additional photos of haircuts

august vacation

For our August vacation time, we made a LONG drive out to North Carolina to see some good friends who moved there last year. Here's Lacey and Cameron. They were so happy to finally see each other! The biggest surprise, however, was the way Cameron just LOVED Korbin! He was everyone's big brother that week. He didn't mind everyone climbing on and roughhousing with him, in spite of the fact that he's usually quiet and not so rough and tumble. We felt like we just got to relax and have a wonderful time there. Harby and Elliot let us stay with them... which made 10 of us between both families and it never felt crowded! It wasn't even until the very end of the time there that Cameron started to seem that she wanted her space back. These photos were taken at the Greenville Zoo in South Carolina.

Once we got home, we decided it was time for the little ones to get their first haircuts. Kailyn decided to donate another 10 inches of her hair to locks of love as well. Maddox was very wary of the stylist until she took the time to make him comfortable with bubbles. What a great experience! He never cried.

Garden "fruits" and other goings-on

This is my FIFTH batch of tomato sauce! It contains garden tomatoes, oregano and basil. I also add some sea salt, freshly ground black pepper and sugar. Makes a great base for spaghetti and other italian dishes.

Isn't this beautiful? I noticed the cloud forming through the front window as I was in the house. The sunset was starting, as you can see a bit if you look at the bottom of the cloud.

For two weeks Maddox had been telling me his foot hurt. He would sit and look at it...much like in the picture and say, "ow" in a whisper. I finally found a splinter in his toe! This is him checking it out after I got finished.

Here are Kailyn Melody and Anna at our Terra Cotta Warriors field trip. I believe they had statues that big for sale! The actual warriors were larger than a man. It was quite fascinating. The favorite was the Shark IMAX. Even I was reaching for the jellyfish right in front of me!!

Good friends, and good food!!

Here is Lacey wearing the same boots that Jeff wore as a little one! Korbin wore them, Kailyn wore them, and now it's Lacey's turn. She is in love with the boots!

This is a sample of our wonderful fruit and vegetable harvest! The tiny pumpkins are called pie pumpkins. I discovered them last year at the grocery store, and it just grew out of our compost!! In the picture there are chinese eggplant (they made a wonderful eggplant parmesan with the homemade tomato sauce from the millions of roma tomatoes we're getting!  There is also plenty of cucumber, bell pepper, and basil, oregano, rosemary and chives. It's so much fun for me to go outside pick something, and cook it!! (I never appreciated that growing up!) What's in the basket with a handle is all that we picked in one evening.

Rebecca, Anna and Joel came to visit us today. The kids played as Rebecca and I sorted through my scrap fabrics and organized them into the zipper bags that came with sheets inside. (Rebecca is so clever!) Anyway, as we were working on this, I had showed her something in my craft room. Now to see anything in that room required a degree in acrobatics, the room was really really really a disaster. Not even a path. When we were later rounding up kids so that they could leave, I walked into the room, which, from the outside of the closed door I was marveling that 4 kids could fit in there in the state it was in, I opened the door, and to my shock and delight found it stunningly CLEAN! 

Because of such a thing I was very inclined to keep up the momentum after they left and turned the bed into a sort of day bed (it's the bottom of a bunk) and I love it!!!! I even hung lots of things on the walls that have been on the floor around the room, brought an extra nightstand downstairs to have a side table for a guest, and hung some dry-erase boards that were given to me so that the kids could do handwriting in a fun way. Thank you, Kailyn and Anna!!!!!

Kailyn did such a wonderful job dancing as a Hebrew child in "Deliver Us -  The Story of Moses." We look forward to her ballet each year. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the studio, it is a Christ-centered establishment. Each year all levels participate in the production, so there is no "recital," they just dance what they learned as part of a whole story. At her dress rehearsal she was very much ahead of the whole dance. All the lights, makeup, etc made her so excited! I video taped her rehearsal and let her watch it several times so she could practice and remember when to start. She did perfect on performance day!!!

 Sweet little Maddox fell recently, needing 3 stitches on his lower lip. That was just awful as a mom to see! He did so well at the hospital though, the doctor just couldn't believe it. He of course, cried when they injected the numbing medicine into the area that was cut open, but just looked from one person to the next, examining our faces as the doctor stitched him up. I do my best to be very encouraging during times that can be scary. Children really play off your reactions to things, so I find it most important to be the best I can be emotionally when I want to cry outside. The stitches were removed in about 4 days. It looks very good now.

Rachel graduated this year! She was accepted at both Baylor in Waco and UT at Tyler. She decide to go to UT Tyler. She is working this summer to save money for expenses. I'm so excited for her. I can't imagine her living on her own, but I guess we all have to grow up sometime.

 While you can't see it, I have braces now! They are ceramic brackets, so they really don't stand out. I had clear ties the first time around. After that, I let the kid choose the color. The current color is light blue. :)

For the 4th of July we took a drive and met some friends at Washington on the Brazos. That is the place where the Texas Declaration of Independence (from Mexico) was signed. I had been there as a kid, and it was fun. The fireworks were the best part, although as time passes and I don't look like a pack-mule at places I'm sure they will become more fun. (I walked all over hills and stickers in flip-flops  carrying 2 sleeping bags, (for laying on during fireworks), diaper bag, reusable grocery bag full of food/water, Lacey on my shoulders and Maddox in my arms. Everyone else was carrying chairs that we forgot straps for. Can you say w-a-g-o-n? What were we thinking?

We had a wonderful spot for viewing fireworks. They were setting them off right across the field from us. Just before they began, we saw a longhorn cow. I didn't think much of it. The fireworks began, and after a few of them, I looked across our group to make sure we were all there and Lacey wasn't! We were calling for her, but how could she hear us over all that noise? Jeff found her down the fence line. She said, "I was just with the cows." I will say this is by far not the first time Lacey has done something like this! The next day we ordered the child locater package from Brickhouse. It came in yesterday, but only time will tell if it was worth it. I have to really watch that child!! But at least I can set it to give me a heads-up if she walks out of her range.

Poor Maddox! This is what happens when a mosquito bites him. The actual bite occurred right over the right eyebrow. This picture was taken at the worst of it all, which was TWO days later! (Approx. 30-40 hrs later.) Currently he has another bite on the side of his face near the temple, and there is an area of about 3 inches in diameter that is just swollen. The mosquitos are so bad. It only takes one and they get to him before I know they're out yet. We had been really enjoying the evenings, but I'll have to find something to use to repel the mosquitoes before we can be out at dusk again!

Here is Lacey at Lake Somerville. All 6 of us went camping with the cub scout pack. The first night it poured down rain. Our tent held up very well, but others were not so fortunate. We took in some water along any edges that were being touched by coolers, etc, and there was a slight misting from the top. Since Lacey and Maddox slept through it, however, we just stayed put. It was just wonderful to be out in otherwise great weather, spending time with the family.

Here is Maddox hunting eggs. He was just so cute!

It's too bad this is a fuzzy pic, but this is Maddox's hand holding a screw for me so that I could drill it into the deck. I pre-drilled the holes and he would come along with a screw and hold it in place for me. :o)

This pic is courtesy of Kailyn. Maddox really enjoyed the building stage of the deck!

I love this picture. This is Lacey and Maddox sharing their suckers. I got to enjoy just the two little ones while Jeff went to the lake with the older two. That day was so sweet.

When I came upon this I was on the phone with my mom and said, "I can't even describe what I'm seeing right now!" There was cereal all over the chairs and the floor. The dog was circling the table eating what she found. (By the way, Lacey calls this particular cereal "yucky" charms. She likes it too!)

Here's Kailyn (in the middle) selling GS cookies. I'm so glad that is over! I spent lots of time on that, but I learned a lot and won't need to stress as much next year. (As cookie mom) She really enjoyed selling with her friends. (It was definitely about the friends!) She makes friends so easily. I love to watch her around others. 

Korbin FINALLY received his DSLite. He anticipated that thing beginning in August when he found out about the contest. He found out he won late Jan. There was a shipping problem, so it took until March for him to receive it! THEN he had to save money to buy a game. Poor thing. He's on his 2nd game now. I wouldn't have bought it for him, but he really appreciates it and enjoys playing when it's time.

Here's Lacey looking like a garden gnome. We were digging holes for posts for our new deck Jeff built. Lacey stood inside the hole and we all cracked up. I'll have to post a pic of the deck. It's a wonderful relaxing spot to be!!!! Lacey has undergone a personality change since her 3rd birthday. It takes more patience to get through to her. She has always been so compliant and obedient... she still is, but there is a strong sense of independence- she wants to do for herself instead of others doing things for her.

Here is Rachel looking pretty! She chose a great dress for her basketball banquet. The slide show prepared by the coaches was really fun!

I don't think people get a chance to see Maddox smiling. He doesn't do it much unless he's at home, but he's full of smiles.  Here he is reaching for the camera!

Kailyn is well on her way to making her goal of selling 400 cookies! (She's at 385!) Here she is with her friend Ryleigh, delivering cookies last week.

I love this one! Looks like Rachel and Maddox are texting each other. He is such a button king. He loves anything and everything with buttons! :)

For the past couple of weeks everyone here has been sick. Two weeks ago it was pink eye. This week it's sinus/upper respiratory infection. The little ones had double ear infections last Friday. Lacey constantly sucks on her two middle fingers and since she's always the 1st one sick, I'm sure that she's picking up germs. I've started really making her wash her hands more often and I got some hand sanitizer for shopping trips. I'm not really one to use the stuff, since it not only kills bad bacteria on the skin, but ALL bacteria on the skin. Our skin needs the good bacteria to fight off the bad ones and protect the skin. My lotion FINALLY came yesterday. (It was backordered.) I love it since it contains nutrients for the good bacteria on the skin. I much prefer that over the sanitizer, but for now it's sanitizer plus the lotion after, at least when we're away from home. Too bad I wasn't doing it before, because this cough the kids have is horrible! We have been at home, though, the last few days. I let Kailyn do a Girl Scout badge fair on Saturday and then cancelled all other plans so far. I'm hoping she can attend Girl Scouts tomorrow. They'll be having a GS "birthday party."  I was hoping a few days of rest would get us over this yucky cough. It's definitely helping...but not moving fast enough for me.  :o) 

 

black eyes

Lacey and Kailyn... This is what happens when I say, "Sister picture!" (so sweet!)

Korbin... his Daddy's son!

Lacey and Mommy

She's so used to taking pictures she's getting silly! :o)

Close-up. The bruising on the left is just at the nose and forehead now.

Not much else going on at the moment. Grandma is visiting for the weekend and the kids are really enjoying her company. (Especially Lacey!) Jeff stayed home from church today with 3 sick kiddos. I took Korbin to Scout Sunday at our host church. (The church that allows us to use their facility each week.) While he was home he vacuumed the whole house! (Among many other things.) I can't remember the last time I vacuumed upstairs. What a guy. :)

Well, it's bedtime and there's a tired screaming baby needing a bath. :o)

ouch!

Lacey and Kailyn

Lacey fell Sunday at church and hit her head on a table. She had her arms out to catch her fall on the floor but the table got in the way! Last night after her bath we could clearly see 2 black eyes! It's not as obvious in the pictures, but you get the idea. We are so thankful she didn't receive a concussion from the ordeal!

Lacey and Maddox eating grapes. :) They look like trouble, don't they?

Korbin received his popcorn awards last Thursday at scouts. He was so excited about it. He received a participation patch, a super salesman patch (for selling over $250), a fill-it-up certificate and patch (for filling up one whole order form), a marshmallow blaster (gun that shoots marshmallows- also for filling the order form), an Academy Gift Certificate (for being the top 3rd salesman), and a k'nex picture blocks (for being a popcorn photo contest winner). He is also watching the mail and waiting for his DS to arrive from the photo contest.

Whittling Chip and Girl Scout Cookies

Korbin's birthday cupcakes - lightsabers! For his 9th birthday we celebrated with cupcakes and friends at a park nearby.

Jeff teaching Korbin how to use a knife

As a Bear (3rd Grade Cub Scout) Korbin is at the age to use a pocket knife. During den time they carved a bar of soap. He is pretty careful with his knife and does well. If you remember in December we entered a photo in a "Best Popcorn Pix" contest. His entry was one of the winners!!! He is overjoyed to be getting a Nintendo DSlite. He always sees other boys (and girls) who have them and we told him if he wanted to enter to try for it, we'd let him have it if he won. From his popcorn sales he earned a free ticket to watch the Houston Aeros play hockey. He wanted it to be a father/son deal, so I bought Jeff a ticket to go with it. He said the seats were great and both of them really got into it and enjoyed being there. After the game, Korbin was able to go down with other scouts to take a shot on the goal. Too bad we forgot the camera! 

Kailyn is in the midst of selling Girl Scout cookies. She has earned the initial prize by selling over 160 boxes of cookies! She has a goal of 400 boxes... so at this point, she has 149 to go! It's fun for me to circle the prizes she has earned as she goes. I cleared out my "craft room" as it had become a junk room. (or overflow, depending on how you look at it.) It will be the cookie room whenever the cookies get here. I volunteered to be the cookie manager, therefore keeping any cases of cookies at my house until picked up by the girls who sold them or until we finish our cookie booths, etc. Last year they were against all the walls in my living room and we had four boxes of cookies fall at the mercy of the 2 yr old cookie monster. This year I'm locking them in a room with a key. She's too smart for the bathroom locks too, so I will replace the door handles with the outer-door variety. I have an extra one I keep on a storage attic we keep Christmas presents in.

Meet Julie (& Audrey)

This is Julie the rat. She is very sweet. Too bad their tails aren't furry like a squirrel, people would like them more! I'm not big on holding them, I simply don't have the time, but Kailyn is just giddy over them both. We got Julie late Monday night as the pet store closed. Audrey, her sister, came home with us today. While the mice, gerbils and hamsters are cuter, the rats bond with humans better and bite less. Kailyn is always begging to hold her. Her sister, Audrey, looks very much like Julie. I think Audrey's head is darker and the fur around their tails are different colors.

Christmas

There were two expressions Korbin had on Christmas day. He was really excited!

We called the open-mouth expression "the look of the day." He just kept dropping his jaw. It was so funny.

Kailyn was so sweet. She said her favorite thing was the pink legos. Who knew? She asks for everything under the sun, so that actually makes it hard. She says she wants stuff, but then doesn't really play with it. One thing I did for her was make felt food. I didn't have time to do much, so I just tucked the needle in with the gift, and explained to her that part of that gift is that the two of us can sew more of it together. She was thrilled about that!

Lacey was so tired when the kids got her up. The first thing she said was, "I'm tired." We finally talked her into opening a gift... and she just stared at it. Notice the two pics that look alike aren't exactly the same. She just sat there for the longest time. Didn't even touch it. :o) It wasn't until she opened the scooter that she started waking up and getting excited!

Maddox was just so cute. He loved the whole day. He even got into unwrapping a bit.

I LOVE this picture. All the kids got bathroom stuff in their stockings. This is Maddox's first toothbrush. I handed it to him to see what he'd do. :O)