Thank-you basket for a job well done.

It was six years ago this month that this Graco carseat was added to our family. Two months before our first baby was due my eBay shopping lead me to buy a single stroller, double stroller and this carseat. All matching and all coming illegally from the USA. Fast forward six years and we have a basket that expired in December 2010 but is still carrying our baby. Yesterday it went on its final voyage, next stop is the garbage but before it head there it deserves a good thanks for taking care of our babies. I am sure that one day my kids will look back with disbelief that we could put our babies in such an unsafe device lol

We have a walker...kinda...

So I think that I am ready to make it official. Over the past couple days Jordynn has been trying her best to take some steps. Today she succeeded! She has been cruising from object to object and has managed to take as many as four or five totally unassisted steps to bridge the gap between objects. She is a brave little monkey and throws herself fully into whatever object she is aiming for. Almost overnight she has grown by leaps and bounds. She claps and dances, says the regular mama, dada, nana. It is hard to believe that in under a month she will be one. Amazing!
Mckinna is still working on getting her first loose tooth to fall out. She had hoped it would fall out almost immediately but now has resigned to the fact that it may take some time. The new tooth has sprouted up behind though so who knows how long it will take.
Kamryn is on a horse, wedding kick right now. She is all about marrying Brennan from preschool but apparently her and Jack Huggins also recently got married. Jack informed his mom (Tammy) that I cannot know of this marriage because I will probably give her a time out. Every night before she goes to sleep she asks me where we are going to meet. Often she suggests the barn or the racetrack for us to ride our fast horses. I am glad that she still wants to be a cowgirl. I was worried that after she fell off the pony she might not be so keen on the idea. She is a strong, brave little lady that is for sure.
Charlee is getting better and better at talking. She still manages to confuse more then a few people with what she is saying but it is getting better. She is very excited to have a birthday and has expressed her desire for "Mick mouse clubhouse" cake. Should be interested seeing as I am such a domestic diva lol
Have I mention that I love my life? Well trust me I do. I have the most amazing husband and children and we are so blessed to live the life we do. I want to be thankful for each and every single day that I wake up because life is precious and does not need to be taken for granted. I am so thankful that I have gotten to see my children grow to this point and hope and pray that we have many years ahead.

An Easter to remember

Easter weekend is coming to a close and we have had such an amazing time. There was no "one" great event that made the weekend so memorable but rather a wonderful chain of activities that left me with so many wonderful memories.
On Friday night we all gathered on the couch to kick off another family movie night. This weeks selection (moms choice) was We Bought a Zoo. This movie was also very fitting since I had just listened to Jared Heidinger speak about losing his amazing wife Krista but that is another story. This was the first movie night that I can remember where we all sat snuggling for pretty much the whole movie. It came after a little threat of watch the movie or go to bed but apparently that worked because I was surrounded by the three oldest girls and Anthony spent time snuggling with Jordynn.
Saturday night was dinner at the Doyle's with uncle TJ and nanny and pop pop. Not only was dinner delicious but the Easter bunny had made an appearance there and the girls raced around searching for eggs. Following dinner and dessert overload my mom took the kids for a little swim in the hot tub. Jordynn missed out on the swim but was busy practicing her walking in the living room while the rest of us turkey stuffed adults visited.
Sunday was busy but boy was it fun. Started off with Easter baskets and a hunt in the backyard. Following that we packed up the Chaos and headed off to church. There were baptisms to celebrate and Mckinna made me laugh when she asked about the hypnotisms. After a quick lunch and nap we headed off to Jackie and Ryan Matchetts house. We had rubber duck races, an egg hunt and enjoyed a little BBQ supper. Between us, the Huggins and the Matchetts we had ten kids and I think the oldest was eight lol The girls had a great time running around playing and I had a great time sharing in some adult conversation.
The day ended with a bath. The kids are all still little enough to bath together which is fun and crazy at the same time. I know that I say this often but I am SO blessed and as I watch my family and share in each day with them I cannot help but want to say thank-you to God for every. Single. Second. Of this great life he has given me.

Amazing Love

Today is Easter Sunday. As I lay here in my amazing house surrounded by safety, warmth and happiness I begin to ponder what I ever did to deserve so much blessing. I am vastly aware that in the world I live in I have more blessings then so, so, so many people. I am a perfectionist and have always strived to be successful and "attain" things even though in my head I know that I will never be "good enough" or "deserving enough."
I was hit by a deep thought of sorts, at least for me. When each of my children were born I fell in love, like deep, vast, unending, heart hurting love with them almost instantly (the shock that I had yet another girl may have hit me first lol) I loved these little beings before they had done anything, and I mean anything. My love for them didn't hang on what they looked like or what they could or couldn't do. It didn't matter that they kept me up all night or cried even when I was trying my best to get them to stop. I just loved them for being them. I know and scripture tells me that Gods love for me is greater then any love that I can feel. Since this is true, I know that God loves me just for being me...no string attached. This is a simple revelation of sorts but when I think and ponder on it it becomes deeply personal.

Joys of Technology

So it is late and by late I mean 1:25am. I have like a zillion things going through my head. At the forefront of those thoughts is my desire to be a better blogger. Mostly for two reasons. 1. As much as I say and think I won't forget the important things, I do 2. I want my girls to be able to one day look at this and know that from the very beginning I prayed for them and wanted only to be the very best mom for them that I could be (I screw this one up a lot)
Now this leads into technology how you might ask...well, my amazing, handsome husband upgraded my phone and I just discovered an app that allows me to blog on my phone. To me this is amazing. To any other tech savy person this is probably basic phone 101. At any rate, perhaps just maybe, now that I can blog on my phone I will do it more often. I still need to write about our Disneyland adventure and the fact that Jordynn is just one month away from being one year old. Wow! This has been one amazing year.

Ready for Fall....

Wow! Summer has flown by and it is almost fall. Our summer was fun. We spent two weeks in Salmon Arm with the family again and the girls had fun. The weather did not cooperate so well but I don't think the kids noticed too much. They had so much fun playing with their cousins and I had a great time visiting with Michelle, Crystal, Gran and Nana. I think that the most precious part of this two weeks was having Nana along. At ninety years old she sat in the chair and watched as the children played. She isn't always in the best of spirits but I know by the way she watches those kids that she adores them. It was so amazing to see Charlee climb up into Nans lap for a little kiss and then run off for some more action.

Other then that trip we have stayed close to home but been fairly busy with play dates, swimming, pony riding and quad riding. We did a couple weekends of camping in our "new" 1976 Motor home. It is so nice to just get away as a family and spend time watching the girls play. They seem to make new best friends wherever they go and it is always so exciting for them.

We are gearing up for fall. Mckinna starts kindergarten and Kamryn starts preschool. It is amazing that they are big enough to go to school now. Like most moms I feel like it was only a short time ago that they were tiny babies and I was holding them in my arms. I treasure the present and the things that they can do now but I also look back fondly on what has brought us here.

This fall the "big" girls are going to play soccer. I have also enrolled all three of the older girls in music lessons. Then my little Charlee will be doing gymnastics. I think that it will be busy but fun. It is hard to believe that even though I had four beautiful little babies in five years I will spend Monday and Wednesday mornings with only two of them.

We are gearing up for our Disney Cruise. It is only 20 some odd days away. I am both excited and nervous. I want things to go smoothly and I want it to be relaxing so of course I am trying to get everything organized and sorted out before we embark upon this first real adventure as a family of six. I cannot wait to see the look on their faces when we board that magical boat and head for Disneyland. I am so blessed to have such amazing parents that make things like this happen.

Time Flies

Like most bloggers and people in general I wish that I had more time and commitment to writing. It seems like life is always moving forward at a ferocious pace. The girls are getting bigger and life as a family of six seems to be in full swing. It is hard to believe that Jordynn is already two months old and Charlee will be turning two next week. Our baby is smiling and laughing and seems to be turning a corner and getting happier by the day. You cannot begin to fathom the amount of love I have in my heart as I watch my family interact.
I know I am always talking about how lucky I am but today I want to highlight how amazing our family is. I am blessed to be so close to both my parents and Anthony's. Last week I sat back and watched as my parents played with the girls in my grandparents swimming pool. Then I walked into the house and stared at my grandmother cuddling and comforting her newest great granddaughter. How amazing is that? It makes me stop just for a moment and remember how lucky I am. Later that same week Anthony's father babysat the three big girls while I went to the doctor. How many grandfathers are not only willing but excited to watch three children ages 5, 3 and one? I am so blessed. Computer battery is going to die but hopefully I can write more later....if I get to it.