happy anniversary!

wow - 32 years is a long time!!! happy anniversary mom and dad.. thanks for being such a good example! we love you so much and hope you have an awesome day and many more years of happiness to come!

memorial day memories..

we had a great weekend.. despite all the rain. pretty much nothing we planned turned out the way we planned it but we had a good time none the less.

friday was kennedy's last day of school. nana and papa got here thursday evening so they spent most of the day at school with kennedy.. with the exception of a break at lunch time for a trip to chili's and big lots. they went to the awards ceremony in the morning and the pizza party in the afternoon. they seemed to have lots of fun.. after kyle got home from work we made a family trip to the theatre to see Shrek the Third. we really had a good time. korbin was great. he didnt quite understand why we wouldnt share the popcorn with him. but he didnt complain too much about it. just a few minutes into the actual movie he fell asleep. he did not even wake up when we got home. we put him straight to bed.

on saturday we had a lazy morning. mom, dad and kennedy left the house around 930am.. to 'make the rounds' as papa says. they went to the christian book store, target.. im not sure what other stores they visited but they did a lot of window shopping. we had planned to cook burgers and dogs on the grill - however the weather refused to cooperate. so instead we went bowling. kennedy scored 105 on her last round and i got a chicken for the fist time in my life (aka-turkey..3 x's in a row..when kennedy was little she thought the bird that appeared on the screen every time daddy would get a 'turkey' was a chicken..so it just stuck)! im pretty sure we were the superstars! not sure what kp and nick bowled but its not fair to count them as competition since they own their own bowling balls! later that evening we were able to fire up the grill. my dad cooked steaks, mom and kyle made the side dishes and we had a great dinner! dont worry i did contribute to the cooking, sort of. i scooped the bluebell for dessert. maybe the best part.... after everyone was tucked in, kyle and i went to jason and christy's to watch the rampage vs lidell fight. and when that did not last long, some how we got into a fiery debate about catholicism..very random.

sunday morning we went to church with my mom and dad and then stopped by mcalisters deli for lunch. (mostly for the sweet tea) after seeing them off.. we went to our very first naturalization celebration. diego's dad (one of the babies .. not degele) just became an american citizen last week. it was cool to see little diego in his own environment. around 4 we made our way home, got the house ready and had our own little memorial day weekend celebration. during the got the house ready part of our day the little kid was playing outside with one of the neighbor kids. she was on the sidewalk steps using some stencil thing to make designs out of beads-she dropped some- stood up- bent over to look for them-lost her balance and face planted in to the concrete. not good. she skinned her entire nose..and the stencil actually stuck in her forehead. i wish i could show you a picture..but she refuses to let me photograph it. i kinda dont blame her!

monday was spent with team cannon. cash sent korb a text early that morning asking if he could come over and play! they were really cute together. sometimes i forget they are only 9 days apart. cash's new crib is absolutely amazing. congrats amy and brad! if you get an invite definitely go check it out...but be forewarned - it might be hard to come home.

schools out for summer...

sort of. today is supposed to be kennedy's last day of school - however because of a bad weather day some where along the way, they have to go on tuesday! yuk! i cant imagine how many kids will actually show up but it turns out that my kid wants to go. what a weirdo! anyway.. i was just thinking about how awesome the last day of school always was.. how we looked forward to it forever and then when it finally arrived we were kinda sad not to get to see our friends everyday for 2 1/2 months. so, with that in mind, i guess its pretty smart to go back for one more day. after all, its like having the last day of school all over again. i cannot believe i am the mother of a second grader!?!? how did that happen?

my mom and dad are here for the weekend. nick, jenny & dalton will be here tomorrow afternoon. (minus joey this trip..kyles foot is almost well!) we are going to have a little going away party for kennedy tomorrow. she is leaving to spend the summer with austin next saturday. im not ready. i guess im never really ready. and i guess that i would not be normal if i was... we are going to make the most of our one week of summer together (except for tuesday). we will take lots of pics!

have a great memorial day weekend everyone! if your in the dallas area..try to stay dry! and remember, only water your yard as needed on garbage day.. drought condition, ya know!

happy birthday kelly!

so, two blog posts today and not one wishing my dear friend kelly happy birthday. i didnt forget..honestly! i texted her happy birthday this morning and looked forward to having dinner with team cardwell to celebrate her birthday all day.. but somehow did not post a birthday message! what an ass... anyway.

happy birthday kelly!!! thanks for being such an awesome friend. you know i love ya...and i believe that you are not 30, even if the little kid doesnt. and i do think you have a nice booty!

sorry its so big!

trying to add a pic to my blog header.. not sure why its so big? work in progress..please ignore it til i figure it out!!! i had been reading about customizing your blog..however, i was going to wait until i got our family photos that we had taken last weekend..but sarah did an awesome job making her blog beautiful so i decided to try. ive also added a list of links to blogs that i read often. when you visit sarah's..try not to be too hard on me about the 'look' of mine! and do notice while you are there the amazingly long list of friends blogs she has! hint, hint! thanks for your patience while i learn... now go read the post about korb!

sarah..if you visit - any suggestions???

korb update

i usually try to post a korb update when he starts a new month...however he has learned to do so much lately i just couldnt wait to share.

he can crawl!! its official. he can crawl.. on his hands and knees. he has been sort of army crawling or swimming for more than a month now but i have seen him really crawl a dozen times since sunday afternoon. jaime, kennedy and i took korb and bex to the neighborhood pool on sunday. they kicked and splashed in the water for a while and then we decided to sit on a towel and let them play. korbin did not want to just sit so he kept 'leaving'. he usually scoots around on his belly - but i guess the ground being uncomfortable to his stomach was enough motivation to crawl the right way! he has still been scooting around in the playroom on the carpet..but as soon as he gets to the concrete its up on his knees and he is off. so cute.

he is also pulling up on everything. we had to lower his crib last week because he stood up in it! the only pic i could get was with my phone...not the best quality but you get the idea! we have even seen him pull up on one piece of furniture, reach for another, balance between the two and then take steps to the new piece. cruisin.. i dont think it will be long before he will just take off! i cannot believe it!

he just got tooth number 4.. only problem there is they are all on the bottom! maybe he will get some on the top soon! he says ba for bite and there is no doubt that he knows what it means. he is only have 3 or 4 bottles a day now. in the morning when he wakes up.. afternoon nap.. sometimes dinner and bedtime. other than that he'd like to ba anything you will let him. he is eating 3 meals a day. and sometimes snack with sister after school (when he doesnt want naptime bottle).. i dont think we are in any danger of starving him.

he loves to zerbert. he zerberts everything. mostly mommy's shoulder but nothing is off limits. daddy, sister, the sofa, his own arms, other babies, a little beach ball that he likes to play with. its a favorite pass time for sure.

and finally he has learned to clap. he's been doing it for a couple of weeks. when we were in childress for mothers day we took a trip to dairy queen and he clapped in between every bite of ice cream. it was hilarious! i cannot believe its only been two weeks since my last korb update. he is growing up so fast!

my babies

im feeling like im way far behind on blogging.. not sure why. except that i have lots of pics to share. or maybe i just talk too much...nah that cant be it! anyway. a few posts ago i mentioned taking the little man to see a photographer. here's the story. with their fathers permission..i took all of 'my' babies to be photographed. i met an amazing photographer... on a website that i am a member of.. she agreed to shoot them together and separately for gifts to their moms for mothers day. sort-of a first buddies thing. in the pic they are 5 mo (paula), 7 mo (gracyn), 8 mo (korbin), 9 mo (diego). they are all special to me. i think they will treasure them for ever. i know that i will. they turned out so great!

heres the link to the amazing photographer! www.clarinesmith.com she is shooting family portraits for us this weekend ... and we are planning to have her shoot korb, kennedy, and dubs at the end of the summer! i love love love her!!! she is so reasonably priced as well. she makes it possible for everyone to have awesome photos of their families and that makes her so special! she is geniune, talented, personable and generally a joy to be around. i think it goes with out saying that i would highly recommend her... thank you terry!!!

our weekend

we had such a great time in childress this weekend with my family!!! ive been looking forward to it for so long.. and im kinda sad its already over! i know your not going to believe this.. but i forgot my camera. jenny had hers.. thanks jenny!

let me see if i can highlight the weekend. nick, jenny and dalton got here around 3 on thursday. korb hadnt been feeling well for a couple of days. just wheezing and chest congestion stuff..so kyle came home early to take him to the pediatrician. he was about 20 minutes late for the appt - so they wouldnt see him. not the best start to the weekend. so we agreed that we would just take his inhaler and if he got worse we would take him to see a dr or to the er in childress. after the last parent picked up their baby..and i was officially off for the weekend, we packed the car and got on the road. we stopped by the pharmacy to pick up the inhaler and korb had a crazy wheezing coughing episode in the car while i ran in the store. by the time i got back to the car kennedy and kyle were completely panicked. we went straight to the children's urgent care. they gave him a nebulizer sp? (breathing treatment machine) to use and finally we were off. at 9pm. not exactly what we had planned.

this pic is from the night before..korb fell asleep while i was on the phone with nick before i could get him to bed..i just thought he looked sweet enough to post

friday morning we spent lots of time watching korbin and dalton play. both my parents had agreed to work that day (they are substitute teachers) not knowing we were coming on thursday but it gave us a chance to recoop from our late arrival. we had lunch at my brothers favorite mexican restaurant and then made our first trip to walmart. the big joke is theres nothing to do in childress except go to walmart.. so we did. a lot. we picked up an entertainment center that my mom had been wanting..kyle and nick spent the rest of the afternoon assembling it. thats how we got kp injury number 1. something to do with the feet and the drill. im not sure how it happened but it whacked his knee and took out a chunk of skin. there was blood. however, the armoire turned out great. i think she was really surprised! all day the boys nap times were completely opposite. korb slept from 930-1100..dalton from 11-1.. korb from 1-3. it was like they needed to be the center of attention..and then one at a time they rested. funny. around dinner time they both decided to make an appearance..so we went out! we had dinner at kbobs. we saw the entire town i think. or at least everyone we had not seen on our initial visit to walmart. kennedy spent the entire day with my cousins children. they are 8 & 9. they went fishing (after i spent 45 minutes straightening her hair) and to a birthday party. my mom and dad gave her a new bike.. but since she wasnt there to try it out..kyle thought he would have a little fun with it. that was kp injury number 2 for the weekend. again..there was blood.

after the boys were in bed.. nick, jenny, kyle and i met up with all of my cousins who were in town. i has been sooooo long since we've all been in one place. as you can see from the pics ... im the only girl. does that explain anything about my personality? we had fun catching up, reminiscing and hanging out. dont worry the cops only came once... and we finished off the night with some allsups stop & go burritos. good times good times. saturday was all about relaxing and recovering. we all took turns napping and hanging out with the babies. we had jt's barbecue sandwiches for lunch.. and planned to cook out for dinner. then came kp injury number 3. he was going out of the sliding glass door on the front porch..trying to keep joey (nick & jenny's dachshund) from getting out when little joey turned into a viscous animal! he bit the top of kyles foot.. it looks like a shark bite! poor nick & jenny were so upset. and poor kyle was so beat up! he still had a day and a half to go!!! we did eventually cook out..after going back to walmart to buy groceries. ~and neosporin and band aids and bactine. kyle and nick tag-teamed the grilling. nick seasoned everything and got it ready. and kyle did the cooking. dont worry he did not burn himself! just as we were finishing dinner around 730pm..someone stopped by to congratulate my dad. he was running for city council and the votes were to be tallied by 8pm. they posted the results a little early and dad won! so exciting! my dad..city council. despite friday nights party! we are so happy for him. we spent the evening with the kids and mom and dad. nick and i did go back to walmart once more for a mothers day card. 5 or 6 trips in 3 days. i told you we went a lot. joey did not take well to punishment..or maybe i should call it banishment. he spent the afternoon/evening in the backyard or crate. and every time we started to feel bad for him he tried to bite someone else. even jenny! we decided he's just stressed from too much travel. another reason nick and jenny need to move to dallas!

sunday morning we all got up and made our way to church. dad preached an awesome sermon about appreciating mothers and all they do for us. he also issued a challenge to all the moms in the congregation. he said that ultimately whether they work or stay home, moms spend most of the time with children during those impressionable first years. and that it is usually mom who plants the seed of christianity. he spoke of how important it is to tell bible stories not just nursery rhymes at home... we cannot depend on sunday school teachers and childrens church to implant those tales into our children. fathers may teach by actions right from wrong and how to be a good person..but its mommy's job to truly teach those things early. and then he said to go out and spend the day blessing your mothers..and being blessed by them. and being thankful if they are still around. and i cried. i love my mom. she is my very best friend. we talk everyday...usually a few times. i dont always agree with her..we dont always see eye to eye. but i do appreciate all that she does for me and my family and i hope that she knows that. it makes me sad that my parents dont have their mothers.. to be blessed by. i know they miss them. i miss them too. someone told me a story this week about friends of theirs who dont celebrate mothers day. they say its a made up holiday.. i say whats the harm. we need more days like mothers day to honor and be blessed by the people who are important to our lives and who we are. its not about the presents. its just about loving our parents ... as long as we can.

not sure which day this pic is from but it is priceless... im sure it will be a family favorite forever.

a mothers day post..

men beware.. this is gonna be sappy! and mostly random too. and probably really long. i wanted to post something special for mothers day.. not just because my mom says i dont write about her enough (love you mom) but also because i love being a mom so much. right now.. at 2:15 wednesday afternoon.. there are 6 sleeping babies in my house! they are everywhere.. and they are all so special to their families. i am so blessed that they pay me to play with them all day so that i can spend all the time in the world with kennedy and korb. dont worry .. i dont have 6 babies everyday. i am just helping out another provider in my neighborhood for a few days. i have 3 full time day care kids that are very special to me... anyway. not the point. it just feels good to be a mom..i know that mothers day is a silly commercial holiday but im thankful that someone (even if it was mr hallmark) created it!

heres whats really on my mind.. a few weeks ago kennedy (and korbin) and i went for a pedicure on a saturday afternoon. there werent two spa chairs open together so we sat facing each other (korbin in my lap). eventually a spot opened up next to me and a woman sat down. she was around my age...and she was admiring the little man. seeing that i was talking to someone else kennedy called my name. the lady said .. oh is she yours too? i confirmed. and then she told me that she has a 5 year old daughter. i asked if she was her only child and she said yes..well, she is now. awkward... quickly i changed the subject. as we continued to visit she told me that she had a baby girl last summer. a few weeks before korb was born. she died in october from a sudden virus that attacked her heart. she was 9 weeks old. so there i sat holding my beautiful 7 month old... and her daughter should be the same age. i had tears running down my face. i told her that i was so sorry...what else could i say? she told me not to worry..she obviously didnt have to tell me, or even sit next to us. she wanted to. we talked forever. she told me that she had a brother in the area and that he had a little boy in november..and that it was hard for her. and that their relationship had suffered. and that she felt selfish about it. she told me that her first little girl was not her husbands. and even though they have a wonderful relationship, he had been so excited about his own baby. and how its been so difficult for him. (i know what you are thinking...could the asians paint those toes a little faster !!!) but it wasnt really awkward any more at that point. we had really hit it off for some reason. eventually i asked if she was from mckinney..she said no.. a little town in the panhandle. which game me chills. kinda like the first time i found out nikki was from muleshoe! just a little close to home..small world i guess. turns out her home town, borger, is very near my home town. we had so much in common. in the end i wanted to exchange numbers..but for some reason i chickened out. i have this thing about making new friends..its hard to keep in touch and be a good friend to the ones i have.. does anyone really have time to create successful new relationships? so its been weeks.. literally weeks..you should see my toes..(or maybe the point is you shouldnt see my toes).. and i keep thinking about her. i know that her mothers day will be bitter sweet.. and i hope she makes it thru it and somehow feels blessed by her 5 year old. we are so lucky to have healthy little ones in our lives. i hate that dalton has to be medicated all the time.. and that his condition wont just go away. but im so thankful that he's here. sure ava is a terd sometimes (like her mom-jk)... but she gave us such a scare and im so thankful that she's here. and for all the healthy babies i know and their mommies.. lets do the best we can. and someday theyll make awesome parents too.

i received this poem in email last year.. and forwarded it to everyone i know. i wanted to post it again. i just thinks its cool. im even posting the message i sent with it..cause i still mean it all!!!


somehow i can relate to every paragraph!!! whether its a thought about kennedy...or a dream of korbin. or my mom, whos my best friend - or the woman i called nana for 17 years...and the woman who gave up my mom so that i could spend 17 years with my nana. or watching my father lose his mother...literally. im sure you all have your own memories you can relate --- i realize that MOTHER'S DAY is 'just a hallmark holiday' in most peoples opinion, but i want you to know that i think you are all or will be wonderful mommies and i am so proud to have you as friends. miss you..james

Mothers

This is for the mothers who have sat up all night with sick toddlers in their arms, wiping up barf laced with Oscar Mayer wieners and cherry Kool-Aid saying, "It's okay honey, Mommy's here." Who have sat in rocking chairs for hours on end soothing crying babies who can't be comforted.

This is for all the mothers who show up at work with spit-up in their hair and milk stains on their blouses and diapers in their purse. For all the mothers who run carpools and make cookies and sew Halloween costumes. And all the mothers who DON'T.

This is for the mothers who gave birth to babies they'll never see. And the mothers who took those babies and gave them homes.

This is for the mothers whose priceless art collections are hanging on their refrigerator doors. And for all the mothers who froze their buns on metal bleachers at football or soccer games instead of watching from the warmth of their cars, so that when their kids asked, "Did you see me, Mom?" they could say, "Of course, I wouldn't have missed it for the world," and mean it.

This is for all the mothers who yell at their kids in the grocery store and swat them in despair when they stomp their feet and scream for ice cream before dinner. And for all the mothers who count to ten instead, but realize how child abuse happens.

This is for all the mothers who sat down with their children and explained all about making babies. And for all the (grand) mothers who wanted to, but just couldn't find the words.

This is for all the mothers who go hungry, so their children can eat. For all the mothers who read "Goodnight, Moon" twice a night for a year. And then read it again. "Just one more time."

This is for all the mothers who taught their children to tie their shoelaces before they started school. And for all the mothers who opted for Velcro instead.

This is for all the mothers who teach their sons to cook and their daughters to sink a jump shot.

This is for every mother whose head turns automatically when a little voice calls "Mom?" in a crowd, even though they know their own offspring are at home -- or even away at college.

This is for all the mothers who sent their kids to school with stomach aches assuring them they'd be just FINE once they got there, only to get calls from the school nurse an hour later asking them to please pick them up. Right away.

This is for mothers whose children have gone astray, who can't find the words to reach them.

This is for all the step-mothers who raised another woman's child or children, and gave their time, attention, and love... sometimes totally unappreciated!

For all the mothers who bite their lips until they bleed when their 14-year-olds dye their hair green.

For all the mothers of the victims of recent school shootings, and the mothers of those who did the shooting. For the mothers of the survivors, and the mothers who sat in front of their TVs in horror, hugging their child who just came home from school, safely.

This is for all the mothers who taught their children to be peaceful, and now pray they come home safely from a war.

What makes a good Mother anyway? Is it patience? Compassion? Broad hips? The ability to nurse a baby, cook dinner, and sew a button on a shirt, all at the same time? Or is it in her heart? Is it the ache you feel when you watch your son or daughter disappear down the street, walking to school alone for the very first time? The jolt that takes you from sleep to dread, from bed to crib at 2 A.M. to put your hand on the back of a sleeping baby? The panic, years later, that comes again at 2 A.M. when you just want to hear their key in the door and know they are safe again in your home? Or the need to flee from wherever you are and hug your child when you hear news of a fire, a car accident, a child dying?

The emotions of motherhood are universal and so our thoughts are for young mothers stumbling through diaper changes and sleep deprivation... And mature mothers learning to let go. For working mothers and stay-at-home mothers. Single mothers and married mothers. Mothers with money, mothers without. This is for you all. For all of us. Hang in there. In the end we can only do the best we can. Tell them every day that we love them. And pray.

"Home is what catches you when you fall - and we all fall."

a booger picking contest...

i promised kenners that i would not blog about this.. funny that she would even think to ask me not to. but its too cute of a story to just forget about. and thats why we blog or journal to remember good stories, right? yesterday morning.. feeling very tired from our cinco de mayo adventures.. like a really bad mom i told kennedy i would give her $5 bucks if she would go make a bottle for korb. i know..it sounds pathetic. anyway, of course she was happy to comply. when she came back upstairs i asked kp to pay her... he was not happy to have to give up that kind of money - so he suggested some kind of contest so that he could win it back. she agreed. they discussed a few different options.. and finally came up with double or nothing on a booger picking contest. once the details were worked out - (biggest not first) - they were off. it did not take long before she was out the door with her $10. so gross! definitely worth remembering....

korbin is 8 months old!

well..8 months and 1 week. i cannot believe its been 8 months! korbin is such a sweetheart. tooth number 3 is almost thru..he is sitting on his own and almost crawling.. he says dada - and im pretty sure he means it. he makes all sorts of noises that make us laugh and he cracks himself up all the time too. he is eating baby food with chuncks.. he has overcome his fruit aversion. except for maybe pears. he is also interested in eating just about anything you will share off your plate. his eyes are still crazy blue..no change there. i think he might just keep them like daddy. he is still a chubby guy. but so cute! we had portraits made last thursday. i should be able to post a really good pic next week. its hard to keep him still enough to get a good shot at home these days!

blog requests...

last night after the crazy storm that blew down about half of our fence.. and a huge patch of shingles off our roof.. not to mention generally scaring the crap out of everyone.. jenny left me a message pointing out how lucky we were that saturday was such a beautiful day for our buffett-mania. the weather the week before definitely was not pretty..and since hasnt been the best. so its really cool that GOD let the sunshine for my favorite day of the year!!! she thought it would make a great blog post. i think she makes an awesome point ... and i am very thankful that we were blessed with such amazing weather. HOWEVER... i'd like to request that some of you faithful readers start your own BLOG. its so easy, its so free, its really kind of fun, you get a great since of accomplishment that you are documenting your family stories, its a really cool feeling when someone tells you that they read your blog, and i would love to hear what goes in your everyday life! i'll even help you get started if you want. consider this a formal challenge!!!~

P.S.

i have had a few emails requesting to see all the buffett pics... heres the link.
http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0AaN2zhs3btGLqg