The Hills

love hurts

2012-02-15T17:36:00.002-08:00

....especially when you are a mommy.

I didn't really plan to have this blog about anything other than my emotional moments. But I decided to pop a few photos in later on.

I have been dreading the girls getting older for a long time obviously. The teen years will be expensive, tiring, and draining most likely. And I am starting to get glimpses of some of the things to come. I think about Makayla a lot. She has been getting in trouble at school due to little people that she thinks are her friends telling on her. She is a follower and does what her peers do or ask her to do. It breaks my heart to see her "friends" hurt her feelings and I just want to put her in a cave somewhere so she won't have to deal with it. I got a phone call today from the assistant principal at her school due to an incident and I asked her to put Makayla on the phone. She was so very upset because she was in the principals office. I had to tell her to take deep breaths several times so she could calm her nerves and talk to me. I remember getting that way as a kid and it is awful. I felt so bad for her that I asked her if she wanted me to come get her right then. And she said, "No, momma. I'll be alright." Reflecting on that now, she was showing me that she is tough and can handle it. I just held her and boo hooed when she got home and told her how much I love her. I just needed to talk it out on my lovely blog I guess to get some perspective.

So, here are some photos from the day devoted to love:

Alex always tells me that Valentine's Day is a 'racket'.

My lovies ready to party at school.

And my sweet man sent me some beautiful flowers.

Don't get down by my pitiful post. I know my girl will grow and be so strong due to things she has already and will continue to overcome.

Dallas-a beyond late post

2012-02-12T21:24:00.000-08:00

Ok--I know this is getting a little ridiculous. Numerous Christmas posts in February?? But you don't know the half of it. I am about to post from our vacation to Dallas...from August 2011. I know. But the only pictures that I had were on my cell phone and I had to email all of them to myself (which I tried and they never all went through) and now I have switched phones. So I had to plug my phone into the USB and upload the pictures. I know, excuses, excuses.
Here we go with the post from forever ago.

We took the girls to Dallas, Texas in August for vacation last year. We typically go to Memphis, Branson, or Alabama. We decided to take the trip the opposite direction and let girls experience the Texas culture. Abi adores her American Girl dolls and the closest store was in Dallas as well.
We did Six Flags and shopping at Grape Vine Mills. It was a fun trip.

Of course the fun could not begin immediately...for me anyway.
Our first stop was to a Texas Rangers game. Alex was in heaven....I was ready to leap from the stadium. I'm not a baseball fan really and it was hot. We were tired...hungry....and cranky (I speak for myself for the most part. Although the photo of Olivia is pretty convincing as well)

She does have a sweet smile on her little face.

We also ventured into Six Flags. Makayla talked a big game. Actually all of the girls did. Every time we drove by the park the girls would see the big roller coasters and talk about all of the ones they were going to ride. Then we get there and they freak out!

Olivia got a little freaked out.

I was cracking up at the girls watching the waves come at them and was laughing when I was attacked by a mountain of water as well. That's what I get for having my phone out on a water ride.

Take your little one to a hot day of Six Flags and she WILL take a nap.

They love hotel pools.

The hubs and I.

The American Girls store.

Abi took Felicity to get her hair done.

It was so cute!

And goodness, the poor doll needed it so bad.

Abi "fixes" her hair all the time.

They had "holders' in the bathrooms to hang your dolls on while you use the restroom.

We also got to see Laurie Berkner in concert!

I don't have any pictures of the LBB because I didn't know if we could bring cameras in.

We had a great time singing and dancing!

This photo was not cooperative in rotating.

And then it was time to go.

We had a great trip and are working on our next adventure!

a hazardous outing

2012-02-12T20:10:00.000-08:00

Ice Skating??!!!

Yay!!!

Makayla quickly made a friend.

Makayla had lots of crashes and her new buddy came in handy.

Alex and I had a terrible time on the skates. The girls loved it.

They were bruised and soaked by the time we left the rink.

It was a memorable outing for sure.

celebrating at home

2012-02-12T19:21:00.000-08:00

They could not believe that the reindeer gnawed on the carrots and Santa nibbled on some cookies!

She got a sweet gift from her sissy.

gifts at Nan&Pops

2012-02-12T18:57:00.000-08:00

We love us some Christmas.

This photo was taken at Nan and Pops. We always save the stockings for last in order to savor every Christmas moment.

Christmas was a little different this year because we wanted to make it for services on Sunday morning.

Nan and I were emotional ladies.

There were tears as my brother blessed the chocolate gravy for breakfast and of course they were happy. We realized how blessed we are with a wonderful family. And then to top it all off, the entire family was at church that morning. It was really great.

I think she liked it.

She had been waiting for this one for a while.

Bunch-a-nuts

This is the only shot I got of this sucka.

The three reindeer had a glowing Christmas holiday season.

the yearly stirring....aka Christmas with Nan&Pop

2012-02-06T09:29:00.000-08:00

We get chocolate gravy every year on Christmas morning from Nan.

Pop was in on the kitchen action this year as well.

We had a ton of good food that we will be looking forward to it all year again.

My brother is a very creative guy. He always has been.

He craftfully decorated this gift with toilet paper.

It really was almost too cute to open.

It had a Tom&Jerry vibe to it.

We were all together this year for Christmas and all went to church together as well.

It was a teary eyed kind of day for mom and I.

We were both so glad to be with everyone and make those important memories.

And the messy chocolate mouths.

The opening of Christmas gifts at Nan's to come.

And hopefully Christmas will be wrapped up sometime in February. ;)

Cousins Reunited

2012-02-05T19:58:00.000-08:00

All of Truman and Loretta's grand kids were together for Christmas this year.

The girls have the best time when they get to spend time with their cousins. And of course Grammie cooked lots of good food for everyone.

Becky's kids have grown so much but it's like the girls pick up right where they left off every time they see each other.

It is also interesting to see Alex and his sister Becky get together. They are a lot alike in the way they come across and talk. There also seems to be another similarity.

Can you tell what it is?

Got one!

Makayla loved Aunt Becky's dog.

She was put in her crate because she was nipping at people and Aunt Becky said she was 'aggravated".

Makayla asked "When she's done being aggravated, can we let her out?"

They also really like clanking on Grammie's piano.

Everyone was watching the talent show.

The talent was amazing.

The big two of the group.

Christmas dinner with Deb

2012-02-05T19:08:00.000-08:00

Debbie and her daughter

We were SO glad to see Debbie and her family. We used to spend lots of time together but have gotten busy and don't see eachother much anymore. We usually try to have Christmas dinner at some point over the holidays. This year we had chips and dips, a sandwich tray, and dessert. There are so many holiday gatherings with heavy foods that we decided to take it easy.

Can you see why we love them so much?

The kids had fun decorating cookies.

It is a shame that we don't see Debbie and her family more.

We should really do something about that.

sprinkles&flour

2012-01-18T15:07:00.000-08:00

Looks like a good time, right?

These pictures show you what baking Christmas cookies with Olivia is like. I had each girl come one at a time and help make some sugar cookies. Olivia's turn was the messiest. Mostly because we played too much.

it's all fun and games

2012-01-18T14:52:00.000-08:00

My Mom's side of the family always has Christmas the Saturday before Christmas in order to not make it impossible for everyone to be together as it gets closer to the 25th. Since the Saturday before Christmas was Christmas Eve, we had the celebration the Saturday before that. We always have a great time!

Memaw is Santa every year.

My cousin Zac and I

Olivia dressed up in her new dress up stuff.

Rachel was in deep meditation. Probably contemplating her next move in Pictionary.

We like to sit around and play board games once our meal and gift opening are complete.

It always makes for a good laugh.

Too. Much. Food.

My Memaw is beautiful.

And then it seems that some got tickled.

She seems to fit in with the rest of us well.

We had a great time with our family.

Love them all a ton!

big granny's craft

2012-01-03T19:17:00.000-08:00

I caught Big Granny in her sewing room when we were there to visit.

I think it's neat to be able to see what Granny is gifted at doing.

Olivia's skirt wasn't fiting too well and Big Granny took it right off and hemed it up so that it wouldn't fall off of her.

Doing a silly dance

Big Granny doing hair, another talent of hers!

We had a great time with Big Granny. I love hearing her stories and the girls having memories of their great grandma.

merry christmas

2012-01-02T20:46:00.000-08:00

Eskimo Abi

Olivia's permformance debut

2012-01-02T19:51:00.000-08:00

Olivia had a Christmas program with her PreK class in December. She was pretty excited about it and practiced her songs and name (she was Blitzen) often. I wasn't really sure what to expect out of her. She is really talkative and loud at home but often she hides behind me and doesn't want to interact when other adults speak to her. It was a toss up as to whether she would be a shinning star and cover her head with her dress.

Anticipating the show to begin and the stars to arrive.

There they are!

And then she saw Santa!

Olivia and her best buddy, Lexi.

They are sweet friends.

an expected surprise turns unexpected

2011-12-26T20:02:00.000-08:00

My mom had a birthday on December 2nd.

I had decided several months prior to that I wanted to have a surprise party for her.

She was turning 50 and thought a big deal should be made about that.

I also had decided that I wanted it to be a fun time for her rather than a gloom and doom, black roses, casket, and "over the hill" affair.

I enlisted the help of my brother and his bride-to-be.

She did a great job decorating!

Mom's favorite colors are lavendar and mint green.

I ordered a cake for her from Ambrosia Bakery in Hot Springs.

Rachel did an amazing job decorating.

Waiting for the special guest to arrive.

The birthday girl's special chair.

All 50 candles!

A lot of planning went in to this event on the part of my dad as well. He had to try to convince my mom to go out with him and somehow get her to the restaurant. He had initially told me that he would handle it. I told him that I would call and ask mom if she wanted to go to dinner with all of us for her birthday but he insisted that he could get her there. He said he would call her last minute and ask her to go out to eat. And in reality, he had a hard time figuring it all out. He asked her numerous times through out the week what she wanted to do for her birthday (which put her radar on full alert because it was out of character). She told her co-workers that she knew her family was up to something. She didn't know what exactly, but knew there was something going on. I was glad that she had no idea exactly what I had been up to. I was able to get some of her old and new coworkers as well as some of her best friends that she hadn't seen in a while to come surprise her. It thrilled me that they turned out for her! I had flashbacks to the surprise we pulled off when my cousin Todd came back from the war and none of our family knew.

I am very thankful that my mom has such amazing people in her life.

SURPRISE!

Sandy and Nette

My brother, Seth, and I.

The Whole Gang

Nana got a sock monkey that roots for the Razorbacks!

The girls were asked to help with the clean up.

They were a little too good at getting rid of the balloons.

We hope you had a great birthday, Nana! We had lots of fun planning it.

We look forward to many more years of surprises!

Livi and LoranaDee's

2011-12-26T16:12:00.000-08:00

Getting ready for her first professional hair wash!

a little bit excited to get started

(notice where she ate concrete on her upper lip at school the day before)

She's got the "Hill chin" going.

Her first ringlets that were excecuted... :(

It was so much fun watching her get her first hair cut.

Miss Beth was showing Olivia her new 'do.

All three girls got cuts that day.

Olivia begged Miss Beth to straighten her hair. Miss Beth didn't really want to straighten all of those pretty curls but she gave in to Olivia's requests. Olivia, Makayla, and Abi all walked out with shorter, straight hair.

And I do have those first ringlets saved for a scrap book.

SuPeR hErO dAy

2011-12-05T19:46:00.000-08:00

It was super hero day at school.

This is 'SUPER O'.

She is a pretty cool super hero.

KayKay was a pretty neat Super Gal too.

Together: They were an unstoppable duo!!

pumpkin patch post

2011-12-04T21:02:00.000-08:00

This dude was all up in my grill.

And he was funny.

As you can see, it a rough day to get a good photo of the girls.

They always seemed to look uncomfortable.

The pictures that I didn't try to stage turned out to have pretty good smiles in them.

We really enjoy going to the Schaeffer Family Farm Corn Maze every year.

We actually went twice this year because we went on a week day the first time and several of the attractions were not open. (And one of the best reasons for going are the giant corn dogs and funnel cake.The concession was not open the first time we went. So we tried again later and were successful!)

We had a great time at the pumpkin patch!!
Can't wait for next year's trip.

halloween costume party {tons-o-fun}

2011-11-30T20:52:00.000-08:00

Jessie came to the party!!

LadyBug Girl!!

And RainBow Bright!!!!

The girls had a birthday party in Daisy so we could celebrate with our family.

We had a Halloween Costume Party and greatly encouraged adult participation.

It was so much fun!!!

We had some very interesting characters show up.

And I enjoyed the decorating. Thank goodness my mom was there to help!

Like I said in my last post, she was so embarassed!!

BOBBIN'!!

The Sherrin Family

(I hope I spelled that right! I never can remember)

The McBay's

The Golden Girls of the Group

Looks like a good time to me...

It's a good thing Seth wasn't there..we didn't have enough ghosts. ;) Missed ya Bubs!

And my favorite picture of the night.

A Pops and his girls.

party day

2011-11-30T19:26:00.000-08:00

The girls had their birthday party in October at PlayTime Pizza in Little Rock.

They got to invite their favorite friends and play play play.

Cupcakes on Kavanaugh!

Livi and her Jada-Bayba

A special wish for my sweet birthday girls.

She gets so embarassed when all of the attention is on her. She can hardly stand it!

The twins

Momma Deb got Livi a gift too.

Just plain cute.

Very special friends...

Warning: the next picture was rather jaw dropping for Alex and I.

It could be because Abi is our 9 year old daughter and the photo appears to show affection between a young male and our 9 year old. Ok-enough yacking-here it is....

AhHhH...I know, right?!

Trying to brace myself now.

The roller coaster simulation proved to be lots of laughs.

I think you can tell from the pictures: The girls had a great birthday.

Happy Birthday to our 8 & 9 year old blessings!

birthday breakfast in bed

2011-11-06T19:31:00.000-08:00

On Makayla's birthday, the girls were treated to breakfast in bed.
They seemed to really enjoy it. There was a special birthday candle in the pancakes and Abi and Makayla both received the Happy Birthday song.

The girls have recently switched rooms. So, the spot that was once Abi's is now Makayla's and the spot that was Makayla's is now Olivia's.

I think Makayla and Abi had a pretty special birthday day. We celebrated for a week or more it seemed like!

Makayla got some Rapunzel hair and neat lip gloss on her birthday day.
Abi got the Judy Moody movie and an American Girl kit to make a special toy for her dolls.

The next posts will be about the parties that the girls had!

cupcakes

2011-11-06T19:20:00.000-08:00

The girls decorated cupcakes for the birthday this year. They picked out the sprinkles that they wanted and sprinkled away!

She did a good job!

Love her gorgeous smile.

Of course, the sprinkles had to be sampled.

I think she was excited about the cake.

TS-Speak Now

2011-11-06T18:16:00.000-08:00

We went to see Taylor Swift again this year when she came to town.

All of the girls were decked out, of course.

This was Olivia's first year to get to go to the concert.

She was a little young the first time we went.

Abi was making sure she had the perfect ear rings for the concert.

And then they practiced their "surprised"faces for when they would see TS.

They were pretty good at it.

The girls were really excited to rock out to Taylor's music live.

They LOVE her.

Makayla stood up the entire concert and swung her hair all around.

Olivia asked when Taylor was coming out about a thousand times during the opening act.

Alex got some good pictures of Taylor because she walked to a stage in the middle of the arena and we were pretty close to her.

It was about that time that Olivia fell asleep on me.

It completely blew my mind that she slept through thousands of screaming fans.

We all had a good time and made some fun memories with the girls.

They have such a passion for music and really enjoy the experience of concerts.

Light of Hope Event

2011-10-09T20:43:00.000-07:00

I am so proud to be a part of the Saline County CASA Board of Directors. I began my journey with CASA several years ago I guess you could say. Let me take you back a bit.

I began working for DHS in June of 2009 and spent a year working there. One day during court, I was sitting in the jury box with the other caseworkers and CASA Volunteers. I began talking with one of the volunteers and talked about my girls and showed her their photos. She immediately recognized them and began to explain that she had been their advocate when they were in foster care. We were so glad to meet one another. For me, it was comfort to know that the girls had her watching out for them and for her, she was so happy to see that the girls are okay and have a loving family.

CASA stands for Court Appointed Special Advocates. The court system appoints these volunteers to visit with children that are in foster care and to present the judge with what is in the best interest of the child during court hearings. They are amazing people that give their time and put the safety of our (my) children first.

Then I left DHS to stay at home and began my journey as a member of the Board last October. My focus on the Board is fundraising and I got the opportunity to help with our first event of the year.

We decided on an event called "Light of Hope" in which we would invite everyone in the community to find old light fixtures and "flip them". We picked the Farmer's Market Pavilion in Bryant in order to display the lights in the evening and allow them to light up the night! We then auctioned off the lamps in a silent auction and raffled off some pretty good items. We had an autographed Cliff Lee baseball and an amazing light fixture (valued at over $300) donated by Lewis Lumber, just to name a couple.

We had a great time and appreciate all of those that supported us this year. We hope that our event grows with each year and is some day "a pretty big deal".

Enjoy the photos from that amazing night:

"You shoulda been there!"

And of course, the girls had some fun too.

I hope to see some of you out next year for this event that supports the children of our community!

chasing foof

2011-10-09T19:53:00.001-07:00

Andrew and the girls have had some fun with the bunny.

We let her hang out on the back deck with them one day.

As soon as they opened the cage and tried to get her out, she scratched and ran away to hide.

She hid anywhere she could find.

And Livi was always right on her tail.

She fits in quiet well as a 4th sister.

happy birthday jackson and wps

2011-10-09T19:39:00.001-07:00

My mom has a picture similar to this one of me and my great grandma Katie when I was little.

I just couldn't help myself.

Makayla made a new friend

and learned that they were both going to see Taylor Swift soon!

Jackson had a good birthday party and we were so glad to able to be a part of it.

We loved seeing Memaw, Nana, Lindsey and her family.

Foo Foo

2011-10-09T18:54:00.001-07:00

This is a photo of the girls standing in front of a large square object that is covered with a blanket.
I asked them what they thought was in "the box"....

Makayla's answer was " a horse"...

Olivia thought is was snakes....
and Abi thought it could be an American Girl Horse.......

Then they saw her....

And her name is Foo Foo.

As in "little bunny Foo Foo." We call her Foof sometimes too.

She is a cute little bun. But she is not fond of people. She often runs and hides behind things. The girls try really hard to get her to play but she doesn't really want to have much to do with them.

Foof stayed in the house for a couple of weeks and then she moved out into the garage. I think she is happier when we leave her be.
Welcome to the Hill Home little Foof!

who am I?-halloween teaser

2011-09-25T20:39:00.000-07:00

The girls have all of their costumes ready to go!

We love it when all of the holidays roll around. And I consider Halloween a fun one to participate in. Maybe it's because the girls' birthdays are so close to Halloween too.
This year we are having a Halloween costume party for their birthday.

Can you guess what they are going to dress up as this year? And which costume is whose?

They are all pretty excited about their outfits and I am sure they will continue to dress up in them once Halloween is over.

bubbles of fun

2011-09-25T19:21:00.000-07:00

My baby likes bubbles in her bath. And it helps to get the grunge off of her face.

She asks for bubble baths quiet often and then after a few minutes of playing she can be heard yelling down the hallway " I'M DONE!!!" and if I don't answer right away, "MOMMA! I SAID, "I'M DONE!".

She's a mess. And I can't imagine life without her. (or her sisters)

shenanigans

2011-09-21T19:10:00.000-07:00

The girls got creative and drew a highway on the carport.

And then they tied Makayla's scooter to Olivia's tricycle and hauled each other around.

They also really like to practice their make up skills.

Some of them were actually pretty good at putting it on.

And others were ....very colorful.

We've been getting into a little bit of everything lately.

she's a big one and a little one

2011-09-20T18:34:00.000-07:00

Isn't she cute?

KayKay is doing so well this school year.

She is loving 2nd grade and has had pretty much no behavior issues.

She talks about her friends often and fixes her own hair every morning.

We are very proud of our Cakes.

Someone was explaining to Makayla how amazing it is to be "the middle sister".

She has a big sister, is a big sister, has a little sister, and is a little sister.

Keep it up, sweet girl. We can't wait to see what's next!

uncle rick's 50th

2011-08-30T19:04:00.000-07:00

My Uncle Rick turned 50 not too long ago....

He was treated so badly....

walking sticks,

and a cake that made him feel like a weakling...

But we all had a good time.

And I think he did too.

Mom and Granny

Granny and I

Papaw

Olivia is training the puppy that typically terrifies her.

And before we knew it, it was time to hit the road and head back home.

We had a really good time with our family and enjoy any occassion to get together.

heels

2011-08-29T20:49:00.000-07:00

My girls like their heels....

They wanted to try on every pair.

But Makayla is particularly drawn to glitter.

Lots of glitter.

I hope she grows out of this,

at least the four inch glitter heel part of it.

Glitter is great, in moderation.

stopping by to say hi....

2011-08-22T20:25:00.000-07:00

That's really all I have time for honestly.

A quick hello!

The girls are doing well.

We have been busy. I have so much to tell you all about and to document on here but now is not the time for that. I must go prepare for another insanely busy whirlwind of a day.

Love to you all and I plan to be back chatting with you through the blog soon!

degray

2011-07-25T19:29:00.000-07:00

The girls and I have spent some time at Lake DeGray lately. They have loved swimming there. I was sort of surprised because when we were in the Gulf last summer they didn't care to get into the water much. When we got to the lake they ran in and kept going. I had to tell them to stop going out so far. I think the big difference is the waves. We have had to limit how long we stayed out because of the heat.

I love my gorgeous girls.

she did it again

2011-07-24T20:56:00.000-07:00

Olivia and I went to the McCain Mall on July 11th so that I could get my wedding bands cleaned.

The lady in the jewelry store kept pulling out these huge diamonds for me to look at and try on (of course).

Olivia kept nagging the entire time about how she wanted her ears pierced. She had mentioned several times lately that she wanted it done. I reminded her every time that it hurts. She had her ears pierced when she was younger and she told her daycare teacher that they hurt. So the teacher took them out and she wouldn't let us put them back in. The holes grew up and now she has decided that she wants to wear cute little earrings.

I asked her over and over while we walked around the mall if she was sure.

And she insisted that she was.

She got in the ear piercing chair and picked out pink diamond flower earrings.

She watched the lady as she cleaned Olivia's ears and marked the spots for the holes.

The lady pierced her right ear first and she let out a little yelp and teared up.

She calmed pretty quickly.

I then explained that the lady had to do her other ear and she began to inch away as the ear piercing gun came closer to her ear. When the second one was done, she sobbed loudly and layed her head on me. I felt horrible for her! I tried to tell her!!

Then the lady pulled out the sucker bowl, and it was all good.

She was a happy kiddo as she walked around the mall with her ear cleaning solution in an

"I got my ears pierced" bag.

She has done really well with them so far.

She still tugs at her ears when she's sleepy and I try to get her to keep her hands off of them.

She's proud of them and asks every day when she can switch them out.

She has no concept of time so "eight weeks" means she is going to ask every day.

family reunion

2011-07-21T20:45:00.000-07:00

We had a great time at our annual 4th of July reunion.

There were quiet a few people missing this year but we had good visits with those that attended

a suite night

2011-07-11T20:52:00.000-07:00

Olivia's "bed" at the Embassy Suites.

She fit perfectly..

..in the entertainment center.

She loved it! It was a special treat to sleep under the tv.

And for reminder purposes..

this was her back in 2009.

It seems she has always had a love for curling up in confined spaces.

We set the timer for a family photo before we hit the pool.

I sprained my foot the morning before this and was in a boot. So I did a lot of hobbling around and watching everyone else play.

We spent the night Saturday night in Hot Springs and then got up Sunday morning to see our families for church.

My family has a family reunion every year on the 4th of July and you can look forward to seeing my handsome extended family in the next blog post. :)

the 4th

2011-07-10T21:28:00.000-07:00

I think this photo deserves a blog post of its own.

This is not our entire family by any means, but it is a nice chunk of us.

I had two photos of this pose but this one was the best of the two.

Everyone is smiling and facing the camera.

The only thing is... I have no idea who the child front and center is.

Oh well, he must be in the family tree somewhere. :)

Arkadelphia Ascent Event

2011-07-10T21:20:00.000-07:00

The girls and I went to an event in Arkadelphia at the Ascent building there a few weeks ago. We had a good time but it was hot.

We got to see Karen & Sharon and show our support for the company.

They had a good turn out!

I'm playing catch up on the blog. I try to do extra when the internet and blogger site are cooperating with uploading pictures.

just keep swimming

2011-06-27T18:56:00.000-07:00

Did I mention how much O enjoyed swim lessons??

i'm watchin' you

2011-06-26T21:15:00.000-07:00

here, there, and everywhere

2011-06-26T21:03:00.000-07:00

My friend, Angela, told me about a lady in town that offers swim lessons during the summer. I got Olivia signed up and she practiced in the evenings for a week. She loved it. She would ask almost every time we got in the car if it was time for her swim lesson. She was in a class with two boys that were younger than her and niether of them liked the water much. She is such a fish! She dunked her head constantly and we had to watch her like a hawk because she would try to get in the water without the instructor paying attention. The teacher was showing her how to hold her face in the water while swimming and Olivia would always dunk her head way under the water. To help her understand, the teacher said, "Olivia, I need to be able to see your pony tail sticking out of the water." The next time Olivia practiced it she, again, stuck her head deep into the water but this time she grabbed her pony tail and held it up out of the water. She had the parents there cracking up.

Another thing we have done recently is take the girls to the water park in Arkadelphia. They really liked it and Olivia practiced her newly learned swimming techniques. There were a ton of people though which made it difficult to actually swim around. We didn't stay too long but Alex and I ended up with some pretty good burns anyway. While we were there, Olivia got sick to her tummy and sat out for a little bit.

She felt better after a little break and hopped back into the pool.

All three of the pretty girls ready for school.

(Obviously this was a month or so ago)

We aired up the kiddie pool a few weeks ago for the girls to play in. We haven't found many options locally for the girls to go swimming. And they have outgrown this pool for sure, but fun was had regardless.

They kept whispering to one another. Like there was some secret mastermind plot.

And then Olivia carried through a plot of her own...

And here is sweet little softball KayKay.

She is finished with softball now but had a great season and was such a proud kiddo!

livin' life

2011-06-22T17:20:00.000-07:00

It seems like things are busy and the days pass quickly. I have said that several times throughout my blog posts. I still stand back and can't believe that all of those grown ups that told me how quickly it would pass as I aged were right...they weren't kidding.
The kids are getting big and changing every day.

Abi made A's and 2 B's on her report card for 2nd grade. Makayla had A's and one C. Math is kicking her tail and I can completely relate. We are very proud of both of them. They are at their Grammie and Papaw's at this moment. It is very strange to be a family of 3 rather than 5 this week. They are spending three days each week in Newhope and then a couple of days in a daycare here. We have spoken to them twice today and as soon as I got home this evening Olivia looked at me, stuck her lip out, and said " Momma, I miss my sisters." It was pitiful. Abi was talking about how they were getting to watch a movie and eat popcorn. Makayla said that she got to pick beans in the garden and they were good. :)

Alex got an early Father's Day gift. It was really a gift for all of us. Because we really like grilled food with a smokey flavor.

As you can probably tell, it has taken me quiet some time to get this entry completed. The internet has been super slow and my pictures aren't uploading very well.

Olivia enjoys getting our cell phones and acting like a teenager while she talks to her sisters.

memorial day memories

2011-06-04T17:43:00.000-07:00

We had a great time in Newhope with our family, as always.

Poppa grilled and we hung out.

Once we got home, we busted out the (way too small now) blow up pool and sat around in the yard.

I love having holidays off from work as well.

We are all doing pretty well.

Olivia has decided to use a couple of new phrases. "Awww, Bummer Dukes!" and

yesterday I was trying to find a phone number in my phone and Olivia was watching me. She then said,

"Call Bethany Hill mobile" Which she has heard her daddy say often when voice dialing me.

I am now going to go eat some grilled veggies and hang out with the family before the weekend passes me by!

Enjoy yours as well!

goin to the chapel...

2011-05-24T19:03:00.000-07:00

We went to Texarkana this past weekend for my cousin Eric's wedding.

We had to take some sweet pictures (of course!)

And of course we had to get sassy with it.

The groom's brother, Brent, and grandmother.

Abi and Poppa

The cake masterpiece that Brent created.

Nan & Pop

Our Cakes

Brent and his nephew, Connor

A family photo! except for Papaw

Seth & Rachel

Livi and her Poppa

We had a great time. We got to meet up with Seth and I's childhood friend, John Robert, and his wife, Katie. Nan and Pop took the kids to their house and we got to hang out with our friends.

Congrats to Eric and Allison! The wedding was beautiful.

the best things in life are free

2011-05-15T21:27:00.000-07:00

I got some new patio furniture.

And it came with the neatest thing ever!

This big, giant, cardboard BOX!

Look at how happy that face is!

You would never know that they have a big ol' nice wooden play house right around the corner from this

big ol' cardboard box.

Then they thought it would be funny to race inside the box as quickly as they could and hide from me.

There goes captain obvious, closing the door.

And I spotted her in the crack of the door!

Bugs are also a free yet entertaining thing around our house.

Olivia loves murdering them.

Gonna have to keep our eye on that one.

dr jellybean

2011-05-14T22:01:00.001-07:00

See all three of my girls layed out for their 6 month dental check ups??

I told you about Makayla's front tooth needing repairs. Other than that, this trip was smooth sailing!

The girls call their dentist "Dr. Jellybean" because he playfully calls them "jellybean" when he's talking to them. I'm sure it's a clever cover up for not knowing their names. But they like it.

This post is a little random,but here is Olivia and Nana at Maggie Moos getting a treat last Saturday. I wanted to get out of the house after my surgery on Friday. I had the bright idea that it might help me not be so stiff and get around easier if I didn't just lay around. I lasted a couple of hours and was ready to hit the bed. We had fun while it lasted though!

And this is just because she's sweet.

hey soul sister

2011-05-14T21:35:00.000-07:00

We love our Arkadoo family!

I have had this picture for a while now. We went to watch one of Leslie's softball games and hope to see Khennedy play too. The weather has gotten in the way of games for the last few weeks.

We had a great time with them and wish we could get together more often.

Love you ladies!

the great gallbladder escape

2011-05-13T20:22:00.000-07:00

As the title indicates, I no longer have a gallbladder. I had surgery a week ago today to have it removed due to gall stones. I have found out about a lot of people lately that have also had the surgery done and, from what I hear, I have recovered rather well from it so far.

My doctor had me go in for an ultrasound prior to scheduling the surgery to see what was going on with my stomach and the ultrasound showed a 2cm gall stone in the neck of my gallbladder. The gastro doctor recommended that I have it removed within the month due to pancreatitis or other more severe problems that it could cause. I scheduled the surgery for May 6th because our schedules were busy and I needed my mom to have time to plan to be with us as well.

Just a side note: the following is a picture of the gastro doctors exam room. I took a photo while I was waiting (I'm sure he won't mind). My next question was, "Am I here for an oil change or a check up?"

Following the surgery, the nurses had a little bit of a difficult time getting me to breath like I needed to. I think I probably was just a little bit too relaxed. Eventually I moved from recovery to a room and slept off and on throughout the afternoon. The doctor came in that evening and said that, once he got into the surgery, he saw that the gallstone had grown to be between 4-5 cm since the initial ultrasound. He said that it was about the size of an egg and he had to shatter it in order to get it out. All of the events following the surgery, not waking up quickly and that he had to shatter the stone, were unfortunate for me because I wanted to see the gallbladder and stone before they were taken away. Oh well, at least they aren't causing me harm any longer.

And my mom and dad came up to babysit me while Alex had the kids. I am SO glad that I had my family here to be with me. It sure made me wish they would move on up to the Bauxite area.

I had a follow up appointment today and he said I'm healing well. He also had paperwork from where the gallbladder was sent off for testing to make sure there wasn't anything cancerous involved and it all looked good.

On another topic, I wanted to share this picture of Alex's grandma, Lovena aka "Big Granny", and the girls from around Easter time.

I don't know why blogger is uploading the picture sideways, but turn your head and imagine how sweet it is.
We love our Big Granny.

the girls

2011-05-04T21:13:00.000-07:00

I have been attempting to get this post up all week!

Uploading pictures has proven to be a slow slow process.

I just had to fit a few recent pictures of the girls in on here.

They are still growing up so fast. We have had crazy busy weeks. They all had dental appointments Tuesday morning. Their teeth all looked great. Makayla has a follow up visit because she broke a front tooth in January and it appears to have stopped growing. It's quiet a bit shorter than her other front tooth and the dentist is going to reconstruct it so that they are closer in size. I got them all breakfast at ChicFilA and then got them all to school/daycare. I then had to get to the hospital here for a pre-op appointment. I am having gall bladder surgery Friday morning and had to complete some testing and paperwork. I then had to go to the Health Dept for a TB skin test for my job. And then to work. It was a crazy day!

Most of our days are still filled with practices and games of all sorts. The rain gave us a break for a few weeks. Now a lot of the softball fields are flooded so we continue to have cancellations.

On a parting note, please pray for our KayKay. Her behaviors at school seem to deteriorate almost daily. We are having a lot of issues with her and no method of correction seems to be working. We are working on getting her in to see someone that can hopefully point us in the right direction.

Don't forget to add patience for Alex and I to that prayer as well!

one fine day

2011-05-02T19:40:00.000-07:00

And that's the truth. We have had only about one fine day in the last two weeks. It has been full of rain, hail, tornados, and severe weather.

But! There was a day last week that was amazing. I was at home with Olivia when she was sick and we snuck outside later in the day.

And of course the #1 thing on the agenda was to check on Marshy the marshmellow tree.

He appears to be doing great.

I'm dreaming of more days like this soon hopefully.

Not only is it gorgeous, but it means Alex and I are getting to sleep at night without Olivia crawling in bed with us and kicking us like punching bags all night. ;) Gotta love her.

easter 2011

2011-04-28T20:42:00.000-07:00

4 generations

2011-04-26T19:50:00.000-07:00

Abi, Janette (my mom), Olivia, me, Rachel (my brother's girlfriend), Memaw (mom's mom), Makayla, and Aunt Susan (mom's sister)

max&ruby: amphibian style

2011-04-26T19:39:00.000-07:00

Olivia has a couple of new pets.

Max & Ruby are their names.

See that rock in the right side of the aquarium?

Olivia always says "Eat your jello frogs!"

She has thanked me every night for getting her those frogs.

Seeing her happy makes my day.

hometown treasures

2011-04-25T20:22:00.000-07:00

We stopped at a yard sale at the end of the road where I grew up.

The lady having the yard sale has a little girl named Avery and she was playing with caterpillars.

She had a shoe box full! And our girls loved that!

There is an old house and an old building that my mom says used to be a piano shop.

The owners let us look around in the house and I fell in love with it.

The ceilings were so high..

The furniture was so neat.

I hope that some day we can find a huge old house to remodel a bit.

Back to the yard sale part of the trip, I racked up on lots of adorable items that Jessica Hrabal had made for her daughter, Avery. There are so many great reasons hit the sales!

Randi and the great play date

2011-04-21T20:02:00.000-07:00

Olivia had her first official play date this past Wednesday.

We know Randi from church in Benton and Olivia spent some time at school with her too.

I have been getting to know Randi's family and we decided that the girls needed a play date.

I had planned on Randi coming over when I got off of work on Wednesday and as you all know, we have had some crazy storms lately. The storm on Tuesday night knocked out the power to the schools in Bauxite and school was cancelled on Wednesday. We don't really have anyone up here to help us with the girls, so I took off of work to be with them and Randi got to come over earlier to play.

We did everything.

They watched Tangled,

played with dolls,

ran around the house screaming,

played hide and go seek,

played Barbie fashion show,

ate a snack (popcorn & m&m's),

watched Bambie,

played dress up,

watched Tangled again,

put on make up,

dyed Easter eggs,

painted finger nails,

decorated Easter eggs,

and then it was time for supper and church.

The girls had the best time!

Olivia led the prayer at supper that night and said, "Dear God, thank you for letting Randi and her baby come over to play. Amen"

She prayed this again before bed.

I'm pretty sure her play date meant a lot to her.

losing the best game ever

2011-04-13T04:47:00.000-07:00

Makayla had another softball game last night.

This is Alex giving her a pep talk before she went up to bat.

She practiced her swing.

And this, my friends, is her bat.

Her bat that she threw down after she smacked the ball.

And she ran like the devil!!!

Here is my little pro player waiting on second base.

She looked so great out there!

Taking off for home plate.

And making a run!!!

Her first run!!!

See this score board?

The other team was whoopin' us.

They did whoop us.

But that was the best game EVER!

Our little KayKay listened to the coach and to what her daddy has been trying to teach her about the sport.

She scored the only point for our team

And we couldn't be more proud.

sunday morning

2011-04-10T15:23:00.000-07:00

Looks like fun around our place doesn't it?

I just had to take a minute to show off the pretty ladies that live here.

We all hope your weekend has been amazing and pray for a safe and happy work week ahead!

fixin up

2011-04-09T21:31:00.001-07:00

We did yard work today.

It felt like MAJOR yard work.

I forgot to take "before" pictures.

But we cleaned out every inch of the red mulch and replaced it with black.

We ran to Lowes and planted a few new plants.

We have a hard time with this spot of our flower bed because the rain from the roof pours right onto it and destroys whatever we have there.

And this is our new marshmallow tree.

We are working on coming up with a name for him.

His new home is beside the girls play house.

This is what I call my "Uncle Tim plant".

It's one of the plants that was given to us from when he passed away.

I have kept it in the house and it is getting so tall.

I'm letting it sit outside to see how well it would do if I planted in the flower bed.

It's pretty special to me.

We had a great day in the yard. We were there from the time we got up until almost time to get ready for bed. The girls played all over the yard and were tuckered out by this evening.

I hope you all enjoyed your Saturday.

ADD ON:

I forgot to tell you about the first "old timer" comment that Alex received while we were in the yard.

The girls wanted Andrew to come over and play so Olivia ran over and asked Andrew's mom if he could come over and play. She said that he had a friend named Logan over and she would go ask them if they wanted to come over. Logan and Andrew came over and Logan had a sling shot. Alex commented to Logan about how he had one of those when he was a kid too. Logan chuckled and said, "Yeah, but this one is made out of rubber. It's probably a newer version." I could not help myself! I was laughing out loud at this comment. Alex and I both got a kick out of it. Gotta love those young un's.

diamond divas

2011-04-09T20:50:00.000-07:00

Celebratory hugs!

Makayla running up to say, "Momma! I won my game!"

"Go Divas!"

Our sweet little Diamond Diva! She is trying so hard to learn this softball stuff. These photos are from their second game that ended with their first win. Makayla hit the ball the first time but it was a foul. And she ran her little legs off getting to first base! And her coach explained that she wasn't supposed to run that time. The second time she was up to bat she hit it good! And stayed at home plate holding her bat and looking around while trying to figure out who everyone was yelling"RUN!!" to. The little girl on the other team that got the ball was also looking around in confusion because she wasn't sure if she should walk up to Makayla on home plate and tag her out since she didn't run. It was hysterical. Alex was a little stressed. I was laughing.

And Olivia and Abi were more concerned with not squishing the legs off of a bug they found.

Olivia ended up killing it.

And then the count down began until they could go to the concession stand to get a ring pop.

A family that we go to church with came to watch Makayla's game.

It was so kind of them to come show their support.

Thank you to the Woodruff's.

hi-ho, hi-ho, it's off to work I go

2011-04-08T19:28:00.000-07:00

I have been back to work now for several weeks and Olivia began going to daycare at the facility where I work. We are back to our old routine of everyone rushing around every day. The big girls head to school on the bus and Olivia goes to daycare while Alex and I work.

It has been exhausting to say the least. I have decided that work in completely inconvenient. It gets in the way of everything! We have cheer practice twice a week, softball practice twice a week, softball games twice a week, and gymnastics once a week. Not to mention the many other errands that get thrown in the mix throughout the week. But we are making it.

Alex helps out a lot with the girls. It has been good having him home for a while to help juggle it all.

I hope to keep blogging pretty regularly for all of you who keep up with us.

We plan to hit the yard tomorrow and get a lot done. I dug out the sunscreen and plan to make a day of it. It seems like we start over with the flower bed every year! And maybe I will get some post-worthy pictures out of it. We shall see.

Before I go, I want to mention that I read on facebook tonight that little Abby's tumor is growing down her throat again. Please pray for this little one and her family. I can not imagine what they are going through and how tired her little body must be from all that it has experienced lately.

family ties

2011-04-07T21:26:00.000-07:00

My Granny's sister, Pat, and Pat's husband Frank came down to visit from Oklahoma last week. We had a great time visiting at the Fish Nest in Glenwood. I enjoy times like those but we sure did miss our family members that couldn't make it.

"Bye!"

jump around

2011-04-07T20:20:00.000-07:00

We took the girls to Party Central last weekend as a special treat. They had so much fun and Olivia has asked to go back pretty much every day since then.

I'm sure you have noticed that Makayla is not in any of these photos. We had made a deal that if they girls were good at school then we would go to the jump place but if they did not have a good day, then they had to sit out and not participate. Makayla earned two days worth of detention in one day on Friday. So she had to sit out and watch everyone else. I hope she can get it together by the time the school year is over.

clean up!

2011-04-03T20:20:00.001-07:00

She had a great way of helping me pick up under the table.

pig play and pedi's

2011-03-31T20:34:00.000-07:00

I took the girls to see "If You Give a Pig a Pancake" at the Children's Theatre in Little Rock during Spring Break.

I made them pose outside the theater.

They loved the play and I had the best time listening to them giggle at the pig.

Olivia and Makayla have been snorting at each other daily since then.

And then it was time for pedicures.

Olivia was too short to reach the water and she was not too happy about this.

And as you can tell from the photo above, pedicures led to "Momma, can I get my nails painted too?"

I had the best time running around with my ladies while they were out of school.

They spent the first part of the week with Grammie Retta and Papaw Truman on the chicken farm and they had a great time. But we learned that Makayla had eaten an entire bottle of Children's Tums from her travel bag and her Grammie didn't know until the next day when the girls were on their way home. The bottle had about 34 pills left in it when she ate them. Alex called poison control and they said she would be fine.
But we did our best to scare her to death about doing that though. It could have been really bad if she had picked a more potent medication to eat.

The girls then got to spend Wednesday with my Granny Gloria at home and I know they had a great time with her too.

I think that they had a pretty great Spring Break.

ain't life grand: part IV

2011-03-25T22:23:00.000-07:00

SO worth a trip to newhope :)

That wasn't the only reason we went though. Promise.

Poppa was checkin' it out

She was in the middle of telling a story and had no idea that I was taking pictures.

I never want to forget that genuine face.

Livi giving Memaw some love

Remember the aggravation post? I think Seth inherited some of that too.

Poor Granny G

Now Abi wants to be a "massager" too

My Granny Gloria, me, and my Memaw

the sisters got tickled

Aren't they sweet?

Katelyn is so good with the girls.

They love her!

Brent playing doctor. His first patient was suffering from nervous laughter.

The night ended with an amazing moon.

And Sunday began with three gorgeous gals.

We had lunch at Gayle's and saw Tammy Davis's sweet family. They all looked so great and all 5 of her grandbabies were there. I know she's proud of them for keeping their heads up and being there for everyone else in the community that is suffering eventhough they are struggling with their own loss on a daily basis.

We had a great weekend.

Can't wait to do it again.

creepy crawlers and puppy love: part III

2011-03-25T20:35:00.000-07:00

KayKay is pretty fond of this little guy.

I'm sure that you can tell from these photos that Makayla adores pets. Her Uncle Seth is like that as well. I hope some day maybe little Mr. Teddy can come back to stay with us so Makayla can spoil him. ;)

grown ups can play too: newhope part II

2011-03-24T20:54:00.000-07:00

Doesn't it look like everyone got in on the fun?

I'm sure I will be lectured for posting some of these pictures, but they were too good to pass up.

family weekend: part I

2011-03-20T19:44:00.000-07:00

a Nan and her Sugar Bear

goofballs in the kitchen

Olivia wants Rachel to go everywhere with her

propped up on the deck relaxing for a day or so

the uncle

Livi

having a great time

I have many more fun photos from our trip back home this weekend.
Come back for more!

the art of aggravation

2011-03-20T18:11:00.000-07:00

My dad has it mastered. Need proof? Here ya go.

Aggravating Nana

Aggravating Abi

Later he gave her bunny ears in a photo

Aggravating Makayla before church.

I come from a long line of aggravaters.

And I must say, it is fun. ;)

practice makes perfect

2011-03-17T20:28:00.001-07:00

Letting Abi try to get the ball when Makayla missed it cause Makayla to get the lead out and try harder.

What an amazingly beautiful day we had!
Alex took the girls outside after work to work on some softball.
Makayla has been catching on so quickly! She seems to really be enjoying softball.
Andrew spotted us and came over. Olivia wanted to jump on the trampoline with him. All 3 of them seem to have a fascination with Andrew.

Olivia loves teasing Abi by singing "Abi and Andrew sittin' in a tree"..I think you know the rest of that rhyme.

Abi denies the relationship. :)

Andrew did his best to pick up the heavy baby to put her on the trampoline.

I began working at the clinic where I met our girls this week again. I work in mental health and work with preschool age children that have special needs. It has been a fast and tiring week to say the least. But I think we are getting in the swing of things. Olivia loves going to daycare there. She is able to stay at the clinic where I work and it has been comforting to know that I can go check on her.

Spring is almost here! Signs of it are appearing more every day.

Have a great weekend and don't forget to pray for all those suffering and that have lost loved ones.

kate's birthday

2011-03-14T21:51:00.001-07:00

I took Makayla and Olivia to Kate's birthday party on Saturday. Abi had a cheer competition and her lucky daddy took her to it so that we could go party.

Kate had a dress up party. The girls got amazing paint jobs on their nails, a make over, and an up-do. :)

Makayla and Olivia loved watching the dogs play in the yard.

Don't they look like they are going to prom?

They made shrinky dinks and jewelry.

It was a lot of fun.

Kate's mom is SO crafty.

Olivia knew a lot of the little girls that were there from either gymnastics or her time at Ms Lisa's.

Enjoy the pictures and have a great week!