 7th...yikes). I cannot believe it was seven years ago that God blessed us with Christopher. He is such a joy. He is a great big brother.

His day started off with his favorite breakfast...eggs & sausage...and of course, a beautiful rendition of "Happy Birthday." He had a special lunch with Grana and was spoiled greatly. While they were gone I had Kaibryn make his dessert. She did the whole thing except for dipping some of the bon bons into the chocolate. I don't know what I would have done yesterday without her.

Last night we had a family birthday dinner on our new "kids" picnic table from PaPa and Grana. Again we ate his favorite foods - pizza, deviled eggs (yes, I said, deviled eggs. The boy would eat a ton if we would let him), and for dessert he wanted Oreo bon bons which by the way are so yummy!!!!!!!!!
We went around the table and said why we were so grateful for him...that lasted a quick second. But, we praised him for being so obedient and setting such a good example for his younger brother and sisters. He is so good to help with Kaibryn and Cooper. But if you could see him with Kaityn Mae it would make your eyes sweat a little. He has such a sweet heart. He is alot like his Daddy in so many ways. He is witty, always happy, kind, and EVERYONE is his friend. He is always making us laugh and has a GREAT imagination. He is just a great kid.

We are so proud of him and are praying that the Lord reveals Himself personally to him this year.

Dear Sweet Christopher,

I cannot believe that you are seven now. It just seems like yesterday that I went into labor with you on an early Sunday morning and you weren't born until Tuesday morning. You should have seen your Daddy when we were waiting for you. He wrote down every contraction I had. It took up two pieces of notebook paper.
To see your sweet face was AMAZING. From the time I started wanting kids when I was a little girl I always wanted a boy and name him "Christopher Michael." That is such a great name. You are to be a "bearer of Christ." When I found out your Daddy's full name my breath was taken away because I loved that name and wanted it for my child one day. You are so much like your Daddy which makes me love you even more. I pray you become more and more like him as you grow up. Your Daddy loves Jesus and other people. I see him the most happy when he is doing those two things. Just as I want you to be like your earthly Daddy, I want you to be more like your Heavenly Daddy. Oh son, he loves you more than I love you and more than your Daddy loves you...I know it is hard to believe & understand right now. My prayer for you this year is that you will find out for yourself how much your Heavenly Father loves you.
I am looking forward to seeing what God does with your sweet little heart this year. ALWAYS know that your Mommy loves you.

Not Supposed to Happen to Mommas

Well, this entry is about me and my boo boo. Last Saturday morning I was making some banana bread and as I was checking to see if it was done, the top of my hand hit the top of the oven and burned it. It was pretty red but did not think about it. It was only the third time I had done that in a couple of days but was always able to go about my daily business. Anyhoo...it blistered over and in the midst of playing the blister got torn off...OUCH!!!!! Long story short, Monday night my hand was throbbing and hurt to touch and Tuesday the same except worse and my hand was swollen. Went to a clinic and my burn was infected. I had visions of them having to scrape off the dead skin to clean it so I was a little nervous about going.

So, I have to keep it covered and am taking medicine for a week to get rid of the infection. The nurse asked me what my favorite color was. I thought that was a strange question but answered "red." So she pulled out a red bandage and showed me how to wrap my hand up with the med and bandage. After she wrapped it up and gave me everything I realized I should have said, "white" or "brown." Something other than red which stands out like a sore thumb :)!!!!

I know you are probably wondering "which hand?" Of course, it is my right hand the hand I use for EVERYTHING!!!!!!!!!! Today is a little better. I am able to use it without being in a great ammount of pain, but I can already tell I need to rest it and slow down a little bit. Anyone have suggestions on how to do that with four kiddos? I have four great helpers though who have helped me around the house and are always checking on me. What cuties!!!!

Loving This Weather

After SEVERAL days of triple digit temperatures I am LOVING this cooler weather. This morning we went outside and I let the older three ride their bikes in the street by themselves. Don't panic I was in the driveway watching their every move. They thought they were so big. Usually Chris and I are right there with them.

After a little while I was praising them for obeying the "laws" and watching out for cars and stopping, etc. Christopher rode up to me and with all the excitement he had he said, "Mom, I feel so old. I feel like I am 8." He must think I am ancient if 8 is old to him. It is kind of funny too because on Thursday he is going to be 7, so I guess 8 is old to him.

As I was watching them I kind a little teary eyed thinking about how they are growing up but then excited at the same time because they are becoming more fun the more things they can do. I don't even know if that makes sense.

Anyway, life was good for my 3 kiddos this morning.

Kaibryn's Sleep Over

Kaibryn has been so excited today. Last night she had her "bestest friend in the whole wide world" spend the night with her. This is the first time for her. Cooper earlier this summer had a friend spend the night while his mom was on a mission trip with our church. Christopher got to spend the night with a friend last Sunday night and Kaibryn felt a little left out. So Grace got to come over.

They have had a great time playing, laughing, drawing, playing with puzzles and everything else little girls like to do. It has been a day filled with little girl laughter and sweet chatter. Grace is such a sweet little girl and she and Kaibryn get along so well.

Last night Chris said that we were at a new stage in life now...sleep overs. They can come to our house; however, I'm not sure about sending ours out. They are still little babies and need their Momma, right :) !!!! I'm kidding (sord of).

Nine Years Ago

Nine years ago today Chris told me for the first time that he loved me. I wish I could say my response was the same and I so badly wanted to say it back but had heard it before and I was not about to give my heart away if he was not the one. I believe my exact response was "Thanks for telling me." Yeah, made him feel good, huh. When I told my Dad what I said he started laughing and said that I ripped his heart out and sure enough it did. I am happy to say though that that next Labor Day I was able to say it and mean it with my whole heart. I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that Chris was my answered prayer.

Nine years later he still loves me which I cannot fully understand but I am so grateful. I don't know what I would do without him. He makes life fun and he makes me laugh. There are days when I can't wait until it is just he and I again. He is the one I have prayed for and I love him more everyday!!!!

"Every good and perfect gift is from above."

Summer Photo Contest

OK...I'm going to try this. I am not a photographer like my friend Crazy Daisy but I sure think my babies are cute and take great pictures :)!!!! I really think I gave birth to fish. Not one of my kids are afraid of water. They have had a great time swimming this summer.

Monday Munchies!!

Many of you have done blogs with recipes on them and so I thought I would give you some of my favorites and of course, they will mostly be sweet recipes. Well, because I LOVE sugar and anything with sugar and chocolate...oh, so yummy. In my 8 short years of marriage if Chris and I have the munchies, he goes for nachos, pizza or something like that (which is a meal to me); I on the other had go for the cookies, cakes, brownies, etc.

We have some friends moving this week and are having them over for dinner tonight and I made one of my favorite cookies for dessert and thought I would share it with you. If you LOVE chocolate and gooey cookies then these are for you. I would warn you to be careful because after tasting them you will want to eat the ENTIRE batch.

So here goes...

CHOCOLATE, CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES (you are going to LOVE these)

12 oz. Chocolate Chips (I always add a little more...as Chris says, "If a little is good, then alot is better.")
1 C. Butter
1C. Sugar
1 Egg
2 T. Milk
1 t. Vanilla
3 C. Flour
1 t. Baking Poder
1/2 t. Baking Soda
1/2 t. Salt
1/2 C. Sugar

**Lightly spray pan with non-stick spray.**

1. Melt 1 C. chocolate chips. Set aside.

2. Beat butter and sugar together. Add egg, milk, vanilla, and melted chocolate chips.

3. Combine dry ingredients and add to cream mixture.

4. Stir in remaining chips. This is when I add a little more chocolate chips.

5. Roll into balls and then roll in the 1/2 C. sugar.

6. Bake at 400 degrees for 6 - 8 minutes.
**I know this is not very long to bake and when you pull them out of the oven they
will not look done; however, when they cool they have a slight crunch at first
and then yummy gooiness (is that a word?).


**ENJOY!!!!!**