Best Friends

Harlee has a little friend Aubrey that I just love. They are such great playmates and have so much fun together. Her mom is a single mom so I watch her quite a bit. On Wednesday we went to Target and got them matching skirts. When she came over on Wednesday they planned to dress alike. Too cute! I just love that she has such a good friend!

He did his own hair

This is what happens when mom is sick! I had the stomach flu so bad and wanted to rest for a few minutes. So I put Gray down for his nap and sent Harlee and Nash to play. When I woke up after 15 minutes,at the most, I realized I should not have napped. Harlee had changed Nash's diaper. What? She did not put it on right and I woke up to a poop mess. Then I thought Nash's hair was just wet. Nope. He had sprayed TONS of ice freeze hairspray on it. It was not going anywhere. Seriously the cutest kids but how much trouble can they get into in such a short amount of time? Guess I cannot get sick anymore!

We said a prayer

Last night all of the kids were having fun playing in the basement. We all enjoyed it, especially since Joey and I got a few moments alone to snuggle on the couch! When they were done playing we asked them to bring up Gray's favorite blankie. This has been a source of stress lately since Gray loves to carry that blanket around everywhere and often hides it. Since he NEEDS it to sleep, everyday has become a search. One day I found it in the diaper basket! Anyway, Harlee and Luke went down to search and could not find the blanket. They came upstairs, Harlee in tears, saying they asked Jesus where the blanket was and He was not helping them. I suggested that they look upstairs too. A few minutes later Harlee came running in announcing she had found the blanket. She said "I felt a beeping in my heart and then Jesus told me to look in the office!" I was so proud of them that they would use prayer to help them in a situation they knew was important.

A little while later they were going to bed and wanted to watch a movie. They could not find the remote. So a few minutes later, Harlee and Nash came running in our room. "We said a prayer for Jesus to help find the remote. I felt a beeping in my heart and He said to look under the blankets. It was there!"

I am so grateful for their willingness to pray and I am even more grateful for the answers they receive.

Too much technology?

Luke and Harlee sold some of their stuff that they don't used and saved for an IPOD touch. They are loving them and I think they feel pretty cool! Since Luke no longer needed his IPOD, he gave that to Nash. He LOVES music so this was heaven to him....for awhile. Now he thinks he needs a dark blue IPOD touch like his siblings. A barely three year old needs an IPOD touch? I don't think so.

Button

If ever I wondered if Gray had a mind of his own it was just confirmed. He kept pointing to the button on my jacket and I said "button". Then as clear as day, the boy who hardly says a word, said "button". Tears filled my eyes. I could not believe he had said a word yet alone a 2 syllable word. So all day I asked him over and over to say "button" and he would not even try. Then when Joey got home I asked him to tell Daddy his new word and he would not. So that night when I was rocking him to sleep, he looked up at me, smirked, and said "button". Seriously? What a stinker this kid is. He is going to do things on his own time so don't even try to ask him otherwise.

Now what??

Does this look like the face of trouble? This little stinker is always keeping us on our toes. This morning I was trying to catch a few more minutes of rest when I could hear him awake in his crib. A minute later I heard a thud and then I saw that little man walking out of his room. He climbed out of his crib. If I had to guess which of the four kiddos would try to do this it would definitely be Gray. Now what are we going to do? Big boy bed? If he will climb out of a crib he for sure will not stay in a bed. Hope we can figure this one out. Thanks again Gray for no dull moments!

10 years ago...

Ten years ago today I made the best decision of my life. I married my best friend! Although the day was crazy with snow, nothing could change how I felt. I am so grateful for Joey and for all the blessings that have come into our lives. I cannot believe in this 10 year span we have almost 5 kids! Like Joey says "We have created quite the posse!" We are so lucky to have each other and I just know we will have many more anniversaries and blessings to come. Love you so much Joey!!
*I love how young and naive we look in these pictures. Not a care in the world! Just so happy to be together.

Sometimes....

Today when Harlee came home from school she asked if her friend Grace could come over. When she was on her way Harlee was telling me how they were going to play house.
She said: "One of us might be the Mom and the other will be the teen."
"The teen?" I asked.
"Yeah, the teenager. Did you know that teenagers sometimes have babies?"
What???
"They do but they are not suppose to." I said.

Wow! Where is she learning this stuff. I think I am a little worried.

LOVING this boy!

It is no secret that Gray has always been quite the stinker. He is so busy and always into something. Well this really has not changed but lately his loving side is taking over. I am really enjoying it! He is so fun and just loves to snuggle. He is also starting to just babble. Lots of nonsense sounds but it could not be cuter. I am just having so much fun with him. Love you Gray!

A Much Needed Night Away

Last night Joey and I were able to go spend some quality time together to celebrate our upcoming anniversary. Thanks to grandma's willingness to watch the kiddos, we spent the night at the Marriott downtown. We started the night by going to Goodwood for dinner. The potato skins appetizer was so good that we were to full to eat our dinner! Then we stopped for some treats and made our way to the hotel. We first went to the wrong one because I forgot to write down the address. As we walked backed to the car I told Joey I was so grateful for him. He never gets upset with me. Yes I should have written down the address so he could have gotten frustrated. But he never does. So grateful for his love and patience. So then we made it to our real hotel, got in our sweats and enjoyed a nice relaxing night. I LOVE being away alone. It is so nice to be able to focus on each other without any distractions. I was telling Joey this morning how much I love how snugly he is with me when it is just us. He truly is the best. This morning after we got ready we went to Little America for the breakfast buffet. It was a little pricey but so worth it! The food was amazing. What a nice little break for us. We seriously need to do this more often.
*So not a fan of this picture of me. Joey looks great but I am so showing the pregnancy puffiness. Hopefully one day,when this is no longer my reality, I will appreciate the picture.

Harlee's 5 year old checkup

I still cannot believe Harlee is 5! No matter how many times I say it just does not seem like she can be that old! Today she had her dreaded 5 year old checkup. She asked me before if she had to get shots. I was honest with her and she was super brave. Here are her stats:

Weight: 43 lbs - 50%
Height: 45 inches - 90%

She is doing great. He was really impressed with how much her speech has improved. He told her she needs to drink 2 glasses of milk a day and have 2 servings of vegetables. We will work on it! So thankful she is healthy and developing just as she should be.