My, How the Time Flies By

Here she is last August on her first day of Kindergarten.

And here she is now, May 29, on her last day of Kindergarten.


I can not believe her first year of school is over. It seems like she just started. And it sure does not feel like I have been a stay at home mom for a year. My last day at my old job was on May 31, 2008 and my first day at my new job is going to be June 1, 2009. A year to the day. And Alex was also able to switch over to the litigation department at CTEH and will no longer travel like he used to. He found out last week that he got the job! We are so thrilled and look forward to the balance of parental responsibilities.
Abi has grown and learned so much this school year. She had amazing teachers, Mrs. Jacks and Ms White. We both look forward to First Grade and to Makayla beginning her adventures in school as well.

We kicked off my last weekend as a "free person" (ha ha) with a cook out. There were chicken kabobs, ribs, corn on the cob, and potatoes. We had a good time out on the deck.


It has been an amazingly beautiful weekend as well.




And today we got out the little blow up swimming pool. Olivia is "Little Swimmer" free! She is potty trained. She has pee pee accidents every once in a while, but she is doing SO good.

Alex picked up this crazy caterpillar thing that slings water all over. The kids liked it for a minute. They had more fun with me chasing them with the water hose.

I heart this picture of Abi. She was laughing because Alex handed her the kinked water hose so that he could bend down and fix the caterpillar squirter and she unkinked it (on my command) so that it scared the crap out of him. She has the best smile.

Here is Makayla with our little dog Teddy. We are packing Teddy up to go live with a little old man that needs a good friend. Abi and KayKay cried and were sad that Teddy is leaving. We explained that he is going to someone that will play with him more than we are able to and eventually they were talking to Teddy about his new daddy, Kermit.

They had a great time in the pool, but the older two have outgrown it. I couldn't convince them of that, so they played in it anyway.

We have had a great weekend and it's not even over yet! We are all sunburned, except for Alex. Have a great night and I hope I continue to be a faithful blog poster after I return to civilization outside of home.

It's Been Nice

My parents and brother came up to visit this weekend. The girls were so excited that they stayed outside to watch for Nana to drive up while they played. They got pretty dirty so it was straight to the tub for them. I put them all in at once because I didn't want to give them a chance to smear dirt all over the house. Anal, I know.
We all agreed that Abi looks like Papaw Truman with her white bubble beard.

Nana and her bundle of rotten-ness.

On Saturday, Nana watched the girls while I went out with some friends. Angela, Dedee, and I had brunch at Cracker B and then went for mani's and pedi's. It was SO NICE. Afterwards I stopped in Hallmark because I love their Tyler candles and then headed to Maurices to hit the clearance racks looking for some work clothes (yay). It was great not having to load and unload the kids and to not have to rush through the store. Thanks Nana!
That afternoon we headed to Nana and Poppa's house in Newhope. We had a "girls" lunch at Chili's and then hit Wally World on the way. After church on Sunday, Poppa had the grill warmed up for steaks and hamburgers. They were delicious. Seth ate his raw, as usual. He took a bite mid-moo. Ha, gross.


Hey, nice shirt Seth. I just now noticed it. You just got some free advertising!

Let the wrestling begin! There were many rounds to this onoriness, and lots of giggling. I couldn't say much because my dad taught me to enjoy wrestling around too.



Now, it just wouldn't be telling the whole truth of the weekend if I didn't show you this side of it, right?


She had been fixing her hair.


It was a really nice weekend. Very laid back and enjoyable. We always have the best time with our family.
Alex came home on Monday. He was pretty exhausted (and still is). But we are so thankful to have him home safe. So, I have gotten back into experiment-cooking. Tonight we had Turkey Meatballs stuffed with Mozzerela, Tomato and Ricotta Orzo, and Rosemary potatoes. And it-was-so-yummy!

I know they look greasy, but I baked them and the color is from the Paprika. I promise!
All of it together


And one other big event for the evening.
Kay Kay lost a tooth!! She was so big and brave while I yanked it out, lol. She said her gums hurt but she is so excited for it to be out. She wants to show Andrew, ugh. And it is so fun to hear her make the "s" sound.

The Ironies of Life

I have been wanting to talk about our new life situations for a while now, but I thought it best for me to keep all of the possibilites out of my blog until I knew something for sure.

I have been looking to go back to work for a while now. There are several reasons for my desire to get back into the working world. I had applied at a few places and gone on interviews but there just weren't any jobs that were fitting with the schedule I needed for the kids. The latest job opportunity was in Benton working for DCFS (Department of Children and Family Services) as a Family Service Worker. I applied, interviewed, filled out more paperwork, and found out today that I got the job! I am very excited about all of it. I think the job will be a challenge and I feel ready for it.

Alex is also trying to switch positions within his company so that he can play a part in picking the girls up from daycare/school. Please pray that things work out with him so that we will be able to have a consistent and more "normal" family balance.

We also found the perfect daycare for the girls. That was one of the big reasons that I wasn't 100% into finding a job before. I didn't know anywhere that I was comfortable leaving my kids. I saw an add at the girls gymnastics class for a lady that was keeping children in her home. I called her and Alex and I took the girls and met her. We saw her home and her plans for the children that she will be keeping and she seems amazing! God has put another puzzle together for us and we are so very thankful.

The ironic part of all of this to me is the fact that we adopted our children through DCFS. Their biological parents were given numerous chances to complete therapy and drug rehabilitation in order to get their children back. They were not compliant and lost their children. And now, with this new job, I am going to be the person on the other end of the situation trying to encourage and support people like the girls biological parents. It seems a little crazy to me, but at the same time, I am motivated to get out there and bring families together. Whether it be reuniting a broken home, or helping children move on into a more stable and suitable home.

Praise God for all that He has done. Please pray for us all that the transitions within the next few weeks will go smoothly and that I will go into this job with an open heart and do all that I can to help those in need.

I saw this scripture on the Mcclenahan's blog this morning and it felt so appropriate.

Many are the plans in a man's heart,
but it is the Lord's purpose that prevails.
Proverbs 19:21

More From Memaw's

What a Weekend!

We have had a great weekend. The sun came out and there hasn't been a cloud in the sky today! That's the best sight I have seen in a while! We spent Friday with Dedee and her kiddos. We had a blast. We all made pizzas and visited for a while.

I just have to say that Dedee has been my go-to person when I have needed to figure out ANYTHING with the kids. She is an amazing friend and has a great family to go along with that! We always have a good time when we get together. Lots of laughs .
I didn't get any pictures of the pizzas. What was I thinking?!

This was at "Nana's church", as the girls call it, in Daisy. We love getting to go back and visit the Church there. They are all our family and so loving. And while I'm on the "love" roll, I LOVE this picture. I think it is one of the most adorable things I have ever seen, if I do say so myself.



Memaw and the girls

And then we headed over to Jester Road for our monthly family pot luck.

Yummmmmm



I have more great pictures of the family back home but for some reason it is a Monday for my computer.
I hope to get them posted soon and everyone enjoy the beginning of a beautiful week!

Wait and See

I have been inspired. I love the Christian music of Brandon Heath. There is something about his words that get me so inspired and give me the faith to lean on God with all of my heart.

Some of the lyrics of "Wait and See" are some of my favorites:
There is hope, for me yet. Because God, won't forget, All the plans He's made for me. I have to wait and see. He's not finished with me yet.

That is the attitude that we should always have! Because we all stumble and fall. But He is not finished with us until we are gone from this earth. And then, sometimes still the life we led continues to impact others. I think of my Pepaw and Uncle T. The people that knew them will ALWAYS remember what kind of people they were. They aren't easy to forget.



Moving on. Last Friday we went to Arkadelphia and met up with our good friends (might as well be family), Karen, Sharon, Les, and Khennedy. We went out to the dam and played at the park there. It was good times!


Tiny Butt's outfit is a 12 month! She is almost 27 months old!


We- are -family, I got all my sistas with me.


Livi taking the plunge.



Ms Karen V taking the same plunge but for her it was more like a plummit.

The beautiful Miss Khennedy. Better watch out Sharon, she's going to have boys all over her soon. ;o) Ha

I love you Boo. So glad you've been able to be with us for a whole two months!

Sharon got stuck and Karen and I thought it was hilarious! We are laughing (and I obviously was snapping pictures) but Alex ran over to help her up before I could get a good one.

Gorgeous.


We had a great time. Thanks Arkadoo family for entertaining us. We hope to see you more often *wink wink.

There hasn't been too much else going on around here except for Olivia's intensifying 2 year old bad mood. Lol. She drops her head and stomps off if she doesn't want to do what you told her to. She yells "NO" at adults. She throws toys at her sisters. The other day Alex was watching the kids and he said that he thought Olivia said she wanted a "cup". So he fixed her a sippy and when he handed it to her she dropped her head and threw the cup. He said, " apparently that's not what she said she wanted." She's rotten. But we love her...most of the time. Her favorite candy is M-n-M's. We are working on colors. Right now everything is "pink". She puts concepts together more every day and says more two word sentences.
Makayla is too funny. She is doing better in gymnastics. She is very excited about going to Kindergarten in the fall and is ready to swim this summer!
Abigail is learning about plants and understands what roots are for and what it takes for plants to grow. She is also excelling in gymnastics.
I couldn't ask for better kids. They are all good girls and we are thankful every day for them.