I have a new man in my life....

I need to let you all know that I know that I have a new man in my life. He is about 9 lbs and has fuzzy brown hair and hates to ride in his carseat, but does like to have his tummy rubbed. It isn't a puppy, nope his name is Paxton Dean King!

This past week I took off and went to Florida for a few days to visit the Kings. It was such an amazing week just spending time with one of my dearest friends and her precious family, who I consider part mine anyway. I got to sit and talk and laugh for four glorious days. It has been way way too long since we got to spend that kind of time together. I miss them so much, but am very grateful for the chance to have made the trip. More treasured memories were made with treasured friends!

Bailey and Beckham are growing up so fast so it was so fun for me to get to spend time with them. Bailey let me braid her hair at night while it was wet so that it would have some wave to it in the morning. It was our thing, and I loved it! I meant to show Shannon how to french braid, but we got too caught up watching American Idol and voting for Kris Allen to have a braiding lesson. Maybe next time. Beckham and I were just a team and we enjoyed cooking, breakfast and watching tv together. He is so funny, and I am really missing his chatter. Paxton, well he is just yummy! I loved him before I even met him, but now he and I are bonded at the heart. I figured out that when he was crying really hard that I could rub his belly a certain way and he would calm right down. I love knowing that I had a special touch with him. It helped me know that he and I will have a special relationship like I have with the other too, even if too many miles separate us to suit my liking. It was a great time and I miss them already!

Brock Happenings...

Baseball season is in full swing, and we are swinging away. We are lucky enough to be on the same team as last year which means playing baseball with our best buddies. This year there are 6 boys from PV on our team. It makes playing so much fun. Plus we are with our favorite coaches who make playing fun. I appreciate their patience with a bunch of 6 year old boys! As to date, Brock, who has been working with Coach Pops on batting has had 3 hits in the last 2 games. Of course he got his first 2 while I was in Florida. He scored his first basket when I wasn't there so the only thing left is that one day when he plays football that he will score his first touchdown when I am not there. But, tonight, he got a great hit, and I got to see it! I love watching him play sports and am looking forward to many more years!

This is year 3 of playing together

We have taken a picture of them from behind each year, this year just has a little twist to it, literally!

All the boys love to wear the catchers gear, and it is just too cute not to photograph!

The cutest fan in the stands!

Soccer is winding down and would have been over if there hadn't been so much blasted rain. Brock moved up a level for Spring and has done pretty well. It has been such a broken up season that it hasn't been as easy to tell how much he is improving as it was in the fall. His footwork does impress me, and he truly does love playing the game. It has been a pretty big time stretch getting between two sports plus Claire's activities, but hey, that's my job!

The Friday before Mothers Day, we had Muffins For Mom at school. It was so precious! They had several songs that the five classes sang together for all the Moms, and then we were escorted back to their classrooms for some special treats. They had done a questions list about their Moms and it turns out that I am 20 years old and I weigh 15 lbs! Seeing as how I started a diet today with the goal of losing 20 lbs that is good news. Soon I should be -5 lbs! I will let you know how that feels!

Claire Bear Happenings...

The other day I was taking supper to my Grandpa. Gran has been in the hospital, and I wanted to make sure that he had some good meals to eat. He is 91, and the back and forth has caused even more wear and tear on his aging body. Anyway, it worked out where Claire was with me when I made the food delivery. She and Grandpa have always had a very special relationship that warms the soul to see them together. That day was no exception. He took her out in the front yard and cut her some of his fresh flowers. Fortunately, God whispered in my ear that I had my camera in the car. I got it out and took some precious shots that I know will be cherished for the rest of her life.

The 2nd grade class performed at the last PTA meeting of the year. It was such a great performance, and she really enjoyed it, at least most of it. The funniest part was that during one song I noticed that she wasn't really singing so I leaned over and mentioned it to her teacher. She said "oh yeah, she hates this song, but she loves the next one." Sure enough the next song she was back to her previous animated self. Too funny that girl! She is supposed to have a gymnastics program tomorrow, but she says that she isn't going to do it. I told her that I had already paid for her to be in it and she said, "Well, you better get your money back!" We will see how tomorrow goes. You never know with Claire Bear, it could go either way. I will keep you updated!

This is when she spotted Pops, Heidi and Dan in the crowd.

So much to blog!

First I have to say it has been awhile, because I am entering the spring phase of craziness! Of course that is always fun because I love the feel of school as things are winding down. There will be so much to cram in the next two months and of course they will fly by. Anyway, here is a wrap of all the fun things we have had going on lately....

PV Father Daughter Banquet...

This is always such a fun time for my family. Claire and Tim have gone every year of her life and my Dad, Sheila and I have missed only one time since they started putting it on. It is such a blessing to have him to ourselves every year, not to mention the fact that he always comes with some bling for each of us. This year he did not let us down and gave us the most amazing tanzanite rings. I have to get mine sized so that I can wear it! For Brock, the evening is a lot of fun because he and my Mom have a date with the other boy cousins. This year they went to Gator Golf and Chuck E Cheese. I think that he got a pretty good evening! Here are a few picture recaps of the evening

Traditional Photo shoot by Mom

Getting to see all our friends and cousins with their dads is fun too!

The boys were waiting on Grant and NeNe to get there to start their evening.

Spring Break

We didn't do too much on Spring Break this year. We are saving up our dimes for our blow out in June to Disney. We had so much fun though just chilling out around the house and taking it easy. Monday and Tuesday, my niece Kayely "kidsat" (Claire's words) while I worked. Brock went to play at the Bowmans and then the Coopers on Monday and had too much fun for words. Pictures of that are available on Cortney's blog. Wednesday we just did nothing but relax and then on Thursday, Heidi came and picked them up and whisked them off to the lake house. All the cousins went and those kids had a blast. My mom let them do 2 Polar Bear Plunges, THEY ACTUALLY GOT IN THE LAKE! They thought that it was great. It makes me wonder if we are raising mentally sound kids, but hey, to each their own. If I can get pictures from my sister I will post them. Friday morning, I picked up Vanesa and we joined in on the fun. When we got there we all went to Fairfield Bay to play golf. Well, some of us drove golf carts and cheered for the others. It was a blast! That pretty much sums up Spring Break, here are the pictures.

The Indian Rock House

My Mom used to come here with her Grandparents. It is really cool!

Soccer AND Baseball

I have become that Mom that I used to talk about. Brock is playing 2 sports at one time. I didn't necessarily intend for them to overlap, but oh well, they do. Anyway, here are a few pics from the game yesterday. I have not taken any at baseball yet, shame on me.

Duck Duck Goose is Duck Duck Done

Well, the spring Duck Duck Goose is in the books. Despite the weather, the sell seemed to be pretty good. I got some wonderful things for the kids, and myself actually, so I was excited about that on the front end. Yesterday I went to work again and most of my stuff sold, and I actually made more than I spent. That was a true first, so I was really excited about that on the back end. With everything going on in my life right now, and trying to make heads or tails of the day to days, I guess I looked at the sale from a much more philosophical viewpoint than ever before. I came out with some much deeper thoughts than just "hey I bought and sold some clothes!" Here is a list of them in no particular order of importance...

1. I am so thankful that I had parents that valued education and dentist.

2. I have made some wonderful friends through this sale that I truly enjoy working with in some really stressful situations, and some really funny situations as well.

3. God is alive and working in the here and now!

4. Satan is alive and working trying to counteract #3!

5. You can pay an $86 total with $60 of it in change. Yep, it happened! Got to love quarters and dimes, they do add up I guess.

6. Apparently DDG is a great place for those going through the "transition" to find a new wardrobe, congrats Kasey for getting to handle that one!

7. There are songs that will stick to you and reach you at a point when you need it most. This song that should be playing now was on the play list that played during the sale. It really hit me at a time when I needed it the most. He can move the mountains, he is mighty to save.

8. I am pretty sure that one of these days I will take a baby home from the sale who I didn't come there with because their mom really doesn't want them.

9. 15 year old girls with retainers should be there shopping for clothes and prom dresses, not maternity clothes and baby items.

10. Fighting in public really makes people around you uncomfortable. Trying to bring the lady checking you out into the fight really makes her uncomfortable. Cashier does not equal therapist!

All right, that is all for now. I may add more as I have time to process the events of the last week.

11. If you laugh through things, most of the time you will come out with your sanity!

Happy 6th Birthday Brock!

I can't believe that my baby is 6! That sounds so old to me! He is such a bright spot in our family, and we are so proud of him. This has been a big year for him, and has changed so much that it breaks my heart in some ways, and excited and proud in others. Life with Brock is NEVER dull! I love hearing his perspective on life and how things are in his mind, and trust me he will tell you! I love his sense of humor and adventure. I love that he is a great friend to others, no matter what the world would tell him to think, and I hope that he is always able to overlook disabilities, color and differences. I love that he loves school, and I hope that he will let education lead him to enormous achievements. I love that he loves sports and wants to be like his cousins Benjamin and Grant, and hope that he always does. I love that he loves his daddy, and hope that they will always be the best of friends. But most of all, I love that he loves me, and at the end of every school day tells me that he missed me. That makes my heart melt EVERY time I hear it.

I love you little man, I can't wait to see what God molds you into over the next year!

Out with the Old and In with the new!

From This...

To This!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I was waiting to post this until I had talked to Shannon, but I gave you a week to call and you didn't so here goes....


I am no longer the driver of a mini-van!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The MV is GONE! I have done a lot of leaping, smiling, and driving this week in my new car. It was a great day in my life when I drove off the lot this time.

Also, other news in my world is that I am now a working Mom! I have a job until May (at least) working for Dale Carnegie in their LR office doing some data entry/management things. It is perfect hours (8:30-2:00) 2 days a week and then 8:30 to Noon on another day. I am thrilled, and have actually started making money rather than just spending it! We are going in the right direction! (Other than that new car payment...)

100th day and Chinese New Year

Some fun things that happened this week were that we had Chinese New Year and then 100th day of school celebration. Chinese New Year is a huge kindergarten tradition at Baker. They learn all about the Chinese heritage and culture, sample a bunch of Chinese food and then have a parade down the school halls with dragons, noisemakers and money collectors. The upper grades line the halls and throw "money" at them and cheer. It is so much fun for everyone. Also, Claire celebrated the 100th day of school. I made her this sweatshirt to wear in honor of the day. Brock is actually going to celebrate the 100th day tomorrow. Should be fun. He loves to count to 100, but 88 is his favorite number because it is Jr's (Dale Earnhardt Jr.) number. That is thanks to my nephew Benjamin. I am pretty sure that my camera is allergic to 2nd grade because everytime I go on a field trip or to a party in her room my camera goes on the fritz. That is why there is a lack of pictures from her party.

FYI: I normally will try and match up my playlist with whatever is on the blog, but tonight I am just in the mood for some James Taylor. You can just pretend that they go together.