Dinner with Jannie

On Monday night we went to Grammy's house to have dinner with Jannie.  A nice relaxing night filled with good food and even better company.  Totally love my peeps...

Uncle Michael and Aunt Andi doing puzzles with the littles

 Daddy enjoying a rare moment to himself

 Photo op with the Janster... aka Jannie...

And the following were taken by none other than the very talented Collin Ryan...

Poor Mads and her "stink eye" or "pink on"...

 Pretty Grammy workin in the kitchen...

 Uncle Dude

 Aunt Andi

 Papa is reading about something or other...

And GG was there too but not until a little later because she had swim class.  :)  We just love our GG to pieces!!

Good times!

Pink eye strikes again

Yep, that's right.  Mads got the "stink eye" as we like to call it.  She woke up this morning with a little bit of a blood shot eye so I ask her "Mads does your eye itch?"  To which she quickly replies "no, I not got the pink on".  Sorry beauty, but unfortunately you DO have the "pink on"...

And I thought it was hard to get drops in Collin's eyes.  Whoah nelly, enough said!

Half way to 5...

Collin Ryan today you are exactly four and a half years old!!  My  first born is nearing 5.  You are our handsome treasure indeed, the little boy that we had been praying for and dreaming of for what seemed like forever.  You were worth the wait handsome, most definitely worth the wait...

You seem so grown up these days.  Mature beyond your age.  You  look older, act older, and most people are shocked when we tell them you are not even 5 yet!!  And yet there are many stinkerish moments sprinkled throughout our days that serve to remind us that you are indeed still 4.  :)

You are really enjoying school!!  You are always excited to go and we are equally anxious and excited as you share sweet stories about your day when you get home.  I talked to Ms. Pam (your teacher) yesterday and she said you are "so quiet and shy" in school.  I assured her that may change.  :)  She also mentioned that you always do what you are supposed to do.  Apparently you are "cautious of the group of boys who are already comfortable and need to be reminded to quiet down and stop running".  I am pleased to hear that you are a "rule follower" and pray that you continue down that path.  We do hear most often about your new friend Katie.  Ms. Pam even mentioned that you two play together a lot.  She said Katie is a "do anything kind of girl, not a girly, girl".  It seems as though the two of you are enjoying one another's company.  No matter who you choose as your friends, remember all of our talks at home about how God requires that we be kind to everyone and treat other's the way you would like to be treated!

Collin, you are everything we could have dreamed of in a little boy, the exact one we wanted.  You are sweet and spicey and so very lovable.  You like to keep your momma (and your daddy for that matter) on her toes.  You seem to enjoy keeping me busy with the little (or often BIG) messes that you create for me around the house on a hourly daily basis.  Our little Dennis the Menace.  You are sure to shower me with many unprovoked "I love you mommy"s throughout the day.  It happens often and yet it melts my heart every. single. time!  I will never grow tired of hearing of your love me, please don't grow tired of telling me.  Just when I think that there is no way I could love you any more than I already do, I wake up to a new day, and I find many reasons to fall in love with you all over again.  I pray that one day you will have a little boy of your own.  One who is the spitting image of yourself.  There is no way to explain our love for you.  We try our best to show you every single day just how very loved you are.  You probably won't understand the great magnitude of it until that one fine day when you set your eyes upon your first born.  It is then that you will truly understand...

Happy half birthday handsome treasure.

We love you to the moon and back... 

A date and pink eye

Last night I decided (at the last minute) that Ryan and I needed a date night.  I wasn't sure we would be able to pull it off being last minute and all, but Ry said "call your mom, she won't care".  He was right.  :)

So we loaded up the littles and off to Grammy's we went.  As we were driving along Collin wondered out loud...

"are you and daddy leaving when we get to Grammy's?"

My response...

"Yes daddy and I are going out on a date."

"What's a date?"

"A date is when mommy and daddy go out together and talk."

A few moments of silence pass by.

"Hey mommy, know what?!"

"ya bud, what's up?"

"When I grow up and I am a daddy I am going to take YOU on a date and we can talk."

"Is that so?!  Well what will we talk about?"

"God"

"Oh, well I like to talk about God."

"Good because that's what we are talking about on our date when I grown up."

It's on my calendar sweet boy, and I'm holding you to it!!

Just don't grow up too fast...


In other news...

Friday when I picked Collin up from school he had a fever and a sore throat.  Boo.  Today when I picked him up I discovered ( from across the room, it was that obvious) that he has pink eye in BOTH eyes.  

Needless to say I have a love/hate relationship with school and all it's germs.  Wish me luck as I try to wrestle the bear  boy to get these drops in!!

Half way to 3

Madelyn Kristine today you are exactly two and a half years old!!  Half way to three, hardly seems possible, and yet it is true!!  You bring so much joy to our family!  You are funny and witty and just plain full of life!!  We spend our days chasing after you, laughing with you and lovin all over your spunky little self!

You talk in full sentences now and some of the things you say just bend me over with laughter.  You are such a friendly little soul, hardly ever do you meet a stranger.  You flash your big smile to almost everyone and with it you quickly make new friends.

You adore your big "bruder" and try to do everything that he does.  We are always surprised at how well you keep up with him!!  Collin also adores you, although he likes to keep you on your toes.  He is beginning to realize that you play by your own set of rules and aren't one to be bossed around.  Your will is just as strong as his which makes for some interesting days.

And yet there are also these glorious moments of each day where you sweetly play together and it's in those moments that I know you will be best friends forever!!

It is a rare occasion that you are not wearing a big bow of some sort, but those pretty bows shouldn't fool anyone, you aren't afraid of much and will dig right in with the boys.

You spend a good part of your day playing with your "guys" which are your favorite.  You will sit in your bedroom and play so sweetly making hilarious conversation with these little handheld "guys"... Dora, Mickey, Donald, Goofy just to name a few.    If you catch us watching you, you get a little shy and with a coy smile you say "go way".  Ha!  Makes me giggle every time!!

Of all the little girls in this world God gave us the exact one we wanted.  You are every kind of beautiful.  We love you more than words can convey.  I pray that someday you will have a sweet little girl of you own.  One with big blue eyes and glorious soft curly hair.  One that is the spitting image of yourself.  It is then, my love, that will you will understand just how deep and wide our love is for you...

Happy half birthday sweet love!

Happy Birthday!!

Today we celebrate the life of one of the sweetest girls you would ever want to meet, my sister~in~love Andi! 

She is clearly gorgeous on the outside but she is every bit as beautiful deep within.  If you met her you'd love her, I mean really love her, and if you didn't, well then there is obviously something wrong with you...no offense or anything.  :)

You can't help but smile when you are around her.  She is hilariously funny, usually without even trying to be!  She loves to have a good time, and good times tend to follow her wherever she goes.

Andi is always so excited to see everyone and knows just how to make you feel so very loved.  She is one of the prettiest in a room and yet is always the one who is showering others with compliments.  

They don't come any sweeter, I'm sure of it.

I was thinking today about how close her birthday is to September 11th, obviously only two days later.  For the past 10 years the days leading to her birthday have been full of sad, depressing news stories.  Stories that pierce a nation, making it bleed.  And yet I find it so fitting that her birthday is so very close to a day such as September the 11th, because Andi is the water that puts out fires, she is joy in the midst of sadness, she is  beauty amongst ashes...

Andi we love you dearly.
Words never feel like quite enough but we pray that somehow you will understand just how very blessed we feel to have you as part of our family.  You truly are a perfect fit!

Be blessed beauty~

Happy birthday from all of us!

Humble Pie

Humble Pie.

I ate a huge piece of it tonight at Target with my two naughty children in tow.  It should have been an in and out adventure.  Quick and easy.  Two small items on our list, no problem.

Noooooo problem.

Until...

Collin started sassing me.

He was told he would not be getting any sort of treat tonight.

Of course this was right about where the water works started.

Not the sweet "I'm so sad about my terrible choice to sass my dear mother" tears.  Oh no this was the LOUD, obnoxious kind of crying that you hear from aisles away.  You know the kind I am talking about.  Where you roll your eyes and think "good grief that mother needs to get her child under control and leave the store immediately.  Yes that kind.  

Unfortunately we had to get diapers so we trudge through store, crying Collin in tow.

Madelyn decides she would like to be added to the naughty list and begins running like a wild child, pulling things off the shelf and laughing.

Oh yes she did!

Meanwhile I sit Collin down and calmly tell him that he can join me once he is done crying.  I begin to walk away and rather than end his crying he cries louder 

"Mommy don't leave meeeeeeeeeeee"

Sweet Jesus I'm ready for the rapture.

I now have to scurry quickly to chase down Madelyn who is an aisle ahead of me.   Yep, mom of the year right there.

Where is Dr. Dobson when you need him?!

I catch her.

I'm sweating.

I wrestle her a bit.

She is still laughing.

I'm not laughing.

I pick her up and she starts the loud obnoxious crying that gains attention from aisles away.

There is no reasoning with her, so I don't even try.

Of all the days not to have a cart.

I am not making eye contact with anyone.

No, no this is not my proudest mothering moment.

I keep my head low as I devour my disgusting humble pie.

Who ordered this anyway?

Madelyn is relentless.

She doesn't give up.

She cries ever so loudly for most of our wait in the checkout line.

I can feel the stares.

I know people, I know.

I get to the front and the lady smiles and gleefully says

"Hellllll~O!  How are you tuhday?"

Sireously lady cut the happy greetings and start praying for the rapture.

We're done.

Whatever pride I walked into the store with is now smeared on the floor somewhere in aisle 6.

I love my children.

I mean really love them.

But boy do they know how to serve up a big ol heaping piece of humble pie.

I am now off to order Dr. Dobson's book "The Strong Willed Child".

I hope they have overnight delivery...

We remember...

“Time is passing. Yet, for the United States of America, there will be no forgetting September the 11th. We will remember every rescuer who died in honor. We will remember every family that lives in grief. We will remember the fire and ash, the last phone calls, the funerals of the children. “

- President George W. Bush

Time has passed.
10 years to be exact.
But it's true, there is no forgetting September the 11th.

Watching all the news coverage leading up to today takes me right back to the terror of that awful day.

I can only imagine the unimaginable sadness that this time of year brings for all those who lost their very own that Tuesday morning.

And yet, they don't need to see the dreadful pictures or the TV specials to remind them of what they've lost...

They haven't forgotten.
Neither have we.

Yes we sadly remember how they died
but more importantly,
WE CELEBRATE HOW THEY LIVED.

Yes, WE REMEMBER!

Sweet Collin in 2008

Annnnnnnd

We did it!

We survived preschool drop off!!  

We totally did it!

Look at this big preschool boy!

 Thumbs up and a wink...

 Mads joins in, although she missed the "smile" memo.

 No shortage of hugs...

 Again, Mads felt the need to join in :)

 All smiles on the ride there.

 Watching the others go before us for drop off.

It was at this point that Collin insisted the mammarazzi put the camera to rest.  Am I embarrassing?  Touche!

We pulled up and Ms. Pam met us at the car door.  Collin jumped out without delay.  His teacher opened her arms to greet him with a hug and our sweet boy opened his arms as wide as he could to return the love.  It was at this point that we pulled away and his momma cried.  :)

I wondered about him all afternoon and kept my phone on full blast in the event I would get a phone call from school.  :)  I got to spend some sweet time alone with this beauty...

Collin came out with the same smile he left with, which means that all was well!!  We met him at the classroom door, his teacher called his name and she hugged him as he left.  I absolutely love that they greet each child with a hug as they come in and leave them with the same before they go out.  Helps a momma know that her baby is in loving hands.

Whew it was a long day for everyone!  

I am so grateful that all was well and we made it through our first day!  Too bad "tonight's momma" couldn't have called "last night's momma" just to let her know that there truly was nothing to worry about!  

Here's to a fantastic year!!

Twas the night before preschool

Seems like only yesterday...

but apparently it was not!

Tomorrow is a BIG day!!

Our sweet first born is off to preschool.

My momma heart is thumping as I try to reassure a nervous heart...

don't cry, be excited!

there is truly nothing to be afraid of

it will be SO much fun

sweet friendships will come to life

impressive projects made

think of all the stories there will be to tell

this is all part of growing up

don't cry, be excited!

He's going to be just fine!

Yep, all that reassuring is for my heart, not his.  :)

Dear Collin,

Tomorrow I will send you off on a new adventure.  One that I know you will truly enjoy.  There is this part of my momma heart that wants to keep you tucked away safely in our home forever.  But there is a bigger part of me that knows that it's time to let you spread your wings a little.  My tears are for me, as I wonder how this all happened so fast.  But for you sweet boy, I feel pure joy and excitement!!  I always loved school and all that came along with it...friends, projects, parties, field trips, all of it.  I want you to have each of those experiences!  I know you will be a shining star.  

Daddy and I are so very proud that we get to call you our son.  I have prayed for you and dreamed big dreams for you since before I ever even laid eyes on you.  The moment I met you, I gave you my heart, it's yours to keep forever.  Of all the little boys in this world God blessed us with the exact one we wanted.  We love you Collin, you are a treasure...

Love you to the moon and back,

Momma

P.S.  Please behave, I mean seriously behave...