Happy Birthday Kennedy!

Today was my beautiful oldest daughter Kennedy's birthday. I fell in love with her the moment I laid eyes on her. She was and still is our perfect little angel. She is my first born and I have so many wondeful memories of learning about how to be a parent, all starting with her. So here are 7 things that I love about her in honor of her 7th birthday:



1. She loves the color pink

2. She is a wonderful student and all of her teachers say she is a joy to have in class.

3. She is very girly. Always wanting to wear make-up and have her clothes just right!

4. She is a wonderful big sister and role model.

5. Her smile lights up a room.

6. She loves High School Musical and everything about it.

7. We love her and are so lucky to have her in our family.

We love you Kenny B, you always make us proud:)

Holy Cow!

This thing called life is passing me by at a rapid rate. Lots of exciting things happening for our family, but not enough time to post about them yet. Off on a road trip to Minnesota to visit the fam. So we will catch up later! See ya in a few days:)

Happy 6th Birthday Caleb!

So it has been a while since I have posted. I guess my life has been quite a whirlwind these past few months. I am now done working at Edison Lakes. That has been a pretty difficult loss. The people I work with were and are family. Miss seeing them everyday:) Today's post is a happy occassion though. 6 years ago today, I was holding a beautiful baby boy. Caleb weighed 8lbs even and was 22 1/2 inches long. At the time we had a 11month old baby girl also, so this was the beginning of many years of complete chaos. Looking back though I wouldn't change a thing! So here are 6 great things about my favorite, silly boy:

1. He loves Legos, he can build anything, and totally amazes us.

2. Everytime he falls or trips, he jumps up and says "I'm okay, it alright, I'm okay"

3. He loves to play pranks, lately he has been wearing two different flip-flops and I don't notice

until we've been out shopping for 2 hours.

4. He can eat his weight in bologna!

5. Loves to ride his scooter and play baseball in the backyard.

6. Has an incredible knack for video games, maybe he can use that to become an engineer.

All of this to say how much we all love him! Happybirthday buddy!

Is it Friday yet?

I have actually been thinking this all week. I am very excited that tomorrow actually is Friday. Working 3 jobs is enough to kill a person, but every week I keep trucking along. Not much to report this week. Do need to mention our new little kitty. He is really cute, and I must admit I was very much against him in the beginning. He has definitely grown on me now. I must get my camera out to get a photo of him. Had a great weekend with my MIL. Went to lots of garage sales and just play having fun. She was able to go to Grandparents Day at the school, so that made Kennedy very happy. Hoping for a relaxing weekend and going to the mother/son sports jam with my sweet baby boy. Cause I can rarely post without a picture. Here's a photo take by my great friend Jeri! Love this baby girl:) Have a great weekend!

Just plain tired

Today was my first day at my new job. I have started working at Nephrology Inc. part time on Mondays and Wednesday. Such a new chapter in our lives, I have been struggling to know if this is the right decision. Done lots of praying to God, that if it was his will, then all things would work out. Thus far they have. Pete has been such a trooper, no complaining, just doing what needs to be done. I am so blessed to have such a wonderful husband. So the first day was pretty good, and I think I am going to really like this job. I have so enjoyed being home those two days with the kids, it is so important to me to still be there for the kids:) I pray that God will see me through this, I trust that he will!

Here comes the rain again!

So my title is literal and figurative. Feeling kinda melancholy tongiht, not sure what that's all about. I guess a good portion is work. Not sure what direction we are going, not sure if I even like the direction in which we are going. So many things have changed, so many things out of my control. I know God has a plan for us,it is just so difficult to just let go and let God! I will though God, I promise I will:) Also so much on my plate with the kids. Homework, Girl Scouts, baths, bedtime. Not that Pete is not helpful, he can give a bath and cook like nobody's business. It's just mommy stuff, feeling like I should be able to do everything. I know it's insane thinking, but you know I still feel it. The kids have been so much fun. Caleb losing a tooth last night, Kennedy putting her rollerskates on every night and skating through the house and Karleigh repeating the phrase grandma and poppy taught her last weekend. "Oh Baby" I am so blessed to have 3 happy, healthy kids, a great husband and wonderful family and friends. Someone remind me of this, next time I start whining again:)

Sunshine Day

Today was such a beautiful day! I really hope winter is over, 'cause I am so over it:) We kind of lounged around all day and then around 5pm decided to take a drive to Redamack's in New Buffalo. What a wonderful day and everyone was right. What a GREAT burger! Love spending time with my family, having fun and making memories.

I'm still here!

I can not believe it has been almost 2 months since I last posted. I had such high hopes for this blog:) Anyway, a lot has happened since I was last here, some good, some bad, some I would like to forget. But such is life, a learning experience in every way. We have been very busy with Girl Scouts, selling GS cookies, birthday parties, selling GS cookies, school activities, selling GS cookies, basketball, and selling GS cookies. Are you seeing a pattern here? The GS cookie part will be over come Tues. and this mom couldn't be happier! So many things to post about, like Karleigh's 1st birthday and the upcoming Daddy/Daughter dance at Kennedy's school. So I promise I will post what we've been doing later. Promise it won't take another two months:) I should be going to bed, I can't remember the last time these eyes have seen 2am on a clock. Have a good night all!
Credit for the awesome photo goes to my good friend Jeri!

Snow Day!

Well like most of the Southwestern MI and Northern Indiana families, we had a snow day today. That meant all three children at home. Oh my! how will I entertain them? Well, we started with breakfast of Banana Nut Cheerios and Blueberry Poptarts. I had coffee. (definitely need to get a caffeine boost.) We colored, cleaned the kitchen, played legos, littlest pet shops, and made cookies. I enjoyed our time together, they have such personalities and I am realizing how grown-up they are becoming. An example of this was when I asked Kennedy for the remote tonight, she stated "One second, I am busy texting." I did a double take to see her playing with my old cell phone pretending to text. What in the world? Boy are we in trouble with this one in about 5 years! Well here's to possibly having a snow day tomorrow too, except that I am running out of ideas!

Sweet Baby Karleigh

I wanted to post this on the Sunday, but of course time got away from me. Sunday, Jan. 11th Karleigh turned 11 months old. I can't believe that it is even possible, that this sweet baby has been with us for 11 months. I thought I would post a tribute to Karleigh by listing 11 things that we love about her.
1. We love how she sucks her thumb.
2. She grabs her ear when she's sleepy.
3. Always is all smiles.
4. Never has a bad day.
5. Stays on schedule (although recent blemishes have been on the rise.)
6. Thinks daddy is #1.
7. Hates socks, and takes them off at every opportunity.
8. Loves to blow raspberries.
9. Can eat her weight in Cheerios.
10.Has 6 teeth and loves to use them, even if your finger gets in the way:)
11.Is loved by all that meet her!
We love you baby girl!!!
(Thanks Pete for writing the first 7 things, your the best!)

Snow, Snow Go Away!

I didn't think it was possible to snow anymore, but it is still snowing outside. I can soundly say that I hate winter! I know hate is a strong word, and is actually one that I don't generally use,but today I am making an exception. Today was to be Caleb's second soccer session, but it was not to be. There was no way I was driving out in this. So we stayed home and cleaned or should I say that I cleaned:) I was cleaning the kitchen, and then decided that I needed to straighten up the kids' rooms. (I know) I had cleaned Kennedy's room and had started Caleb's when they both came up to me and Kennedy said "Mommy, thank you for cleaning our rooms, we appreciate you." Then Caleb added "We really love you Mommy, thank you." There are times when I get frustrated with them and yell, but this brought tears to my eyes and made me remember how sweet and wonderful they are. They then proceed to give me homemade cards saying what a great mom I was. Well if this was a plan to tug at my heartstrings, it definitely worked and it got me off their backs for the rest of the day. (Boy are they smart!) I am so excited about tomorrow for two reasons: 1. Karleigh turns 11 months old 2. I get to scrapbook with the my favorite girls, the PIT DT. Hope I don't need to drive a snowmobile in;) And because I can't post without a photo. Here are my two little angels, see those smiles, you would fall for it too. I know you would!

Not sure what got into me today, but I woke up at 6:20am to start my day. This strikes me as strange because I went to bed at 1:40am this same morning. I can't seem to figure out my internal clock. The days I go to bed at a decent hour, I require more sleep:) Go figure!

Thus started my Saturday morning. I love Sat. mornings! I like to get up early before everyone else (minus Pete, who had already left for work) and the kids still asleep in our bed. (I'll talk more about that at a later date.) It is so quiet and I sip my coffee and tune in to all my favorite blogs. The perfect start to any day. I always have a long mental list of all the cleaning and organizing that I plan to do, but as you know, time gets away from you when your on the internet. Before I knew it, it was time to get the kids dressed for the day. Today was the first day of Caleb's soccer class. This is his third class as we took a couple years off in between classes, because he just didn't seem very interested and his attention span was very short:) Wow! What a difference in how he played today, he listened, hustled and had an all out great time. Much improved from what we experienced at age 3, he has really matured in the last 2 years. Of course there are no photos, because 1. I forgot my camera and 2. who am I kidding, how was I going to take pictures and hold a 10 month old! Oh well, I still have 8 weeks left to achieve that goal. After soccer we headed for Target. Now I had no intentions on going to Target, because I was just there with my mom yesterday. How convenient that Soccer Zone is less than a mile from Target. This could make for a very dangerous Saturday morning ritual. I hear my wallet shuddering right now! Still trying to figure this blog thing out, but here is a photo of Karleigh. My fabulous friend Jeri took this pic of her last fall. (Check her out at jeri hoag photography.com) Can't believe how fast this little angel is growing. I could just eat her up!

Happy New Year

Happy New Year to everyone! So one of the things I wanted to do in 2009 was start a blog. This is a major milestone for many reasons: 1. I am generally a pretty private person. 2. I don't consider myself a computer savy person, so it had to be very easy. 3. Tons of family and friends have bugged me and I generally give in to peer pressure. So here we go on this adventure together, I hope I can stick it out:)