My new toy

Since Daddy got a new toy, it was definitely Mommy's turn. Jamie knew I wanted a new sewing machine and took it upon himself with Becky's help to get me one. He got one much better than what I had been looking at. I haven't be able to use it much because I have a pinched nerve in my back and using the computer and other creative things like sewing, put a hurting on my back. It's a super nice machine though and I can't wait to really get into making some fun things.

This is my new baby....

Jamie's new toy

Well I guess it goes without saying that if you get a new deck, you get a new grill, right? Jamie was looking online and found the Weber (is there any other kind of grill? I think not!) he wanted. Silly me told him about a store near us called Barbeques Galore who just happens to carry this grill. I went to the fabric store and came home to find Jamie and Jacob putting this monster together.



Boys and their toys. Hey, don't get me wrong. A little part of me wanted him to get it. It means less cooking for me and lots of yummy grill eating for all of us!

Cool Crayons

I stumbled upon (literally...check out www.StumbleUpon.com) and found this really cool site to make these crayons. Check out Crayon Nibbles!

Here's a pic of creation. The kids love using them and we look forward to making more for the kids and gifts.

Who knew the deck would save on the water bill?

Who knew that this wonderful investment would also save on our water bill and in turn help the environment saving on the water.....



Yes. Busted.

Our deck is done!

The great crew that came out to build our deck worked feverishly today to get it done. It's almost there. We can walk on it and everything. The temporary supporting posts are still there while the concrete completely dries and one of the guys will be here tomorrow to do a little finishing work around the french doors. Oh and the french doors! Jamie is awesome and picked out the kind that has the blinds INSIDE the glass. That man ~ always thinking! Love love love the doors.

The kids just loved it. It was bittersweet for Jamie. He totally loves it but like so many things lately, wanted to call his Dad and tell him about it. Richard sure would have loved that deck.

We will be getting some new patio furniture and of course a grill for it! We can't wait to be able to just sit and enjoy!

Here are some pictures of our new "room"!



Here are the kids getting ready to enjoy dinner, picnic style!

Cleaning, decluttering and decorating

We so many changes this year, Jamie and I are trying to get our house to be more like a home. We recently got new windows on the house, which we love. Not only are they nice looking, they keep the cold or heat out and don't have mold. They are super nice.

We are getting a deck soon. We are just awaiting the approval of the Homeowners Association....so honestly, who knows how long it will be! It's just a basic deck and it's going to be so nice to have it.

I just cleaned out the girls' room today. I'm hoping to paint it this weekend. I have some really nice fabrics to make them cute decorative pillows that match their curtains I made. I'm also hoping to get the crib/toddler bed out and the bunk beds up. I'll post pictures when we are done.

The boys want their room painted as well but can't decide the color. Once they do that, we will go full force with getting it done.

Last night Jamie and I talked about redoing our room as well. I think it's time to go to Home Depot to get paint samples to see what we like best.

I'm also on a hunt for a new kitchen table ~ it's a corner nook breakfast table. Just trying to find the best price since so many people have this set. Once we get the french doors for the deck, we will need something that is closer to the wall.

I love our house. I just want to make it more of a home.

My next project is finding five matching frames to put each of the kids' pictures in. We just got back the older ones' school pictures which turned out great. I'm going to attempt to take some of Jacob and Jenna because I just don't think they will cooperate at a portrait studio and that stuff isn't cheap!

The kids are gearing up for Halloween. We got their costumes last weekend. Jenna is going to be Supergirl. Jacob is Buzz Lightyear. Jasmine is Princess Jasmine. James is the evil Spiderman, also known as Venom. Jordan is going to be Blade. You will have to wait for pictures on Halloween.

I really need to get to the store and get the candy and bags. Sandy always made up bags with lots of candy for each child. This is very dear to Jamie's heart so I like to keep it going.

Lots of fun changes going on around here and I'll be sure to post pictures when each project is complete.

September 2007

Life is moving along. We have been going to the mountains most weekends. Most weekends, we come back home and say we want to live there. I just love the quietness, the slowness, the nature of it all. It's beautiful.



School is going well. The kids are enjoying it. They have a new program this year called the Star Program. Anytime a child is "caught" being kind, nice, helpful, etc, they receive a Star ticket. They can earn prizes or become the Star of the Week. They are all earning them, with Jasmine earning the most of course.

I made curtains in the girls' room. We bought paint awhile ago and just haven't done it yet. Hopefully soon I will be doing it. I have big plans for their room. These are the curtains though....



We also got new windows on the house. They are fabulous. I'm such a home maker when I talk about my windows and get excited about them.

We will be putting a deck on the house soon as well. Can't wait for that!

Congratulations David & Michelle!

Jamie's cousin, David, got married today to the wonderful Michelle. It was a beautiful outdoor wedding. The weather couldn't have been any more perfect. It was a really nice ceremony.

Congratulations David and Michelle!

The reception was a lot of fun. We sat near Jamie's cousins and joked and laughed most of the night. We met Jeremy's (Jamie's cousin) new baby girl, Gabriella, that they just adopted. She is so sweet. Gabby and Chad had a lot of fun getting to known one another. I don't think Chad knew that there were people his size in this world. He's so used to my kiddos.

Jordan was at his dad's. James was at his mom's. The rest of the gang spent the night at Oma and Opa's house. They had a lot of fun there. Of course.

On the way back home from dropping the kids off, the driver side window shattered while I was driving. Completely scary! I have no idea what happened and how I did NOT wreck. Luckily the kids were already at Oma and Opa's and I didn't get cut by the glass. Just really scared.

I don't have any pictures from the wedding. Yet. I hope to have some soon from the ones Becky took and hoping Jeremy sends us some of the ones he took.

Happy 2nd Birthday Jenna!

Jenna turned the big 2 today! Our baby girl is 2! Where has the time gone? She is such a fun child. A real firecracker. Some would say she has an attitude problem and compare it to the one I supposedly had as a child so I don't think much about it. Here's some pics from her big day!


Happy Birthday pretty girl! **This girl never wakes up this happy! She must have known it was her big day!**




Enjoying some cuddle time with her buddy Bear.



Jenna is obsessed with Little People playsests and dinosaurs AKA dinos. Well Fisher Price has Little People Dino sets. Her best friend, Jacob, helped her open them. She totally loved them and couldn't wait for Daddy and I to rip the boxes open.



I made Jenna's cake. I did another butterfly. I was going to do a dinosaur but never got around to finding a dino cake pan.



Here is Jenna telling everyone to SHH!!! while we were singing. She really does not like people to sing to her. Ever.



Jenna picked out her dino at Build-A-Bear. Oma and Opa always take the kids there on their 2nd birthday to pick out a special friend. Her name is Jenna-saurus.




Happy Birthday sweet baby girl!

Curtains for the Girls' Room

Jasmine picked out some really pretty paint colors for the walls and I found some really great fabric to match. Hopefully I will paint it soon but at least they have curtains! Even better was that I got these in the clearance section at JoAnns! I love when that happens.

August 2007

Just when you think things are going to get better, things happen and you don't understand why. We do have faith in God and trust in Him that it's His plan but it is hard to understand sometimes. Sandy started taking a turn for the worse. Most of truely believe that she knows her husband is gone and it is ok to finally let go. I wish I could have known her. I only know her through Jamie's stories. She is amazing lady and everyday I get choked up wishing I had known her. It kills me that my children never got to know her.

Sandy got sick and was put in the hospital. They said one thing but it wasn't that. They got things back on track and she was sent to the nursing home. At the nursing home, she took a turn for the worse. Jamie and Becky decided that their mother had suffered enough and signed the papers to take her off of her feeding tube and medications. Sandy would be coming to her home for her final days with Becky caring for her and working from home. I would go and pick Chad up in the mornings as Becky couldn't leave.

On August 23rd, I got there in the morning to pick up Chad. Becky said Sandy wasn't doing well and that she was calling the nurse. I gave Jamie the update when I got home. He said he was going to stop by after work. He had only visited once and said he wouldn't go back. How do you tell someone that has seen his mother basically die in front of his eyes that he needs to visit? You can't. Anyway, he went after work. Sandy's sisters were there. One of Jamie's uncles. And Becky and Jamie. They were all sitting around her. Jamie was about to come home and gave his mother a kiss, said he loved her and good bye. He gave her another kiss on her head and with that, Sandy took her last breathe. She went peacefully and without pain, surrounded by her sisters and children.

The children and I mourned the woman we would never know. It was so hard knowing that we just couldn't walk in and say hi to her. I always think she knew that the kids and I existed. I hope she knows that I'll always take care of her baby boy as well.

2007 has been a rough year.

The children missed their first day of school for the funeral. It was pretty hard going to the gravesite and seeing Richard's marker there. May Richard and Sandy rest in peace, together.

After everything that has happened, we went full blast into the school year and getting into a new "normal" routine. Whatever that may be.

Jordan has three different teachers this year. He is happy with his teachers although the one teacher he wanted in 3rd grade that moved to 5th, he didn't get. He's really excited to be in 5th grade. They do a lot of neat things this year. He is in the advanced math class and reading class.

James got a good teacher as well. She is known for her no-nonsense approach to teaching. James wasn't the happiest with who he got but Jamie and I were as he needs to buckle down on his school work. He is a smart kid but lacks the desire and confidence.

Jasmine was beyond excited with the teacher she got. She has wanted Mrs. Howington since Jordan had her as Miss Reed in 1st grade for a reading teacher. She married another teacher at the school ~ the one Jordan wanted but didn't get. Mrs. H and Jasmine were so excited to see each other. She is a wonderful teacher. You always have that one teacher that you will remember forever. She will be that teacher for Jasmine.

Jacob and Jenna are doing great. Jenna was not happy at all about the three going to school. The first week of school consisted of a lot of tears at the bus stop for Jenna. She's better now and enjoying her days with her best buddy, Jacob. Those two are funny, entertaining and bad. But the good kind of bad. The bad that makes you laugh. The bad that makes you remember that they are kids and won't be little forever.

Our most exciting news of the month was on August 5th. Jamie and I had been talking about getting another puppy. A rottweiler of course. We had been checking the Sunday papers and weren't finding much. This particular Sunday, Jamie actually checked the paper. Normally I did. He said he was going to go check out these 9 week old pups near us but didn't want the kids to know and get their hearts broken. About an hour and half later, he calls and says that they weren't 9 week old pups but 9 months old. I was dissapointed but figured it wasn't meant to be. An hour or so later, Jamie gets home and says he forgot my cell phone in his truck. So I run out to get it to be greeted by this adorable face....



Jamie named him Bear. If you could have seen the way he walked, you'd totally get it. He's my baby. He's an awesome dog. He has done so well. The kids weren't very sure about him at first. Jenna and Jacob are doing great with him now. Jasmine has her days. Some are great; others she isn't so sure. James is still pretty freaked out. He was bitten by a dog a few months ago and hurt pretty bad so it's understandable. Jordan does great with him. Bear is just a pup with lots of love that wants to play but has those sharp puppy teeth. He's a great dog though.

July 2007

We are making trips up to the mountains so Jamie can mow and take care of the millions of other things Richard took care of. We wonder how he managed to take care of it all. It is nice getting up there though. We wish we would have gone more to enjoy it with Richard though.



Jamie actually got a new truck to make the trips easier for us. He needs to be able to get up there in the winter and this baby sure will do the trick. It's beautiful. It's totally everything Jamie wanted. He so deserves it. He works so hard to take care of all of us and now has the added places in WV and VA.



The rest of our summer is watching Chad and our neighbor's kids, Kaylee and Taylor. The kids have a lot of fun playing and getting outside. We can't really go anywhere since it's too many kids for my van to hold but we are doing our best to enjoy the summer.